Late Proterozoic rift faults and basement-cover relationships within the Ben More thrust sheet, NW Scotland

Recently proposed models for the tectonic evolution of Northern Scotland, involving lithospheric extension during the late Precambrian, are supported by new discoveries and interpretations of early normal faults within the Moine Thrust Belt, Such structures control the preservation of Torridonian sediments beneath the sub-Cambrian unconformity, The Ben More thrust ramp from basement into the Cambrian cover may have been controlled by the early faults. Major synclines within the Ben More thrust sheet appear as tightened half-grabens and thus are composite structures, This may require a re-examination of the field relationships between these folds and the apparently syn-tectonic alkaline intrusions that have been used to date thrust activity.