Introduction to special section on the California-Arizona crustal transect: Part II

In May 1988, a multidisciplinary conference was held in Flagstaff, Arizona, to synthesize recent research on the crustal structural and evolution of a transect across the southern Cordillera. This transect extends from the southern Colorado Plateau southwestward across the Arizona Transition Zone, through the Basin and Range province in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, to the San Andreas fault system, and thence westward across the Imperial Valley and Peninsular Ranges and into the southern California Borderland. Most discussion concerned the eastern part of the transect, from the Colorado Plateau to the San Andreas fault [Sass et al., 1988; Howard et al., 1990]. For this meeting, the name CACTIS (California‐Arizona Crustal Transect‐Interim Synthesis) was coined by J. Sass.