Abstract
Regardless of whether they were passive or active markers of the Eurekan deformation, fold-axial traces in the Ellesmere-Greenland fold belt define a regional pattern typical of left-lateral ductile shear zones. It is therefore postulated that a left-lateral mega-shear zone spanned the entire east-west width of Ellesmere Island plus adjacent northern Greenland, and that the shear direction was subparallel to Nares Strait. A left-lateral motion along Nares Strait is required by the plate tectonic models of J.T. Wilson and E.C. Bullard. To explain the opening of the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay by sea-floor spreading, these models involve a left-lateral displacement between Greenland and North America of 200–400 km. Because of the lack of lithological and structural offsets across Nares Strait, the models have been controversial. The mega-shear zone proposed herein reconciles all the conflicting evidence. Accordingly, the ductile behaviour of the sedimentary strata on Ellesmere Island permitted a large left-lateral displacement of Greenland relative to North America without a large offset of geological features across Nares Strait.
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