Uplift and erosion of the San Bernardino Mountains associated with transpression along the San Andreas fault, California, as constrained by radiogenic helium thermochronometry

A study was conducted on the uplift and erosion of the San Bernardino Mountains (SBMs) in southern California. The low-temperature cooling history of the SBMs was analyzed using radiogenic helium thermochronometry. Results showed that the helium ages of the uplift predate the present uplift of the range and that exhumation was only several kilometers since the Late Cretaceous. These results suggest that the uplift and exhumation is associated with transpression along the San Andreas fault.