The Taconic Orogeny

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Taconic Orogeny JOHN RODGERS Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 The Taconic Orogeny Address as Retiring President of The Geological Society of America, Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin, 11 November 1970 ABSTRACT difficulty with this definition, for like a once The Taconic orogeny of eastern North popular definition of graywacke—the sedimen- America was not, as traditionally defined, a sin- tary analogue of gabbro as arkose is of granite gle erogenic event that occurred at the end of —it practically defines the thing out of exist- the Ordovician period, but rather a complex ence. Just as resedimented gabbro is rare and series of erogenic episodes or climaxes spread the original Saxon graywacke is nothing of the over the larger part of that period. In most sort, so the orogenic episode in the Appalachi- sectors of the northern Appalachians it in- ans exactly at the end of the Ordovician, if any, cluded at least three of the following: discon- was quite minor, and the early Paleozoic oro- formity in an external belt where carbonate was genic activity in the area of the Taconic Moun- accumulating; severe early deformation in an tains was all over by that time. Thus, the internal volcanic belt; gravity slides from inter- textbook definition I have cited reduces one to nal uplifts into the external belt; and wide- the state of the schoolboy who, having some spread deformation, especially in the more vague idea of the Baconian controversy, wrote external belts. In general, these events did not on an examination that the plays of William occur at the same time in the various sectors; Shakespeare were not written by William each took a considerable time, and they over- Shakespeare but by another man of the same lapped to some extent. The Taconic orogeny name. also affected the southern Appalachians and Now it happens that we have recently ac- may have been the most important one there, quired a great deal of reasonably accurate infor- but evidence for this assertion is meager and mation about the extent and timing of orogeny inconclusive. Detailed analysis of the "fine in the Taconic region (for example, Zen, 1968; structure" of the Taconic orogeny combats the Bird and Dewey, 1970; Berry, 1970) and of dogma that orogenies are sharp, discrete events roughly contemporaneous orogeny in other punctuating the geologic record (separating parts of the northern Appalachians (Poole, periods and abruptly terminating geosynclinal 1967; Pavlides, and others, 1968; Williams, sedimentation) and suggests instead that they 1969; Hall, 1969). The Taconic orogeny has reflect "random-walk" processes within the always fascinated me, for the Appalachians and Earth, in all likelihood the same as those re- specifically the Taconic region are home base sponsible for sea-floor spreading and the pre- for me. I was born and brought up in Albany, sent tectonic state of the Earth. New York, within sight of the western Taconic foothills, and my first independent field work brought me face to face with their geological INTRODUCTION problems. Hence, at the risk of being provin- The Taconic orogeny (for some the cial, I would like in this address to analyze the Taconian) is normally defined, in textbooks or information we now have to see if, in addition the AGI glossary, as the orogenic disturbance to telling us what and when the Taconic that occurred in eastern North America at the orogeny was, it can point us to any more gen- end of the Ordovician period. Indeed, Stille eral conclusions about orogeny and its time re- (1924) included it in his original list of world- lations. wide orogenic episodes at that point in the geo- The Taconic orogeny is of further interest as logic column. To be sure, there is a certain a mildly uncomfortable exception to the corn- Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 82, p. 1141-1178, 13 figs., May 1971 1141 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/82/5/1141/3432678/i0016-7606-82-5-1141.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 1142 JOHN RODGERS—THE TACONIC OROGENY mon doctrine that orogeny closes geosynclinal HUDSON VALLEY AND TACONIC history. According to this doctrine, the history MOUNTAINS of the Appalachian geosyncline (the type geo- As the orogeny was first recognized because syncline, be it remembered) ought properly to of the unconformity in the Hudson Valley, we consist (and does in some accounts) of a long, may start there. The unconformity is well dis- uninterrupted period of sedimentation con- played in a number of places, from Becraft cluded by a single climactic Appalachian revo- Mountain and Mount Ida, which lie near the lution marking the end of the Paleozoic era, city of Hudson on the east side of the Hudson during which all or most of the Appalachian River, south past the Kingston area (Rondout structures were produced. Preliminary skir- and Rosendale) on the west side, and along the mishes, like the Taconic orogeny (or for that southeast front of the Shawangunk Mountain. matter the Acadian), disturb this straightfor- In some places the discordance is nearly a right ward picture, so easy to incorporate into ele- angle, and in all it is appreciable (Fig. 2, A and mentary lectures. Perhaps this is why there B). At Becraft Mountain, the older rocks show have been persistent efforts to derogate the im- not only intense folding but also cleavage; the portance of the Taconic orogeny and to rele- younger rocks there and throughout much of gate it to the status of a minor and quite local the region are also severely deformed but not episode or "disturbance." Yet the existence of enough to obliterate the unconformity. North a period of deformation older than the classical of Kingston, the oldest strata above the uncon- Appalachian folding of Pennsylvania and the formity belong to the topmost Silurian, if not Virginias was recognized as early as that folding the basal Devonian, and are dominantly car- itself, and by the same people, specifically bonate. To the southwest, older detrital strata Henry D. Rogers (no relation to the present come in, especially a unit of quartz-pebble con- speaker—note the spelling), who saw and un- glomerate and quartzite (Shawangunk con- derstood the resulting unconformity in the glomerate). Fossils are too few, however, to Hudson Valley in 1837,* and not much later indicate exactly how low in the Silurian these by Sir William Logan in the Gaspe Peninsula strata descend. Among the folded rocks and farther southwest in Quebec (Fig. 1). As beneath (which include beds as old as Early soon as correlations with Europe were estab- Cambrian), the youngest dated by fossils are lished, the unconformity was assigned a posi- Middle Ordovician,2 of Trenton age (medial tion between the Lower and Upper Silurian of Trenton of Kay, 1937; Barneveld of Fisher, Murchison (what we now call the Ordovician 1962; upper subzone of Zone 13 of Berry, and Silurian), and James D. Dana incorporated 1970. Thus, the span of time within which the the idea of such an epoch of deformation mark- deformation recorded by the unconformity ing the end of a period into the account of might have taken place is considerable. geological history in his Manual of Geology Farther south westward, however, the uncon- (1863, p. 226-229). In the second edition formity acquires narrower limits (Fig. 3). It can (1875, p. 212) he named it the Green Moun- be followed at least to the Lehigh River in east- tain Revolution, but in the fourth (1895, p. ern Pennsylvania and, in my opinion, consider- 386, 532) he renamed it Taconic, for the Ta- ably farther, probably to the Swatara River conic Mountains along the border between (Fig. 4A). Fossils reported to be lower Upper New York and Massachusetts, and that name Ordovician (assigned to the Eden—although has become the accepted one. still within Zone 13 of Berry—near the Dela- 1 In his 1838 report, Rogers mentioned only a locality "on the Delaware and Hudson canal....near Rondout" (p. 37), 2 Throughout this paper, I have followed the classical but in his final report (1858, v. 2, p. 785—actually written North American usage for the terms Lower, Middle, and about a decade earlier) he stated that the unconformity "was Upper Ordovician, which is based on the generally accepted discovered by me near the city of Hudson" at "Becraft's interpretation of the shelly faunas in the carbonate sequence Mount." W.W. Mather, within whose field area both these of the western Appalachians and the central platform; that is, localities lay, also saw it at "Becraft Mountain and Mount Lower Ordovician includes the Beekmantown; Middle Or- Bob" (now Mt. Ida; Mather, 1838, p. 165-166), presumably dovician the Chazy, Black River, and Trenton; and Upper at the same time but, if one may judge by the discussion in Ordovician the Eden, Maysville, and Richmond. As the Cara- his final report (1843, p. 368), his understanding of the doc of Great Britain is roughly equivalent to the Trenton, the unconformity and its implications was considerably less clear term Upper Ordovician here refers mainly to Ashgill equiva- than Rogers'. Perhaps Mather showed Rogers the localities, lents. If the classical North American subdivision is upset, the but Rogers first grasped the significance of what they saw. assignments in this paper will need revision. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/82/5/1141/3432678/i0016-7606-82-5-1141.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 Figure 1. Map of Appalachian Mountains showing lo- cation of Taconic unconformities, Taconic-type klippen, and places mentioned in text. Line with dots to one side: Taconic unconformity (dots on side of younger strata); dashed line: margin of Taconic-type klippe or slide mass; cgl in circle: coarse polymict conglomerate in Middle Ordovician strata (Kellberg and Grant, 1956).
Recommended publications
  • Geotectonic Model of the Alpine Development of Lakavica Graben in the Eastern Part of the Vardar Zone in the Republic of Macedonia
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UGD Academic Repository Geologica Macedonica, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 87–93 (2013) GEOME 2 ISSN 0352 – 1206 Manuscript received: May 17, 2013 UDC: 551.245.03(497.71/.73) Accepted: October 25, 2013 Original scientific paper GEOTECTONIC MODEL OF THE ALPINE DEVELOPMENT OF LAKAVICA GRABEN IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE VARDAR ZONE IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Goše Petrov, Violeta Stojanova, Gorgi Dimov Faculty of Natural and Technical Sciences, “Goce Delčev” University, P.O.Box 201, MK 2000 Štip, Republic of Macedonia [email protected]//[email protected] A b s t r a c t: Lakavica graben is located in the eastern subzone of the Vardar zone, which during the Alpine orogenesis was covered with very complex processes of tectogenesis. On the area of about 200 km2, in the Lakavica graben, are present geological units from the oldest geological periods (Precam- brian) to the youngest (Neogene and Quaternary). Tectonic structure, or rupture tectonic, is very intense developed and gives possibility for analysis of the geotectonic processes in the Alpine orogen phase. This paper presents the possible model for geotectonic processes in the Lakavica graben, according to which can be generalized geotectonic processes in the Vardar zone during the Alpine orogeny. Key words: Lakavica graben; geotectonic model; Alpine orogeny; Vardar zone INTRODUCTION Vardar zone as a tectonic unit, for the first niki Gulf (Greece), than bent eastward and crosses time, is separated and showed on the "Geological- the ophiolite zone Izmir–Ankara (Turkey).
    [Show full text]
  • Geology: Ordovician Paleogeography and the Evolution of the Iapetus Ocean
    Ordovician paleogeography and the evolution of the Iapetus ocean Conall Mac Niocaill* Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, 2534 C. C. Little Building, Ben A. van der Pluijm Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1063. Rob Van der Voo ABSTRACT thermore, we contend that the combined paleomagnetic and faunal data ar- Paleomagnetic data from northern Appalachian terranes identify gue against a shared Taconic history between North and South America. several arcs within the Iapetus ocean in the Early to Middle Ordovi- cian, including a peri-Laurentian arc at ~10°–20°S, a peri-Avalonian PALEOMAGNETIC DATA FROM IAPETAN TERRANES arc at ~50°–60°S, and an intra-oceanic arc (called the Exploits arc) at Displaced terranes occur along the extent of the Appalachian-Cale- ~30°S. The peri-Avalonian and Exploits arcs are characterized by Are- donian orogen, although reliable Ordovician paleomagnetic data from Ia- nigian to Llanvirnian Celtic fauna that are distinct from similarly aged petan terranes have only been obtained from the Central Mobile belt of the Toquima–Table Head fauna of the Laurentian margin, and peri- northern Appalachians (Table 1). The Central Mobile belt separates the Lau- Laurentian arc. The Precordillera terrane of Argentina is also charac- rentian and Avalonian margins of Iapetus and preserves remnants of the terized by an increasing proportion of Celtic fauna from Arenig to ocean, including arcs, ocean islands, and ophiolite slivers (e.g., Keppie, Llanvirn time, which implies (1) that it was in reproductive communi- 1989). Paleomagnetic results from Arenigian and Llanvirnian volcanic units cation with the peri-Avalonian and Exploits arcs, and (2) that it must of the Moreton’s Harbour Group and the Lawrence Head Formation in cen- have been separate from Laurentia and the peri-Laurentian arc well tral Newfoundland indicate paleolatitudes of 11°S (Table 1), placing them before it collided with Gondwana.
    [Show full text]
  • The Taconic Orogeny in Newfoundland: a Three-Stage Process
    atlantic geology . volume 43 . 2007 83 geochronology and isotope geology, indicated that this model was incomplete. We will present new evidence that the Taconic orogeny comprises three separate accretionary events starting in the Late Cambrian and finishing in the Late Ordovician. Taconic 1 is represented by ca. 495 Ma west-directed obduc- tion of the ca. 510 Ma Lushs Bight oceanic Tract onto the peri- Laurentian Dashwoods microcontinent. Subduction is inferred to have initiated at a spreading centre abandoned during an inboard ridge jump responsible for separation of Dashwoods from Laurentia. Partial subduction of the buoyant Dashwoods forced subduction to step back into the Humber seaway, which led to formation of the ca. 490 Ma Baie Verte oceanic tract (BVOT). Dextral oblique closure of the Humber seaway first formed the Notre Dame arc (489–477 Ma) built on Dashwoods and the coeval Snooks Arm arc built on the BVOT, followed by their collision with Laurentia (Taconic 2) and each other. The obliquity of convergence induced large-scale translations of continental ribbons of the Laurentian margin from the lati- tude of Labrador to central Newfoundland. After a magmatic gap of c. 7–10 my, the Notre Dame arc records a voluminous flare-up of predominantly tonalite magmatism (464–459 Ma) during the waning stages of Taconic 2. Magmatism overlaps with strong deformation and comprises both arc and non-arc- like tonalite. We relate this flare-up to break-off of the oceanic lithosphere of the downgoing Laurentian slab. Taconic 3 is rep- resented by 455–450 Ma collision between a peri-Laurentian arc terrane and the peri-Gondwanan Popelogan-Exploits arc and their composite accretion to Laurentia.
    [Show full text]
  • From Orogeny to Rifting: When and How Does Rifting Begin? Insights from the Norwegian ‘Reactivation Phase’
    EGU21-469 https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-469 EGU General Assembly 2021 © Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. From orogeny to rifting: when and how does rifting begin? Insights from the Norwegian ‘reactivation phase’. Gwenn Peron-Pinvidic1,2, Per Terje Osmundsen2, Loic Fourel1, and Susanne Buiter3 1NGU - Geological Survey of Norway, 7040 Trondheim, Norway 2NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway 3Tectonics and Geodynamics, RWTH Aachen University, 52064 Aachen, Germany Following the Wilson Cycle theory, most rifts and rifted margins around the world developed on former orogenic suture zones (Wilson, 1966). This implies that the pre-rift lithospheric configuration is heterogeneous in most cases. However, for convenience and lack of robust information, most models envisage the onset of rifting based on a homogeneously layered lithosphere (e.g. Lavier and Manatschal, 2006). In the last decade this has seen a change, thanks to the increased academic access to high-resolution, deeply imaging seismic datasets, and numerous studies have focused on the impact of inheritance on the architecture of rifts and rifted margins. The pre-rift tectonic history has often been shown as strongly influencing the subsequent rift phases (e.g. the North Sea case - Phillips et al., 2016). In the case of rifts developing on former orogens, one important question relates to the distinction between extensional structures formed during the orogenic collapse and the ones related to the proper onset of rifting. The collapse deformation is generally associated with polarity reversal along orogenic thrusts, ductile to brittle deformation and important crustal thinning with exhumation of deeply buried rocks (Andersen et al., 1994; Fossen, 2000).
    [Show full text]
  • Development of the Rocky Mountain Foreland Basin: Combined Structural
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2007 DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FORELAND BASIN: COMBINED STRUCTURAL, MINERALOGICAL, AND GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF BASIN EVOLUTION, ROCKY MOUNTAIN THRUST FRONT, NORTHWEST MONTANA Emily Geraghty Ward The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Ward, Emily Geraghty, "DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FORELAND BASIN: COMBINED STRUCTURAL, MINERALOGICAL, AND GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF BASIN EVOLUTION, ROCKY MOUNTAIN THRUST FRONT, NORTHWEST MONTANA" (2007). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 1234. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/1234 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FORELAND BASIN: COMBINED STRUCTURAL, MINERALOGICAL, AND GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF BASIN EVOLUTION ROCKY MOUNTAIN THRUST FRONT, NORTHWEST MONTANA By Emily M. Geraghty Ward B.A., Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, 1999 M.S., Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 2002 Dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geology The University of Montana Missoula, MT Spring 2007 Approved by: Dr. David A. Strobel, Dean Graduate School James W. Sears, Chair Department of Geosciences Julia A. Baldwin Department of Geosciences Marc S. Hendrix Department of Geosciences Steven D.
    [Show full text]
  • Pan-African Orogeny 1
    Encyclopedia 0f Geology (2004), vol. 1, Elsevier, Amsterdam AFRICA/Pan-African Orogeny 1 Contents Pan-African Orogeny North African Phanerozoic Rift Valley Within the Pan-African domains, two broad types of Pan-African Orogeny orogenic or mobile belts can be distinguished. One type consists predominantly of Neoproterozoic supracrustal and magmatic assemblages, many of juvenile (mantle- A Kröner, Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany R J Stern, University of Texas-Dallas, Richardson derived) origin, with structural and metamorphic his- TX, USA tories that are similar to those in Phanerozoic collision and accretion belts. These belts expose upper to middle O 2005, Elsevier Ltd. All Rights Reserved. crustal levels and contain diagnostic features such as ophiolites, subduction- or collision-related granitoids, lntroduction island-arc or passive continental margin assemblages as well as exotic terranes that permit reconstruction of The term 'Pan-African' was coined by WQ Kennedy in their evolution in Phanerozoic-style plate tectonic scen- 1964 on the basis of an assessment of available Rb-Sr arios. Such belts include the Arabian-Nubian shield of and K-Ar ages in Africa. The Pan-African was inter- Arabia and north-east Africa (Figure 2), the Damara- preted as a tectono-thermal event, some 500 Ma ago, Kaoko-Gariep Belt and Lufilian Arc of south-central during which a number of mobile belts formed, sur- and south-western Africa, the West Congo Belt of rounding older cratons. The concept was then extended Angola and Congo Republic, the Trans-Sahara Belt of to the Gondwana continents (Figure 1) although West Africa, and the Rokelide and Mauretanian belts regional names were proposed such as Brasiliano along the western Part of the West African Craton for South America, Adelaidean for Australia, and (Figure 1).
    [Show full text]
  • Paleozoic 3: Alabama in the Paleozoic
    UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA GY 112: Earth History Paleozoic 3: Alabama in the Paleozoic Instructor: Dr. Douglas W. Haywick Last Time The Paleozoic Part 2 1) Back to Newfoundland 2) Eastern Laurentian Orogenies (Appalachians) 3) Other Laurentian Orogenies (Antler, Ouachita) (web notes 25) Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) Even though this coastline of Laurentia was a passive continental margin, a plate tectonic boundary was rapidly approaching… A B A B Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) The resulting Taconic Orogeny first depressed the seafloor Laurentia (localized transgression) and A Island arc then pushed previously deposited passive continental B margin sediments up into thrust fault mountains. Baltica There was only minimal metamorphism and igneous A intrusions. B Middle Ordovician Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) Laurentia Baltica Middle Ordovician Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) Laurentia Baltica Middle Ordovician Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) The next tectonic event (the Acadian Orogeny) was caused Laurentia by the approach of Baltica A B Baltica A B Baltica Baltica Late Ordovician Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) The Acadian Orogeny was more extensive and more intense (metamorphism and A lots of igneous intrusions) B A B Early Devonian Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) The Acadian Orogeny was more extensive and more intense (metamorphism and lots of igneous intrusions) Early Devonian Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) Lastly, along comes Gondwanna and…. …well you get the idea. A B B A B Mississippian Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) Lastly, along comes Gondwanna and…. …well you get the idea. A B B A B Pennsylvannian Suture zone Laurentia (Paleozoic North America) Lastly, along comes Gondwanna and…. …well you get the idea.
    [Show full text]
  • The Penokean Orogeny in the Lake Superior Region Klaus J
    Precambrian Research 157 (2007) 4–25 The Penokean orogeny in the Lake Superior region Klaus J. Schulz ∗, William F. Cannon U.S. Geological Survey, 954 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, USA Received 16 March 2006; received in revised form 1 September 2006; accepted 5 February 2007 Abstract The Penokean orogeny began at about 1880 Ma when an oceanic arc, now the Pembine–Wausau terrane, collided with the southern margin of the Archean Superior craton marking the end of a period of south-directed subduction. The docking of the buoyant craton to the arc resulted in a subduction jump to the south and development of back-arc extension both in the initial arc and adjacent craton margin to the north. A belt of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits formed in the extending back-arc rift within the arc. Synchronous extension and subsidence of the Superior craton resulted in a broad shallow sea characterized by volcanic grabens (Menominee Group in northern Michigan). The classic Lake Superior banded iron-formations, including those in the Marquette, Gogebic, Mesabi and Gunflint Iron Ranges, formed in that sea. The newly established subduction zone caused continued arc volcanism until about 1850 Ma when a fragment of Archean crust, now the basement of the Marshfield terrane, arrived at the subduction zone. The convergence of Archean blocks of the Superior and Marshfield cratons resulted in the major contractional phase of the Penokean orogeny. Rocks of the Pembine–Wausau arc were thrust northward onto the Superior craton causing subsidence of a foreland basin in which sedimentation began at about 1850 Ma in the south (Baraga Group rocks) and 1835 Ma in the north (Rove and Virginia Formations).
    [Show full text]
  • Collision Orogeny
    Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 6, 2021 PROCESSES OF COLLISION OROGENY Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 6, 2021 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 6, 2021 Shortening of continental lithosphere: the neotectonics of Eastern Anatolia a young collision zone J.F. Dewey, M.R. Hempton, W.S.F. Kidd, F. Saroglu & A.M.C. ~eng6r SUMMARY: We use the tectonics of Eastern Anatolia to exemplify many of the different aspects of collision tectonics, namely the formation of plateaux, thrust belts, foreland flexures, widespread foreland/hinterland deformation zones and orogenic collapse/distension zones. Eastern Anatolia is a 2 km high plateau bounded to the S by the southward-verging Bitlis Thrust Zone and to the N by the Pontide/Minor Caucasus Zone. It has developed as the surface expression of a zone of progressively thickening crust beginning about 12 Ma in the medial Miocene and has resulted from the squeezing and shortening of Eastern Anatolia between the Arabian and European Plates following the Serravallian demise of the last oceanic or quasi- oceanic tract between Arabia and Eurasia. Thickening of the crust to about 52 km has been accompanied by major strike-slip faulting on the rightqateral N Anatolian Transform Fault (NATF) and the left-lateral E Anatolian Transform Fault (EATF) which approximately bound an Anatolian Wedge that is being driven westwards to override the oceanic lithosphere of the Mediterranean along subduction zones from Cephalonia to Crete, and Rhodes to Cyprus. This neotectonic regime began about 12 Ma in Late Serravallian times with uplift from wide- spread littoral/neritic marine conditions to open seasonal wooded savanna with coiluvial, fluvial and limnic environments, and the deposition of the thick Tortonian Kythrean Flysch in the Eastern Mediterranean.
    [Show full text]
  • Zagros Orogeny
    Zagros orogeny: a subduction-dominated process Philippe Agard, Jafar Omrani, Laurent Jolivet, Hubert Whitechurch, Bruno Vrielynck, Wim Spakman, Patrick Monié, Bertrand Meyer, R. Wortel To cite this version: Philippe Agard, Jafar Omrani, Laurent Jolivet, Hubert Whitechurch, Bruno Vrielynck, et al.. Zagros orogeny: a subduction-dominated process. Geological Magazine, Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2011, 148 (5-6), pp.692-725. 10.1017/S001675681100046X. insu-00616582 HAL Id: insu-00616582 https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00616582 Submitted on 4 Feb 2013 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Geol. Mag. 148 (5–6), 2011, pp. 692–725. c Cambridge University Press 2011 692 doi:10.1017/S001675681100046X Zagros orogeny: a subduction-dominated process P. AGARD∗†, J. OMRANI‡, L. JOLIVET§, H. WHITECHURCH¶, B. VRIELYNCK∗, W. SPAKMAN,P.MONIÉ#,B.MEYER∗ &R. WORTEL ∗ISTEP, UMR 7193, Université Pierre et Marie Curie – Université Paris 6, 4 pl. Jussieu, Paris 75005, France ‡Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran §ISTO, Université d’Orléans, France ¶EOST, Strasbourg, France Geosciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands #Géosciences Montpellier, UMR 5573, Université Montpellier 2, France (Received 17 January 2011; accepted 3 May 2011; first published online 5 July 2011) Abstract – This paper presents a synthetic view of the geodynamic evolution of the Zagros orogen within the frame of the Arabia–Eurasia collision.
    [Show full text]
  • Geology and Topography of Dutchess County (.Pdf)
    Chapter 3: The Geology and Topography of Dutchess County Chapter 3: Geology and Topography of Dutchess County, NY ______________________________________________________________________________ Roy T. Budnik, Jeffery R. Walker, and Kirsten Menking1 May 2010 INTRODUCTION The topography, settlement patterns, and mineral resources of Chapter Contents Dutchess County are all influenced by the underlying geology. Geologic History For example, the highest mountains contain the hardest rocks, Bedrock Formations Structural Geology communities in the county are generally located in areas of Surficial Deposits sand and gravel because of the relatively level terrain and Mineral Resources Topography abundant water supplies they contain, and construction Trends and Changes Over aggregates are mined where suitable deposits are found. Time Implications for Decision- Understanding geologic materials and processes is essential to Making sound resource management because the geology affects the Resources 1 This chapter was written during 2010 by Dr. Roy T. Budnik (President, Roy T. Budnik & Associates), Dr. Jeffrey R. Walker (Professor of Earth Science & Geography, Vassar College), and Dr. Kirsten Menking (Associate Professor of Earth Science and Geography, Vassar College). It is an updated and expanded version of the Hydrology chapter of the 1985 document Natural Resources, Dutchess County, NY (NRI). Natural Resource Inventory of Dutchess County, NY 1 Chapter 3: The Geology and Topography of Dutchess County quality and quantity of groundwater resources, the migration of pollutants, potential hazards to inhabitants, drainage patterns, mineral resources, and soil characteristics. Geology is the study of the earth, including all materials found at and below the earth’s surface. Geologists analyze the composition, origin, and ongoing changes in the rocks and sediments that compose the earth.
    [Show full text]
  • Structural Geology of Parautochthonous and Allochthonous Terranes of the Penokean Orogeny in Upper Michigan Comparisons with Northern Appalachian Tectonics
    Structural Geology of Parautochthonous and Allochthonous Terranes of the Penokean Orogeny in Upper Michigan Comparisons with Northern Appalachian Tectonics U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1904-Q AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS AND MAPS OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Instructions on ordering publications of the U.S. Geological Survey, along with the last offerings, are given in the current-year issues of the monthly catalog "New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey." Prices of available U.S. Geological Survey publications released prior to the current year are listed in the most recent annual "Price and Availability List." Publications that are listed in various U.S. Geological Survey catalogs (see back inside cover) but not listed in the most recent annual "Price and Availability List" are no longer available. Prices of reports released to the open files are given in the listing "U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Reports," updated monthly, which is for sale in microfiche from the U.S. Geological Survey, Book and Open-File Report Sales, Box 25286, Building 810, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225 Order U.S. Geological Survey publications by mail or over the counter from the offices given below. BY MAIL OVER THE COUNTER Books Books Professional Papers, Bulletins, Water-Supply Papers, Tech­ Books of the U.S. Geological Survey are available over the niques of Water-Resources Investigations, Circulars, publications counter at the following U.S. Geological Survey offices, all of of general interest (such as leaflets, pamphlets, booklets), single which are authorized agents of the Superintendent of Documents. copies of periodicals (Earthquakes & Volcanoes, Preliminary De­ termination of Epicenters), and some miscellaneous reports, includ­ ANCHORAGE, Alaska-Rm.
    [Show full text]