MEGALINEAMENT IN SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA MARKS SOUTHWEST EDGE OF COAST RANGE BATHOLITHIC COMPLEX

The Coast Range megalineament is a prominent, nearly continuous topographic and structural feature that extends southeastward about 550 km (330 mi) from its junction with the Chatham Strait-Lynn Canal fault at Point Sherman to Tongass Passage near the mouth of Pearse Canal where it leaves southeastern Alaska. This paper examines the relations of topography, geology, and geophysics to the megalineament in three areas where studies were recently completed: (1) near Juneau, (2) in the general Endicott Arm area, and (3) along the eastern reach of Behm Canal. Several important conclusions about the megalineament were reached as a result of this study.