From back-arc rifting to arc accretion: the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous evolution of the Guerrero terrane recorded by a major provenance change in sandstones from the Sierra de los Cuarzos area, central Mexico

Abstract

The Guerrero terrane is composed of Middle Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous arc assemblages that were rifted from the North American continental mainland during Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous back-arc spreading within the Arperos Basin, and subsequently accreted back to the continental margin in the late Aptian. The Sierra de los Cuarzos area is located just 50 km east of the Guerrero terrane suture belt and, therefore, its stratigraphic record should be highly sensitive to first-order tectonic changes. Two Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous clastic units were recognized in the Sierra de los Cuarzos area. The Sierra de los Cuarzos Formation is the lowermost exposed stratigraphic unit. Petrographic data and U-Pb zircon ages suggest that the Sierra de los Cuarzos Formation was derived from quartz-rich sedimentary and igneous sources within the North American continental mainland. The Sierra de los Cuarzos Formation is overlain by the Pelones Formation, which is composed of volcanoclastic sandstones derived from a mix of sources that include the mafic arc assemblages of the Guerrero terrane and quartz-rich sedimentary and volcanic rocks exposed in the continental mainland. The provenance change documented in the Sierra de los Cuarzos area suggests that the Pelones Formation was deposited when the Arperos Basin was closed and the Guerrero terrane was colliding with the North American continental mainland. Based on these data, we interpret the Pelones Formation as the syn-tectonic stratigraphic record associated with the accretion of the Guerrero terrane.