2002 Readings, Tectonics of the Western United States

Most recent at the top:

April 26: Neotectonics and geodesy

Required Readings

• Bennett, R. A., J. L. Davis, and B. P. Wernicke, Present-day pattern of Cordilleran deformation in the Western United States, Geology, 27, 371-374, 1999.
• Flesch, L. M., W. E. Holt, A. J. Haines, and B. M. Shen-Tu, Dynamics of the Pacific-North American plate boundary in the western United States, Science, 287, 834-836, 2000. (online from CU computers)
• Wesnousky, S. G., and C. H. Jones, Slip partitioning, spatial and temporal changes in the regional stress field, and the relative strength of active faults in the Basin and Range, Geology, 22, 1031-1034, 1994.

Additional references

• Shen-Tu, B. M., W. E. Holt, and A. J. Haines, Deformation kinematics in the western United States determined from Quaternary fault slip rates and recent geodetic data, J. Geophys. Res.-Solid Earth, 104, 28927-28955, 1999. [full scale integration of geologic and geodetic information for displacement field]
• McCaffrey, R., Oblique plate convergence, slip vectors, and forearc deformation, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 8905-8915, 1992. [More rigorous examination of force balance in slip partitioning and global analysis]
• Jones, C. H., and S. G. Wesnousky, Variations in strength and slip rate along the San Andreas Fault system, Science, 256, 83-86, 1992. [provides background for Wesnousky and Jones and applies to San Andreas system]

April 24: Erosion

Required Readings

• Christiansen, R. L., and R. S. Yeats, Post-Laramide geology of the U.S. Cordilleran region, in The Geology of North America, vol.G-3, Geol. Soc. Am., pp. 350-357, 1992. [summary of traditional evidence for uplift/erosion]
• Dumitru, T. A., I. R. Duddy, and P. F. Green, Mesozoic-Cenozoic burial, uplift, and erosion history of the west-central Colorado Plateau, Geology, 22, 499-502, 1994.

Additional Readings

• Holm, R. F., Cenozoic paleogeography of the central Mogollon Rim-southern Colorado Plateau region, Arizona, revealed by Tertiary gravel deposits, Oligocene to Pleistocene lava flows, and incised streams, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 113, 1467-1485, 2001.
• Elston, D. P., and R. A. Young, Cretaceous-Eocene (Laramide) landscape development and Oligocene-Pliocene drainage reorganization of transition zone and Colorado Plateau, Arizona, J. Geophys. Res., 96, 12,389-12,406, 1991. [A rather different view, suggesting erosion is much older than usually thought]
• Steidtmann, J. R., and L. T. Middleton, Fault chronology and uplift history of the southern Wind River Range, Wyoming; implications for Laramide and post-Laramide deformation in the Rocky Mountain foreland, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 103, 472-485, 1991. [One off several fission-track papers on the Rocky Mtns.]

April 17: Neogene volcanism

Required Readings

Also note Dickinson 1997 addresses this

• Ormerod, D. S., C. J. Hawkesworth, N. W. Rogers, W. P. Leeman, and M. A. Menzies, Tectonic and magmatic transitions in the Western Great Basin, USA, Nature, 333, 349-353, 1988. [Potential effect of triple junction passage in western Great Basin]
• Geist, D., and M. Richards, Origin of the Columbia Plateau and Snake River plain: Deflection of the Yellowstone plume, Geology, 21, 789-792, 1993.
• Hooper, P.R., G. B. Binger, and K. R. Lees, Ages of the Steens and Columbia River flood basalts and their relationship to extension-related calc-alkalic volcanism in eastern Oregon, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 114, 43-50, 2002.

Additional Readings

• Carlson, R. W., and W. K. Hart, Crustal Genesis on the Oregon Plateau, J. Geophys. Res., 92, 6191-6206, 1987. [Back-arc origin for Columbia River basalts?]
• Christiansen, R. L., and R. S. Yeats, Post-Laramide geology of the U.S. Cordilleran region, in The Geology of North America, vol.G-3, Geol. Soc. Am., 261-406, 1992. [esp. pp. 378-383; contrary view of hotspot origin to Yellowstone and Columbia Plateau]

April 15, 17: Cenozoic plate tectonics and western U.S.

Required readings

Additionally you can view Tanya Atwater's movies of the development of the plate margin, one showing the hemisphere over the past 80 m.y. (about 5 Mb) and one showing the details of the San Andreas development (15 Mb):

• Atwater, T., and J. Stock, Pacific-North America plate tectonics of the Neogene southwestern United States: An update, International Geology Review, 40, 375-402, 1998 [also in Integrated Earth and Environmental Evolution of the Southwestern United States: The Clarence A. Hall, Jr. Volume, edited by W. G. Ernst and C. A. Nelson, pp. 393-420, Bellweather Publ., Columbia, Maryland, 1998].
• Dickinson, W. R., Tectonic implications of Cenozoic volcanism in coastal California, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 109, 936-954, 1997.

Additional References:

• Atwater, T., Implications of plate tectonics for the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of western North America, Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 81, 3513-3536, 1970. [Classic early interpretation of WUS in terms of plate tectonics].
• Stock, J., and P. Molnar, Uncertainties and implications of the Late Cretaceous and Tertiary position of North America relative to the Farallon, Kula, and Pacific plates, Tectonics, 7, 1339-1384, 1988. [How to do plate reconstructions with uncertainties]
• Atwater, T. M., Plate tectonic history of the northeast Pacific and western North America, The Geology of North America, vol. N, Geological Society of America, 21-72, 1989. [overview of methods and chief results to late 1980s].

April 10, 15: Elevation and driving forces for Basin and Range

Required Readings:

• Axelrod, D. I., Paleoelevation estimated from Tertiary floras, in Integrated Earth and Environmental Evolution of the Southwestern United States: The Clarence A. Hall, Jr. Volume, edited by W. G. Ernst and C. A. Nelson, pp. 70-79, Bellweather Publ., Columbia, Maryland, 1998.
• Wolfe, J. A., H. E. Schorn, C. E. Forest, and P. Molnar, Paleobotanical evidence for high altitudes in Nevada during the Miocene, Science, 276, 1672-1675, 1997. A pdf version of the article is accessible from campus computers.]

Additional Readings:

• England, P., and P. Molnar, Surface uplift, uplift of rocks, and exhumation of rocks, Geology, 18, 1173-1177, 1990.
  • Hatfield, C. B., Surface uplift, uplift of rocks, and exhumation of rocks: Comment, Geology, 19, 1051, 1991.
  • England, P., and P. Molnar, Surface uplift, uplift of rocks, and exhumation of rocks: Reply, Geology, 19, 1051-1052, 1991.
  • Pinter, N., and E. A. Keller, Surface uplift, uplift of rocks, and exhumation of rocks: Comment, Geology, 19, 1053, 1991.
  • England, P., and P. Molnar, Surface uplift, uplift of rocks, and exhumation of rocks: Reply, Geology, 19, 1053-1054, 1991.
• Wolfe, J. A., C. E. Forest, and P. Molnar, Paleobotanical evidence of Eocene and Oligocene paleoaltitudes in midlatitude western North America, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 110, 664-678, 1998.
• Small, E. E., and R. S. Anderson, Geomorphically driven Late Cenozoic uplift in the Sierra Nevada, California, Science, 270, 277-280, 1995.
• Gregory, K. M., and C. G. Chase, Tectonic significance of paleobotanically estimated climate and altitude of the late Eocene erosion surface, Colorado, Geology, 20, 581-585, 1992.
• Montgomery, D. R., Valley incision and the uplift of mountain peaks, Journal of Geophysical Research, B, Solid Earth and Planets, 99, 13,913-13,921, 1994.
• Small, E. E., and R. S. Anderson, Pleistocene relief production in Laramide mountain ranges, western United States, Geology, 26, 123-126, 1998.
  • Schaffer, J. P., E. E. Small, and R. S. Anderson, Pleistocene relief production in Laramide mountain ranges, Western United States: Discussion and reply, Geology (Boulder), 26, 1150-1152, 1998.

April 5, 8: Core complexes and crustal flow

If you have the new Turcotte and Schubert, pp. 226-229 (section 6-1, 6-2) can be a help in understanding Kruse et al.

Required Readings:

• Buck, W. R., Modes of continental lithospheric extension, J. Geophys. Res., 96, 20,161-20,178, 1991. [we'll move into this as we get to discussing the possible changes in Basin and Range tectonics with time]
• Brace, W. F., and D. L. Kohlstedt, Limits on lithospheric stress imposed by laboratory experiments, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 6248-6252, 1980. [Seminal paper on changes in stress-strain relations in the lithosphere and what probably dictates them]
• Block, L., and L. H. Royden, Core complex geometries and regional scale flow in the lower crust, Tectonics, 9, 557-567, 1990. [shows why you need crustal flow]
• Kruse, S., M. K. McNutt, J. Phipps-Morgan, L. Royden, and B. Wernicke, Lithospheric extension near Lake Mead, Nevada; a model for ductile flow in the lower crust, J. Geophys. Res., 96, 4435-4456, 1991. [shows how you might get crustal flow]

Additional Readings:

• Gans, P. B., An open system, 2-layer crustal stretching model for the eastern Great Basin, Tectonics, 6, 1-12, 1987.
• Wernicke, B., The fluid crustal layer and its implications for continental dynamics, in Exposed Cross-Sections of the Continental Crust, NATO Advanced Studies Institute, Series C, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, vol. 317, edited by M. H. Salisbury and D. M. Fountain, pp. 509-544, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, Mass., 1990.

April 3: Initiation of Basin and Range extension (geobarometry)

Required readings:

• Wernicke, B. P., and S. R. Getty, Intracrustal subduction and gravity currents in the deep crust; Sm-Nd, Ar-Ar, and thermobarometric constraints from the Skagit gneiss complex, Washington, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 109, 1149-1166, 1997.
• Hodges, K. V., A. W. Snoke, and H. A. Hurlow, Thermal evolution of a portion of the Sevier Hinterland; the northern Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range and Wood Hills, northeastern Nevada, Tectonics, 11, 154-164, 1992.
• Winter, John D., 27.4 Geothermobarometry, in An Introduction to Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, pp. 543-559, 2001. [this explains how geobarometry works and what assumptions it needs]
• Sonder, L. J., and C. H. Jones, Western United States extension: How the West was widened, Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 27, 417-462, 1999. [This has references to a pretty fair collection of relevant papers on the Basin and Range and is really an overview for Basin and Range discussion].

March 18, 20, April 1 discussion on the Sierra Nevada

Required References: (and use of gravity, seismic refraction, geobarometry, and heat flow):

• Saltus, R. W., and A. H. Lachenbruch, Thermal evolution of the Sierra Nevada: Tectonic implications of new heat flow data, Tectonics, 10, (2), 325-344, 1991.
• Jones, C. H., H. Kanamori, and S. W. Roecker, Missing roots and mantle "drips": Regional P_n and teleseismic arrival times in the southern Sierra Nevada and vicinity, California, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 4567-4601, 1994. [focus on the gravity and refraction portions and ignore the teleseismic tomography]
• Ducea, M. N., and J. B. Saleeby, The age and origin of a thick mafic-ultramafic keel from beneath the Sierra Nevada batholith, Contrib. Minerol. Petrol., 133, 169-185, 1998.

Relevant references:

• Simpson, R. W., and R. C. Jachens, Gravity methods in regional studies, Mem. Geol. Soc. Am., 172, Geol. Soc. Am., 35-44, 1989.
• Jachens, R. C., R. W. Simpson, R. J. Blakely, and R. W. Saltus, Isostatic residual gravity and crustal geology of the United States, Mem. Geol. Soc. Am., 172, Geol. Soc. Am., 405-424, 1989. [contains the explanation of trouble with common interpretations of the isostatic gravity anomaly]
• Jones, C. H., Is extension in Death Valley accomodated by thinning of the mantle lithosphere beneath the Sierra Nevada, California?, Tectonics, 6, 449-473, 1987. [Contains an overview of the work done that led to the interpretation of a thick root]
• Saleeby, J. B., Progress in tectonic and petrogenetic studies in an exposed cross-section of young (~100 Ma) continental crust, southern Sierra Nevada, California, in Exposed Cross-Sections of the Continental Crust, NATO Advanced Studies Institute, Series C, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, vol. 317, edited by M. H. Salisbury, pp. 137-158, D. Reidel Publishing Co., Norwell, Mass., 1990. [Surface geologic constraints on the variations with depth in the batholith]
• Ducea, M. N., and J. B. Saleeby, Buoyancy sources for a large, unrooted mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, California: Evidence from xenolith thermobarometry, J. Geophys. Res., 101, (B4), 8229-8244, 1996. [First of several papers reconstructing the batholith's deeper parts from xenoliths]
• Chase, C. G., and T. C. Wallace, Uplift of the Sierra Nevada of California, Geology, 14, 730-733, 1986. [An interesting proposal for how a Mesozoic root could have produced a late Cenozoic uplift through flexure].
• Wernicke, B., R. Clayton, M. Ducea, C. H. Jones, S. Park, S. Ruppert, J. Saleeby, J. K. Snow, L. Squires, M. Fliedner, G. Jiracek, R. Keller, S. Klemperer, J. Luetgert, P. Malin, K. Miller, W. Mooney, H. Oliver, and R. Phinney, Origin of high mountains in the continents: The southern Sierra Nevada, Science, 271, 190-193, 1996. [Highlights of the 1993 SSCD project's results]

Readings for 15 March on Mz-Cz Igneous Rocks

Required Readings:

• Ducea, M., The California arc: Thick granitic batholiths, eclogitic residues, lithospheric-scale thrusting, and magmatic flare-ups, GSA Today, 11, 4-10, 2001.
• Mutschler, F. E., E. E. Larson, and R. M. Bruce, Laramide and younger magmatism in Colorado; new petrologic and tectonic variations on old themes, in Cenozoic volcanism in the Southern Rocky Mountains updated; a tribute to Rudy C. Epis; Part 1., Colorado School of Mines Quarterly, vol. 82; 4, edited by W. Drexler John and E. Larson Edwin, pp. 1-47, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, United States, 1987.

Additional Reading:

• Stein, H. J., and J. G. Crock, Late Cretaceous-Tertiary magmatism in the Colorado Mineral Belt; Rare earth element and samarium-neodymium isotopic studies, in The nature and origin of Cordilleran magmatism,Geol. Soc. Am. Memoir, vol. 174, edited by J. L. Anderson, pp. 195-223, Geol. Soc. Am., Boulder, Colorado, 1990.

Readings for 11-15 March on Laramide Causes

Required Readings:

• Livaccari, R. F., and F. V. Perry, Isotopic evidence for preservation of Cordilleran lithospheric mantle during the Sevier-Laramide Orogeny, Western United States, Geology, 21, (8), 719-722, 1993.
  • Bird, P., Isotopic evidence for preservation of Cordilleran lithospheric mantle during the Sevier-Laramide Orogeny, Western United States: Comment, Geology, 22, (7), 670-671, 1994.
  • Perry, F. V., and R. F. Livaccari, Isotopic evidence for preservation of Cordilleran lithospheric mantle during the Sevier-Laramide Orogeny, Western United States: Reply, Geology, 22, (7), 671-672, 1994.
• Bird, P., Kinematic history of the Laramide orogeny in latitudes 35 degrees-49 degrees N, western United States, Tectonics, 17, (5), 780-801, 1998.

Additional references:

Tectonics of the Laramide Orogeny

• Maxson, J., and B. Tikoff, Hit-and-run collision model for the Laramide orogeny, western United States, Geology, 24, (11), 968-972, 1996.
• Livaccari, R. F., Role of crustal thickening and extensional collapse in the tectonic evolution of the Sevier-Laramide Orogeny, Western United States, Geology, 19, (11), 1104-1107, 1991.
• Bird, P., Formation of the Rocky Mountains, Western United States; a continuum computer model, Science, 239, (4847), 1501-1507, 1988.

Laramide analogy papers (esp. the flat slab and geology of the Sierra Pampeanas):

• Jordan, T. E., and R. W. Allmendinger, The Sierras Pampeanas of Argentina: A modern analogue of Rocky Mountain foreland deformation, American Journal of Science, 286, (10), 737-764, 1986.
• Cahill, T. A., and B. L. Isacks, Seismicity and shape of the subducted Nazca Plate, Journal of Geophysical Research, 97, (12), 17,503-17,529, 1992.

Additional Readings for 6 March on Stress Inversion:

• Gephart, J. W., Stress and the direction of slip on fault planes, Tectonics, 9, 845-858, 1990.

Readings for 4,8 March on Structural Style of the Laramide Orogeny

Required Readings:

• Varga, R. J., Rocky Mountain foreland uplifts: Products of a rotating stress field or strain partitioning?, Geology, 21, (12), 1115-1118, 1993.
• Erslev, E. A., Thrusts, back-thrusts, and detachment of Rocky Mountain foreland arches, in Laramide Basement deformation in the Rocky Mountain Foreland of the Western United States, Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Paper, vol. 280, edited by C. J. Schmidt, R. B. Chase and E. A. Erslev, pp. 339-358, Geol. Soc. Amer., Boulder, Colo., 1993.
• Erslev, E. A., Multistage, multidirectional Tertiary shortening and compression in north-central New Mexico, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull, 113, 63-74, 2001.

Additional references:

Structural styles of Laramide

• Cather, S. M., Implications of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Proterozoic piercing lines for Laramide oblique-slip faulting in New Mexico and rotation of the Colorado Plateau, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 111, 849-868, 1999.
  • Woodward, L. A., Implications of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Proterozoic piercing lines for Laramide oblique-slip faulting in New Mexico and rotation of the Colorado Plateau: Discussion, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 112, 783-785, 2000.
  • Cather, S. M., and K. E. Karlstrom, Implications of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Proterozoic piercing lines for Laramide oblique-slip faulting in New Mexico and rotation of the Colorado Plateau: Reply, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 112, 785-788, 2000.
  • Lucas, S. G., O. J. Anderson, and B. A. Black, Implications of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Proterozoic piercing lines for Laramide oblique-slip faulting in New Mexico and rotation of the Colorado Plateau: Discussion, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 112, 789-790, 2000.
  • Cather, S. M., Implications of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Proterozoic piercing lines for Laramide oblique-slip faulting in New Mexico and rotation of the Colorado Plateau: Reply, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 112, 790-795, 2000.
  • Ingersoll, R. V., Implications of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Proterozoic piercing lines for Laramide oblique-slip faulting in New Mexico and rotation of the Colorado Plateau: Discussion, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 112, 796-797, 2000.
  • Cather, S. M., Implications of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Proterozoic piercing lines for Laramide oblique-slip faulting in New Mexico and rotation of the Colorado Plateau: Reply, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 112, 797-798, 2000.
• Brown, W. G., Deformational style of Laramide uplifts in the Wyoming foreland, in Interaction of the Rocky Mountain Foreland and the Cordilleran thrust belt, Geological Society of America Memoir, vol. 171, edited by C. J. Schmidt and W. J. Perry, Jr., pp. 1-25, Geol. Soc. Am., Boulder, Colo., 1988.
• Gries, R., North-South compression of Rocky Mountain foreland structures, in Rocky Mountain foreland basins and uplifts, edited by J. D. Lowell and R. Gries, pp. 9-32, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, Denver, Colorado, 1983.
• Karlstrom, K. E., and C. G. Daniel, Restoration of Laramide right-lateral strike slip in northern New Mexico by using Proterozoic piercing points: Tectonic implications from the Proterozoic to the Cenozoic, Geology, 21, (12), 1139-1142, 1993.
  • Woodward, L. A., Restoration of Laramide right-lateral strike slip in northern New Mexico by using Proterozoic piercing points; tectonic implications from the Proterozoic to the Cenozoic: Comment, Geology, 22, (9), 862-863, 1994.
  • Karlstrom, K. E., and C. G. Daniel, Restoration of Laramide right-lateral strike slip in northern New Mexico by using Proterozoic piercing points; tectonic implications from the Proterozoic to the Cenozoic: Reply, Geology, 22, (9), 863-864, 1994.

Timing of Laramide

• Dickinson, W. R., M. A. Klute, M. J. Hayes, S. U. Janecke, E. R. Lundin, M. A. McKittrick, and M. D. Olivares, Paleogeographic and paleotectonic setting of Laramide sedimentary basins in the central Rocky Mountain region, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 100, (7), 1023-1039, 1988.

Reading for 25-27 February on critical wedges and the Sevier orogen:

Required Readings:

• Jordan, T. E., Thrust loads and foreland basin evolution, Cretaceous, western United States, Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., 65, 2506-2520, 1981.
• DeCelles, P. G., and G. Mitra, History of the Sevier orogenic wedge in terms of critical taper models, Northeast Utah and Southwest Wyoming, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 107, 454-462, 1995. [more direct than DeCelles '94 in considering how sediments work with Coulomb/critical wedge, but geology is in the DeCelles '94 paper]
• Lageson, D. R., J. G. Schmitt, B. K. Horton, T. J. Kalakay, and B. R. Burton, Influence of Late Cretaceous magmatism on the Sevier orogenic wedge, western Montana, Geology, 29, 723-726, 2001.

Additional references:

Sevier Orogeny

• Allmendinger, R. W., Fold and thrust tectonics of the western United States exclusive of the accreted terranes, in The Cordilleran Orogen: Conterminous U.S., The Geology of North America, vol. G-3, edited by B. C. Burchfiel, P. W. Lipman and M. L. Zoback, pp. 583-607, Geol. Soc. Amer., Boulder, Colorado, 1992.
• DeCelles, P. G., Late Cretaceous-Paleocene synorogenic sedimentation and kinematic history of the Sevier thrust belt, northeast Utah and southwest Wyoming, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 106, 32-56, 1994.

Critical taper/Coulomb wedge theory:

• Moores, E. M., and R. J. Twiss, Tectonics, pp. 174-178 (also Fig. 7.27), W. H. Freeman & Co., New York, 1995. [the Cliff Notes version]
• Davis, D., J. Suppe, and F. A. Dahlen, Mechanics of fold-and-thrust belts and accretionary wedges: Cohesive Coulomb theory, Journal of Geophysical Research, 88, 1153-1172, 1983. [where this started]
• Barr, T. D., and F. A. Dahlen, Brittle frictional mountain building .2. Thermal structure and heat budget, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 3923-3947, 1989.
• Dahlen, F. A., and T. D. Barr, Brittle Frictional Mountain Building .1. Deformation and Mechanical Energy Budget, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 3906-3922, 1989.

Reading for 13-22 February on exotic terranes:

Exotic terranes has been one of the most thoroughly discussed aspects of Cordilleran geology in the wake of plate tectonics; the extent of even the recent literature is only hinted at in the collection below. We will first discuss an overview of the exotic terranes (Gabrielse part of the Geology of Canada handout) and then go over paleomag (class handout). We will then (probably 15 February) go over indications of exoticity (?) of terranes in general (Carter et al. section, will use stuff from Patchett and Gehrels paper). We will then plow into the Baja-British Columbia controversy (probably 18 February)--the Housen and Beck and Butler et al. papers give the short, recent take by the two main sides of this argument. In additional reading, I have included a fair number of other papers that provide insight on various aspects of these problem. Rather than pare things to only one or two papers, I thought pointing you towards a range of perspectives would be worthwhile.

Required Readings:

• Gabrielse, H., J. W. H. Monger, J. O. Wheeler, and C. J. Yorath, Part A, Morphogeological belts, tectonic assemblages, and terranes, in Chapter 2 of Geology of the Cordilleran Orogen in Canada, Geology of Canada, v. 4, edited by H. Gabrielse and C. J. Yorath, pp. 15-28, Geol. Surv. Canada, 1991. [also called The Geology of North America, vol. G-2]. [Note that the plates with this volume are quite useful in understanding the basis for terrane mapping].
• Carter, E. S., M. J. Orchard, C. A. Ross, J. R. P. Ross, P. L. Smith, and H. W. Tipper, Part B, Paleontological signatures of terranes, in Chapter 2 of Geology of the Cordilleran Orogen in Canada, Geology of Canada, v. 4, edited by H. Gabrielse and C. J. Yorath, pp. 28-38, Geol. Surv. Canada, 1991. [also called The Geology of North America, vol. G-2; note this is after Gabrielse paper, above]
• Housen, B. A., and M. E. Beck, Jr., Testing terrane transport; an inclusive approach to the Baja B.C. controversy, Geology (Boulder), 27, 1143-1146, 1999. [the large-displacement Baja-BC exponents]
• Butler, R. F., G. E. Gehrels, and K. P. Kodama, A moderate translation alternative to the Baja British Columbia hypothesis, GSA Today, 11, 4-10, 2001. [anti Baja-BC camp]

Additional Readings

Plate reconstructions and terranes:

• Debiche, M. G., A. Cox, and D. Engebretson, The Motion of Allochthonous Terranes, Special Paper Geological Society of America, 207, 1-49, 1985. [this continues to be cited although the plate reconstruction underneath it is probably in error]
• Engebretson, D. C., A. Cox, and R. G. Gordon, Relative motions between oceanic and continental plates in the Pacific Basin, Special Paper Geological Society of America, 206, 1-59, 1985.
• Wilson, K. M., W. W. Hay, and C. N. Wold, Mesozoic evolution of exotic terranes and marginal seas, western North America, Marine Geology, 102, 311-361, 1991. [This is Bill Hay's very alternative view to the western U.S., with numerous arcs, marginal seas, and subduction zones]

Northward motion of Coastal California:

• Dickinson, W. R., and R. F. Butler, Coastal and Baja California paleomagnetism reconsidered, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 110, 1268-1280, 1998.
• Beck, M. E., Jr., Case for northward transport of Baja and coastal Southern California; paleomagnetic data, analysis, and alternatives, Geology, 19, 506-509, 1991.
• Gastil, G., Is there a Oaxaca-California megashear? Conflict between paleomagnetic data and other elements of geology, Geology, 19 (5), 502-505, 1991.

Baja-British Columbia controversy (a sampling):

• Irving, E., P. J. Wynne, D. J. Thorkelson, and P. Schiarizza, Large (1000 to 4000 km) northward movements of tectonic domains in the northern Cordillera, 83 to 45 Ma, Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, 101, 17901-17916, 1996. [rather thorough compendium of large-displacement paleomag]
• Monger, J. W. H., R. A. Price, P. J. Wynne, D. J. Thorkelson, K. L. Kleinspehn, J. A. Maxson, and E. Irving, Paleomagnetism of the Upper Cretaceous strata of Mount Tatlow; evidence for 3000 km of northward displacement of the eastern Coast Belt, British Columbia and on Paleomagnetism of the Spences Bridge Group and northward displacement of the Intermontane Belt, British Columbia; a second look; discussion and reply, Journal of Geophysical Research, B, Solid Earth and Planets, 101, 13,793-13803, 1996. [rather related to the above paper even though it is commenting on two others]
• Cowan, D. S., M. T. Brandon, and J. I. Garver, Geologic tests of hypotheses for large coastwise displacements - A critique illustrated by the Baja British Columbia controversy, American Journal of Science, 297, 117-173, 1997. [this was something of a broadside response to the restatement of large-magnitude displacement from the paleomag folks].
• Dickinson, W. R., and R. F. Butler, Coastal and Baja California paleomagnetism reconsidered, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 110, 1268-1280, 1998.
• Mahoney, J. B., P. S. Mustard, J. W. Haggart, R. M. Friedman, C. M. Fanning, and V. J. McNicoll, Archean zircons in Cretaceous strata of the western Canadian Cordillera; the "Baja B.C." hypothesis fails a "crucial test", Geology (Boulder), 27, 195-198, 1999. [This triggered the Housen and Beck paper]
• Kodama, K. P., and P. D. Ward, Compaction-corrected paleomagnetic paleolatitudes for Late Cretaceous rudists along the Cretaceous California margin; evidence for less than 1500 km of post-Late Cretaceous offset for Baja British Columbia, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 113, 1171-1178, 2001. [although trying to restrict to low-displacement interpretation, this most recent attack only gets so far--but combines faunal and paleomag]

General terrane readings:

• Irving, E., and P. J. Wynne, Part A, Paleomagnetism: Review and tectonic implications, Chapter 3, in Geology of the Cordilleran Orogen in Canada, Geology of Canada, v. 4, edited by H. Gabrielse and C. J. Yorath, pp. 61-86, Geol. Surv. Canada, 1991. [also called The Geology of North America, vol. G-2].
• Saleeby, J. B., Petrotectonic and paleogeographic settings of U.S. Cordilleran ophiolites, in The Cordilleran Orogen: Conterminous U.S., The Geology of North America, vol. G-3, edited by B. C. Burchfiel, P. W. Lipman and M. L. Zoback, pp. 653-682, Geol. Soc. Amer., Boulder, Colorado, 1992.
• Saleeby, J. B., and C. Busby-Spera, Early Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the western U.S. Cordillera, in The Cordilleran Orogen: Conterminous U.S., The Geology of North America, vol. G-3, edited by B. C. Burchfiel, P. W. Lipman and M. L. Zoback, pp. 107-168, Geol. Soc. Amer., Boulder, Colorado, 1992.

Terrane affinities to North America:

• Gehrels, G. E., R. F. Butler, and D. R. Bazard, Detrital zircon geochronology of the Alexander terrane, southeastern Alaska, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 108, 722-734, 1996. [documents a very-far travelled sliver of continental crust]
• Patchett, P. J., and G. E. Gehrels, Continental influence of Canadian Cordilleran terranes from Nd isotopic study, and significance for crustal growth processes, Journal of Geology, 106, 269-280, 1998. [Documents non-Precambrian origin for some of the terranes in western Canada].

Readings for 6, 8 February on the Sonoman Orogeny and Miogeoclinal Truncation

Required References

• Gehrels, G. E., Introduction to detrital zircon studies of Paleozoic and Triassic strata in western Nevada and Northern California, in Paleozoic and Triassic paleogeography and tectonics of western Nevada and Northern California., Special Paper - Geological Society of America, vol. 347, edited by J. Soreghan Michael and E. Gehrels George, pp. 1-17, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, Colorado, 2000.
• Gehrels, G. E., W. R. Dickinson, B. J. Darby, J. P. Harding, J. D. Manuszak, B. C. D. Riley, M. S. Spurlin, S. C. Finney, G. H. Girty, D. S. Harwood, M. M. Miller, J. I. Satterfield, M. T. Smith, W. S. Snyder, E. T. Wallin, and S. J. Wyld, Tectonic implications of detrital zircon data from Paleozoic and Triassic strata in western Nevada and Northern California, in Paleozoic and Triassic paleogeography and tectonics of western Nevada and Northern California., Special Paper - Geological Society of America, vol. 347, edited by J. Soreghan Michael and E. Gehrels George, pp. 133-150, Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, 2000.
• Stevens, C. H., P. Stone, G. C. Dunne, D. C. Greene, J. D. Walker, and B. J. Swanson, Paleozoic and Mesozoic evolution of East-central California, in Integrated Earth and Environmental Evolution of the Southwestern United States, edited by W.G. Ernst and C. A. Nelson, pp. 119-160, Bellweather Publ., Columbia Maryland, 1998. [there is a lot here--might pick and choose, noting info on truncation especially].

Relevant References:

• Wyld, S. J., Permo-Triassic Tectonism in Volcanic Arc Sequences of the Western United States Cordillera and Implications For the Sonoma Orogeny, Tectonics, 10, 1007-1017, 1991.
• Gehrels, G. E., and J. H. Stewart, Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology of Cambrian to Triassic miogeoclinal and eugeoclinal strata of Sonora, Mexico, Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth, 103, 2471-2487, 1998. [attempts to determine if the miogeocline to the SW of Death Valley was removed to the SSE]
• Miller, E. L., M. M. Miller, C. H. Stevens, J. E. Wright, and R. Madrid, Late Paleozoic paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the western U.S. Cordillera, in The Cordilleran Orogen: Conterminous U.S., The Geology of North America, vol. G-3, edited by B. C. Burchfiel, P. W. Lipman and M. L. Zoback, pp. 57-106, Geol. Soc. Amer., Boulder, Colo., 1992. [overview of many issues on Somona and Antler orogenies].
• Roback, R. C., and N. W. Walker, Provenance, Detrital Zircon U-Pb Geochronometry, and Tectonic Significance of Permian to Lower Triassic Sandstone in Southeastern Quesnellia, British-Columbia and Washington, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 107, 665-675, 1995. [considers the position of Quesnellia, somewhat equivalent to the Klamaths/northern Sierra but in southern Canada, northern Washington; its attachment to North America might be equivalent of Sonoman orogeny to north].

Additional references on Permian truncation vs. shortening

• Snow, J. K., Large-magnitude Permian shortening and continental margin tectonics in the southern Cordillera, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 104, 80-105, 1992.
  • Stone, P., and C. H. Stevens, Large-magnitude Permian shortening and continental-margin tectonics in the southern Cordillera: Discussion, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 105, 279-280, 1993.
  • Snow, J. K., and B. Wernicke, Large-magnitude Permian shortening and continental-margin tectonics in the southern Cordillera: Reply, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 105, 280-283, 1993.

Readings for 1 and 4 February (flexural response of the lithosphere to loading) are parts of Chapter 3 of Turcotte and Schubert (mostly pp. 112-132). The handout on flexure of the lithosphere will be available as a pdf document (if you grabbed the old one, drop it and wait for the new one).

Readings for 1, 4, 6 February on the Antler orogeny:

Required References: (These get you an overview of the main elements and controversies of the Antler Orogen)

• Burchfiel, B. C., and L. H. Royden, Antler Orogeny: A Mediterranean-type orogeny, Geology, 19, (1), 66-69, 1991.
• Smith, M. T., W. R. Dickinson, and G. E. Gehrels, Contractional Nature of Devonian-Mississippian Antler Tectonism Along the North-American Continental-Margin, Geology, 21, (1), 21-24, 1993.
• Turner, R. J. W., R. J. Madrid, and E. L. Miller, Roberts Mountains allochthon: Stratigraphic comparison with Lower Paleozoic outer continental-margin strata of the northern Canadian Cordillera, Geology, 17, (4), 341-344, 1989.
  • Johnson, J. G., and M. A. Murphy, Roberts Mountains allochthon: Stratigraphic comparison with Lower Paleozoic outer continental-margin strata of the northern Canadian Cordillera - Comment, Geology, 17, (11), 1063, 1989.
  • Turner, R. J. W., R. J. Madrid, and E. L. Miller, Roberts Mountains allochthon: Stratigraphic comparison with Lower Paleozoic outer continental-margin strata of the northern Canadian Cordillera - Reply, Geology, 17, (11), 1063-1064, 1989.

Relevant References:

• Giles, K. A., and W. R. Dickinson, The interplay of eustasy and lithospheric flexure in forming stratigraphic sequences in foreland settings: An example from the Antler foreland, Nevada and Utah, in Stratigraphic Evolution of Foreland Basins, SEPM Special Publication, vol. 52, edited by S. L. Dorobek and G. M. Ross, pp. 187-211, SEPM, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1995. [We'll be examining the interpretation here and its flexural origin, but it is a long paper to really read].
• Gehrels, G. E., W. R. Dickinson, B. C. D. Riley, S. C. Finney, and M. T. Smith, Detrital zircon geochronology of the Roberts Mountains Allochthon, Nevada, in Paleozoic and Triassic paleogeography and tectonics of western Nevada and Northern California., edited by J. Soreghan Michael and E. Gehrels George, Geological Society of America (GSA). Boulder, Cololrado., 2000. [Zircon evidence that Roberts Mountain allochthon is not far travelled and not near volcanic arc]
• Silberling, N. J., K. M. Nichols, J. H. Trexler, Jr., P. W. Jewell, and R. A. Crosbie, Overview of Mississippian depositional and paleotectonic history in the Antler foreland, eastern Nevada and western Utah, Brigham Young Univ. Geol. Studies, 42 (1), 161-196, 1997. [road log is after p. 183; fieldtrip guide to 1997 GSA]
• Speed, R. C., and N. H. Sleep, Antler orogeny and foreland basin: A model, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 93, 815-828, 1982.
• Miller, E. L., M. M. Miller, C. H. Stevens, J. E. Wright, and R. Madrid, Late Paleozoic paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the western U.S. Cordillera, in The Cordilleran Orogen: Conterminous U.S., The Geology of North America, vol. G-3, edited by B. C. Burchfiel, P. W. Lipman and M. L. Zoback, pp. 57-106, Geol. Soc. Amer., Boulder, Colo., 1992.

Readings for 28 and 30 January, Ancestral Rocky Mountains

Required:

• Ye, H. Z., L. Royden, C. Burchfiel, and M. Schuepbach, Late Paleozoic deformation of interior North America: The greater Ancestral Rocky Mountains, Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., 80, 1397-1432, 1996. [you'll want to try and hit the highlights and note the data upon which their interpretations are based] Most of the color plates are here as scanned images.
  • Kluth, C. F., Late Paleozoic deformation of interior North America: The Greater Ancestral Rocky Mountains: Discussion, Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., 82, 2272-2276, 1998.
  • Ye, H. Z., L. Royden, C. Burchfiel, and M. Schuepbach, Late paleozoic deformation of interior North America: The Greater Ancestral Rocky Mountains: Reply, Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., 82, 2277-2279, 1998.
• Johnson, S. Y., M. A. Chan, and E. A. Konopka, Pennsylvanian and Early Permian paleogeography of the Uinta­Piceance basin region, northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah, U. S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper, 1787CC, 1-35, 1992.

Relevant:

Many of these are more detailed studies of specific areas or topics, or they provide different viewpoints we will try and explore in class.

• Kluth, C. F., Plate tectonics of the ancestral Rocky Mountains, Amer. Assoc. Petr. Geol. Memoir, 41, 353-369, 1986.
  • Goldstein, A. G., C. F. Kluth, and P. J. Coney, Plate tectonics of the ancestral Rocky Mountains: Discussion and reply, Geology, 9, 387-389, 1981.
  • Warner, L. A., C. F. Kluth, and P. J. Coney, Plate tectonics of the ancestral Rocky Mountains: Discussion and reply, Geology, 11, 120-122, 1983.
• Marshak, S., K. Karlstrom, and J. M. Timmons, Inversion of Proterozoic extensional faults; an explanation for the pattern of Laramide and ancestral Rockies intracratonic deformation, United States, Geology (Boulder), 28, 735-738, 2000.
• Budnik, R. T., Left-lateral intraplate deformation along the ancestral Rocky Mountains: Implications for late Paleozoic plate motions, Tectonophysics, 132, 195-214, 1986.
• Frahme, C. W., and E. B. Vaughn, Paleozoic geology and seismic stratigraphy of the northern Uncompahgre Front, Grant County, Utah, Field Conference Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, 1983, 201-211, 1983.
• Stevenson, G. M., and D. L. Baars, The Paradox; a pull-apart basin of Pennsylvanian age, AAPG Memoir, 41, 513-539, 1986.

Readings for 18 and 23 January

Rifting of western U.S. in the latest Precambrian and backstripping:

Required:

• Bond, G. C., and M. A. Kominz, Construction of tectonic subsidence curves for the early Paleozoic miogeocline, southern Canadian Rocky Mountains; implications for subsidence mechanisms, age of breakup, and crustal thinning, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 95, (2), 155-173, 1984.
• old Turcotte and Schubert, pp. 158-161, 163-165, 181-183, 185-187, last is most relevant, earlier readings provide background.
• Timmons, J. M., K. E. Karlstrom, C. M. Dehler, J. W. Geissman, and M. T. Heizler, Proterozoic multistage (ca. 1.1 and 0.8 Ga) extension recorded in the Grand Canyon Supergroup and establishment of northwest- and north-trending tectonic grains in the southwestern United States, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 113, 163-180, 2001.

Relevant:

• Levy, M., and N. Christie Blick, Tectonic subsidence of the early Paleozoic passive continental margin in eastern California and southern Nevada, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 103, (12), 1590-1606, 1991. [kind of Bond and Kominz for the souther Cordilleran miogeocline, but with some removal of later deformation].
• Borg, S. G., and D. J. Depaolo, Laurentia, Australia, and Antarctica As a Late Proterozoic Supercontinent - Constraints From Isotopic Mapping, Geology, 22, (4), 307-310, 1994.
• Stewart, J. H., G. E. Gehrels, A. P. Barth, P. K. Link, B. N. Christie, and C. T. Wrucke, Detrital zircon provenance of Mesoproterozoic to Cambrian arenites in the Western United States and northwestern Mexico, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 113, 1343-1356, 2001. [detrital zircon observations on sources of late pC sediments]
• Bond, G. C., and M. A. Kominz, Evolution of Thought On Passive Continental Margins From the Origin of Geosynclinal Theory (Approximately 1860) to the Present, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 100, (12), 1909-1933, 1988.
• McKenzie, D., Some remarks on the development of sedimentary basins, Earth Plan. Sci. Letts., 40, 25-32, 1978. [where 1-D thermal subsidence was really first applied to sedimentary basins]
• Link, P. K., N. Christie-Blick, W. J. Devlin, D. P. Elston, R. J. Horodyski, M. Levy, J. M. G. Miller, R. C. Pearson, A. Prave, J. H. Stewart, D. Winston, L. A. Wright, and C. T. Wrucke, Middle and Late Proterozoic stratified rocks of the western U.S. Cordillera, Colorado Plateau, and Basin and Range province, in Precambrian: Conterminous U.S., The Geology of North America, vol. C-2, edited by J. C. Reed, Jr., M. E. Bickford, R. S. Houston, P. K. Link, D. W. Rankin, P. K. Sims and W. R. Van Schmus, pp. 463-595, Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, 1993. [this is too long to actually put in photocopy pile, but it is a comprehensive reference to know about].

Readings for 16 January:

Required:

• Reed, J. C., Jr., T. T. Ball, G. L. Farmer, and W. B. Hamilton, A broader view, in Precambrian: Conterminous U. S., The Geology of North America, vol. C-2, edited by J. C. Reed, Jr. and others, pp. 614-622 (Farmer's section), Geol. Soc. Amer., Boulder, Colo., 1993.

Relevant:

• Sleep, N. H., and K. Fujita, Geochrology (Chapter 3), especially section 3.3, in Principles of Geophysics, pp. 35-61, Blackwell Science, Malden, Massachusetts, 1997. (in Math-Physics library)
• Ramo, O. T., and J. P. Calzia, Nd isotopic composition of cratonic rocks in the southern Death Valley region; evidence for a substantial Archean source component in Mojavia, Geology, 26, (10), 891-894, 1998.
• Bennett, V. C., and D. J. DePaolo, Proterozoic crustal history of the western United States as determined by neodymium isotopic mapping, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 99 (5), 674-685, 1987

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