Petrography and structural relations of granitic basement rocks in the Monterey Bay area, California
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Abstract
In the past, the granitic basement of the Coast Ranges has been thought to be dominantly quartz diorite and low in K-feldspar. However, a study of outcrops around Monterey Bay, basement well samples, and dredge samples from Monterey Bay shows that the granitic basement averages about 15 to 20 percent K-feldspar. Therefore, as a sedimentary provenance, the basement around Monterey Bay could have contributed abundant K-feldspar to the Cenozoic sedimentary deposits of the region; that is, in the Monterey Bay area the local basement is an adequate source for the abundant K-feldspar in the sedimentary units. The distribution of basement rocks and mapped faults, coupled with gravity-geophysical data, suggests that the area between the San Andreas and Sur-Nacimiento fault zones (the Salinian block) near Monterey Bay is broken into several discrete structural blocks. Some of these blocks juxtapose not only different basement rocks, but also different contour patterns on the buried basement surface. These features suggest large strike-slip movements along some faults within the Salinian block in the Monterey Bay area.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Petrography and structural relations of granitic basement rocks in the Monterey Bay area, California |
| Series title | Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Year Published | 1973 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center |
| Description | 10 p. |
| First page | 273 |
| Last page | 282 |
| Country | United States of America |
| State | California |
| Other Geospatial | Monterey Bay |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |