Our
studies in western and central Alaska revealed large counterclockwise
rotations, consistent with a megakinking model—that
is, oroclinal bending accommodated by the great strike-slip
faults that veer sharply westward around the Gulf of Alaska
(see Zoom). Since the late Cretaceous, only the most outboard
terranes appear to have traveled far northward. In so doing
they have indented the continental margin at the Gulf of
Alaska, accentuating the sharpness of the bend. In southeast
Alaska (not shown), our results indicate that the Alexander
terrane moved great distances in concert with Wrangellia
during the Mesozoic, docking to the south against North
America and sliding parallel to the coast to its present
position in late Cretaceous and Tertiary time.
