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El Capitan Granite is a type of granite (also see granodiorite), in a large area near El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, California, United States. The granite forms part of the
A technical link
Another technical link
Geology of California Geology of Yosemite National Park Cretaceous magmatism Yosemite National Park {{Yosemite-stub
El Capitan Granite is a type of granite (also see granodiorite), in a large area near El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, California, United States. The granite forms part of the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite
The Tuolumne Intrusive Suite is one of several intrusive suites in Yosemite National Park. These also include
# Fine Gold Intrusive Suite
# Intrusive Suite of Buena Vista Crest
# Intrusive Suite of Jack Main Canyon
# Intrusive Suite of Mer ...
(also known as Tuolumne Batholith), one of the four major intrusive suite
An intrusive suite is a group of plutons related in time and space.Glazner, Allen F, Stock, Greg M. (2010). ''Geology Underfoot in Yosemite''. Mountain Press, p. 45. . All rocks in an intrusive suite result from the same magma-producing event.The ...
s within the Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
.
El Capitan granite is mostly unjointed.
Composition
The granite has abundant quartz, plagioclase, crystals of orthoclase, and both feldspars — orthoclase and plagioclase — are white. Hornblende is rare, compared to otherYosemite
Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...
granites. Most black minerals are biotite
Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more alumino ...
.Glazner, Allen F, Stock, Greg M. (2010). ''Geology Underfoot in Yosemite''. Mountain Press, p. 45.
Location
It is found west of Half Dome Granodiorite, both north and south, to a western limit near Cookie Cliffs. All of Turtleback Dome, El Capitan, The Three Brothers, andCathedral Rocks
The Cathedral Rocks () are a series of four abrupt cliffs interspersed by short glaciers and surmounted by sharp peaks. The cliffs extend for along the south side of Ferrar Glacier and form part of the north shoulder of the Royal Society Rang ...
are made of El Capitan Granite as is Elephant Rock.
El Capitan Granite makes up most of the granite found in the west half of the Yosemite Valley area.
Age
El Capitan Granite intruded older plutonic rocks about 103 Ma, during the Cretaceous Period.
See also
* Cathedral Peak Granodiorite * Geology of the Yosemite area * Half Dome Granodiorite * Kuna Crest Granodiorite *Sentinel granodiorite
Sentinel granodiorite is a type of granodiorite found in Yosemite National Park. It is a poorly understood western "outlier" of the ~93-85- Ma Tuolumne Intrusive Suite of the Sierra Nevada batholith. It is only slightly older than the undated Yos ...
* Tuolumne Intrusive Suite
The Tuolumne Intrusive Suite is one of several intrusive suites in Yosemite National Park. These also include
# Fine Gold Intrusive Suite
# Intrusive Suite of Buena Vista Crest
# Intrusive Suite of Jack Main Canyon
# Intrusive Suite of Mer ...
References
External links
A technical link
Another technical link
Geology of California Geology of Yosemite National Park Cretaceous magmatism Yosemite National Park {{Yosemite-stub