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Late Proterozoic Rifting Of Laurentia: Source And Deposition Of Conglomerate Units Of The Grandfather Mountain Formation, North Carolina Blue Ridge, Michael J. Neton

Masters Theses

Crustal extension and initiation of rifting of Laurentia during the Late Proterozoic resulted in formation of a northeast-trending system of discontinuous to continuous, half-graben basins situated cratonward of the Iapetus Ocean spreading ridge. Thick accumulations of sandstone, siltstone, bimodal volcanic rocks, conglomerate, diamictite, and minor limestone were deposited largely in response to rifting and relief formation on the basin margins.

The Grandfather Mountain Formation contains five stratigraphically and compositionally distinct conglomerate/diamictite units and one pebbly sandstone unit which cap coarsening-upward, basin-fill sequences. The progradational sequences average 1300 m thick and are composed of a succession of volcanic flows (basalt/rhyolite) and/or …