Mid-Tertiary magmatism of the Toquima caldera complex and vicinity, Nevada: development of explosive high-K, calc-alkaline magmas in the central Great Basin, USA

Abstract

The Toquima caldera complex (TCC) lies near the middle of a west-northwest-trending belt of Oligocene to early Miocene volcanic rocks that stretches from southwestern Utah to west-central Nevada. Three overlapping to eccentrically nested calderas, called Moores Creek, Mt. Jefferson, and Trail Canyon, comprise the TCC. The calderas formed due to eruption of the tuffs of Moores Creek, Mt. Jefferson, and Trail Canyon at 27.2 Ma, 26.4 Ma, and 23.6 Ma, respectively. In total, 900+ km³ of magma was erupted from the complex. The high-silica rhyolite tuff of Moores Creek is the least strongly zoned in silica (78.0–76.8 wt% SiO₂), and the tuff of Mt. Jefferson is the most strongly zoned (77.5–65.3 wt% SiO₂); the tuff of Trail Canyon is moderately zoned (75.9–70.4 wt% SiO₂). All eruptive products contain plagioclase, sanidine, quartz, biotite, Fe−Ti oxides, and accessory zircon, allanite, and apatite. Amphibole and clinopyroxene join the assemblage where compositions of bulk tuff are ≲ 74 wt% SiO₂ and ≲ 70 wt% SiO₂ respectively. Proportions and compositions of phenocrysts vary systematically with composition of the host tuff. Compositional zoning trends of sanidine and biotite suggest the presence of a high Ba-bearing magmatic component at depth or its introduction into the Mt. Jefferson and Trail Canyon magma chambers at a late stage of magmatic evolution. Rocks of the complex constitute a high-K, calc-alkaline series.

Empirical data from other systems and results of published phase-equilibria and thermo-chemical studies suggest that magma erupted from the TCC was oxidized (∼ 1.5 to 2.0 log units above NNO), thermally zoned (∼ 700–730° C for high-silica rhyolite to ∼800–840° C for dacite) and water-rich (5.0–5.5. wt% H₂O for highsilica rhyolite to ∼ 4.0 wt% H₂O for dacite). Geologic relations and amphibole compositional data are consistent with total pressures of 1.5 to 2 kbars.

Onset of mid-Tertiary magmatism in vicinity of the TCC began with intrusion of a small granodioritic stock and a northeast-trending dike swarm at 37–34 Ma. The dikes are broadly bimodal assemblage of silicic andesite and rhyolite. Voluminous ash-flow-tuff magmatism commenced at 32.3 Ma and persisted for ∼9 m.y. without eruption of intermediate to mafic magmas (<62 wt% SiO₂). As such, the TCC is probably a remnant of a more extensive complex of calderas whose identities are obscured by recurrent volcanism and by late Tertiary basin-range block faulting. The change from small-volume, broadly bimodal volcanism to voluminous outpourings of silicic magma is similar to that which occurred in east-central Nevada, where magmatism and rapid crustal extension overlapped in space and time. Although supracrustal extension at the time of formation of the TCC apears limited, the comparable magmatic histories and compositional characteristics of rocks erupted from east-central Nevada and the TCC suggest that fundamentally similar magmatic processes acted at depth and that extension may have been more pronounced in the lower and middle crust below the TCC and vicinity. Because strain is partitioned heterogeneously in the upper crust, the magmatic record, rather than surface structural features, may reflect better the actual state of crustal stress during volcanism.

Mid-Tertiary magmatism in the TCC and vicinity probably began with intrusion of mantle-derived basalt into the lower crust, which led to crustal heating, local partial melting of crustal rocks, and intrusion of rhyolitic melts and contaminated basaltic differentiates (alkalirich andesite) into the upper crust. With time, intrusion to extrusion ratios increased as silicic melts retarded the rise of mafic magmas and mixing between mafic magmas and crustal partial melts occurred. The oxidized, water-rich, and low-temperature nature of these magmas reflects protracted crustal residence and interaction prior to eruption. The resulting hybridized and differentiated magmas ultimately erupted to form extensive deposits of silicic ash-flow tuff. By contrast, silicic lavas are scarce possibly because of coherent roof rocks that limited volatile degassing between major pyroclastic eruptions.