LITHOSPHERIC STRUCTURE ALONG THE QUEEN-CHARLOTTE MARGIN IN WESTERN CANADA - CONSTRAINTS FROM FLEXURAL MODELING

The Queen Charlotte fault zone along the western margin of Canada, a r ight-lateral transform, is part of the boundary between the Pacific an d North America plates. Combining reflection and refraction surveys an d flexural modeling, we place limits on the amount of underthrusting o f the Pacific plate beneath the North America plate. Results from our two-dimensional elastic modeling suggest 10-15 km of underthrusting al ong the northern Queen Charlotte Islands, in agreement with the amount of underthrusting inferred from plate motion models.