1 Late Paleozoic strike-slip faults in Maritime Canada and their role 2 in the reconfiguration of the northern Appalachian orogen 3 John W.F. Waldron1, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, 4 Edmonton AB Canada 5 Sandra M. Barr, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Acadia University, Wolfville 6 NS, Canada 7 Adrian F. Park2, Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, 8 Canada 9 Chris E. White, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Halifax, NS, Canada 10 James Hibbard, Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State 11 University, Raleigh, NC, USA 12 13 1Corresponding author: John W.F. Waldron, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 14 ESB 1-26, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G2E3 Canada (
[email protected]) 15 2Current address 116 Jaffrey Street, Fredericton, NB, Canada 16 17 1 18 Key points 19 Late Paleozoic dextral faults dissect northern Appalachians 20 NE-SW and E-W dextral faults active at different times 21 Restoration of strike slip necessary for understanding orogen 22 Abstract 23 Major late Paleozoic faults, many with documented strike-slip motion, have dissected the 24 Ordovician - Devonian Appalachian orogen in the Maritime Provinces of Atlantic Canada. 25 Activity alternated between east-west faults (Minas trend) and NE-SW faults (Appalachian 26 trend). NW-SE faults (Canso trend) were probably conjugate to Minas-trend faults. Major dextral 27 movement, on faults with Appalachian trend, in total between 200 and 300 km, began in the Late 28 Devonian. This movement initiated the Maritimes Basin in a transtensional environment at a 29 releasing bend formed around a promontory in the Laurentian margin, and thinned the crust, 30 accounting for the major subsidence of the basin.