Js. Miller et al., MUSCOVITE-GARNET GRANITES IN THE MOJAVE DESERT - RELATION TO CRUSTAL STRUCTURE OF THE CRETACEOUS ARC, Geology, 24(4), 1996, pp. 335-338
A previously undocumented belt of Upper Cretaceous,primary muscovite-
and garnet-bearing granites is exposed within the Mesozoic batholith o
f the central and western Mojave Desert of California. This granite be
lt occurs more than 140 km west of the better known Cordilleran interi
or belt of primary muscovite-bearing granitoids, and the central and w
estern Mojave granites are derived from much different sources, possib
ly Pelona-Orocopia-Rand schists or similar rocks. Anatexis of Pelona-O
rocopia-Rand schists to produce these granites would require emplaceme
nt of the schists prior to the Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary, the mos
t widely accepted time of schist emplacement. The granite belt may als
o correlate with similar rocks in the southernmost Sierra Nevada and e
astern Salinia. The distinctive isotopic and petrologic character of t
he granite belt reflects differences in crustal structure between the
Mojave-southern Sierra Nevada and the central Sierra Nevada portions o
f the Cretaceous continental margin batholith, Possible correlation of
this belt with rocks in eastern Salinia also places further limits on
the pre-early Tertiary position of Salinia.