Late Cretaceous U–Pb tuff ages from the Skunk Ranch Formation and their implications for age of Laramide deformation, Little Hatchet Mountains, southwestern New Mexico, U.S.A.

Abstract

LA-ICPMS U–Pb ages of individual zircon crystals from reworked ash-fall tuff beds in lacustrine strata of the Skunk Ranch Formation, a synorogenic unit deposited in a Laramide intermontane basin in the Little Hatchet Mountains, southwestern New Mexico, indicate an early Maastrichtian depositional age of 71–70 Ma. The dated beds are equivalent to nearby growth strata that are partially cut by, and folded over, a Laramide reverse fault. The strata thus record final displacement on the reverse fault and indicate an early Maastrichtian age for fault offset. The Skunk Ranch Formation was previously interpreted as Eocene in age and inferred to record the second event in a two-stage Laramide deformational history in the mountain range. In addition to significantly condensing the age range of the Laramide section and clarifying stratigraphic correlation in the Little Hatchet Mountains, the new ages of the formation also indicate that Laramide deformation in the range was likely restricted to a single Late Cretaceous episode.