Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Huntington Formation, Olds Ferry Terrane, Blue Mountains Province, Northern U.S. Cordillera: Implications for Accreted Terrane Correlation and Assembly

Authors

Bryant Ware, Boise State University
Kyle P. Tumpane, Boise State University
Gene A. Kurz, Boise State University
Mark D. Schmitz, Boise State UniversityFollow
Clyde J. Northrup, Boise State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2022

Abstract

The Olds Ferry terrane is the more inboard of two accreted volcanic arc terranes in the late Paleozoic–early Mesozoic Blue Mountains province of the northern U.S. Cordillera. We present geologic, geochronologic, and geochemical data from the volcano-sedimentary Huntington Formation of the Olds Ferry arc that place the terrane within a firm temporal and tectonomagmatic context, and establish its identity as a fringing arc terrane along the Triassic to Early Jurassic Cordilleran margin. The Huntington Formation is divided into two unconformity-bounded informal members: a Norian (ca. 220 Ma) lower member comprising a sequence of mafic-intermediate volcanics, massive volcaniclastic breccias, and minor carbonates deposited unconformably onto the 237.7 Ma Brownlee pluton and intruded by the 210.0 Ma Iron Mountain pluton; and a Rhaetian through Pleinsbachian (< 210–187.0 Ma) upper member composed of massive conglomerates, abundant rhyodacite to rhyolite effusive and pyroclastic flows, and interlayered sandstone turbidites, deposited with angular unconformity onto the lower member. An erosional hiatus and regional tilting produced an angular unconformity separating the Huntington Formation from the overlying basal conglomerates of the late Early to Middle Jurassic Weatherby Formation of the Izee forearc basin transgressive onlap sequence. Huntington Formation volcanic rocks are isotopically enriched relative to depleted mantle and coeval igneous rocks in the outboard Wallowa terrane. A temporal evolution to more radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7036–0.7057) and εNd values (+5.4 to +3.1) in the upper member volcanics suggests increasing involvement of continental-derived material in their petrogenesis. Precambrian xenocrystic zircons in both lower and upper member volcaniclastic rocks strongly support a proximal location of the Olds Ferry terrane to cratonal North America during much of its history. The chronology and tectonostratigraphic architecture of the Olds Ferry terrane allows its robust correlation to other fringing-arc terranes along the U.S. and Canadian Cordillera.

Publication Information

Ware, Bryant; Tumpane, Kyle P.; Kurz, Gene A.; Schmitz, Mark D.; and Northrup, Clyde J.. (2022). "Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Huntington Formation, Olds Ferry Terrane, Blue Mountains Province, Northern U.S. Cordillera: Implications for Accreted Terrane Correlation and Assembly". GSA Bulletin, 134(9-10), 2225-2244. https://doi.org/10.1130/B36036.1