“Cenozoic Flat Slab Subduction Processes and

The Tectonic Development of Southern Alaska” During the last two decades there has been a focus of integrated research by many geoscientists on the collision and subduction of the Yakutat microplate/terrane in southern Alaska. These studies build on the pioneering work of USGS geologists George Plafker, Don Miller, Don Richter, and others. In this talk, I will focus mainly on the sedimentary record of Cenozoic flat slab subduction processes in southern Alaska.  We will first discuss the sedimentary strata that were deposited directly on the Yakutat oceanic plateau. These strata have been incorporated into the upper plate of the southern Alaska convergent margin along the collisional zone.  The lower plate strata archive the record of initial collision, tectonic transport, and subduction of the oceanic plateau along the Cordilleran margin.