Tertiary tilting and dismemberment of the laramide arc and related hydrothermal systems, Sierrita Mountain, Arizona

William J.A. Stavast, Robert F. Butler, Eric Seedorff, Mark D. Barton, Charles A. Ferguson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Multiple lines of evidence, including new and published geologic mapping and paleomagnetic and geobarometric determinations, demonstrate that the rocks and large porphyry copper systems of the Sierrita Mountains in southern Arizona were dismembered and tilted 50° to 60° to the south by Tertiary normal faulting. Repetition of geologic features and geobarometry indicate that the area is segmented into at least three major structural blocks, and the present surface corresponds to oblique sections through the Laramide plutonic-hydrothermal complex, ranging in paleodepth from ∼1 to ∼12 km. These results add to an evolving view of a north-south extensional domain at high angles to much extension in the southern Basin and Range, contrast with earlier interpretations that the Laramide systems are largely upright and dismembered by thrust faults, highlight the necessity of restoring Tertiary rotations before interpreting Laramide structural and hydrothermal features, and add to the broader understanding of pluton emplacement and evolution of porphyry copper systems.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)629-636
Number of pages8
JournalEconomic Geology
Volume103
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geophysics
  • Geology
  • Geochemistry and Petrology
  • Economic Geology

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