Fault tectonics in the Rapid depression of the Yukon North Slope (Canadian Arctic) - Summary of preliminary results

Mesozoic to Tertiary rocks in the Rapid depression on the Yukon North Slope are dissected by a N-NNE striking fault array. Two phases of Tertiary deformation are recorded across the Rapid depression east of the Barn fault: D1 is characterized by faults with either sinistral or dextral strike-slip displacement and overall ~W-E to NW-SE contraction; D2 faults developed under a regime of ~W-E-oriented contraction and N-S extension. The southern segment of the Barn fault is interpreted as an oblique dextral fault. The structural style is inconsistent with the propagation of a large-scale strike-slip fault zone such as the Kaltag fault through the Rapid depression, as previously suggested, but rather may indicate reactivation of older structural heterogeneity in the subsurface.