Abstract
A-tents and blisters are minor landforms associated with the release of compressive stress in combination with erosional off-loading in hard crystalline bedrock. The uplifted and westward tilted granitic batholith of the Sierra Nevada, California, comprises hundreds of Cretaceous intrusions, where sheeted bornhardts stand juxtaposed, and have been exposed to compressional stress during several time periods. Field mapping north of Yosemite Valley identified 79 A-tents with a preferred orientation ENE-WSW suggesting the application of directionally applied stress. A-tent, joint, and bornhardt orientation imply NE-SW tension and NW-SE compression. The stress has probably been released after the rapid Tertiary uplift and erosional unloading in the late Quaternary. We suggest that the A-tents in this part of the Sierra Nevada are related to intrinsic compressional stress imposed on the bedrock during emplacement but before mid-Cretaceous transpression.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.