Rocks from three large (>1002 km) tonalitic instrusions exposed in the San Jacinto Mountains of southern California show a restricted compositional range of between 63 and 68 wt% SiO2 for all but volumetrically minor felsic differentiates (with SiO2≈70 wt%). All rocks with less than 65.5 wt% SiO2 show linear element--element covariation. Felsic differentiates have characteristics (higher SiO2, K2O, Rb, Ba, U; higher and variable rare earth elements) consistent with derivation by in situ fractionation; rocks with between 65.5 and 70 wt% SiO2 have intermediate characteristics and are interpreted as derived from liquids formed by mixing ''primitive'' liquids with fractionated liquids within an intermittently recharged, continuously solidifying magma chamber. Mafic inclusions extend the compositional trends of the mafic tonalites to 55 wt% SiO2. The chemical variations of both inclusions and more mafic tonalites are interpreted as resulting from processes acting before injection of their parental liquids into the observed crustal magma chambers. Effects of chamber processes are minor for all but the most felsic rocks. The major effect of recharge is to buffer the thermal and chemical properties of liquids within the magma chambers, yielding large volumes of relatively homogeneous tonalite. For those elements where the bulk distribution coefficient is between about 0.5 and 2, concurrent recharge and solidification produces rocks that closely approximate the composition of the added liquids. Estimated Rayleigh numbers for these liquids are high (>1010), implying convection throughout much of the solidification history of each chamber. Existence of trace element variations within analyzed rocks imply that convection was not totally efficient at homogenizing the various batches of liquid added to each chamber.