Neogene sedimentary evolution of Baja California in relation to regional tectonics

Abstract

During the Neogene, the tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Baja California Peninsula followed four stages: (1) during the early Miocene (22 Ma), the initiation of transform motion between Pacific and North American plates, caused a rapid subsidence in the Continental Borderland Province and in some adjacent areas.This subsidence coincided in time with with a global rise in sea level. At this time, the eastern and southern parts of the peninsula did not show any evidence of subsidence. (2) During the middle Miocene (12 Ma), normal and strike slip faulting migrated eastward, causing subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf of California, where the oldest Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks were deposited. The areas in central Baja California Sur and the central part of the Gulf itself received abundant volcanic deposits related to continental extension. (3) During the late Miocene (8 Ma), the western margin of the Peninsula changed to a slightly compressive regime, while the northern part of the Gulf contained a marine basin with upper bathyal environments. The central area of the Gulf continued receiving abundant volcanic deposits, while the Los Cabos block received marine sedimentation, correlatable with sedimentary units reported from the continental margins in Nayarit, Jalisco and Michoacán. (4) Beginning in the early Pliocene (5 Ma), the present configuration of the Gulf of California developed through right-lateral strike slip and extension in the Gulf itself. Since Pliocene times, the Gulf presents widespread marine sedimentation with deep basins reaching lower bathyal depths.