Remnants of an Archean oceanic plateau, Belingwe greenstone belt, Zimbabwe

Research Article| January 01, 1992 Remnants of an Archean oceanic plateau, Belingwe greenstone belt, Zimbabwe T. M. Kusky; T. M. Kusky 1Department of Geosciences and Allied Geophysical Laboratories, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204-5503 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar W.S.F. Kidd W.S.F. Kidd 2Department of Geological Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12222 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information T. M. Kusky 1Department of Geosciences and Allied Geophysical Laboratories, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204-5503 W.S.F. Kidd 2Department of Geological Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12222 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1992) 20 (1): 43–46. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0043:ROAAOP>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation T. M. Kusky, W.S.F. Kidd; Remnants of an Archean oceanic plateau, Belingwe greenstone belt, Zimbabwe. Geology 1992;; 20 (1): 43–46. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0043:ROAAOP>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Stratigraphic and structural data from the Archean Zimbabwe craton suggest that a major detachment surface exists within the Belingwe greenstone belt. The surface separates ultramafic and mafic magmatic rocks of the upper greenstones in the hanging wall from an ancient gneiss complex, older volcanic-sedimentary rocks, and a shallow-water sedimentary sequence in the footwall. Rocks dated at ca. 2.7 Ga above the detachment surface form the proposed Mberengwa allochthon. The regionally extensive upper greenstone succession represents tectonically emplaced allochthonous sheets, not indigenous magmas erupted within autochthonous continental rifts. Magmatic rocks of the Mberengwa allochthon resemble oceanic plateaus preserved in younger mountain belts. Comparison of the Zimbabwe craton with the Proterozoic Birrimian terranes of west Africa leads us to suggest that Precambrian continental growth may have been characterized by intense structural imbrication related to the difficulty of subduction of buoyant oceanic lithosphere. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.