The provenance of Jurassic to Cretaceous fl ysch along the northern boundary of the allochthonous Wrangellia composite terrane, exposed from the Lake Clark region of southwest Alaska to the Nutzotin Mountains in eastern Alaska, suggests that the fl ysch can be divided into two belts having different sources. On the north, the Kahiltna fl ysch and Kuskokwim Group overlie and were derived from the Farwell and Yukon-Tanana terranes, as well as smaller related terranes that were part of the paleo-Alaskan margin. Paleocurrent indicators for these two units suggest that they derived sediment from the north and west. Sandstones are predominantly lithic wacke that contain abundant quartz grains, lithic rock fragments, and detrital mica, which suggest that these rocks were derived from recycled orogen and arc sources. Conglomerates contain limestone clasts that have fossils matching terranes that made up the paleo-Alaskan margin. In contrast, fl ysch units on the south overlie and were derived from the Wrangellia composite terrane. Paleocurrent indicators for these units suggest that they derived sediment from the south. Sandstones are predominantly feldspathic wackes that contain abundant plagioclase grains and volcanic rock fragments, which suggest these rocks were derived from an arc. Clast compositions in conglomerate south of the boundary match rock types of the Wrangellia composite terrane.The distributions of detrital zircon ages also differentiate the fl ysch units. Flysch units on the north average 54% Mesozoic, 14% Paleozoic, and 32% Precambrian detrital zircons, refl ecting derivation from the older Yukon-Tanana, Farewell, and other terranes that made up the paleo-Alaskan margin. In comparison, fl ysch units on the south average 94% Mesozoic, 1% Paleozoic, and 5% Precambrian zircons, which are consistent with derivation from the Mesozoic oceanic magmatic arc rocks in the Wrangellia composite terrane. In particular, the fl ysch units on the south contain a large proportion of zircons ranging from 135 to 175 Ma, corresponding to the age of the Chitina magmatic arc in the Wrangellia terrane and the plutons of the Peninsular terrane, which are part of the Wrangellia composite terrane. Flysch units on the north do not contain signifi cant numbers of zircons in this age range. The fl ysch overlying the Wrangellia composite terrane apparently does not contain detritus derived from rocks of the paleo-Alaska margin, and the fl ysch overlying the paleo-Alaskan margin apparently does not contain detritus derived from the Wrangellia composite terrane.The provenance difference between the two belts helps to constrain the location of the northern boundary of the Wrangellia composite terrane. Geophysical models place a deep, through-going, crustal-scale suture zone in the area between the two fl ysch belts. The difference in the provenance of the two belts supports this interpretation. The youngest fl ysch is Late Cretaceous in age, and structural disruption of the fl ysch units is constrained to the Late Cretaceous, so it ap...

No abstract

New geochronologic and thermochronologic data from rocks near Hatcher Pass, southwest Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska, record earliest Paleocene erosional and structural exhumation on the flank of the active Cook Inlet forearc basin. Cretaceous plutons shed sediments to the south, forming the Paleocene Arkose Ridge Formation. A Paleocene(?)-Eocene detachment fault juxtaposed ~60 Ma metamorphic rocks with the base of the Arkose Ridge Formation. U-Pb (analyzed by Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe Reverse Geometry (SHRIMP-RG)) zircon ages of the Cretaceous plutons, more diverse than previously documented, are 90.3±0.

No abstract

No abstract

A compilation on this scale could only be done with the assistance of many geologists, far more knowledgeable about the geology of various regions of Alaska than we are. We thank Chris Nye, Emily Finzel, and Dwight Bradley for discussions and information that assisted our compilation effort. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas provided strong encouragement and financial support to assist with the preparation of this map; its assistance was invaluable. Technical review of the manuscript by Les Magoon, Michael Fisher, and Richard Stanley and editorial review by Theresa Iki was greatly appreciated and helped to improve the text and map.

No abstract

No abstract