Morais ophiolite complex (original) (raw)

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Metamorphic complex of oceanic and continental crust terranes in Portugal

The Morais ophiolite complex, also known as Morais Massif (in Portuguese, Maciço de Morais), is located in the northeast of Portugal in the Bragança District, with its main core in the Macedo de Cavaleiros Municipality. Generally speaking the Morais ophiolite complex is a set of allochthonous units, which include a full range of ultramafic rocks.

Geological uniqueness

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Its uniqueness lies in the fact that, within a radius of about 50 km, it's possible to see the geologic evidences of the continental collision between Laurussia and Gondwana with the consequent closure of the Rheic Ocean, to form the supercontinent of Pangaea in the Late Paleozoic (Variscan orogeny).[1]

This Geologic Complex presents three main units:[2]

  1. ^ Matte, Philippe (1991). "Accretionary history and crustal evolution of the Variscan belt in Western Europe". Tectonophysics. 196 (3–4): 309–337. doi:10.1016/0040-1951(91)90328-p. ISSN 0040-1951.
  2. ^ Oliveira;Pereira;Machado, Daniel P. S.; Eurico; M. J. (2003). Pombais Unit, Lower Morais Ophiolite Complex, NE Portugal. Lisbon: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia. pp. B64 – B67.{{[cite book](/wiki/Template:Cite%5Fbook "Template:Cite book")}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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