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Culture Documents
AI•D THE
RegionalCharacteristics
of PorphyryCopperDeposits
of the Southwest
J. DAVIDLOWELL
Abstract '
The largestandbeststudiedconcentration
of porphyry-type
deposits
is the Southwest
porphyry province in Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Sonora
(Figure'1). Most of thesedepositsare in the 58 to 72 million-year-oldrange,with one
163 m.y. date and one 20 m.y. date. Several Mesozoic age porphyry copper deposits
occur northwest of the main cluster, and mid-Tertiary age porphyry molybdenumand
porphyry copper deposits are present in the Colorado mineral belt and at Bingham
Canyon,Utah. A progressivedecreasein age occursfrom northwestto southeastamong
the Laramide age Southwestporphyries.
Tertiary rocks contemporaneous with and younger than the Laramide mineralization
appear to have been formed under conditionsof strong deformation and crustal ex-
tension.Large displacement,flat, "gravity slide" faults are present in southernArizona
together with evidence of abundant horst-grabenstructure and rift faulting. A
correlation of rock types, structures, and intrusive and extrusive activity suggests
that "basin~range"-type extensionalstructureswere formed throughoutthe Tertiary
periodand probablythroughmuchof the Mesozoicas well.
In detail, mineralizationtendsto favor N. 65ø E. and N. 40ø W. structures,and the
depositsin someinstancesappearto form belts with thesealignments,but the cluster
of deposits
has an overalloval shapeunlikethe lineal porphyryprovincesin Iran, Chile,
and the Philippines.
The individualporphyry belts in the Southwestprovincecrossthe Texas lineament
with no apparentstrike-slipdisplacement. However,currentplate tectonictheory sug-
geststhat a large right-lateraldisplacement shouldexist if this structurecorresponds
to the WalkerLine in Nevadaas postulated by Jeromeand Cook(1967). There is as
yet little definiteevidencefor the presenceof subductionzonesin Arizona and west of
Arizonaduringthe periodof formationof the Southwestporphyries,
andevidencefor
the association
of porphyrymineralizationwith plat.
e tectonicprocesses
as described
in theliterature
is notconvincing
in theSouthwest
province.It is particularly
unlikely
that subducted
oceanic
crustwasthe sourceof metalsin the Southwest
porphyryde-
posits.
An interpretation
of depthof .erosion
in porphyrydepositscanbe attempted by com-
paringthe alterationzones,nd mineralassemblages exposed at the presentground
surfacewith an assumed modelof verticalzonation.This suggests that erosionhas
cutdeeplyintothe columns of Laramidemineralizationin deposits
in the northwestern
partof thegeneralclusterandthatdeposits to the southeast
wereleft generallyintact
by post-Laramide erosion.
Introduction
Anderson (1966), Jeromeand Cook (1967), and
A •U•ER of excellentpapershave dealt with the Cooley (1967). This paper presentssummarized
settingof the Southwestporphyrycopperprovince observations
and the scopeof the subjecthas pre-
and the writer has borrowed extensivelyfrom vented detaileddocumentation in every case.
601
602 i. DAVID LOWELL
ß BRITISHCOLUMBIAMOLYBDENU.,
ß• • ENDAKO
ISLAND COPPER
ß • CRA•GM•NT • -- -•
CA•FACE• • ]• BRENDA _ •CO•PPERMOUNTAIN
t • HEDDLESTON-
BIGBEN•
S*T•LEa•e es•.•.,•
YEE•N•ON c,.•o• •;so•
• • ' •ELY
, •CLIMAX
U•AD-
HENOE•SO
•T.ACA •EA• eeu•s•A
SHEEPM•N. •SANTA RITA
SOUTHWEST A•o• CANANNA •
POVCE o '
••,•os•,
PETA•glLLA
SALVADOR
- POTRE
RILLOS
DISPUTADA
NEVADA
'•6ø• NEW
• • AR, Z 0 NA MEXICO
• o •x
• • Albuquerqu•_
'
<[ 0 -
1_34
ø• • 0
I-J
k • oo• s• o _
• o o • Oo o
.o
½ oø
• • o • •. •_ • Mid-T,
Hiar•
porph•r•
I • • o• • • Jurassic
porphyry
I • • • • • • Precombrion
mossi•
ore bodiesin the samearea. This greater density tion first shifted progressivelysouthward from
allows better definition of structural controls and a
British Columbia to Sonora during Mesozoic and
more preciseoutlining of the generalcluster. Laramidetime (200 to 54 m.y. ago) andthenshifted
Figure 3 showsthe Southwestprovinceore bodies eastward for the depositionof the mid-Tertiary
with age datesand agecontours.This map demon- deposits.
stratesa progressivedecreasein age from northwest Age dates of volcanicrocksof andesitic-rhyolitic
to southeastamong the Laramide deposits. The compositionin southeasternCaliforniahave recently
Mesozoicdepositsin Nevada fit this pattern, as do a beenreportedby Armstrongand Higgens(1973).
number of dated intrusive bodies in northwestern Plotted with dates for other volcanic rocks these
Nevada. The mid-Tertiary depositsdo not fit the demonstratea similar southward transgressionof
pattern, however,nor doesBisbee,the singleMeso- agesduring the Tertiary period. These data suggest
zoic age Southwestdeposit. It appearsthat in a an overallprogression in age from 55 m.y. in north-
very generalway the locusof porphyry mineraliza- ern Idaho to 22 m.y. in northwesternArizona, and
604 J. DAVID LOWELL
•6 ø -
N E W
M E X I C 0
Albuquerqu•F•
•4 o
I00 MILES
I
AGEPERIODSTRUCTURE
(m.y.)
ISEOiMENTATIO
'
NEXTRUSIVE
ACTIVITY
INTRUSIVE
ACTIVITY
MINERALIZATION
REMARKS
',eßß o
• __FI
PORPHYRIES
•0- •
%:'•
•............. 9 ',
• Flot
faulting
and
penscontemporaneous
I00- CRETACEOUS
i'•?
• F_
'1 .•.
,I
lo
":':':':':':'
• .-''
/.•
I---J
I
I•
defOrmof;oR
ofdetrital
sediments;
morginal
alternating
mot;nsand
flyschsedimentation
•? -d ..Z.:.:-:-Z
ß ", I I fogøthat
intrusion with
ond orogsny,
eruption;
,:,•:
e.'
ß ß ß
I
.9 rJ
I <YERINaTON,
UptO21,000
NEVAOA sedimentsfeet
of
leO- •• o'ø
=";'ø' II I <ELY,
NEVADA
,
4o- -
ße. ee
:::.
.- L_
I I
',
'I, I I I • Extorts;vø
erosionl
I I rr' infercalated
sediments,
• s.'•' 1,
' ',
I pyroclastics
and mar-
dURASSIC
• 'aø.
"e I I ginolmarine;geologic
160- ::.:-:.:.:.:-;.. recordpoorly known,
• I I I •I ] < BISBEE butgeneral ß .
epe•rogemc
• ßß'00
I .
ßo ,øa
I ,, I
uplift
isindicated
• ....
• I ',
-180 ':':':",':':'i [
EXPLANATION
STRUCTURE SEDIMENTATION
Relotive
intensity
ofdeformorion :k]•J Flyschtypebasin
filling
Riftfoults,horst-graben ;.'.'• Finegrained
sediments
Large displocement riot faults • Morins
sediments
Regional uplift :.:;..."•
Pyroclostice
andvolconics
Regional
subsidence
Compression EXTRUSIVE ACTIVITY, INTRUSIVE ACTIVITY,
AND MINERALIZATION: Bar graph shows
relative intensity
"• Regional
metamorphiem
Fro.4. Chartcorrelating
structure,
sedimention,
andintrusive
activity
withporphyry
mineralization
during
thepast
180 m.y. in Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
0 • MILES
I •
0 I MILLE
i I
0 • MIlLEl
i I
Mountainarea by Cooper(1960). Field work by thrust plate which appearsto drape over the south
J. E. KinnisonandJ. H. Courtrighthasextended end of the Rincon Mountains which may also be a
the overthrustplate north of Cooper'smap area portionof the "CooperOverthrust."The mechanism
(J. H. Courtright,
1973,pers.commun.), andwork for these large overthrust sheetsis poorly under-
a stood,but theycouldbe relatedin originto the large
by the writer and L. C. Arnoldhas established
Mesozoic thrust sheets in Nevada.
probable
correlation
of the fault fromthe Sierrita
Mountains east to the Helvetia district and the Em-Cooperpostulated a northwarddisplacement of the
pireMountains andfromtherenortheast to theRin- overthrustplate of about sevenmiles in the Twin
conMountains. By analogyit canbe assumed that Buttes-Pima district based on various lithologic-
overthrust sheetsin the Dragoon, Huachuca,and stratigraphic evidence includinghiscorrelationof the
Chiricahuamountainsare alsopart of the sameover- Mission-Pimaore body with the Twin Buttes ore
thrustplate or systemof imbricateplates. Drewes body. Other evidencesuggeststhat the Cooper
(197.1, unpublishedlecture, Arizona GeologicalOverthrust is an imbricate fault with an overall dis-
Society)hasrecentlydiscussed over- placement
an extensive of considerably morethansevenmiles.
CHARACTERISTICSOF PORPHYRY COPPERDEPOSITS 609
HIGH
ANGLE
FLAT
FAULT,
FAULT•
SHOWING
SHOWING
DOWNTHROWN
PROBABLE
SIO••.•
DISPLACEMENT
DIRECTION OF UPPER PLATE
o 50 IOO MILES
POSTULATED
LOCATION
OFFLAT
FAULT
LOBE I I I
The west-centraloverthrustlobe appearsto be and evidencecan be seenin many parts of the dis-
roughly centered,on the town of Parker, Arizona, trict of remnantsof an apparentlycontinuous,flat,
610 ]. DAVID LOWELL
to the N. 40 ø W. Laram.ide trend. The distribution changein the dominanttype of volcanismfrom largely
of thesestructurescan be seenin Figure 8. an intermediate-compositioncalc-alkaline to alkali-
calcic to a bimodal basalt-rhyolite suite. They sug-
RelationshipoI southwestbasin-rangestructuresto gest that this change coincideswith the intersec-
plate tectonics tion of North America with the East Pacific Rise
The relationship
of Tertiary structuresof the Basin (McKenzie and Morgan, 1969; Atwater, 1970) which
apparently is the time of the initiation of transform
and Range provinceto plate tectonicshas been out- faulting and right lateral movement in the western
lined by Stewart (1971) as follows: United States."
"One of the first attempts to relate Basin and
Range structure to large oceanic and continental The presence of porphyrydepositswith agesof 20
crustal features was by Menard (1964). He sug- m.y., 62 m.y., and 163 m.y. (Rock House Canyon,
gestedthat Basin and Range structure was r.elatedto Ray, and Bisbeedeposits),all possiblyrelatedto the
convection currents and lateral spreading on the San PedroRift Zone,suggests that:
flanks of the East Pacific Rise which he, among
others, suggestedextended into the Basin and Range 1. This zonemustbe a very persistent
and very
province. In support of this view, the crustal struc- ancientcrustalfracture(even presentconceivably
ture of the Basin and Range province is different duringthe formationof the 1,680-m.y.-old
Jerome
from that of other parts of the coterminousUnited deposi.
t).
States and similar to that of the East Pacific Rise. 2. This fracturemustbe a very potentlocalizerof
Both have thin crust, low upper-mantle velocities, the particulartype of copper-rich
plutonwhichgen-
and high heat flow (Menard, 1964; Pakiser and eratedporphyrycopperdeposits.
Zietz, 1965; James and Steinhart, 1966; Hill and
Pakiser, 1966; Pakiser and Robinson,'1966; Wollard, This relationshipis not unique in the Southwest
1966; Lee and Uyeda, 1965; Blackwell, 1967). In porphyry province, and analogoussituationsare
addition,Menard (1964) has pointedout that ridges presentin the Philippines,Chile,and British Colum-
and troughsanalogousto the basinsand rangesalso bia, wheredeposits
occur on the ocean bottom on the flanks of the East of widelydifferingagesoccurin
Pacific Rise. relativelynarrowbeltswhichare apparentlystruc-
"More recentinterpretations,however,suggestthat turally controlled.
the East Pacific Rise extends into the Gulf of Cali- Trendsof beltsof porphyrydepositsin Figure 2
fornia, where it is offsetalong many transformfaults, suggestthat:
and finally along the San Andreas fault, and doesnot
reappear again until off the northern coast of Cali- 1. The principalnorthwesterly
porphyrytrendand
fornia (Morgan, 1968; Menard, 1969, p. 134). Ac- alsothe northeasterly trendingNew Mexicomineral
cordingto theseinterpretations,the Basin and Range belt crossthe Texas Lineamentwith no apparent
province lies entirely within the North American right-lateral offset. JeromeandCook(1967) have
plate and not along the extensionof the East Pacific correlated the Texas Lineament of Arizona with the
Rise. Walker Line of Nevada. Since all or most of the
"More recent ideas relate Basin and Range struc- deformation on the Walker Line is thoughtto be no
ture to obliquetensionalfragmentationwithin a broad
belt of right-lateral movementalong the west side of
more than 17 m.y. old (Stewart, 1971), this would
the North American crustal plate. This theory is suggest that only insignificantstrike-slipdisplace-
basedon concepts developed by Carey (1958), Wise ment occurredalong the Walker Line (which con-
(1963), and Hamilton and Myers (1966), and has flictswith currentdogmaon this subject)or that the
beenput in termsof platetectonicstheoryby Atwater correlationof Jeromeand Cook is not valid.
(1970). According to this view, western North 2. The patternof depositsindicatedby Figure 2
America is within a broad belt of right lateral move- castsdoubton the long-heldopinionthat the South-
ment related to differential motion between the North west porphyriesare clusteredaround,and somehow
American and Pacific plates. Some of the right controlledby, the border of the Colorado Plateau
lateral movementis taken up on the San Andreas and (Butler, 1929).
relatedfaults. The movementis alsothoughtto pro-
ducedistributedextensionand tensionalcrustalfrag- 3. The distributionpatternof Figure 2 seemsto
mentation(includingbasinandrangestructure)along eliminatethe possibilitythat the porphyriesare
trends oriented obliquely to the trend of the San clusteredaroundand controlledby the borderof the
Andreas fault. Cretaceousbasinin southeastern
Arizona(Anderson,
"Evidencesupportinga relationshipbetweenBasin 1966; and Titley, 1970).
and Range structure and oceanic structures has been
describedby Christiansen and Lipman (1970) and The Southwestporphyrybelts persistthrough
Lipman,Pr.ostka,and Christiansen(1970). They severalperiodsof orogenyor tectophases (Johnson,
haveindicated faulting 1971),andthelatest20-m.y.-old
that the initiationof extension porphyrydeposition
in the western United States correspondswith a in Arizona,New Mexico,and Colorado postdates
by
612 J. DAVID LOWELL
,•,!ff•--• ,ooo'
l•'l [•l GROUND
___•u.,.'•';•
• --
_ ß .ooo,
2000'
FIG. 10. Sectionfrom La Caridad, Sonora,to Ajo, Arizona, showingthe positionof the column
strong primary mineralization in several porphyry depositsrelative to the presentgroundrocks.
614 J. D.4VID LOWELL
this samepoint in Tertiary history. The coincidence province (Hedge and Noble, 1971). Anderson
of a general impoundingof drainagethroughouta (1966) has pointedout that the averageK20/K20
major portion of the Province with the formation of + Na20 content (Niggli's k value) in the South-
chalcociteblanketsat severaldepositssuggeststhat westprovinceis from 0.3 to 0.4, alsotypicalof por-
perhapsa stableground-waterta'blewas established phyry provincesin other parts of the world.
which was conducive to concentration of chalcocite Cracklebrecciazonesare presentin all of the de-
in a limited stratum. An alternate explanation positsand tend to be circularin plan. Thesecrackle
would be that the dammingreflectsa period of in- zones are probablyan effect of the mineralization
tensediastrophisminvolvinglarge vertical displace- rather than a "ground preparation" causeof min.-
mentswhichfortuitouslyfollow sufficientuplift and eralization. Brecciapipesare presentin mostof the
erosionto exposethat part of the vertical column deposits and are an importantore controlin deposits
of mineralizationbest situatedto yield chalcociteen- in the Copper Basin and Copper Creek districts,
richment. Recent work at Morenci by Langton Arizona, and in the Cananea, and Caridad, Sonora,
(1972) and at Caridad by Saegart et al., (1974) districts. The Southwestporphyrydepositstend to
has suggested that at leastpart of the enrichmentof be oval in plan, but severaldistrictsincludingMiami,
these deposits occurred during periods of rapid Silver Bell, and Stafford, Arizona, and Cananea,
differential uplift of fault blocks. Most chalcocite Sonora, are multiple deposit districts which are
blanketsin the Southwestprovinceare now in the elongatedalong a structural zone.
processof destructionby oxidation and leaching The Southwestporphyriesare relativelylarge and
rather than in the processof formation. are relatively well zonedas comparedto porphyries
in most other porphyry districts. If regularity of
Local Features of Southwest Porphyries zoningreflectsattainmentof equilibriumin the min-
Characteristicsof these depositshave been tabu- eralization system,it seemslikely that they formed
lated in several previous papers (Jerome, 1966; at somewhatdeeperlevelsin the crust than deposits
Lowell and Guilbert,1970; Rose,1970; James,1971; of the southwestPacific,the Philippines,and Chile-
and Titley, 1972) and thesedata will not be repeated. Peru provinces. The general"cluster"versus"belt"
The Southwestdepositsoccurin a wide variety of distributionand the well-developed zoningand lack
wall rocks ranging from granodioriteto diorite to of strong structuralcontrol suggestthat they may
andesitcto quartzite and limestone,but they com- have formed under conditions of less extreme diastro-
monly occur in intermediateintrusive rocks. They phism. Geologicrelationships observedby the writer
are usuallywell zoned,with silicatezoningconsisting indicate minimum capping thicknessesof at least
of a central potassiczone grading outward through 5,000feetat Red Mountain,Ari'zona,andperhapsa
phyllic, argillic, and propylitic zones, and with a much greater thicknessat Caridad, Sonora. No ore
central chalcopyriteore mineral zone grading out- grade porphyrymolybdenumdepositsare known in
ward through chalcopyriteand pyrite to a pyrite the Southwestprovince.
outer zone. The depositstend to be more pyritic A variety of porphyry deposittypes and agesac-
than the western Canadadeposits. curs within the Southwestprovince, but general
s7Sr/SøSr valuesin therangeof 0.706to 0.708are conditionsof ore deposition,includingtype of struc-
reportedfor Laramideintrusiveporphyriesat Santa tural controland apparentdepthof formation,appear
Rita, New Mexico, and Ray, Arizona (Moorbath to have beenrelativelyconstant. This suggeststhat
et al., 1967). Thesecomparewith valuesof 0.76 to variationsin mineralogyand alterationzoningin the
0.80 whichwer.eassumedto representthe underlying depositsare related mainly to relatively superficial
Precambrian basementcomplex. Moorbath con- factorssuchas host-rockchemistry,local structural
eludedthat the intrusive rocks did not originateby fabric,and depthof postmineralerosion.
fusion of ancient sialic basement but must have
developed in an environment havingratiosas low, Problems with SubductionOrigin of Porphyries
or nearly as low, as the sourceregionsof basalt. The spatial associationof porphyry belts with
This wouldappearto indicatean upper-mantle source oceantrenchesand presumedsubductionzoneshas
for the intrusivesand possiblyfor the copperand beennotedin severalrecentpapers (Sillitoe, 1972;
molybdenum.Additionals7Sr/SøSr valueshavebeen and Mitchell and Garson, 1972), but this pattern
determinedby Livingston (1972, pers. commun.) doesnot appearto apply satisfactorilyto the South-
for other Southwestporphyriesand thesefall in the west provincebecauseof its distancefrom the con-
0.706to 0.710range(mostare from0.708to 0.710). tinentalmarginand the still inconclusive evidenceof
Theseinitial strontiumratiosare in closeagreement a known ocean trench at the time of the porphyry
with similar data for volcanic rocks in the Southwest mineralization. Other problems are the long per-
CHARACTERISTICSOF PORPHYRY COPPERDEPOSITS 615
sistence
throughit of masterfissureswhichwere ore agefrom Precambrianto Tertiary. It seemsunlikely
controlsat severalwidely separatedpoints in time that the tin in the Tertiary age Bolivian deposits
and alsothe province's
elliptical,not linear,shape. was derived from the floor of the Pacific Ocean and
The relationshipof plate tectonicmechanisms to processed throughcomplexsubduction concentration
porphyrybeltshas beendescribed by Mitchelland with the resultantore depositscoincidentallyfalling
Garson (1972) as follows: directlyin the Precambrianage tin province.
"Porphyrycopperdepositsare emplacedin igneous A similar relationshipexists in Coloradowhere
beltslocatedeither on continentalmarginsor in island large mid-Tertiary age porphyry molybdenumde-
arcs. These belts are related to partial melting of positsoccurin the same district with molybdenum
wet oceaniccrust descendingalong Benioff zones at mineralization on the contacts of Precambrian age
depthsof 150-250 km. Depositionof the copperoc- intrusions. This suggeststhat an abnormalmolyb-
curs where metal-carrying solutionsrising from the denumconcentrationhas been presentin, or below,
descendingcrust meet meteoric brines." the crust at this location since Precambrian time.
This explanationagreeswith muchof the observed The Precambrian age Jerome deposit in central
geologyin someof the Pacific island-arcdistricts. Arizona is' the largest massive .sulfidecopper de-
It fails to explain,however,how mostof the copper- posit in the western United States. The deposit
richplutonsin someporphyrydistrictsare selectively is one of a group of Precambrianmassivesulfide-
steeredinto what may be a singlefissurezone hun- and vein-typedepositsin the Jeromeand Bradshaw
dredsof miles long and which might have operated mountainsarea (Anderson,1958) which are inter-
as a structuralcontrolfor as long as 140 m.y. The spersed with Laramide age porphyry copper oc-
concentrationprocessoutlined also seemsunneces- currences. Here, also, it is difficult to avoid the con-
sarilycomplicated:first metal-richfluidswere de- vicfion that a copper concentrationhas existed at
rivedfrom the mid-oceanic spreadingcenters;second, depth since Precambriantime.
the metal was concentrated somewhat in oceanic Many aspectsof the timing and distribution of
crust which; third, was subductedunder the con- Southwest porphyry mineralization fit poorly with
tinentalplate and melted;and fourth, the metal was the current plate tectonicsmodel relating porphyry
concentrated by differentiationin the plutonformed depositsto subduction. The district demonstrates
and deposited in and aboveit as a porphyrydeposit evidenceof a large crustal extension--perhapsbe-
whichsomehowendsup alonga fissureon the same ginningearly in Mesozoictime, but the lack of offset
alignment with another deposit formed 140 m.y. on mineralbeltscrossingthe Texas Lineamentsug-
earlier. geststhat only minor northweststrike-slipdisplace-
It would seemmuchsimplerand more logicalto ment occurredalong the feature. Depositionof 20-
derivethe metal directlyfrom a sourcein the lower m.y.-old porphyry depositsindicateseither that At-
crustor uppermantlewith the ore depositproduced water and othershavebeenwrong in interpretingthe
in essentiallyone step,from a plutonmigratingup- chronologyof plate tectonic evolution in western
ward along a zone of crustal weakness. Spreading North America or that the depositsare not related
centersare postulatedto 'bethe sourceof metal-rich to subductionzones. The timing of the changefrom
fluids and it is temptingto suggestthat sucha zone dominantlyandesitevulcanismto basalticvulcanism
may have beenpresentbelow the crust during the in the southwestdoesnot agree with the plate tec-
formationof the Southwestdeposits. However, the tonic modelwhich correlatesthe beginningof basal-
timing of this would not fit current plate tectonic tic vulcanismwith the beginningof extensionand
dogmaand porphyry depositsare rather too acidic basin-rangetype structure (Lipman et al., 1970).
to match the depositsknown to be associatedwith When oneconsidersthat thesediscrepancies occur
spreadingcenters. in western North America which is the site of rela-
If a subductionmechanismis called upon to ex- tively detailedgeologicmappingand intensiveplate
plain the Bolivia tin depositsand the Coloradomin- tectonicresearch,it casts doubt on generalitiesas-
eral belt porphyrymolybdenum deposits,then it be- sumedregardingthe association betweenporphyries
comesapparentthat the principaland probablythe and subduction zonesin the relativelylightly studied
only sourceof metal must have beenthe upper, con- areas of the Pacific and South America.
tinental plate rather than the subductedwet, oceanic
crust. The Bolivian tin depositsoccurnear the west Acknowledgments
end of a tin metallegenicprovincewhich extends The paperhasbeenreviewedby Anne K. Loring,
acrossSouth America and is alignedwith a similar M. E. Cooley,L. C. Arnold, A. R. Still, J. H. Court-
provincein the African continent. Tin mineraliza- right, and J. D. Sell. Illustrationswere made by
tion within the provinceoccursin rocksranging in CarolynShakel,and the manuscript was prepared
616 J. DAVID LOWELL
Paige, Sidney, 1922, Copper depositsof the Tyrone district, Stewart, John H., 1971, Basin and range structure: A sys-
New Mexico: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 122, 53 p. tem of horsts and grabens produced ,by deep-seatedex-
Pakiser, L. C., and Robinson,Rhoda, 1966, Compositionof tension: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 82, p. 1019-1044.
the continental crust as estimated from seismic observa- Thompson, G. A., 1965, The rift system of the western
tions, in Steinhart, J. S., and Smith, T. J., eds., The earth U.S., in The world rift system: International Upper
beneath the .continents--a volume of geophysical studies Mantle CommissionSymposium,Ottawa, 1965; Can. Geol.
in honor of Merle A. Tuve: Amer. Geophys. Union, Survey Paper 66-14, p. 280-290.
Geophys. Mon. Ser. 10, p. 620-626. Titley, S. R., 1970, Paleotectonic environment of Arizona
and Zietz, Isidor, 1965, Transcontinental crustal and porphyry copper.deposits: Ecoa. Gv.ot.., v. 65, p. 741.
upper mantle structure: Rev. Geophysics,v. 3, p. 505-520. 1972, Some geological criteria applicable to the search
Rehrig, W. A., and Hei.drick, T. L., 1972, Regional fractur- for southwestern North America porphyry copper de-
ing in Larami.de stocks of Arizona and its relationship to posits: Am. Inst. Mining Metall. Petroleum Engineers
porphyry copper mineralization: EcoN. Gv.oI.., v. 67, p. Preprint G12.
184. Wertz, J. B., 1970, The Texas lineament and its economic
Rose, A. W., 1970, Zonal relations of wallrock alteration significancein Southeast Ar.izona: EcoN. Gv.oI.., v. 65,
and sulfide distribution at porphyry copper deposits: p. 166.
EcoN. Gv.oI.., v. 65, p. 920-936. Wise, D. U., 1963, An outrageoushypothesisfor the tectonic
Saegart, W. E., Sell, J. D., and Kilpatrick, B. E., 1974, pattern, of the North American Cordillera: Geol. Soc.
Geology and mineralization.of the La Caridad porphyry America Bull., v. 74, p. 357-362.
copperdeposit,Sonora,Mexico: EcoN. GEoI..,v. 69, no. 7. Wollard, G. P., 1966, Regional isostatic relations in the
Schmitt, H. A., 1959,The copperprovinceof the southwest: United States: in Steinhart,J. S., and Smith, T. J., eds.,
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