Geol341-Structural Geology Outline

• Stratigraphic contacts
Map-Scale Structures – Unconformities
• Primary Sedimentary Structures
– Younging direction
and Contact • Intrusive contacts
– Sills and dikes
Relationships – Batholiths
• Fault Contacts
– Normal, thrust, strike-slip
• Folds
– Anticlines, synclines

1. Superposition: younger layers on top

Stratigraphic Succession
Basalt Flows- Snake River Plain
Tan sediment deposited Red layers deposited over
over older rock tan

Young

Third layer is
youngest and is
on top
Old

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 Horizontality of Sedimentary
Successions Basic Question:
North Slope, AK Is the section conformable?
• Is the sedimentary pile continuous?

Angular unconformity
Unconformities
Death Valley
Disconformity

Angular Unconformity

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 The Great Unconformity
Grand Canyon, AZ

Fossils & disconformities Angular Unconformity

I
H
G
F
E I
D H
C C
B B
A A

Correlation = determine equivalent units

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 Is the sedimentary succession
North Slope Basin, AK right-side up?

Downlap surface
• How can
we tell?

B
A

Which is older?

A?
B?

Primary Structures
Is the sedimentary succession Pillow Basalts Up
right-side up?

• How can
we tell?

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 Sedimentary Structures
Stromatolites, Belt Gp., MT
Cross bedded sandstones

Up
Up

Sedimentary Structures
Graded beds Ancient Mudcracks

Up

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 Mud cracks Ripples

UP

2. Cross-
Cross-cutting relationship
Younger feature cuts through
Intrusive Contacts older rocks or features

• Dikes
Tan
• Sills dikes
Young
• Stocks
• Batholiths OLD
Dark
igneous
rock

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Intrusive Structures

Coarse- Fine- Dikes

Grained Grained

Sills

Stock or
batholith

Geologic history of an area

Sierra Based on contact relationships
Nevada
Batholith

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 Orientation of a Plane
Cross Cutting Relationships

1.4 Ga
Dikes

1.6 Ga Amphibolite

Amato photo, Burro Mts, NM

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 Strike and dip on a map
North

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Jointed gabbro sill
30 38

Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh, UK,

BGS photo

Folds
• Syncline
– (concave up)

• Anticline
– (concave down)

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Domes and Basins
Trend and Plunge
• Used for linear features
• Trend = Azimuth of a line
• Plunge = Inclination of a line

Plunging Fold
Plunging
d
en

Folds
Tr

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Does the arrow point at a syncline or anticline?

A. Syncline
B. Anticline
C. Neither

Sheep Mountain Anticline, WY Fault Contacts

• Normal
• Thrust, reverse
• Strike-slip

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 Thrust Fault

Faults in Map View

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 Key concepts
• Stratigraphic contacts
– Unconformities
• Primary Sedimentary Structures
– Younging direction
• Intrusive contacts
– Sills and dikes
– Batholiths
• Interpreting sequence on events
• Folds
– Anticlines, synclines
• Fault Contacts
– Normal, thrust, strike-slip

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