BUILDING A CASE FOR TECTONIC SWITCHING AT THE KLAMATH-SISKIYOU MOUNTAINS

The Klamath-Siskiyou mountain region of North America has been the site of dramatic tectonic movement for over 200 million years. Tectonic switching and massive transform faulting shifted the mountains to their current east-west-tending position. Evidence of this activity can be seen at small scales. Boudins and necking instabilities are present in the Oregon Caves National Monument. When the New Orleans Fault switched direction multiple times around 153 million years ago it created those formations. Thin sections taken from the region show microfolding. Further development of these evidences can be used to determine tectonic switching activity in other regions