COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT of CONSERVATION and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION of MINERAL RESOURCES Robert C
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VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 27 CONTRIBUTIONS TO VIRGINIA GEOLOGY- IV COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES Robert C. Milici, Commissioner of Mineral Resources and State Geologist CHAR LOTTESVI LLE, VI RGIN IA 1980 VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 27 CONTRIBUTIONS TO VIRGINIA GEOLOGY- IV COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES Robert C. Milici, Commissioner of Mineral Resources and State Geologist CHAR LOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA 1980 FRONT CoVER: Isoclinal folds (FJ in kyanite quartzite of the Arvonia Forma- tion at woods Mountain, Buckingham county, Virginia. (pocket knife just below center of photo serves as scale.) VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 27 CONTRIBUTIONS TO VIRGINIA GEOLOGY-IV COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES Robert C. Milici, Commissioner of Mineral Resources and State Geologist CHAR LOTTESVI LLE, VI RGI N IA 1980 COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF PURCHASES AND SUPPLY RICHMOND 1980 DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Richmond, Virginia FRED W. WALKER, Director JERALD F; MOORE, Deputy Director BOARD J. H. JOHNSON, West Point, Chairman ARTHUR P. FLIPPO, Doswell, Vice Chairman FRANK ARMSTRONG, III, Winchester MYRON P. ERKILETIAN, Alexandria HENRY T. N. GRAVES, Luray ADOLF U. HONKALA, Midlothian MILDRED LAYNE, Williamsburg FREDERIC S. REED, Manakin-Sabot GEORGE P. SHAFRAN, Arlington SHELTON H. SHORT,III, Chase City NICHOLAS D. STREET, Grundy E. FLOYD YATES. Powhatan CONTRIBUTIONS TO VIRGINIA GEOTOGY-TV CONTENTS Page Evidence for the correlation of the kyanite quartzites of Willis and Woods mountains with the Arvonia Formation, by James F. Conley and John D. Marr, Jr. 1 Conodonts from structural windows through the Bane dome, Giles County, Virginia, by John E. Repetski and William J. Perry, Jr. Lz Geology of the Taylorsville basin, Hanover County, Virginia, by Robert E. Weems 23 Metallic mineralization in the Blue Ridge province of Virginia, by Palmer C. Sweet and Stephen C. Bell 39 Tetravalent manganese oxide minerals from the Red Brush mine, Craig County, Virginia, by Christopher R. Halladay 53 Index . 62 EVIDENCE FOR THE CORRELATION OF THE KYANITE QUABTZITES OF WILLIS AND WOODS MOUNTAINS WITH THE ARVONIA FORMATION' By James F. Conley and John D. Marr, Jr. CONTENTS Page Abstract 1 Introduction .... 2 Previouslnvestigations.... 2 Stratigraphy.... 7 Candler Formation 7 ChopawamsicFormation.... 7 Arvonia Formation 7 Rocks at Willis and Woods mountains 8 Description of units. 8 Correlation 8 Structure. I Conclusions 10 Acknowledgments 10 References 10 ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Index map. 2 2. Interpretative regional geologic sketch map . 3 3. Generalized geologic map and cross-sections of parts of Willis Mountain and Andersonville quadrangles and adjacent areas 4,5 4. Quartz-mica schist containing stretched quartz pebbles at the base of the Arvonia Formation . 7 5. Fining-upward sequence in kyanite quartzite. 8 6. Small-scale cross-beds in fining-upward sequence in kyanite quartzite. 8 7. Channel deposit in kyanite quartzite. 9 8. Correlation of units within the Arvonia Formation I TABLES 1. Stratigraphic relations ofrock units in study area. ABSTRACT tinuous, locally kyanitic quartz-mica schist, a thin se- Rocks of the study area are, from oldest to quence of locally kyanitic banded quartzites and a youngest, the Candler, the Chopawamsic and the sequence of graphitic metapelites; the metapelites Arvonia formations. The Chopawamsic conformably are at the top of the section. At its type section the overlies the Candler and is unconformably overlain formation does not contain kyanite. The Arvonia is by the Arvonia. In the western part of the area, the shown to include kyanite quartzite at Willis and Arvonia Formation is composed of a basal, discon- Woods mountains in the eastern part of the area. ' Portions of this publication may be quoted if credit is given to the Division of Mineral Resources. It is recommended that reference to this report be made in the following form: Conley, J. F. and Marr, J. D., Jr., 1980, Evidence for the correlation of the kyanite quartzites of Willis and Woods mountains with the Arvonia Formation, in Contributions to Virginia Geology-IV: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Publication 27, p. 7 - ll. VrncrNle DwIsroN or MINnneI RESOUR0ES The quartzite at Willis and Woods mountains was Mountain. Further examination showed that the thought by previous workers to be interlayered quartzite on the east ridge of Willis Mountain also with a gneiss unit. Present work shows that this contains preserved cross-beds. Previous authors gneiss, which is an amphibolite facies of the (Taber, 1913, Jonas, 1932, Espenshade and Potter, Chopawamsic Formation, is unconformably overlain 1960; Bennett, 1961 and Brown, 1969) are in agree- by a kyanite-quartz-mica schist which is overlain by ment that the kyanite quartzite of the region is a the kyanite quartzite. At Willis Mountain the product of the metamorphism of aluminous sand- kyanite quartzite is overlain by graphitic stones, but relict cross-beds have not previously metapelite. From the similarity of the stratigraphic been reported in the unit. The presence of these and sequences at Willis and Woods mountains to those other primary structures makes possible a of typical sections of the Arvonia, the kyanite quart- definitive statement about the environment of zite is interpreted to correlate with the Arvonia deposition of the sediments from which the kyanite Formation. deposits were formed. Data obtained during the present study necessitates a revision of the INTRODUCTION stratigraphic section of the area. The section pro- posed differs markedly from those previously sug- Willis Mountain and Woods Mountain are located gested (Table 1). in the Willis Mountain and Andersonville 7.5-minute quadrangles, Buckingham County, in the south- central Virginia Piedmont (Figures 1, 2, 3). The PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS mountains are prominent monadnocks that stand Taber (1913) from 100 to 500 feet (30-152 m) above the typical mapped a sequence of mica gneisses and schists, amphibole gneisses and schists, and fer- rolling Piedmont terrain. Kyanite quartzite is ex- ruginous quartzites posed at each of the mountains and occurs at several that together are now con- other places in an area approximately 30 miles (48 sidered to be, in part, the Chopawamsie Formation (Pavlides km) long in parts of Buckingham, Prince Edward, and others, 1974); the rocks are in the area (later and Charlotte counties. Although these kyanite of the gold belt named the gold-pyrite belt by quartzites do not form a pronounced strike belt, Lonsdale, 1927). Taber showed these rocks to be un- they were named the kyanite belt of central Virginia conformably overlain by the Arvonia slates, roeks by Jonas (1932). The area containing the kyanite from which Walcott Vide Darton 1892) identified Or- quartzite was named the Farmville district by dovician fossils. Taber recognized thin con- Espenshade and Potter (1960). glomerates and quartzites at the base of the Ar- vonia slates. The age of the Arvonia is Middle to middle Late Ordovician (Higgins, 1973). Stose and K: i, '-.- .< - (1948) ,J\L-- Stose considered the Arvonia to occupy a dou- r lol'-. BUCKTNGHAM ,/ ble syncline; Conley (1978) suggested that this struc- \J. v+ ; ture is a syncline refolded around the nose of a later- formed anticline. Espenshade and Potter (1960) mapped the Willis Mountain area and recognized two units, a biotite gneiss, and an overlying hornblende gneiss. They thought that the kyanite quartzite of Willis Moun- tain was interbedded with the top of the biotite gneiss unit. Brown (1969), during mapping of the Dillwyn 15-minute quadrangle, which is immediately Figure 1. Index map. north of the Willis Mountain quadrangle, recognized a sequence of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks that he tentatively correlated with rocks of During a field check of the geologic mapping of the Evington Group; these rocks are now considered the Willis Mountain and Andersonville 7.5-minute to be Chopawamsic (Conley and Johnson, 1975). quadrangles,2 relict cross-bedding was found in the Brown (1969) mapped on-strike equivalents of the kyanite quartzite on the eastern flank Woods of Willis Mountain kyanite quartzite as "rocks of uncertain age" and showed the Arvonia Formation 'z These investigations are part of a cooperative project between the Piedmont Planning District Commission and the Virginia to unconformably overlie this sequence of rocks Division of Mineral Resources. (Table 1). The kyanite quartzite was earlier con- PunlrcertoN 27 o r >< k* BREMO lrvta o€ | 2 3 4MtLeS O I 2 5 4KILOSETERS - EXPLANATION N anvorutl FoRMArroN - UNCONFORMITY- l--l cnopawnr"rstc FoRMArroN IItfTII DIANA IVILLS GABBROIC PLUTON llll llll cnruoueR FoRMArroN t:!.!.lJ __ MA,JOR FOLD AXES SHOWTNG PLUNGE DIRECTION { - arurrronu z -{}-- OVERTURNED ANTIFORM -{-t- ovERTURNED SYNFoRM z Fr EARLY FOLDS F2 LATE FOLDS wooos Figure 2. Interpretative regional geologic sketch map. VrncrNre DwrsroN op MrNnnal Rosouncns cRoss % SECT I ON LINE De to il "k ANDERSONVILLE T] I \ @ /- t ) t t6401 \ \ wooDs 16361-L MOUNTAIN 7- ( PLEASANT ? MILES KILOMETERS Drolling ,, ".") Figure 3. Generalized geologic map and cross-sections of parts of Willis Mountain and Andersonville quadrangles and adjacent areas. PUBLICATION