| Abstract: | Introduction
The Tower Peak quadrangle, which includes northernmost Yosemite National Park, is located astride the glaciated crest of the central Sierra Nevada and covers an exceptionally well-exposed part of the Sierra Nevada batholith. Granitic plutonic rocks of the batholith dominate the geology of the Tower Peak quadrangle, and at least 18 separate pre-Tertiary intrusive events have been identified. Pre-Cretaceous metamorphic rocks crop out in the quadrangle in isolated roof pendants and septa. Tertiary volcanic rocks cover granitic rocks in the northern part of the quadrangle, but are not considered in this brief summary.
Potassium-argon (K-Ar) age determinations for plutonic rocks in the quadrangle range from 83 to 96 million years (Ma), including one of 86 Ma for the granodiorite of Lake Harriet (Robinson and Kistler, 1986). However, a rubidium-strontium whole-rock isochron age of 129 Ma has been obtained for the Lake Harriet pluton (Robinson and Kistler, 1986), which field evidence indicates is the oldest plutonic body within the quadrangle. This suggests that some of the K-Ar ages record an episode of resetting during later thermal events and are too young. The evidence indicates that all the plutonic rocks are of Cretaceous age, with the youngest being the Cathedral Peak Granodiorite at about 83 Ma.
The pre-Tertiary rocks of the Tower Peak quadrangle fall into two groups: (1) an L-shaped area of older plutonic and metamorphic rocks, 3 to 10 km wide, that extends diagonally both northeast and southeast from near the center of the quadrangle; and (2) a younger group of large, probably composite intrusions that cover large areas in adjacent quadrangles and extend into the Tower Peak quadrangle from the east, north, and southwest. |
| Genre: | USGS Numbered Series |
| ProdID: | 67332 |
| Citation Author: | Wahrhaftig, Clyde |
| Citation Contributing Office: | USGS Western Earth Surface Processes |
| Citation Datum: | |
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| Citation Edition: | Online Version 1.0 |
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| Citation Keywords: | |
| Citation Language: | ENGLISH |
| Citation Larger Work Title: | |
| Citation LatN: | 0381500 |
| Citation LatS: | 0380000 |
| Citation LonE: | -1193000 |
| Citation LonW: | -1194500 |
| Citation Month: | |
| Citation No Pagination: | |
| Citation Number Of Pages: | |
| Citation Online Only Flag: | |
| Citation Phsyical Description: | 1 map :col. ;45 x 35 cm., on sheet 61 x 98 cm., folded in envelope 30 x 24 cm. |
| Citation Projection: | |
| Citation Public Comments: | |
| Citation Publisher: | Geological Survey (U.S.) |
| Citation Series: | IMAP |
| Citation Series Code: | I |
| Citation Series Number: | 2697 |
| Citation Search Results Text: | Geologic Map of the Tower Peak Quadrangle, Central Sierra Nevada, California; 2000; I; 2697; Wahrhaftig, Clyde |
| Citation Start Page: | |
| Citation Volume: | |
| Citation Year: | 2000 |
| Type: | citation/reference |
| Text: | Geologic Map of the Tower Peak Quadrangle, Central Sierra Nevada, California; 2000; I; 2697; Wahrhaftig, Clyde |
| URL (THUMBNAIL): | http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/usgs_thumb.jpg |
| URL (INDEX PAGE): | http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2697/ |
| URL (INDEX PAGE): | http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_33666.htm |
| Date Other: | Fri, 1 Sep 2000 00:00 -0500 |
| Publisher: | Geological Survey (U.S.) |
