ACADIAN OROGENY

a mountain-building event that affected the northern portion of the Appalachian Geosyncline from present-day New York to Newfoundland during the Devonian Period (408 to 360 million years ago). Orogenic activity began during the Early Devonian in Gasp, spread westward throughout Devonian time, and affected the western margins of the geosyncline in Late Devonian time. The orogeny was most intense in the Merrimac area in southern New England and in Maine and extended northward to the Central Volcanic Belt of Newfoundland. Evidence for the Acadian orogeny consists of abundant angular unconformities (nonparallel strata) and igneous intrusions, regional metamorphism, and deformation of pre-Devonian and Devonian rocks. Additionally, the westward spread of clastic sedimentary wedges and red beds probably resulted from Acadian uplift in the interior portions of the geosyncline. The Catskill Delta in New York and eastern Pennsylvania represents the westernmost of these clastic wedges. The cause of the Acadian orogeny has been ascribed to the collision of the northeastern portion of the North American Plate with western Europe.