Geological structure and tectonic evolution of the Lower Palaeozoic rocks of the Isle of Man

Abstract: The Lower Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks of the Isle of Man, deposited near the margin of the Avalonian plate, were folded and cleaved during continental closure and collision. Although folds on a scale of several kilometres can be inferred, the large-scale structure of the Isle of Man remains uncertain in the absence of detailed and widespread biostratigraphical controls on the stratigraphy and other difficulties. A working model suggests that the island is composed of several northeast trending, strike-parallel 'tracts ' separated by vertical or steeply northwest dipping faults. Stratigraphic sequences may be apparent within tracts but cannot easily be correlated between tracts. The within-tract structure is the result of two main stages of deformation (D1 and D2) and one or more localized later events (D3). F1 folds have axial surfaces which dip steeply northwest or southeast, near-horizontal hinges, and wavelengths ranging up to several kilometres. The F2 folds, seen mostly on a small scale, are reclined to recumbent and coaxial with F1 folds. The D1 and D2 structures were imposed on the Wenlock rocks of the Niarbyl Formation but are absent from the Peel Sandstone (late Silurian--early Devonian), constraining the main deformation tothe Caledonian (Acadian) orogeny. The D1 structures are the products of collisional tectonics but the origin of the flat-lying D