Deformation mechanisms adjacent to a thrust fault, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado
- Univ. of Akron, OH (United States). Dept. of Geology
The purpose of this study is to examine the character of grain-scale deformation adjacent to a Laramide thrust fault in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This site represents a window through the hanging wall of a thrust sheet which juxtaposes Precambrian rocks over Pennsylvanian rocks. It provides a rare opportunity to examine deformation mechanisms in the footwall of a basement-involved thrust. Brittle deformation is evident at both outcrop and grain-scale. Filled fractures and slickensides composed of quartz and epidote are present throughout the area, and increase in abundance adjacent to the fault zone, as does the frequency of mesoscopic faulting. Variations in deformation mechanisms can be seen between the Precambrian rocks of the thrust sheet and the Pennsylvanian metasedimentary rocks, and between the metamorphosed arkoses and metapelites within the Pennsylvanian section. Cataclastic textures are present in deformed Precambrian rocks, and the degree of cataclasis is greatest immediately adjacent to the fault zone. Deformation in the Pennsylvanian rocks is largely dependent upon the abundance of fine-grained matrix within each sample. The degree of brittle deformation is negatively correlated to the percentage of matrix. Coarser-grained sections show microscopic faults which offset quartz and feldspar grains. Offsets decrease on the faults as they pass from coarse grains into the matrix.
- OSTI ID:
- 7123363
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9404217-; CODEN: GAAPBC
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 26:5; Conference: 27. annual conference of the North-Central Section of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Kalamazoo, MI (United States), 28-29 Apr 1994; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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