19 Tectonic Evolution and Competing Models for the Opening of the Gulf of California: From Subduction to Oblique Rifting

This symposium will explore major controversies in the tectonic evolution of the Gulf of California, highlighting the timing, kinematics, and driving mechanisms behind its transition from subduction to oblique continental rifting and transform faulting.

Thursday, 23 April 2026
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LMH, Fiesta Terrace Salon

Participants

• Chair Ronald Spelz
• Chair Raquel Negrete-Aranda
• Chair Scott Bennett
• Chair Elisa Fitz-Diaz

Presentations

• 8:07 AM
  KEYNOTE: Competing Models for the Opening of the Gulf of California: Constraints from the Northern and Central Gulf
  Joann Stock, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
  410829 (Technical Sessions)
• 8:39 AM
  KEYNOTE: Sustained Oblique Rifting at Progressively Increasing Rates in the Gulf of California Since 16 Ma.
  John Fletcher, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California
  410874 (Technical Sessions)
• 9:11 AM
  KEYNOTE: Progressive Localization of Dextral Shear in the Late Miocene Gulf of California – A Hybrid Tectonic Model
  Scott Bennett, United States Geological Survey, Portland, OR and Michael Darin, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR and Rebecca Dorsey, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR and Michael Oskin, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA and Lisa Thompson, Arizona Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ and Paul Umhoefer, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
  410878 (Technical Sessions)
• 9:43 AM
  The Long Magmatic and Tectonic History of the Gulf of California Rift
  Luca Ferrari, UNAM - Campus Juriquilla, Instituto de Geociencias, Queretaro, QRO
  410971 (Technical Sessions)
• 10:23 AM
  Geochronology, Geochemistry and Geodynamic Implications of Mafic Magmatism in the Sierra Madre Occidental Silicic Large Igneous Province
  Teresa Orozco-Esquivel, UNAM Campus Juriquilla, Instituto de Geociencias, Queretaro, Qro. and Luca Ferrari, UNAM - Campus Juriquilla, Instituto de Geociencias, Querétaro, Qro. and Margarita López-Martínez, CICESE, Ensenada, B.C. and Gabriela Hernández-Quevedo, UNAM, Instituto de Geociencias, Querétaro, Qro. and Diana Guadalupe Hernández-Rubio, UNAM, Facultad de Ciencias, Querétaro, Qro. and Emma Vanesa Martínez-Reséndiz, UNAM, Facultad de Ciencias, Querétaro, Qro. and Alejandra Ávalos-Ledezma, UNAM, Posgrado en Ciencias de la Tierra, Querétaro, Qro.
  411032 (Technical Sessions)
• 10:38 AM
  Quaternary Emergence Recorded on Isla Carmen and Isla Monserrate, Bahía de Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico
  Nicholas Pinter, UC Davis, Davis, CA and John Fletcher, Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada, Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California and Kyung-Woong Yu, UC Davis, Davis, CA and Zachary Oretsky, UC Davis, Davis, CA and Ivan Peña-Villa, Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California
  411055 (Technical Sessions)
• 10:53 AM
  Fault architecture and strain localization at the Alarcón Rise, Gulf of California: insights into oblique ridge-transform systems
  Ronald Spelz, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California and Katherine, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, California and Jennifer Paduan, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, California and Ryan Portner, San José State University, San José, California and David Clague, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, California and Luis Vega-Ramírez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California and David Caress, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, California
  411035 (Technical Sessions)