Prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service 

Geologic Map of Southwestern Sequoia National Park, 

Tulare County, California 

By Thomas W. Sisson and James G. Moore 

Open-File Report 2013–1096

2013

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey 
ii

Contents 

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................1

Previous Work ................................................................................................................................................1

Metamorphic Rocks .......................................................................................................................................2

Metasedimentary Rocks .............................................................................................................................2

Fossils ........................................................................................................................................................3

Metavolcanic Rocks ...................................................................................................................................4

Structure .....................................................................................................................................................5

Timing of Deformation ................................................................................................................................6

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Assemblages .........................................................................................6

Granitic Rocks ................................................................................................................................................7

Mineral Deposits .......................................................................................................................................10

Surficial Deposits .........................................................................................................................................11

Glaciation .................................................................................................................................................11

Landslides and Debris Flows ....................................................................................................................11

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................12

DESCRIPTION OF MAP UNITS ..................................................................................................................13

SURFICIAL DEPOSITS ...........................................................................................................................13

GRANITIC ROCKS ..................................................................................................................................13

DARK-COLORED ROCKS ...................................................................................................................13

MEDIUM-COLORED ROCKS ...............................................................................................................15

LIGHT-COLORED ROCKS ...................................................................................................................16

METAMORPHIC ROCKS .........................................................................................................................17

METAVOLCANIC ROCKS ....................................................................................................................17

METASEDIMENTARY ROCKS ............................................................................................................18

References ...................................................................................................................................................20

Figure 

1. Concordia plot of U-Pb zircon results for Mineral King pendant metarhyolites. .......................................23

Tables 

1. Lower-intercept concordia ages for Mineral King metavolcanic rocks derived from U-Pb zircon results 

of Busby-Spera (1983). ......................................................................................................................24

2. Weighted-mean 206Pb/238U zircon ages of Mineral King region plutonic rocks, measured by ionmicroprobe. ........................................................................................................................................25

3. Major element oxide (wt.%) and trace element (ppm) analyses of plutonic rocks measured by X-ray 

fluorescence. ......................................................................................................................................26
Geologic Map of Southwestern Sequoia National 

Park, Tulare County, California 

By Thomas W. Sisson and James G. Moore 

Introduction 

This map shows the geology of 675 km2

(260 mi2) on the west slope of the Sierra 

Nevada, California, mainly in Sequoia National Park and Sequoia National Forest. It was 

produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the request of the National Park 

Service to complete the geologic map coverage of Kings Canyon and Sequoia National 

Parks. The area includes the Mineral King 15 topographic quadrangle (sheet 1) and 

strips along the east and northeast edges of the Kaweah 15 topographic quadrangle (sheet 

2), both in Tulare County. Mapping was performed mainly on the 1:24,000-scale 

Mineral King, Silver City, Quinn Peak, Moses Mountain, Case Mountain, and Dennison 

Peak 7.5 topographic quadrangle bases. 

Rocks within the study area are chiefly Cretaceous granites and granodiorites of 

the Sierra Nevada batholith that intruded coherent masses of Mesozoic metasedimentary 

and metavolcanic rocks. Quaternary till and talus are the principal surficial deposits, with 

the exception of a large bouldery alluvial apron near the southwest corner of the map 

area. The study area includes the headwaters of the Kaweah River (East and South 

Forks), Tule River (North Fork and North Fork of the Middle Fork), and the Little Kern 

River. Relief is considerable, with elevations spanning from 1,500 feet along the Middle 

Fork Kaweah River to 12,432 feet at the summit of Florence Peak along the crest of the 

Great Western Divide. 

Previous Work 

The map area abuts previously mapped areas to the north (Giant Forest and Triple 

Divide Peak 15 geologic quadrangles; Sisson and Moore, 1994; Moore and Sisson, 

1987) and east (Kern Peak 15 geologic quadrangle; Moore and Sisson, 1985). 

Metamorphic rocks near the village of Mineral King in the headwaters of the East Fork 

Kaweah River were mapped in reconnaissance by Knopf and Thelen (1905) and in detail 

by Christensen (1959, 1963), Dillon (unpub. data 1969), and Busby-Spera (1983, 1984a, 

1984b). These maps agree in the distribution and general types of metamorphic rocks, 

but differ in purpose and emphasis. The Christensen map (1959, 1963) highlights 

structures and metamorphic assemblages; the J. Dillon map (unpub. data, 1969) groups 

metamorphic rocks into informal formations on the basis of their protoliths and 

recognizes additional map-scale folds not shown by Christensen (1959, 1963); the BusbySpera map (1983, 1984a, 1984b) emphasizes eruptive and depositional environments of 

the metamorphic protoliths. The present map benefits from those previous studies, as 
2

well as from 1:24,000-scale topographic bases and high-resolution digital orthophoto 

quadrangles that were unavailable for the earlier efforts. Other previous studies include 

geologic maps supporting USGS mineral-resource assessments by M.G. Sawlan and 

K.M. Ort (unpub. data, 1982) in the headwaters of the Tule River and by du Bray and 

Dellinger (1981) in the Golden Trout Wilderness in the southeast part of the map area. 

Matthes (1965) discusses the Pleistocene glacial history and landforms of Sequoia 

National Park and vicinity, including the headwaters of the East and South Forks of the 

Kaweah, the Little Kern, and Kern Rivers. Previous work on paleontology and mineral 

deposits is addressed in following sections. 

Metamorphic Rocks 

Five large areas of metamorphic rock, commonly referred to in the Sierra Nevada 

as “metamorphic roof pendants” or “pendants,” underlie about 15 percent of the map 

area. Like elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada, these are steep-sided, elongate masses of 

diverse metamorphic rocks that lie between, and are intruded by, granitic rocks. The 

Mineral King pendant spans the north-south length of the map area near its eastern 

margin, extending short distances north into the Triple Divide Peak 15 quadrangle 

(Moore and Sisson, 1987) and south into the Camp Nelson 7.5 quadrangle (du Bray and 

Dellinger, 1981). The south ends of the Sequoia and Sheep Ridge pendants enter the map 

area from the north and northwest, respectively, near Paradise Ridge and Ash Peaks 

Ridge (Sisson and Moore, 1994), and the north end of the Tule River pendant enters the 

map area from the south at Mountain Home State Forest. The South Fork Kaweah 

pendant is the only large mass of metamorphic rocks wholly enclosed in the map area and 

lies between resistant granites that support Homers Nose and Dennison Mountain. 

Previous workers assigned the metamorphic rocks to the Triassic to Jurassic Kings 

sequence (Bateman and Clark, 1974; Saleeby and others, 1978) or to the Kings terrain 

(Nokleberg, 1983), but recent results discussed herein indicate that metamorphic rocks 

that have Cretaceous protoliths are also present. 

Metasedimentary Rocks 

Most metamorphic rocks within the map area were deposited as submarine 

sediments that lithified to mudstones, siltstones, and sandstones, with thin bands of 

limestone and local areas of quartz-rich sandstone. Graded and rippled sedimentary 

bedding and primary clastic textures are well preserved in metasandstones and 

metasiltstones in the Mineral King pendant (Busby-Spera, 1985). Elsewhere, 

metamorphism and deformation have variably destroyed primary sedimentary structures, 

but relict bedding is widely preserved as compositional bands, typically centimeters to

tens of centimeters thick. Mudstone and siltstone were metamorphosed to slate, phyllite, 

and argillaceous hornfels (slp); areas of abundant thin-bedded fine-grained sandstone and 

siltstone, with subordinate mudstone, were metamorphosed to siliceous hornfels (slhf); 

appreciably calcareous sandstones and siltstones were metamorphosed to calc-silicate 

hornfels and schist (cs). Thick sections of metasandstone having well-preserved clastic 

textures and sedimentary structures are present on the east and west sides of the Mineral 

King pendant. The region on the east, from Franklin Lakes through Tulare Peak to 

Bullfrog Lakes, consists of folded thin- and medium-bedded turbidity current strata (ss) 

from a submarine fan complex (Busby-Spera, 1985). To the southeast these sandstones 
3

grade to finer grained and thinner bedded metasandstone and metasiltstone with 

interstratified metaargillites and calc-silicate rocks (qbcs, undivided quartzofeldspathicmicaceous and calc-silicate metasedimentary rocks). Volcaniclastic metasandstones 

(vss) on the west side of the pendant are thin to medium-bedded and have well-preserved 

metavolcanic felsite grains and locally interstratified metavolcanic breccia beds. These 

volcaniclastic metasandstones appear to grade northward to thin-bedded siliceous 

hornfels (slhf) that crosses the ridge west of Timber Gap, but the area between these 

exposures is concealed by till. To the south, the volcaniclastic metasandstones grade to, 

or are closely interstratified with, schistose metarhyolite on the west side of Farewell Gap 

(K?smr).

Marbles (m), recrystallized after limestones, are present in all of the metamorphic 

pendants. Calc-silicate interbands are common in marble and constitute as much as half 

of some areas shown on the map as marble. Marbles are distinctly continuous along 

strike, but their thicknesses vary considerably; in some places, meter-thick bands of 

marble, or of mixed marble and calc-silicate rock, stretch across hillsides for hundreds of 

meters and connect thicker marble exposures. Marble bands also divide or merge along 

strike, enclosing areas of other metasedimentary rocks, probably a result of tight folding. 

Marble dissolves and weathers cavernously to karst, particularly where marble bands 

cross or follow stream beds, producing sinkholes, dry stream beds, springs, and caves. 

Karst is not well developed where marbles cross hillsides and ridge crests, probably 

indicating that the present configuration of ridges and valleys has great, though not 

quantified, antiquity. 

Metasedimentary rocks have not been subdivided in detail outside of the Mineral 

King region because of poorer exposures and greater degrees of metamorphic 

recrystallization. Quartzofeldspathic biotite schist and hornfels encompass metaargillites 

with interstratified metasiltstones and metasandstones (qb) in some areas. In other areas, 

metasedimentary sections include appreciable but subordinate calc-silicate hornfels and 

schist (qbcs).

Fossils 

Fossils are rare in metamorphic rocks of the Sierra Nevada, but marine 

invertebrates of Late Triassic age have been found at several places within the 

northeastern part of the Mineral King pendant. Reported locations are restricted to 

narrow belts mainly of siliceous and calc-silicate hornfels (but containing lesser amounts 

of slate, argillaceous hornfels, and marble) along the east wall of the Mineral King and 

uppermost Little Kern valleys, spanning from Crystal Creek south to Bullfrog Lakes 

(Franklin and Crystal Creek units of Busby-Spera, 1984a). Before metamorphism, the 

fossiliferous rocks were chiefly thin-bedded fine-grained sandstones and siltstones, with 

subordinate mudstone, and minor limestone (Christensen, 1963), interpreted to have been 

deposited in a marine continental-shelf environment (Busby-Spera, 1984a); pebble 

conglomerate is present near the south end of the belt. Fossils have not been reported 

from the other metamorphic pendants in the map area. 

Turner (1894) and Durrell (1940) report ammonites and the pelecypod Halobia at 

about 9,000 ft elevation along the creek draining Franklin Lakes. Christensen (1959) 

reports fossils from eight localities in this belt including the ammonite Clionites? sp., 

pelecypods Halobia superba, Halobia sp., Monotis? sp., and Paleoneilo sp., and 

brachiopod Spiriferina sp. Busby-Spera (1983, 1984a) collected Late Triassic 
4

brachyopods along Crystal Creek from the first marble bed west of the thick metarhyolite 

tuff (about 9,000 ft elevation). Slate containing the pelecypod Monotis sp. (identified by 

S. Starratt, USGS) and indeterminate weakly deformed ammonites was found during the 

present work at 10,480 ft elevation on the southwest side of the small basin northwest of 

Tulare Peak. Smith (1927) also reported Pseudomonotis subcircularis? and Paleoneilo? 

sp. from the Mineral King area but does not provide locations. 

Metavolcanic Rocks 

The Mineral King area is notable for the abundance, diversity, degree of 

preservation, and accessibility of metamorphosed volcanic rocks. Accordingly, these 

rocks have been studied and interpreted in considerable detail (Christensen, 1959; BusbySpera, 1983, 1984b, 1986). Major units consist of (1) thick sections of light-colored 

metarhyolite tuffs, commonly with relict pyroclastic textures and relict quartz and 

plagioclase phenocrysts; (2) metadacite tuffs, lava flows, and breccias that are darker 

colored than the metarhyolites (because of greater biotite and amphibole abundances) and 

lack relict quartz phenocrysts; and (3) even darker metaandesites that include coarse, 

thick-bedded breccias and lava flows, commonly with prominent relict phenocrysts of 

plagioclase. Metavolcanic units characteristically grade into interstratified volcaniclastic 

and nonvolcanic metasedimentary rocks, leading to somewhat arbitrary contact locations, 

but indicating subaqueous deposition (Busby-Spera, 1984b, 1986). 

The ages of Mineral King metavolcanic rocks and the structure of the pendant are 

considerably revised based on the present and other recent investigations (Starnes and 

others, 2010; Klemetti and others, 2011). Busby-Spera (1983, 1984a, 1986) interprets the 

Mineral King pendant as an eastward-younging homocline of Triassic to Early Jurassic 

metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks. This conclusion is based on Triassic fossils, 

interpreted stratigraphic continuity between metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks, 

concordant U-Pb zircon ages from metavolcanic rocks in upper Crystal Creek (Late 

Triassic) and upper Cliff Creek (Early Jurassic), and multiple low-precision 206Pb/207Pb 

zircon age estimates. Concordia plots of the U-Pb results of Busby-Spera (1983), 

however, are consistent with ~135 Ma eruption ages (Early Cretaceous) for the thick 

metarhyolite tuffs that pass through the village of Mineral King, Vandever Mountain, and 

Timber Gap–lower Monarch Creek, and for a metarhyolite sill that intrudes 

metasandstones near Tulare Peak (fig. 1). Age discordance can be attributed to a minor 

inherited zircon component ~1.6 Ga old, similar to ages inferred for inherited zircons in 

other Sierra Nevada igneous rocks (Saleeby and others, 1990). Direct redating of the 

major metarhyolite tuffs by ion-microprobe U-Pb zircon methods confirms their ~135 Ma 

eruption ages and Proterozoic (1.6 Ga) inheritance (Starnes and others, 2010; Klemetti 

and others, 2011). Additional age revisions are summarized in table 1, and are based on 

concordia plots that assume that discordance is due to a common 1.6±0.3 Ga inherited 

zircon component. These revisions indicate that the majority of Mineral King 

metavolcanic rocks are Cretaceous and Jurassic, although Triassic rocks (^ma) are 

present in the eastern part of the pendant. Hence, there is no simple age progression 

across the pendant, indicating that substantial structural (and possibly stratigraphic) 

complexity exists, although this complexity is only partly resolved at the present map 

scale. 
5

Structure 

Compositional banding in the metamorphic rocks, relict after bedding, has 

predominantly steep to vertical dips with strikes of N. 10 to 30 W., matching the 

overall outcrop trends of the metamorphic pendants and their steep contacts with flanking 

granites. Foliation in schists and slates, and cleavage in hornfels, are parallel to 

compositional banding. Outcrop-scale tight folds can be seen locally in well-bedded 

units (Christensen, 1963); folds with steeply plunging hinges are readily recognized on 

near-horizontal exposures, but folds with near-horizontal hinges are also present. Mapscale folds are present in the Mineral King pendant in metasandstones between Franklin 

and Bullfrog Lakes, and in calc-silicate metasandstones and metasiltstones near Monarch 

Lakes and Mineral Peak (Christensen, 1963; J. Dillon, unpub. data, 1969; Busby-Spera, 

1983, 1984a, 1986). 

Folds are less easily recognized in metavolcanic rocks owing to their obscure 

bedding and lateral facies changes. Nevertheless, J. Dillon (unpub. data, 1969) identified 

a large internally folded synform passing through Vandever Mountain, confirmed by the 

present mapping. The nose of this synform lies north of Vandever Mountain and is 

marked by a distinctive unit of dark thin-to-medium bedded carbonate-silicate pebble 

conglomerates with interstratified thin-bedded pebbly sandstones (ccgl) that wraps 

around the nose of the fold. A Cretaceous metarhyolite tuff (Kmrt) that caps Vandever 

Mountain cores the synform and overlies this bedded metacongomerate-sandstone unit. 

A subordinate syncline and anticline in the metaconglomerate and metatuff are well 

exposed on the north ridge of Vandever Mountain, and a south-plunging anticline within 

interstratfied metatuffs and metasedimentary rocks is well exposed on Vandever 

Mountain’s upper southwest slope. The northward termination of the metarhyolite tuff at 

Vandever Mountain was interpreted as a caldera margin (Busby-Spera, 1984b), but a 

proposed caldera ring fault could not be located during the present mapping, and the fine 

clast size and well-bedded character of the conglomerate-sandstone unit are dissimilar to 

caldera-margin megabreccias. 

The thick Cretaceous metarhyolite tuff (Kmrt) that spans from Timber Gap Creek 

south-southeast across Monarch Creek and Crystal Creek may also core a syncline, at 

least near its south end. This interpretation is based on the Late Triassic age (established 

by fossils) of metasedimentary rocks that flank the Cretaceous metatuff directly to its east 

and west (Christensen, 1959; Busby-Spera, 1983, 1984a), as well as a concordant Late 

Triassic U-Pb zircon age for a metavolcanic rock (^ma) east of the metatuff in upper 

Crystal Creek (Busby-Spera, 1983). The nose of the syncline would lie about 0.5 km 

north of Franklin Creek, where marble with interlayered calc-silicate bands wraps the 

south end of the metarhyolite tuff. No fold hinge has been observed in the metatuff, 

however, so juxtaposition against Triassic strata by faulting cannot be ruled out. 

All previous geologic maps of Mineral King identify a shear zone running down 

the bed of upper Farewell Canyon within slates and phyllites (Farewell Fault of BusbySpera, 1984 a, b, 1985). Thin, discontinuous sections of marble lie along this zone. 

Shearing is well exposed in slates at Farewell Gap and in a zone of schistose metarhyolite 

(K?smr) slightly west of Farewell Gap. The total displacement on this fault is inferred to 

be small (perhaps less than a kilometer) because slates and argillaceous hornfels in the 

bed of lower Farewell Canyon are not strongly sheared, but instead have folded and 

preserved relict bedding, and because metarhyolite tuffs of very similar age (~135 Ma), 
6

uncommon in the Sierra Nevada, are present on both sides of the fault. The northward 

continuation of this fault or fracture system is marked by active soda springs and tufa 

deposits near Aspen Flat and by modest shearing in a thin belt of slate to the west of 

Timber Gap. A parallel minor fracture system transects slate in the next gully to the 

west, and fluids exploiting this fracture probably created the now-inactive tufa knob 

beside the Mineral King road at 7,700 ft elevation. The shear’s continuation south of 

Farewell Gap is also limited, as shown by Cretaceous metarhyolite tuff and a pluton of 

tourmaline-bearing aplite that cross the projected trace of the fault without displacement. 

Instead, the fault zone steps about 1 km southwest to a parallel fault along the margin of 

the Mineral King pendant, but that fault also fails to offset rock units that cross its 

southern projection along the Little Kern River. Numerous small soda springs and tufa 

deposits along the bed of the upper Little Kern River indicate fluid flow along a northsouth striking joint system, but rock exposures in the bed of the river are not sheared, and 

contacts between rock units cross the river without mappable offsets, indicating minimal 

displacement. 

A northeast-dipping fault crosses the upper west slope of Mineral Peak and the 

upper Crystal Creek basin and separates meta-andesites in the footwall from chiefly calcsilicate metasandstones in the hanging wall. Busby-Spera (1983, 1984a) connects this 

fault with a shear zone to the east of Timber Gap at about 10,100 ft elevation. At that 

location a roughly 10-m-thick, vertically dipping section of strongly foliated-to-mylonitic 

rock separates Cretaceous metarhyolite on the west from Jurassic metadacite tuffs on the 

east. Although strongly foliated metamorphic rocks are locally exposed between the two 

faults, as well as elsewhere, a continuous structure could not be traced during the present 

mapping. 

Timing of Deformation 

Near-vertical dips of Early Cretaceous metarhyolite tuffs and metaandesite, and 

the involvement of metarhyolite tuffs in folding, show that some of the deformation in 

the metamorphic rocks is Cretaceous or younger. Some deformation is demonstrably 

associated with emplacement of large, Late Cretaceous plutons. A locality on the west 

side of the Mineral King pendant close to its contact with the 98-Ma granodiorite of 

Castle Creek (Kcc) exposes vertically dipping metasedimentary rocks that contain 

isoclinally folded aplite dikes. A U-Pb zircon age of 98 Ma was also obtained from one 

of these dikes (table 2), indicating that they must have been intruded and tightly folded at 

about the time of pluton emplacement. Similar tightly folded aplite-pegmatite dikes cut 

metaandesite on the east side of the pendant adjacent to the large 99–100 Ma granite of 

Coyote Pass (Kccp, Kcp), but they did not yield zircons, so their age is unknown. 

Transposition of Cretaceous metavolcanic rocks to vertical dips during emplacement of 

Cretaceous plutons has also been described for metamorphic pendants elsewhere in the 

Sierra Nevada (Saleeby and others, 1990).

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Assemblages 

Mineral assemblages within the map area are indicative of metamorphism at low 

pressures, corresponding to shallow depths, and at moderate to locally high temperatures 

owing to the emplacement of voluminous hot granitic magmas. The rocks can be 

assigned to the upper greenschist and amphibolite metamorphic facies. Most metapelitic 

rocks consist of quartz, plagioclase, biotite, muscovite, and opaque oxides, sporadically 
7

accompanied by minor andalusite and either chlorite or cordierite. Accessory minerals 

include apatite, tourmaline, zircon, and secondary titanite where biotite has partially 

retrograded to chlorite. Cordierite (altered to pinite), or less commonly andalusite, 

locally forms prominent ovoid porphyroblasts (as large as 5 mm) visible in outcrop. 

Close to granitic contacts metapelites may contain minor garnet and fibrous sillimanite 

instead of andalusite, but such rocks are uncommon. Discontinuous granitic veins in 

metapelitic rocks on the west side of the South Fork Kaweah pendant may result from 

local partial melting. The widespread presence of andalusite and cordierite, as opposed 

to kyanite and garnet, are diagnostic of low-pressure metamorphism (Spear, 1995) 

corresponding to depths of less than about 12 km beneath the surface. 

Calc-silicate rocks range widely in appearance and mineral assemblage. The 

purest calc-silicates are white- to cream-colored porcelaneous rocks consisting of finegrained quartz, plagioclase, and colorless amphibole, commonly with diopside. Minor 

phases may include carbonate, scapolite, zoisite, and epidote. Carbonate-rich calcsilicate rocks typically have pitted weathered surfaces, owing to preferential dissolution 

of carbonate. Some metasiltstones have compositions intermediate between metapelites 

and calc-silicates, or consist of thinly interlayered metapelitic and calc-silicate bands. 

Calc-silicate assemblages in such rocks consist chiefly of quartz, plagioclase, and pale 

green amphibole, accompanied by opaque oxides and minor biotite. 

Metaandesites through amphibolites (metabasalts and metabasaltic andesites) 

consist of plagioclase, quartz, green-to-brown amphibole, biotite, and opaque oxides. 

Biotite is commonly partly retrograded to chlorite, with accompanying precipitation of 

granular titanite. Metarhyolites consist mainly of fine-grained granoblastic quartz and 

plagioclase, with minor biotite and muscovite, and accessory opaque oxides, apatite, and 

zircon. Relict phenocrysts of quartz and plagioclase are sparse but widespread. Some 

metarhyolites contain isolated clusters of epidote grains, probably after calcareous vug 

fillings. Volcaniclastic metasandstones contain subangular detrital grains of quartz, 

felsite (granoblastic quartz plus plagioclase), and plagioclase, accompanied by biotite, 

muscovite, opaque oxides, and in some samples, interstitial carbonate. 

Granitic Rocks 

Mesozoic granitic rocks of the Sierra Nevada batholith underlie about 85 percent 

of the map area. The granitic rocks form discrete, spatially extensive plutons that are 

relatively uniform in texture and composition, and that have sharp contacts against 

adjacent plutons and metamorphic rocks. Crosscutting intrusive relations between 

plutons are indicative of their relative ages. Individual plutons are interpreted as the 

cooled and solidified products of magmas (hot, molten rock) of restricted composition 

and age that accumulated in particular areas beneath the Earth’s surface. Plutons in the 

map area are about evenly divided between light-colored granites (less than about 8 

percent dark minerals) and medium-colored to dark granodiorites (8 to 20 percent dark 

minerals), with only about 2 percent of the region consisting of very dark intrusions 

encompassing gabbros, diorites, and quartz diorites (Streckeisen, 1976). The granites are 

similar in composition to rhyolites and rhyodacites, and the granodiorites are similar to 

dacites and silicic andesites (table 3). The darker intrusive rocks are compositionally 

similar to andesites, basaltic andesites, and basalts. Ages of the larger plutons were 
8

determined by the U-Pb zircon method, using the USGS–Stanford ion-microprobe 

facility (table 2); all of the plutons dated in this study are Cretaceous. 

The oldest plutons are three small bodies of deformed granodiorite that lie along 

the west edges of the Mineral King and South Fork Kaweah pendants. These are the 

granodiorites of White Chief Mine (Kwc), Camelback Ridge (Kcr), and Burnt Camp 

Creek (Kbcc). These plutons resemble, but are younger than, Jurassic intrusions of the 

Sierra Nevada in their degree of deformation and the presence of sheared and offset darkcolored mafic dikes (Chen and Moore, 1982; Moore and Sisson, 1985). However, their 

U-Pb zircon ages cluster at 133±1 to 135±1.5 Ma (Early Cretaceous), similar to the 

130–140 Ma ages of the voluminous metarhyolite tuffs of the Mineral King pendant. 

Rocks of this age are rare in the Sierra Nevada batholith, which grew over two protracted 

periods: the first mainly during the Jurassic but spanning from the Late Triassic to the 

Early Cretaceous (~215–145 Ma), and the second during the Cretaceous (~125–80 Ma) 

(Chen and Moore, 1982; Irwin and Wooden, 2001). The lull in Sierra Nevada igneous 

activity was centered at 130–140 Ma, so the presence of plutonic and volcanic rocks of 

~135 Ma in this spatially restricted region is evidence that those granodiorites and 

metarhyolites are related. The ~135 Ma plutonic and metavolcanic rocks are here 

informally named the “volcano-plutonic suite of Mineral King,” after the Mineral King 

pendant that contains most of the known exposures. Parts of the granodiorite of 

Camelback Ridge have porphyry textures, suggestive of shallow emplacement, and 

resemble dacite porphyry dikes that cut nearby metamorphic rocks. 

Plutons next intruded into the southern part of the map area as the 120 to 122 Ma 

granodiorites of Windy Ridge (Kwr) and Pecks Canyon (Kpc). Their U-Pb ages overlap 

within analytical uncertainty (table 2), and glacial till conceals their contact, but the 

Windy Ridge pluton is probably the older of the two based on the presence of common 

mafic dikes that are absent in the granodiorite of Pecks Canyon. The granodiorite of 

Windy Ridge is atypically fine-grained (compared to other Sierra Nevada granodiorite 

plutons) and was probably emplaced at subvolcanic depths. The granodiorite of “Nev 

Point” (Knp) then intruded the south flanks of these plutons at about 116 Ma. The 

granodiorites of “Nev Point” and Pecks Canyon are cut by near-vertical post-magmatic 

shears and foliations, striking N. 20 to 40 W., with mainly downdip lineations. 

Magmatic foliation has a similar attitude in the adjacent southern part of the large 

~98 Ma granodiorite of Castle Creek, possibly indicating that the granodiorites of “Nev 

Point” and Pecks Canyon were deforming while the magmas that produced the 

granodiorite of Castle Creek (Kcc) intruded and solidified. In the adjacent Kern Peak 15

quadrangle, the east margin of the 99–100 Ma granite of Coyote Pass is cut by the lateplutonic Coyote Peaks Fault (Moore and Sisson, 1985), which may have formed during 

the same tectonic event. The granodiorite of Windy Ridge is also deformed but in a brittle 

and irregular fashion consisting of decimeter-sized polygonal blocks bounded by thin 

(<1 cm) joints and shears. 

The next major intrusive event after the granodiorite of “Nev Point” was 

emplacement of the quartz diorite of Empire Mountain (Kem) into the north end of the 

Mineral King pendant. Busby-Spera (1983) reports concordant U-Pb ages of 108 and 

106 Ma for two zircon splits from a single sample. The present study obtained an age of 

106±1 Ma (Table 2). The quartz diorite of Empire Mountain is cut by sparse mafic dikes, 

as is the adjacent but undated granodiorite of Spring Lake (Ksl), which is provisionally 
9

interpreted to be a light-colored (felsic) facies of the quartz diorite of Empire Mountain. 

Nearby, the coarse-grained hornblende gabbro at Black Rock Pass (Kgb), also undated, is 

cut by all flanking intrusive rocks, but it partly encircles the granodiorite of Spring Lake 

and may be part of the Empire Mountain intrusive event. If so, the intrusive event shows 

an exceptional degree of compositional zoning. An undated gabbro sill on the lower east 

wall of the Mineral King valley is variably deformed and probably is not related to the 

gabbro at Black Rock Pass. 

Most of the younger plutons are much larger and are part of an irregular but 

overall west to east progression of granitic magmatism across the Sierra Nevada (Chen 

and Moore, 1982). The granite of Frys Point (Kfp) intruded the far-northwestern part of 

the map area mainly at 105 Ma, with phases of activity as young as 103 Ma (Holland and 

others, 2010). This was followed eastward by the granodiorite of Milk Ranch Peak 

(Kmr, 103±1.5 Ma), which was then intruded on its eastern and southern margins by the 

light-colored granite of Case Mountain (Kcm, 102±2 Ma). The granite of Case Mountain 

is probably related to the similar looking granite of Dennison Peak (Kdp, 103±2 Ma) 

located a short distance to the south across the South Fork Kaweah pendant. Evernden 

and Kistler (1970) report biotite and hornblende K-Ar cooling ages of 88.5–87.4 Ma and 

87 Ma, respectively, for samples now known to be the granite of Case Mountain. 

Plutonism then shifted to the east side of the Mineral King pendant with 

emplacement of the large, zoned, granite of Coyote Pass (Kcp). The granite of Coyote 

Pass is an elongate pluton spanning 32 km on a N. 20o W. axis from the southwestern part 

of the Kern Peak 15 quadrangle to the southeastern part of the Triple Divide Peak 15

quadrangle (Moore and Sisson, 1985, 1987). This pluton is distinctive in many respects: 

(1) unlike most light-colored granites of the Sierra Nevada batholith, it contains abundant 

dark-colored disc-shaped mafic inclusions; (2) the granite has a faint igneous layering 

defined by intermittent thin (centimeter-thickness) variations in the abundance of darkand light-colored minerals; (3) the mineral layering and disk-shaped mafic inclusions dip 

inward toward the axis of the intrusion, defining a trough or synformal structure; (4) an 

indistinctly K-feldspar-porphyritic facies (Kcpp) with few to no mafic inclusions 

occupies the core of the intrusion and the synform; and (5) masses of fine-grained 

hornblende quartz diorite to hornblende gabbro (Kmcp) intrude the granite at various 

locations and are themselves intruded by small-volume fine-grained granodiorites 

(Kcpgd) of presumed hybrid granite-diorite origin. Mafic inclusions, layering, and the 

synformal structure are absent north of Big Five Lakes where the rock becomes uniform 

light-colored granite (alaskite) cut by small synplutonic mafic intrusions. A sample from 

the porphyritic core of the pluton yielded a concordant U-Pb age of 100.3±0.6 Ma, 

whereas a sample from the equigranular margin resulted in an age of 98.9±1.2 Ma (table 

2). These ages overlap within analytical uncertainty, and thus the preferred age for the 

intrusion is 99–100 Ma, although Busby-Spera (1983) also reported a concordant age of 

97–99 Ma for a sample from the margin of the pluton (“Sawtooth Peak granite” of 

Busby-Spera, 1983). Biotite and hornblende K-Ar cooling ages obtained from the granite 

of Coyote Pass are 93.2–87.4 Ma, and 93.0–86.4 Ma, respectively (Evernden and Kistler, 

1970). Two additional plutons that intruded at about this time in the south part of the 

map area are the granodiorite of Mountain Home (Kmh, 99±0.9 Ma) and the very light 

colored granite of Maggie Mountain (Kmm, 99±0.7 Ma), which flank the Tule River 

pendant on its western and eastern sides, respectively. 
10

The Mineral King pendant was then intruded on the west by the large granodiorite 

of Castle Creek (Kcc). This is the outermost and oldest member of the zoned Mitchell 

Intrusive Suite of Moore and Sisson (1987) that is centered to the north in the Triple 

Divide Peak 15 quadrangle. Total north-south mapped extent of the pluton is 45 km. 

The granodiorite of Castle Creek is a medium-colored hornblende-biotite granodiorite 

with about 3–7 flattened mafic inclusions per square meter, typical for hornblende-biotite 

granodiorites of the Sierra Nevada. Samples of the granodiorite of Castle Creek were 

dated from three widely separated localities (table 2). Two samples yielded ages of 

98±0.7 Ma and 98±1.5 Ma; the age of the third sample was 96±0.8 Ma, but re-collection 

and redating of that outcrop yielded an age of 98±1.3 Ma, suggesting an analytical issue 

with the first result. Aplite dikes (98±0.5 Ma) intruded the eastern metamorphic wall of 

the pluton and then were folded, and Busby-Spera (1983) reported an age of 98–99 Ma 

for a sample near the east edge of the Castle Creek pluton (“Eagle Lake quartz 

monzonite” of Busby-Spera, 1983). These results indicate that, despite its large size, the 

granodiorite of Castle Creek intruded over a relatively brief period at 98 Ma. A single KAr hornblende cooling age of 88.9 Ma was reported for a sample now known to be of the 

granodiorite of Castle Creek (Evernden and Kistler, 1970). A sample of tourmalinebearing aplite (Kap) from an intrusion on the southeast flank of the granodiorite of Castle 

Creek did not yield zircons, but is interpreted to be associated with that intrusion and thus 

has a similar age. 

Magmatic activity then ceased in the area for 6 or 7 million years until the 

granodiorite of Chagoopa (Kc) intruded on the east side of the granite of Coyote Pass at 

91.5±0.7 Ma. This is a hornblende-biotite granodiorite that forms the outer, equigranular 

member of a zoned composite intrusion centered to the east in the Kern Peak 15

quadrangle (Moore and Sisson, 1985). The youngest dated pluton is the coarsely Kfeldspar-porphyritic granite of White Mountain (Kwm) that lies near the southeast corner 

of the map area. Contact relations show that flanking metamorphic rocks overlie the 

granite along a shallowly dipping roof, now partially dissected. Erosion into the granite 

of White Mountain created the broad basin of the Little Kern River drainage. Zircon age 

results for the granodiorite of White Mountain sample are more scattered than for the 

other dated plutons, but the TuffZirc routine of the Isoplot dating analysis program 

(Ludwig, 2001) indicates an age of 90±1 Ma. The TuffZirc age for a sample is the 

median of the greatest number of individual zircon ages that agree within a specified 

uncertainty, whereas a concordia age of 92±2 Ma is obtained assuming an inherited 

zircon component of ~1.6 Ga. 

Mineral Deposits 

Construction of the trans-Sierra Hockett Trail up the South Fork Kaweah River, 

commencing in 1862, eased access to the Mineral King area, but mineral exploration did 

not begin in earnest until 1873, when James Crabtree and associates filed a mining claim 

in the headwaters of White Chief Creek. Prospectors quickly found many additional 

mineralized areas, mostly consisting of combinations of galena (lead sulfide) and 

sphalerite (zinc sulfide), as well as pyrite (iron sulfide) or arsenopyrite (arsenic-iron 

sulfide) (Goodwin, 1958). Silver often is associated with galena and sphalerite, which 

prompted the prospecting boom, but silver and gold concentrations in Mineral King ores 

proved to be low, the ores difficult to refine, and the mineralized areas small. The largest 

excavations were the White Chief, Lady Franklin, and Empire mines, but many small, 
11

hopeful prospects decorate the slopes and ridges of the Mineral King valley (Goodwin, 

1958). Concerted mining activity ended at Mineral King by 1881. 

All sizeable mines and prospects in the Mineral King area are in or are associated 

with marble. Mineralization at the Empire and White Chief mines developed where 

granitic magmas intruded marble and created dark reddish brown rocks known as tactite 

(tc) or skarn that consist chiefly of coarse crystals of garnet, epidote, idocrase, and 

pyroxene. Large isolated masses of tactite also cap Empire Mountain and the crest of its 

northwest summit ridge. Although the tungsten mineral scheelite (calcium tungstate) is 

common in tactite in the Sierra Nevada and has been reported from the Empire Mine 

locality, it was not sought during the 1870s Mineral King prospecting boom. Additional 

minerals reported from the Mineral King area include chalcopyrite (copper-iron sulfide ) 

and pyrrhotite (iron sulfide), stibnite (antimony sulfide), and minute amounts of gold. 

Pyrite is also widespread in the metamorphic rocks, causing many to weather rusty 

brown. Small galena-sphalerite occurrences are also known in the metasedimentary rocks 

of the upper Tule River metamorphic pendant in Mountain Home State Forest (Goldfarb 

and others, 1985; Goodwin, 1958). The last mining activity in the map area was at the 

Pine Tree tungsten mine in the southern part of the Mineral King metamorphic pendant, 

where scheelite was extracted from thin marble bands and calc-silicate rocks close to the 

contact with the porphyritic granite of White Mountain. This mine operated as recently 

as 1982 (Dellinger and others, 1983). 

Surficial Deposits 

Glaciation 

Ice fields and glaciers widely covered regions higher than about 7,000 ft elevation 

during the Pleistocene. Glacially eroded cirques, U-shaped valleys, and ground-mantling 

deposits of unconsolidated bouldery till are the principal records of those glaciers. Ridges 

of till, known as moraines, mark the positions of the sides and lower ends of former 

glaciers in many high-elevation valleys. Ice advanced and retreated multiple times 

during the Pleistocene, and nested sets of moraine crests record successive glacial events. 

Locally, exposures and landforms are sufficiently developed to subdivide the glacial 

deposits by age, allowing the extent of the last major Pleistocene ice advance, referred to 

in the Sierra Nevada as the Tioga glaciation, to be distinguished from the older Tahoe and 

earlier glaciations. Tioga-age deposits (Qti) are probably also widespread in areas 

mapped as undivided Pleistocene till (Qw). Smaller glacial deposits with minimal to no 

vegetation and well-preserved moraines (Qrpm) are generally restricted to north-facing 

slopes and cirques above 10,000 feet elevation. These are products of both the latest 

Pleistocene Recess Peak and late Holocene Matthes (Little Ice Age) ice advances 

recognized elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada (Clark and Gillespie, 1996). High-elevation 

talus fields merge with these young tills and probably mainly grew during times of more 

abundant ice. 

Landslides and Debris Flows 

Landslide and debris-flow deposits (Qls) form a bouldery mantle on the steep 

south slope of Ash Peaks Ridge above Sequoia National Park’s Ash Mountain 

headquarters. The deposits follow current topography, so postdate uplift of the Sierra 

Nevada and incision of the Kaweah drainage, but the deposits are themselves deeply 
12

incised indicating that they are not recent. A broad, gently dipping alluvial apron of 

bouldery debris (Qal) fills the headwaters of the North Fork Tule River in the 

southwestern part of the map area. Some boulders, as big as ~10 meters across, are much 

larger than could be carried by historical stream flows. Neither the Ash Peaks landslide 

nor the North Fork Tule River debris flow apron head in extensively glaciated drainages, 

so enhanced meltwater discharge from Pleistocene glaciers cannot account for these 

deposits. Possibly, the deposits were generated by high rainfall during the Pleistocene. 

Acknowledgments 

This work received partial support from the National Park Service’s Geologic 

Resources Evaluation Program under the direction of B. Heise. J. Wooden and J. 

Vazquez assisted with zircon U-Pb measurements and derivation of age results. E. 

Klemetti and J.S. Lackey shared unpublished U-Pb zircon age determinations of Mineral 

King metavolcanic rocks, and S. Starratt identified Late Triassic fossils. J. Dillon 

(deceased) and M.G. Sawlan provided unpublished geologic mapping of Mineral King 

metamorphic rocks, and of the southwesternmost part of the field area, respectively. A. 

Van Dyne assisted with geologic mapping, and J. Robinson guided GIS map preparation. 

The map and report benefited by reviews from R. Evarts, D. John, and G. Mack, and 

editing by C. Landowski. 
13

DESCRIPTION OF MAP UNITS 

SURFICIAL DEPOSITS 

Qal Alluvial deposits (Holocene and Pleistocene)—Alluvium underlying 

meadows; gravel, sand, and boulders in stream valleys 

Qtf Tufa (Holocene)—Porous travertine deposited from soda springs 

Qr Rock glaciers (Holocene)—Small active rock glaciers in cirques northwest of 

Florence Peak and southeast of Rainbow Mountain 

Qt Talus and colluvium, undivided (Holocene and Pleistocene)—Steep slopes 

of angular talus blocks with little or no interstitial soil, commonly 

above 7,000 ft elevation; intermixed soil and rock fragments 

(colluvium) on gentler slopes, commonly forested 

Qls Landslide deposits (Holocene and Pleistocene)—Bouldery and hummocky 

landslide debris on south slope of Ash Peaks Ridge 

Qrpm Recess Peak and Matthes Tills, undivided (Holocene and late 

Pleistocene)—Small, non-vegetated tills with small, sharp moraine 

crests in cirques above ~10,000 ft elevation 

Qti Tioga Till (Pleistocene)—Innermost of large nested tills having well-defined 

moraine crests 

Qw Tioga and Tahoe Tills, undivided (Pleistocene)—Tills generally having 

large, well-defined moraine crests 

GRANITIC ROCKS 

DARK-COLORED ROCKS 

[Generally more than 15 percent dark minerals] 

Kmh Granodiorite of Mountain Home (Late Cretaceous)—Medium-grained 

hornblende-biotite granodiorite near southwest corner of map area. UPb zircon age of 98.8±0.9 Ma 

Kmcp Diorite associated with granite of Coyote Pass (Late Cretaceous)—Fineand medium-grained hornblende diorite and quartz diorite intrusive 

into granite of Coyote Pass (Kccp, Kcp); commonly includes angular 

granite blocks 

Kmr Granodiorite of Milk Ranch Peak (Early Cretaceous)—Dark and very 

dark, medium-grained granodiorite with conspicuous hornblende 

crystals and abundant mafic inclusions; locally contains plagioclase 

phenocrysts as large as 1.5 cm. U-Pb zircon age of 103.2±1.5 Ma
14

Kd Diorite (Cretaceous)—Small intrusions of fine- and medium-grained 

hornblende diorite and quartz diorite associated with the granite of Ash 

Peaks Ridge near the northwest corner of the map area, as well as 

isolated dioritic intrusions elsewhere 

Kem Quartz diorite of Empire Mountain (Early Cretaceous)—Medium-grained 

quartz diorite cut by sparse mafic dikes. U-Pb zircon age of 107±1 Ma 

(Busby-Spera, 1983) and 106.2±1.1 Ma (this study) 

Kgb Hornblende gabbro (Early Cretaceous)—Medium- and coarse-grained 

hornblende gabbro and diorite at Black Rock Pass and a sill intrusive 

into Mineral King metamorphic pendant. Mineral King sill is vuggy 

and finer grained to the west, and may be sub-volcanic equivalent of 

similar appearing Cretaceous meta-andesites (Kma) near Timber Gap 

Knp Granodiorite of “Nev Point” (Early Cretaceous)—Medium-grained, 

equigranular hornblende-biotite granodiorite with consistent northnorthwest striking, near vertical post-magmatic foliation. U-Pb zircon 

age of 115.9±1.7 Ma 

Kwr Granodiorite of Windy Ridge (Early Cretaceous)—Fine-grained 

hornblende-biotite granodiorite with sheared mafic dikes. U-Pb zircon 

age of 120.1±2.1 Ma 

Kwc Granodiorite of White Chief Mine (Early Cretaceous)—Sheared, mediumgrained hornblende-biotite granodiorite with sheared and offset mafic 

and aplitic dikes. Contact with granodiorite of Castle Creek (Kcc) 

locally indistinct. Part of volcano-plutonic suite of Mineral King. U-Pb 

zircon age of 135±1 Ma 

Kcr Granodiorite of Camelback Ridge (Early Cretaceous)—Sheared, mediumgrained hornblende-biotite granodiorite with sparse sheared mafic 

dikes. Locally developed porphyry texture. Part of volcano-plutonic 

suite of Mineral King. U-Pb zircon age of 133±1 Ma 

Kbc Granodiorite of Burnt Camp Creek (Early Cretaceous)—Locally sheared, 

medium-grained hornblende-biotite granodiorite with sparse sheared 

mafic dikes. Part of volcano-plutonic suite of Mineral King. U-Pb 

zircon age of 134.8±1.5 Ma 

KJmd Mafic dikes (Cretaceous and (or) Jurassic)—Fine-grained, dark-colored 

mafic dikes of indeterminate age that cut metamorphic and granitic 

rocks 
15

KJgd Sheared granodiorite (Cretaceous or Jurassic)—Schistose dark 

granodiorite near northeast corner of map area; cut by schistose mafic 

dikes. Unit is correlative with Jurassic-Triassic sheared granodiorite in 

the Triple Divide Peak 15 quadrangle (Moore and Sisson, 1987), but 

unit has been here reassigned to Cretaceous or Jurassic on the basis of 

the discovery of Cretaceous-age sheared, diked granodiorites 

MEDIUM-COLORED ROCKS 

[Generally 8–15 percent dark minerals] 

Kc Granodiorite of Chagoopa (Late Cretaceous)—Fine- to medium-grained 

hornblende-biotite granodiorite with indistinct plagioclase 

phenocrysts. U-Pb zircon age of 91.5±0.7 Ma 

Kcc Granodiorite of Castle Creek (of Mitchell Intrusive Suite [Moore and 

Sisson, 1987]) (Late Cretaceous)—Medium-grained hornblendebiotite granodiorite that has prominent grains of hornblende and 

titanite (sphene); locally contains indistinct plagioclase phenocrysts. 

Includes domains zoned to light-colored granodiorite. U-Pb zircon 

ages of 98±2 Ma (Busby-Spera, 1983), 97.8±0.7, and 98.4±1.3 Ma 

(this study) 

Kcciz Injection zone along margin of the granodiorite of Castle Creek (of 

Mitchell Intrusive Suite [Moore and Sisson, 1987]) (Late 

Cretaceous)—Steeply dipping sheets of fine-grained granodiorite, 1–3 

m thick, closely interleaved with metamorphic rocks along eastern 

contact with the granodiorite of Castle Creek (Kcc) 

Kgfdc Dome Creek facies of the Giant Forest Granodiorite (of Sequoia Intrusive 

Suite [Moore and Sisson, 1987]) (Early Cretaceous)—Mediumgrained, weakly gneissic granodiorite and granite. Interpreted as 

southward-narrowing extension of the Giant Forest Granodiorite north 

of map area 

Kcpgd Granodiorite dikes associated with the granite of Coyote Pass (Early 

Cretaceous)—Fine-grained, medium- and light-colored granodiorite 

dikes associated with diorite intrusions into the granite of Coyote Pass 

(Kcpp, Kcp). Interpreted to be diorite-granite hybrids 

Kss Granodiorite of Shepherds Saddle (Cretaceous)—Medium-grained, 

equigranular hornblende-biotite granodiorite in northwestern part of 

map area; undated, but possibly darker-colored facies of the granite of 

Frys Point (Kfp) 

Ksl Granodiorite of Spring Lake (Cretaceous)—Medium- to fine-grained 

granodiorite with sparse mafic dikes; undated, but possibly lightercolored facies of the quartz diorite of Empire Mountain (Kem) 
16

Kpc Granodiorite of Pecks Canyon (Early Cretaceous)—Medium- to coarsegrained granodiorite that contains indistinct potassium-feldspar 

phenocrysts. U-Pb zircon age of 121.6±1.6 Ma; probably younger than 

the nearby granodiorite of Windy Ridge (Kwr) 

Kpy Granodiorite porphyry dikes (Early Cretaceous)—Fine-grained porphyry 

dikes with abundant plagioclase phenocrysts intrusive into 

metamorphic rocks of the southern part of Mineral King pendant; 

probably correlative to the granodiorite of Camelback Ridge (Kcr) of 

the volcano-plutonic suite of Mineral King 

LIGHT-COLORED ROCKS 

[Generally less than 8 percent dark minerals] 

Kwm Granite of White Mountain (Late Cretaceous)—Medium-grained, coarsely 

porphyritic biotite granite that contains abundant, well-formed, 

potassium feldspar megacrysts (4–8 cm), and lacks mafic inclusions. 

U-Pb zircon age of 89.9±1.0 Ma 

Kap Aplite (Late Cretaceous)—Fine-grained, very light colored aplitic granite 

that has conspicuous blue-black tourmaline; intruded between the 

granodiorite of Castle Creek (Kcc) and the Mineral King pendant; lack 

of deformation and mafic dikes indicate Late Cretaceous age. Unit also 

includes aplite dike swarm that intruded metavolcanic roof rocks of the 

granodiorite of Spring Lake (Ksl) 

Kmm Granite of Maggie Mountain (Late Cretaceous)—Coarse-grained, very 

light colored biotite granite that lacks mafic inclusions. U-Pb zircon 

age of 98.8±0.7 Ma 

Kcpp Porphyritic core facies of the granite of Coyote Pass (Early Cretaceous)—

Coarse-grained biotite granite that contains indistinct potassiumfeldspar phenocrysts and lacks mafic inclusions. Forms a central 

domain within the equigranular facies of the granite of Coyote Pass 

(Kcp). Contacts the surrounding equigranular facies both gradationally

and as sills and dikes, hence porphyritic unit is younger. Foliation and 

layering in the equigranular facies dip beneath the porphyritic core 

facies. U-Pb zircon age of 100.3±0.6 Ma 
17

Kcp Equigranular facies of the granite of Coyote Pass (Early Cretaceous)—

Medium- and coarse-grained biotite-hornblende granite and alaskite. 

Mafic inclusions and igneous mineral layering dip shallowly inward 

and define a northwest-trending magmatic synform cored by the 

porphyritic core facies of the granite of Coyote Pass (Kcpp). Mafic 

inclusions are rare and mineral layering is absent north of Lost Canyon 

and Cyclamen Lake where the rock is nonfoliated alaskite. U-Pb 

zircon ages of 98.9±1.2 Ma (this study) and 97±2 Ma. (Busby-Spera, 

1983); field relations indicate unit is older than porphyritic core facies 

(100.3±0.6 Ma) 

Kcm Granite of Case Mountain (Early Cretaceous)—Medium- and coarsegrained biotite granite, generally lacking in mafic inclusions; locally 

contains indistinct potassium-feldspar phenocrysts. Weathers to broad 

slabs and domes; also forms extensive grus. U-Pb zircon ages of 

101.6±1.6 and 102.3±2.1 Ma 

Kdp Granite of Dennison Peak (Early Cretaceous)—Medium-grained biotitehornblende granite with sparse mafic inclusions (0–3 per square 

meter). Probably correlative with the granite of Case Mountain (Kcm). 

U-Pb zircon age of 102.8±2.0 Ma 

Kfp Granite of Frys Point (Early Cretaceous)—Medium- and coarse-grained, 

equigranular biotite granite that lacks mafic inclusions but is locally 

cut by diorite and hybrid granodiorite dikes containing diorite blocks. 

U-Pb zircon age of granite is 105 Ma; late granodioritic intrusions are 

as young as 103 Ma (Holland and others, 2010) 

Kf Felsite (Early Cretaceous)—Intrusion of fine-grained, very light colored 

granite or hypabyssal rhyolite exposed at outlet of lower Franklin 

Lake; cut by mafic dikes. Undated but probably correlative with metarhyolite tuffs of volcano-plutonic suite of Mineral King 

METAMORPHIC ROCKS 

METAVOLCANIC ROCKS 

mm Mafic metavolcanic rocks (Mesozoic)—Amphibolite derived from basalt 

and basaltic andesite 

ma Meta-andesite (Mesozoic)—Metamorphosed andesitic lava flows and 

breccias, commonly schistose 

mrd Felsic metavolcanic rocks (Mesozoic)—Chiefly metarhyolite and metadacite 

tuffs, but also includes metarhyolite and metadacite lava flows 
18

KJmt Metarhyolite and metadacite tuffs, undivided (Cretaceous and 

Jurassic)—Northern continuation of Cretaceous metarhyolite and 

Jurassic metadacite tuffs across Cliff Creek. Shown as Jurassic or 

Triassic metarhyolite on geologic map of Triple Divide Peak 15

quadrangle (Moore and Sisson, 1987) 

Kma Meta-andesite (Early Cretaceous)—Metamorphosed andesitic lava flows 

and breccias to the west of Timber Gap. U-Pb zircon lower-intercept 

concordia model age from included felsic tuff, 111 Ma (revised from 

Busby-Spera, 1983). Possibly correlative with similar-appearing 

hornblende gabbro (Kgb) sill to south 

K?vbr Metarhyolite and metadacite breccia (Early Cretaceous?)—Lenses and 

beds of felsic volcanic breccia that contain well preserved relict 

angular clasts 

Kmrt Metarhyolite tuff (Early Cretaceous)—Chiefly massive metarhyolite with 

relict pyroclastic texture; includes some interstratified 

metasedimentary rocks. U-Pb zircon lower-intercept concordia model 

ages of 131–140 Ma (revised from Busby-Spera, 1983); part of 

volcano-plutonic suite of Mineral King 

K?smr Schistose metarhyolite (Cretaceous?)—Felsic schist that contains relict 

quartz and plagioclase phenocrysts (or coarse relict detrital grains) on 

west side of Farewell Gap. Foliation intensity decreases to the north, 

and unit passes along strike into bedded volcaniclastic metasandstones 

(vss) 

Jmdt Metadacite tuff (Jurassic)—Massive metadacite with relict pyroclastic 

texture between Timber Gap and Empire Mountain, and metadacite 

tuff and breccia above Spring Lake. Distinguished from metarhyolite 

tuff (Kmrt) by more abundant biotite and hornblende, and by absence 

of relict quartz phenocrysts. U-Pb zircon lower-intercept concordia 

model ages of 171 and 189 Ma (revised from Busby-Spera, 1983) 

^ma Meta-andesite (Triassic)—Metamorphosed andesitic lava flows and breccias 

to the west of Mineral Peak in upper Crystal Creek and in adjacent 

basins. U-Pb zircon lower-intercept concordia model ages of 214 and 

236 Ma (revised from Busby-Spera, 1983) 

METASEDIMENTARY ROCKS 

m Marble (Mesozoic)—Coarsely crystalline, schistose to gneissose, white to 

blue-gray marble. Thin calc-silicate layers locally constitute as much 

as 50 percent of exposures. Blue lines on map denote location of 

marble bands too thin to show at map scale 
19

ccgl Calc-silicate conglomerate (Mesozoic)—Dark-weathering, well-bedded 

calc-silicate conglomerate and pebbly sandstone with white felsite 

clasts. Underlies Cretaceous metarhyolite tuff and marks nose of 

synclinorium through Vandever Mountain 

cs Calc-silicate hornfels and schist (Mesozoic)—Bedded, light-colored calcsilicate hornfels and schist derived from calcareous quartzofeldspathic 

siltstone and sandstone. Commonly interstratified with subordinate 

argillaceous hornfels and schist derived from mudstone (not resolvable 

at map scale) 

q Quartzite (Mesozoic)—Medium- to coarse-grained quartzite; massive to 

medium bedded 

qb Quartz-biotite schist and hornfels (Mesozoic)—Encompasses 

quartzofeldspathic micaceous schist, phyllite, slate, and hornfels 

qbcs Quartz-biotite and calc-silicate schist and hornfels (Mesozoic)—Undivided 

quartzofeldspathic micaceous and calc-silicate schist and hornfels 

slp Slate and phyllite (Mesozoic)—Fissile slate, phyllite, and dark-colored 

argillaceous hornfels derived from mudstone 

slhf Siliceous hornfels (Mesozoic)—Thin-bedded, fine-grained siliceous hornfels 

with subordinate interstratified meta-argillite derived from 

quartzofeldspathic siltstone and fine-grained sandstone 

vss Volcaniclastic metasandstone (Mesozoic)—Medium- to thin-bedded 

metasandstone and rare interstratified lenses of volcaniclastic breccia, 

on the west side of Mineral King pendant; metasandstone contains 

relict detrital grains of felsite and of phenocryst fragments 

ss Metasandstone (Mesozoic)—Rhythmically bedded arkosic metasandstones 

derived from turbidity current strata (Busby-Spera, 1985) on east side 

of Mineral King pendant 

tc Tactite (Mesozoic)—Dark brown, coarse-grained rocks consisting of calcic 

garnet, epidote, diopside, and idocrase, developed along contacts 

between granite and marble or calc-silicate rocks 
20

References 

Bateman, P.C., and Clark, L.C., 1974, Stratigraphic and structural setting of the Sierra 

Nevada batholith, California: Pacific Geology, v. 8, p. 79–89.

Busby-Spera, C.J., 1983, Paleogeographic reconstruction of a submarine volcanic center; 

geochronology, volcanology and sedimentology of the Mineral King roof 

pendant, Sierra Nevada, California: Princeton, N.J., Princeton University, Ph.D. 

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23

Figure 1. Concordia plot of U-Pb zircon results for Mineral King pendant metarhyolites (BusbySpera, 1983). Curve with solid dots is U-Pb concordia with ages in millions of years (Ma). 

Open circles are thermal-ionization U-Pb results for individual zircon splits from metarhyolite 

tuffs (Kmrt), and a metarhyolite sill, collected from the Mineral King pendant. Regression line 

(arrow) intersects concordia at 136 Ma and 1.55 billion years (Ga), interpreted respectively to 

be the approximate ages of a period of Early Cretaceous rhyolitic eruptions and of a 

widespread Proterozoic inherited zircon component. 
24

Table 1. Lower-intercept concordia ages for Mineral King metavolcanic rocks derived from U-Pb 

zircon results of Busby-Spera (1983).

sample map unit N latitude W longitude age (Ma) +2 -2 n

MK-540 ^ma 36.4550 118.5843 235.8 5.8 5.6 3

MK-1700 ^ma 36.4396 118.5758 214.2 5.6 6.2 2

MK-910 Jmdt 36.4650 118.5898 188.8 5.4 5.4 2

MK-980 Jmdt 36.4718 118.5667 170.9 4.7 5.1 2

MK-530 Kmrt 36.4555 118.5878 140.3 5.4 6.3 1

MK-822 Kmrt - sill 36.4082 118.5647 138.4 3.7 3.9 2

MK-900 Kmrt 36.4605 118.5900 137.9 3.6 3.6 2

MK-1 Kmrt 36.3987 118.5743 135.2 4.1 5.6 2

MK-520 Kmrt 36.4536 118.6050 131.0 4.2 4.9 2

MK-920 Kma 36.4673 118.6027 110.6 2.4 2.9 3

MK-1010 Kmrt 36.3625 118.5493 101.7 3.4 4.9 2

Comments: lower intercept ages and 2 uncertainties by Monte Carlo regression 

using Isoplot 3.4.1 (Ludwig, 2001) assuming a 1.6±0.3 Ga inherited zircon 

component, 2 uncertainties of 3.7% and 1.2% on 207Pb/235U and 206Pb/238U, and 

Pb/U error correlations of 0.25; n is number of zircon splits; sample coordinates are 

NAD27 datum.
25

Table 2. Weighted-mean 206Pb/238U zircon ages of Mineral King region plutonic rocks, measured by ionmicroprobe.

sample map unit N latitude W longitude n 206Pb/238U age (Ma) 2 MSWD

08SMK035 Kwc* 36.4234 118.5992 9 135.0 1.0 1.2

09SMK049 Kcr* 36.3386 118.5492 14 133.0 1.0 1.3

04MMK10 Kbcc* 36.3512 118.7792 10 134.8 1.5 1.5

06SMK018 Kwr 36.3054 118.6208 8 120.1 2.1 1.9

06SMK021 Kpc 36.3035 118.6024 8 121.6 1.6 0.6

06SMK025 Knp 36.2502 118.5798 9 115.9 1.7 1.5

09SMK050 Kem 36.4693 118.5754 14 106.2 1.1 1.7

04MMK007 Kmr 36.4533 118.7889 12 103.2 1.5 2.6

04SMK002 Kdp 36.2924 118.7202 8 102.8 2.0 2.4

04MMK004 Kcm 36.4375 118.7320 12 101.6 1.6 3.5

04MMK008 Kcm 36.4530 118.8136 8 102.3 2.1 4.7

04SMK003 Kcp 36.4489 118.5608 11 98.8 1.2 2.4

09SMK054 Kcpp 36.3937 118.5009 13 100.3 0.6 0.6

04SMK006 Kmm 36.2616 118.6522 9 98.8 0.7 1.9

04SMK005 Kmh 36.2515 118.7382 9 98.8 0.9 1.4

04SMK001 Kcc 36.3085 118.6918 11 97.8 0.7 1.4

04MMK006** Kcc 36.4606 118.6310 11 96.2 0.8 0.6

06SMK017** Kcc 36.4606 118.6310 8 98.4 1.3 0.4

06SMK024 Kcc 36.3341 118.5882 7 98.2 1.5 1.3

08SMK036*** Kcc 36.4240 118.6022 10 98.4 0.5 1.6

09SMK052 Kc 36.4626 118.5019 13 91.5 0.7 1.5

07MMK011 Kwm 36.2639 118.5064 6 89.9 1.0 TuffZirc

* volcano-plutonic suite of Mineral King; ** MMK006 locality was resampled and redated as 

SMK017; *** folded aplite in wallrock to Kcc. Averaged ages are 207Pb-corrected 206Pb/238U 

results from Isoplot (Ludwig, 2001), which projects U-Pb values to the concordia from a 

present-day 207Pb/206Pb common lead component. Sample coordinates are NAD27 datum. 
26

Table 3. Major element oxide (wt.%) and trace element (ppm) analyses of plutonic rocks measured by X-ray fluorescence.

Map unit Kcr Kbcc Kwr Kmr Kem Kcp Kcp Kcp Kcp Kcp Kcpp

Sample 9smk49 4mmk10 87m28 4mmk7 9smk50 85s63 85s67 9smk55 4smk3 9smk53 9smk54

N lat. 36.3386 36.3512 36.3050 36.4524 36.4693 36.4833 36.4883 36.4169 36.4489 36.4749 36.3937

W long. 118.549 118.7792 118.630 118.7878 118.5754 118.5167 118.550 118.544 118.5608 118.5122 118.5009

SiO2 68.86 68.73 66.10 64.01 61.43 75.00 76.10 74.33 74.82 75.94 77.14

TiO2 0.57 0.54 0.79 0.76 0.91 0.19 0.12 0.20 0.18 0.09 0.09

Al2O3 15.66 14.94 15.60 16.36 16.61 13.40 13.20 13.60 13.31 13.16 12.74

FeO* 2.90 2.91 4.42 5.20 5.36 1.45 1.15 1.77 1.77 1.22 0.84

MnO 0.07 0.05 0.71 0.09 0.12 0.04 0.02 0.06 0.07 0.03 0.04

MgO 1.20 1.88 1.35 2.24 2.73 0.36 0.17 0.25 0.17 0.02 0.09

CaO 2.48 3.24 2.97 5.27 5.26 1.17 0.66 0.90 0.81 0.37 0.82

Na2O 4.06 3.73 4.27 3.03 3.47 3.81 3.89 4.10 4.19 4.35 3.23

K2O 4.03 3.81 4.12 2.84 3.89 4.61 4.74 4.75 4.60 4.81 4.98

P2O5 0.17 0.17 0.23 0.19 0.22 <0.05 <0.05 0.05 0.08 0.01 0.02

Total** 98.69 99.41 99.05 98.99 98.89 100.10 99.75 99.01 99.37 98.65 98.09

Ni 8 20 – 2 10 – – 2 <0.7 1 0.4

Cr 14 56 – 18 25 – – 3 <1.0 3 3 

V 51 85 – 107 139 <10 <10 13 6 2 3 

Ba 912 687 – 748 1096 850 640 522 481 218 285 

Rb 146 116 – 90 148 230 250 203 180 102 286 

Sr 332 325 – 397 495 150 68 101 72 11 71 

Zr 305 204 – 129 296 160 160 219 227 157 91 

Y 22 21 – 21 24 32 28 36 39 28 20 

Nb 21 21 – 18 17 20 23 22 30 12 23

Pb 21 14 – 14 34 – – 25 23 14 29 

U 2 9 – 5 4 – – 5 18 3 23 

* All Fe calculated as FeO, ** oxides normalized to 100 wt.%, Total reports original oxide sum, – not determined, NAD27 sample coordinates.
27

Table 3, continued. 

Map unit Kcc Kcc Kcc Kcc Kap Kdp Kdp Kmh Kmm Kcm Kcm Kc

Sample 87mk1 87mk11 4mmk6 4smk1 9smk48 87mk10 4smk2 4smk5 4smk6 4mmk4 4mmk8 9smk52

N lat. 36.417 36.355 36.4606 36.3085 36.3677 36.3283 36.2924 36.2515 36.2601 36.4375 36.4530 36.4626

W long. 118.607 118.670 118.631 118.6918 118.568 118.7283 118.7202 118.7382 118.6489 118.732 118.8136 118.5019

SiO2 69.00 68.50 66.44 72.16 77.44 76.50 74.90 67.28 74.73 74.32 75.82 62.64

TiO2 0.42 0.38 0.74 0.32 0.09 0.16 0.21 0.55 0.12 0.20 0.08 0.90

Al2O3 15.20 16.10 15.54 14.63 12.44 11.90 13.14 15.32 13.55 13.85 13.24 17.06

FeO* 2.66 2.89 3.86 2.30 1.01 2.24 2.10 4.32 1.69 1.82 1.15 4.92

MnO 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.05 0.02 0.08 0.06 0.09 0.05 0.03 0.04 0.08

MgO 1.27 1.10 1.87 0.72 0.02 0.12 0.27 1.96 <0.10 0.26 0.12 2.04

CaO 3.92 3.90 4.11 2.36 0.42 0.72 1.10 4.26 0.74 1.32 0.90 4.92

Na2O 3.50 4.06 3.27 3.45 3.45 4.39 4.10 3.14 3.29 3.58 3.31 4.28

K2O 3.20 2.94 3.88 3.90 5.10 3.90 4.04 2.92 5.77 4.54 5.30 2.85

P2O5 0.14 0.15 0.21 0.11 0.02 <0.05 0.06 0.16 0.05 0.07 0.05 0.32

Total** 99.37 99.35 98.86 99.34 98.67 99.40 99.16 99.02 99.07 99.10 99.05 98.97

Ni – – 5 <0.8 2 – <0.8 3 <0.7 <0.8 <0.7 8 

Cr – – 16 <5 2 – <5 16 <1.0 <5 <5 7 

V – – 94 20 1 – <5.5 78 <4.8 10 <4.7 115 

Ba – – 1070 752 433 – 1210 848 993 1970 931 1007 

Rb – – 122 122 162 – 81 88 221 109 152 83 

Sr – – 554 293 24 – 85 309 74 155 73 924 

Zr – – 122 126 130 – 263 122 131 131 81 147 

Y – – 16 14 19 – 39 16 30 14 36 10 

Nb – – 22 19 11 – 19 18 22 19 18 10

Pb – – 17 17 21 – 17 12 21 13 23 12 

U – – 14 7 3 – 8 <2.6 17 8 21 3