Paleogeography of the Southwestern US
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/paleogeogwus.html

Ronald Blakey, Northern Arizona University, Dept. of Geology


When last checked this resource was offline Our automated link checker has alerted the folks responsible for the part of our site where this problematic link is referenced. If you have further information about the link (e.g. a new location where the information can be found) please let us know.

You may be able to find previous versions at the Internet Archive.

This site features maps of the paleogeography of the Southwestern US from 1.8 billion years ago to 10 million years ago. The images were prepared by placing stratigraphic, tectonic, and sedimentologic data on a base map, plotting land versus sea over this data, and then adding climatic data and detailed landforms such as mountains, shelf edges, rivers, arc-trench systems, and lowlands. The maps are organized by time period and when viewed in sequence they show the paleogeographic evolution of the region. Two different interpretations are presented; one showing a tectonic evolution in which most elements of the western US were derived from the North American continent, and the other depicting a tectonic history of exotic terrain accretion.

This description of a site outside SERC has not been vetted by SERC staff and may be incomplete or incorrect. If you have information we can use to flesh out or correct this record let us know.


Part of the Cutting Edge collection. The NAGT/DLESE On the Cutting Edge project helps geoscience faculty stay up-to-date with both geoscience research and teaching methods.

Cutting Edge

Subject: Geoscience:Geology:Structural Geology
Grade Level: Graduate/Professional, College Upper (15-16)
Theme: Teach the Earth:Course Topics:Structural Geology