Evidence for 40–41 km of dextral slip on the southern Death Valley fault: Implications for the Eastern California shear zone and extensional tectonics

Abstract

Recognition of a pair of pre-Neogene markers together with analysis of published data indicate ~40 km of dextral slip across the southern Death Valley fault zone, California, USA. Stratigraphic overlaps on fault rocks indicate much of the dextral slip predates the late Miocene, placing a significant fraction of the dextral slip in the same time window as regional extension and challenging interpretations that the modern strike-slip system became active post–6–3 Ma. However, these results are consistent with regional evidence that dextral transtension began by ca. 12 Ma.