Abstract
The Cordilleria model for Mesozoic plate tectonics in the northern part of the American cordillera can make a useful case study in the teaching of plate tectonics. Published geologic field evidence, together with published geophysical, geochemical, paleontological, paleomagnetic, sedimentological and structural details can be used by the student to reconstruct the most likely sequence of events. This involves the student in a study of relative plate motions between the North American Plate and a more westerly lithospheric plate on which Cordilleria, a Mesozoic microcontinent, was riding. The student can also discover the effects of continent-continent collision on plate motions, plate boundaries, foreland sedimentary basins and crust-mantle relationships.
Published Version
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