Late Ordovician–Early Silurian continental collisional orogeny in southern Mexico and its bearing on Gondwana-Laurentia connections

Abstract

Research Article| August 01, 1999 Late Ordovician–Early Silurian continental collisional orogeny in southern Mexico and its bearing on Gondwana-Laurentia connections Fernando Ortega-Gutiérrez; Fernando Ortega-Gutiérrez 1Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán 04510, México, D.F., México Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mariano Elías-Herrera; Mariano Elías-Herrera 1Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán 04510, México, D.F., México Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Margarita Reyes-Salas; Margarita Reyes-Salas 1Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán 04510, México, D.F., México Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Consuelo Macías-Romo; Consuelo Macías-Romo 1Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán 04510, México, D.F., México Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Robert López Robert López 1Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán 04510, México, D.F., México Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (1999) 27 (8): 719–722. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1999)027<0719:LOESCC>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Fernando Ortega-Gutiérrez, Mariano Elías-Herrera, Margarita Reyes-Salas, Consuelo Macías-Romo, Robert López; Late Ordovician–Early Silurian continental collisional orogeny in southern Mexico and its bearing on Gondwana-Laurentia connections. Geology 1999;; 27 (8): 719–722. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1999)027<0719:LOESCC>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract New zircon and monazite U-Pb data, tectonic mapping, and petrologic studies in key units of the Acatlán Complex show a previously undocumented phase of continental collision orogeny of Late Ordovician–Early Silurian age in southern Mexico. The event involved the partial eclogitization of oceanic lithosphere and continental crust, which traveled westward more than 200 km over siliciclastic metasedimentary rocks of the trench-forearc of an opposing continental margin. The overriding eastern margin was the Oaxaquia microplate attached to Gondwana, and the western overridden margin is considered to have been the eastern margin of Laurentia. This event, which we name the Acatecan orogeny, was roughly synchronous with the possible closure of Iapetus along the Appalachian margin, which involved, according to current models, either the docking of peri-Gondwanan terranes such as Avalonia and Carolina or the direct collision between Gondwana and Laurentia. The permanence of Oaxaquia in northwestern Gondwana until the end of the Silurian, as suggested by Tremadocian to Silurian marine faunas in the cover of Oaxaquia, is more consistent with the direct collision of Gondwana and Laurentia at the end of the Ordovician, forming the Acatlán Complex between. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.