Rock Blog

The Animated Cordillera, Animation, by James W. Sears (University of Montana) is a nice animated gif that shows the plate motions 220-60 Ma, and covers much of the western US and Canda.

Accompanying test provides point form information about each site. The perspective is interesting:

“The lines are actual geological features such as the lower-middle Cambrian paleo-shoreline position or the zero edge of the Belt Supergroup (see legend). The map implies that the accreted terranes of the Cordillera are not far travelled wanderers, but have origins in an Aleutian-type arc and its collapsing marginal sea.”

(from http://www2.umt.edu/geology/faculty/sears/animation/aboutanimated.htm).

The CSEG article by Monger and Price, The Canadian Cordillera: Geology and Tectonic Evolution provides a really good overview of the evolution of the Canadian Cordillera. The article is not for the “geology neophyte”, but the figures will prove quite useful for explaining the geological history.

Geological Society – Teaching Resources – Crust and Lithosphere.

Nice succinct explanation of the difference between the lithosphere and crust — > two terms that can confuse students in introductory geology courses.