THE GROWTH OF SHEEP MOUNTAIN ANTICLINE: COMPARISON OF FIELD DATA AND NUMERICAL MODELS Nicolas Bellahsen and Patricia E. Fiore Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 e-mail:
[email protected] be explained by this deformed basement cover interface Abstract and does not require that the underlying fault to be listric. In his kinematic model of a basement involved We study the vertical, compression parallel joint compressive structure, Narr (1994) assumes that the set that formed at Sheep Mountain Anticline during the basement can undergo significant deformations. Casas early Laramide orogeny, prior to the associated folding et al. (2003), in their analysis of field data, show that a event. Field data indicate that this joint set has a basement thrust sheet can undergo a significant heterogeneous distribution over the fold. It is much less penetrative deformation, as it passes over a flat-ramp numerous in the forelimb than in the hinge and geometry (fault-bend fold). Bump (2003) also discussed backlimb, and in fact is absent in many of the forelimb how, in several cases, the basement rocks must be field measurement sites. Using 3D elastic numerical deformed by the fault-propagation fold process. models, we show that early slip along an underlying It is noteworthy that basement deformation often is thrust fault would have locally perturbed the neglected in kinematic (Erslev, 1991; McConnell, surrounding stress field, inducing a compression that 1994), analogue (Sanford, 1959; Friedman et al., 1980), would inhibit joint formation above the fault tip. and numerical models. This can be attributed partially Relating the absence of joints in the forelimb to this to the fact that an understanding of how internal stress perturbation, we are able to constrain the deformation is delocalized in the basement is lacking.