Plate tectonics of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains

Abstract

Research Article| January 01, 1981 Plate tectonics of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains Charles F. Kluth; Charles F. Kluth 1Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Peter J. Coney Peter J. Coney 1Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Charles F. Kluth 1Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 Peter J. Coney 1Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1981) 9 (1): 10–15. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1981)9<10:PTOTAR>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Charles F. Kluth, Peter J. Coney; Plate tectonics of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. Geology 1981;; 9 (1): 10–15. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1981)9<10:PTOTAR>2.0.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 SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The Ancestral Rocky Mountains were intracratonic block uplifts that formed in Colorado and the surrounding region during Pennsylvanian time. Their development related to the collision of North America with South America–Africa, which produced the Ouachita-Marathon orogeny. In Early Pennsylvanian time, suturing was taking place only in the Ouachita region, and foreland deformation took place only in the mid-continent. By Middle Pennsylvanian time, the length of the suture zone had increased, and it was active from the Ouachita to the Marathon region. The extent of cratonic deformation also increased in intensity and in areal extent, culminating in the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. In Late Pennsylvanian time, suturing was taking place only in the Marathon region, and cratonic deformation decreased in extent and spread southward into New Mexico and West Texas. We suggest that the Ancestral Rocky Mountains, and related features over a broad area of the western United States, were formed while an irregularly bounded peninsula of the craton (including the transcontinental arch) was pushed northwestward by the progressive collision-suturing of North America and South America–Africa. This intraplate deformation is, in some respects, like the deformation of Asia in response to the Cenozoic collision with India. 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.