The Pacific Northwest has been shown to consist of large blocks of exotic oceanic material accreted to the North American craton. Recent research in the northern Cordillera has indicated that an ancient continental margin assemblage of possible North American affinity occurs outboard of at least the northern part of the Stikine terrane, one of the far-traveled terranes. This project will investigate the extent of the out-of-place North American continental rocks along the outboard margin of the Stikine terrane and to determine the structural or depositional relationships between them and the stikine terrane. The work will involve mapping, geochronology and isotopic studies. Determining these relationships is expected to have a major impact on the understanding of the tectonic evolution of juvenile terranes and continental margin assemblages both in the northern Cordillera and in other orogens that record rapid crustal growth by accretion of allochthonous terranes.
