Abstract
THE boundary of the northern foreland with the Hercynian orogeny in Europe—the Hercynian Front—has been recognised as a major feature in European palaeotectonic reconstructions1,2, in transatlantic correlations3–7, and for metallogenic models8–12. In all these assessments the Hercynian Front (or Thrust Front) is depicted as a structural line transecting southern Ireland on a crudely east–south-east (Amorican) trend across to South Wales. It is suggested here, however, that the ‘Front’ in Ireland has no direct link with South Wales, being separated by a major basement block, and may well be a localised internal foreland feature.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Nicolas, A. Nature 236, 221–223 (1972).
Riding, R. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 24, 125–135 (1974).
Wynne-Edwards, H. R. & Hasan, Z. Am. J. Sci. 268, 289–308 (1970).
Rast, N. & Grant, R. Am. J. Sci. 273, 572–579 (1973).
Cherkis, N. Z., Fleming, H. S. & Massingill, J. V. Nature phys. Sci. 245, 113–115 (1973).
Cherkis, N. Z., Fleming, H. S., Massingill, J. V. & Feden, R. H. Can. J. Earth Sci. 12, 1474–1479 (1975).
Scrutton, R. A. Nature 251, 165–166 (1974).
Gabelman, J. W. & Krusiewski, S. V. Int. geol. Congr. 24th Montreal, 4, 88–97 (1972).
Gabelman, J. W. Geol. Ass. Can. Sp. Pap. 14, 273–300 (1976).
Evans, A. M. in Handbook of Strata-bound and stratiform ore deposits (ed. Woolf, G.) (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1976).
Bromley, A. V. Trans. Instn Miner. Metall. B85, B28–B30 (1976).
Bromley, A. V. J. Cam. Sch. Mines 10–18 (1976).
Gill, D. in Some Aspects of the Variscan Fold Belt (ed. Coe, K.) (Manchester University Press, 1962).
Geological Map of Ireland (Ordnance Survey, Dublin, 1962).
Walsh, P. T. Proc. R. Ir. Acad. 66B, 9–26 (1968).
Riddihough, R. P. & Max, M. D. Geol. J. 11, 109–120 (1975).
Gardiner, P. R. R. Geol. Am. A. Mtg. 6, 1039 (1974).
Gardiner, P. R. R. Scient. Proc. R. Dubl. Soc. A5, 385–396 (1975).
Gardiner, P. R. R. Proc. 9th Int. Cong. Sedim. 4, 141–146 (1975).
Wingfield, R. T. R. thesis, Univ. Dublin (1968).
Gardiner, P. R. R. thesis, Univ. Dublin (1967).
Philcox, M. E. Scient. Proc. R. Dubl. Soc. A2, 1–11 (1964).
Matthews, S. C. Proc. Ussher Soc. 3, 82–94 (1974).
Jones, O. T. Q. J. geol. Soc. Lond. 111, 323–352 (1956).
Tectonic map of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Inst. Geol. Sci., 1966).
Brindley, J. C. Scient. Proc. R. Dubl. Soc. A5, 27–34 (1973).
Bullard, E., Everett, J. E. & Smith, A. G. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A258, 41–51 (1965).
Bruck, P. M. Bull. Geol. Surv. Ir. 1, 31–45 (1970).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
GARDINER, P. Is the Hercynian Front in Ireland a local feature?. Nature 271, 538–539 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/271538a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/271538a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
