GSC 111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Alleghanian Orogeny, Delaware Basin, Euramerica
13 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Late Paleozoic Life and Paleogeography (Carboniferous and Permian)
1. Assembly of supercontinent Pangaea
a. Early Carboniferous (Mississippian)
i. Alleghenian orogeny
1. Collision of Euramerica with Gondwana
b. Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian)
i. Ouachuta Mountain
ii. Ancestral Rockies
iii. Extensive glaciation in other Gondwana
iv. Also had epicontinental seas in middle of North America
c. Permian
i. Suturing of Siberia to eastern European continents
ii. Warmer and more arid environemnts
2. Late Paleozoic orogenic events
a. Alleghenian orogeny
i. Collision of North America with Gondwanaland
b. Ouachita orogeny
i. In Arkansas
ii. Similar to fold and thrust belt of Appalachian
c. Ancestral Rockies
i. The Uncompahgre and Front Range
ii. Uplifted Precambrian Rocks in center of the continent around 1.5 to 3 km
1. Not really understood why they uplifted how they did
2. Main explaination is that stresses of Gondwana and Euramerica
collision propogated to center of continent
d. Antler and Sonoma orogenies
i. Volcanic and island arc that was thrust onto the western margin of
Pangaea
ii. Significant westward growth of the continent
3. Pennsylvanian midcontinent cyclothems
a. Pennsylvanian Coal deposits form on Midcontinent
i. Coal deposits formed on flood plains and shallow coastal swamps
ii. Accumulated plat debris
iii. Full of fossils
iv. Coal deposits occur in cycles of sedimentation called cyclothems
1. Coal deposits are associated are with lycopod forests and swamps
4. Permian reef complex of West Texas
a. Carboniferous to early Permian period
i. Delaware and Midland basins form as deep foreland basin
b. End of the Pennsylvanian: shallow seas retreat from midcontinent
c. Middle Permian: large reef rums Delaware Basin
d. Made of aragonitic sponges, algae, bryozoans
e. Capitan reef
i. The Reef margin steepened as sea level rose
ii. Eventually, the bottom of the Delaware Basin became stagnant and
prohibitive to life
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