Jan 7: “Rincon Mountains: Seen Through Geological Time
George Davis, Ph.D.: Professor Emeritus, Geosciences; former Vice Provost; former Acting VP of Business affairs; University of Arizona
Wednesday, January 7, 2026, 3:00-4:00 pm,
Koffler Great Room at ASA and zoom
Though Saguaro National Park was established primarily on the basis of its bountiful display of the nation’s largest cacti, the Park benefits additionally because it contains world-class geology. The Rincon Mountains are a type example of a “Cordilleran metamorphic core complex” fashioned about 25-17 million years ago. The dominant structure in the Catalina-Rincon metamorphic core complex is a major “detachment fault”, called the “Catalina detachment fault”, which demarcates the western and southern margins of the Rincon Mountains, and there are extraordinary exposures of the fault relationships within Saguaro National Park. “Metamorphic core complexes” were first proposed in the mid-1970s as an entirely new type of mountain system. This recognition was significantly led by speaker George Davis and his close colleague, Peter Coney. The discovery saga, which would engage an entire geoscience community, is one of interplay of science and serendipity.
3D Rincon model of the form and structure of the Rincon Mountains.
Gold Star marks viewing platform of Arizona Senior Academy.