Large Scale Geologic Structures

This text is a translation of "Les Grandes Structures Geologiques," Paris 1997. It is devoted to the study of major geological features such as oceanic ridges, continental margins, sedimentary basins and mountain chains. Cover......Page 1 Half Title......Page 2 Title Page......Page 4 Copyright Page......Page 5 Preface to the First Edition......Page 6 Preface to the Third Edition......Page 8 Table of Contents......Page 10 Continental Crust......Page 14 Oceanic Crust......Page 16 Transition from Continental Crust to Oceanic Crust......Page 19 Lithosphere and Isostasy......Page 20 Part One Oceanic Structures......Page 22 Morphology......Page 24 Significance of Ridges and Oceanic Accretion......Page 28 Ridge Rocks......Page 29 Sea-floor Spreading......Page 32 Transform Faults......Page 36 Island Arcs......Page 39 A. Tonga-Kermadec or Mariana Type Arcs......Page 40 B. Japan or Insulinde Type Arcs......Page 47 Volcanic Reliefs......Page 52 Non-volcanic Reliefs......Page 57 Part Two Extensional Structures of the Continents......Page 60 Chapter 1: Sedimentary Basins......Page 62 — Rhine Graben......Page 65 — Gulf of Suez......Page 74 — Rift of Great East African Lakes......Page 77 — Rift of Lake Baikal......Page 81 ‘Pull-apart’ Rifts......Page 84 ‘Basin and Range’ Type Extension......Page 90 Paris Basin......Page 95 Complex Basins......Page 99 Aulacogens......Page 101 — Benue basin (Nigeria)......Page 102 — Small Neogene basins of the Betica region (Spain)......Page 104 — San Joaquin basin......Page 111 — Swiss molassic basin......Page 112 — Po basin (Padan basin)......Page 116 Backland Molassic basins......Page 117 — Pannonic basin, in the centre of the Carpathian arc......Page 118 — Tyrrhenian basin......Page 121 Red Sea-Afars-Gulf of Aden Group......Page 125 Gulf of California......Page 132 Gulf of Genoa......Page 134 Gulf of Gascogne (Bay of Biscay)......Page 140 Conclusions......Page 145 Structure......Page 148 Passive Margins and Sedimentation......Page 151 Transform Fault Margins......Page 155 Dissymmetric Passive Margins......Page 157 Active Margins and Derived Island Arcs......Page 158 Subduction Trench......Page 160 Accretionary Prism (Sedimentary Arc)......Page 163 Volcanic Arc......Page 167 Forearc Basin......Page 172 Structure at the Rear of a Volcanic Arc......Page 174 Geophysical Data on Active Margins......Page 175 Part Three Compressional Structures of the Continents......Page 176 Chapter 1: Intracontinental Chains......Page 178 Rocky Mountains, Wyoming and Colorado, USA......Page 179 Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon and Palmyra Mountain Ranges......Page 181 Transverse Ranges of Southern California......Page 185 High Atlas Mountains, Morocco......Page 186 Pyrenees......Page 189 Catalan and Iberian Chains......Page 195 Jura Mountains......Page 197 Rocky Mountains, Canada......Page 200 Chapter 2: Subduction Chains......Page 204 Andes of Northern and Central Peru......Page 205 Andes of Southern Peru and Northern Bolivia......Page 208 Chapter 3: Obduction Chains......Page 214 Oman Mountains......Page 215 New Caledonia Chain......Page 219 New Guinea Chain......Page 221 Andes of Colombia and Ecuador......Page 224 Taiwan Island......Page 230 West American Pacific Chains......Page 234 Intercontinental Collision Chains......Page 240 Central Himalayan Chain......Page 243 Variscan Chain of Europe......Page 252 Alps......Page 269 Extension Phenomena and Terminal Spreading of Orogens: Balance and Synthesis......Page 291 Chapter 5: Collages......Page 298 Yakutat Block......Page 299 Other Examples......Page 302 References......Page 304 Index......Page 324