Origin and stratigraphic relations of cambrian quartzites in southeast Arizona Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Bryant, Jeffrey Wayne, 1949- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 24/09/2021 17:58:55 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/555103 ORIGIN AND STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS OF CAMBRIAN QUARTZITES IN SOUTHEAST ARIZONA by Jeffrey Wayne Bryant A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 7 8 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of re­ quirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judg­ ment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholar­ ship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: UJ APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: ( 9 r f " Date ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my major advisor. Dr. Joseph F. Schreiber, Jr., for his assistance in this study and his willingness to accompany me into the field on many occasions. Dr. Schreiber not only gave freely of his time to discuss aspects of this study, but also took some of the photographs for this thesis. I would like to thank the other members of my committee, Drs. Karl W. Flessa and Richard F. Wilson, who critically reviewed this the­ sis and provided assistance during this study. Thanks are due also to Dr. Dietmar Schumacher, former Assistant Professor of Geosciences, for his help during the initial stages of this study. I would like to acknowledge the Phelps Dodge Corporation and the numerous ranchers of Cochise County who freely allowed access to their land. I am very grateful to the Union Oil Company of California Founda­ tion, which provided scholarship support for the academic year 1977-78. Finally, very special thanks are due to my wife, Mary Ann, for her patience, encouragement, and support throughout the course of this study. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS......................................... vi LIST OF T A B L E S ................................................ viii A B S T R A C T ...................................................... ix INTRODUCTION ...................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem Area of Study ........ Methods of Study . Previous Work ........ H MhJ 4> BOLSA QUARTZITE.................................................... 9 Name and Type L o c a l i t y ........................................ 9 General Description ............................................ 9 Distribution and Stratigraphic Limits ........................ 10 Petrology...................................................... 10 Sedimentary Structures .................................. 14 Thickness ...................................................... 17 Paleontology and A g e ......................................... 17 C o n t a c t s .................................................. 20 BOLSA QUARTZITE IN COCHISE COUNTY ................................. 22 Mule Mountains ............................................... 22 Whetstone Mountains..................................... 23 Dragoon Mountains . ............................................ 25 Little Dragoon Mountains ............................. 27 Swisshelm and Pedregosa Mountains.............................. 29 Dos Cabezas Mountains................................... 31 CORONADO QUARTZITE .......................................... 43 Name and Type L o c a l i t y ................................ 43 General Description ........................................... 43 Distribution and Stratigraphic Limits ......................... 44 Petrology............................. .. ............... 46 Sedimentary S t r u c t u r e s ...............".................... 50 Thickness...................................................... 56 Paleontology and A g e ..................................... 56 C o n t a c t s ................................................. 58 iv V TABLE OF CONTENTS— Continued Page CONDITIONS OF DEPOSITION ..................................... 59 Introduction ..... ................................. 59 Dos Cabezas and Chiricahua M o u n t a i n s ..................... 59 Swisshelm Mountains.................. 63 Morenci A r e a .............................................. 64 Regional Relations of the Cambrian Strata in Southeast A r i z o n a ................ 66 SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY . .............................. 68 APPENDIX A: CAMBRIAN QUARTZITE LOCALITIES EXAMINED .......... 69 APPENDIX B: MEASURED STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS . ........ 71 Dos Cabezas Mountains.................. 71 Phelps Dodge Lime Quarry, Clifton ................ ;... 76 REFERENCES CITED .............................................. 81 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Location M a p .............................................. 3 2. Cambrian Correlation Chart ............................... 7 3. Basal Conglomerate, Bolsa Quartzite in the Whetstone M o u n t a i n s ................................. 12 4. Interbedded Shale and Sandstone, Bolsa Quartzite in the Barren Hills a Few Kilometers Northwest of the Swisshelm M o u n t a i n s .................. 13 5. Wedge-planar Cross-stratification, Bolsa Quartzite in the Dos Cabezas Mountains......................... 15 6. Tabular-planar Cross-stratification, Bolsa Quartzite in the Swisshelm Mountains........................... 16 7. Scolithus Tubes (Vertical Burrows), Bolsa Quartzite in the Whetstone Mountains........................... 18 8. Horizontal Burrows on Bedding Plane, Bolsa Quartzite in the Little Dragoon M o u n t a i n s ..................... 19 9. Contact between Bolsa Quartzite and Rattlesnake Point Granite in the Dos Cabezas Mountains.......... 34 10. Quartzite Pebble-cobble-boulder Conglomerate, Bolsa Quartzite in the Dos Cabezas Mountains.............. 35 11. Cumulative Weight Percent Curve for Unit 3, Bolsa Quartzite in the Dos Cabezas Mountains............... 39 12. Homfels Unit, Lower Member of the Abrigo Formation in the Dos Cabezas Mountains......................... 40 13. Typical Abrigo-type Weathering, Abrigo Formation in the Dragoon Mountains ...................... 41 14. Contact between Bliss Sandstone Equivalent and Metcalf Granite near Morenci ......................... 48 15. Glauconite Surrounding Quartz Grains;1 from Unit 10, Bliss Sandstone Equivalent near Morenci ............ 51 vi vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS— Continued Figure Page 16. Zoned Dolomite Replacing Quartz Grains; from Unit 14, Bliss Sandstone Equivalent near Morenci .......... 52 17. Top Sandstone Unit of Bliss Sandstone Equivalent near Morenci .................... 53 18. Contact between Dolomite Intraclast and Sandstone; from Unit 17, Bliss Sandstone Equivalent near M o r e n c i ....................................... .. 54 19. Quartz Grain Showing Quartz Overgrowths Typical of Quartzarenites in Southeast Arizona ................ 55 20. Fucoidal Markings on Bedding Plane, Bliss Sandstone Equivalent near M o r e n c i ........................... 57 21. Bowie Mountain, between the Dos Cabezas and Chiricahua M o u n t a i n s ......................................... 60 22. Contact between the Pinal Schist and BoIsa Quartzite in the Northern Chiricahua Mountains ............... 62 23. Inferred Stratigraphic Relations of Cambrian Forma­ tions in Southeast Arizona ......................... 67 24. The Dos Cabezas S e c t i o n ................................ 72 25. Lime Quarry Section near M o r e n c i ....................... 77 LIST OF TABLES Table Page I. Described Localities of the Bolsa Quartzite in Southeast Arizona ................................ 5 II. Petrographic Data, Dos Cabezas Section ............... 36 III. Petrographic Data, Lime Quarry Section ........... 47 viii ABSTRACT An investigation of the Cambrian Bolsa and Coronado Quartzites was made to describe regional stratigraphic relationships and conditions of deposition in southeast Arizona. The Bolsa Quartzite consists mainly of siliceous quartzarenite which changes from coarser grained and feld- spathic near the base to finer grained and quartzose near the top. A basal conglomerate is common and varies in thickness and composition according to the geographic location of the outcrop and the lithology of the underlying Precambrian rock units. The Bolsa ranges between 100 and 150 meters in thickness. The Coronado Quartzite is composed of more lithologies than the Bolsa Quartzite, consisting of shale, siltstone, sandstone, dolomite, and glauconitic and hematitic sandstone. The Coronado and the lower part of the Longfellow Limestone are correlated to the Bliss Sandstone of New Mexico.