January 20, 2020
The Shuswap Metamorphic Core Complex
I first became aware of this complex when reading an old petrology text.
The book was "Petrology of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks" by Donald W. Hyndman,
published in 1972. An article on pages 131 to 135 is entitled "Development of
Granitic Plutons through Anatexis in the Shuswap High-grade Metamorphic Core
Complex, British Columbia". This article was written before widespread
recognition of core complexes, but it struck me immediately that what he
describes sounds exactly like the terrain I see in the Catalina Mountains
near Arizona. And it turns out that this indeed is now recognized as a
core complex and is widely studied.
The GSA Memoir 153, published in 1980 has an article that I have long overlooked.
Pages 445 to 461 have an article by P.S. Simony et. al. entitled
"Structural and metamorphic evolution of northeast flank of Shuswap complex,
southern Canoe River area, British Columbia".
The paper never seems to use the phrase "metamorphic core complex", but the
very fact that it is included in this book says as much.
Feedback? Questions?
Drop me a line!
Tom's Geology Info / tom@mmto.org