16 October 2013

The surprising location of the central Alaska Range, home to North America’s tallest mountain, Mt McKinley, has long confounded geologists. How can such a relatively young range (five to six million years) be located so far inland – nearly 500 kilometers from where plate tectonics theory predicts? For the first time, scientists have used detailed geodynamic models to explain mountain building that took place in the central Alaska Range. Their research reveals that both flat slab subduction and the location of the Denali fault contribute to the surprising location.