Granitic rocks of central and southeast Alaska

Unit symbol: Kmgr
Age range Cretaceous, Coniacian to Albian (113 to 86.3 Ma)
Lithology: Igneous - Plutonic
Group name: Granitic rocks of central and southeast Alaska
Primarily granodiorite and lesser quartz diorite, granite, and quartz monzonite that is widely exposed in central and southeastern Alaska. Exposed primarily in four areas: (1) southern southeast Alaska west of the Coast Plutonic Complex; (2) in the Yukon-Tanana Upland of east-central Alaska and northern Alaska Range; (3) on Saint Lawrence Island in western Alaska; and (4) in southwest Alaska in the Bethel and Russian Mission quadrangles. In southeast Alaska, the plutons tend to be more mafic than other areas and consist of granodiorite and quartz diorite and lesser tonalite; most rocks are medium-grained and moderately foliated and lineated parallel to the fabric in country rocks. Some bodies are tabular and oriented parallel to the foliation; epidote is a common accessory mineral, and garnet is less common. Radiometric ages (K/Ar) are commonly discordant and range from 112 Ma to as young as 22.8 Ma, but most age determinations yielded Coniacian (~86 Ma) or older ages. Mid-Cretaceous plutons in the Yukon-Tanana Upland tend to be biotite granite and biotite-hornblende granodiorite with minor diorite phases and are relatively well dated. Some bodies are batholithic in size, like the Goodpaster and Mount Harper batholiths. Analyses, such as those by Wilson and others (1985), have demonstrated that emplacement of these plutons postdate regional metamorphism and reflect relatively slow cooling. Gold mineralization is commonly associated with these plutons, such as at the Fort Knox and Pogo deposits. In the Eagle and Tanacross quadrangles, radiometric dating is sparse and many of the plutons shown as part of this unit are undated. Limited dating in the adjacent northeastern Big Delta quadrangle suggests that at least some of these plutons may be of latest Cretaceous or earliest Tertiary age. A significant part of Saint Lawrence Island is made of these plutons, which consist of fine- to coarse-grained granite and subordinate granodiorite, monzonite, syenite, and alaskite (Patton and others, 2011). In southwest Alaska, this unit includes the Nyac and nearby plutons. Age control on these plutons is somewhat imprecise; K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar ages vary between 120 and 101 Ma, and the only available U/Pb age was reported as an upper intercept on concordia described as between 129 and 104 Ma (Box and others, 1993). Atypical occurrences of the rocks of this unit are a granodiorite body associated with the Pebble copper deposit in southwest Alaska, dated to 90 Ma, and a coarse-grained biotite granite in the northern Tyonek quadrangle that was dated to 96.9 Ma (Wilson and others, 2009, 2012)

Source map information

Source map Karl, S.M., and Brew, D.A., 2002, Unpublished data.
Symbol Kdi
Unit name Diorite and monzodiorite
Description Hornblende diorite, quartz diorite, and minor gabbro; medium to very coarse grained; color index 15 to 50; weathers light to dark green; highly altered to epidote and chlorite rich rock. Crops out southeast of Berners Bay, south of Herbert River, and on Douglas and Lincoln Islands, at Treadwell, and Woewodski and Annette Islands. Differs from other Cretaceous granitic rocks in the high degree of alteration and (or) metamorphism. Metamorphosed and unmetamorphosed diabase, gabbro, hornblende diorite, metadiorite, and amphibolite exposed only west of Point Bishop on Taku Inlet. Gold mineralization at Treadwell and Jualin shows evidence for 2 stages of mineralization, interpreted by Newberry and others to represent late metamorphic remobilization of primary mineralization
Lithology Metamorphic

Correlated geologic units

Label Kmqd
Description Intermediate granitic rocks, mostly quartz diorite and tonalite, magmatic garnet and epidote 85-110 Ma
Geologic age Albian to Santonian
Geologic setting Intrusive
Lithology Form Importance
Diorite < Dioritic < Plutonic < Igneous Pluton Indeterminate, major
Quartz-diorite < Dioritic < Plutonic < Igneous Pluton Indeterminate, major
Quartz-monzodiorite < Dioritic < Plutonic < Igneous Pluton Indeterminate, major
Tonalite < Granitic < Plutonic < Igneous Indeterminate, major