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Structural architecture of the central Brooks Range foothills, Alaska

AAPG Bulletin
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Abstract

Five structural levels underlie the Brooks Range foothills, from lowest to highest: (1) autochthon, at a depth of ~9 km; (2) Endicott Mountains allochthon (EMA), thickest under the northern Brooks Range (>15 km) and wedging out northward above the autochthon; (3) higher allochthons (HA), with a composite thickness of 1.5+ km, wedging out northward at or beyond the termination of EMA; (4) Aptian-Albian Fortress Mountain Formation (FM), deposited unconformably on deformed EMA and HA and thickening northward into a >7-km-thick succession of deformed turbidites (Torok Formation); (5) gently folded Albian-Cenomanian deltaic deposits (Nanushuk Group). The dominant faulting pattern in levels 2-3 is thin-skinned thrusting and thrust-related folds formed before deposition of Cretaceous strata. These structures are cut by younger steeply south-dipping reverse faults that truncate and juxtapose structural levels 1-4 and expose progressively deeper structural levels to the south. Structural levels 4-5 are juxtaposed along a north-dipping zone of south-vergent folds and thrusts. Stratigraphic and fission-track age data suggest a kinematic model wherein the foothills belt was formed first, by thrusting of HA and EMA as deformational wedges onto the regionally south-dipping authochon at 140-120Ma. After deposition of FM and Torok during mid-Cretaceous hinterland extension and uplift, a second episode of contractional deformation at 60 Ma shortened the older allochthonous deformational wedges (EMA, HA) and overlying strata on north-vergent reverse faults. To the north, where the allochthons wedge out, shortening caused duplexing in the Torok and development of a triangle zone south of the Tuktu escarpment.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Structural architecture of the central Brooks Range foothills, Alaska
Series title AAPG Bulletin
Volume 86
Year Published 2002
Language English
Publisher American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Publisher location Tulsa, OK
Description 1 p.
First page 1153
Last page 1153
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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