The Marathon Uplift is a
Paleogene-age domal uplift, approximately in diameter, in southwest
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. The Marathon Basin was created by erosion of
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
and younger strata from the crest of the uplift.
[McBride, E.F. and Hayward, O.T., 1988]
''Geology of the Marathon uplift, west Texas.''
''Geological Society of America Centennial Field Guide'', 4, pp.411-416.
Northeast trending ridges of
pre-Permian Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
strata in the basin were formed by the
Ouachita orogeny, which also formed the
Ouachita Mountains
The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...
of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
and
Oklahoma. The ancient faulting that produced the
Llano Uplift is believed to be related to that which produced the Marathon Uplift in west Texas. Both may have been formed around the time of the
Ouachita orogeny.
See also
*
Llano Uplift
*
Solitario
The Solitario (''El Solitario'') is a large geologic formation in Big Bend Ranch State Park (Texas), Big Bend Ranch State Park in West Texas. When viewed from above, it suggests an impact crater; though it is actually the eroded remains of a lacco ...
References
Landforms of Brewster County, Texas
Geology of Texas
Rock formations of Texas
{{US-geology-stub