Petrology of the Early Cretaceous Sierra Nevada Batholith; the Stokes Mountain region, CA

Previous studies have shown that the early Cretaceous batholith (130-110 Ma) contains the least chemically and isotopically evolved lithologies of the composite Sierra Nevada batholith. Mapping at 1:24,000 of a 360 km^2 area in the foothills ESE of Fresno (the Stokes Mountain region; latitude 36°30') reveals a smoothly continuous range (SiO_2 = 44-78%) of calcic lithologies dominated by norites, hornblende gabbros, quartz diorites, tonalites and granodiorites.