Franciscan olistoliths in Upper Cretaceous conglomerate deposits, Western Transverse Ranges, California: Implications for basin morphology and tectonic history

Compositional analyses reveal that Upper Cretaceous sediments exposed in the Western Transverse Ranges of CA were deposited in submarine fan systems in a forearc basin. Point count data suggest a magmatic arc/recycled orogen as the dominant provenance for these sediments. Paleocurrent measurements from conglomerates in these sediments yield a northerly transport direction. Removal of ca. 90[degree] of clockwise rotation and 70 km of right-lateral slip restore this section to a position west of the San Diego area. The forearc basin would have had a N-S orientation, with the bulk of sediments supplied by the Peninsular Ranges to the east. Evidence of the erosion of the accretionary wedge is provided by the presence of large, internally stratified olistoliths of Franciscan material interbedded with and surrounded by upper Cretaceous conglomerate. Petrographic, quantitative SEM, and microprobe analyses indicate the presence of diagnostic Franciscan mineralogy, including glaucophane, riebeckite, lawsonite, and serpentine. Olistoclasts of chert, jadeitic graywacke, serpentine, and blueschist are found intermixed with the conglomerates in close association with the olistoliths. This association provides strong field evidence that recirculation of melange material within the subduction zone was active and well-established by late Cretaceous time. Inferences regarding the forearc system morphology can be drawn frommore » these observations. The occurrence of coarse, easterly-derived conglomerates surrounded by large, stratified, but sheared, westerly-derived Franciscan debris, suggests a narrow, relatively steep-sided basin. Paleocurrent measurements gave no indication of axial transport within the basin. This morphology suggests that, in late Cretaceous time, the forearc basin was youthful, with a narrow arc-trench gap. Thus, relative convergence rates between the North American and Pacific plates were possibly slower than Tertiary convergence rates.« less