Mr Reuben Creighton

Research title: The Metallogenic and Tectonic Evolution of Walker Lane, USA

The Sierra Nevada and Walker Lane

The Walker Lane belt, runs for approx. 800 km NW-SE, behind the Sierra Nevada, and is a region of significant scientific interest. It is host to the infamous Comstock Lode, as well as numerous other epithermal precious metal deposits. The wider region has a complex tectonic history including successive episodes of orogeny, deformation and volcanism. Beginning in the mid-Miocene, Walker Lane has undergone massive crustal thinning and extension.

This project aims to combine recent seismic tomography datasets and precision argon geochronology, as well as structural work by prior researchers to build a comprehensive regional model of the evolution of Walker Lane. This model will correlate the morphology of remnant subducted material from the fragmented farallon plate with the tectonic and metallogenic events that have shaped the region.