Antler orogeny age of the Roberts Mountains thrust to coincide with the Late Devonian to Mississippian Antler orogeny and to extend the name far beyond the Roberts Mountains. Over a period of 22 years numerous reports relating the Antler orogeny and Roberts Mountains thrust to plate convergence were published in various journals, and because their basic tenets have been widely accepted, they are here termed the conventional theories. The earliest effort to relate plate tectonics specifically to the Antler orogeny was briefly outlined by E.M. Moores: "A collision of this continental margin with a subduction zone dipping away from it in late
Rangitata Orogeny This collision lasted for 50 million years. However, the wet sediments could not just keep piling up. After 50 million years, there was simply too much rock and a 'log jam' in the process was formed. The rocks were squeezed together as they broke and crumpled up. As the compression intensified, the strata were slowly pushed up, creating new land. The collision was also causing a great thickening of the crust, pushing the rocks down into the top of the mantle. The high pressures and temperatures of this occurrence metamorphosed the lower rocks into the Haast Schists. Rangitata Orogeny The