Fault-related folding in the Ramshorn Peak area, Idaho-Wyoming thrust belt

Abstract

The Ramshorn Peak area of the Idaho-Wyoming thrust belt lies in the toe of the Prospect thrust sheet along the eastern margin of the exposed part of the thrust belt. The terrain is folded with axes trending N-S and wavelengths ranging from 3 to 4.3 km. Thrusts occur exclusively along the eastern part of the map area where the toe of the Prospect thrust sheet is thinnest. The easternmost thrusts are backthrusts. Monoclinally folded rocks are thrust on less deformed rocks south of Ramshorn Peak. This fold and fault complex is interpreted to have formed by thrusting over a large oblique and small forward step. The oblique step is responsible for the formation of the monocline in the hanging wall of the thrust. All faults and associated folds are rotated by subsequent buckle folding. Second- and third-order folds (folds at the scale of the Ramshorn Peak fold and fault complex and smaller) appear to be isolated features associated with faults (fault-related folds rather than buckle folds) because they are not distributed throughout the map area. These folds were probably initiated by translation and adhesive drag. The early folding was terminated by large translation over a stepped thrust surface which caused additional folding as the hanging wall rocks conformed to the irregular shape of the footwall. The Rich model is utilized to explain the Ramshorn Peak complex because the fold is of monoclinal form and is an isolated feature rather than part of a buckle fold wave-train.