The Geysers-Cobb Mountain Magma System, California (Part 2): timescales of pluton emplacement and implications for its thermal history

Abstract Over 400 ion microprobe U-Pb isotopic ages measured for zircons extracted from 24 geothermal wells that penetrate the Geysers Plutonic complex (GPC) allow us to conclude that the entire known extent of the GPC crystallized during the early Pleistocene. Nine samples of the microgranite porphyry that forms the shallow cupola (100–1,500 m below sea-level, mbsl) of the GPC yield the oldest model U-Pb age (1.75 ± 0.01 Ma after correction for initial U series disequilibrium; errors 1σ). Twelve samples from the main intrusive phase (orthopyroxene-biotite granite) present at depths >1,250 mbsl define a crystallization age of 1.27 ± 0.01 Ma. This coincides with the age determined for a structurally and compositionally distinct body of granodiorite (1.25 ± 0.01 Ma; N = 5 samples) that is intruded over a similar depth range. Two petrographically distinct varieties of orthopyroxene-biotite granite yield ages of 1.46 ± 0.03 (GPC21-6000) and 1.16 ± 0.02 Ma (CA5636 74F 21; three samples). U-Pb zircon ages for dikes intruded in metagraywacke country-rocks overlap with those obtained from the main body of the GPC and include the youngest material identified (dike sample NEGU2 ST1-7700: 1.11 ± 0.03 Ma). Overall, the U-Pb results demonstrate that the main body of the GPC (∼300 km 3 ) was emplaced and crystallized within the upper crust over a short time interval (0.2 Ma) that overlaps with zircon crystallization ages of overlying silicic volcanic units.