Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T17:01:55.123Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Structural evolution in the northern part of the Moine thrust belt, NW Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

D. Elliott  and
M. R. W. Johnson
D. Elliott
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, U.S.A.
M. R. W. Johnson
Affiliation:
Grant Institute of Geology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, Scotland.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Four balanced cross sections, supported by longitudinal sections, structure contour maps, stratigraphic separation diagrams and hangingwall sequence diagrams are keys to this interpretation of the Moine thrust, which forms the western margin of the Caledonides in NW Scotland. New basement and cover correlations between foreland and thrust belt give new slip estimates for the Moine thrust (∼ 77 km), the Loch More klippe (≥ 43 km), Glencoul sheet (20–25 km), Ben More sheet (∼28 km), Achall and Dundonnell ‘sheet II’ (∼28 km).

Like other major thrusts the Moine thrust moved in a smooth or rough fashion at different places and times, and many structures are a footwall response to its passage. Widely developed duplexes vary in thickness so that the roof thrust is folded and occasionally faulted; many late Caledonian folds in the Moine metasediments are of this origin. The presence of igneous bodies with contact aureoles increased the propensity to rough slip and this, by causing thickening in the footwall to the Moine thrust, is partly responsible for the Assynt culmination.

The previously accepted sequence of thrusting from foreland to hinterland, which has been deduced from the concept of ‘overstep’ of the Moine thrust across lower thrusts, is considered to be a misconception of thrust geometry. Instead, a ‘piggy-back’ sequence of thrusts, from higher to lower, is proposed.

Keywords

Assyntbalanced cross sectionculminationduplexhorseklippeslip
Type
Research Article
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 71 , Issue 2 , 1980 , pp. 69 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, E. M. 1951. The dynamics of faulting. Edinburgh: Oliver& Boyd.Google Scholar
Armstrong, F. C. & Oriel, S. S. 1965. Tectonic development of Idaho-Wyoming thrust belt. BULL AM ASSOC PET GEOL 49, 1847–66.Google Scholar
Bailey, E. B. 1935. The Glencoul nappe and the Assynt Culmination. GEOL MAG 72, 151–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, E. B. & McCallien, W. J. 1934. Pre-Cambrian Association. Second Excursion, Scotland, 18th August-2nd September, 1934. GEOL MAG 71 549–57.Google Scholar
Barton, C. M. 1978. An Appalachian view of the Moine thrust. SCOTT J GEOL 14, 247–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beach, A., Coward, M. P. & Graham, R. H. 1974. An interpretation of the structural evolution of the Laxford Front, north-west Scotland. SCOTT J GEOL 9, 297–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyer, S. & Elliott, D. In press. Thrust fault systems, particularly duplexes. J STRUCT GEOL.Google Scholar
Brown, P. E., Miller, J. A. & Grasty, R. L. 1968. Isotopic ages of Late Caledonian granitic intrusion in the British Isles. PROC YORK SHIRE GEOL SOC 36, 251–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brook, M., Brewer, M. S. & Powell, D. 1976. Grenville ages for rocks in the Moine of north-western Scotland. NATURE 260, 515–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cadell, H. M. 1890. Experimental Researches in Mountain-building. TRANS R SOC EDINBURGH 35, 337–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christie, J. M. 1963. The Moine thrust zone in the Assynt region, northwest Scotland. UNIV CALIFORNIA PUBL GEOL SCI 40, 345–440.Google Scholar
Churkin, M., Carter, C. & Johnson, B. R. 1977. Subdivision of Ordovician and Silurian time scale using accumulation rates of graptolitic shale. GEOLOGY 5, 452–6.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahlstrom, C. D. A. 1969. Balanced cross sections. CAN J EARTH SCI 6, 743–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahlstrom, C. D. A. 1970. Structural geology in the eastern margin of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. BULL CAN PET GEOL 18, 332–406.Google Scholar
Dennis, J. G. 1967. International tectonic dictionary. Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists.Google Scholar
Dewey, J. F. & Pankhurst, R. J. 1970. The evolution of the Scottish Caledonides in relation to their isotopic age pattern. TRANS R SOC EDINBURGH 68, 361–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Douglas, R. J. W. 1950. Callum Creek, Langford Creek, and Gap map-areas Alberta. MEM GEOL SURV CAN 255.Google Scholar
Elliott, D. 1976. The energy balance and deformation mechanisms of thrust sheets. PHIL TRANS R SOC LONDON A283, 289–312.Google Scholar
Elliott, D. & Johnson, M. R. W. 1977. Structural evolution of the northern part of the Moine thrust belt. Abstracts for meeting of the Tectonic Studies Group of the Geological Society of London; Leeds, England.Google Scholar
Elliott, D. & Johnson, M. R. W. 1978. Discussion on structures found in thrust belts. J GEOL SOC LONDON 135, 259–60.Google Scholar
Faill, R. T. 1969. Kink band structures in the Valley and Ridge Province Central Pennsylvania. BULL GEOL SOC AM 80, 2539–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, L. D. 1965. The Clinchport thrust fault — a major structural element of the southern Appalachians. PROF PAP US GEOL SURV 525–B, B49–B53.Google Scholar
Harris, L. D. 1970. Details of thin skinned tectonics, in parts of Valley and Ridge and Cumberland Plateau provinces of the southern Appalachians. In Fisher, G. W., Pettijohn, F. J., Read, J. C. & Weaver, K. N. (eds) Studies of Appalachian Geology: central and southern, 161–73. New York: Interscience.Google Scholar
Higgins, A. C. 1967. The age of the Durine Member of the Durness Limestone Formation at Durness. SCOTT J GEOL 3, 382–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laubscher, H. P. 1977. Fold development in the Jura. TEC TONOPHYSICS 37, 347–65.Google Scholar
Macgregor, M. & Phemister, J. 1972. Geological Excursion Guide to the Assynt District of Sutherland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Geological Society.Google Scholar
Milici, R. C. 1975. Structural patterns in the southern Appalachians — evidence for a gravity slide mechanism for Alleghanian deformation. BULL GEOL SOC AM 86, 1316–20.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, K. P. 1978. Folding and thrusting in the upper Glen Oykel area, Assynt. SCOTT J GEOL 14, 141–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, I. 1965 a. The feldspathic syenites of the Loch Ailsh intrusion, Assynt, Scotland. J PETROL 6, 365–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, I. 1965 b. The sub-surface shape of part of the Loch Ailsh Intrusion, Assynt, as deduced from magnetic anomalies across the contact, with a note on traverses across the Loch Borrolan Complex. GEOL MAG 102, 46–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, I. 1968. The origin of the basic and ultrabasic rocks of the Loch Ailsh Intrusion, Assynt. SCOTT J GEOL 4, 221–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, I. 1972. Comparative petrology of the leucocratic syenites of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. GEOL J 8, 71–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, I. 1979. The Assynt Alkaline suite. In Harris, A. L., Holland, C. H. and Leake, B. E. (eds) The Caledonides of the British Isles reviewed. SPEC PUBL GEOL SOC LONDON 8.Google Scholar
Peach, B. N. & Home, J. 1914. Guide to the geological model of the Assynt mountains, 1–32. Edinburgh: Geological Survey and Museum.Google Scholar
Peach, B. N. & Home, J. 1930. Chapters on the Geology of Scotland. Oxford Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Peach, B. N., Home, J., Gunn, W., Clough, C. T., Hinxman, L. W. & Cadell, H. M. 1888. Report on the recent work of the Geological Survey in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, based on the Field Notes and Maps. Q J GEOL SOC LONDON 64, 378–441.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peach, B. N., Home, J., Gunn, W., Clough, C. T. & Hinxman, L. W. 1907. The geological structure of the north-west Highlands of Scotland. MEM GEOL SURV GB.Google Scholar
Phemister, J. 1960. British Regional Geology: Scotland: The Northern Highlands 3rd edn. Edinburgh: HMSO.Google Scholar
Ramsay, J. G. 1969. The measurement of strain displacement in orogenic belts. In Kent, P. E., Satterthwaite, G. E. & Spencer, A. M. (eds) Time and Place in Orogeny, 43–79. SPEC PUBL GEOL SOC LONDON 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Read, H. H., Phemister, J. & Ross, G. 1926. The geology of Strath Oykel and Lower Loch Shin. MEM GEOL SURV SCOTLAND.Google Scholar
Rich, J. L. 1934. Mechanics of low-angle overthrust faulting illustrated by Cumberland Thrust Block Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. BULL AM ASSOC PET GEOL 18 (12), 1584–96.Google Scholar
Sabine, P. 1953. The petrology and geological significance of the post-Cambrian minor intrusions of Assynt and the adjoining districts of North-West Scotland. Q J GEOL SOC LONDON 114, 137–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, J. 1973. The structure and structural dating of the Carn Chuinneag intrusion, Ross-shire. SCOTT J GEOL 9, 63–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soper, N. J. 1971. The earliest Caledonian structures in the Moine thrust belt. SCOTT J GEOL 7, 241–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soper, N. J. & Barber, A. J. 1979. Proterozoic folds on the Northwest Caledonian Foreland. SCOTT J GEOL 15, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soper, N. J. & Brown, P. E. 1965. Later orogenic events in the northern part of the Moine nappe. GEOL MAG 102, 285–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soper, N. J. & Brown, P. E. 1971. Relationship between metamorphism and migmatization in the northern part of the Moine Nappe. SCOTT J GEOL 4, 305–25.Google Scholar
Soper, N. J. & Wilkinson, P. 1975. The Moine Thrust and Moine Nappe at Loch Eriboll, Sutherland. SCOTT J GEOL 11, 339–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, A. D. 1969. Torridonian rocks of Scotland reviewed. In Kay, M. (ed) North Atlantic — geology and continental drift, 559–608. MEM AM ASSOC PET GEOL 12.Google Scholar
Swett, K. 1965. Petrology of the Cambro-Ordovician succession of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Univ. Edinburgh, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, 186p.Google Scholar
Swett, K. 1969. Interpretation of depositional and diagenetic history of Cambrian-Ordovician Succession of Northwest Scotland. In Kay, M. (ed) North Atlantic — geology and continental drift, 630–46. MEM AM ASSOC PET GEOL 12.Google Scholar
van Breemen, O., Aftalion, M. & Johnson, M. R. W. 1979. Age of the Loch Borrolan complex, Assynt, and late movements along the Moine Thrust Zone. J GEOL SOC LONDON 136, 489–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woolley, A. R. 1970. The structural relationships of the Loch Borrolan Complex, Scotland. GEOL J 7, 171–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar