The Sierra Nevada batholith was emplaced in a Mesozoic continental arc setting in which oblique convergence should have caused dextral transcurrent motion. Such motion has been difficult to demonstrate due to the level of exposure; however evidence for such a fault having 400 km of displacement has recently been documented in a series of roof pendant preserved in the Sierra Nevada. This project will map the candidate fault in the roof pendants and associated shear zones in the batholith in order to constrain the kinematic history. Samples will also be dated to put temporal constraints on the movement. Results are of considerable significance in Mesozoic plate motions of the area and on the nature of intrabatholithic strike-slip faults.
