Shallow Curie‐point isotherm depths, indicated by the analysis of magnetic anomalies, young silicic volcanism, hot springs, and high heat flow mark the Cascade Range of central Oregon as a potentially important geothermal resource area. Aeromagnetic measurements in the central Cascades between 43°00′ and 44°15′N latitude and 121°00′ and 122°30′W longitude exhibit predominant northwest‐southeast lineations and less prominent north‐northeast by south‐southeast lineations. Longer wavelength components of the magnetic anomalies (greater than 25 km), possibly related to deeper sources, trend approximately north‐south parallel to the Cascade Range. Magnetic anomalies show a right‐lateral offset of the High Cascades Volcanism at 43°30′N latitude, which is consistent with the tectonic structures of the Basin and Range province southeast of the area. Magnetic source depth calculations show that the High Cascades occupy a structural depression or graben on the eastern side of the Western Cascades. Spectral analysis of the magnetic anomalies suggests that the High Cascades are underlain by Curie‐point isotherm depths as shallow as 9 km. These shallow Curie‐point isotherm depths imply thermal gradients greater than 50°C/km and surface heat flow greater than [Formula: see text].

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[1] The Amphitheater Mountains and southern central Alaska Range expose a thick sequence of Triassic Nikolai basalts that is underlain by several mafic-ultramafic complexes, the largest and best exposed being the Fish Lake and Tangle (FL-T) mafic-ultramafic sills that flank the Amphitheater Mountains synform. Three-dimensional (3-D) modeling of gravity and magnetic data reveals details of the structure of the Amphitheater Mountains, such as the orientation and thickness of Nikolai basalts, and the geometry of the FL-T intrusions. The 3-D model (50 × 70 km) includes the full geographic extent of the FL-T complexes and consists of 11 layers. Layer surfaces and properties (density and magnetic susceptibility) were modified by forward and inverse methods to reduce differences between the observed and calculated gravity and magnetic grids. The model suggests that the outcropping FL-T sills are apparently connected and traceable at depth and reveals variations in thickness, shape, and orientation of the ultramafic bodies that may identify paths of magma flow. The model shows that a significant volume (2000 km 3 ) of ultramafic material occurs in the subsurface, gradually thickening and plunging westward to depths exceeding 4 km. This deep ultramafic material is interpreted as the top of a keel or root system that supplied magma to the Nikolai lavas and controlled emplacement of related magmatic intrusions. The presence of this deep, keel-like structure, and asymmetry of the synform, supports a sag basin model for development of the Amphitheater Mountains structure and reveals that the feeders to the Nikolai are much more extensive than previously known.

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