Intrusive and depositional constraints on the Cretaceous tectonic history of the southern Blue Mountains, eastern Oregon

© 2016 Geological Society of America. We present an integrated study of the postcollisional (post-Late Jurassic) history of the Blue Mountains province (Oregon and Idaho, USA) using constraints from Cretaceous igneous and sedimentary rocks. The Blue Mountains province consists of the Wallowa and Old...

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Main Authors: Gaschnig, R., Macho, A., Fayon, A., Schmitz, M., Ware, Bryant, Vervoort, J., Kelso, P., LaMaskin, T., Kahn, M., Tikoff, B.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Geological Society of America 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71188
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author Gaschnig, R.
Macho, A.
Fayon, A.
Schmitz, M.
Ware, Bryant
Vervoort, J.
Kelso, P.
LaMaskin, T.
Kahn, M.
Tikoff, B.
author_facet Gaschnig, R.
Macho, A.
Fayon, A.
Schmitz, M.
Ware, Bryant
Vervoort, J.
Kelso, P.
LaMaskin, T.
Kahn, M.
Tikoff, B.
author_sort Gaschnig, R.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2016 Geological Society of America. We present an integrated study of the postcollisional (post-Late Jurassic) history of the Blue Mountains province (Oregon and Idaho, USA) using constraints from Cretaceous igneous and sedimentary rocks. The Blue Mountains province consists of the Wallowa and Olds Ferry arcs, separated by forearc accretionary material of the Baker terrane. Four plutons (Lookout Mountain, Pedro Mountain, Amelia, Tureman Ranch) intrude along or near the Connor Creek fault, which separates the Izee and Baker terranes. High-precision U-Pb zircon ages indicate 129.4-123.8 Ma crystallization ages and exhibit a north-northeast-younging trend of the magmatism. The40Ar/39Ar analyses on biotite and hornblende indicate very rapid ( < 1 m.y.) cooling below biotite closure temperature (~350 °C) for the plutons. The (U-Th)/He zircon analyses were done on a series of regional plutons, including the Lookout Mountain and Tureman Ranch plutons, and indicate a middle Cretaceous age of cooling through ~200 °C. Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope geochemistry on the four studied plutons confirms that the Izee terrane is on Olds Ferry terrane basement. We also present data from detrital zircons from Late Cretaceous sedimentary rocks at Dixie Butte, Oregon. These detrital zircons record only Paleozoic-Mesozoic ages with only juvenile Hf isotopic compositions, indicating derivation from juvenile accreted terrane lithosphere. Although the Blue Mountains province is juxtaposed against cratonic North America along the western Idaho shear zone, it shows trends in magmatism, cooling, and sediment deposition that differ from the adjacent part of North America and are consistent with a more southern position for terranes of this province at the time of their accretion. We therefore propose a tectonic history involving moderate northward translation of the Blue Mountains province along the western Idaho shear zone in the middle Cretaceous.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-711882018-12-13T09:32:38Z Intrusive and depositional constraints on the Cretaceous tectonic history of the southern Blue Mountains, eastern Oregon Gaschnig, R. Macho, A. Fayon, A. Schmitz, M. Ware, Bryant Vervoort, J. Kelso, P. LaMaskin, T. Kahn, M. Tikoff, B. © 2016 Geological Society of America. We present an integrated study of the postcollisional (post-Late Jurassic) history of the Blue Mountains province (Oregon and Idaho, USA) using constraints from Cretaceous igneous and sedimentary rocks. The Blue Mountains province consists of the Wallowa and Olds Ferry arcs, separated by forearc accretionary material of the Baker terrane. Four plutons (Lookout Mountain, Pedro Mountain, Amelia, Tureman Ranch) intrude along or near the Connor Creek fault, which separates the Izee and Baker terranes. High-precision U-Pb zircon ages indicate 129.4-123.8 Ma crystallization ages and exhibit a north-northeast-younging trend of the magmatism. The40Ar/39Ar analyses on biotite and hornblende indicate very rapid ( < 1 m.y.) cooling below biotite closure temperature (~350 °C) for the plutons. The (U-Th)/He zircon analyses were done on a series of regional plutons, including the Lookout Mountain and Tureman Ranch plutons, and indicate a middle Cretaceous age of cooling through ~200 °C. Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope geochemistry on the four studied plutons confirms that the Izee terrane is on Olds Ferry terrane basement. We also present data from detrital zircons from Late Cretaceous sedimentary rocks at Dixie Butte, Oregon. These detrital zircons record only Paleozoic-Mesozoic ages with only juvenile Hf isotopic compositions, indicating derivation from juvenile accreted terrane lithosphere. Although the Blue Mountains province is juxtaposed against cratonic North America along the western Idaho shear zone, it shows trends in magmatism, cooling, and sediment deposition that differ from the adjacent part of North America and are consistent with a more southern position for terranes of this province at the time of their accretion. We therefore propose a tectonic history involving moderate northward translation of the Blue Mountains province along the western Idaho shear zone in the middle Cretaceous. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71188 10.1130/L554.1 Geological Society of America restricted
spellingShingle Gaschnig, R.
Macho, A.
Fayon, A.
Schmitz, M.
Ware, Bryant
Vervoort, J.
Kelso, P.
LaMaskin, T.
Kahn, M.
Tikoff, B.
Intrusive and depositional constraints on the Cretaceous tectonic history of the southern Blue Mountains, eastern Oregon
title Intrusive and depositional constraints on the Cretaceous tectonic history of the southern Blue Mountains, eastern Oregon
title_full Intrusive and depositional constraints on the Cretaceous tectonic history of the southern Blue Mountains, eastern Oregon
title_fullStr Intrusive and depositional constraints on the Cretaceous tectonic history of the southern Blue Mountains, eastern Oregon
title_full_unstemmed Intrusive and depositional constraints on the Cretaceous tectonic history of the southern Blue Mountains, eastern Oregon
title_short Intrusive and depositional constraints on the Cretaceous tectonic history of the southern Blue Mountains, eastern Oregon
title_sort intrusive and depositional constraints on the cretaceous tectonic history of the southern blue mountains, eastern oregon
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71188