Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Detrital Zircon Geochemistry Of The Nacimiento Block, Santa Ynez Mountains, California, Vincent Zhao

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

The long-lived California section of the North American Cordillera is one of the most studied continental margins in the world; however, erosion and deformation in areas along the San Andreas Fault and the Sur-Nacimiento Fault has erased sections of the Cordillera which could provide insight in Cordilleran processes. The lost sections are partially preserved in detrital zircons deposited alongside the arc in fore-arc basins such as in the Toro Formation of the Nacimiento block which represents the coastal central California equivalent to the Great Valley Group, located in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Geochemical analysis of the detrital zircons from the …