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Gabbro in the Fairweather Range, Alaska

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Gabbro in the Fairweather Range, Alaska T Geology and Petrology of Two Stocl(s of Layered Gabbro in the Fairweather Range, Alaska By DARWIN L. ROSSMAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLE,TIN 1121-F The geology and petrology of two layered gabbro stocks and a description of in­ cluded ilmenite-bearing zones UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1963 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printin~ Office Washin~ton 25, D.C. -,--- CONTENTS Page' Abstract ________________________________________________________ _ Fl Introduction _____________________________________________________ _ 2 Previous investigations ________________________________________ _ 3 Present investigation __________________________________________ _ 3 Geography _______________________________________________________ _ 4 Plants and animals ___________________________________________ _ 5 Culture _____________________________________________________ _ 6 Climate _____________________________________________________ _ Access ______________________________________________________ _ 6 7 Geologic setting ___________________________________________ ,_"' _____ _ 8 Beddedrocks ________________________________________________ _ 8 Greenstone-slate __________________________________________ _ 8 Amphibole and biotite schists ______________________________ _ 9 Undifferentiated bedded rocks of Tertiary age ____________________ _ 10 Surficial deposits _____________________________________________ _ 11 11 Igne~~y:~~~s;~bb;;::~~:~~~~~~~~~:~~:::::::::::::::::::::::::: 11 Location and general relations __________________________ _ 11 Description of layering _____________________ " __________ _ 14 Petrography _________________________________________ _ 23 Petrology ____________________________________________ _ 30 Origin of layering and differentiation ________________ _ 37 Age _________________________________________________ _ 40 Diorite and quartz diorite _________________________________ _ 40 Regional structure ________________________________________________ _ 41 Mineral deposits __ ," _______________________________________________ _ 41 Metallic minerals in the layered igneous rocks _________________ '" . __ 41 Heavy minerals in beach sands _________________________________ , 45 Summary of the possibilities of ore deposits within the mapped area_ 46 Selected references ____________________________________________ ---- 47 Index __ ------------ _____________________________________________ _ 49 m IV CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE 1. Geologic map of the southern part of the Fairweather Range _____________________________________________ In pocket Page FIGURE 1. Index map of southeastern Alaska showing location of mapped area ________________________________________ _ F2 2. Sketch map showing linear distribution of the gabbroic stocks in the southern end of Fairweather Range and in the western part of Yakobi and Chichagof Islands __________________ _ 12 3. Cross sections showing present and postUlated original structure of the Crmon-La Perouse stock _______________ _ 15 4. A cliff about 2,000 feet high on the northwest shoulder of Mount Crmon showing structural features in the igneous rocks ______________________________________________ _ 16 5, 6. Layering in the Crill on-La Perouse stock _________________ _ 17 7, 8. Structural features in the layered rock away from the margins of the stocks ________________________________________ _ 18 9, 10. Structural features thought to be caused by movement _____ _ 21-22 11. Photomicrograph showing textures in typical layered igneous rocks ______________________________________________ _ 24 12. Photomicrograph showing texture typical of the layered norite ______________________________________________ _ 25 13. Relation between mineral composition and vertical position in the Crillon-La Perouse stock ________________________ _ 31 14. Relation between plagioclase composition and layering _____ _ 34 15. Variation in percentage of dark minerals within layers and groups of layers in the Crmon-La Perouse stock __________ . 36 16. Some physical relationships in three layers in the Crill on-La Perousestock _______________________________________ _ 38 17. Contact between layered gabbro and schist _______ - _ - _ - - __ _ 42 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Weather record of Cape Bpencer, Alaska, 1943-49 _____ - - - - __ _ F6 2. Chemical analyses of four rock samIlles from the Astrolabe- De Langle stock __________________________________ - - - __ _ 26 3. Composition and optical properties of plagioclase from the h Astrolabe-De Langle stock _______________________ - - - - - __ _ 27 (i 4. Composition and optical properties of clinopyroxenes from the Astrolabe-De Langle stock ___________________________ - _ -- ':l9 5. Composition and optical properties of olivine from the Astrolabe- De Langle stock _________________________________ -- - - --- 30 6. Ilmenite content of the Crmon-La Perouse layered stock _____ _ 43 7. Semiquantitative spectrographic analyses of concentrates of heavy minerals from specimens from the Crmon-La Perouse stock _________________________________________________ - 44 8. Magnetite and ilmenite content of rocks from the Astrolabe- De Langle stock ________________________________ - - __ - __ _ 45 l CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY GEOLOGY AND PETROLOGY OF TWO STOCKS OF LAY­ ERED GABBRO IN THE FAIRWEATHER RANGE, ALASKA By DARWIN L. ROSSMAN ABSTRAOT Two layered gabbroic stocks in the southern part of the Fairweather Range intrude a sequence of amphibole and biotite schists, which probably formed from a greenstone-slate unit of probable Mesozoic age. The greenstone-slate unit is unconformably overlain by sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Tertiary age. The larger and northernmost stock, herein named the Crillon-La Perouse stock, is 17 miles long and 8 miles wide. The smaller, named th~ Astrolabe-De Langle stock, is largely concealed beneath the sea but is exposed for a distance of 8 miles along the coast. Both stocks contain well-developed layers ranging in thickness from less than one inch to tens of feet; in each stock they form a structure similar in shape to a set of stacked saucers. The layering is discernible because of differences in grain size, proportion of minerals, or combinations of both. In places the layers show features analogous to those in sedimentary rocks, including graded bed­ cling, crossbedding, slump structures, and ripple marks. The two stocks contain an exposed thickness of about 32,000 feet and 2,000 feet, respectively, of layered rock. Neither the bottom nor top is exposed in either stock. The layered rock is mostly gabbro, but the proportions of plagioclase, pYJ;oxene, and olivine vary in the individual layers. Neither the minerals nor the rocks sho," discernible trends in composition in the successions exposed in the two stocks. As far as can be determined, there is no interrelation in composition of the several mineral species in any layer, nor are differences in composition of the rock reflected in changes in the composition of the component minerals. Both stocks contain ilmenite and small amounts of sulflde minerals, and in addition the Astrolabe-De Langle stock contains magnetite. The greatest con­ centration of ilmenite and sulfides found is in the contact zone on the north­ western end of the Crillon-La Perouse stock. One sample from the contact zone contains 47 percent ilmenite and 0.06 percent sulfides by weight. The layered rock itself also contains ilmenite, and one layer on the north end of the stock was found to contain 25 percent ilmenite by weight. F1 ""I".~--- I F2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY INTRODUCTION Two layered gabbroic stocks intrude a sequence of amphibole and biotite schists in the southern end of the Fairweather Range, north of Cross Sound and west of Glacier Bay, in the northern part of south­ eastern Alaska (fig. 1). They lie within the Glacier Bay National Monument,about 110 miles west of Juneau. In this report the stock that includes Mount Crillon and Mount Ln, Perouse is called the Cril­ lon-La Perouse stock; the one that makes up the southern part of Mount De Langle and the Astrolabe Peninsula is called the Astro­ labe-De Langle stock. 138' 60' 54'1----------+__ t-.¥~4--_f'=_~-54' 50 a 50 MILES LI~, -,-,--,'o..,Ll __ -,I FIGURE i.-Index map of southeastern Alaska showing location of mapped area. GEOLOGY OF GABBRO STOCKS, FAIRWEATHER RANGE, ALASKA F3 PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS In 1933 a Harvard-Dartmouth mountain climbing expedition under the leadership of Bradford Washburn found that Mount Orillon was composed of mafic layered igneous rock (R. G. Gold­ thwait, written communication, 1936). G. O. Kennedy, of the U.S. Geological Survey, made a reconnaissance up North Orillon Glacier in 1943 and wrote a short report on the nrea (Kennedy and Walton, 1946). '1'he Wrights apparently discovered the Astrolabe-De Langle body some time in the early part of this century (F. E. Wright and O. W. Wright, written communication). The writer examined the ga;bbro on Astrolabe Peninsula and Boussole Head in 1946 and made a rapid reconnaissance of the southern part of the Fairweather Range in 1951, but no reports were written on these brief visits. PRESENT INVESTIGATION The present investigation was undertaken to study layered gab­ broic stocks to appraise their potential for mineral resources, and at the same time carry out areal reconnaissance geologic mapping from Lituya
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