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Acadian orogeny
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Acadian orogeny

geology
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Article History

Acadian orogeny, a mountain-building event that affected an area from present-day New York to Newfoundland during the Devonian Period (416 to 359.2 million years ago). Originally a depositional fore-arc basin formed from what was formerly known as the Appalachian Geosyncline; subsequent compressional orogenic activity caused the deposits to be folded as a mountain chain. This activity began during the Early Devonian in Gaspé, spread westward throughout Devonian time, and affected the western margins of the geosyncline in Late Devonian time. The orogeny was most intense in the Merrimac area in southern New England and in Maine and extended northward to the Central Volcanic Belt of Newfoundland. Evidence for the Acadian orogeny consists of abundant angular unconformities (nonparallel strata) and igneous intrusions, regional metamorphism, and deformation of pre-Devonian and Devonian rocks. Additionally, the westward spread of clastic sedimentary wedges and red beds probably resulted from Acadian uplift in the interior portions of the fore-arc basin. The Catskill Delta in New York and eastern Pennsylvania represents the westernmost of these clastic wedges.

The cause of the Acadian orogeny has been ascribed to the collision of the Avalonia Terrane with the North American Plate produced by an eastward subduction of the proto-Atlantic.

This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.