Five major units were mapped in shoreline exposures of the Coast Plutonic Complex adjacent to Douglas, Sue and Loretta Channels: 1) paragneiss and migmatite of the Central Gneiss Complex, 2) quartz-biotite schist, amphibolite, quartzite,and marble of the Metasedimentary Rocks, 3) quartz diorite and quartz monzonite of the Kitkiata pluton, 4) granodiorite of the Quottoon pluton and 5) Agmatite, composed of early xenoliths of banded metamorphic rock, middle stage intrusions of granitic rock, and late pegmatite, aplite and lamprophyre dikes.
Pressure estimates of 7 ± 1 kb for this part of the Coast Mountains are arrived at from the stable assemblages in a kyanite-staurolite schist, and by comparison with pressures published for areas along strike to the north. Amphibolites provide a low temperature estimate o f 550°C. Calcsilicate assemblages place the high temperature limit of metamorphism between 560 and 660°C at 5 kb. Elevated pressures would increase temperature somewhat.
The area is structurally characterized by a well developed, steeply dipping foliation that strikes northwest, widespread isoclinal folds with axial plane foliation parallel to regional foliation, and a moderate to steeply plunging fold axis lineation. Interference structures show that the abundant isoclinal folds deform earlier approximately northeast-trending folds. Later tight to isoclinal folds deform the regional foliation. Metamorphic recrystallization outlasted deformation.
The Kitkiata pluton has an initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.7042 to
0.7043, depending on its age. One radiogenic Sr-rich sample gives a model
date of 165 ± 11 Ma, but the possibility of anomalous initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr
ratio makes this result highly uncertain.
The Quottoon pluton gives a whole-rock isochron of 51 ± 2 Ma with 0.7045 ± 1 initial ratio. The low initial ratios indicate a preponderance of mantle-derived magma of Mesozoic or early Cenozoic age in the plutons studied.
Sr isotopic composition of the Central Gneiss Complex is compatible
with late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic ages for precursor detrital and volcanic
strata and local presence of marine carbonate with moderately enriched ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr. The generally low radiogenic Sr content of these core gneisses rules out an origin by remobilization of greatly older rocks.
Plutons of the Coast Plutonic Complex may have been generated by partial melting of the Central Gneiss Complex, and emplaced not far from their source of origin during regional metamorphism, as the surrounding rocks cooled from maximum temperature and pressure of metamorphism. / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/22275 |
| Date | January 1979 |
| Creators | Runkle, Dita Elisabeth |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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