Late Paleozoic paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the western U.S. Cordillera

Miller, Elizabeth L.; Miller, M. Meghan; Stevens, Calvin H.; Wright, James E.; Madrid, Raul J.

doi:10.1130/dnag-gna-g3.57

Cited by 94 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Relict scraps of the high-P Red Ant terrane occur along its western margin. The Northern Sierra-Feather River amalgam + the Red Ant blueschists are probably correlative with the Eastern Klamath terrane-Central Metamorphic belt + the Stuart Fork terrane (Hacker and Goodge, 1990;Hacker and Peacock, 1990;Miller et al, 1992 (Yule et al, 2006).…”

Section: Geological Overview Of the Sierran Foothillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesozoic transpression, transtension, subduction and metallogenesis in northern and central California

2008

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Middle Paleozoic to Middle Jurassic terrane assemblies in the Klamaths and Sierran Foothills consist of mafic-ultramafic complexes + fine-grained terrigenous strata derived from previously accreted continental-margin belts. Sutured oceanic terranes reflect c. 230 Myr of margin-parallel slip involving chiefly transtension and transpression. Quartzofeldspathic clastic rocks and blueschists ± eclogites are very rare. Little devolatilization occurred at magmagenic depths; hence, coeval hydrothermal ore deposits and granitoids are uncommon. In contrast, nearly head-on Cretaceous subduction of the Farallon plate generated the massive Klamath-Sierra Nevada volcanicplutonic arc, reflecting dewatering of the eastward descending oceanic lithosphere in the magmagenic zone. Immature Great Valley forearc and Franciscan trench deposits shed from the arc record c. 70 Myr. of rapid crustal growth. Au-bearing solutions rising from magmagenic depths, exsolved from plutons, and expelled from heated wall rocks were mobilized attending arc construction. Precipitation of gold-bearing quartz veins

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Section: Geological Overview Of the Sierran Foothillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesozoic transpression, transtension, subduction and metallogenesis in northern and central California

2008

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“…The McCloud Fauna is distinct from the fauna of coeval North American strata. The degree of separation required to produce this faunal provincialism is commonly assumed to have been b 1000 km [24,25], and the arcs are inferred to have been separated from the autochthon by a marginal basin [16] or to be autochthonous on North American basement [26] (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Stikinia-quesnelliamentioning

confidence: 99%

The odyssey of the Cache Creek terrane, Canadian Cordillera: Implications for accretionary orogens, tectonic setting of Panthalassa, the Pacific superwell, and break-up of Pangea

Johnston

Borel²

2007

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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The Cache Creek terrane (CCT) of the Canadian Cordillera consists of accreted seamounts that originated adjacent to the Tethys Ocean in the Permian. We utilize Potential Translation Path plots to place quantitative constraints on the location of the CCT seamounts through time, including limiting the regions within which accretion events occurred. We assume a starting point for the CCT seamounts in the easternmost Tethys at 280 Ma. Using reasonable translation rates (11 cm/a), accretion to the StikiniaQuesnellia oceanic arc, which occurred at about 230 Ma, took place in western Panthalassa, consistent with the mixed Tethyan fauna of the arc. Subsequent collision with a continental terrane, which occurred at about 180 Ma, took place in central Panthalassa, N 4000 km west of North America yielding a composite ribbon continent. Westward subduction of oceanic lithosphere continuous with the North American continent from 180 to 150 Ma facilitated docking of the ribbon continent with the North American plate.The paleogeographic constraints provided by the CCT indicate that much of the Canadian Cordilleran accretionary orogen is exotic. The accreting crustal block, a composite ribbon continent, grew through repeated collisional events within Panthalassa prior to docking with the North American plate. CCT's odyssey requires the presence of subduction zones within Panthalassa and indicates that the tectonic setting of the Panthalassa superocean differed substantially from the current Pacific basin, with its central spreading ridge and marginal outward dipping subduction zones. A substantial volume of oceanic lithosphere was subducted during CCT's transit of Panthalassa. Blanketing of the core by these cold oceanic slabs enhanced heat transfer out of the core into the lowermost mantle, and may have been responsible for the Cretaceous Normal Superchron, the coeval Pacific-centred mid-Cretaceous superplume event, and its lingering progeny, the Pacific Superswell. Far field tensile stress attributable to the pull of the slab subducting beneath the ribbon continent from 180 to 150 Ma instigated the opening of the Atlantic, initiating the dispersal phase of the supercontinent cycle by breaking apart Pangea. Docking of the ribbon continent with the North American plate at 150 Ma terminated the slab pull induced stress, resulting in a drastic reduction in the rate of spreading within the growing Atlantic Ocean.

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“…The Roberts Mountain thrust system associated with the Devonian-Mississippian Antler orogeny, the Golconda thrust system associated with the Permian-Triassic Sonoma orogeny (Miller et al, 1992;Oldow, 1984;Speed and Sleep, 1982;Speed, 1977) and the Jurassic-Cretaceous Luning-Fencemaker thrust system (Hardyman and Oldow, 1991;Oldow, 1984;Wyld, 2002) are coincident with and may have reactivated structures associated late Proterozoic rifting as well (Grauch et al, 2003). (Craig et al, 1978;Hunt et al, 2005;van Soest, 2007, 2006;Kennedy et al, 2000;Newell et al, 2005;Tonani et al, 1998;Torgersen and Jenkins, 1982;B.M.…”

Section: Edge Of the Proterozoic Cratonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional crustal-scale structures as conduits for deep geothermal upflow

Siler

Kennedy

2016

Geothermics

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a b s t r a c tGeothermal fluids produced from two of the largest production geothermal fields in the Great Basin have helium isotope ratios that are anomalously high relative to basin-wide trends. These data indicate that the geothermal systems, Dixie Valley, Nevada and McGinness Hills, Nevada have an anomalously high fraction of mantle derived fluid. These connections to deeply derived fluid and heat may supplement crustal heat production and be responsible, in part, for the anomalously high production capacity, relative to other Great Basin geothermal fields, that Dixie Valley and McGinness Hills support. Deep-seated crustal structures across the Great Basin and around the world are known to be associated with structural reactivation, can have relatively high permeability, and can act as fluid flow conduits. These deep seated structures across the Great Basin control upflow of deeply derived heat and fluids into the shallow geothermal systems at Dixie Valley and McGinness Hills, contributing to their productivity.

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Late Paleozoic paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the western U.S. Cordillera

Cited by 94 publications

References 62 publications

Mesozoic transpression, transtension, subduction and metallogenesis in northern and central California

Mesozoic transpression, transtension, subduction and metallogenesis in northern and central California

The odyssey of the Cache Creek terrane, Canadian Cordillera: Implications for accretionary orogens, tectonic setting of Panthalassa, the Pacific superwell, and break-up of Pangea

Regional crustal-scale structures as conduits for deep geothermal upflow

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