Abstract
The metamorphic map of the U.S. Appalachians compiled as a part of IGCP Project 27 reveals an intricate pattern of variation in metamorphic grade, reflecting regional differences in depth of erosion and heat input, modified by late faulting. The effect of faulting is particularly clear in the Southern Appalachians: a series of major faults carry the amphibolite facies rocks of the Blue Ridge 100 km or more to the west over greenschist facies rocks, now exposed in the Grandfather Mountain Window; the Brevard Zone forms a nearly linear belt of low-grade rocks marking the western boundary of the Piedmont; and the Goat Rock and Towaliga faults combine to carry a major sheet of Piedmont rocks over basement rocks exposed in the Pine Mountain Window. In the northern Appalachians the effects of faulting are subtler but still present: near the Vermont — New Hampshire boundary the Ammonoosuc listric normal fault is associated with a pronounced belt of low-grade rocks; in eastern Massachusetts the Clinton — Newberry fault zone marks a major metamorphic gradient; and near the Maine coast the Norumbega fault zone telescopes metamorphic zonation.
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© 1983 D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
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Fisher, G.W. (1983). Metamorphism in the U.S. Appalachians—Overview and Implications. In: Schenk, P.E., Haworth, R.T., Keppie, J.D., Trzcienski, W.E., Williams, P.F., Kelling, G. (eds) Regional Trends in the Geology of the Appalachian-Caledonian-Hercynian-Mauritanide Orogen. NATO ASI Series, vol 116. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7239-1_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7239-1_24
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