Recent models of the precambrian construction of the north American craton indicate that the southeastern margin of the Archean Wyoming craton sustained intense thick- skinned deformation during an early Proterozoic collision event at about 1.8Ga. However, much of the deformation and metamorphism of the Wyoming plate in a wide zone along the suture has been attributed to Archean deformation. This project will re-examine this broad belt and attempt to separate and partition the deformation and metamorphism into Archean and early Proterozoic events. Results will provide a better understanding of the tectono-metamorphic history of continental response to Proterozoic convergent margin tectonics. It will provide valuable models for this process that can provide insight into the evolution of similar but less well exposed regions such as the southern Lake Superior area.
