ALBERT

Description: In this study we demonstrate how a combined structural, sedimentological and palaeomagnetic approach provides a new perspective on the tectonic evolution of the Holy Cross Mountains. In the field, we performed a structural and sedimentological analysis of Palaeozoic rocks. Our analysis was complemented by a palaeomagnetic study and by the restoration of balanced cross sections in Palaeozoic and Mesozoic rocks. Different steps of deformation were restored for a c.350 Ma period. (1) The extensional tectonics of the Devonian basin was unravelled: the resulting normal fault system constituted the fundamental structural control for the later Variscan tectonic inversion and Alpine deformations. (2) The style of Variscan folding is characterized and quantified by way of a cross section across the Holy Cross Mountains. (3) The role of the reactivation of Variscan faults during the Permo-Triassic initiation of the Polish Basin was examined. (4) The localized Alpine compressive deformation was quantified and shown to contribute only to a minor degree to the present-day state of deformation in the Holy Cross Mountains. The Holy Cross Fault zone is the product of the interplay of changing transtensional and transpressional settings during the Variscan diastrophic cycle, with the final effect of the Variscan evolution being the flower-like structure of the Holy Cross Fault zone.