Emplacement and geochemical evolution of eocene plutonic rocks in the Colville batholith

Eocene plutonic rocks in the Colville batholith are divided on the basis of field evidence and chemical composition into, in order of decreasing age, (1) several calc-alkalic biotite-hornblende monzodiorite to granodiorite intrusions referred to as the Devils Elbow suite, and (2) compositionally variable calc-alkalic to alkali-calcic intrusions referred to as the Herron Creek suite. These Eocene suites are distinct from older, more voluminous, leucocratic granite and granodiorite intrusions, designated the Keller Butte suite, which are calcic and characteristically lack hornblende. Results of qualitative and computer modeling of major element variation and quantitative models of trace element variation in the chemically coherent Bridge Creek intrusions, a member of the Herron Creek suite, are compatible with fractionation of plagioclase feldspar + hornblende + biotite + magnetite + apatite from a parent magma of andesitic composition to account for the observed variation. Strongly curved variation trends preclude mixing as the primary mechanism for the observed variation. It is suggested that parallel variation trends in the other Eocene intrusions are also the result of crystal fractionation. Lateral chemical variations including a decrease in silica saturation suggest the chemical characteristics of these rocks reflect those of parental magmas derived from the mantle, with an unknown amount of crustal contribution. Rotated and angular xenoliths, discordant contacts, and temporal and spatial proximity to graben structures indicate that the Eocene plutons were passively implaced into the upper crust along graben-bounding faults during graben formation, the earlier stages of which appear to have been contemporaneous with regional mylonitic deformation