Central Valley and Coast Range Study Guide
Mesozoic Setting: volcanic arc, fore-arc basin, Great Valley sequence, Coast Range Thrust Fault, accretionary wedge,
Franciscan formation, melange, mud, turbidites, graded bedding, ophiolitic rocks, chert - ooze, pillow basalt lavas, sheeted dike complex, mafic intrusion (gabbro), MOHO, ultra-mafic intrusion; high pressure metamorphic rocks, serpentinite, blueschist
What is an ophiolite? Describe the sequence of rocks typically found in an ophiolite.
What is melange? What kinds of rocks does it contain? Where does it form? How does melange control the landscape in San Francisco and the coast range?
Explain how turbidites form and why they contain graded bedding. Where are they found in California?
Explain the relationship between the Sierra Nevada batholith, the Central Valley, and the Coast Range. What types of rocks make up each region, and how did they form?
Explain why the Central Valley is a large, solid mass of yellow/green on the map. What kind of rocks are these? When and how did they form? What was their tectonic setting?