Evolution and Structure of the Lachlan Fold Belt (Orogen) of Eastern Australia

Abstract

The Lachlan Fold Belt (Lachlan Orogen) of eastern Australia was part of a Paleozoic convergent plate margin that stretched around the supercontinent of Gondwana from South America to Australia. Lower Paleozoic (545–365 Ma) deep-water, quartz-rich turbidites, calcalkaline volcanic rocks, and voluminous granitic plutons dominate the Lachlan Orogen. These rocks overlie a mafic lower crust of oceanic affinity. Shortening and accretion of the Lachlan occurred through stepwise deformation and metamorphism from Late Ordovician (∼450 Ma) through early Carboniferous times, with dominant events at about 440–430 Ma and 400–380 Ma. The development and accretion of the Lachlan Orogen and other related belts within the Tasmanides added about 2.5 Mkm 2 to the surface area of Gondwana. The sedimentary, magmatic, and deformational processes converted an oceanic turbidite fan system into continental crust of normal thickness. The addition of this recycled continental detritus and juvenile material to Australia represents an under-recognized continental crustal growth mechanism that has been important thoughout earth history.