The Appalachians and Interior Lowlands of the North American Craton

  • H. H. Read
  • Janet Watson
Chapter

Abstract

After the completion of the Grenville orogenic cycle, the three great units of the present North American continent were defined. The cratonic block formed by the stabilisation of successive Precambrian structural provinces assumed a roughly triangular form, with its base in the Arctic islands and its apex near the Mexican border. The Canadian shield in the northern part of this block remained, for the most part, a positive region receiving little or no sediment. The southern part, now forming the interior lowlands, was repeatedly inundated and received a cover of platform sediments.

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Notes

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Copyright information

© The Estate of the late H. H. Read and Janet Watson 1975

Authors and Affiliations

  • H. H. Read
    • 1
  • Janet Watson
    • 2
  1. 1.Imperial College of Science and TechnologyUniversity of LondonLondonEngland
  2. 2.Imperial College of Science and TechnologyThe University of LondonLondonEngland

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