UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 

 Bulletin of the Department of Geology 



THE GEOMORPHOGENY OF THE 

 UPPER KERN BASIN 



BY 



Andrew C. Lawson. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 292 



Petrographic and Structural Features 293 



Rocks and Geomorphy 293 



Granitic Rocks 294 



Dykes 296 



Disintegration 297 



Kaweah Peaks and the Mineral King Belt 298 



Quaternary Lavas 300 



The Roof of the Granite 301 



Jointage " 302 



Faults and Fissures 304 



The General Relief and Drainage 305 



The High Mountain Zone 307 



The Summit Upland 307 



The Sub-summit Plateau 308 



Other Plateau Remnants 309 



Sculpture of the High Mountain Zone 310 



Significance of Upland and Plateau 312 



The High Valley Zone 315 



Chagoopa Plateau 315 



Toowa Valley 319 



The Little Kern Plateau 325 



Former Connection of High Valleys 327 



The Canon Zone : 328 



Kern Canon and Crustal Rifting 331 



Kernbuts and Kerncols 331 



Possible Explanations 333 



Landslide Hypothesis 334 



Rift Hypothesis 336 



