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ABSTRACT Paleomagnetic data from the Insular superterrane and related terranes in the western Canadian and northern U.S. Cordillera seem to indicate large-magnitude (~4000 km), northward translations along the western margin of the North American Cordillera in the Late Cretaceous (the Baja–British Columbia [Baja-BC] hypothesis). This model postulates that initial collision of the Insular superterrane occurred in southern California and/or northern Baja Mexico prior to dextral translation along the western North American margin from 85 to 55 Ma. A major unresolved problem with the Baja-BC hypothesis is that faults that could have accommodated large-magnitude translation are missing or obscured by later Cenozoic faulting and/or sedimentary cover. Here, we explored the deformation record of Late Cretaceous ductile shear zones in southern California with the goal of understanding the timing and kinematics of deformation at this time. We focused on the Alamo Mountain and Piru Creek shear zones, located within the central Transverse Ranges. The kinematics of these shear zones help to elucidate whether southern California was experiencing predominantly dextral or sinistral faulting during the time of postulated large-magnitude northward translation along the western margin of the North American Cordillera. This information in turn allows for assessment and refinement of the Baja-BC hypothesis. We report new field observations and 21 U-Pb laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry zircon ages from deformed and undeformed host rocks and dikes. We find that ductile shear zones in the Alamo Mountain region are localized at the boundary between Paleoproterozoic gneisses and Mesozoic plutons. High-strain rocks consist of quartzofeldspathic mylonites and phyllonites up to 750 m thick, and both shear zones record sinistral strike-slip to sinistral-normal motion with a predominantly top-to-the-NW sense of shear in their present-day orientations. Our data show that the Alamo Mountain and Piru Creek shear zones were active at ca. 76–72 Ma and possibly included an earlier phase of deformation. When Cenozoic block rotations are restored, we find that the Alamo Mountain and Piru Creek shear zones originated as NNW-SSE–striking, moderately ENE-dipping shear zones that formed at midcrustal conditions (500–600 °C and 4 kbar). Structural analysis of the shear zones indicates that the dominant component of motion was sinistral strike-slip and that the dip-slip component of motion was minor. The timing and kinematics of deformation in the Alamo Mountain and Piru Creek shear zones are similar to others in the Southern California Batholith, including the Nacimiento fault, the Mill Canyon window, and the Black Belt and Cucamonga shear zones (eastern San Gabriel Mountains), and the Tumamait shear zone (Pine Mountain block). The presence of this regionally extensive, sinistral shear zone system and the absence of dextral shear zones require reevaluation of the Baja-BC hypothesis in southern California during the Late Cretaceous. 

Abstract Structural analyses combined with U-Pb zircon petrochronology show the influence of arc magmatism on the evolution of two transpressional shear zones in the deep root of the Late Cretaceous Southern California batholith. The mid-crustal Black Belt and lower-crustal Cucamonga shear zones (eastern San Gabriel Mountains, California, USA) formed at ca. 84 Ma, shortly after a large mass of tonalite and granodiorite intruded the lower crust. Both shear zones were active until at least ca. 74 Ma and probably until 72–70 Ma. In the mid-crustal shear zone, rheological contrasts between mingling magmas localized deformation at dike margins. The deformation began as hypersolidus flow in partially crystallized dikes and then transitioned to deformation below the solidus when alternations between viscous creep and brittle faulting produced interlayered pseudotachylyte, cataclasite, and mylonite. As the dikes solidified, strain hardening drove shear zone growth and created thin (10–30 m) high-strain zones and faults that are widely spaced across ~1 km. In contrast, the lower-crustal Cucamonga shear zone was magma-starved, lacks the variety of shear zone fabrics exhibited by its mid-crustal counterpart, and formed by the reactivation of a preexisting fabric that records pure reverse displacements at 124–93 Ma. The two shear zones created a partitioned style of intra-arc transpression where sinistral-reverse (mostly arc-parallel with some arc-oblique) displacements were accommodated on moderately dipping faults and shear zones and arc-normal shortening was accommodated by coeval folds. This study shows how a magmatic surge influenced the architecture and style of Late Cretaceous transpression in the Southern California batholith, including the evolution of high-strain zones that record alternating episodes of brittle, ductile, and hypersolidus deformation. The results illustrate how magmatism localizes strain on deep-crustal faults during orogenesis and oblique convergence. 

Abstract We explore the growth of lower-continental crust by examining the root of the Southern California Batholith, an ~500-km-long, paleo-arc segment of the Mesozoic California arc that lies between the southern Sierra Nevada Batholith and northern Peninsular Ranges Batholith. We focus on the Cucamonga and San Antonio terranes located in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains where the deep root of the Mesozoic arc is exhumed by the Quaternary Cucamonga thrust fault. This lower- to mid-crustal cross section of the arc allows us to investigate (1) the timing and rates of Mesozoic arc construction, (2) mechanisms of sediment incorporation into the lower crust, and (3) the interplay between mantle input and crustal recycling during arc magmatic surges. We use U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology of four quartzites and one metatexite migmatite to investigate the origin of the lower-crustal Cucamonga metasedimentary sequence, and U-Pb zircon petrochronology of 26 orthogneisses to establish the timing of arc magmatism and granulite-facies metamorphism. We find that the Cucamonga metasedimentary sequence shares broad similarities to Sur Series metasedimentary rocks in the Salinia terrane, suggesting that both were deposited in a late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic forearc or intra-arc basin marginal to the Southern California Batholith. This basin was progressively underthrust beneath the arc during the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous and was metamorphosed during two high-grade (>750 °C), metamorphic events at ca. 124 Ma and 89–75 Ma. These metamorphic events were associated with 100 m.y. of arc magmatism that lasted from 175 Ma to 75 Ma and culminated in a magmatic surge from ca. 90 Ma to 75 Ma. Field observations and petrochronology analyses indicate that partial melting of the underthrust Cucamonga metasedimentary rocks was triggered by the emplacement of voluminous, mid-crustal tonalites and granodiorites. Partial melting of the metasedimentary rocks played a subsidiary role relative to mantle input in driving the Late Cretaceous magmatic flare-up event. 

Paleomagnetic data from the Insular and related terranes in the western Canadian and northern U.S. Cordillera indicate large-magnitude (~4000 km) northward translations along or adjacent (offshore) to western North America in the Late Cretaceous. In some widely debated ‘Baja-BC’ models, the Insular terranes are hypothesized to have collided with southern California and northern Baja California before being translated northward along dextral faults from 85–55 Ma. However, a major unresolved problem with Baja-BC controversy is the absence of recognized dextral faults in southern California capable of accommodating such large-magnitude northward translations. Here we synthesize new data from all known Mesozoic shear zones and faults within the southern California region – specifically, the Sawmill, Tumamait, Alamo Mountain–Piru Creek, Black Belt, and Eastern Peninsular Ranges shear zones – along with previously published data from the Cuyamaca–Laguna Mountain shear zone. These shear zones represent a system of intra-arc ductile shear zones and thrust faults active during the middle to Late Cretaceous. Field observations, microstructures, electron backscatter diffraction–derived crystallographic vorticity axis analysis, and titanite petrochronology reveal two distinct deformation phases: an early phase (120–90 Ma) of mostly arc-normal shortening with a minor dextral component, and a later phase (90–70 Ma) of widespread sinistral transpressional deformation accompanied by high-flux arc magmatism. We find no evidence for large-magnitude, dextral shear zones that could have translated Insular terranes northward. Instead, our findings support “offshore” models in which the Insular terranes were translated northward along structures farther west with little to no interaction with the southern California margin. 

Structural analyses combined with U‐Pb zircon petrochronology show the influence of arc magmatism on the evolution of two transpressional shear zones in the deep root of the Late Cretaceous Southern California batholith.  The mid-crustal Black Belt and lower-crustal Cucamonga shear zones (eastern San Gabriel Mountains) formed at ~84 Ma shortly after a large mass of tonalite and granodiorite intruded the lower crust.  Both shear zones were active until at least ~74 Ma and probably until 72-70 Ma.  In the mid-crustal shear zone, rheological contrasts between mingling magmas localized deformation at dike margins.  The deformation began as hypersolidus flow in partially crystallized dikes and then transitioned to deformation below the solidus when alternations between viscous creep and brittle faulting produced interlayered pseudotachylyte, cataclasite, and mylonite. As the dikes solidified, strain hardening drove shear zone growth and created thin (10-30 m) high-strain zones and faults that are widely spaced across ~1 km. In contrast, the lower-crustal Cucamonga shear zone was magma-starved, lacks the variety of shear zone fabrics exhibited by its mid-crustal counterpart, and formed by the reactivation of a pre-existing fabric that records pure reverse displacements at 124-93 Ma.  The two shear zones created a partitioned style of intra-arc transpression where sinistral-reverse (mostly arc-parallel with some arc-oblique) displacements were accommodated on moderately dipping faults and shear zones and arc-normal shortening was accommodated by coeval folds.  This study shows how a magmatic surge influenced the architecture and style of Late Cretaceous transpression in the Southern California batholith, including the evolution of high-strain zones that record alternating episodes of brittle, ductile, and hypersolidus deformation.  The results illustrate how magmatism localizes strain on deep-crustal faults during orogenesis and oblique convergence. We conducted U-Pb analyses on 11 zircon-bearing samples to determine the timing of magmatism, metamorphism, and deformation in the Black Belt and Cucamonga shear zones. Some zircons exhibited interior core and rim domains that reflect a history of deformation and metamorphism at amphibolite- to granulite-facies conditions.  The methods used in this study closely follow those outlined in Kylander-Clark et al. (2013) and are described in detail by Schwartz et al. (2024b).  U-Pb ratios were collected at the University of California, Santa Barbara using a Nu Plasma multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICPMS) with a Photon Machines 193 ArF excimer laser with HelEx cell. Spot size and frequency were 35 µm and 4 Hz, respectively.  The primary standard (91500) was accessed every 10 analyses to correct for in-run fractionation of Pb/U and Pb isotopes. A secondary standard (Temora-2) was analyzed every ~10 analyses to assess data reproducibility. Uncertainties are reported as 2SE internal calculated from Iolite and IsoplotR (Paton et al., 2010; Vermeesch, 2018).  We assigned a 2% uncertainty to all dates for interlab comparisons to account for the reproducibility of standards. Zircon ages are reported using the ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U date for analyses <1100 Ma, and the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb date for those >1100 Ma. For the former, discordance is calculated as the percent difference between the ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U and ²⁰⁶Pb/2³⁸U dates. Corrections for minor amounts of common Pb in zircon were made on ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U dates following the methods of Tera and Wasserburg (1972) using measured ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb and ²³⁸U/²⁰⁶Pb ratios and an age-appropriate Pb isotopic composition of Stacey and Kramers (1975).  Zircons with large common Pb corrections (e.g., analyses interpreted as having ~20% or greater contribution from common Pb) were discarded. No corrections were made on ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb dates due to large uncertainties in measured ²⁰⁴Pb. Cathodoluminescence images were obtained using a FEI Quanta scanning electron microscope before and after ablation to evaluate analyzed areas and compare them with growth textures. Where possible, we targeted all growth domains and report ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb-corrected ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of texturally homogeneous populations. In a few cases where a laser spots overlapped multiple domains we report the data in tables but did not considered them in weighted mean calculations. Concordia plots and error-weighted average ages are shown in the accompanying journal article. Trace elements were measured simultaneously with U-Pb isotopes by LA-SF-ICPMS using Zr as the internal standard and nominal values of 43.14 % Zr. Trace element data were reduced using Iolite (Paton et al., 2010, 2011) and concentrations calculated relative to NIST-612 as a primary standard. BHVO-2G was analyzed as a secondary standard to assess reproducibility of the data. For zircon, model Ti-in-zircon temperatures were calculated using the Ferry and Watson (Ferry and Watson, 2007) calibration. Samples of granulite-facies rocks from the Cucamonga terrane contain rutile, allowing us to estimate the activity of TiO₂ to be one.  For samples that lack rutile we assume a value of 0.6 based on the presence of ilmenite. # Data from: Influence of magmatism on the architecture of transpressional faults and shear zones in the deep crust of the Late Cretaceous Southern California batholith [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jh9w0vtn6](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jh9w0vtn6) ## Description of the data and file structure All isotopic, geochemical, and trace element data were collected as part of a study to determine the timing of magmatism, metamorphism, and deformation in the Black Belt and Cucamonga shear zones in the southeastern San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California. Some zircons exhibited interior core and rim domains that reflect a history of deformation and metamorphism at amphibolite- to granulite-facies conditions. Where possible, we used zircon trace-element concentrations and ratios, particularly U (ppm), U/Th, Gd/Yb, and Dy/Yb, to distinguish metamorphic age populations. For more information on methods and an interpretation of the data, please see the publication in the journal *GSA Bulletin* by Klepeis et al. (2025). ### Files and variables #### File: Supplementary_Table_1_U-Pb_zircon_FINAL.xlsx **Description:** The table in the data sheet tab titled 'Table 1. U-Pb data unknowns' presents all U-Pb isotope data for the 11 samples analyzed plus the standards used. All standards are listed at the bottom of the table. The zircon standards include: Plesovice(Ples), which is used as a zircon U-Pb age standard; 91500, which is a primary zircon reference standard used for age normalization and reproducibility; Australian zircon suite (AusZ), which is a zircon age standard that is used as a secondary check on accuracy; GJ-1 zircon (GJ), which is a widely used zircon standard, the Malinau/Malim zircon suite (Mali) which is an additional age validation standard. Trace element standards include NIST 612 (N612), which is a synthetic silicate glass standard (see more information below), and BHVO, which is a natural basalt reference standard (see more information below). In the 'Table 1. U-Pb data unknowns' tab, n/a means not applicable. This refers to the lack of best ages and absolute error calculations for the standards N612 and BVHO. This information isn't applicable because these are non-zircon trace element standards, so no age is calculated. In contrast, the zircon standards (91500, AusZ, GJ, Mali, Plesovice) all have well-known ages, so best age and absolute error calculations are included. In the Table 1 data tab, n.d. means not detected. Only 1 average value and a standard deviation for the trace element analyses are provided for each sample in columns AP and AQ, respectively (the rest of the cells are blank). The tab titled 'NIST 612' shows data that used the widely used synthetic glass standard from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. The standard is commonly analyzed to calibrate trace-element concentrations during LA-ICP-MS work. The tab titled 'BHVO' reports data from a well-characterized natural basalt reference material (from Hawaii). This is used as a secondary standard to monitor analytical accuracy and precision. In the BHVO data tab, n.d. means not detected. Isotopic ratios and Apparent ages are not corrected for common lead. For the 206Pb/238U ages, common lead was corrected by inferring the initial Pb-composition from the Stacey and Kramers (1975) two stage isotope evolution model (Vermeesch, 2018). Analyses with greater than 10% uncertainty in 207Pb/206Pb age (1-sigma) or 5% uncertainty in 206Pb/238U age (1-sigma), 20% discordance, and/or 5% reverse discordance are excluded. Accepted ages were calculated by using 206Pb/238U ages for grains younger than 1100 Ma and 207Pb/206Pb ages for grains older than 1100 Ma. ##### Variables * U, U/Th, 238U/206U, 207Pb/206Pb, 207Pb/206Pb vs 238U/206Pb isotopic ratios, apparent ages and absolute errors. * Trace-element data for P, Ti, V, Y, Zr, Nb, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Ta Abbreviations include: ppm is parts per million, abs is absolute, Ma is millions of years, abs err is absolute error, error corr is error correction. ## Code/software Uncertainties were calculated using Iolite and IsoplotR (Paton et al., 2010; Vermeesch, 2018) 

The Late Cretaceous paleogeography of Southern California potentially plays a central role in resolving conflicting models for postulated large-magnitude dextral translations along the western margin of North America (the Baja-BC hypothesis) and the beginning of the Laramide orogeny. The Mt. Pinos sector of the Southern California Batholith provides a unique window into this time because it preserves evidence for a kinematically and temporally partitioned fault system that includes a ductile shear zone (the Tumamait shear zone) and a ductile-to-brittle thrust fault (the Sawmill thrust). These two structures accommodated intra-arc strain during the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene during three phases of deformation (D3-D5) that are superimposed on older (D1 and D2) structures. D1 structures only occur in Pre-Mesozoic rocks and provide a reference frame for understanding subsequent deformation phases. D2 structures form part of a previously unmapped dextral-normal shear zone that predates the Tumamait shear zone. The initiation of displacements within the Tumamait shear zone is recorded by the formation of D3 mylonites which everywhere record reverse-sinistral movement. Petrochronology of syn- D3 titanites give lower-intercept 206Pb/238U dates ranging from 77.0 to 74.0 Ma and upper amphibolite-facies temperatures ranging from 699 to 718°C. Subsequent folding of the D3 mylonites during D4 was synchronous with late-stage, peraluminous magmatism at ca. 70 Ma. Near the Sawmill thrust, the D4 event resulted in a S4 crenulation cleavage and asymmetric, overturned folds that record top-to-the-NE tectonic displacements. NE-directed thrusting along the Sawmill thrust occurred at 67-66 Ma is interpreted to have been kinematically linked to D4 deformation. This thrust placed upper plate rocks of the Southern California Batholith above the Late Cretaceous Pelona schist. We interpret deformational fabrics in the Mt. Pinos area to record a kinematically partitioned, transpressional system that involved sinistral-reverse shearing (D3) closely followed by folding and arc-directed thrusting (D4-D5). We speculate that D3 structures developed in response to opening of the Kula-Farallon plate boundary and we hypothesize that the Kula-Farallon-North American plate triple junction was located at the present-day location of the Garlock Fault at ca. 85 Ma thereby segmenting the arc at this location. This geometry resulted in in dextral shearing in the Sierra Nevada Batholith (and northward) and sinistral shearing in the Southern California Batholith and Baja California. Continued subduction of the Farallon plate beneath the Southern California Batholith led to a major arc flare-up event from 90-70 Ma which was associated with D3 sinistral transpression. We interpret D3-D5 structures to record oblique convergence and the underthrusting of the Hess oceanic plateau beneath the Southern California Batholith at ca. 70-66 Ma. Our model for the segmentation of the California arc is compatible with a moderate (1000-1600 km), ‘Sierra-BC’ translation model in which the Insular superterrane was located north of the Southern California Batholith in the Late Cretaceous. 

We explore the growth of lower-continental crust by examining the root of the Southern California Batholith, a ~ 500-km-long, paleo-arc segment of the Mesozoic California arc that lies between the southern Sierra Nevada batholith and northern Peninsular Ranges Batholith. We focus on the Cucamonga and San Antonio terranes located in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains where the deep root of the Mesozoic arc is exhumed by the Quaternary Cucamonga thrust fault. This lower- to mid-crustal cross section of the arc allows us to investigate: 1) the timing and rates of Mesozoic arc construction, 2) mechanisms of sediment incorporation into the lower crust, and 3) the interplay between mantle input and crustal recycling during arc magmatic surges. We use detrital zircon geochronology of 4 quartzites and paragneisses to investigate the origin of the lower-crustal Cucamonga paragneiss sequence, and U-Pb petrochronology of 26 orthogneisses to establish the timing of arc magmatism and granulite-facies metamorphism. We find that the Cucamonga paragneisses share broad similarities to Sur Series metasedimentary rocks in the Salinia terrane, suggesting that both were deposited in a Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic forearc or intra-arc basin. This basin was progressively underthrust beneath the arc during the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous and was metamorphosed during two high-grade (>750°C) migmatization events at ca. 124 and 89–75 Ma. These metamorphic events were associated with 100 m.y. of arc magmatism that lasted from 175 to 75 Ma and culminated in a magmatic surge from ca. 90–75 Ma. Field observations and petrochronology analyses indicate that partial melting of the underthrust Cucamonga metasedimentary rocks was triggered by emplacement of voluminous, mid-crustal tonalites and granodiorites. Partial melting of the metasedimentary rocks played a subsidiary role relative to mantle input in driving the Late Cretaceous magmatic flare-up event. Our observations demonstrate that tectonic incorporation of sediments into the lower crust led to structural, compositional and rheological changes in the architecture of the arc including vertical thickening. These structural changes created weak zones that preferentially focused deformation and promoted present-day reactivation along the Cucamonga thrust fault. 

The Cotton Brook landslide, located in Mt. Mansfield State Forest near Waterbury, Vermont is the state’s largest documented landslide. The site’s stratigraphy is characterized by glaciolacustrine sediment overlying glacial till and bedrock. When the hillslope initially failed in 2019, it mobilized up to 200,000 m3 of surficial material downstream toward the Waterbury reservoir. This study spans from 2014 to 2023 and integrates field-based and UAS-derived data to 1) identify the mechanisms of continued mass wasting following the 2019 slip and 2) develop a workflow that allows us to estimate the magnitudes and rates of topographic change linked to diverse styles of earthflow. We utilized ArcGIS, Metashape Pro and CloudCompare softwares to conduct topographic differencing techniques with DEMs and 3-dimensional point clouds. We compared their outcomes to refine the workflow and quantify uncertainty. Vertical change measurements derived from DEMs over-estimated topographic change by up to ~10% when compared to values from 3-D point cloud results. We attribute this discrepancy to errors introduced by georeferencing and interpolation of elevation values. The latest volumetric estimates detail material redistributed from the hillside to the surrounding watershed. For instance, volumes extrapolated from ArcGIS and CloudCompare for material accumulated at the toe are approximately 135,000 m3 and 126,000 m3, respectively. Calculated uncertainties ranging from 1 cm – ~50 cm from CloudCompare were mapped spatially. To ground truth our geospatial analysis results, we mapped the main active earthflow processes driving sediment movement. The predominant mechanisms contributing to mass wasting include the collapse of thick piles of glacial lake sediment bordering the main slip and deepening gullies on the slip surface. Our quantitative analyses suggest the collapse of glacial material is accelerating, in part due to recent historic flooding. Gully features began as shallow rills and have evolved to reach depths of up to 1.5 m and are responsible for channelizing sediment into Cotton Brook. Our findings provide an opportunity to quantify material displaced and make predictions about how the sediment budget in the watershed and the Waterbury reservoir is impacted by the Cotton Brook landslide. 

We investigate the deformation conditions of coeval mylonites and pseudotachylytes (pst) exposed in the brittle-ductile transition (BDT) in the Black Belt Shear Zone (BBSZ) in the Southern California Batholith using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) imaging, and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis. We selected four representative samples along a strain gradient of the BBSZ. The BBSZ is a transpressional shear zone developed within hornblende and biotite tonalites and diorites. The shear zone is discontinuous over a ~ 1.5 - 2 km wide zone, and kinematic indicators show oblique top-to-SW, sinistral-reverse to thrust-sense motion. Metamorphic titanite grains aligned within the mylonitic fabric date the deformation to ~ 83 Ma. SEM and EBSD data show mm-thick seams of pst contained within and parallel to mylonitic foliation, and mutually overprinting relationships between brittle and plastic deformation. We observe a brittle overprint of mylonitic fabric in sample 46 and fractured porphyroclasts reworked into mylonitic fabric in samples 45 and 47. EBSD maps from sample 45 and 47 show decreasing modal percentages of hydrous mafic minerals (biotite and hornblende) in the mylonites with proximity to pst seams, suggesting these melted to form pst. In pst seams, there are embayed and rounded/elliptical plagioclase survivor clasts and acicular and aligned biotite microlites parallel to mylonitic fabric (45 & 47). EBSD maps show pst survivor clasts with the same shear sense as the mylonitic fabric, suggesting co-development. Pole figures show weak CPO in hornblende and plagioclase of sample 46. Samples 45 and 47 have no CPO present in plagioclase, however samples 45, 46, and 47 show strong CPO patterns for quartz that are consistent with prism slip. We interpret dislocation creep as the deformation mechanism accommodating plastic deformation in host mylonites. Quartz CPO patterns provide evidence of mylonitic deformation at temperatures ~ 600o C, and the presence of plagioclase survivor clasts as evidence of pst temperatures of ~1100oC. The kinematically consistent sense of shear between pst and host mylonitic fabrics suggests coeval development that indicate shifts from brittle to ductile deformation. Our results suggest periodic pst-generating events involving melting of hydrous mafic minerals aided the development of coeval mylonites and pst in the BDT. 

Paleomagnetic data from the Insular superterrane and related terranes in the western Canadian and northern US Cordillera argue for large-magnitude (~4000 km), northward translations along the western margin of the North American Cordillera in the Late Cretaceous (the Baja-BC hypothesis). This model postulates that initial collision of the Insular superterrane occurred in southern California and/or northern Baja Mexico prior to dextral translation along the western North American margin from 85-55 Ma. A major unresolved problem with the Baja-BC hypothesis is that faults that could have accommodated large-magnitude translation are missing or obscured by later Cenozoic faulting and/or sedimentary cover. Here, we investigate the deformation record of Late Cretaceous ductile shear zones in southern California with the goal of understanding the timing and kinematics of deformation at this time. We focus on the Alamo Mountain and Piru Creek shear zones, located within the central Transverse Ranges. We report new field observations and twenty-one U-Pb LA-ICPMS zircon ages from deformed and undeformed host rocks and dikes with the goal of documenting the timing of deformation. Our data show that the Alamo Mountain and Piru Creek shear zones were active at ~76-72 Ma and possibly included an earlier phase of deformation. Both shear zones record sinistral strike-slip to sinistral-normal motion in their present-day orientations. When Cenozoic block rotations are restored, we find that the Alamo Mountain and Piru Creek shear zones originated as NNW-SSE striking, moderately ENE dipping shear zones that formed at mid-crustal conditions (500-600C and 4 kbars). Structural analysis of the shear zones indicates that the dominant component of motion was sinistral strike-slip and that the dip-slip component of motion was minor. The timing and kinematics of deformation in the Alamo Mountain and Piru Creek shear zones are similar to other Late Cretaceous shear zones in the Southern California Batholith. When palinspastic reconstructions are considered, these shear zones comprise a regionally extensive shear zone system over 200 km long. The presence of this regionally extensive, sinistral shear zone system and the absence of dextral shear zones requires reevaluation of the Baja-BC hypothesis in southern California during the Late Cretaceous.