Composition and provenance of the Puente Formation (Miocene), Los Angeles Basin

The Puente Formation (PFm) is a middle to upper Miocene clastic unit lying unconformably on the middle to lower Miocene El Modeno Volcanics and Topanga Group, within the Los Angeles basin (LAB). The PFm, about 3900m thick, is composed of sandstone, conglomerate, and mudrock deposited on a submarine fan at bathyal depths. Several intrabasinal discordances suggest active tectonics during deposition. The succession consists of two main upward thickening and coarsening megacycles reflecting submarine fan progradation. The PFm is characterized up-section by: (1) thin-bedded fine sandstone and shale (La Vida M.) grading to thick-bedded coarse sandstone an conglomerate (soquel M.); (2) thin-bedded siltstone, mudrock and sandstone (Yorba M.) grading to thick- to very thick-bedded coarse-grained sandstone and conglomerate (Sycamore Canyon M.). Sandstones of the PFm are quartzofeldspathic and suggest a probable local provenance from the plutonic, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks of the San Gabriel Mountains. Petrological parameters, however, suggest variable contribution of these source rock units through time. Coarse-grained plutonic rock fragments are abundant for the entire succession and consist of plagioclase-rich plutonic rocks perhaps sourced from the Lowe granodiorite. Microlitic, lathwork to felsitic volcanic lithic grains are also present in the lower and middle part. In the Yorba M. theremore » is a local increase of volcanic detritus (Lv/L - 0.80), represented by larger volcanic lithics and abundant volcaniclastic matrix. Metamorphic detritus is not very abundant; it is concentrated in the La Vida M. the PFm represents sedimentation during tectonically active time in the evolution of southern California.« less