Nature and regional significance of thrust faulting in the southern Inyo Mountains, eastern California

A belt of imbricate thrust faults, here named the “Swansea thrust fault system,” is exposed for a distance of about 27 km along the western flank of the southern Inyo Mountains, and it may Continue another 25 to 30 km to the southeast. The faults cut rocks of probable Early Jurassic age. Faults such as these may be formed within a structural ramp over which large thrust sheets may ride. Direction and time of movement on the fault system are similar to those on generally horizontal thrust faults underlying large allochthons to the north and northeast, but the Swansea faults occur entirely within the autochthonous sequence. The Swansea thrust fault system, therefore, is interpreted as representing deformation within a structural ramp that was overridden by thrust sheets related to those now preserved to the northeast.