MIOCENE VOLCANISM IN EASTERN OREGON - EXAMPLE OF CALC-ALKALINE VOLCANISM UNRELATED TO SUBDUCTION

Three upper Miocene calc-alkaline volcanic centers are spaced about 100 km apart in the northeast-trending transition zone between the Columbia Plateau and Basin and Range geologic provinces. These centers are transverse to contemporaneous andesitic vents of the western Cascades Sardine Formation. Some of the Miocene volcanic features in northeast Oregon resemble those of linear volcanic belts that are associated with subduction, but structural patterns do not support the existence of an upper Miocene subduction zone in northeast Oregon. Major east-trending fold axes and northwest-trending faults indicate that north-south compression and east-west extension were the dominant deformational events in this region. It is suggested that the origin of these calc-alkaline rocks is related to their particular tectonic setting and not to subduction. © 1979.