ABSTRACT

The Bowling Green fault typifies cratonic fault zones: it has a long history of recurrent movement, it was a major influence on the stratigraphic evolution of the surrounding region, and its location and history are related to underly- ing basement structures. At least seven episodes of dis- placement can be documented in the early Paleozoic involv- ing both strike-slip and dip-slip motion. The youngest displacements, which occurred on southwest-verging thrust faults, may be Cenozoic or younger. Because of the shallow water depositional environments at the time, these dis- placements had a pronounced effect on the stratigraphic evolution of the area. In addition, the fault focused the flow of fluids leading to localized solution collapse, dolomitiza- tion, and mineralization. The location of the fault is be- lieved related to the underlying Grenville front. Reactiva- tion of this crustal boundary by local and/or far-field stresses was responsible for the displacement episodes of the Bowl- ing Green fault.