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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
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Analysis of a large population, but small displacement, fault array in the Wichita Mountains of southern Oklahoma strongly supports the hypothesis of left-lateral wrench faulting as a major tectonic control for the region. Middle Cambrian granites make up most of the exposed core of the Wichita uplift. Because these granites were implaced prior to the development of the Anadarko basin structures, they should reflect Anadarko tectonics. In addition, the granites would have behaved in a brittle manner so that abundant faulting is practically the only mechanism of deformation within them; this permits uncomplicated structural analysis. Offset and trend measurements were made both in the field and from aerial photographs, and the collective data show statistically significant groupings with respect to trend and sense of shear. The fault fabric is consistent with a left-lateral wrench system that trends N70°-80°W, but also contains strong elements of the entire Riedel system (R, R^prime, and P shears). In addition to the wrench motions indicated by the analysis of small displacement faults, there is also a large component of vertical displacement in the region. A fault system known as the Wichita front, separates the Wichita uplift from the Anadarko basin and has 9 km (5.5 mi) of differential vertical relief across a zone 10 to 20 km (6 to 12 mi) wide. The relationship between the lateral and vertical motion is essential in understanding the types and distribution
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of structural traps in the Anadarko basin, and perhaps, even in neighboring basins.
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