back to Llano Uplift

 

Late Plutonism

Late stage granite plutons and small intrusive bodies intrude metamorphic rocks of all three lithotectonic domains, indicating accretion by ~1.1 Ga (Mosher, 1998). The oldest syn-tectonic granites range from 1126 to 1116 Ma in age, whereas post-tectonic granites are 1116 to 1070 Ma in age.  A low-pressure, mid-amphibolite facies (525-625o C at P ~0.3 GPa) metamorphism is associated with the granite plutons (Carlson, 1998)

 


 

The oldest 1119-1118 Ma plutons are deformed by late stage deformation.  For example, the Wolf Mountain Intrusion in the central uplift is folded by an F5 sycline (left). The Grape Creek pluton in the southeastern uplift is cut by a ductile shear zone forming protomylonitic to ultramylonitic fabrics  (right) (Reed, 1999)

 

In the western uplift, 1126+5/-4 Ma granitic dikes correlated with the late plutons are folded by F5 (Hunt, 2000).  Later pegmatites dated at 1076 Ma cut all structures (Roback et al. 1999).

 


In the southeastern uplift a melarhyolite dike (rhyolite composition but dark in color) dated at 1098 +/- Ma cuts all deformation fabrics (S1-S5) and is undeformed.  Note flow foliation in closeup of dike margin and the cross cutting of the pronounced foliation (Nelis et al., 1989).

 


Late post-tectonic granite plutons, such as Enchanted Rock pictured above, form over 40% of the Llano Uplift exposures. These granites are undeformed internally (right) although the adjacent country rock may show evidence of deformation during intrusion.  These plutons range in age from ~1091 to 1070 Ma (Walker, 1992; Connelly, unpublished work). Plutons younger than 1116 Ma are undeformed internally, although the country rock around plutons as young as 1091 Ma was deformed during intrusion (Reed, 1999)

For more information, see (Reed, 1999), Mosher (1998).