Southwest U. S. -East Antarctic (SWEAT) connection: A hypothesis
- Univ. of California, Davis (USA)
A hypothesis for a late Precambrian fit of western North America with the Australia-Antarctic shield region permits the extension of many features through Antarctica and into other parts of Gondwana. Specifically, the Grenville orogen may extend around the coast of East Antarctica into India and Australia. The Wopmay orogen of northwest Canada may extend through eastern Australia into Antarctica and thence beneath the ice to connect with the Yavapai-Mazatzal orogens of the southwestern US. The ophiolitic belt of the latter may extend into East Antarctica. Counterparts of the Precambrian-Paleozoic sedimentary rocks along the US Cordilleran miogeocline may be present in the Transantarctic Mountains. Orogenic belt boundaries provide useful piercing points for Precambrian continental reconstructions. The model implies that Gondwana and Laurentia rifted away from each other on one margin and collided some 300 m.y. later on their opposite margins to from the Appalachians.
- OSTI ID:
- 5598500
- Journal Information:
- Geology; (USA), Journal Name: Geology; (USA) Vol. 19:5; ISSN GLGYB; ISSN 0091-7613
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
580000* -- Geosciences
ANTARCTIC REGIONS
ANTARCTICA
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS
ASIA
AUSTRALASIA
AUSTRALIA
CANADA
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
CORRELATIONS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGIC MODELS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GONDWANA
INDIA
MOUNTAINS
NORTH AMERICA
ORIGIN
OROGENESIS
PALEOZOIC ERA
PLATE TECTONICS
POLAR REGIONS
PRECAMBRIAN ERA
RIFT ZONES
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
TECTONICS
USA