Correlation of early Cretaceous Blueschists in Washington, Oregon and northern California

摘要

The protolith and metamorphic histories of Early Cretaceous blueschists that occur in Washington, Oregon, and California are remarkably similar. These blueschists are the Shuksan metamorphic suite of northwestern Washington, the Condrey Mountain schist of northern California and southern Oregon, and the Pickett Peak terrane of northern California and southwestern Oregon. We suggest that these bodies were coextensive during their formation. Dispersion of the blueschists occurred in Late Cretaceous time by lateral translation of up to 900 km along the continental margin in response to oblique plate convergence.