BULLETIN OF CANADIAN PETROLEUM GEOLOGY

VOL. 44, NO. 2 (JUNE 1996), P. 139-152

Triangle zone geometry, terminology and kinematics

PETER B. JONES
International Tectonic Consultants Ltd.
Suite 700, 665 8th Street S. W.
Calgary, Alberta T2P 3K7

ABSTRACT
The term "triangle zone" was first used informally in 1957 to describe the structure of the east edge of the Foothills
thrust belt of the southern Canadian Cordillera. Since then, triangle zones have been recognized at the foreland margins
of most of the world's thrust-and-fold belts. Variations in terminology of triangle zones reflect differences in interpreta-
tion of their internal geometry and their role in orogenesis. The principal issue is whether triangle zone formation
occurs only at the final stage of evolution of a thrust belt or is a continuously regenerated tectonic process that creates
deformed belts. Evidence is given to support the second interpretation, leading to a hypothetical kinematic model for
the formation of thrust-and-fold belts. According to this model, emplacement of successive triangle zones creates a
foreland-migrating frontal monocline. Physiographic and structural relief of this structure continuously regenerates a
foreland-migrating envelope of overpressured section in the undisturbed foreland sequence ahead of it, causing contin-
ued progradation of the deformation front. In some areas gravity sliding takes place down the foreland-facing dip slope
of frontal monoclines. The gravity slides themselves may have emergent or buried (triangle zone) thrust fronts.

RESUME
L'expression "zone triangulaire" a 6t6 utilisge pour la premiere fois de faqon informelle en 1957 pour dgcrire la
structure de la marge est de la zone de chevauchement des avant-monts du sud de la cordill~re canadienne. Depuis, des
zones triangulaires ont 6t6 identifi6es aux marges des avant-pays de la plupart des zones de chevauchement et de plisse-
ment du monde entier. La terminologie des zones triangulaires se diWere pour illustrer les diffrrentes interprrtations de
leur g6omrtrie interne et leur r61e dans l'orogrnrse. La question principale est si la formation de la zone tfiangulaire a
lieu ~t l'6tape finale de l'6volution d'une zone de chevauchement ou si elle subit un processus tectonique de reg6n6ra-
tion continu qui cr6e des zones drformres. Une preuve est donn6e pour appuyer la deuxi~me interprrtation, menant au
modble cinrmatique hyphot6tique pour la formation de zones de plissement et de chevauchement. Selon ce modble,
l'emplacement de zones tfiangulaires successives crre un front monoclinal se dirigeant vers l'avant-pays. Le relief
gromorphologique et structurel de cette structure regrnbre de faqon continu une enveloppe qui se dirige vers l'avant-
pays de la section en surpression dans la srquence qui prrc~de l'avant-pays qui n'a pas 6t6 perturb4e, causant ainsi une
progression continue du front de d6formation. Dans certaines rrgions des phrnomhnes d'affaissements ont lieu h la
partie infrrieure des fronts monoclinaux en pente qui s'incline en faisant face h l'avant-pays. Les ph6nombnes
d'affaissements posshdent peut ~tre des fronts de chevauchement qui 6mergent ou qui sont enfouis (zone triangulaire).
Traduit par Marie-LouiseTomas
INTRODUCTION (1977), who described the triangle zone in southwestern
Alberta as follows:
What is a triangle zone?
The Triangle Zone, marking the boundary between the
The term "triangle zone" was first used by Peter Gordy in
Plains and the Foothills, is clearly discemable on most
October 1957 in an internal report for Shell Oil Company of
seismic record sections crossing the Foothills/Plains
Canada Limited (now Shell Canada Limited) to describe a boundary from Pincher Creek at least as far north as the
structure that characterized the eastern margin of the Foothills Athabasca River. In the Pincher Creek area, east-dipping
of the Canadian Cordillera (Fig. 1). It rapidly entered the beds of the Porcupine Hills Formation of Paleocene age
informal vocabulary of petroleum geologists and geophysicists form the east side of the triangle, west-dipping thrusted
working in the Alberta Foothills sector of the Canadian strata of early Tertiary and late Cretaceous age (Willow
Cordillera. For many geologists, the triangle zone implied a C r e e k and older f o r m a t i o n s ) the west side. The
unique type of structure, restricted to the east edge of the autochthonous sequence at depth forms the base of the
Alberta Foothills and absent in other deformed belts. 'Triangle'. Underthrusting has accentuated the easterly.
The first published use of the term was by Gordy et al. sedimentary dips of the Porcupine Hills Formation and
139
140
.......... .T~:-.~-'
,z!
i !
i !
!
! !
I !
! gle zone, generally, but not entirely, in chronological order.
! !
! !
! !
% !
i !
COLuMBiA: ALBERTA
Figure 7
Figure 19
u'e 18
?~..¢
~ure 5
•
Figure 4
~'~'~°'"'-'~*-"°'"*-'-~-o , .... ~.~ .....
Fig. 1. Index map showing the eastern Canadian Cordilleran and
locations of figures described in the text. Dashed line indicates areas of
triangle zone development.
created thereby the west limb of the 'Alberta Syncline'.
Good quality seismic profiles across the triangle zone in
Alberta (Jones, 1982; Teal, 1983) showed the internal structure
more clearly. Jones (1982) suggested that the triangle zone
was formed by the same processes that created the balance of
the thrust belt and predicted the recognition of triangle zones
at the margins of other thrust-and-fold belts. Triangle zone-
style structures were subsequently described at the foreland
margins of deformed belts in several countries, including
Pakistan (Banks and Warburton, 1986), South America (Vann
et al., 1986), Russia (Sobornov, 1988) and Germany (Mtiller et
al., 1988).
Use of the term "the triangle zone" originated at a time
THRUS T BEL T
Fig. 2. Diagrammatic cross-section, typical of many cross-sections through the frontal zones of Alpine, Hercynian and other thrust-and-fold
belts prior to 1980. The abrupt thickness changes ahead of the frontal thrust are not explained, nor is the origin of the associated frontal syncline.
P.B. JONES
when the internal structure of the foreland margin of the
Alberta Foothills was poorly known. Although it does not
describe the structure well, it has become the most popular of
several names for the same type of structure and will probably
prevail. The following descriptions and cross-sections show
the evolution of terminology and internal geometry of a trian-
Interpretation of triangle zone geometry, together with its
! tectonic and economic significance, is linked to the terminology
! applied both to the structure as a whole and to its components.
!
! To relate these factors, it is useful to trace the evolution of the
!
! interpretation of the outer margins of thrust-and-fold belts,
!
! starting at a time well before the term triangle zone was
!
! defined up to the present. This will be described in three
t
i stages: before "the triangle zone", development of the triangle
i
! zone concept, and recent developments.
!
!
!
! REVIEWOF TRIANGLEZONETERMINOLOGY
!
!
!
I STAGE 1. BEFORE"THE TRIANGLEZONE"
Foreland Margins o f Thrust Belts
Cross-sections of the outer parts of thrust belts in different
parts of the world typically resembled that shown in Figure 2.
Since it was assumed that all thrust faults extended to the sur-
face as they were formed, the outermost exposed thrust of the
thrust belt was regarded as the outer limit of thrusting and the
triangular structure beneath and ahead of it was not named.
This type of cross-section had several problems. It involved
rapid thickening of part of the section immediately ahead of
the "outermost thrust" overlain by the foreland-dipping flank
of a syncline, whose other flank was formed by the low
regional tilt of the foreland basin section. The abrupt thicken-
ing cannot be attributed to a local depocentre since the steep
(overturned in some areas) dips in the overlying syncline are
structural and not depositional in origin. Notwithstanding
these problems, this type of cross-section can be found in
illustrations of many mountain fronts.
APPARENT OUTER LIMIT FORELAND S YNCLINE
OF FOOTHILLS THRUSTING
TRIANGLE ZONE GEOMETRY, TERMINOLOGY AND KINEMATICS
R._...__.__.._~
T E R T IA
iiS ......
JURASSc
Fig. 3. Intercutaneous nappe, southwestern French Alps, formed by
thrust wedging. Redrawn from Fallot (1949).
One of the earliest descriptions of a triangle zone and its
internal geometry was by Fallot (1949), who applied the term
"intercutaneous nappe" to a thrust-faulted structure within the
sedimentary cover on the southwest flank of the Argentara
Massif in the southwestern French Alps (Fig. 3). Fallot
observed that the basal d6collement of the transported section
did not cut through the overlying section to outcrop at the
leading edge of front of the structure. He demonstrated that
although the lower part of the sedimentary cover had moved
laterally by an estimated 15-20 kin, forming what he called an
intercutaneous nappe, the Overlying section remained essen-
tially in place horizontally though uplifted vertically by the
intercutaneous nappe. Fallot's work was summarized by
Graham (1981) who noted that although Fallot did not indicate
a d6collement at the upper surface of the nappe, it was implicit
in his diagram.
Alberta Foothills Front, 1900-1977
In the first third of this century, petroleum exploration in
the Alberta Foothills resulted in only one major oil and gas
discovery, the Turner Valley oil and gas field, in Lower
Cretaceous and Mississippian strata. It was discovered through
drilling on the crest of an apparently unfaulted surface anti-
cline exposing Upper Cretaceous clastic rocks, at the east edge
of the Foothills. Many wells were subsequently drilled on the
EASTERN FOOTHILLS
SW
Fig. 4. East edge of the southern Alberta Foothills based on well data and surface geology. Redrawn from Clark (1954). This cross-section pre-
dates the first use of the term, triangle zone, but it shows how the name arose. This style of interpretation, involving northeast-verging thrusts abut-
ting against one or more southwest-verging thrusts, implies that the structure at the east edge of the Foothills is different from structures further
west. This cross-section differs from Figure 2 by inclusion of a backthrust, which helps to account for the thickened section and foreland syncline.
For location of this cross-section, see Figure 1.
141
easternmost anticlines in different localities along the Foothills
margin. Generally spudded in Upper Cretaceous sediments in
the crests of apparently unfaulted anticlines, wells were
expected to reach their Mississippian carbonate objective at a
depth corresponding to the normal stratigraphic interval
between an Upper Cretaceous marker and the Mississippian.
__J
In practice, wells often penetrated unexpected thrust faults and
entered Cretaceous formations younger than those into which
they had spudded, making their Mississippian carbonate objec-
tive much deeper than expected.
By the nineteen-fifties, cross-sections across the outer
Foothills (e.g., Fig. 4) followed the pattern of Figure 2 except
that the triangle is developed between east-verging and west-
verging antithetic thrust faults and that some internal structure
is shown. The east-dipping antithetic thrust faults in the cross-
section are well developed in some sectors of the Alberta
Foothills but they have not been recognized in all frontal areas
of the Canadian Cordillera. Although this cross-section pre-
dates use of the term, triangle zone, the diagram illustrates
how the term originated and why it was interpreted to repre-
sent a change in structural style at the Foothills margin.
Relationships between the two sets of thrusts are not shown by
Figure 4. The points where they could have interacted are pre-
sumed to have been eroded off. Figure 4 shows the east-dip-
ping backthrusts rooted at a higher stratigraphic level than the
typical Foothills west-dipping thrusts.
STAGE2. DEVELOPMENTOF THE TRIANGLEZONE CONCEPT
Based on the surface geology combined with well and pro-
gressively improving seismic data, cross-sections of the south-
ern and north-central Alberta Foothills by Link (1949), Bally
et al. (1966), Roeder (1967) and Ziegler (1967, 1969) included
interpretations of tectonic wedging at the east edge of the
Foothills Belt.
The term "Delta structure" was introduced by Roeder
(1967) as a more scientific term than the informally used
PLAINS
=.r-
 142 P.B. JONES

triangle zone. His illustration of a delta structure in the Alberta
Foothills is virtually identical to that of Gordy et al., 1977,
reproduced here as Figure 5. However, since Roeder (1967),
Roeder and Gilbert (1977) used the term "sled-runner faults"
for the exposed west-dipping thrusts; they implied that thrusts
terminating within the delta structure were formed in a differ-
ent manner.
In contrast, Gordy et al. (1977) imply that the formation of
the triangle zone involved the same process as the formation of
the hinterland structures, through stair-step thrusting. As in
Figure 4, the backthrusts are rooted at a higher stratigraphic
level than the east-vergent thrusts but, unlike Figure 4, this
cross-section shows the geometric relationship between the
west-dipping and east-dipping thrusts.
STAGE 3. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Thompson (1981, 1989) described blind thrusts in the east-
ern Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where
he mapped major foreland-vergent thrust faults in Devonian
and older carbonates and inferred that they "terminate within a
drcollement zone of Devonian and Mississippian shales, where
the displacement on them is transformed into disharmonic folds
and tectonic thickening of overlying units". He did not relate
blind thrusting to triangle zone formation or tectonic wedging.
Instead, he concluded that the displacement of the blind thrusts
was compensated by an equal amount of shortening within the
"Foothills folds" above the drcollement zone. This assumption
is implicit in Figure 6. In this cross-section, the structure of the
Cambrian-Devonian carbonates forming the Rocky Mountain
Front Range is similar to that of a triangle zone: a set of

WSW ENE

7TRIANGLE
~ ~ . . . ~ZONE~ ~-~:~':~':':~*:~:~:~:":':~'~"~":':
S.L. S.L.

:: : ~: ~-,ET:: ~:ii~ii ~i:~!:~:i~i'~: ~;:i: ~:: ~; ~i~:

'~ ~' ' ' ' ' ' . :I"'~ '

5000m- ~ . . . , ~ ...... --5000m

~ ] TERTIARY ~ MISSISSIPPIAN AND DEVONIAN

I I UPPER CRETACEOUS ~ CAMBRIAN

LOWER CRETACEOUS ~ PRECAMBRIAN BELTIAN 0 10

AND JURASSIC I I
PRECAMBRIANSHIELD KM

Fig. 5. Triangle zone, southern Alberta Foothills. Cross-section by F. R. Frey in Gordy et aL (1977). This style of interpretation was the first to
imply that formation of the triangle zone involved the same process as the formation of the hinterland structures, through stair-step thrusting. As in
Figure 4, the backthrusts are rooted at a higher stratigraphic level than the east-vergent thrusts but, unlike Figure 4, this cross-section shows the
geometric relationship between the west-dipping and east-dipping thrusts. For location, see Figure 1.

WEST I EAST
FRO.._NTRA~__GES ~ ~FOOTHILLS Schooler Creek
~ ~ ~ : ~ PINLI:N:::E:::+:...~

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIfllllllllllll - :
0 5 10
| I I STRUCTURAL LEVELS
KM ~ UPPER ~-h-~ MIDDLE ~ LOWER
{AUTOCHT HONOUS)

Fig. 6. Cross-section of northeast British Columbia Foothills and eastern Rocky Mountain Front Ranges north of the Peace River (redrawn
from Thompson, 1989, to accommodate data from the second and deeper well at Schooler Creek). According to this interpretation, shortening at
the upper level is equal to shortening due to thrusting of the Cambrian-Devonian section of the Front Range. Pin lines have been added to illus-
trate Thompson's assumption that movement of the upper Front Range thrust sheet is transmitted across the Besa River shale to the Paleozoic-
Mesozoic section ahead of it. Thus, shortening is the same at all levels of deformation. For location, see Figure 1.
T R I A N G L E Z O N E GEOMETRY, T E R M I N O L O G Y A N D K I N E M A T I C S 143

S W SHELL
Cabin Creek
4-9-55-3 W6M
NE
METRES
....:-:.:5
+1000

S. L. S. L.

LOWER CRETAC

-2000 ~ LOWER CRETACEOUS

-3000 TRIASSIC
.... -C:-L--L-<-Lr~4-LH - ,iss'lssicP',ANa::~_~:
,i ,i l''' i i ~';~'~', ~ECTIO~:~7~.~.~: ~
I I i I I I I I I I Z.E
DEVONIAN
t I I I I I I
i i I I I
CAMBRIAN
0 5

KM

Fig. 7. Triangle zone at Cabin Creek, Alberta Foothills. This cross-section, redrawn from Teal (1983) shows how the repetition of thrust wedg-
ing uplifted the overlying "para-autochthonous" section. The upper detachment surface and overlying shallow section are tilted eastward giving a
false impression of westward thrusting of the shallow section. Crustal shortening in the thrusted section is much greater than in the upper para-
autochthonous section, which is uplifted with no significant horizontal movement or crustal shortening. For location, see Figure 1.

stacked thrust sheets. The pin line shown at the east edge of the
Rockies illustrates Thompson's interpretation that thrust move-
ment of the lower section is transmitted across the drcollement
in shales of the Devonian-Mississippian Besa River Formation,
causing an equal amount of shortening in the overlying
Paleozoic-Mesozoic section in the Foothills folds.
Good quality seismic profiles of the Alberta triangle zone
(Jones, 1982; Teal 1983) showed that the triangle zone is a
thrust duplex formed beneath a shallower section that was pas-
sively uplifted by thrust wedging beneath. Figure 7, redrawn
from Teal (1983), illustrates his geological interpretation of a
seismic profile across the triangle zone at Cabin Creek in the
northern Alberta Foothills. It shows how the repetition of
thrust wedging or delamination uplifted the overlying section
and how the upper detachment surface and overlying shallow
section are tilted eastward. This tilting may cause the erro-
neous impression of westward thrusting of the shallow "para-
autochthonous" section. Crustal shortening in the thrusted sec-
tion is much greater than in the overlying section, which is
uplifted with no significant horizontal movement or crustal
shortening.
Jones' (1982) model for the kinematic evolution of a trian-
gle zone involves thrust wedging between a lower and an
upper detachment zone, with uplift of the overlying para-
autochthonous section, and shows how formation of successive
triangle zones could give rise to a fold belt overlying a thrust
belt (Jones, 1982, fig. 25).
The terminology was complicated by Butler (1982), who
used the term "triangle zone" to describe a completely differ-
ent style of structure (Fig. 8). Butler may not have been aware
of the original term as used by Gordy et al. (1977) due to the
limited and local circulation of the guide book in which it was
published.
The " l o w - t a p e r t r i a n g l e z o n e " was i n t r o d u c e d by
McMechan (1985) to describe the entire Foothills Belt in the
Peace River sector of the British Columbia Foothills (Fig. 9).
Based on palinspastic restoration, she concluded, in contrast to
Thompson (1981), that shortening of the Paleozoic-Mesozoic
folded section above the Besa River shale is much less than
that of the thrusted sequence underlying it.
Thus, by this stage there were three different interpretations
of triangle zone geometry:
1. The section above the tectonic wedge is uplifted vertically,
with no significant horizontal movement or shortening (Fig.
7) (Jones, 1982; Teal, 1983).
2. The section overlying the wedge is shortened by a lesser
amount than that of the underlying thrusting (Fig. 9)
(McMechan, 1985).
3. There is no wedge or triangle zone, and the shallow section
is shortened by an amount equal to the underlying blind
thrusting (Fig. 6) (Thompson, 1981, 1989).
Fig. 8. "Triangle zone", according to Butler (1982). Numbers indicate
hypothetical sequence of thrust emplacement. The structure illustrated
may be a "pop-up" structure, but is not a triangle zone as described by
Gordy etal. (1977).
 144 P.B. JONES

SW NE
,,.,,,,,,.,.,,:,:,:,:,:-:-:,',',',','-'-',-..... -,-.-..,, ,-,-,'.'.'.'.',',',-,-,',-,'.'.'................ . .... ",'-':;:;:;:;:-:':':;:;:;:'."...
, ~ . . . . . D.'.'.'..,.,.,-,-,....-.-,-,-,-,-,-,-..........

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~ ::~:i:i::::.......... ::::::::::::::::::::::........ ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~
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........
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~ ~ ~ : ! L. DETACHMENT
.-.._, A UTOCHTH6 N '6 ' SE6'f'i6"N'

STRUCTURAL LEVELS
UPPER
li i ili!il]ili i i i i i i!ilil MIDDLE
I LOWER .... ~.~"
2~'. ~:" L . - ~', "~
'

Fig. 9. Sketch cross-section of low-taper triangle zone, northeastern British Columbia Foothills. Simplified from McMechan, 1985. This cross-
section is parallel to Thompson's (1989) cross-section (Fig. 6) and 50 km to the southeast along strike. Shortening at the middle level is greater
than shortening at the upper level. Vertical scale is 2x horizontal scale. For location, see Figure 1.
The triangle zone model proposed by Charlesworth and accommodated by one or more hinterland-verging backthrusts
Gagnon (1985) differed from those previously described in rooted in the upper detachment for the foreland-verging
that all the slip of the foreland-verging thrust system was thrusts (Fig. 10). Sequential emplacement of thrusts and over-

INITIAL STAGEL" ~ ~ [ lying backthrusts involved movement along their common

detachment zone, a process similar to that postulated by Jones
(1982) except that the Charlesworth and Gagnon model
v.v,-.-:.v.v.v.v,v.2.,.......v,v.v.v.-.v.-.-.-.-. . . . . . . . . . . ." ".'.'.-.-.-.-.'.'.-....-.........,.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-...-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.......-.-.-.????-.??T:v - : "i implies that a foreland-vergent thrust belt should be overlain
by a belt of hinterland-verging backthrusts.
1 Tectonic wedging and delamination (Price, 1986) describe
the process of triangle zone formation very effectively, high-
lighting the fact that sedimentary sequences are layered and
anisotropic. The process of delamination may be infinitely
repeatable, involving no change in structural style at the fore-
land margin.
Morley (1986) classified thrust fronts at foreland margins
of deformed belts in two main categories, buried and emer-
gent, depending upon whether the outer margin of the
deformed belt was characterized by a syncline overlying blind
thrust wedges or whether the foreland-vergent thrust sheets
~....o,.....o.............,.......o..-.- ---,-.-. climbed to the syntectonic erosion surface and followed it. He
concluded that triangle zones, which fall within the category
of buried thrust fronts, formed only at the present frontal
edges of deformed belts. Butler (1985) also concluded that
triangle zones were "preferentially developed at the frontal parts
of orogens, presumably during the last gasps of displacement".
Banks and Warburton (1986) described a "Passive-roof
Duplex" in the Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges of Pakistan,
whose geometry is almost identical to that of triangle zones
described by Jones (1982) and Teal (1983). Banks and
Warburton's term, passive-roof duplex, is equivalent to trian-
Fig. 10. Triangle zone formation according to Oharlesworth and
Gagnon (1985). According to this model, east-verging thrusts are bal- gle zone. "Passive-roof thrust" and "passive-floor thrust" are
anced by one or more overlying west-verging backthrusts. East-verging equivalent to the "upper detachment" and "lower detachment",
thrust faults merge upward into a common bedding-plane detachment respectively, of Jones (1982) who had followed earlier usage
surface. The model implies that a foreland-vergent thrust belt is overlain
by a belt of hinterland-verging backthrusts. by D a h l s t r o m (1969, 1970). " D e t a c h m e n t " is itself a
TRIANGLE ZONE GEOMETRY, TERMINOLOGY AND KINEMATICS
translation of the widely used French term "d6collement",
meaning "unsticking".
Snakehead Structure is the name that Groshong and
Usdansky (1988) gave to their cross-sectional interpretation of
a triangle zone. It did not involve either a backthrust or an
upper detachment and assumed the displacement of the fore-
land-verging thrust system to be carried parallel to bedding
across the foreland basin ahead of the deformed belt without
further movement upsection. This model is similar to that of
Thompson (1981, 1989) except that it combines all the fore-
land-vergent movement into a single major thrust. A thrust of
this nature, which would have to accommodate tens of kilome-
tres of movement, has yet to be described.
Figure 11 illustrates the interpretation by McClay (1992) of
triangle zone geometry. It is similar to the interpretation of
Clark (1954) (Fig. 4), except that the opposed thrusts are root-
ed at the same stratigraphic level. McClay's diagram did not
extend upward to the level of the question mark, which is
included to illustrate the problem of the potential interaction
between the upward converging thrusts.
Lawton et al. (1994) described an "intercutaneous wedge"
I I
Fig. 11. Triangle zone, redrawn from McClay (1992). The question
mark has been added to illustrate the problem of the geometric and
temporal relationship between the upward converging thrusts. What
happens where they meet?
UPPER DETACHMENT ( Dahlstrom, 1970, Jones, 1982)
S PASSIVE ROOF THRUST (Banks & Warburton,
~ - ...... ~
r~:'~.U~.~~.~.
BACKTHRUST
1986)
:~!:.;.~,~,,.~.,,~,.~..._.~..~
Cbo:. ' J . : o %" o o ~:~
..~,... ...: .:~ :0...,..~...o., . . . . . ~ . . . .
LOWER DETACHMENT (Dahlstrom, 1970, Jones,
FLOOR THRUST (Banks & Warburton, 1986)
Fig. 12. Sketch to show triangle zone geometry and terminology. Sequence of formation of right-verging thrusts is left to right. Overlying back-
thrusts are formed from left to right according to Banks and Warburton (1986), right to left according to Butler (1985). Structural infill may smooth
the irregularities in the upper detachment surface.
145
bounded by an "upper detachment" and a "lower detachment",
at the east edge of the southern Alberta Foothills, "modified
slightly from the nomenclature of Jones (1982)". The main
modification is that they also used the terms upper and lower
detachments to label the delaminated stratigraphic horizon
where the last-formed thrust connects the upper with the lower
detachment as they are defined by Dahlstrom (1969, 1970),
Jones (1982, 1987) and Skuce e t al. (1992) as upper and lower
stratigraphic limits to thrust wedging and/or folding.
Jamison (1993) defined backthrust as "any thrust producing
relatively hinterland movement of the hangingwall", a defini-
tion that embraces both backthrust and upper detachment. It is
suggested that the term passive-roof thrust or upper detach-
ment is used for a "backthrust" that follows a bedding plane. A
backthrust is a discrete fault that cuts across bedding and
repeats section. Figure 12 illustrates the terminology and
differences in geometry and function of those two disparate
features. A detachment is bedding-parallel and may also be a
contorted zone of varied thickness separating younger section
above it from older section below.
DISCUSSION:GEOMETRYAND FUNCTIONOF TRIANGLEZONES
Tectonic wedging, delamination, blind thrusting, triangle
zone formation, these are all variations of the concept that
thrust faults do not necessarily reach the surface at the time of
their emplacement. Within this concept, the most contentious
issue concerns the extent to which this process applies to the
formation of thrust-and-fold belts. The process of tectonic
wedging, whether beneath backthrusts or beneath an upper
detachment, means that the section above a tectonic wedge has
undergone less horizontal tectonic transport than the thrusted
section beneath it. Within this context, the process of tectonic
-
--
B A C K T H R US T
1982) INTERCUTANEOUS WEDGE
(Lawton et al., 1994J
146 P.B. JONES

wedging has two principal variations: 1) the process occurs
only at the present foreland margins of deformed belts (e.g.,
Butler, 1982, 1985; Modey, 1986); 2) the process is continu-
ous (e.g., Jones, 1982; Charlesworth and Gagnon, 1985). To
this writer, the argument for continuously developing triangle
zones formation is the conclusion of Elliott (1976) that each
thrust, as it was emplaced, marked the frontal edge of the
deformed belt. There is no obvious reason why the latest
thrust should have formed in a different manner from the
earlier ones.
Figure 13 illustrates the geometry of a thrust belt, with a
fold belt along its foreland margin. The entire structure is a
passive-roof duplex. The triangle zone occurs at the junction
of the fold belt with the thrust belt because of the depth of ero-
sion of the duplex.
In Figures 7 and 13, shortening due to foreland-vergent
thrusting is balanced by the movement along the upper detach-
ment/passive-roof thrust, which is essentially a bedding-paral-
lel shear zone. Some of the movement may also be accommo-
dated by backthrusts, although these are not present at all
foreland thrust fronts. In some areas the upper detachment
zone is the basal d6collement for successive backthrusts.
ERODED FOLD BELT
FOL D BEL T
THRIIS_TBE_t T.~!::~i~::~::~i!::~i~:: ........ ~ ] (Fig. 2) and appeared to validate them.
Fig. 13. Fold belt above and ahead of a thrust belt. The entire struc-
ture is a passive-roof duplex. The geographic location of the triangle (Voight, 1976 and references therein). Gretener (1972) showed
zone depends on the level of erosion, which determines the boundary the increase in overburden pressure due to loading by over-
between the fold belt with the thrust belt. From Jones (1994).
Without an upper detachment zone, fold belts that overlie
thrust belts (Figure 14) could not form because foreland-ver-
gent thrust wedging would have to be accommodated entirely
by hinterland-vergent backthrusts.
Typically, where backthrusts occur, the aggregate hinter-
land-vergent slip is much less than that of the underlying fore-
land-vergent thrusts. The shortfall may be accommodated over
a wide area along a bedding-plane upper detachment (e.g.,
Skuce et al., 1992; Skuce, 1996). Major thrust faults such as
the McConnell Thrust of the Canadian Cordillera together
with the Foothills thrust faults to the east of it, were accommo-
dated by an upper detachment that extends over a large part of
the Rocky Mountain Front Ranges and the entire Foothills
Belt in southern Alberta (Jones, 1987). The stratigraphic level
of the upper detachment may change between regions in the
same way as the lower detachment does, due to lateral varia-
tions in lithology.
MECHANICSOF TRIANGLEZONE FORMATION
Many early tectonic models of thrust fault deformation,
both physical (e.g., Link, 1949) and mathematical (e.g.,
Hafner, 1951) were based on the assumption of uniform vise-
like horizontal compression of a slab of homogeneous material.
The pattern of conjugate shear fractures resulting from this
assumption (Hafner, 1951) resembles the "sled-runner" profile
of thrusts shown in contemporary cross-sections of thrust belts
Hubbert and Rubey (1959) showed how fluid overpressure
within a basal detachment allowed thrusting to occur along
that detachment. Their model was refined by Hsu (1969) to
take account of the cohesive strength of the rocks and by other
authors who also applied the model to gravity tectonics
thrust sheets. The theoretical and physical models postulated

NW SE
Upper detachment in O r d o v i c l a n shale

;.L.

0 10 Basement
I I
KM

Fig.14. Fold belt above a thrust belt, central Appalachians, USA. This could also be called a "high-taper triangle zone" in contrast to Figure 9.
Redrawn from Perry (1978).
TRIANGLE ZONE GEOMETRY, TERMINOLOGY AND KINEMATICS 147

by these workers assumed that the thrust faults emerged at the
surface. However, in a duplex whose thrusts do not reach the
surface, the process of stair-step (flat-ramp-flat) thrusting
requires the overpressured condition to occur at both the lower
and upper flats as well as along the intervening ramp. This
condition is not included in the classical Hubbert and Rubey
model. Davis et al. (1983) proposed a model for the deforma-
tion of a sedimentary prism involving a rigid vertical buttress
compressing the section ahead of it, which they compared to a
bulldozer pushing soil with a vertical blade. While this model
may be valid regionally, it does not address the local stress and
strain pattern of an individual thrust wedge.
The hypothetical model proposed herein, and referred to as
a prograding monocline model, is expressed in an empirical
by several factors. Typically, in a foreland sedimentary
sequence, density decreases upward. Bossort (1957) observed
that the shallow section above the triangle zone of southern
Alberta was of significantly lower density than the underlying
thrust-faulted sequence. Based on the mechanical principle of
least work, it is suggested that the upward reduction of density
across the upper detachment favours uplift of the overlying sec-
tion rather than upthrusting of denser underlying sheets toward
the surface. The process is similar to that of intrusion of an
igneous sill. The role of density difference in blind thrust wedg-
ing may be compared to its role in the formation of salt domes.
A thrust sheet that is denser than the overlying sediment may
0 PRESSURE P

rather than a mathematical manner. It is believed to be compat- ~OVERBUROEN PRESSURE

\ ~ (Lithostatlc pressure)
ible with both the Hubbert and Rubey (1959) model and the
Davis e t al. (1983) model. The proposed model employs thrust l \\ \ . N O R M A L PRESSURE
....... °'d'°''''° , ....... ,
wedges to produce successive foreland-prograding thrust belt
:-~U~-~=-~ \ ~ \ Hydrostatic pressure/lithostatic pressure=2
margins.
H u b b e r t and R u b e y ' s (1959) model (Fig. 15), which .... - .... A . . . . . . . . . \
~ ~ " "~£."..... ~" . High values off 2 at A and B
involved a basal overpressured zone within an undercompacted •"~ indicate potenttal zones o f
shale, is modified in Figure 16 to include an envelope of over- k ~ \ bedding-plane thrusting
\ e\\
pressured section postulated to lie between upper and lower
detachment zones. Thrust wedging within the envelope creates
a monocline at the leading edge of the deformed belt which is
1
expressed in the overlying topography. Overpressure within ACTUAL PRESSURE
the envelope is maintained by the topographic uplift resulting
Fig. 15. Development of high values of ~, (hydrostatic pressure
from successive emplacement of each thrust wedge. High /lithostatic pressure) at different horizons in a sedimentary sequence.
hydrostatic pressures ahead of the monocline could match or Redrawn from Hubbert and Rubey (1959). As the value of ~ approaches
exceed the lithostatic pressure, allowing further thrusting and 1.0, frictional resistance to thrusting decreases rapidly, falling to zero at
>_ 1.0. High values of ~ at A and B indicate potential incipient detach-
progradation of the monocline. ment horizons. Thus, when the fluid pressure within a horizon equals
The stratigraphic level of the upper detachment is governed the normal hydrostatic pressure, frictional resistance is reduced to zero.

a. PRESSURE P
~X~ithostatic gradient
U. D E T A C H M E N T

I \ /
FUTURE
~ \ ~ - ~ ~ ~ . ~ -~.- ~-~-=-~i ",.... ~ " ; / U. DETACHMENT
~ ~ O V E R P R E S q U R E . r4 ) ~ !iiiiiiiiiii!iiiiii!::iJ \, \ t.-- H I G H E R

,,.,,,I ", \ FUTURE

L. D E T A C H M E N T ' .~..~.~'~.~_x~.~..~.,,..~~.~.,~.:,," ~--~1 \ \ X L. D E T A C H M E N T

Lithostatic gradient ahead of

advancing monocline

Fig. 16. Formation of a prograding monocline and triangle zone through thrust wedging, adapted from Figure 15. Topographic relief due to pre-
viously formed thrust wedges causes development of abnormal pressures ahead of the thrust wedge. Light dashed lines indicate hydrostatic gradi-
ents in uplifted and undisturbed sections. Heavy dashed line indicates lithostatic gradient in undisturbed section. Heavy dot-dashed line shows
hydrostatic pressure due to uplift can exceed the lithostatic pressure in the undisturbed section. If the envelope of overpressure is breached by
erosion (level b), hydrostatic pressure only is transmitted to section ahead of monocline. If not (level a), then the lithostatic pressure of overlying
rock column (a-b) may be added to that of the underlying section. The overpressured envelope migrates toward the foreland ahead of the advanc-
ing monocline, with successive new thrusts being initiated at points of maximum overpressure in the upper detachment zone in the undisturbed
section.
148 P.B. JONES

be expected to flatten at the level where it becomes mechani- explanation for the apparently inconsistent occurrence of back-
cally easier for a thrust sheet to follow a bedding-plane and thrusts. Backthrusts could be formed at a late stage of defor-
wedging the overlying low-density material upward. mation and still be consistent with the prograding monocline
A similar process of thrust emplacement in layered sedi- model of blind thrust wedging as a continuous, self-replicating
mentary rocks has been described by Westbrook and Smith process.
(1983) for the e m p l a c e m e n t of mud volcanoes ahead of
STRUCTURALIMPLICATIONSOF TRIANGLEZONES
accretionary prisms. Similarly, Moore et al. (1995) suggested
emplacement of accretionary prisms occurs where sea water is 1. Fold Belts and Underlying Thrust Belts
displaced upward while the higher density thrust wedges flat-
Fold belts with underlying thrust belts occur in many
ten along the sediment-sea water interface.
deformed belts including the Foothills of British Columbia
The prograding monocline model overcomes Jamison's
(Figs. 6, 9) and the Appalachians (Fig. 14). Figure 18 illus-
(1993) objection to a very widespread upper detachment zone
trates a kinematic model for the development of a sector of the
on the grounds that it would require the overlying para-
Alberta Foothills, a region that is more deeply eroded than the
autochthonous section to have both uphill and downhill move-
Appalachian example. Remnants of the fold belt occur along
ment in response to the underlying thrust movements. This
the east edge of the Foothills Belt and in the cores of surface
condition of the para-autochthonous section is comparable to
synclines containing outliers of unfaulted Tertiary and Upper
that of glacier towage in which ice flows both downward and
Cretaceous strata (Fig. 19). Although, in Figure 18, west-dip-
upward over an irregular substratum. There may be some
ping thrusts do not extend above the upper detachment, this is
smoothing of irregularities in the upper detachment surface by
not the case for the entire Foothills Belt. Skuce (1996)
local structural infilling (Fig. 12).
described localities at the edge of the central foothills where,
The prograding monocline model suggests that backthrusts
in contrast to the more common west-vergent backthrusts,
form when syntectonic erosion breaches the upper detachment
east-vergent thrusts, rooted in an upper detachment, extend to
exposing the underlying thrust belt and the overpressured
the surface.
envelope. The resultant reduction or total loss of overpressure
would prevent further differential movement along the upper 2. Triangle Zones and Gravity Tectonics
detachment itself. At this stage, backthrusting may be initiated In some triangle zones the para-autochthonous upper sec-
to accommodate the final stages of shortening (Fig. 17). In a tion is uplifted without horizontal displacement (Fig. 7), while
thrust belt where erosion occurred during movement, back- in others the para-autochthonous section is highly deformed
thrusts should have formed at the outer margin. These may be (Figs. 6, 9). Figure 6, in particular, illustrates the apparent
exposed within the thrust belt as structural relics of former anomaly whereby horizontal tectonic stress is transmitted to
outer margins of a deformed belt (Sanderson and Spratt, the section above the thrust wedge and not to the section below
1992). Banks and Warburton (1986) did not report any back- the wedge. Triangle zone geometry suggests a link in the con-
thrusts in the Sulaiman Mountains of Pakistan and concluded tinuum between tectonic and gravity-driven structures. If the
that they were relatively rare. Sobornov (1988, 1994), on the para-autochthonous section in a triangle zone is uplifted pas-
other hand, illustrates large numbers of backthrusts in the sively as in Figure 7, it may reach a state where structural and
northern Caucasus Foothills, rooted in an upper detachment in physiographic relief is sufficient to generate gravity sliding
the Oligocene Maikop shale. The model proposed provides an within the foreland-dipping para-autochthonous section.

SYNTECTONIC EROSION UNROOFS OVERPRESSURED ENVELOPE,

UPPER D E T A C H M E N T L O C K S
~.~ . . . . . . . ..... BACKTHRUSTS ACCOMMODATE

ii:"

. , - ~ ~ ' . ' - J - ' ; ; " , ' " _ ~ , ' , - ,~', - ~ - , ' _ , - ' - , , ' , ~'~, ",'.- -.' ~ . ; ~,~ < . . 7 ' , ' , . ' . , ~ . ~ ' , ' . ' , 2 , ,~ c ' - ' ( ' ~ , - ' ~- ~ ','J ~ ' - " ' ~ LC,'-, ' - ' ; , = ~ , , ' ~ , ; D ~ - " - ' - ; C- " - '

Fig. 17. Conceptual model for the formation of backthrusts due to syntectonic erosion of the upper detachment and breaching of the envelope
of high fluid pressure. When this stage is reached, differential movement along the upper detachment may become restricted so that the final
stage of contraction is accommodated by backthrusts.
TRIANGLE ZONE GEOMETRy TERMINOLOGY AND KINEMATICS
SW
a.
PROGRAOING MONOCUNE
SHOnrENl.~ ;:: ............................ ii
14 km --IIk
b.
TERTIARY
JURASSIC-UPPER CRETACEOUS
[ I Undivided
I i
Cardium F o r m a t i o n
PALEOZOIC
~ Undivided
PRECAMBRIAN SHIELD
0 5
Modified a fte r G o r d y and Frey, 1975.
Fig. 18. Model for the kinematic development of the southern Alberta Foothills, showing progradation of the frontal monocline and erosion of
the upper detachment zone. From Jones (1987).
Figure 6 illustrates the triangle zone profile of the Front
Ranges. Taking the base of the Besa River Formation as a
datum, structural relief between the Front Ranges and the
Foothills exceeds 10 km over a horizontal distance of about 20
km. The scale and slope of this uplift is capable of generating
large to regional-scale late- or post-tectonic gravity sliding
along the east-dipping detachment zone in the Besa River.
While there is no firm evidence that this actually did occur in
this particular case, there are examples from other deformed
belts.
Graham (1981) interpreted Fallot's (1949) intercutaneous
nappe as a gravity-driven structure and showed that a triangle
zone could be formed at the toe of a gravity slide. Gamond
(1994) described gravity sliding down the foreland face of a
duplex of stacked thrust sheets in the French Alps. Kemp and
Mogg (1992) described a structure in Seram, Indonesia, result-
ing from gravity sliding down the foreland margin of a trian-
gle zone (Fig. 20). Triangle zone geometry is a feature of the
toe of a gravity-driven structure in the Junggar Basin, China
(Fig. 21). Normal faults at the upper end of this structure form
a graben typical of the head of many landslides.
These examples suggest that a triangle zone may, on differ-
ent scales, be both a cause of gravity sliding and a result of it.
Regional-scale triangle zones can provide the uplift necessary
for gravity sliding. Gravity slides themselves may include tri-
angle zones at their leading edges.
149
NE
...................................
PROGRADING MONOCLINE
44 km 0
C.
/ McConnell Alberta
Jthrust TRIANGLE Z O N E syncline I
. . . . . . . . . . . [- 0
60 km Ikm
10
I I I L~
km
d.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The fundamental division of opinion in the interpretation of
triangle zone evolution is:
1. Tectonic wedging occurs only at the present margin of a
fold/thrust belt during the final phase of orogenesis, by a
process that is different from that which created the
fold/thrust belt hinterland.
2. Tectonic wedging is the normal, repeatable process of thin-
skinned deformation of layered sedimentary sequences by suc-
cessive blind thrust duplex development. Within this favoured
model there are two main variations. In the prograding mono-
cline model presented herein, shortening due to foreland-ver-
gent thrusting is accommodated along a regional bedding-par-
allel upper detachment zone or passive roof thrust at the top of
an overpressured thrust duplex, thereby folding the overlying
para-autochthonous section. Erosional breaching of the over-
pressured duplex during deformation may result in local back-
thrusts being formed to accommodate subsequent stages of
contraction. The alternative model requires the foreland-ver-
gent thrust shortening to be accommodated by successive hin-
terland-vergent backthrusts in the overlying section. The latter
model implies that fold belts with underlying thrust belts
should not exist. The two variations of tectonic wedge theory
are not mutually exclusive. They are end members in a
continuum of possibilities and are complementary.
150
sc
Fig. 19. The southern Alberta fold belt. Synclines (shaded) contain-
ing unfaulted Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary strata are the remnants of
the fold belt now largely eroded off the top of the Alberta Foothills thrust
belt. From Jones (1988).
S EAST
Fig. 20. Diagrammatic cross-section to show gravity gliding down
the frontal edge of a triangle zone on the island of Seram, northeastern
Indonesia. From Kemp and Mogg (1992).
P.B. JONES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
T h a n k s are due to J. K. L e n t i n and to B u l l e t i n r e v i e w e r s E
R. F r e y and S t e v e n Boyer, w h o filled g a p s in the h i s t o r y and
suggested technical improvements. The opinions and conclu-
sions, h o w e v e r , are the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f the author. F u n d i n g
was p r o v i d e d b y International T e c t o n i c C o n s u l t a n t s Ltd.
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SOUTH
_T normal faults
km K E
0-
5-
10-
o 5
I I
KILOMETRES
Fig. 21. Cross-section of a gravity-driven slip sheet on the north edge of the Tian Shan Range, 250 km west of Urumchi, northwest China.
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Manuscript received: January 12, 1995
Revised manuscript accepted: November 7, 1995