Initial Deposits in the Cordilleran Geosyncline: Evidence of a Late Precambrian (<850 m.y.) Continental Separation
Upper Precambrian and Lower Cambrian strata in western North America are exposed in a narrow slightly sinuous belt extending from Alaska and northern Canada to northern Mexico, a distance of 2,500 mi. Within this belt, the strata thicken from 0 ft on the east to 15,000 to 25,000 ft in areas 100 to 300 mi to the west. The basal unit of this sequence is a diamictite (conglomeratic mudstone) which is widely distributed but discontinuous and is generally considered to be of glacial origin. Overlying sedimentary rocks consist predominantly of siltstone, shale, argillite, quartzite, and conglomerate. Tholeiitic basalt forms thick and widespread units near the base of the sequence but is sparse higher in the section. The distribution pattern and lithologic characteristics of the upper Precambrian and Lower Cambrian sequence fit the recently developed concept that thick sedimentary sequences accumulate along stable continental margins subsequent to a time of continental separation. The depositional pattern of the sequence is unlike that of underlying rocks, a relation consistent with the idea of a continental separation cutting across the grain of previous structures. The pattern is, on the other hand, similar to that of overlying lower and middle Paleozoic rocks, suggesting that the diamictite and post-diamictite rocks were the initial deposits in the Cordilleran geosyncline. Thick units of volcanic rock near the bottom of the sedimentary sequence indicate volcanic activity related to the thinning and rifting of the crust during the continental separation.