Interrelationship of sedimentary and volcanic deposits associated with Tertiary extension in Sonora, Mexico

Abstract

Research Article| October 01, 1997 Interrelationship of sedimentary and volcanic deposits associated with Tertiary extension in Sonora, Mexico Fred W. McDowell; Fred W. McDowell 1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jaime Roldán-Quintana; Jaime Roldán-Quintana 2Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 1039, Hermosillo, Sonora 83000, México Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ricardo Amaya-Martínez Ricardo Amaya-Martínez 3Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Sonora 83000, México Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (1997) 109 (10): 1349–1360. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1997)109<1349:IOSAVD>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Fred W. McDowell, Jaime Roldán-Quintana, Ricardo Amaya-Martínez; Interrelationship of sedimentary and volcanic deposits associated with Tertiary extension in Sonora, Mexico. GSA Bulletin 1997;; 109 (10): 1349–1360. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1997)109<1349:IOSAVD>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Clastic sedimentary deposits and associated volcanic rocks record the progress of Tertiary extension in the Mexican state of Sonora. These deposits accumulated within basins located throughout the eastern two-thirds of the state. The rocks are slightly indurated conglomerates and sandstones; clast types reflect the local highland exposures. Volcanic units that bound and are interlayered with the sedimentary rocks provide stratigraphic and time markers of basin evolution and, by inference, of marginal fault development. This record has been examined in an east-west belt across south-central Sonora.The volcanic rocks occur in three distinct associations. At the base and interbedded within the lower portions of the sedimentary sections are lava flows of dominantly basaltic andesite composition. In most localities the overlying clastic sedimentary strata are conformable with these lava flows, and we conclude that the magmatism was triggered by early faulting along the basin margins. A second association present near the base of the sections comprises massive lava domes and flows of intermediate composition that contain distinctive phenocrysts of dark brown amphibole. The domes apparently formed when viscous lava welled up along developing marginal basin faults. In one case a transition was observed over a short distance from a structureless dome to a thick lava flow that is conformably interbedded with, and sheds clasts laterally into, the sedimentary section. A third volcanic association comprises layers of rhyolitic lava flows and ignimbrites that overlie the coarsest and thickest lower portions of the sedimentary sections.K-Ar ages for volcanic rocks in the two oldest of these settings indicate that each Tertiary basin had a distinct history with no apparent regional geographic pattern. In the Rio Yaqui basin, where exhumation by the major river of Sonora has exposed a full section of the volcanic and clastic sequences, extension was possibly as old as 27 Ma. Elsewhere, deposition of sediments was underway in most basins by 24 Ma, and in all basins by 20 Ma. K-Ar ages of the younger rhyolitic volcanic rocks fall within a narrow range from 12.8 to 10.5 Ma. These ages provide a younger time limit to deposition of the coarser and thicker portions of the clastic sedimentary sections.The mafic lava flows, dominantly basaltic andesite, are similar in major-element composition to mafic lava flows that cap felsic sections within the Sierra Madre Occidental volcanic field of western Mexico and the mid-Tertiary Datil-Mogollon volcanic field in southwestern New Mexico. They are higher in silica and lower in total alkalies than younger capping mafic lava flows within the Gulf of California extensional province of western Sonora and Neogene basaltic lava flows in the Datil-Mogollon field. They are similarly distinct from basaltic dikes and lava flows that are clearly associated with Basin and Range faulting in Trans-Pecos Texas and in northern Durango state.A convergent-margin magmatic arc was active in the present-day Gulf of California region between 24 and 11.5 Ma. The earliest extension in south-central Sonora was therefore occurring in a back-arc setting. Continued sedimentation and rotation of volcanic strata indicate that extension continued throughout the region after 10 Ma with little coeval volcanism. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.