Geologic evolution of a Cretaceous tectonometamorphic unit in the Franciscan Complex, western California

ABSTRACT

The Franciscan Yolla Bolly terrane of the NE California Coast Ranges consists mainly of quartzose metagreywackes containing sparse high-pressure/low-temperature (HP/LT) neoblastic minerals, including ubiquitous lawsonite. Some Yolla Bolly rocks also contain one or more of the newly grown phases, pumpellyite, aragonite, glaucophane, and/or jadeitic pyroxene. These blueschist-facies metasandstones recrystallized under physical conditions of ~200–300°C and ~8 kbar at subduction-zone depths approaching 30 km. Petrologically similar Franciscan metaclastic-rich map units – Yolla Bolly terrane-like rocks, here designated the ‘YB’ unit – crop out in the central and southern California Coast Ranges. Recently published detrital zircon U‒Pb SIMS and LA-ICPMS data for 19 ‘YB’ metagreywackes indicate maximum ages of formation as follows: ~110–115 Ma (8) in the NE California Coast Ranges; ~95–107 Ma (7) in the San Francisco Bay area + Diablo Range; and ~85–92 Ma (4) in the dextrally offset Nacimiento Block. These fault-bounded ‘YB’ strata do not constitute coeval parts of a single tectonostratigraphic unit. Instead the term tectonometamorphic is proposed for such time-transgressive map units. Based on the current and likely Cretaceous 30° angular divergence between NS-palaeomagnetic stripes of the Farallon oceanic plate and the NNW-trending California convergent margin, I infer that arrival at the arc margin and underflow of a relatively thick segment of oceanic crust and its largely clastic sedimentary blanket may have resulted in progressive southeastward migration of an accreted, subducted, then exhumed HP/LT metagreywacke section. During the ~30 million year interval, ~115–85 Ma, the locus of ‘YB’ accretion, underflow, and tectonic regurgitation evidently moved SE along an ~1000 km stretch of the accretionary margin of western California.

KEYWORDS:

• Yolla Bolly terrane
• tectonometamorphic unit
• Franciscan Eastern Belt
• subduction zone metamorphism
• Farallon plate underflow

Acknowledgements

Stanford University has supported my studies of Franciscan geology over several decades. The National Science Foundation provided modest support through grant NSF EAR 0948676 to Marty Grove. Alan Chapman, John Wakabayashi, and Mark Cloos gave me constructive feedback on a draft version of this speculative paper. I thank these institutions and colleagues for their help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

Stanford University has supported my studies of Franciscan geology over several decades. The National Science Foundation provided modest support through grant NSF EAR 0948676 to Marty Grove.