| Abstract: | Thrust sheets dominate the structural framework of the Scandinavian Caledonides. Sheets at lower tectonostratigraphic levels comprise the shortened margin of the continent Baltica and, at higher levels, terranes derived outboard from this continent in oceanic or foreign continental environments. Amalgamation of these terranes with the margin of Baltica occurred during closure of the Iapetus Ocean in the early Palaeozoic. Closure involved subduction of oceanic crust, extensional tectonics and continent-arc collisions during the late Cambrian and early Ordovician, and ultimate continent-continent collision during the Silurian and Devonian. |
