Hornblende geobarometry of the Nelson Batholith, southeastern British Columbia: tectonic implications

Abstract

Hornblende geobarometry has been applied to granitic rocks of the Middle Jurassic Nelson Batholith, British Columbia, locally containing magmatic epidote. Geobarometry suggests equilibration pressures of less than 4.5 kbar (1 kbar = 0.1 GPa) in the northern part of the batholith, which lacks magmatic epidote. This part of the pluton shows clear magmatic intrusive relations, and the contact metamorphic rocks contain andalusite, which suggests that the equilibration and emplacement pressures are compatible.In the southern part of the batholith, granitic rocks containing magmatic epidote have equilibration pressures of 4.8–6.4 kbar. South and west of Nelson, there is a distinct contrast in pressure between the pluton and the country rock. Both the contact metamorphic rocks and the low-grade regional metamorphic rocks suggest pressures in the 2–3 kbar range.The pressure difference of about 2 kbar across the southwestern contact and the variation in pressure within the batholith can be explained by a model combining a late postequilibration upsurge (diapiric) of a deeper part of the pluton in the south, with a much later rotation and tilting of the batholith, associated with Eocene motion on the upper listric portion of the Slocan Lake Fault. The late diapiric (?) upsurge may account for the pressure contrast across the southwestern contact.