Abstract
Abstract Late Paleozoic synorogenic clastic wedges in the Appalachian foreland basin contain erosional detritus from the Alleghanian orogenic belt; however, the relative importance of detrital contributions from the frontal orogen, the orogenic hinterland, and the distal craton has not been resolved. To evaluate these components, we analyzed detrital zircons from two sandstones in the Pennington‐Lee clastic wedge in eastern Tennessee: the Lower Pennsylvanian Sewanee Conglomerate and the Middle Pennsylvanian Cross Mountain Formation. Ages of detrital zircons are similar in the two sandstones, ranging from 365 to 2860 Ma. The age range spans the Acadian and Taconic orogenies, the Grenville province, and pre‐Grenville rocks (Granite‐Rhyolite province, midcontinent orogens, and Superior province) of the Laurentian craton. The Acadian‐, Taconic‐, and Grenville‐age detrital zircons have sources in Alleghanian frontal crystalline thrust sheets. The pre‐Grenville zircons indicate an original source in the Laurent...
Published Version
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