New major-element, trace-element, and isotopic (Nd, Sr) analyses of undersaturated alkaline lavas from the Kilimanjaro volcano (north Tanzania) are presented. These data concern 54 samples, ranging from basanites to phonolites, collected during a 1 mo field trip in March 2005. The three main cones of Kilimanjaro were sampled, Shira, Mawenzi, and Kibo, together with numerous parasitic cones located on a SE lineament on the main edifice. On the basis of both spatial distribution and major- and trace-element characteristics of analyzed samples, the previous classification of Kilimanjaro lavas is simplified into five groups: Shira, Mawenzi, Kibo 1, Kibo 2, and parasitic activity, each of which has distinct petrological and geochemical features. The major- and trace-element characteristics of the rare primitive lavas erupted on the volcano yield the ubiquitous signature of amphibole within the magma source. We propose that Kilimanjaro melts originated from the partial melting of lithospheric mantle. Combined modeling of trace-element behavior during partial melting + fractional crystallization and isotopic constraints allow us to propose a schematic model of melt genesis under the Kilimanjaro area. Thermal heating of the ancient continental lithosphere by an upwelling plume triggered partial melting in parts of the lithosphere where amphibole was present and led to the Shira volcanic episode. Then, during a time span of ~1 m.y., the depleted lithosphere was progressively infiltrated by plume melts that resulted in crystallization of a new generation of metasomatic amphibole. Finally, this rejuvenated lithosphere underwent partial melting, leading to the magmas that formed the main edifice (Mawenzi and Kibo), and leading to a progressive depletion of the source with time. An active contribution of true asthenospheric melts during the last magmatic events of the volcano cannot be excluded, but further detailed isotopic investigations are needed to test the model.

Abstract Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines is made up of two blocks: the island-arc-related eastern-central Mindanao block and the continental Zamboanga Peninsula, which contains several ophiolitic bodies and mélanges. The Middle Miocene Siayan–Sindangan Suture Zone represents the tectonic boundary between the island-arc and continental blocks. A Middle Miocene age of collision is interpreted from the unconformity between the Late Miocene Motibot Formation and the underlying Middle Miocene Gunyan Mélange, which serves as basement to the suture zone. The Middle Miocene Siayan–Sindangan Suture Zone was formerly a subduction zone complex that was reactivated as a sinistral strikeslip fault following the collision of eastern-central Mindanao with the Zamboanga Peninsula. New 40 K- 40 Ar whole-rock dating of lava flows from the Zamboanga Peninsula has revealed Middle to Late Miocene ages, which is consistent with the possible existence of an Early Miocene Sulu Trench. The possibility that the Zamboanga Peninsula could be part of the Palawan microcontinental block has been forwarded by previous workers, due to their similarity in stratigraphy, geological structure and metamorphic rock suites. The Palawan microcontinental block separated from southern China during the opening of the South China Sea in Oligo-Miocene times. If indeed the Zamboanga Peninsula was once part of Palawan, it represents the southernmost part of the rifted southeastern China continental margin.