Geology 12 - Historical Geology
Course Syllabus	Course Schedule	Assignments	Department Home Page	Kusnick Home Page

Late Paleozoic

Reading: Chapter 13 & a bit of Ch 12

Read the sections on the rocks (p.298-330); skip the section on life (we'll do this later): p. 330-345.

Background

Terms you should know:

Key Concepts and Questions:

1. Eastern subduction boundary leading to collisions

Building Pangea:

• What is the evidence of Late Paleozoic collision?What areas of North America are involved in the collision?

 

• What is the evidence for reconstructions of Pangea (and Gondwana)?

 

• What was the Permian climate of Pangea? What is the evidence?

 

2. Western Cordillera

Read the section on the Antler Orogeny on p. 295. On the facies map on p. 286 (Fig. 12.35), what type of tectonic basin is represented by:

• the rocks of the western margin of North America (V = volcanics)

 

On p. 311 (Fig. 13.16), what type of tectonic basin is represented by:

• the rocks of the western margin of North America (V = volcanics)

 

What kind of plate boundary is developing in the West during the Paleozoic?

 

3. Cratonic deposition

Late Paleozoic;

• What is a cyclothem? What do they tell us about Late Paleozoic paleogrography?

 

• Look at Fig. 13.16 (p. 309). Notice the redbeds in the middle of the continent. What do the redbeds tell us about the paleogeography of this region? (see Fig. 13.21 for help).

 

Assessment

1. Assembling Pangea

You should be able to:

• describe the evidence for successive collisions on the eastern margin of North America
• describe the paleogeography and paleoclimate of Pangea

2. Craton

You should be able to:

• apply what you know about sedimentary environments and tectonic stratigraphy to interpret the rocks of the Paleozoic craton

3. Western Cordillera

You should be able to:

• explain the Antler orogeny in plate tectonic terms