The influence of Precambrian rock compositions and fabrics on the development of Rocky Mountain foreland folds
- Western Michigan Univ., Kalamazoo, MI (United States). Dept. of Geology
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Dept. of Geophysical Sciences
The distribution of Laramide strain in the Precambrian basement rocks of four small Rocky Mountain foreland folds was controlled by lithologies and orientations of pre-existing foliation in the faulted forelimbs. Features of brittle deformation include faults, sets of parallel, conjugate, or anastomosing fractures, zones of penetrative grain cracking and intergrain slip without grain size reduction, and local zones of cataclasis or incipient mylonitization. In the London Hills anticline, Montana, foliation was nearly parallel to bedding in cover rocks prior to folding. The foliation in the forelimb was rotated and deformed by layer-parallel slip between a forelimb thrust and a hinge-controlling fault. In the Sheephead Mountain anticline, Wyoming, the forelimb fault cut foliation at a high angle. Penetrative brittle deformation occurred along a wide zone of fractures parallel to a forelimb thrust at the basement-cover contact. In the Gnat Hollow anticline, Colorado, foliation dipped about 20[degree] more steeply than the forelimb thrust. Brittle deformation was confined mainly to the fault zone. In the Romero Hills anticline, New Mexico, foliation in the basement was parallel to thrusts that cut both basement and cover rocks. Slip on foliation surfaces near the thrusts was pervasive and simple shear on foliation was distributed in both the forelimb and backlimb. Pre-existing foliation surfaces were most active where they paralleled forelimb faults and least active where foliation was at a high angle to forelimb faults or was not rotated into the forelimb orientation. If the angle between faults and foliation is 10[degree] [+-] or more, pre-existing foliation appears to have exerted little influence on Laramide strain patterns.
- OSTI ID:
- 5725260
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-921058-; CODEN: GAAPBC
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 24:7; Conference: 1992 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Cincinnati, OH (United States), 26-29 Oct 1992; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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COLORADO
ROCKY MOUNTAINS
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GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
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580000* - Geosciences