Changing stresses during emplacement of the radial dike swarm at Spanish Peaks, Colorado

A two-dimensional elastic model was used to analyze the pattern produced by the mapped extent of over 600 km of dikes in the Spanish Peaks, Colorado, radial dike swarm. Optimal regional stress fields were found for dikes of four different lithologies. The direction of maximum principal horizontal regional stress during intrusion of syenite and syenodiorite dikes was N80°E. This was also the direction of minimum principal horizontal regional stress during intrusion of granite and granodiorite dikes.