Late Pleistocene granodiorite beneath Crater Lake caldera, Oregon, dated by ion microprobe

Variably melted granodiorite blocks ejected during the Holocene caldera-forming eruption of Mount Mazama were plucked from the walls of the climactic magma chamber at ∼5 km depth. Ion-microprobe U-Pb dating of zircons from two unmelted granodiorite blocks with SHRIMP RG (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe–reverse geometry) gives a nominal ²³⁸U/²⁰⁶Pb age of

ka, or

ka when adjusted for an initial ²³⁰Th deficit. SHRIMP RG U-Th measurements on a subset of the zircons yield a ²³⁰Th/²³⁸U isochron age of 112 ± 24 ka, considered to be the best estimate of the time of solidification of the pluton. These results suggest that the granodiorite is related to andesite and dacite of Mount Mazama and not to magmas of the climactic eruption. The unexposed granodiorite has an area of at least 28 km². This young, shallow pluton was emplaced in virtually the same location where a similarly large magma body accumulated and powered violent explosive eruptions ∼7700 yr ago, resulting in collapse of Crater Lake caldera.