thumbnail

The Kanuti ophiolite, Alaska

Journal of Geophysical Research
By:  and 

Links

  • The Publications Warehouse does not have links to digital versions of this publication at this time
  • Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core

Abstract

The Kanuti ophiolite is a mafic-ultramafic thrust sheet of probable Jurassic age, formerly considered to be the upper part of the Yukon-Koyukuk ophiolite (Angayucham terrane). It is here called the Kanuti ophiolite after the Kanuti River region on the southeastern flank of the Yukon-Koyukuk Basin. The thrust sheet crops out discontinuously for a distance of more than 900 km along the northern and southeastern margins of the basin. The Kanuti consistently overlies another extensive thrust sheet, consisting mostly of pillow basalt and radiolarian chert of Devonian to Jurassic age (Narvak thrust panel). This sheet is thrust over a third sheet consisting of probable Devonian phyllite and metagraywacke, which is in turn thrust over older metamorphic rocks (Slate Creek thrust panel). The Kanuti ophiolite is a partial ophiolite that consists of a lower residual mantle suite and an upper magmatic suite, but dikes, extrusives, and sediments are absent. Because of the limited range in rock types in the ophiolite, the tectonic environment cannot be interpreted unambiguously. However, the structural and petrological data are best reconciled with an origin in a volcanic arc tectonic setting. -from Authors
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title The Kanuti ophiolite, Alaska
Series title Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume 94
Issue B11
Year Published 1989
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Journal of Geophysical Research
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details