Comparison of terrane accretion in modern Southeast Asia and the Mesozoic North American Cordillera

Research Article| April 01, 1983 Comparison of terrane accretion in modern Southeast Asia and the Mesozoic North American Cordillera Eli A. Silver; Eli A. Silver 1Earth Sciences Board and Center for Coastal Marine Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Randall B. Smith Randall B. Smith 1Earth Sciences Board and Center for Coastal Marine Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Eli A. Silver 1Earth Sciences Board and Center for Coastal Marine Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064 Randall B. Smith 1Earth Sciences Board and Center for Coastal Marine Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1983) 11 (4): 198–202. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1983)11<198:COTAIM>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Eli A. Silver, Randall B. Smith; Comparison of terrane accretion in modern Southeast Asia and the Mesozoic North American Cordillera. Geology 1983;; 11 (4): 198–202. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1983)11<198:COTAIM>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 western part of the North American Cordillera has been divided into numerous suspect terranes. Some of these terranes have traveled hundreds to thousands of kilometres between the time of their formation and their final incorporation into the accretionary belt of the Cordillera. Most of the terranes appear to be relics of island arcs, oceanic plateaus and islands, continental margin fragments, and complex accretionary terranes, the latter including melange belts, ophiolite fragments, and thrust-faulted forearc provinces. Because the terranes have complex histories and diverse stratigraphies, it has been difficult to envisage an actualistic setting for the Mesozoic Cordillera. Here we propose an analogy with the tectonic setting of the Indo-Pacific region, from the Tonga trench on the east to eastern Indonesia on the west. This region comprises several distinct island arcs, several large oceanic plateaus, numerous accretionary terranes, melange zones, ophiolite fragments, and a variety of continental fragments, all moving toward the central collision zone. Like the Cordillera, this part of the Indo-Pacific region is undergoing oblique convergence, driven by relatively high rates of movement between the oceanic plates and the collision zone. Also analogous to the Cordillera is the formation of a foreland fold and thrust belt, developing between the collision zone and the Australian continent, and a zone of basement-rooted foreland folds, suggestive of an early Laramide style of deformation. 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.