Kaltag fault, northern Yukon, Canada: Constraints on evolution of Arctic Alaska

The Kaltag fault has been linked to several strike-slip models of evolution of the western Arctic Ocean. Hundreds of kilometres of Cretaceous-Tertiary displacement have been hypothesized in models that emplace Arctic Alaska into its present position by either left- or right-lateral strike slip. However, regional-scale displacement is precluded by new potential-field data. Postulated transform emplacement of Arctic Alaska cannot be accommodated by motion on the Kaltag fault or adjacent structures. The Kaltag fault of the northern Yukon is an eastward extrapolation of its namesake in west-central Alaska; however, a connection cannot be demonstrated. Cretaceous-Tertiary displacement on the Alaskan Kaltag fault is probably accommodated elsewhere.