Large-magnitude Permian shortening and continental-margin tectonics in the southern Cordillera: Discussion and reply

Abstract

Stone and Stevens agree that apparent termination of large displacement on the Last Chance thrust near the Darwin Plateau is a major problem to be explained by any viable model of Cordilleran geology. Their arguments against a Permian age for thrusting, however, are deeply flawed. The alternative structural relations they advocate in the Darwin Plateau, southern Inyo Mountains, and northern Death Valley areas result in a thrust belt that is not strain compatible— that is, retrodeformable to its original state without gaps or overlaps in the reconstruction.

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