Passive-roof duplexes under the Rocky Mountain foreland basin, Alberta

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:5469609

Skuce, A G ^[1]; Goody, N P ^[2]; Maloney, J ^[3]

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1. Husky Oil International Inc., Calgary, Alberta (Canada)
2. Pan Canadian Petroleum Ltd., Calgary, Alberta (Canada)
3. Norcen Energy Resources Ltd., Calgary, Alberta (Canada)

Seismic reflection data in the Central Alberta Foothills near Edson reveal the presence of small passive-roof duplexes in Upper Cretaceous rocks within the otherwise undeformed foreland basin, as much as 40 km northeast of the mountain front monocline. The tops and bottoms of the duplexes are defined by backthrusts and sole thrusts, which follow bedding planes within Upper Cretaceous strata. Overlying the structures is an essentially uncontracted 1.8-km-thick section of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks, which is passively uplifted over the thickened duplexes. The underlying autochthonous sequence of Mesozoic and Paleozoic rocks exhibits some minor folding but is also uncontracted. The authors' interpretation extends both the upper and lower detachments of the widely accepted triangle-zone model more than 30 km farther under the foreland basin than has previously been supposed. The seismic data illustrate relatively clearly the form of the leading edge of the last phase of Rocky Mountain thrusting. The authors expect that similar features will be observed elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain foothills and, probably, at other mountain fronts worldwide.

• OSTI ID: 5469609
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 76:1; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
ALBERTA
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
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GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC MODELS
EXPLORATION
SEISMIC SURVEYS
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
MAPPING
ROCKY MOUNTAINS
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
STRATIGRAPHY
CANADA
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GEOLOGIC AGES
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GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
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020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
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030200 - Natural Gas- Reserves
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& Exploration