Abstract
The Reading Prong is one of the major areas of exposure of Precambrian crystalline rocks in the north-central Appalachians. The extent of its participation in early Paleozoic tectonic activity has long been controversial. Although work by Drake (1969) has shown that the southwestern portion of the prong is characterized by a series of allochthonous Precambrian slices that overlie lower Paleozoic rocks, no evidence to support significant overthrusting of Precambrian rocks is found in the northeastern segment of the prong. In this area, geophysical and geological data indicate that the tectonic setting of the Precambrian rocks is a result of several periods of large-scale basement uplift along northeast-trending, high-angle faults. These data further suggest that the regional configuration of the northeastern Reading Prong was established prior to the Taconic orogeny.