Laramide development of the eastern Chihuahua tectonic belt, west Texas and northeast Chihuahua, Mexico

Hennings, Peter; Dyer, Russ; Muehlberger, William R.

doi:10.1029/ft317p0071

Cited by 2 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…He also constructed a 170-km structural transect, across the entire Chihuahua tectonic belt, between Ojinaga and Aldama, Chihuahua (Hennings, 1991;1994). From three sections Hennings (1991) found that Laramide shortening in the "northern segment" (area along the Rio Grande between the southern edge of the Finlay Mountains and the southern end of the Indio Mountains; see Figure 1) is about 39%. Between the Indio Mountains and the southern boundary of the Chihuahua trough ("central" segment (one section) and "southern" segment (transect) of Hennings), shortening is on the order of 10%.…”

Section: Shortening the Principal Reason For This Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thrust faulting in the Placer de Guadalupe -Carrizalillo area (thrusting toward the southwest, see Figure 7 of Haenggi, 2001) and in the Devil Ridge area (thrusting toward the northeast, Figure 10) involves Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, and, at Carrizalillo, Precambrian basement is apparently involved in Laramide structure. Hennings (1991Hennings ( , 1994 and Haenggi (2001) inferred that Precambrian basement is also involved in Laramide thrusting at Placer de Guadalupe.…”

Section: Eastern Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Publications by Gries and Haenggi (1970), Haenggi and Gries (1970), Gries (1979Gries ( , 1980, Harkey and Dyer (1985) and Hennings (1994) describe structures in Chihuahua. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertations by Bridges (1962), Underwood (1962), Haenggi (1966), Jones (1968), Gries (1970), Reaser (1974), Monreal (1989), and Hennings (1991), describe and interpret structure of various parts of the tectonic belt in Texas and Mexico.…”

Section: Eastern Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hennings (1991) estimated 7 km of shortening in a balanced section drawn along seismic line "FM" immediately north of the Malone Mountains. To the south, along the same thrust system, Smith (1940, p. 630) estimated 7.25 km as the minimum horizontal displacement.…”

Section: Locality G Malone Mountains Texasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, structures along the eastern margin of the area verge eastward and structures along the western margin verge toward the west (Hennings, 1991(Hennings, , 1994Figure 10).…”

Section: Eastern Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tectonic history of the Chihuahua trough, Mexico and adjacent USA, Part II: Mesozoic and Cenozoic

Haenggi¹

2002

BSGM

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The Chihuahua trough is a right-lateral pull-apart basin that began to form ~159 to ~156 Ma (Oxfordian) during a period of relative counterclockwise rotation of the North American plate. Jurassic seas were well established by latest Oxfordian time and there was little change in basin configuration throughout the remainder of Late Jurassic, Neocomian and Aptian time. Elements of a broad zone of intersecting pre-existing northwest-trending and north-trending lineaments, along the southwest border of the North American craton, provide the fabric for development of the pullapart basin between the Diablo and Aldama platforms. During Tithonian and Neocomian time sedimentation eventually outpaced tectonic subsidence and, as an ensuing "regressive" event commenced, the eastern area of the Chihuahua trough was the locus of extensive evaporite (including halite) deposition. Near the end of Aptian time, during deposition of the Cuchillo and equivalent formations, faulting along the margins of the Chihuahua trough ceased and the seas began to transgress onto adjacent platform areas. By middle Albian time seas had advanced onto previously emergent areas and the Chihuahua trough became a site of shallow-water carbonate deposition that prevailed, with minor interruptions, until early Cenomanian time. The Ojinaga Formation (early Cenomanian -Santonian?) records a marine clastic influx into the Chihuahua trough, coeval with Upper Cretaceous clastic wedges in the Western Interior Cretaceous Seaway of the United States. Retreat of the Cretaceous sea is reflected in the transition from marine to non-marine beds in the Santonian San Carlos Formation and overlying non-marine El Picacho Formation.During the Laramide orogeny (84 to 43 Ma) the Chihuahua trough was inverted to form the Chihuahua tectonic belt. Laramide deformation is the result of left-lateral transpressional tectonics involving renewed movement along the pre-existing fabric that controlled the location of the Jurassic-Aptian basin. In the evaporite basin portion of the trough (eastern area) reactivation of basin-boundary-faults as Laramide reverse faults, with possible left-lateral components of motion, accompanied by development of gentle "ancestral" folds, was followed by amplification of folds in postevaporite rocks caused by flow of evaporites toward the crests of anticlines. As deformation progressed, structural development involved thrust faulting (principally toward the Diablo Platform) and diapiric injection of evaporites along the margins of the evaporite basin. In the northwestern area of the trough, structure reflects northeast-southwestoriented compression and includes relatively minor southwest-directed thrusting toward and onto the Jurassic Aldama platform. Paleozoic formations are involved in the thrusts and all thrusting can be interpreted as a consequence of faulted basement rather than regional-scale décollement.Post-Laramide tectonic activity includes a continuation of evaporite tectonism, scattered igneous intrusion, minor volcanism, gravity ...

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Section: Shortening the Principal Reason For This Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Eastern Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Eastern Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Locality G Malone Mountains Texasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, structures along the eastern margin of the area verge eastward and structures along the western margin verge toward the west (Hennings, 1991(Hennings, , 1994Figure 10).…”

Section: Eastern Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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