Full Title: Synextensional Magmatism in the Basin and Range Province: A Case Study from the Eastern Great Basin
Authors: Phillip B. Gans, Gail A. Mahood, and Elizabeth Schermer
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In this paper, the authors focus on the relationship between extension and magmatism in the Basin and Range province of the western United States. First, they describe in detail the timing rate(s) and character of volcanism and extensional faulting within a representative part of the province in the eastern Great Basin. They then synthesize the Cenozoic histories of a large number of other areas in the Basin and Range and point out the striking similarities in their tectonic and magmatic evolution. The close temporal and spatial association of extension and magmatism are explained by an "active rifting" model, wherein asthenospheric upwelling causes partial melting in the upper mantle and thermal weakening of the lithosphere, which then gravitationally collapses and decompresses mid-crustal magma chambers.
Published: 5/15/1989
ISBN Number: 0813722330
Pages: 53
Product Category: Special Papers