Abstract of paper presented at AAPG-SEPM-SEG Pacific Section Meeting, May 22-24, 1985, Anchorage, Alaska.
AAPG Bulletin, v. 69, p. 682.

Paleomagnetism of early Tertiary Alaska Peninsula rocks and implications for docking of Peninsular Terrane

J. W. Whitney and R. A. Levinson, ARCO Alaska, Inc.
D. R. Van Alstine, Z-Axis Exploration

In order to refine the tectonic history of the peninsular terrane, Alaska, 22 sites (averaging 10 samples/site) in Paleogene Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary formations were sampled in the vicinity of Chignik, on the Pacific side of the Alaska Peninsula. Ten of the sites were drilled in the early Oligocene Meshik volcanics, ranging from andesite to basalt, and the other twelve sites were drilled in the late Eocene Tolstoi Formation sediments. Nine of the volcanic sites yielded stable R and/or N characteristic magnetization. Virtually no fine-grained, interbedded sediments occur with the Meshik volcanics at the sample sites, thus making reliable paleohorizontal determinations difficult. Although flow attitudes were tentatively used, it became rapidly apparent that problems of initial dip were insurmountable. As a result, all volcanic sites were considered unreliable for determining a meaningful paleomagnetic inclination.

Upon thermal demagnetization, five of the sedimentary sites were judged stable. The mode of the paleomagnetic directions was calculated, D/I = 349.8/75.3 (ß₉₅ = 8.5), indicating no significant rotation. Uncertainties in structural corrections, however, may render only the inclination meaningful, which, from McFadden statistics, yields I = 75.9, a₉₅ = 7.9, corresponding to a paleolatitude of 63.3°. This paleolatitude agrees with the expected value for the North American craton at 40 m.y.B.P., implying that the peninsular terrane had docked by at least that time.