Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sager, W. W. Articles by Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Paleomagnetic evidence of Tertiary tectonic rotation in west Texas

¹ Departments of Oceanography and Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843
² Department of Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843
³ Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 Delegació n Coyoacan, D.F., México

Paleomagnetic samples obtained from Rawls Formation (26.9-28.3 Ma) lava flows of Bofecillos volcano in west Texas give a paleomagnetic pole at lat 76.5°N, long 348.0°E (₉₅ = 9.4°; N = 20). This pole is displaced significantly from North American reference poles of similar age, implying a clockwise rotation of 21.3° ± 8.8°. It is also consistent with other paleomagnetic data from west Texas. We argue that the discordance is a result of vertical-axis crustal rotation in west Texas caused by shear deformation that was probably related to Basin and Range tectonics.