Relay-ramp forms and normal-fault linkages, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Abstract

Research Article| September 01, 1994 Relay-ramp forms and normal-fault linkages, Canyonlands National Park, Utah BRUCE TRUDGILL; BRUCE TRUDGILL 1Department of Geology Royal School of Mines Imperial College, London SW7 2BP United Kingdom Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar JOSEPH CARTWRIGHT JOSEPH CARTWRIGHT 1Department of Geology Royal School of Mines Imperial College, London SW7 2BP United Kingdom Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information BRUCE TRUDGILL 1Department of Geology Royal School of Mines Imperial College, London SW7 2BP United Kingdom JOSEPH CARTWRIGHT 1Department of Geology Royal School of Mines Imperial College, London SW7 2BP United Kingdom Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1994) 106 (9): 1143–1157. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1994)106<1143:RRFANF>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation BRUCE TRUDGILL, JOSEPH CARTWRIGHT; Relay-ramp forms and normal-fault linkages, Canyonlands National Park, Utah. GSA Bulletin 1994;; 106 (9): 1143–1157. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1994)106<1143:RRFANF>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Fieldwork within a series of mesoscale grabens in southeast Utah has revealed a particularly well-exposed system of interlinked extensional faults. A series of down-faulted grabens are developed within a 460-m-thick brittle layer of upper Paleozoic sandstone and shale, which overlies a ductile layer with a high gypsum content. All the major grabens consist of two or more overlapping elements, which are composed of fault segments. These segments may be hard-linked (fault surfaces are joined) or soft-linked (fault surfaces are isolated, but linked by ductile strain of the rock volume between them) in map view. Relay structures are defined as zones connecting the footwalls and hanging walls of overlapping fault segments representing soft linkage of fault segments. In the Canyonlands grabens, the transfer of displacement between soft-linked fault segments is characterized by well-de-fined, dipping relay ramps, commonly rotated and extended to accommodate the ductile strain between the overlapping fault segments. Relay ramps develop as ephemeral structures, eventually becoming breached by hard linkage of the fault segments. Breakdown of ramps by breaching is part of the process of fault growth by segment linkage. Within the Canyonlands graben system, four orders of segmentation are present. This may be a consequence of different scales of mechanical heterogeneity, but evidence from the Canyonlands grabens and elsewhere points to a fundamental process of discontinuous fault growth by segment linkage. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.