Tectonophysics, 111 (1985) 139-146 139

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

Letter Section

Foliated Cataclasites

F.M. CHESTER, M. FRIEDMAN and J.M. LOGAN

Center for Tectonophysics and Departments of Geology and Geophysics,
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 (U.S.A.)
(Received September 28,1984)

ABSTRACT

Chester, FM., Friedman, M. and Logan, J.M., 1985. Foliated cataclasites. Tectono-
physics, 111: 139-146.

Contrary to recently proposed classifications of fault-related rocks (esp. Wise et al.,

1984), cataclasis associated with brittle faulting can produce well-foliated fault gouge.
Naturally foliated gouge associated with the Punchbowl fault, Los Angeles Co., California
is reproduced in experiments in which only brittle conditions and cataclastic deformation
mechanisms prevailed. Moreover, only a brittle regime of physical conditions is inferred
for the Punchbowl faulting. Classifications of fault-related rocks must accommodate
foliated cataclasites.

INTRODUCTION

Fabrics, textures and mineral segregations defining layering (foliation,

planar anisotropy) have long been recognized as attributes of fault-related
rocks, particularly mylonites (Lapworth, 1885). Such layering has been so
closely associated with ductile faulting that it has been proposed as the
primary characteristic of ductile faults in recent classifications of fault-
related rocks (Sibson, 1977; Wise et al., 1984). These authors suggest that
brittle faults produce only non-foliated cataclasites.
The purpose of this note is to point out that such layering can be pro-
duced by purely cataclastic mechanisms and that brittle faulting can pro-
duce foliated fault-related rocks. This will be done by (a) describing folia-
tions in the gouge of the Punchbowl fault, Los Angeles Co., California, and
(b) describing identical foliations produced in experiments for which there
is no doubt that brittle conditions prevailed and that brittle deformation
mechanisms dominated.

FOLIATIONS IN THE PUNCHBOWL FAULT ZONE

The Punchbowl fault is an inactive, exhumed trace of the San Andreas

fault system in southern California. It is located on the northeastern side

0040-1951/85/$03.30 0 1985 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

140

I -i
N

1 0 Sedimentary

Metamorphic
rocks

rocks

SA San Andrea ’
SG San Gabriel

Fig. 1. Map of the trace of the Punchbowl fault and sample locality (after Dibblee, 1968).

of the San Gabriel Mountains, approximately 5 km to the southwest of the

historically active trace of the San Andreas (Fig. 1). The Punchbowl fault
was active throughout much of the Quaternary, with from 20 to 40 km of
right-lateral, strike-slip displacement (Sharp and Silver, 1971; Woodburne,
1975).
The fault-related rocks described herein are from a trace of the Punchbowl
fault in the Devils Punchbowl, Valyermo quadrangle, California. Arkosic
sandstone, siltstone and conglomerate of the Mio-Pliocene Punchbowl For-
mation (type locality Valyermo quadrangle, Noble, 1954) are in fault con-
tact with a highly deformed belt of igneous and metamorphic rocks (Crushed
Basement, Noble, 1954). The fault consists of a main, continuous gouge
layer bounded by zones of damaged host-rock. The gouge layer is easily
distinguishable from the damaged host-rock on the basis of its brown color
and extremely-fine-grain size. The gouge ranges in width from 5 cm to 1 m,
and forms texturally distinct and abrupt contacts with the host-rock. The
zones of damaged host-rock directly adjacent to the main gouge layer are
pervaded with smaller, subsidiary faults.
Foliated rocks in the Punchbowl fault zone are evident at both the meso-
scopic and microscopic scales (Chester, 1983). The latter is more common
and is defined by mineral segregations (compositional layering), preferred
orientation of grain shapes (textural layering) and ordered sets of fractures.

-
Fig. 2. Natural foliated cataclasites developed in the Punchbowl fault zone. a and b.
Photomicrographs show typical microscopic foliation in section cut perpendicular to the
fault and parallel to the shear direction; sense of shear is right-lateral. Scale bars are
0.2 mm. Ppl. (b) is an enlargement of (a). Note mineral segregations, discrete shears and
dextral shear of the opaque trailings. c. Photograph of the mesoscopic shear zone shows
foliation (compositional layering) developed at about 140” to the right-lateral shear zone.
Scale line is 0.2 m. Angle convention is given below (c).
Angle convention :
_ Shear zone
boundary
142

The gouge layers of subsidiary faults in the damaged Punchbowl Forma-

tion range in width up to 10 mm. The microstructures within a representa-
tive subsidiary fault include local mineral segregations and surfaces of dis-
crete shearing (Fig. 2a, b). In this example the mineral segregations define
layering that is inclined at approximately 170” to the shear direction (see
angle convention, Fig. 2). The mineral segregations are composed primarily
of ultra-fine-grained quartz, feldspar, amorphous limonite and coarser-
grained quartz/feldspar aggregates. The discrete shear surfaces are predom-
inantly oriented parallel or slightly oblique to the fault plane. They are
characterized by their linearity and ultra-fine grain size.
Microstructural relations in the subsidiary fault gouges suggest that the
shears play a role in producing the mineral laminations. This is demon-
strated in Fig. 2b by the offset and elongation of a quartz/feldspar pod by a
shear in the central portion of the gouge layer. Similar compositional layer-
ing is also evident in the main fault zone at the mesoscopic scale, and ap-
pears to have a mechanism of formation analogous to that at the micro-
scopic scale (Fig. 2~).
The gouge material of the central, main gouge layer of the Punchbowl
fault consists of a brown-colored matrix and irregular shaped porphyro-
clasts of microcrystalline quartz and calcite. The matrix consists primarily
of quartz, feldspar and smectite; and constitutes greater than 50% of the
gouge. Matrix grains that can be distinguished optically are typically equant,
angular porphyroclasts of quartz or feldspar that are less than 5 pm in
diameter. The irregularly shaped porphyroclasts are the offset remnants of
filled fractures in the gouge, and are often 50-100 pm in size.
Compositional layering and preferred orientation of clay grains and
elongate porphyroclasts in the gouge define an approximately co-planar
textural and compositional foliation that is generally orientated at less than
180” from the shear direction of the fault (Fig. 2). In addition, micro-
scopic fractures and discrete shears pervade the gouge, have strong preferred
orientations at 20” to 30” to the fault surface, and also constitute distinct
foliations. Offset of filled fractures and porphyroclasts in the gouge by the
shears demonstrate they have a consistent sense of slip that is sympathetic
to the right-lateral strike-slip of the fault. These are approximately parallel
to the well-known R1 Riedel shears (Logan et al., 1979).

PHYSICAL REGIME FOR PUNCHBOWL FAULTING

The maximum depth of faulting recorded in the exposure of the Punch-

bowl fault studied is estimated from the maximum depth of burial of the
Punchbowl Formation. This depth is probably no more than 4 km, and
possibly much shallower (Chester, 1983). The shallow crustal conditions
indicate that faulting took place under low temperatures (about 100°C) and
 143

low mean effective pressures (about 45 MPa). At such conditions silicates

would deform primarily by cataclasis (fracture and rigid-body motions). This
is corroborated by the texture and mineral assemblages of the Punchbowl
fault-related rocks. Microstructures show that cataclastic mechanisms of
fracture, rigid-rotation of grain fragments, and frictional sliding along grain
boundaries were dominant. Microstructures also indicate that some fluid-
assisted processes such as dissolution and precipitation of silica took place
during faulting; however, they were apparently insignificant relative to the
cataclastic mechanisms in producing the high strains in the fault zone (Ches-
ter, 1983).

CATACLASTIC FOLIATIONS IN EXPERIMENTS

Several workers have reported that compositional and textural layering

is produced in polymineralic simulated fault-gouge from shearing under
confining pressure in rock-friction experiments (Jackson and Dunn, 1974;
Logan et al., 1979, 1981; Higgs, 1981). Geometrically and texturally iden-
tical layering also occurs in the gouge generated experimentally by dragging
a steel coal-mining rock-cutting tool (AP24 Austin Flat Cutter) through
sandstone (Friedman and Ford, 1983). In this experiment, the sandstone
is unconfined and at room temperature and the rate of grooving is slow
(about 2.0 cm/see). There is little doubt that only low-temperature, cata-
elastic, brittle mechanisms were operative.
Initially the cutter creates a series of ordered fractures and very-fine-
grained debris which it reworks at the shearing interface between bit and
rock (Fig. 3a). This reworking produces mineral segregations and align-
ments that are inclined from 140” to nearly 180” from the shear direction
and are offset along shears inclined at 10” to 30” from the shear direction
(Fig. 3). The mineral segregations reflect the original mineralogy of the Ten-
nessee sandstone, i.e., quartz grains, interstitial clay and iron-oxide cement.
The mineral layering in both the rock-friction and drill-bit experiments
is thought to be produced in shear by rotation and elongation of the con-
trasting mineral components through cataclastic flow at a very-fine scale,
and offset on discrete shears (Higgs, 1981; Logan et al., 1981). In the rock-
friction experiments the internal, discrete shears are viewed as part of the
Riedel array (e.g., Logan et al., 1979, 1981) and also produce pervasive
foliations.
The mineral layering seen in the experiments is remarkably similar to that
in the Punchbowl fault-zone gouges (compare Figs. 2 and 3). Although
fluid-assisted mechanisms may have aided the cataclastic compositional
differentiation in the natural gouges, the experiments show that develop-
ment of compositional layering does not necessitate mechanisms other than
cataclasis.
Fig. 3. Photomicrographs showing foliation developed in gouge produced by dragging an
AP 24 Austin flat rock-cutting tool through Tennessee Sandstone at room temperature
and pressure. Tool moved to the right in the plane of the paper creating a right-lateral
sense of shear at the bit/rock interface. Note a mineral layering was produced very sim-
ilar to that in the Punchbowl fault zone. Also note fractures inclined at 20”-30” to the
fault zone (bold arrows). When closely spaced these also produce a planar anisotropy.
Scale line for all three views is 0.2 mm. Ppl. Fig. 3c is an enlargement of the white rec-
tangle in Fig. 3b.
 145

DISCUSSION

Foliated fault-related rocks can be produced solely by cataclastic mecha-

nisms, a fact that is important in the design of classification schemes and in
related inferences regarding petrogenesis (Sibson, 1977; Wise et al., 1984).
Clearly, the presence or absence of foliation cannot be used solely to deter-
mine whether fault-rocks formed under brittle shallow-crustal conditions or
ductile deep-seated conditions.
Although cataclastic deformation at the scale of individual particles
primarily involves brittle fracture, cataclasis can produce macroscopically
ductile uniform flow of the aggregate as a whole (Griggs and Handin, 1960).
In aggregates deformed by cataclasis to high finite strains where significant
rigid-body rotation of particles occurs, both dimensional and crystallo-
graphic preferred orientations, albeit weak, may develop (Borg et al., 1960).
Moreover, the angular particles characteristically formed by fracturing and
crushing do not detract from the smooth outline and flow characteristics
of the aggregate (Gallagher, 1981). Thus, cataclastic flow can lead to flatten-
ing of mineral components and the generation of flow or fluxion structures
much the same way as in microscopically ductile deforming mylonites.
We prefer the non-genetic definition for mylonitic rocks suggested by Bell
and Etheridge (1973) and adopted by many workers (e.g., Tullis et al., 1982).
In this view mylonites occur in relatively narrow planar zones, have en-
hanced foliation and possibly lineation, and show grain size reduction from
the protolith. From the time of Lapworth (1885) to the early 1970’s most
classic examples of mylonites were interpreted to be products of microscopic
brittle deformation (e.g., Lapworth, 1885; Higgins, 1971). It is now known
that most of these “type” examples actually are products of ductile faulting,
in that intracrystalline plastic deformation mechanisms were dominant (Bell
and Etheridge, 1973). However, as shown herein, the cataclastic processes of
mylonite formation envisioned by Lapworth (1885) do in fact occur, and
can lead to the development of foliated rocks with flow or fluxion structures.
In genetic classifications such as those by Sibson (1977) and Wise et al.
(1984) there must be provision for foliated cataclasites.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Field study of the Punchbowl fault zone was supported by USGS Con-
tracts 14-08-0001-21181 and 14-08-0001-G-820. The rock-cutting tool ex-
periments and observational studies were supported by the Sandia National
Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico. We thank Dr. John H. Spang for
his thoughtful review of the manuscript.
146

REFERENCES

Bell, T.H. and Etheridge, M.A., 1973. Microstructure of mylonites and their descriptive
terminology. Lithos, 6: 337-348.
Borg, I., Friedman, M., Handin, J. and Higgs, D.V., 1960. Experimental deformation of
St. Peter Sand: a study of cataclastic flow. In: Rock Deformation (a symposium).
Geol. Sot. Am. Mem., 79: 133-191.
Chester, F.M., 1983. Mechanical properties and fabric of the Punchbowl fault zone,
California. M.Sci. Thesis, Texas A&M Univ., College Station, Tex., 143 pp.
Dibblee, T.W., 1968. Displacements on the San Andreas fault system in the San Gabriel,
San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains, southern California. Proc. of Conf. on
Geologic Problems of the San Andreas Fault System; Stanford Publ. Geol. Sci., 11:
260-276.
Friedman, M. and Ford, L.M., 1983. Analysis of rock deformation and fractures induced
by rock-cutting tools used in coal mining. In: Rock Mechanics: Theory-Experiment-
Practice. Proc. 24th U.S. Symp. Rock Mech., Assoc. Eng. Geol., pp. 713-724.
Gallagher, J.J., Jr., 1981. Tectonics of China: Continental scale cataclastic flow. In:
Mechanical Behavior of Crustal Rocks: The Handin Volume. Geophys. Monogr., Am.
Geophys. Union, 24: 259-273.
Griggs, D. and Handin, J., 1960. Observations on fracture and a hypothesis of earth-
quakes. In: Rock Deformation (a symposium). Geol. Sot. Am., Mem., 79: 347-373.
Higgins, M.W., 1971. Cataclastic rocks. U.S. Geol. Surv., Prof. Pap., 687: 97 pp.
Higgs, N.G., 1981. Mechanical properties of ultrafine quartz, chlorite, and bentonite in
environments appropriate to upper-crustal earthquakes. Ph.D. Diss., Texas A&M
Univ., College Station, Tex., 267 pp.
Jackson, R.F. and Dunn, D.E., 1974. Experimental sliding friction and cataclasis of
foliated rocks. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. & Geomech. Abstr., 11: 235-249.
Lapworth, C., 1885. The Highland controversy in British geology: its causes, course,
and consequences. Nature, 32: 558-559.
Logan, J.M., Friedman, M., Higgs, N., Dengo, C. and Shimamoto, T., 1979. Experimental
studies of simulated gouge and their application to studies of natural fault zones. Proc.
8th Conf. on Analysis of Actual Fault Zones in Bedrock. U.S. Geol. Surv., Open File
Rep,, 79-1239: 305-343.
Logan, J.M., Higgs, N.G. and Friedman, M., 1981. Laboratory studies on natural gouge
from the U.S. Geological Survey Dry Lake Valley No. 1 well, San Andreas fault zone.
In: Mechanical behavior of crustal rocks: The Handin Volume. Geophys. Monogr.,
Am. Geophys. Union, 24: 121-134.
Noble, L.F., 1954. Geology of the Valyermo quadrangle and vicinity, California. U.S.
Geol. Surv. Quad. Map GQ-50, scale: 1:24,000.
Sharp, R.V. and Silver, L.T., 1971. Quaternary displacement on the San Andreas and
Punchbowl faults at the San Gabriel Mountains, southern California. Geol. Sot. Am.,
Abstr. Progr., 3: 191.
Sibson, R.H., 1977. Fault rocks and fault mechanisms. J. Geol. Sot. London, 133:
191-213.
Tullis, J., Snoke, D.W. and Todd, V.R., 1982. Significance and petrogenesis of mylonite
rocks. Geology, 10: 227-230.
Wise, D.U., Dunn, D.E., Engelder, J.T., Geiser, P.A., Hatcher, R.D., Kish, S.A., Odom,
A.L. and Schamel, S., 1984. Fault-related rocks: suggestions for terminology. Geology,
12: 391-394.
Woodburne, M.O., 1975. Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Transverse Ranges and adjacent
areas, southern California. Geol. Sot. Am., Spec. Pap., 162.