Geology of the Arctic continental margin of Alaska1
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Published:January 01, 1994
Abstract
Alaska faces the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean along an arcuate continental margin, gently concave to the north, that stretches unbroken from the Mackenzie Delta, near 137°W to North wind Ridge of the Chukchi Borderland near 162°W. (Marine geographic features mentioned below can be found on Plates 1 and 11 of Grantz and others, 1990a.) This margin, with an arc-length of about 1,050 km, marks one side of a continental rift along which the Canada Basin opened by rotation about a pole in the Mackenzie Delta region during middle Cretaceous time. The rift-margin structures, which lie beneath the...
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Contents
The Geology of Alaska

You get a comprehensive overview of the geology, tectonic evolution, and mineral resources of Alaska and adjacent areas of the continental margin. Plates include state-wide maps showing geology, physiography, lithotectonic terranes, metamorphic rocks, igneous rocks, sedimentary basins, isotopic age data, neotectonics, isostatic gravity, magnetics, and metallic mineral deposits. Summaries of bedrock geology and geologic history are given for eleven large regions of Alaska and adjacent offshore areas. Twenty topical chapters synthesize data on metamorphic and igneous rocks; major onshore and offshore sedimentary basins; the paleomagnetics evidence for latitudinal displacements and rotations, glacial history and periglacial phenomena; and the occurrence, evolution, and potential of Alaska's vast resources of petroleum, coal, and metallic minerals. A summary chapter provides an overview and presents a possible model for Alaska's Phanerozoic evolution. The Geology of Alaska is the largest publication produced in the Decade of North American Geology program, a fitting tribute to this magnificent area.