Pamphlet to Accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3131
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Bedrock Geologic Map of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, and Accompanying Conodont Data By Alison B. Till, Julie A. Dumoulin, Melanie B. Werdon, and Heather A. Bleick Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3131 View of Salmon Lake and the eastern Kigluaik Mountains, central Seward Peninsula 2011 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................1 Sources of data ....................................................................................................................................1 Components of the map and accompanying materials .................................................................1 Geologic Summary ........................................................................................................................................1 Major geologic components ..............................................................................................................1 York terrane ..................................................................................................................................2 Grantley Harbor Fault Zone and contact between the York terrane and the Nome Complex ..........................................................................................................................3 Nome Complex ............................................................................................................................3 High-grade metamorphic and associated igneous rocks ....................................................5 Yukon-Koyukuk basin, Angayucham terrane, and the Kugruk Fault Zone ........................6 Igneous rocks ..............................................................................................................................6 Tertiary and active deformation ........................................................................................................7 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................7 Description of Map Units .............................................................................................................................7 Surficial Deposits .................................................................................................................................7 Mesozoic and Cenozoic Igneous Rocks ..........................................................................................7 York Terrane ........................................................................................................................................12 York Mountains Succession ....................................................................................................12 Units with Uncertain Affinities ................................................................................................15 Grantley Harbor Fault Zone ..............................................................................................................17 Nome Complex ...................................................................................................................................18 Layered Sequence ....................................................................................................................18 Scattered Metacarbonate Rocks ...........................................................................................24 Metaturbidites ...........................................................................................................................26 High-Grade Metamorphic and Associated Igneous Rocks ........................................................27 Kugruk Fault Zone ..............................................................................................................................29 References Cited .........................................................................................................................................32 Appendix .......................................................................................................................................................54 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................54 Sources of data ..................................................................................................................................54 Geologic implications ........................................................................................................................55 Nome Complex and Kugruk Fault Zone .................................................................................55 York terrane and Grantley Harbor Fault Zone ......................................................................55 Figures 1. Map of northern Alaska showing major geographic areas, geological provinces, and the outline of the map area . .................................................................................................................2 2. Map of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska showing locations and names of Quaternary, Tertiary, and Cretaceous igneous rocks. Cenozoic volcanic rocks, pale yellow; Late Cretaceous tin-bearing granites, orange; compositionally diverse Early and Late Cretaceous rocks, red ..................................................................................................................................map sheet 2 Tables 1. Distribution of geologic units by quadrangle .....................................................................................40 2. Selected K-Ar, 40Ar/39Ar and Rb-Sr age determinations ..................................................................42 3. Selected U-Pb zircon analyses ............................................................................................................52 A–1. Conodont data from the Seward Penninsula ................................................................................58 A–2. Temperature ranges for Color Alteration Indices (CAIs) of conodonts . ...................................75 Sheets 1. Preliminary bedrock geologic map of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska 2. Tectonic, metamorphic, geochronologic, and geographic data for the Seward Peninsula, Alaska i Introduction data are largely from the collections of the authors, but include all available information from government, industry, and aca- This 1:500,000-scale geologic map depicts the bedrock demic sources. geology of Seward Peninsula, western Alaska, on the North Table 1 shows the distribution of the map units on the nine American side of the Bering Strait. The map encompasses all 1:250,000-scale quadrangle maps of the map area, and aug- of the Teller, Nome, Solomon, and Bendeleben 1:250,000-scale ments geographic information provided in the Description of quadrangles, and parts of the Shishmaref, Kotzebue, Candle, Map Units. and Norton Bay 1:250,000-scale quadrangles (sh. 1; sh. 2). Geochronologic data in tables 2 and 3 were compiled from Rolling, tundra-covered hills cover most of Seward Pen- the literature; a few unpublished ages were included. Results insula; trees and shrubs are present only in limited areas in the that were shown by researchers to be analytically sound and southern and eastern parts of the peninsula. Broad lowlands geologically meaningful have been included in the tables, while 40 39 underlie large areas in central and northern Seward Peninsula. less sound results (for example, Ar/ Ar age spectra lacking Part of the central area and large areas in northernmost and east- plateaus, K-Ar analyses with poor radiogenic yield) have been ernmost Seward Peninsula are an extensive, unvegetated lava excluded. In a few cases, results that did not meet these criteria field. Four glacially carved mountain ranges, the York, Kigluaik, have been included; statements in the “comments” column of Bendeleben, and Darby Mountains, reach heights of 1,000- the table indicate when and why this was done. All ages men- 1,300 m (sh. 2); the highest point on the Peninsula, Mount tioned in this report are listed in the tables. Osborn, is in the Kigluaik Mountains. The York Mountains of The appendix includes discussion of sources and dis- western Seward Peninsula and hills adjacent to them on the east tribution of conodont data and geologic implications of the are underlain by bare, unvegetated carbonate rocks. data. Table A–1 lists the conodont data by 1:250,000-scale The map area covers 74,000 km2, an area slightly larger quadrangle. Table A–2 summarizes the temperature ranges than West Virginia or Ireland. thought to correspond to color-alteration index (CAI) values of conodonts. Geologic time-scale age boundaries used are those of Sources of Data Gradstein and Ogg (2005). This geologic map is a compilation of published and unpublished geologic mapping and information derived from other published and unpublished sources. Published geologic Geologic Summary maps at scales of 1:250,000, 1:63,360, and 1:50,000 were major sources and range in publication date from 1972 to 2005. More Major Geologic Components detailed studies, including theses, papers, and unpublished map- ping, represent work done between 1980 and 2008. Most of Seward Peninsula is underlain by rocks that were The amount of geologic detail available varies significantly part of a Late Proterozoic to