The Central Ox Mountains

Ryan, Paul D.; McCaffrey, Ken; Chew, David M.; Graham, John R.; Long, Barry

Abstract

The Central Ox Mountains is a southwest—northeast trending inlier of Dalradian rocks, mostly attributed to the Argyll Group, that lie along a major fault, the Fair Head—Clew Bay Line (FCL). Deposition was associated with rift related magmatism. These rocks were deformed, metamorphosed (up to kyanite zone) and subsequently exhumed during the mid-Ordovician Grampian Orogeny. Subsequent sinistral transpression along the FCL was associated with the emplacement of the granitoids of the Ox Mountains Igneous Complex and the development of major syn-metamorphic shear zones or ‘slides’ during the Early Devonian Acadian Orogeny. This chapter examines: evidence for early rifting along the FCL coeval with the opening of the Iapetus Ocean; Grampian deformation and metamorphism attributed to mid-Ordovician arc-continent collision; and the emplacement of the OMIC and the later development of the slides during early Devonian Acadian transpression attributed to the closure of the Iapetus Ocean.

Citation

Ryan, P. D., McCaffrey, K., Chew, D. M., Graham, J. R., & Long, B. (2022). The Central Ox Mountains. In P. D. Ryan (Ed.), A Field Guide to the Geology of Western Ireland (107-130). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97479-4_4

• Online Publication Date: Jul 17, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Deposit Date: Sep 27, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 18, 2024
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Pages: 107-130
• Series Title: Springer Geology (Springer Geology Field Guides)
• Book Title: A Field Guide to the Geology of Western Ireland
• ISBN: 978-3-030-97478-7
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97479-4_4
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1620628