1. Earth History GEOL 2110 The Paleozoic Era Carboniferous and the Permian Periods in North America

2. Major Concepts Carbonate deposition dominant in the Silurian and Devonian, persisted into the early Carboniferous (the Mississippian period). After a major regression and subsequent transgression marking the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian break in North America, the Absaroka sequence was dominated by clastic sediments and great accumulations of land-based organic material creating coal seams. This change in sedimentation, which persisted into the Permian, was triggered by creation of the final orogenic event of the Appalachian mobile belt caused by the collision of southeastern North America with Africa and South America and the creation of the largest continental land mass ever on Earth - Pangea

3. Events of the Late Paleozoic Era

4. Mississippian Deposits More Limestone Madison LS, MT Redwall LS, AZ Pahasapa LS, SD Chockful O’ Crinoids

5. Late Mississippian Regression Immature clastic sediment appear in Eastern NA deposits Sourced from deeper erosion of rejuvenated Caledonian and Acadian Mts More Unconformities developed on warped craton highs

6. Pennsylvanian Deposits Clastic Sedimentation Dominates (+Coal)

7. Pennsylvanian Deposits Cyclothems – Trangressive Cycles TRANSGRESSION Sandstone -Delta / Barrier Island Shale – Lagoon / Floodplain Organic Shale Coal Limestone - Marine Illinois Basin Cyclothem Forested Marsh/Swamp Sea Regression RegressionLandTrangression SeaTrangression

8. Pennsylvanian Deposits Cyclothems – Trangressive Cycles Land TransgressionSea Transgression

9. Pennsylvanian Deposits Over 100 Cycles in 100 million years! Cause of Cycles -Rapid sea level changes due to Gondwanaland glaciation - Spasmodic tectonic up-down oscillations -Cyclic climate change affecting erosion and sedimentation

10. Pennsylvanian Coal Deposits Subtropical Rain Forests Peat Anthracite Everglades Bituminous Coal Anthracite Coal

11. Permian Deposits Craton Tilts West / Seas Retreat / Climate Dries

12. Barrier Reefs in the Southwest

13. Ancestral Rocky Mountain Pennsylvanian-Permian Uplift

14. Late Paleozoic Strata of the Grand Canyon Kls Tf Css HSh Sgp

15. Late Paleozoic Strata of the Sedona Area

16. Permian Climate Dries In the Rain Shadow of the Appalachians

17. The Appalachian Orogeny Creating Pangea ~250 Ma

18. Continent-Continent Collision Monster Thrust Faulting ~260 Km Displacement 1950’s Interpretation 1980

19. Google Earth Tour of the Appalachians

20. Summary of Paleozoic Tectonics North American Paleozoic Orogenies Acadian/Caledonian Appalachian/Hercynian Taconian Gondwanaland

21. Next Lecture The Paleozoic Era Geological History of Gondwanaland and Late Paleozoic Life Mid-term on Friday!! Chapters 8-13