Late Jurassic to Eocene evolution of the Cordilleran thrust belt and foreland basin system, western U.S.A.

Geochronological, structural, and sedimentological data provide the basis for a regional synthesis of the evolution of the Cordilleran retroarc thrust belt and foreland basin system in the western U.S.A. In this region, the Cordilleran orogenic belt became tectonically consolidated during Late Jurassic time (∼155 Ma) with the closure of marginal oceanic basins and accretion of fringing arcs along the western edge of the North American plate. Over the ensuing 100 Myr, contractile deformation propagated approximately 1000 kilometers eastward, culminating in the formation of the Laramide Rocky Mountain ranges. At the peak of its development, the retroarc side of the Cordillera was divided into five tectonomorphic…