Plate motions recorded in tectonostratigraphic terranes of the Franciscan Complex and evolution of the Mendocino triple junction, northwestern California
The Mendocino triple junction area of northern California is underlain by the Coastal belt of the Franciscan complex, flanked on the east by the Central and Eastern belts of the Franciscan Complex. The coastal belt is further divided into three tectonostratigraphic terranes. Upper Cretaceous through middle Miocene rocks included in these terranes were accreted to the North American plate margin partly during normal convergence with the Farallon plate between 49 and 25 Ma at poleward rates of 2 to 5cm /yr, and partly during translation with the Pacific plate between 14 and 2 Ma at poleward rates of 3 to 6cm/yr. The evolution of the triple junction is discussed. -from Author
