- Salinian Block
The Salinian Block is a geologic province of which lies west of the main trace of the
San Andreas Fault system inCalifornia . It is bounded on the south by theBig Pine Fault inVentura County , and on the west by theNacimiento Fault .The Salinian Block is largely granitic, in accordance with its continental crustal origin, contrasting sharply, and paradoxically, with much of the crust to its east, which in much of California is mostly sedimentary and oceanic in origin. It's granitic core, or "
batholith ", shares its origins with the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Salinian Block was the southward extension of the same granitic batholith which forms the core of the Sierras, broken and moved northwest by the action of the San Andreas Fault in a fashion that is not yet fully explained.Today, northern portions of the block are visible as
Bodega Head ,Point Reyes , theFarallon Islands , and the picturesque coastal scenery of theMonterey Peninsula , exemplified atPebble Beach .The block was named for the
Salinas Valley in California.External links
* http://www.marin.cc.ca.us/~jim/geolprojects/
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