The Sierra Nevada batholith of California represents the intrusive footprint of composite Mesozoic Cordilleran arcs built through pre-Mesozoic strata exposed in isolated pendants. Neoproterozoic to Permian strata, which formed the prebatholithic framework of the Sierran arc, were emplaced against the tectonically reorganized SW Laurentian continental margin in the late Paleozoic, culminating with final collapse of the fringing McCloud arc against SW Laurentia. Synthesis of 22 new and 135 existing detrital zircon U/Pb geochronology sample analyses clarifies the provenance, affinity, and history of Sierra Nevada framework rocks.

Framework strata comprise terranes with distinct postdepositional histories and detrital zircon provenance that...