Geologic setting and lithologic column of the Cajon Pass Deep Drillhole

Abstract

The Cajon Pass Deep Drillhole penetrates a late Tertiary basin developed on crystalline basement in the SW Mojave Desert, 4 km from the San Andreas fault. Cores, continuous cuttings and geophysical logs from phase I show great diversity in rock types, structure, and alteration. The hole encountered Cajon formation arkoses; granodiorite/tonalite; unusual megacrystic granite and augen gneiss; granitic and pelitic gneisses with quartzite; quartzofeldspathic orthogneiss cut by sheets of hornblende gabbro; and interlayered mafic and quartzofeldspathic orthogneisses with rare calcsilicate intervals. Foliation and compositional layering have low dips throughout the column and layered gneisses contain 10-cm-scale recumbent folds. Faults and alteration zones bound several rock units with low apparent dips. Basement cores are typically cut by steep fractures, <1 mm wide, that contain zeolites±calcite or chlorite-epidote. Fractures and faults decrease in abundance with depth.

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