SUBJECT

Geology of North America

practical

master

Faculty of Science

Geology MSc

2

Semester 3

Autumn semester

1) The North American craton:

The main tectonic units of the craton. The Archean of the Superior and Slave Provinces. Early Proterozoic orogenic belts and the assembly of the North American craton. Middle Proterozoic of the craton and the Grenville orogeny.

2) The Appalachian orogen

Main tectonic elements and orogenic phases: the Early, Middle and Late Paleozoic evolution of the Appalachian orogen. The Atlantic rifting.

Geology of the Colorado Plateau.

3) The Cordilleran orogen:

Proterozoic and Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the North American Cordillera. Mesozoic evolution of the western US. The five morphogeologic belts of the Canadian Cordillera. The terrane concept. Pericratonic and intermontane terranes. The Coast Plutonic Complex. Insular and outer terranes. Paleogene to Quaternary evolution of the Cordillera. Geology of selected National Parks of the US and Canada.

• Hammer, P.T., Clowes, R.M., Cook, F.A., Vasudevan, K. & van der Velden, A.J. (2011): The big picture: A lithospheric cross section of the North American continent. GSA Today 21: 4-10.
• Recommended readings provided during the course