Western Cordillera Research Paper

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Mesozoic and Cenozoic Orogenies and Emplacement of Granitic Stocks Three significant mountain building events created much of the Western Cordillera during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. The Nevadan, Sevier and Laramide orogenies each had unique impacts on the continental margin, inland crustal deformation and mineral deposition in Utah. In the Mid to Late Jurassic period the western edge of North America was a subduction zone with a continental volcanic arc similar to the modern Andes. Previous microcontinent collisions had already caused faulting and compression in the craton and the Sierra Nevada Batholith had been developed from the resultant volcanic activity. Presence of dated ophiolites in California point to the Nevadan orogeny…show more content…
The Laramide orogeny overlaps in time with the Sevier by about 30 million years, however, the impact of each was drastically different. Sevier deformation is categorized by thrust faulting - a process where sedimentary strata formed from an ancient passive continental margin began to compress and detach from the crust, overlapping the land to the east by up to 30 miles and creating fold-thrust belts. Sheets of strata, heavily faulted and metamorphosed, stacked up to five layers deep have been documented in Utah (Willis…show more content…
1986. “Timescales of orogeny: Jurassic construction of the Klamath Mountains.” Tectonics v. 14, no. 3, p. 7. Hintze, Lehi F. 1988. Geologic History of Utah. Provo: Brigham Young University Department of Geology. Hintze, Lehi F. 2005, Utah’s Spectacular Geology, Provo: Brigham Young University Department of Geology. Sprinkel, Douglas A. 2014. “The Uinta Mountains: A Tale of Two Geographies & More,” Utah Geological Survey Notes v. 46, no. 3, p. 1-4. Waite, K.A., Keith, J.D., Christiansen, E.H., Whitney, J.A., Hattori, K., Tingey, D.G., and Hook, C.J. (1997) “Petrogenesis of the volcanic and intrusive rocks associated with the Bingham Canyon porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, Utah. In: Geology and Ore Deposits of the Oquirrh and Wasatch Mountains, Utah.” Society of Economic Geologists, Guidebook Series 29: 1242-1249. Willis, G.C. 1999. “The Utah Thrust System – An Overview,” Geology of northern Utah and vicinity: Utah Geological Association Publication 27, p.
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