Emplacement and deformation history of the western margin of the Idaho batholith near McCall, Idaho: Influence of a major terrane boundary

Abstract

Cretaceous plutons of the western margin of the Idaho batholith were emplaced along and to the west of the major terrane boundary separating middle Proterozoic and Paleozoic continental rocks from mostly Mesozoic accreted oceanic-arc terranes of the Blue Mountain Province. This boundary is marked by a change in the lithology of pendants and inclusions within the batholith. Plutons form two newly named complexes of igneous and metamorphosed igneous rocks. The Hazard Creek Complex, emplaced west of the boundary between the oceanic arc and the continental margin, consists primarily of a series of variably deformed and metamorphosed quartz diorite to trondhjemite plutons. The Little Goose Creek Complex, which intruded the boundary between the oceanic arc and the continental margin, is primarily porphyritic granodiorite to granite orthogneiss. A preliminary U-Pb age of 111 Ma for this porphyritic orthogneiss is a minimum age for the formation of the oceanic-arc-continent boundary. The plutonic rocks were deformed both during and after emplacement in response to east-west compressive stresses. Cretaceous deformation was localized along the boundary between the accreted terranes and the continental margin and is interpreted to have occurred after the formation of this boundary. The major deformation of the Hazard Creek Complex occurred during its emplacement. The dominant fabric in the Little Goose Creek Complex is due to subsolidus ductile deformation. The localization of two deformation events along the pre-existing boundary between the accreted terranes and the continental margin suggests that a terrane boundary may form a long-lasting, crustal flaw.

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