CPT Q. 017: Is it true that ancient trenches have never been found?

calendar Apr 1, 2012 by John Baumgardner · plate tectonics  ·
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CPT Q. 017: Is it true that ancient trenches have never been found?

CPT 17 Q. #17 – 101 Questions and Answers Concerning Catastrophic Plate Tectonics

Q. 17. Have ancient trenches ever been found?

Response: The Franciscan terrane in California, as was mentioned in my response to question 4 above, is a classic example of a fossil subduction zone complex that has been in the geology literature for the past 40 years. With only a short drive north of San Francisco, one can inspect these rocks first hand. Similar fossil subduction zones containing high grade metamorphic blueschist rocks have been described in Greece, Turkey, Japan, New Zealand, and New Caledonia east of Australia. Another such example mentioned in my response to question 5 above is the North Motagua Fault Zone in Guatemala. There are dozens of other spectacular examples well documented in the standard literature.