parks and plates ©2005 robert j. lillie ancient collisional mountain range

Collision Overview

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

ANCIENT COLLISIONAL MOUNTAIN RANGE

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

ANCIENT COLLISIONAL MOUNTAIN RANGE

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

ANCIENT COLLISIONAL MOUNTAIN RANGE

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

ANCIENT COLLISIONAL MOUNTAIN RANGE

Foreland Basin

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Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

ANCIENT COLLISIONAL MOUNTAIN RANGE

Soft vs. Hard Collisions

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Soft vs. Hard Collisions

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

DCM Sediments

Soft vs. Hard Collisions

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Accretionary Wedge

Soft vs. Hard Collisions

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Soft vs. Hard Collisions

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Soft vs. Hard Collisions

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Soft vs. Hard Collisions

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Ouachita Mountains,Arkansas

Soft Collision

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

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Alps,Switzerland

Hard Collision

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

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Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Himalayas, India/Tibet

Very High Mountains During Collision

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Brooks Range Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Moderate Height after some Erosion and Rebound

Appalachian Mountains Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

Lower Mountains after Extensive Erosion

High-Grade Metamorphic Rocks

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Rob

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Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

TECTONIC DEVELOPMENT OF APPALACHIAN

MOUNTAINS

Iapetus Ocean Opens

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

TECTONIC DEVELOPMENT OF APPALACHIAN

MOUNTAINS

Iapetus Ocean Closes

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

TECTONIC DEVELOPMENT OF APPALACHIAN

MOUNTAINS

Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico Ocean

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

TECTONIC DEVELOPMENT OF APPALACHIAN

MOUNTAINS

Tectonic Evolution of Southern Appalachian Mountains

Pannotia Rifts Apart

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

North America Gondwanaland

Iapetus Ocean Opens

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Tectonic Evolution of Southern Appalachian Mountains

Iapetus Ocean Closes During Subduction

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Tectonic Evolution of Southern Appalachian Mountains

Continents Collide, Forming Pangea

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Tectonic Evolution of Southern Appalachian Mountains

Atlantic Ocean Opens

Note Tectonic Provinces of Southern Appalachians

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Tectonic Evolution of Southern Appalachian Mountains

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

ANCIENT COLLISIONAL MOUNTAIN RANGE

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

ANCIENT COLLISIONAL MOUNTAIN RANGE

Line of Tectonic Cross Section

What do the Appalachians look like below the surface?

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Southern Appalachian Mountains

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

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Southern Appalachian Mountains

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

The VALLEY AND RIDGE PROVINCE is a fold and thrust belt.

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

The VALLEY AND RIDGE PROVINCE is a fold and thrust belt.

Compression folds the sedimentary

layers, like pushing on a rug.

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

The VALLEY AND RIDGE PROVINCE is a fold and thrust belt.

Compression also breaks and shoves

the rock layers along thrust faults.

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

The VALLEY AND RIDGE PROVINCE is a fold and thrust belt.

The region has numerous folds

and thrust faults.

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Layers also tilt (“plunge”), eroding

to V-shaped patterns.

The VALLEY AND RIDGE PROVINCE is a fold and thrust belt.

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

NA

SA

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Satellite photos reveal numerous

plunging anticlines and synclines.

The VALLEY AND RIDGE PROVINCE is a fold and thrust belt.

NA

SA

Valley and Ridge Province,

Pennsylvania

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Plunging Anticlines and Synclines

Marshak, EARTH (Norton, 2005)

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

The Valley and Ridge Province is a classic FOLD AND THRUST BELT

Marshak, EARTH (Norton, 2005)

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

The Valley and Ridge Province is a classic FOLD AND THRUST BELT

Folds Thrust Faults

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Southern Appalachian Mountains

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

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Southern Appalachian Mountains

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

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Southern Appalachian Mountains

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Mar

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Southern Appalachian Mountains

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Mar

shak

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Southern Appalachian Mountains

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie

Mar

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Southern Appalachian Mountains

Parks and Plates©2005 Robert J. Lillie