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Rice University

Structural geology of the southern Silurian hills, San Bernardino County, Calif

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

In the southern part of the Silurian Hills, seven lithologic units are delineated. They are an earlier Precambrian gneiss complex, the later Precambrian Pahrump Group, a Precambrian (?) metasedimentary complex, a Precambrian (?) metadioritic and metasedimentary complex, the Riggs Formation, basic plutonic rocks, and acidic plutonic rocks. Metamorphism reaches high greenschist to low amphibolite grade with an overprint of contact metamorphism caused by the intrusion of the acidic plutonic rocks. The Riggs thrust fault separates the Pahrump Group, which is in the lower plate, from all of the other units. The upper plate rocks show a more complex folding history than the lower plate rocks. Two quite different types of movement have occurred along the Riggs thrust. The first occurred in late Mesozoic time, was a compressional event, moved in a north or northeast direction, formed a sharp contact with plastic deformation rather than brecciation, and can be seen in the southern Silurian Hills. The second occurred in the Tertiary, was a gravitational event, moved south, formed a chaos structure in the lower plate, and can be seen in the northern Silurian Hills.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts
Level thesis:degree_level
Masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Natural Sciences
Grantor
Rice University
Year dc:date.issued
1971

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Abbott, Earl, 1942-
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Burchfiel, B. Clark

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
Language dc:language.iso
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
https://hdl.handle.net/1911/89785
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:repository.rice.edu:1911/89785

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Rice University
Base URL
repository.rice.edu/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Abbott, Earl, 1942-. Structural geology of the southern Silurian hills, San Bernardino County, Calif. Masters thesis, Rice University, 1971. https://hdl.handle.net/1911/89785