"This volume provides a comprehensive overview of our understanding of the evolution of the Appalachian-Caledonian-Variscan orogen. It takes the reader along a clockwise path around the North Atlantic Ocean from the U.S. and Canadian Appalachians; to the Caledonides of Spitsbergen, Scandinavia, Scotland and Ireland; and thence south to the Variscides of Morocco"--

This volume focuses on the Canadian Appalachian region. The chapter on the East Greenland Caledonides stands alone and there is no attempt to integrate the geological accounts of the two far removed regions. Rocks of the Canadian Appalachian region are described under four broad temporal divisions: lower Paleozoic and older, middle Paleozoic, upper Paleozoic, and Mesozoic. The rocks of these temporal divisions define geographic zones, belts, basins, and graben, respectively. The area is of special interest because so many modern concepts of mountain building are based on Appalachian rocks & structures.

The Caledonides are a major orogenic belt that stretches from the Arctic, through Scandinavia, East Greenland, Britain and Ireland into the Atlantic coast of North America. Following the break-up of Rodinia, the Caledonides formed in the Palaeozoic by the drifting of various continents and their eventual aggregation in the Silurian and Devonian. The orogen subsequently fragmented during the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. This volume brings together 25 papers presenting the results of modern research that investigates the orogenic processes and the provenance of specific components of the belt. The contributions reflect different lines of research, linking traditional field studies with modern analytical techniques. In addition three overview papers summarize the main features of the belts in Scandinavia, Svalbard, East Greenland, Britain and Ireland, highlighting the advances made since the last major synthesis of the Scandinavian Caledonides 30 years ago, and discussing important open questions.

The thermal evolution of mountain belts is recorded inthe distribution, origin and ages of magnatism. In this volume, petrologic, isotopic and geochemical evidence is presented to highlight the contribution of igneous rocks to the evolution of the Appalachian Orogen in both Canada and the United States. These papers emphasize the use of modern geochemical and petrologic data to discriminate the sources yielding magmas, and thus the nature of the crust and mantle.

Consisting of papers that have appeared recently in International Geology Review, Middle American Terranes, Potential Correlatives, and Orogenic Processes focuses on Middle American terranes in which tectonic processes, including flat-slab subduction, for orogenic development are examined at various times since the late Mesoproterozoi