Geology of the Island of Grand Manan, New Brunswick: Precambrian to Early Cambrian and Triassic Formations
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GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA / MINERALOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA JOINT ANNUAL MEETING 2014 UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK, FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA FIELD TRIP B3 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLAND OF GRAND MANAN, NEW BRUNSWICK: PRECAMBRIAN TO EARLY CAMBRIAN AND TRIASSIC FORMATIONS MAY 23–25, 2014 J. Gregory McHone 1 and Leslie R. Fyff e 2 1 9 Dexter Lane, Grand Manan, New Brunswick, E5G 3A6 2 Geological Surveys Branch, New Brunswick Department of Energy and Mines, PO Box 6000, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5H1 i TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures and Tables..............................................................................................................i Safety............................................................................................................................................ 1 Itinerary ......................................................................................................................................... 2 Part 1: Geology of the Island of Grand Manan......................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 Precambrian Terranes of Southern New Brunswick ..................................................................... 3 Caledonia Terrane ............................................................................................................. 7 Brookville Terrane ............................................................................................................. 8 New River Terrane............................................................................................................. 8 Tectonic Overview ........................................................................................................................ 9 Pan African-Braziliano Orogenic Activity ........................................................................ 10 Penobscot Orogeny ........................................................................................................ 11 Acadian Orogeny ............................................................................................................ 11 Alleghenian Orogeny ...................................................................................................... 12 Opening of the Atlantic Ocean ........................................................................................ 12 Precambrian to Early Cambrian Geology of the Island of Grand Manan.................................... 12 Grand Manan Group ....................................................................................................... 13 Castalia Group ................................................................................................................ 16 Felsic Plutonic Rocks...................................................................................................... 28 Mafic Plutonic Rocks....................................................................................................... 28 Structural Geology .......................................................................................................... 29 Triassic Geology of the Island of Grand Manan.......................................................................... 30 Previous Work................................................................................................................. 31 Mesozoic Basins ............................................................................................................. 33 The Fundy Group on the Island of Grand Manan ........................................................... 34 Age Relationships and Significance of Regional Volcanism........................................... 42 Basalt and Basin Development ......................................................................................45 Part 2: Field Stop Descriptions for the Island of Grand Manan............................................ 51 Precambrian to Early Cambrian Formations............................................................................... 51 Triassic Formations..................................................................................................................... 56 Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................... 69 References.................................................................................................................................. 69 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1. Lithotectonic map of New Brunswick, Canada. ........................................................ 4 Figure 2. Lithotectonic terranes in southwestern New Brunswick............................................ 5 Figure 3. Bedrock geology map of the Island of Grand Manan. .............................................. 6 Figure 4. Quartzite and shale, The Thoroughfare Formation, Ross Island............................ 14 Figure 5. Quartzite of The Thoroughfare Formation at the north end of Ross Island. ........... 14 Figure 6. Schistose andesitic tuff, Ingalls Head Formation, Ox Head.................................... 15 Figure 7. Spherulitic rhyolite flow of the Ingalls Head Formation, Long Pond. ...................... 15 Figure 8. Plagioclase-phyric mafic volcanic rock in conglomerate, Great Duck Island Formation, Great Duck Island. ..................................................................... 17 Figure 9. Quartzite in conglomerate, Great Duck Island Formation, The Dock. .................... 17 ii Figure 10. Quartzose sandstone and laminated shale, Flagg Cove Formation, Flagg Cove..... 19 Figure 11. Quartzose sandstone and shale of the Flagg Cove Formation, The Dock. ............ 19 Figure 12. Sandstone xenolith, Flagg Cove Formation in Stanley Brook Granite, Flagg Cove. ... 19 Figure 13. Volcaniclastic sandstone and sandstone, Priest Cove Formation. ......................... 21 Figure 14. Pillow basalt of Ross Island Formation, White Head Island. ................................. 21 Figure 15. Mafic debris flow, Ross Island Formation, Ross Island. ........................................ 22 Figure 16. Mafic volcanic breccia, North Head Formation, Swallow Tail Head........................ 22 Figure 17. Sawpit Dyke intruding latest Neoproterozoic to earliest Cambrian mafic volcanic rocks of the North Head Formation, Swallow Tail Head. .......................... 23 Figure 18. Volcanic block in argillite mélange, Long Pond Bay Formation, Long Pond Bay.... 23 Figure 19. Volcaniclastic sequence of laminated greyish green siltstone and fine-grained, grey sandstone, Long Pond Bay Formation, Long Pond Bay. ................................ 24 Figure 20. Sedimentary breccia of the Long Pond Bay Formation along Long Pond Bay....... 24 Figure 21. Laminated siltstone of the Long Pond Bay Formation along Long Pond Bay. ....... 25 Figure 22. Open fold in feldspathic sandstone, Long Pond Bay Formation, Long Pond Bay. 25 Figure 23. Amygdaloidal mafic flow of the Long Pond Bay Formation, Wood Island............... 26 Figure 24. Volcaniclastic sandstone, Long Pond Bay Formation, Wood Island. ..................... 26 Figure 25. Arkosic sandstone of the Long Pond Bay Formation, Wood Island. ...................... 26 Figure 26. Basin border fault at Red Point, looking north. ...................................................... 31 Figure 27. Early Mesozoic basins / locations of large tholeiitic dykes and basalt, Bay of Fundy region. .......................................................................................................... 32 Figure 28. Idealized cross-section and correlated stratigraphic columns of the Grand Manan Basin and southern Fundy Basin between Maine and Nova Scotia. .......... 33 Figure 29. Bathymetry of Grand Manan Basin area and topography of surrounding land areas. ...................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 30. Conglomeratic sandstone of the Miller Pond Road Formation. ............................. 37 Figure 31. Mudstone / siltstone of the Dwellys Cove Formation lying beneath columnar basalt of the Southwest Head Member of the Dark Harbour Basalt. ...................... 39 Figure 32. Alternating layers of mudstone and siltstone of the Dwellys Cove Formation to the north of Dark Harbour. Scale bar is 15 cm.................................................... 39 Figure 33. Brick-red sandstone of the Dwellys Cove Formation with vugs containing evaporite minerals north of Dark Harbour............................................................... 40 Figure 34. (a) and (b). Columnar basalt of the Southwest Head Member, Dark Harbour Basalt, Southwest Head. ........................................................................................ 41 Figure 35. Vesicular lava flows of the Seven Days Work Member, Dark Harbour Basalt, Seven Days Work. .................................................................................................. 43 Figure 36. Contact between columnar basalt of the Southwest Head Member and lava flows of the Seven Days Work Member, Dark Harbour Basalt, Whale Cove. ........ 43 Figure 37. Columnar basalt of the Ashburton Head Member, Dark Harbour Basalt, at its type locality on Ashburton Head. ........................................................................... 44 Figure 38. Photomicrographs from the interior of the Lepreau