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The tectonic history of the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt (OMB) is a key to understanding the tectonic relationship between South Korea, China and Japan. The petrochemistry of 150 psammitic rocks in the OMB indicates that the depositional environment progressively deepened towards the northwest. These data, combined with the distribution pattern of oxide minerals and the abundance of carbonaceous material, support a halfgraben basin model for the OMB. Biotite and muscovite K-Ar dates from metasediments in the central OMB range from 102 to 277 Ma. K-Ar ages of 142-194 Ma are widespread throughout the area, whereas the older ages of 216-277 Ma are restricted to the metasediments of the middle part of the central OMB. The younger (Cretaceous) ages are only found in metasediments that are situated near the Cretaceous granite intrusions. The 216-277 Ma dates from weakly deformed areas represent cooling ages of M1 intermediate pressure/temperature (P/T) metamorphism. The relationship between age distribution and deformation pattern indicates that the Jurassic muscovite and biotite dates can be interpreted as complete resetting ages, caused by thermal and deformational activities associated with Jurassic granite plutonism. Well-defined 40 Ar/ 39 Ar plateau ages of 155-169 Ma for micas from both metasediments and granitic rocks can be correlated with the main Jurassic K-Ar mica ages . U-Pb zircon dates for biotite granite from the southwest OMB are 167-169 Ma. On the basis of the predominantly Jurassic igneous and metamorphic ages and the uniformity of d 002 values for carbonaceous materials in the study area, it is suggested that the OMB has undergone amphibolite facies M2 metamorphism after M1 metamorphism. This low P/T M2 regional thermal metamorphism may have been caused by the regional intrusion of Jurassic granites. The OMB may have undergone tectono-metamorphic evolution as follows: (i) the OMB was initiated as an intraplate rift in the Neoproterozoic during break-up of Rodinia, and may represent the extension of Huanan aulacogen within the South China block; (ii) sedimentation continued from the Neoproterozoic to the Ordovician, perhaps with several unconformities; (iii) M1 intermediate P/T metamorphism occurred during the Late Paleozoic due to compression caused by collision between the North and South China blocks in an area peripheral to the collision zone; and (iv) during the Early to Middle Jurassic, north-westward subduction of the Farallon-Izanagi Plate under the Asian Plate resulted in widespread intrusion of granites, which triggered M2 low P/T regional thermal metamorphism in the OMB. This event also formed the dextral Honam shear zone at the boundary between the OMB and Precambrian Yeongnam massif. Key words: d 002 values for carbonaceous material, intraplate rifting, M1 intermediate pressure/temperature metamorphism, M2 low pressure/temperature regional thermal metamorphism, Okcheon Metamorphic Belt.

The South Auckland volcanic field is one of the Pliocene-Quaternary intraplate basaltic fields in northern North Island. It consists of at least 97 monogenetic volcanic centres covering an area of c. 300 km 2 , 38 km south of Auckland. Fifty-nine of the volcanic centres are characterised by mainly magmatic or effusive activity that constructed scoria cones and lava flows, while 38 are mainly phreatomagmatic or explosive that produced tuff rings and maars. Rock types consist of basanites, hawaiites, nepheline hawaiites, transitional basalts, and oZ-tholeiitic basalts, with relatively minor amounts of nephelinites, alkali basalts, Qtholeiitic basalts, and nepheline mugearites. Forty-three new K-Ar ages are presented, which range from 0.51 to 1.59 Ma, and show two peaks of activity at 0.6 and 1.3 Ma. Paleomagnetic determinations at 26 selected sites agree well with the paleomagnetic reversal time scale and support the K-Ar age data. Age data from each of the volcanic fields of Okete, Ngatutura, South Auckland, and Auckland, which constitute the Auckland intraplate basaltic province, show that they have developed within a time span of 0.3-1.1 Ma. After activity ceased in any particular field, a new field then developed 35-38 km to the north. These consistent time/ space patterns indicate the possibility of a mantle source migrating northwards at c. 5 cm/yr. There is no correlation of rock composition with time, which is consistent with observations in the Northland intraplate province, but is not consistent with the formerly invoked rising diapir model.