Albert H. Hofstra Stephen A. Leslie Paula J. Noble Roger Steininger Bill Pennell Christopher S. Holm-Denoma 2011 <p><span>New biostratigraphic, stratigraphic, and structural data from deformed lower </span><span>Paleozoic sedimentary units of the Roberts Mountains allochthon (RMA), Independence </span><span>Mountains, Nevada, have enabled the identification of stratigraphic units within </span><span>the allochthon that range in age from Late Cambrian through Late Devonian. The </span><span>McAfee thrust fault emplaced a relatively thick (&gt;200 m) sheet of Ordovician Valmy </span><span>quartzite (locally termed the McAfee Quartzite) on complexly deformed units of the </span><span>RMA (locally termed the Snow Canyon Formation) comprised of the Vinini Formation, </span><span>Elder Sandstone, and Slaven Chert. The rocks were affected by multiple phases </span><span>of deformation during and after the Devonian-Mississippian Antler orogeny, including: </span><span>emplacement of the Roberts Mountains allochthon with south-vergent folding </span><span>and faulting of the upper and lower plate rocks to the Roberts Mountains thrust; emplacement </span><span>of Upper Mississippian (324 Ma) basalt dikes that cross-cut the upper </span><span>(allochthonous) and lower (para-autochthonous) plate rocks and south-vergent folds; </span><span>emplacement of the McAfee Quartzite; and upright north-trending folding after the </span><span>deposition of Antler overlap rocks. Recognition of this history is required to determine </span><span>the internal structure and thickness of the allochthon and location of high-angle </span><span>structures within it that, respectively, may conceal and localize Carlin-type gold </span><span>deposits in underlying carbonate rocks.</span></p> application/pdf en DEStech Publications, Inc. Paleozoic stratigraphy and kinematics of the Roberts Mountains allochthon in the Independence Mountains, northern Nevada text