Emplacement of an epizonal granodiorite pluton λ by vertical block elevation

Abstract

SummaryThe Carrai Granodiorite is an intrusive magmatic pluton with steeply dipping margins surrounded by a well-developed contact metamorphic aureole. Emplacement of the body was accompanied by little distortion of neighbouring rocks and involved vertical displacement of pre-existing material. Scarcity of country rock blocks, and the presence of numerous dioritic xenoliths indicate that stoping was unimportant, and the pluton was accommodated in the upper crust by vertical uplift of earlier rocks (‘block elevation’). A close relationship existed between faulting and granodiorite emplacement. Deep shears possibly account for the generation of the linear zone of plutons in which the Granodiorite is located.