The Duration and Geodynamics of Formation of the Angara–Vitim Batholith: Results of U–Pb Isotope (LA-ICP-MS) Dating of Magmatic and Detrital Zircons

—We present results of U–Pb (LA-ICP-MS) dating of detrital zircons from the alluvial deposits of the Angarakan River (North Muya Ridge, northern Baikal region), whose drainage basin is composed mainly of granitoids of the Barguzin Complex, typomorphic for the late Paleozoic Angara–Vitim batholith (AVB). Three age clusters with peaks at 728, 423, and 314 Ma have been identified in the studied population of detrital zircons. It is shown that small outliers of igneous and metamorphic rocks, probably similar to the large AVB roof pendants mapped beyond the drainage basin, are the source of Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic zircons. The late Paleozoic cluster comprises two close peaks at 314 and 28 Ma, which totally “overlap” with the time of the AVB formation and mark a granitoid source of the zircons. The results of detrital-zircon geochronology, together with the data on bedrocks, point to the prolonged (~40 Myr) formation of the AVB, but the intensity of magmatism during this period calls for additional study. Based on the analysis of published geological, geochemical, and geochronological data, we assume that the AVB resulted from the plume–lithosphere interaction that began in the compression setting and gave way to extension 305–300 Ma (the Carboniferous–Permian boundary), which caused replacement of “crustal” granitoids by granitoids formed from a mixed mantle–crustal source.