The tectonics of the Petermann Orogeny are extremely unusual, as it occurred in an intraplate setting in the centre of the Australian continental block.
The theory states that the degree of extreme uplift experienced in the Petermann Orogeny, specifically the ~42 km of uplift along the Woodroffe Thrust, occurred as a consequence of a crustal scale detachment surface forming a 'basement pop-up' as rock was thrust laterally along the detachment.