Geology and Geomorphology of Jenolan Caves and the Surrounding Region
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Geology and Geomorphology of Jenolan Caves and the Surrounding Region DAVID F. BRANAGAN1, JOHN PICKETT2 AND IAN G. PERCIVAL3 1Honorary Associate, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 ([email protected]); 2Honorary Associate, Geological Survey of NSW, WB Clarke Geoscience Centre, Londonderry NSW 2753 ([email protected]); 3Geological Survey of NSW, WB Clarke Geoscience Centre, Londonderry NSW 2753 ([email protected]) Published on 30 May 2014 at http://escholarship.library.usyd.edu.au/journals/index.php/LIN Branagan, D.F., Pickett, J.W. and Percival, I.G. (2014). Geology and Geomorphology of Jenolan Caves and the Surrounding Region. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 136, 99-130. Detailed mapping by university students and staff since the 1980s has significantly elucidated previously poorly known stratigraphic and structural relationships in the Jenolan Caves region. Apart from andesite of ?Ordovician age, rocks west of the caves probably correlate with the lower Silurian Campbells Group. That succession is faulted against the Silurian (mid Wenlockian) Jenolan Caves Limestone, in which caves developed during several episodes from the late Palaeozoic. Immediately east of Jenolan Caves, siliciclastic sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks with interbedded silicic lavas constitute the newly defined Inspiration Point Formation, correlated with the upper Silurian to Lower Devonian Mount Fairy Group. Several prominent marker units are recognised, including limestone previously correlated with the main Jenolan limestone belt. Extensive strike-slip and thrust faulting disrupts the sequence, but in general the entire Silurian succession youngs to the east, so that beds apparently steeply-dipping westerly are actually overturned. Further east, Upper Devonian Lambie Group siliciclastics unconformably overlie the Inspiration Point Formation and both are overlain unconformably by lower Permian conglomeratic facies. Carboniferous intrusions include the Hellgate Granite with associated felsite dykes. The regional geomorphology probably evolved from late Carboniferous–early Permian time, with ‘steps’ in the deep valleys indicating episodic periods of valley formation, possibly including Permian glaciation. Manuscript received 16 October 2013, accepted for publication 23 April 2014. KEYWORDS: Carboniferous, Devonian, geomorphology, Jenolan Caves, palaeontology, Permian, Silurian, speleogenesis, stratigraphy INTRODUCTION speleogenesis of the caves and their antiquity. In comparison, the regional geology surrounding the Jenolan Caves, located 182 km west of Sydney Jenolan karst area has been relatively neglected, by road (Fig. 1), are Australia’s best known and largely due to its rugged terrain and structural most spectacular limestone caves. Early geological complexity. Thus the geological context in which studies concentrated on the narrow belt of limestone Jenolan Caves formed, that is so crucial to an and mapping of the cave system it encloses, whereas understanding of how the cave system evolved, has more recent scientific research has emphasized the taken a long time to unravel, and indeed still requires GEOLOGY OF JENOLAN CAVES REGION 149°59'E 150°00'E 150°01'E 150°02'E 150°03'E 150°04'E 33°44'S B o New South g g Wales y C r e Map area Sydney e k 33°45'S J e n o k l e a e n r C e c a R r i r 33°46'S v e er T k e e r B C u l l Stockya r d s k ee r C C N r avies e e k 33°47'S 33°48'S Phe asan J ts e N n e o s l t a n C r e e k R i J v e er n o l a n 33°49'S R iv e k r e e r C � s k Jenolan n e w re o Caves e C k c s r M o y Oaky Camp e v ek r re u k S C e e r k y C Oa 33°50'S i g N B Blackb utt C reek Camp ek re C il c n u o 33°51'S C Allan 1986 Hallett 1988 Road Track Stewart 1987 House 1988 Fire trail Drainage 0 1Km Fig. 1. The Jenolan Caves region, showing the main access road and natural drainage pattern; inset map shows location within the state of New South Wales. Also plotted are the outlines of student thesis maps reproduced as Fig. 5 (Allan 1986, in purple), Fig. 6 (Stewart 1987, in blue), Fig. 7 (Hallett 1988, in green) and Fig. 8 (House 1988, in red). 100 Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014 D.F. BRANAGAN, J.W. PICKETT AND I.G. PERCIVAL further study. Geological mapping by students and of the limestone belt at Jenolan were younger than staff (mainly at the University of Sydney) over the the limestone, for which he indicated a westerly dip, past thirty years, notably during the 1980s, has greatly and that their cherty nature was the result of contact improved knowledge of rock types, their distribution metamorphism by intruding dykes. Consequently he and relationships in the vicinity of Jenolan, but this revised his opinion of the age of the “Cave Limestone” work has remained largely inaccessible in unpublished to Early or Middle Devonian, younger than the theses and field compilations. The results presented limestones at Yass. However, David and Pittman here are primarily based on detailed field mapping (1899), in a further examination of the radiolarian- (at a scale of 1:10,000) and accompanying reports bearing cherty sediments, expressed uncertainty as to by Allan (1986), Stewart (1987), Hallett (1988) and whether the limestone was Silurian or Devonian. House (1988) (Figs 1, 5, 6, 7, 8), supplemented with Curran (1899) (Fig. 2) discussed some aspects of mapping over the same period by D.F. Branagan the Jenolan geology, placing the eastern succession and K.J. Mills (all of the University of Sydney), of sedimentary rocks in the Silurian, intruded by with additional thesis mapping by Doughty (1994). diorites, quartz- and felspar- porphyries, and included Unpublished studies by Stanley (1925), Chand a photo of one of the cuttings on the road down to the (1963), Pratt (1965), McClean (1983), and E. Holland caves. (former Jenolan Manager) have also been taken into The matter rested there until Morrison (1912), consideration. Other geological investigations of the carrying out a reconnaissance trip to complete the area remain unpublished, although in preparation of proposed Geological Map of New South Wales this paper we have had the benefit of discussion with (published 1914), placed the limestone in the Silurian, various workers (particularly Ian Cooper) who have together with the adjacent rocks including ‘slates, mapped the Jenolan Caves Limestone and nearby radiolarian cherts, claystones … and contemporary strata in considerable detail. lavas’, and assigned a post-Devonian age to the intrusive porphyries and felsite dykes observed by David. Morrison (Fig. 2) noted the unconformable PREVIOUS WORK nature of the junction between the Devonian sandstones and quartzites [Lambian rocks] and the The earliest geological observations of a scientific ‘Upper Marine’ Permian beds, and the occasional nature on the Jenolan Caves area were made by staff occurrence of the younger strata abutting the of the Geological Survey of New South Wales (Fig. Devonian rocks, but several hundred feet below the 2), including Wilkinson (1884) and Young (1884) Devonian outcrops. (vide Havard 1933). Fossils in the limestone attracted Süssmilch and Stone (1915), following brief the attention of Government Palaeontologist Robert statements by Süssmilch (1911, 1913), presented the Etheridge Jr (1892) who described a pentameride results of a study of the caves region undertaken over brachiopod and first assigned a late Silurian age to a number of years. Their paper remained the standard these rocks. Initial usage of the name ‘Jenolan Cave explanation of the geology until at least the 1960s. Limestone’ can be attributed to Etheridge (1894) but The study by Süssmilch and Stone (Fig. 2), based on the terminology was not formalized for another 77 the outcrops along the Mount Victoria road (almost to years. Inspiration Point), and the first few bends (Two Mile T.W.E. David (1894) (Fig. 2) concurred with the Hill) of the Tarana road, the Six-Foot track and the late Silurian age of the limestone, also assigning that Jenolan River, recognised the essential lithological age to the strata to the east that he later described (David variations. They dismissed David’s contention that the 1897a) as consisting of “several hundred feet of dark cherts occurring west of the limestone were formed indurated shales, greenish-grey argillites, reddish- by contact metamorphism and determined that they purple shale and coarse volcanic conglomerates with did not dip conformably with the limestone, but large lumps of Favosites, Heliolites, etc.”. David were probably brought into contact by overthrusting. (1897b) further postulated that “the felsite dykes east Süssmilch and Stone (1915) suggested that the cherts of the limestone had assimilated much lime in their (‘Jenolan radiolarian cherts’) and associated dark passage through the limestone”, and suggested that claystones were of Ordovician age. They recognised the conglomerates exposed on the Jenolan road 6 the ‘Cave limestone’ and the geographically distinct miles (9.7 km) from the caves were Upper Devonian. (but then vaguely located) east-dipping ‘eastern Extrapolating from his work on similar rocks at limestone’, which appeared to be unfossiliferous, Tamworth of Devonian age, David surmised that the believing that the separated limestones belonged to cherty radiolarian-bearing rocks cropping out west a single ‘bed’ on opposite sides of a large anticline. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 136, 2014 101 GEOLOGY OF JENOLAN CAVES REGION Fig. 2. A selection of geologists who have made significant contributions (discussed in the text) to the investigation or mapping of the Jenolan Caves region, spanning more than a century from 1884 to 1988.