Print this pageSynorogenic sediments have been used to date orogenesis, determine the sequence and rates of thrusting and characterize deformation kinematics. They can serve as important and precise tools in the reconstruction of the history of deformation within a region. Growth strata preserved within rare exposures of synorogenic conglomerate in the hinterland of the Sevier orogenic belt, Idaho, present the opportunity to evaluate the surficial and kinematic processes occurring at an important time as Mesozoic compression gives way to Tertiary extensional tectonics in the Montana Recess. High-resolution age determinations from the growth strata can be determined by paleomagnetic means due to a presumed rapid rate of deposition of red beds and the high frequency of paleomagnetic field reversals during the early Tertiary. Through structural, kinematic and geochronologic investigations, the history of deformation within this synorogenic deposit can be modeled and used to interpret the link between deformation and surficial processes that occurs in hinterlands of orogenic belts.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90925©1999 AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid