Maximum depositional age and provenance of the Uinta Mountain Group and Big Cottonwood Formation, northern Utah: Paleogeography of rifting western Laurentia

Abstract

Research Article| September 01, 2010 Maximum depositional age and provenance of the Uinta Mountain Group and Big Cottonwood Formation, northern Utah: Paleogeography of rifting western Laurentia Carol M. Dehler; Carol M. Dehler † 1Department of Geology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA †E-mail: carol.dehler@usu.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar C. Mark Fanning; C. Mark Fanning 2Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Paul K. Link; Paul K. Link 3Department of Geosciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho 83209, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Esther M. Kingsbury; Esther M. Kingsbury 3Department of Geosciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho 83209, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dan Rybczynski Dan Rybczynski 1Department of Geology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Carol M. Dehler † 1Department of Geology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA C. Mark Fanning 2Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia Paul K. Link 3Department of Geosciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho 83209, USA Esther M. Kingsbury 3Department of Geosciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho 83209, USA Dan Rybczynski 1Department of Geology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA †E-mail: carol.dehler@usu.edu Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 22 May 2009 Revision Received: 10 Nov 2009 Accepted: 12 Nov 2009 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 © 2010 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2010) 122 (9-10): 1686–1699. https://doi.org/10.1130/B30094.1 Article history Received: 22 May 2009 Revision Received: 10 Nov 2009 Accepted: 12 Nov 2009 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Carol M. Dehler, C. Mark Fanning, Paul K. Link, Esther M. Kingsbury, Dan Rybczynski; Maximum depositional age and provenance of the Uinta Mountain Group and Big Cottonwood Formation, northern Utah: Paleogeography of rifting western Laurentia. GSA Bulletin 2010;; 122 (9-10): 1686–1699. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B30094.1 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 SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract U-Pb detrital zircon analyses provide a new maximum depositional age constraint on the Uinta Mountain Group (UMG) and correlative Big Cottonwood Formation (BCF) of Utah, and significantly enhance our insights on the mid-Neoproterozoic paleogeographic and tectonic setting of western Laurentia. A sandstone interval of the Outlaw Trail formation with a youngest population (n = 4) of detrital zircons, from a sampling of 128 detrital zircon grains, yields a concordia age of 766 ± 5 Ma. This defines a maximum age for deposition of the lower-middle Uinta Mountain Group in the eastern Uinta Mountains and indicates that the group is no older than middle Neoproterozoic in age (i.e., Cryogenian). These data support a long-proposed correlation with the Chuar Group of Grand Canyon (youngest age 742 Ma ± 6 Ma), which, like the Uinta Mountain Group and Big Cottonwood Formation, records nonmagmatic intracratonic extension. This suggests a ∼742 to ≤766 Ma extensional phase in Utah and Arizona that preceded the regional rift episode (∼670–720 Ma), which led to development of the Cordilleran passive margin. This is likely an intracratonic response to an early rift phase of Rodinia. Further, because the Chuar Group and the Uinta Mountain Group–Big Cottonwood Formation strata record intracratonic marine deposition, this correlation suggests a regional ∼740–770 Ma transgression onto western Laurentia. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.