Generation of Eocene volcanic rocks from the Cordilleran arc of south-central British Columbia (Canada) during subduction of the Farallon and Resurrection plates and Yellowstone oceanic plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 590-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Dostal ◽  
J. Duncan Keppie ◽  
B. Neil Church
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Oceanic Plateau ◽  
South Central

Petrology and geochemistry of the Kamloops Group volcanics, British Columbia

1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 1478-1491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Ewing
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Fractional Crystallization ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
South Central ◽  
High K ◽  
Petrology And Geochemistry

The Kamloops Group is an alkali-rich calc-alkaline volcanic suite of Early to Middle Eocene age, widespread in south-central British Columbia. Rock types in the suite range from high-K basalt through andesite to rhyolite. The suite is characterized by relatively high K2O, Sr, and Ba, but low Zr, Ti, and Ni concentrations, only moderate Ce enrichment, and little or no Fe enrichment. Initial ratios 87Sr/86Sr are about 0.7040 in the western half, and about 0.7060 in the eastern half of the study area. No difference in chemistry or mineralogy marks this sharp transition. Chemically similar suites include the Absaroka–Gallatin suite in Wyoming and the lower San Juan (Summer Coon) suite in Colorado. The content of K2O at 60% SiO2 increases regularly eastward across southern British Columbia. The chemical data support the subduction-related continental arc origin of the Kamloops Group volcanics.The volcanic rocks consist in the main of augite–pigeonite andesites ranging from 52 to 62% silica, with subordinate quantities of olivine–augite–pigeonite basalt and biotite rhyodacite and rhyolite. The andesites and basalts were derived by a combination of low-pressure fractional crystallization, higher pressure fractional crystallization, and variable parental magmas, whereas low-pressure fractional crystallization of plagioclase, biotite, and apatite from parental basalt and andesite produced the rhyolites. The parental magmas were basalts and basaltic andesites with high K, Sr, and Ba. The primary source of these magmas is inferred to have been an alkali-enriched hydrous peridotite with neither plagioclase nor garnet present in the residuum.

Age and Correlation of the Kobau Group, Mount Kobau, British Columbia

1973 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1508-1518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew V. Okulitch
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
South Central ◽  
Shuswap Metamorphic Complex ◽  
Basic Volcanic ◽  
Devonian Age ◽  
Tertiary Period ◽  
Okanagan Valley

The Kobau Group, found in south-central British Columbia, consists of highly deformed, low-grade metamorphic rocks derived from a succession of sedimentary and basic volcanic rocks of pre-Cretaceous, likely post-Devonian age. Deformation began in Carboniferous times and recurred with decreasing intensity up to the Tertiary Period. Possible correlative successions are found surrounding Mount Kobau. These include possibly late Paleozoic formations west and northwest of Mount Kobau, the Carboniferous to Permian Anarchist Group found south of the 49th parallel and east of the Okanagan Valley, the pre-Upper Triassic, possibly Mississippian Chapperon Group west of Vernon, and parts of the Shuswap Metamorphic Complex east of the Okanagan Valley. Prior to deposition of the Kobau Group, part of the Shuswap Complex was subjected to deformation, presumably in mid-Paleozoic time.

Eocene melting of Precambrian lithospheric mantle: Analcime-bearing volcanic rocks from the Challis–Kamloops belt of south central British Columbia

2003 ◽  
Vol 126 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 303-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Dostal ◽  
K. Breitsprecher ◽  
B.N. Church ◽  
D. Thorkelson ◽  
T.S. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Lithospheric Mantle ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
South Central

Magmatic composition and tectonic setting of altered, volcanic rocks of the Fennell Formation, British Columbia

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 743-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pradeep K. Aggarwal ◽  
Toshitsugu Fujii ◽  
Bruce E. Nesbitt
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Tholeiitic Basalt ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
Mineral Deposit ◽  
South Central ◽  
Ti Oxides ◽  
Upper Paleozoic

The upper Paleozoic Fennell Formation in south-central British Columbia consists of basalts and associated marine sediments metamorphosed at low greenschist facies conditions. Although the microphenocrysts of plagioclase and Fe–Ti oxides are almost completely altered, those of augite and amphibole have survived this metamorphism. In the vicinity of the Chu Chua mineral deposit, relict augite microphenocrysts, which constitute a major proportion of the microphenocryst assemblage, are enriched in Al and Ti and are similar in composition to those from alkalic and transitional basalts. Relict amphiboles are also enriched in Ti (4.5–5.9% TiO2) and are classified as kaersutites. The occurrence of kaersutite and the chemistry of relict augites indicate that in this area the Fennell Formation basalts were originally alkalic and transitional in composition. On conventional Ti–(Zr/P2O5) and (Nb/Y)–(Zr/P2O5) immobile-element discrimination diagrams, both the kaersutite-bearing and kaersutite-free rocks plot in the tholeiitic basalt field. Accordingly, it is suggested that these diagrams may not provide clear evidence for the magmatic composition of altered volcanic rocks.Based on the lead isotopic compositions, petrographic features, and alkalic character of the Fennell Formation basalts, it is interpreted that these basalts were formed in a tectonic setting similar to that of present-day oceanic islands or seamounts.

The conglomerate of Churn Creek: Late Cretaceous basin evolution along the Insular–Intermontane superterrane boundary, southern British Columbia

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-73
Author(s):  
J W Riesterer ◽  
J Brian Mahoney ◽  
Paul Karl Link
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Clastic Rocks ◽  
South Central ◽  
Lower Member ◽  
Volcanic Source ◽  
Braided Stream ◽  
Bridge Group

Upper Cretaceous coarse clastic rocks exposed in the canyon of Churn Creek, south-central British Columbia, record active basin tectonism and coeval volcanism adjacent to the boundary between the Intermontane and Insular superterranes. Mid to late Albian (~104 Ma U–Pb), calc-alkaline andesite and basaltic andesite flows, with minor conglomerate and reworked epiclastic deposits and tuffs correlative with the Spences Bridge Group of the Intermontane superterrane are exposed in the canyon. In depositional contact above the volcanic rocks is the conglomerate of Churn Creek, which contains a thick (>1 km) sequence of complexly intertonguing conglomerate and sandstone that is divided into two members composed of four lithofacies. The lower member was deposited unconformably on the underlying Albian volcanic unit and contains late Albian–Cenomanian chert-pebble (>50% chert) conglomerate and interbedded chert- and volcanic-lithic sandstone. It is interpreted to have been deposited in a braided stream system flowing from southeast to northwest. The source for the chert was most likely the Bridge River terrane, a Mississippian to Jurassic ocean floor assemblage located to the southwest of Churn Creek, south of the Yalakom fault. Gradationally overlying the lower member throughout much of the basin is a mixed chert, plutonic, and volcaniclastic lithofacies of the upper member. Plutonic debris was provided to the mixed and plutonic lithofacies of the upper member by the Little Basin pluton, which was uplifted along the northeast-directed Little Basin thrust fault on the southwest margin of the basin. The upper member also contains a volcanic-rich lithofacies composed of chaotic volcanic conglomerate and local lithic tuff derived from a coeval proximal volcanic source. The conglomerate of Churn Creek records active northeast-vergent compressional tectonism and development of piggyback basins along the boundary between the Insular and Intermontane superterranes during Albian–Santonian time. The conglomerate of Churn Creek has been correlated to the Silverquick – Powell Creek succession of the Methow terrane, based on age, stratigraphic, lithologic, structural, geochemical, and paleomagnetic similarities, and may, therefore, represent an overlap assemblage linking the superterranes in the Late Cretaceous.

Geological and geochemical evidence for variable magmatism and tectonics in the southern Canadian Cordillera: Paleozoic to Jurassic suites, Greenwood, southern British Columbia

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Dostal ◽  
B N Church ◽  
T Hoy
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Middle Triassic ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Canadian Cordillera ◽  
South Central ◽  
Upper Paleozoic ◽  
Paleozoic Rocks

The Paleozoic and early Mesozoic rocks of the Greenwood mining camp in southern British Columbia are a part of the Quesnel terrane in the eastern part of the Intermontane Belt of the Canadian Cordillera. Upper Paleozoic rocks include the Knob Hill Group composed of oceanic tholeiitic basalts (with (La/Yb)n [Formula: see text] 0.4–1.2), associated with deep ocean sedimentary rocks and serpentinites; the Attwood Group that comprises island-arc tholeiites (with (La/Yb)n [Formula: see text] 1–4 and positive εNd values), clastic sedimentary rocks and limestones; and a unit of oceanic gabbros with (La/Yb)n < 0.5. These lithologically defined units occur as tectonically emplaced slivers of oceanic crust probably produced during the closure of the Slide Mountain basin during the Permian. They are unconformably overlain by Middle Triassic calc-alkaline volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Brooklyn Group. The Brooklyn Group volcanic rocks have characteristics of mature island-arc rocks, including (La/Yb)n [Formula: see text] 2.5–4.5 and positive εNd values. The Paleozoic rocks are crosscut by a 200 million years old granodioritic intrusion containing zircon with an Early Proterozoic inheritance age (~2.4 Ga). By inference, southern Quesnellia may have been well offshore from the ancestral North American margin in the Mississippian, in close proximity to the margin by the Middle Triassic, and contiguous with it by the Early Jurassic. It is suggested that the complex tectonic history of extension and contraction of the southern Canadian Cordillera during the post Middle Jurassic can be extended in south-central British Columbia as far back as the upper Paleozoic.

Regional stratigraphy and structural setting of the Kamloops Group, south-central British Columbia

1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 1464-1477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Ewing
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Basaltic Andesite ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Fault Movement ◽  
South Central ◽  
Type Area ◽  
Slip Displacement ◽  
Fault Network

The Kamloops Group is redefined as an assemblage of Lower to Middle Eocene volcanic and sedimentary rocks widespread in south-central British Columbia. In the type area west of Kamloops, the basal Tranquille Formation consists of 500 m of lacustrine and deltaic sediments, pillowed flows, and hyaloclastites. Elsewhere, basal coal-bearing nonvolcanic fluvial and lacustrine units occur, such as the Coldwater Formation at Merritt, the Chu Chua Formation at Barriere, and the Shorts Creek Formation west of Vernon. Overlying these formations are dominantly volcanic units. At the type area, the Dewdrop Flats Formation includes over 1000 m of interstratified basaltic andesite flows, andesitic flow-breccia sheets and cones, basaltic tuff rings, and an andesitic composite cone. Elsewhere, flat-lying basaltic andesite flows about 600 m thick with local flow breccias are common.The basal sediments accumulated in separate fault-bounded basins initiated immediately before the onset of volcanism. These volcanic rocks filled the basin and formed a widespread volcanic blanket, which was disrupted by continued fault movement. The numerous basins are linked by a throughgoing fault network with up to 12 km of net right-lateral strike-slip displacement.

scholarly journals Stratigraphic affinity of Upper Cretaceous volcanic rocks in the Churn Creek-Gang Ranch area, south-central British Columbia

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
M L Haskin ◽  
J B Mahoney ◽  
R J Enkin ◽  
P S Mustard ◽  
C J Hickson
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
South Central

Isotopic dates and strontium isotopic ratios for plutonic and volcanic rocks in the Quesnel Trough and Nicola Belt, south–central British Columbia

1979 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1658-1672 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. Preto ◽  
M. J. Osatenko ◽  
W. J. McMillan ◽  
R. L. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
The Other ◽  
Isotopic Ratios ◽  
Initial Ratio ◽  
South Central

Four distinct igneous events of the southern Intermontane Belt are represented in new K–Ar and Rb–Sr dates. The first and regionally most important event is sharply defined by new K–Ar dates between 200 and 209 Ma for the Thuya, Wildhorse, Iron Mask, and Allison batholiths and a 205 ± 10 Ma Rb–Sr isochron for the Guichon Creek batholith. All these plutons were emplaced approximately at the change from Triassic to Jurassic time. The related and slightly older Nicola volcanic rocks are altered by addition of more radiogenic sedimentary Sr (Carnian Nicola limestones having 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7075 ± 1) and do not give an isochron date. The Coldwater stock is anomalously old (K–Ar dates range from 215–267 Ma).The Mid- to Late Jurassic igneous event is indicated by a 141 Ma K–Ar date for the Mount Martley batholith. Mid-Cretaceous volcanic rocks of the Kingsvale Group give a Rb–Sr isochron date of 112 ± 10 Ma and are postdated by the crosscutting and slightly younger Summers Creek stock (100 Ma by K–Ar).The final event straddles the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary with the Nicola batholith emplaced about 60 Ma ago (K–Ar) and the Rey Lake stock perhaps slightly earlier (69 Ma by K–Ar).Initial 87Sr/S6sr ratios range from 0.7025–0.7046 with a mean and mode near 0.7037 which is within the range of modern circum-Pacific volcanoes. Initial ratios of 0.7034 ± 1 for the Guichon Creek batholith, 0.7035 ± 1 for the Iron Mask batholith, 0.70435 ± 10 for the Thuya batholith, and 0.70379 ± 4 for the Kingsvale volcanic rocks are the most precisely determined. The Coldwater stock is anomalously low at 0.7025. For the other plutonic bodies only scattered or single analyses are available. The Nicola volcanic rocks appear to have once been similar in initial ratio to the Guichon Creek batholith but their calculated initial ratios now scatter from 0.7034–0.7073.

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