Bimodal volcanism in the Santa Maria Province of west-central California occurred when segments of the East Pacific Rise interacted with a subduction zone along the California margin during the Early Miocene (about 17 million years ago). Isotopic compositions of neodymium and strontium as well as trace-element data indicate that these volcanic rocks were derived from a depleted-mantle (mid-ocean ridge basalt) source. After ridge-trench interactions, the depleted-mantle reservoir was juxtaposed beneath the continental margin and was erupted to form basalts. It also assimilated and partially melted local Jurassic-Cretaceous sedimentary and metasedimentary basement rocks to form rhyolites and dacites.
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Cole et al. (1992) studied this question.
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