Late Miocene Basalts of the Robledo Mountains, New Mexico, in Context of the History of Mafic Magmatism in the Southern Rio Grande Rift

Amato, Jeffrey M.; Richard, Nicholas; Johnson, E. R.

doi:10.1130/abs/2019am-336785

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Although main extension is thought to have ceased by 6 Ma, minor Quaternary extension is evident by short fault segments that offset young alluvium (Mack, 2004). In the southern Rio Grande rift, the timing of initial extension was inferred by Amato et al (2019) to have begun by ca. 27 Ma when the voluminous Uvas basalts were erupted (Clemons, 1979), which was coeval with deposition of the Thurman Formation (Boryta, 1994).…”

Section: Age and Evolution Of The Boundarymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Origin and Tectonic Significance of the Basin and Range–Rio Grande Rift Boundary in Southern New Mexico, USA

Ricketts¹,

Amato²,

Gavel³

2021

GSAT

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Cenozoic extension in the western UnitedStates occurred within two iconic domains: the Basin and Range and Rio Grande rift. These provinces merge in southern New Mexico to form an interconnected zone of extension, although the existence, location, and nature of the boundary between the two provinces are uncertain. In southern New Mexico, existing thermochronologic, geologic, and geophysical data sets, combined with thermal modeling of zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) data, define a subvertical, 30-40-kmwide boundary that extends through the lithosphere to depths of at least 100 km. Thermal modeling indicates Proterozoic basement in the upper crust of the southeastern Basin and Range exceeded 225 °C during Oligocene magmatism, resetting ZHe dates and creating a thermal boundary that coincides with independent geologic and geophysical data sets. Although many aspects of this boundary are transient, others may become permanent features to define a lithospheric-scale boundary prone to reactivation during future tectonism. This assessment of the boundary supports models in which the southern Rio Grande rift is a separate structural entity from the adjacent Basin and Range, and this region provides an exceptional case study for understanding how extensional lithosphericscale boundaries evolve to become stable features of continents.

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Section: Age and Evolution Of The Boundarymentioning

confidence: 99%