U–Th–Pb geochronology of meta-carbonatites and meta-alkaline rocks in the southern Canadian Cordillera: A geodynamic perspective

U–Pb and Th–Pb ages of zircons from seven meta-carbonatite and three meta-alkaline rock samples provide evidence for three distinct episodes of carbonatite and alkaline magmatism in the southern Canadian Cordillera spanning a period of ~ 460 Ma. The earliest, Neoproterozoic event occurred at ~ 800–700 Ma and coincides with the postulated initial break-up of Rodinia. The second, previously undocumented, event of carbonatitic magmatism is constrained to the Late Cambrian at ~ 500 Ma and corresponds to a period of extensional tectonics that affected the western continental margin of North America from the Canadian Cordillera to the southwestern United States. The youngest and most prevalent period of alkaline igneous activity occurred in Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous times at ~ 360–340 Ma and resulted from extensional tectonics, presumably caused by slab rollback. In addition, different episodes of amphibolite-facies metamorphism subsequently affected the igneous rocks between ~ 155 and 50 Ma. This dataset puts new constraints on the timing of carbonatite and alkaline igneous activity and the evolution of (ancestral) North America's western continental margin from Neoproterozoic to Carboniferous times.

► New zircon U–Pb and Th–Pb ages of meta-alkaline rocks of the Canadian Cordillera
► Three distinct magmatic episodes are linked to extensional tectonics.
► Emplacement of Neoproterozoic rocks during the break-up of Rodinia
► Previously undocumented carbonatite magmatism in Late Cambrian times
► Recurrent emplacement and generation of alkaline magmas controlled by lithosphere