Oblique rifting ruptures continents: Example from the Gulf of California shear zone

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Research Article| March 01, 2014 Oblique rifting ruptures continents: Example from the Gulf of California shear zone Scott E.K. Bennett; Scott E.K. Bennett Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California–Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA *Current address: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Hazards Science Center, 1711 Illinois Street, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA; E-mail: sekbennett@usgs.gov. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Michael E. Oskin Michael E. Oskin Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California–Davis, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2014) 42 (3): 215–218. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34904.1 Article history received: 03 Jul 2013 rev-recd: 15 Nov 2013 accepted: 21 Nov 2013 first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Scott E.K. Bennett, Michael E. Oskin; Oblique rifting ruptures continents: Example from the Gulf of California shear zone. Geology 2014;; 42 (3): 215–218. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G34904.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract We show that a belt of clockwise vertical-axis block rotation associated with dextral-oblique rifting in the Basin and Range province in Mexico hosted the localization of plate-boundary strain that led to formation of the Gulf of California ocean basin. Paleomagnetism of Miocene ignimbrites distributed widely across the rift reveals the magnitude, distribution, and timing of rotation. Using new high-precision paleomagnetic vectors (α95 ≈ 1°) from tectonically stable exposures of these ignimbrites in Baja California, we determine clockwise rotations up to 76° for intrarift sites. Low reference-site error permits isolation of intrarift block rotation during proto-Gulf time, prior to rift localization ca. 6 Ma. We estimate that 48% (locally 0%–75%) of the net rotation occurred between 12.5 Ma and 6.4 Ma. Sites of large (>20°) block rotation define an ∼100-km-wide belt, associated with strike-slip faulting, herein named the Gulf of California shear zone, which was embedded within the wide rift Basin and Range province and kinematically linked to the San Andreas fault. After a protracted history of diffuse extension and transtension, rift localization was accomplished by focusing of Pacific–North America dextral shear into the Gulf of California, which increased strain rates and connected nascent pull-apart basins along the western margin of the province. Oblique rifting thus helped to localize and increase the rate of continental break up and strongly controlled the three-dimensional architecture of the resultant passive margins. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.