Mesozoic Sedimentary Rocks and Depositional Facies, Vizcaino-Cedros Area, Baja California, Mexico: ABSTRACT

Abstract

Mesozoic sedimentary rocks in the Vizcaino-Cedros area constitute a 135-m.y. history of arc-related marine sedimentation with a cumulative thickness of 14 km. The Upper Triassic San Hipolito Formation is the oldest sedimentary unit in the region, and is recognized only on the Vizcaino Peninsula. The formation depositionally overlies an ophiolite sequence and consists of 2.4 km of tuffaceous sediment including a limestone megabreccia. The upper two-thirds of the sequence in the type section is now believed to be of Early Jurassic age. On Cedros Island, the basal sedimentary rocks are 1.2 km of the Lower Jurassic Gran Canon Formation. This richly tuffaceous unit depositionally overlies both ophiolite and arc volcanics. Conformably overlying the Gran Canon on Cedros Island is the Coloradito Formation, a spectacular sedimentary olistostrome up to 0.4 km thick, containing Triassic and late Paleozoic metasedimentary blocks. This formation record the first evidence of continental detritus in the region. Conformably overlying the Coloradito and, in part, stratigraphically equivalent to it on Cedros is 0.4 km of volcanogenic-metasedimentary conglomerate designated the Eugenia Formation. The Eugenia is much thicker (to 2.7 km) and widespread on Vizcaino where it unconformably overlies the San Hipolito Formation. On Vizcaino, the lower Eugenia (Upper Jurassic)more » includes spectacular volcanic debris flows interbedded with sandstone, but it is transitional upward into finer facies with increasing plutonic detritus. Time equivalent to the upper Eugenia and locally deposited on tonalite and volcanics is the Lower Cretaceous Asunction Formation (0.8 km thick). This sequence includes calcareous coarse breccias of serpentinized gabbros and tonalite.« less