Kamath Mountains Province Flashcards
List mountain ranges in the Klamath Province.
What are the average peak heights?
Trinity Alps Salmon Mountains Scott Bar Mountains Siskiyou Mountains Marble Mountains 6,000-9,000 feet elevation. 6,000
What is the Klamath Mountains Province bounded by?
Province between the northernmost Coast Ranges and Cascade Range province. It is bounded to the south by the Great Valley province. Western boundary is defined by the South Fork Mountain thrust fault which passes into or joins the Coast Range thrust fault.
What rivers drain the Klamath Mountains Province?
Salmon Shasta Sacramento Scott Klamath Trinity
How many accretion events formed the Klamath Province?
Eight
Describe the accretion process in the Klamath Mountains Province
Oceanic terraces were accreted to older terraces by subduction during successive plate collisions. Older terranes were thrust over younger ones, forming arcuate-shaped faults that dip eastward. As one progresses east to west, the terranes become younger.
When did the three major episodes of accretion occur in the Klamath Mountain Province?
Late Silurian-Devonian, Late Paleozoic (Sonoman), Late Jurassic (Nevadan)
Describe the Eastern Klamath plate
The Eastern Klamath plate is the oldest terrane. If was developed as A volcanic arc of Copley greenstone and Balaklala Rhyolite overlying the Cambrian Trinity ophiolite. The Trinity ophiolite here is the most extensive exposure of crustal and mantle rocks in the United States.
The Eastern Klamath plate consists of three subterranes: the Reading, Trinity and Yreka. The Reading subterrane is the largest of the three subterranes and records a continuous sequence of marine sedimentation, volcanism, and plutonism from Sillurian-Devonian to Jurassic time.
Describe the Central Metamorphic belt.
The central metamorphic belt was subducted under the Eastern Klamath plate in Late Silurian-Middle Devonian time. Intruded at the same time was the Mule Mountain granitoid stock (dated at 400 Ma). Metamorphism of the lower plate rocks under the Bully Choop thrust developed the hornblende and mica schists (Devonian Abrams and Salmon schist) characteristic of this belt. Along this thrust boundary both klippes and fenstera can be observed.
