Geochemistry of igneous rocks from the Cerro Prieto geothermal field, northern Baja California, Mexico

Abstract

Abstract Fractional crystallization of basaltic magma, derived from an oceanic affinity source region present beneath the Salton Trough and emplaced into a pull-apart basin of this continental rift regime, produced a tholeiitic suite of hypabyssal rocks consisting of basalt, andesite and dacite within the Cerro Prieto geothermal field, located in northern Baja California, Mexico. Higher light-rare-earth-element abundances for a basalt from the Cerro Prieto geothermal field in comparison to basalts from the Gulf of California and the East Pacific Rise suggest partial assimilation of crustal materials into the parental magmas generated beneath the Salton Trough. The crustal contaminant may be present near the surface today in the form of granitoids of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, at deeper levels as hydrothermally altered materials near the base of the Salton Trough, or may be a relict feature of Tertiary subduction contained within the upper mantle beneath the Salton Trough. The Sr isotopic compositions of dacites from the nearby Cerro Prieto volcano range from 0.7029 to 0.7036, indicating an oceanic affinity source for these rocks. The suite of hypabyssal rocks of tholeiitic affinity present within the Cerro Prieto geothermal field, related by fractional crystallization, link the dacite volcano of Cerro Prieto to gabbroic plutons inferred to exist beneath the Cerro Prieto geothermal field.