Among the main conclusions of the above structural analysis and interpretation it is possible to say that:
There is a clear distinction between two contrasting structural geometries in the Parautochthonous of the Murça sector. The mechanics of nappe formation for these two types of tangential styles are perfectly distinct (Merle, 1994). Thus the above presented geodynamical evolution of nappe formation and emplacement considers a model of spreading-gliding mechanism for the fold nappe style of the Upper Paratochthon and a push-from-the rear mechanism for the Lower Parautochthonous imbricated thrust system.
These two distinct types of tangential tectonics must have occurred in different structural levels. The thin skin tectonics of the Lower Parautochthonous must have occurred near the sinorogenic erosion level as could be demonstrated by the presence in a middle-Upper Devonian flysch (Ribeiro, 1974) of pebbles eroded from the allochtonous nappes; this flysch unit belong to the Lower Parautochthonous. A plausible interpretation for the lithogeochemical anomaly of basic source elements found in Curros Formation can be the chemical influence of the already exhumed ophiolitic nappe during the sedimentation of distal flyshoid Curros Formation.
In this structural scheme of nappe emplacement, the Palheiros – Vila Flor Thrust is a main thrust with several tens of kilometres movement (possibly reaching one hundred kilometres movement) while the Main Trás-os-Montes Thrust is a layer parallel décollement rooted in Silurian formations, with a minor amount of movement, corresponding to an upper detachment in the sense of Dahlstrom (1969; the corresponding lower detachment is not exposed and could correspond to the basal unconformity between the gneissic cadomian basement and the upper Precambrian-paleozoic sedimentary cover). The root zones of each structural domain are thus different.
To observe the strict continuity in the transition between the D1 deformation regimes in the autochthon and parautochthon we must move to the root zone of the allochthonous units along the coast line north of Viana do Castelo (Ribeiro et al., 1990; Pamplona, 2001) well outside the two sectors described in this paper. The observed relationships are compatible with the generation of fold-nappes by detachment along a basal thrust, as we propose for the Garraia – Santa Comba arcuate structure.