Final answer:
The Laramide Orogeny was characterized by both extensive thrust faulting and the formation of intermontane basins with large lakes, notably shaping the Rocky Mountains.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Laramide Orogeny was characterized by extensive thrust faulting and the production of intermontane basins and large lakes.
During this geological event, which primarily contributed to the formation of the Rocky Mountains, massive shifts in the Earth's crust occurred.
The orogeny involved the low-angle subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate, which caused deformations such as thrust faulting.
Extensive thrust faulting, one of the main features during the Laramide Orogeny, resulted in older sedimentary rocks being pushed over younger rocks, as depicted in a schematic block diagram of a thrust fault wherein the tan rocks (older) are thrust over the grey rocks (younger).
These structural changes also led to the formation of structural basins, like foreland basins, which are adjacent and parallel to a mountain belt.
They are created by crustal thickening that bends the lithosphere, thereby creating accommodation space for sediment to fill, similar to the situation with the Persian Gulf alongside the Zagros Mountains.