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GEOLOGY OF THE NELSON AREA

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NELSON AREA

Scale 1:250 000

M.S. RATTENBURY R.A. COOPER M.R. J OHNSTON (COMPILERS)

Institute of Geologica l & N uclear Sciences 1:250000 geological map 9

Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences Limited , New Zealand

1998 BIB LIOG RAPHIC REFEREN CE

Ra ttcnbury, M.S., Cooper. R,A .• Johnston. M.R. (co mpilers) 1998. Geology of the Nelson area. Ins titute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences 1:250000 geological map 9. 1sheet + 67 p. Lower HUll, New Zealand : Instit ute ofOeological & Nuclear Sciences Li mited.

Includes mapping, compilation, and a contribution to the text by S. Nathan. GIS operations by D.W. Heron, M.S. Ranenbury, and l .A. Lyall.

Ediled, designed, and prepared fo r publication by A. M. Sherwood, D.W. Heron and S. Nepe

Printed by Graphic Press & Packaging LId, Levin

ISBN 0-478-09623-2

© Copyright Institute of Geological & uclear Sciences Limited 1998

FRONTCQVER

Nelson City lies in the foothills between the Permian to ofthe Bryant Range (lerl) and the thick Pliocene 10 Quatemary sediments that have been down-faulted to form the Moulere Depression (right). The city area also contains remnants of a successionofEocene to sedimentary rocks. Widespread Mesozoic and Cenozoic faulting , including presently active fau lts of the Wai mca·Flaxmore Syste m. have disrupted the older rocks :md locally influenced the of youn ger sedi ments. The Boulder Bank (right) forms a na tural barrier to Nelson Have n and is one of several promi ne nt barrier spits within the Tas man Bay are

ABSTRACT Permian to Triassic schistose rocks 34 Key words rfrianic melange 36 Torlesse 36 INTRO DUCTION _._.______.. 1 Triassic schistose rocks 37 Late to Early Cretaceous sedimentary THE QMAP SERIES 1 rocks 38 The QMAP geographic infonnation system 1 DoHa sources I CRETACEOUS TO EARLY 38 Reliability I Late Cretaceous to Paleocene sediments 39 Paleocene to sediments 40 REG10NALSElTING 4 to earl iest Miocene sediments 41 Early to Middle Miocene sediments 42 ...... 5 Late Miocene to Pliocene sedimen ts . 44 Moutere Depression . 5 Late Pliocene to early Pleistocene sedi ments 44 Moun tains 5 Structure 45 5 Richmond Range 5 QUATERNARY 46 Farewell Spil 5 Al lu vial terrace and flood plain deposits 46 Boulder Bank 5 deposits 47 5 Marine deposits 47 Sea bed morphology 5 Sand dunes and marine sand deposits 47 Peat and swamp deposits 47 STRA TIGRAPHY _..•• ~ ~•••••••••••..... __.. 8 deposits 48 Deposits of human origin 48 TO 8 Structure 48 Buller terrane 8 Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician OFFSHORE GEOLOGy 48 sedimentary rocks 8 Early to Lale Ordovician sedimentary rocks 8 GEOLOG ICAL RFSOURCFS •••.....•••••_ __ 51 Structure and 9 Takaka terrane I I 51 Middle 10 Late Cambrian sedimenlary 3nd Other metal lic minerals 51 igneous rocks ... . 14 52 L3te C3mbri 3n melange 3nd mct3morphi c roc ks 16 Other non·metallic minerals and rocks .. 54 L3tcsl Cambri3 n to Early Devoni3n sedi mentary Oil and gas .. 55 rocks ...... 17 Ground water 55 Struc ture 3nd metamorph ism 17 ENGINEERING GEOL.OGY 56 Tecto/lie Ilistory 21 Late Devoni3n inlrusive rocks 22 Paleozoic to Mesozoic rocks 56 Tertiary sedimentary rocks 56 TO EARLY Quaternary sediments 56 CRETACEOUS 24 Lale Pennian to Early Triassie sedimentary rocks .. 24 G EOL.OCICAL. I-IA ZARDS 57 Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous intrusive rocks 24 Median T«tonic Zone 26 Landsliding 57 Carboniferous 10 Early Cretaceous intrusive Seismotec:tonic hazard 57 and sedimentary rocks 27 Coastal 58 Brool: Slreet urrane 28 58 Permian volcanic and sedimentary rocks 28 AVAI L.AB IL.lTY OF QMA PDATA 59 Murihiku terrane 29 Triassie sedimentary rocks 29 ACKNOWL.EDGMENTS ~ 59 Dun Moulltain·Maitai terrane 30 Permian ultramafic and mafic igneous roc ks 30 REFERENCFS 60 E3 r1 y Permian to Triassic sedimentary rocks 32 Caples terrane . 34 APPENDIX Permian to Triassic sedimentary roc ks 34 Cambrian stra tigraphy of the T3kaka terrane 67 ABSTRACT , The Nelson 1:250 (XX) geok>gical map CQver.; 11550kin of Ultramafics Group, the Permian mafi c igneous the grealer Nelson land atta and part of Marlborough in Livingstone Volcantcs Group. and the d3StK: sedimentary the northwest ofthc . New Zealand. The area and carbonate rocks of the Middle Permi3n to Early comprises rugged. rea:ntly deglaciated Tasm3n Mountains Triassic Maitai Group. The Patuki Melange marks the in the west and the lower Richmond Range and other tectonic boundary between the Maitai Group and the ranges in tbe east separated by the down-faulted low­ Caples Group of the Caples terrane. The Caples Group lying Moutere Depression. In the southeast. the Wairau is dominated by Permo-Triassic volcaniclastic valley separates the Richmond Ra nge from the southern which becomes increasingly schistose Marl borough mountain ranges. The offshore pan of the to the southeast. The Marl borough Zone Nelson QMAP area is characteri sed by relatively shall ow incorporates the sut ure between the Caples terrane and water depths. the quanzofeldspathic schist ofthe Torlesse terrane. The schi stose component of the Torl esse terrane in The Paleozoic Buller and Takaka terranes, separated by Marlborough is part of the 'rrri assic subterrane. the Amlloki Faull, and plutonic intrusi ve rocks form the separated by th e from the low Early geological basement in the wes tern halfof the map area. Cretaceous Pahau subterrane sandstone and mudstone. The Buller terrane conta ins Ordovician Greenla nd Group and Golden Bay Group me tasedimentary turbidites. A regional unconformity separates Late Cretaceous and extensively intruded by the Late Devonian-Carboni ferous younger rocks from the indu rated basement . Late Suite granitoids and to a lesser extent, the Early Cretaceous to early Eocene sedimentary basins in which Cretaceous Separation Point Suite granitoids.To the east. the thick Pakawau and groups were deposited the lower sequence of the Takaka terrane comprises a developed in the northwest in response to rifting along lower sequence ofCambrian volcanic and volcaniclastic north-trending faults . The late Eocene saw widespread arc·related sedimentary rocks (Devil Volcanics deposition of the generally thinner terrestrial Brunner Group and Group). their metamorphosed Coal Measures and shallow water Kaiata Formation, equivalents (Waingaro Schist). and a prominent melange followed by and calcareous sediments of the unit (Balloon Melange). The overlying upper sequence Nile Group in the Oligocene. Renewed tectonism in the is a Late Cambrian to Early Devonian passive margin Miocene resulled incompressional revenal ofCretaceous succession of clastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks fa ults and inversion of some of the older basins (Mount Patriarch Group. Mount Arthu r Group, Ellis accompanied by widespread deposition of terrigenous Group, and Baton Group). The Takaka terrane has been muddy sediments of the Lower Blue BOllom Group. intruded by the Late Devonian maficJultramafic Muc h of the area was emergent during the late Miocene Complex and Separation Point Suite granitoids. The and Pliocene with depositionconfined to localised basins. Takaka terrane is struct ura ll y complex, compri si ng a Rapid upl ift ofthe Southern Alps and num ber of fault slices exhibiting varying amounts of in the Plio-Pleistocene resulted in substantial vo lu mes layer-parallel thrust im brica tio n. subsequent fo ldi ng. and of gravels being deposited. incl udi ng the volu minous strike-slip fa ulling. The Buller and Takaka terranes were Moutere Gravel no w preserved in the Moutere amalgamated to form the Tuhua terrane in the Early­ Depression. Middle Devonian. Numerous outwash gravels and marine incursions The eastern basement comprises the Median Tectonic occurred between and during the Pleistocene glaciations Zone and the Brook Street, Murihiku, Dun Mountain­ followed by extensive postglacial alluvial and marine Maitai, Caples. and Torlesse terranes. The Median deposition in the Holocene. Continuing tectonism from Tectonic Zone. which underlies much of the Moutere the Pacific- plate convergence has resulted in Depression. is dominated by Jurassic to Cretaceous the mountainous topography. Active faults include the igneous suites including Ihe ROioroo Complex and the Alpine Fault in the Wairau valley, and the faults of the Tasman Intrusives Group, but contains a number of Waimea·Aaxmore Fault Sy~em along theeastem margin possible sedimenlary and metamorphic terrane remnants of the Moutere Depression. as old as Carboniferous. The Brook Street terrane is a Pennian calc-alkaline, predominantly andesitic volcanic Resources currently being extracted include aggregate. suite (Brook Street Volcanics Group). now in fault contact clay, limestone. dolomite, and building ~one . Bituminous to the east with Middle-Late Triassic volca niclastic rocks coal from the northern end of the Bu ll er Coalfield has ofthe Richmond Group ofthe Murihiku terrane. Fanher been mined near Mil lerton and Stoc kton and large east. also in faul t contact, is the Dun Mountain- Maitai worki ng mines occur immediately south of Ihe Nelson terrane containing an extensively faulted sequence ofthe QMAP area. Metallic mi nerals includi ng copper, gold, Early Permian mafic/ultramafic igneous Dun Mounta in chro miu m, molybdenum, iron. lead, zi nc. nickel, , and tungs ten are present and have been evaluated or Natural hazards include slope instability in all groups of mined in the ~t. but onl y small allu vial goldopc:ralions rod.s. paJliculaJly l.h~ that ale soft. very shattered and! are presently active. Hydrocartxln exploration has taken or crushed. or are well foliated. SeisrnoteclOnic hazards place offshore and onshore. include ground shaking from and surface rupture on local faults. as well as -induced landsliding. Erosion. flooding. and tsunami constitute additional hazards. partic ularly in low-lyi ng areas.

KEYWORDS

Nelson; 1:250 000 geological map; geographic information system; digital data; Buller terrane; Takaka terrane; Tuhua terrane; Brook Street terrane; Murihiku terrane; Dun Mountain-Maitai terrane; GapIes terrane; Torlesse terrane; Rakaia subterrane; Pahau subterrane; Median Tectonic Zone; Dun Mountain Belt; Group; Golden Bay Group; Devil River Volcanics Group; Haupiri Group; Balloon Melange; Waingaro Schist Zone; Mount Patriarch Group; Mount Arthur Group; Ellis Group; Baton Group; Karamea Suite; Riwaka Complex; Parapara Group; Pepin Group; Rotoroa Complex; Tasman Intrusives Group; Drumduan Group; Brook Street Volcanics Group; Richmond Group; Dun Mountain Ultramafics Group; Livingstone Volcanics Group; Maitai Group; Caples Group; Patuki Melange; Croisilles Melange;Torlesse Supergroup; Separation Point Suite; Rahu Suite; Pakawau Group; Kapuni Group; Rapahoe Group; Jenkins Group; Nile Group; Lower Blue Bottom Group; Upper Blue Bottom Group; Old Man Group; Tadmor Group; Junction Formation; Brunner Coal Measures; Kaiata Formation; Greenland tectonic event; Fault Zone; Kongahu Fault Zone; Glasgow Fault; White Creek Fault; Wakamarama Fault; Fenella Fault Zone; Anatoki Fault; Haupiri Thrust; Cobb Thrust; Devil River Fault; Karamea Fault; Pikikiruna Fault; Surville Fault; Waimea-Flaxmore Fault System; Waimea Fault; Heslington Fault; Eighty Eight Fault; Bishopdale Fault; Flaxmore Fault; Whangamoa Fault; Delaware-Speargrass Fault Zone;Queen Charlotte Fault Zone; Northbank Fault; Alpine Fault; Boundary Syf1Cline; Reding Syncline; Pakawau Basin; Murchison Basin; Basin; Paparoa Trough; Buller Coalfield ; Collingwood Coalfield;Takaka Coalfield; Nelson-Richmond CoalflE!ld; resources; gold;chromile; copper; lead; Zif1C; nickel; platinum; silver; tungsten;coal;dolomite;marble; serpentine; hydrocarbons; ; engineering geology; natural hazards; ; active faults; earthquakes; Murchison earthquake; Inangahua earthquake 170· E : 17S'E. · '% ' "'0 ; ~: ~_. __ ---Q>~ --- -.-- ••-.---..-- ..-"t -••_.------_.._------.. _-- .._------. .. -._. -'" -- ~:_~ 'Q ~ : Wha ~ "-'<$> "l:t, : <9<;> ; , '\ iJ'0 , ) , , Auddand , , , ·, I ·, Challenger ; Taranaki .. Plateau ; Basin · _~~-.~ _._._. ._. _.__ ._. __ .__ . ·r_--.- -- .------. , ,

, Pacific . ., Plate , ,, , ! , ,

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~1 0'0'1 r Bounty ...... Trough : · 2000 I · ':...._.::".:::...._.::...... , ·, i · ·• , ,· 170- E: 115- E: 1SO- E! I

Figure 1 Regional setting 01New Zealand, showing the area 01the Nelsoo sheet and other QMAP sheets. Major ective laults and balhymetric features (as illustrated by the 2000 m Isobath). are shown with arrows indicating the direction and rale 01convergence ol ltla relative to ItIa Australian Plate . Adapted trom Anderson & Webb (1994). INTRODUCTION

THE QMAP SERI ES dalabasedeveloped and mai ntained by GNS. The primary software used is ARC/INFO·. This geological map of the Nelson area (Fig. I) is the Digital topographic data were purchased from Land third of the new national QMAP (Quarter-million map; Information New Zealand and its predecessor the Nathan 1993) series being produced by the Institute of Department of Survey and Land Informati on. The QMAP Geological & Nuclear Sciences Ltd (ONS). QMAP database is complementary to. and can be used in supersedes the current Geological Map of New Zealand conj unction wi th. other spatia ll y referenced GNS digital (GMNZ) 1:250 000("four miles to the inch") series. The data sets, e.g. gravity and magnetic surveys. mineral fo ur GMNZ sheets Golden Bay (Grindley 196 1). resources and localities, localities, active faults. and (Lensen 1962), Buller (Bowen 1964), and petrological samples. Marlborough (Beck 1964) which overlap with the Nelson QMAP area were published between 1961 and 1964. The QMAP seri es and database are based on detailed Si nce then, concepts of , terranes and geological information ploltcd on 1: 50 000 topographic sequencestratigra phy have developed. and there has been base maps. These data record sheets are avai lable for considerable detailed geological and geophys ical consultation at GNS offices in Lower Hult and . mapping by government, un iversity, crown research The 1: 50000 data have been simpl ified for digitising institute, and industry geologists, both onshore and during a compilation stage, wi th the linework smoothed, offshore. The requirement forgeological information has and geological uni ts amalgamated to a Slandard national also expanded as a result of the Resource Management system based on age and lithology. Point data (e.g. Act, increasing demands on geological resources, a new structural measurements) have not been simplified. All ed ucational syllabus, and greater awareness of natural point data are stored in the GIS. but only selected hazards and their mitigation. representative structural observations are shown on the map. Procedures for map compilation, and dctails of data The geology ofthe Nelson QMAP area is in many places storage and manipulation techniques are given by very complex and has necessitated considerable Raltenbury & Heron (1997). si mplificati on to enable the geology to be legibly presented at 1:250000 scale. Rock uni ts are mapped Data sources primaril y in terms of their age of deposition, eruption. or intrusion. As a consequence, the colour of the units The map and texi have been compiled from published on the map face refl ects their age. with overprints used maps and papers, unpublished university theses, GNS to differentiate some lithologies. Leiter symbols (in upper technical and map fi les. company reports, fie ld case. wi th a lower case prefix to indicate early, middle tri p guides, the New Zealand Fossi l Record file in its or late if appropriate) indicate the predominant age of digital form (FRED), and GNS geological resources unit. The last lowercase letteror lettcrs indicates (GERM) and petrological (PET) digital data bases (Fig. a formall y named lithostratigraph ic unit and/or the 2). Additional fie ld mapping has been undertaken to predominant lithology. Mctamorphic rocks are mapped ensure a minimum level of coverage over the map area. in term s of age of protolith (w here known), with Landslides were mapped from aerial photos. with limited overprints indicating degree of metamorphism. Age field checking. Offshore data have been compiled from subdi vision is in terms of the international time scale. published stud ies of Ihe West Coast and the Correlati on between international and local ti me scales Taranaki Basi n (Nathan & others 1986. King & Thrasher and absolute ages in millions of years (Ma), revised as 1996). Data sources used in map compilation have been necessary for QMAP (Crampton & others 1995), is collated (Fig. 2), and are cited with other studies shown inside the front cover. perta ining to the Nelson QMAP area in the References section. Theaccompanyi ngtext is generalised and is not intended to be an exhausti ve description ofthe various rock units Reliability mapped. For more detailed inform ation the reader is referred to refcrences cited th roughout the text. As a result ofthecompi lalion and simplification process. the accuracy with which geological contacts. faults, and T he QMAP geogr-aphic infor-mation system folds are shown on the 1:250000 map has diminished, although point da ta are accurately located in terms ofthe The QMAP series uses computer methods to store, NZMS 260 grid; the unpublished 1:50000 data record man ipulate and present topographic and geological maps have a higher standard of detail and accuracy. The information. The maps are drawn from data stored in 1:250 000 map is of regional scale only , and should not the QMAP geographic information system (GIS). a be used alone for land use planning, planning or design /~ . -

L~ ...•...... "'\...... o! \ --;;;;t:---' Ii . I. I"! ;i ":.,: I ~ r 11 I: <--_r- I'.t, ... ../~~-'=...,jLJl}I 'ii -.-.-:: : :1~ .. ".._.._f-_." _..__._.....,.. • if !, , I I o j "

Publllled geoIogicaIlIIIplI (1:63 360) ~~ {1:2!1 IlaIantyne & Hay 1980 Bishop 1968a 8e<:k 1964 Bowen 1964 6aIarrtyne & others 1971 Bishop 1971 Barnes 1982 Coleman 1981 Grindley 1961 lensen 1962 Gm1iey 1971 foster 1971a Gri'dey """'"' ".. 1980 _.. Foster 1971b PuIlIIIIId geoIDglcIIl'MpI (l :50 lIlIlI) foster 1971e Anltews &Oltlets 1979 GIM" 1981 Johnslon 19111 ..... '985 1Oy'- _,982b_"a" lOy'''''Hay 1981 _'103 Mc:CleIarII1973 _'103 5aMns 1911 1 -"_ '996.. Tlltd19n I'\lIlItII'MIIt buIelIn 1IlIIJl'I1:63 3&0) PubIItled ...... Illd /IIOllClll'1lflM Cooper 1979b Jongens 1997 BisIIIp 1!I68b Leask 19n Brnh & D3IIIler 1934 ""'968 KiIg & Tlnshef 1996 Henderson &olhers 1959 Lemen 1976 Morpl & Bartrurn '915 l""'"Mclml994 Mortimer 19933 Webb 1910 MIJIlkef 1993 Nathan &Olhers 1986 Neell981 ""'""."Stewar11988 ""'" "..

Figure 2 SoLn:es of ge01ogicai data used in oompilillQ the Nelson map. Unpubished maps are held in the map archive of Ihe It'lstitU:e of Ge01ogicaI & Nuclear Sdences. Gface&eld. lower HIAL

2 Ow ~o z~ h'w I z

I ~ II I~Hiii E ~ g i ~~ I ~ H

Figure 3 Basement rocks subdivided Into teclonostratlgraphic terranes lor southern New Zealand and the Nelson area. Adapted lrom Cooper (1989), Mortimer (1993a, 1993bj, Mortimer & others (1997), Mortimer & Tulloch (1996).

3 ofengineering projects. earthquake ri sk assessment, or Marlborough Faull System in the plate boundary woe other work for- which detailed sile investigations arc with the Pacific Plate. 1bc plate boundary is strike-slip necessary. Some data sets incorporated wi th lhe through lhe Nelson QMAP area and lacks the effects of geological dala (for e,umple the geological resources recent conver-genee seen in the western South Island and map ofNew Zealand [GERM) dala) have been compiled eastern . from old or unehecked information of lesser reliability (see Christie 1989). Geologicall y the basement rocks of New Zealand are divided into Western and Eastern provinces that are REGIONAL SEITING separated by the Carboniferous-Cretaceous Med ian Tectonic Zone (MTl). Both provinces are subdi vided The Nelson 1:250 (l))goologlcal nuparea covers 11 SSO Jan2 into fault-bounded, north-trending, tectonostratigraphic ofthe northwest South Island including Nelson City and terranes (Fig. 3). In the Nelson QMAP area. the Western parts of the Buller. Tasman and Marlborough districts. Province includes the Ordovician Buller terrane and the Nelson Ci ty (pop. 40 000) is lhe largest urban centre in Cambrian-Devonian Takaka terrane. Th e Eastern the area, and other principal towns include Richmond. Province terranes are. from west to east: the Permian Wakefield, and Takaka.Smaller seulements on Broo k Street terrane. the Triassic Murihiku terrane, the the West Coast include Karamea and . The major Permian-Triassic Dun Mountai n-Maitai terrane, the land uses are dairy, sheep, and cattle farming, horticulture, Permian-Triassic Caples terrane. and the Triassic­ and exocic forestry. Coal mining is a large industry on Crelaceous Torlesse terrane (including the Rakaia and the West Coast. Much of the map area is Crown Land Pahau subterranes). The largely Devonian Karamea administered by the Department of Conservation intrudes the Buller terrane. and the Cretaceous including Kahurangi and national parks. Separation Point Batholith intrudes the Takaka terrane. and Mount Richmond Park. The area is considered 10 have been a marginal part of the supercontinent prior to rifting during the The Nelson QMAP area is adjacent to the active plate formation of the which began in the Late boundary (Fig. I) which passes lhrough the West Coast Cretaceous. A number of sedimentary basins developed oflhe South Island into Marlborough and the Hikurangi during the LateCretaceous-Miocene, most ofwhich were Trough off lhe East Coast of the North Island. Most of subsequently uplifted along a series of faults during the lhe Nelson QMAP area is pan of the Australian Plate; onset of convergence across the plate boundary in the the rocks southeast of the Alpine Faull lie within the Miocene.

rASMANlUr

Figure 4 Hitl-shaded topographic relief model of the Nelson map area derived fJom digital contour data supplied by UNZ. The elevaled and rugged Tasman Mountains (west) and the Richmond and other fanges (east) contrast with the lntBMlnlog lower and subdued Moutere Depression, and the WaJrau Valley In the southeast. Remnants of the Lala Cretaceous to mld·Tertia"! Bfosion surface and sediments,,! sequeoces of this age are shown in a yellow overprint.

4 GEOMORPIIOLOGY Richmond Range

Moutere Depr~ioD The Richmo nd. Bryant. and Gordon ranges form a triangular wedge of mountains bounded by the Moutere A 30 kIn-wide system of valleys between the Tasman Depression and the active Waimea-Flaxmore Fault Mountains and lhe ranges of east Nelson form the System to the west, to the south by the Alpine Fault. and Moutere Depression (Fig. 4). The depression is fault­ to the northeast by the subsiding . bounded to the east by the northeasHrending Waimea­ The ranges culminate in Red Hill (1790 m) and Mt Aaxffiore Fault System. Voluminous Plio-Pleistocene Richmond ( 1756 m) which have relatively s imple gravels preserved in the depression have been incised by drainage patte rns dominated by the Pelorus River the Motueka. Moutere. and Waimea ri vers (Fig. 5). catchment. Geophysical interpretation ofseismic dala and petroleum wells ind icates the depression reaches depths of 2500 m Farewell (Lihou 1992). The depression formed in the Pliocene­ Pleistocene during uplift of the Tasman Mountains and is formed fro m dune sands and beach sands the east Nelson ranges. acti vely extending eastward in a 25 km-Iong arc from Cape Farewell (Fig. 9). Spectacular mobile dunes up to Tasman Mountains 22 m high are a feature ofsome parts of Ihe spit. The spit has formed as a result ofnorthward transport ofsediment The Tasman Mountains of Northwest Nelson rise to along the West Coast. Farewell Spit is subject to frequent approximately concordant summits between 1600 and storm erosion from the northern, Tasman Sea side. 1875 m (Mt Owen) with the surface defined by these summits dipping gently to the west and less so to the Boulder Bank north. The surface may be close to the early Tertiary erosion surface which probably levelled the pre-Tertiary Another barrier spit of note is the 13.5 km-Iong Boulder rocks of the Northwest Nelson area (Nathan & others Bank which encloses Nelson Haven. The bank is 1986). Exhumed remnants of the erosion surface occur composed ofgranodiorite pebbles and boulders up to 0.8 at Gouland. Mackay. and Gunner downs (Fig. 6) well as m diameter. The boulders originate fro m Glencluan to as lhe southeastern slopes of the lower Aorere valley. the northeast and decrease in size and become more and below Tertiary sequences such as in the Matiri Range rounded towards lhe south western tip of the spit. area and the Ml Anhur Tableland (Fig. 4). Lak", The Tasman Mountains wereextensively glaciated during the Pleislocene and many of lhe larger valleys retain the Lakes are not a conspicuous feature of the Nelson map classic glacial "U" shape with hanging valley tributaries area although glacial tarns are widespread in the Tasman and headwall (Fig. 7). The mountains are now incised Mountains. The largest of these is the 67 ha Boulder . by a complex drainage system dominated by the Karamea The damming ofthe Cobb River for electric it y generation River catchme nt. The course of the upper Karamea Ri ver has formed a 6.5 km long reservoir on the site of a former and its Leslie River tributary have been influenced by glacial lake. In the Ri chmond Range. a large landslide Late Cenozoic movement on the Karamea Fault. Recent has fonned the 2 km-Iong Lake Chalice. and numerous movement on the Pikikiruna Fault and the Wakamarama small lakes in the Tasman Mountains formed as a result Fault have s imilarly influenced Late Cenozoic of s lope failure damming during the 1929 sedimentation and geomorphology in the Takaka and Murchison earthquake (Fig. 7). Aorere valleys respectively. The numerous Paleozoic faults are commonly expressed as a series of low saddles Sea bed morphology on ridges due to erosion of weaker fault rocks formed either during Paleozoic deformati on or Late Cenozoic The offshore Nelson QMAP area eastward from Farewell fault reactivation. Spit and across Tasman Bay is characterised by a relatively s hallow ( less than 70 m depth), gently Wairau valley undulating sea floor. The conti nental shelfoffthe western coast has a steeper gradient and deepens to 250 m within The ENE-trending Wairau valley separates the Ri chmond the map area. The Kahurangi Shoals up to 15 Ian offshore Range from the mountai ns ofsouthern Marlborough. The from are relatively shallow (30..50 m linearity of the valley is influenced by the Alpi ne Fault depth). The dominates the sea bed whose active trace is mapped over much of the valley's physiography further offshore beyond the Nelson QMAP length (Fig. 8). area.

5 Figure 5 The Moutere valley, drafing north towards Motueka. is part of the Moutere Depression which formed in the Plio-Pleistocene after the deposition of huge volumes of -derived Moulere Gravel predor'ninattty "om the Southern Alps and Spenser MOIStains. Ther.ear valleys and ridges,with regWlty spaced tributaries , ale 8 typical geomorphic expression of the Moutere Gravel. Photo: CN25!195 D.L. Homer

FIgure 6 The Mackay Downs (foreground) and Gouland Downs Oell background) are the exhumed remnants of the Late Cretaceous to mid-Tertiary erosion surface Whlch probably covered much of the west Nelson area Including the Tasman Mountains shown in the far distance. The Mackay Downs and much of the Gouland Downs are underlain by Devonian Karamea Suite granlle. The Is CUI by numerous faulls and persistent regional joint sets have created a mesh-like topographic pallern. Photo: CN25888 D.L. Homer

6 Figure 7 Glacial features such as "U-shaped" and hanging valleys are common In the western Tasman Mountains, shown here from McNabb Creek , a tributary of the Ugly River. The valley and the Grindley Ridge (centre) are comprised of Karamea Suite granite which dominates the basement geology to the Karamea plains inthe far distance. The small unnamed lake in Ihe loreground lormed as a result 01 a landslide caused by the 1929 Murchison earthquake. Photo: CN25648 D.L. Homer

FIgure 8 The Wairau valley in Marlborough lollows the trace of the active Alpine Fault. Extensive alluvial gravels have 1011l1&d from the glacial outwashes towards the head 01the valley. Photo: CN26058 D.L. Homer

Figure 9 The arcuate 25 km-Iong Farewe ll Spit Is the largest of many sand spits and tombolos which have formed in the Tasman Bay and Golden Bay due to longshore curre nts. Farewell Spit comprises fixed and mobile dunes with swamp deposits on the Golden Bay side. The early Tertiary Farewell Formation and overlying Nile Group are exposed in the lore ground cliffs near the fold crest ollhe Pakawau Anticline. Photo: CN24252 D.L. Homer

7 STRATIGRAPHY

The rocks of the Nelson QMAP area are described in Australia and . fonned the southwest Pacific terms of four major time intervals: segment ofGondwanaland in the early Paleozoic. These terranes show strong affinities with terranes in eastern • Cambrian 10 Devonian basement rocks of west Australia and Antarctica (Cooper & Grindley 1982, Nelson Grindley & Davey 1982, Cooper & Tulloch 1992). • Carboniferous to Early Cretaceous basemen! rocks largely in east Nelson Bullu ttfTtlnt • Lale Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimeOiary rocks • Quaternary sediments AIl rocks older than Middle Devonian that lie to the west of the Anatoki Fault or its inferred extension comprise The suatigraphic relationships between various the Buller terrane (Fig. 3). In the Nelson map area. the sedimentary sequences and igneous suites are being great bulk of the sedimentary sequence is made up of increasingly constrained by radiometric dating. The basal Ordovician. -derived. quartz-rich dating techniques applied include K-Ar, U-Pb. «JAr!At turbidites of the Greenland Group which are also the and fission track analysis.There iscurrenl1y someconfliet oldest rocks of the terrane. Together with the overlying between ages derived from the two techniques usually black shale. si ltstone and quartz sandstone oflhe Golden used todclennine U-Pb ages ofzircon. The conventional BayGroup. they represent an almost unbroken sequence whole zircon technique (bulk or single crystal isotope through the Early and Middle Ordovician with a dilution TIMS) offers more analytical precision whereas composite thickness of at least 9000 m. the ion microprobe method (SHRIMP) can be used for Late Cambrian to Early Ordovkian sedimentary specific crystals or parts ofcrystals. In theearly Paleowic rocks the SHRIMP dales are consistently younger than the isotope dilution (TIMS) dates on the same rocks (Tucker To the west of th e north-trending Karamea Batholith, & McKerrow 19(5). In the Devonian--<:arboniferoos the SHRIMP dates are generally older than the rIMS dates. undifferentiated Greenland Group (Sg) rocks comprise This text reports ages from both methcxls where applied a th ick (5000 m+) pile ofindurated, well bedded, quartz­ to the same group of rocks. muscovite turbidites. The beds are dominated by graded sa ndstone, siltstone and mudstone and represent a CAMBRIAN TO DEVONIAN submarine-fan deposi tional environment (Laird 1972). The rocks have characteri stically low Nap~O rati os Early Paleozoic rocks form two north-trending terranes (Laird 1972 , Laird & Shelley 1974, Nathan 1977). - the Buller and Takaka terranes (Figs 3 & 10), separated Graptolites from a si ngle locality near , 50 km to by the Anatoki Fault (B ishop & others 1985, Cooper the south of the Nelson QMAP area, indicate a basal 1989). Rocks of the Buller terrane occur widely in the Ordovician (La2 Zone) age (Cooper 1974). A Rb-Sr whole western part of the Nelson QMAP area and throughout rock isochrongives a similarageof495± 11 Ma (Adams Westland.The Takaka terrane is concealed underyounger & others 1975). sedimentary rocks south of Mt Owen and re-emerges in a small area near . In the two The group is subdi vided east of the Karamea Batholith terranes ha ve been recognised and mapped by Ward into the Roaring Laon and Webb formations (Sgr;Bishop (1980.1984) in Dusky .They are inferred toextend 1968a, Grindley 1980) respectively south and north ofthe offshore to the north beneath the Challenger Plateau, and Wakamarama Fault (Figs 11 & 12). to the sou th beneath th e Campbell Plateau (Cooper 1989, Beggs & others 1990. Mortimer & others 1991). Buller Early to Late Ordovician sed imentary rocks terrane rocks have been intersected in offshore wells: In the Wakamarama Range. Greenland Group passes Haku-1 southwest of Karamea (Wodzicki 1974). and in conformably up into the Golden Bay Group. The base of Hoihoi and Kawau-IA on Campbell Plateau (Watters the Golden BayGroup is composed mainly ofquartzite, 1977, 1978). The terranes have boen most intensively quartz sandstone and black siliceous shale ofthe Aorangi studied in the Nelson map area, particularly in the area that includes the Cobb and upper Takaka rivers. They Mine Formation (9ba, Fig. 13). Theoverlying turbidite have boen described by Cooper (1989) and reviewed by quartz sandstone. siltstone and black shale are mapped Cooper & Tulloch (1992). as Leslie and Slaty Creek formations (Bbl). Douglas and Peel fonnations (8be1: Grindley 1971. 1980) at the The Buller and Takaka terranes are the oldest structural top ofthe GokIen Bay Group are oomposed ofrhythmically units in New Zealand and can be regarded as constituting bedded, fine-grained sandstone and quartzite. The "proto-New Zealand" which, together with eastern quartzite comroonlydefines complex tight folds.

8 TU H UA T E RR A NE

KarameaSuite ~ --Te rr a ne amalga m ati o n

Golden Bay Group

Greenland Group

BU L L ER TERRANE

Middle Cambrian

I Junction Fm· 1

TAKAKA Terrane affinities TERRANE uncertain

Agura 10 Major rock units of the Buller and Takaka terranes of west Nelson region showing various tectonic events which have affected the terranes. The Tuhua terrane formed by the amalgamation of the Buller and Takaka terranes, probably duri ng the Early to Middle Devonian, followed by intrusion of the Karamea Suite and the Riwaka Complex.

Graptoli tes are present in black shale th roughout the northeasl-trending, steeply dipping axial planes, a well Golden Bay Group (Fig. 14) and range in age fro m early developed cleavage and low grade (low greenschi st Early Ordovician (La 2 Zone) to early Late Ordovician facies) metamorphism (Fig. 13). The folding occurred (Gil Zone; Cooper 1979b). The pelagic Aorangi Mine during the Greenland tectonic event (Cooper 1989). An Formation represents a sta rved basin depositional earlier phase of recumbent folding has been inferred at envi ronment (Cooper 1979b) and contains abundant several locali ties (Bishop 1968b, Cooper 1979b). The pyrite. Greenland tectonic event is poorly constrained in age; it pre-dates emplacement of the Kara mea Batholith and Between Mount Olympus and the Aorere Valley, the appears to pre-date the Early Devonian Reefton Group. formations of the Golden Bay Group are metamorphosed Cleavage formati on is infe rred, from KJAr whole rock to dark pelitic schist (Bay Schist ebb), containi ngquartz­ dates of pe litic rocks, to have begun in the Late muscovite-chlorite and quartz-bioti te. Some large rafts Ordovician or Si lurian (Adams & others 1975). The of high grade, hornfelsed metasedi mentary rock (8 a) Boundary Syncl ine is a tight fold that ex tends from within the Karamea Batholith ha ve probably been Paturau River south at least as far as Leslie River, has an detached from Buller terrane rocks during intrusion of east dipping axial plane and an overturned eastern li mb. the granite. The best known example ofone ofthese rafts The fold lies along the western boundary of the terrane occurs at the north end of the Radiant Range where a and may be related to thrust movement on the Anatoki large, Cu-Mo mine ralised, gnessic e ncla ve of Fault. metasedi menlary rock is surrounded by Karamea Suite grani te. The Fenella Fault Zone (8fT) is a major zone offolding and faul ting that extends thro ughout the Buller terrane Structure and metamorphism rocks of the Nelson QMAP area (Cooper 1989). It is generall y structurally concordant with the regional stri ke The Ordovician rocks are folded throughout the terrane and contai ns tight, steepl y plungi ng fo lds in strongly in Northwest Nelson with generall y northwes t to sheared qua rtzite, sandstone, si ltstone and li mestone

9 Figure 11 Typical well bedded sandstone-dominated beds of the Roaring Uon Formation (Greenland GrOl4l) near lake Cobb. The steeply dipping. moderately well developed deavage formed during widespread open to tight folding of these beds.

FIgure 12 Sandstone beds of Roaring Uon Formation that have been deformed and contact metamorphosed by the nearby Separation Point Suite granodiorite pluton in the Spey River (M26I598236).

FIgure 13 Quartzite bands within the Aorangi Mine Formation folded into a genlly north-plunging synformal structure on the southern edge of the Gouland Downs.

derived from the Aorangi Mine and Slaty Creek rare slivers of graptolite-bearing black shale that can be formations. In the north, in the Wakamarama Range, it traced to the Mount Patriarch area. Similarly folded and is probably represented by the Conns Creek shear zone faulted quartzite, at a similar stratigraphic level and of Cooper (1979b). To the south, the Aorangi Mine and structural position, has been mapped at Dusky Sound in lower part ofSlaty Creek formations become tectonicall y Fiordland (Ward 1980). The zone appears to mark a major pinched out against the zone. South of Mount Olympus, zo ne of stratigraphic excision but its tectonic origin is these uni ts are reduced to two or three tightly fo lded obscure. discontinuous bands and slivers ofquartzite (Fig. 15) and

10 (Cambrian) and pass ive margin-related (Cambrian 10 Devon;an) depositional environments respeclively (Mlinker & Cooper 1995. Roser & others 1996). The arc-related sequence is largely confined to the western part of the terrane, between the Anatoki Fault and Devil River Fault (the Central Sedimentary Belt of Cooper 1979a) and principally comprises the Haupiri Group and Devi l River Vo lcanics Group. The pass ive margin sequence is composed of the Mount Patriarch. Mount Arthur and Ellis groups (Fig. 10) and is best developed in the eastern part of the terrane (Eastern Sedimentary Belt of Cooper 1979a). Near Springs Junction, to the south of the Nelson QMAP area. the passive margin sequence o verlies the sequence with structural concordance but it separated from it by a detachment fault (R.A. Cooper unpublished data).

The Takaka terrane has been extensively disrupted by faultin g. It is now preserved in a series of generally north­ trending fault-bounded slices (Fig. 16), each of which has a di stinct stratigraphy. In the western part of the terrane, 11 fault slices are recognised. Facies conlrasts between rocks of the different faull slices. particularly Figure 14 The age of the Aorangi Mine Formation is well coostrained by graptolite faunas ranging from Early to late those of the Cambrian arc-related part of the sequence, Ordovician. The prominent graptolite is Isograptus caduceus suggest stratigraphic complexities with lateral facies maximodivergens with numerous other smailElI' didymograptids. changes and intertonguing of volcanic and sedimentary rocks (Fig. 17). In the eastern part of the Takaka terrane. Takaka terrane fewer fault slices are present but lateral facies changes in Ordovician and Silurian Slrata are apparent. The fault In contrast to the Buller terrane, the Takaka terrane (Fig. slices therefore appear to have juxtaposed parts of the 3) contains a wide variety ofrock types and is structurally sequence, that were originally some distance apart, by complex. At least IWO major depositional cycles are imbricate thrust stacking and/o r by transcurrent present and are inferred to represent volcanic arc-related displacement.

Figure 15 Quartzite bandSon the Peel Range which form pari of the Fenella Fault Zone separating leslie Formation to the east Oeft) from the older Roaring Uon Formation to the west (right). Photo: CN25717 D.L. Homer

11 BUUER "'TERRANE~.~''''------TAKAKA TERRANE ------..

1 D/ • =<

, -=, ,-•

CJ ~Pl:*'II So.-. CJ CrowG

Mynon laollllliee

Anatoki tault IIliee

- Patriarch laull llliee - waingaro lat.« Ilice - Lod

Figure 16 Structural slices 01 the Takaka terrane between the Anatoki and Wangapeka rivers (cenozoic cover removed). The structural slices are lault·bo!Jnded and separate related yet distinct strallgraphlc sequences and lacies changes. Figures in circles refer to local stratigraphic sequences shown In Fig. 17 stratigraphy.

12 •,~- • . i • -~ • H'fI1l8WY:l lM~nool" "a ,,~ f I, J I ~ t . 1 , i i 0- •" * II 0- "'0 0- , ' i • • ~ •a E ~ 0:- , , <•, > "I ~ , 0 0 •E • ~ i i . ~ 0 J?2 ~ 0 ~ I •a '". ~ i E~ • c ' ,~ I 0 * * ~ I * h •~ E i0 i ~ •$ - ~

•0 ~ 0 ffil 0 ,; ~ i ill!* !!! .!=! • •0 .~ 00 •• o. ••E. :5~ g. iS~ ~E -< 0< -0 ao h l::! ";;; oD a, 0- 8. ~ o. 8~ , "iii .0 §t .~ ~E !!!9,. u8 ~i 0 E~ i· 0" 0 ., ~ ~ ,gi .< • 0 . 01 ";;; ~m &~ ~ - -. gt !:: 0 0 0.:." - lJ

Figure ' 7 Gambfian stratigraphic COfreiations across the Takaka terrane, showing inferred facies relationships between and within the Devil Rivef Volcanics Group and the Haupiri Group. The location 01 the sequences is shown in Fig. 16.The rock units have been coded to match the unit labels on the main map except lor some further subdivision as indicated in Appendix 1. Based largely on unpublished wor\( by Munker & Cooper.

13 displacement. Mclean 1994) containingdasts of chert. sandstone and Maddie to LaIeCambrian sedimentary and igneous vokank rock. 1beronglomer.lle is considered tooccupy ,oe'" a stratigraphic position near the middle or lower part of theTasman Formation. In the Heath-Salisbury fault slice. Turbiditic feldspathic and lithic sandstone. siltstone and polymict matrix-rich volcaniclastic conglomerate, debris flow conglomerate of the Junction Formation sandstone and s iltstone of Undillan (late Middle (€ gj, Fig. 18) occur withi n the Junction and Anatoki fault Cambrian) age is mapped as Salisbury Conglomerate slices (Fig. 16). Highly strained from a single (€hs. following Pound 1993a). Clasts include chert, locality indicate a probable Middle Cambrian age (RA sandstone, some igneous rocks derived from Matalc.i Cooper unpublished data). The formation is inferred to Volcanics. and rare gabbro. pre-date adjacent rocks of the Haupiri Group in which it is thought to be represented as detritus (Pound 1993a). In the Waingaro fault slice. the Haupiri Group is represented mainly by graded and channelled sandstone. The oldest rocks dated by in the Takaka terrane. at least 800 m thick. o f the Mount StIlSO n Sandstone and in New Zealand. are found within the Haupiri G roup (€ hl). 1be Mount Benson Sandstone is interpreted as a (€ b), which is here restricted to the sedimentary part of proximal equivalent of the Tasman Formation (MUnker the -sedimentary Haupiri Group o f Grindley & Cooper 1995). Boomerangian to Mindyallan (latest (197 1, 1980; Appendix). The rocks are calcareous Middle Cambrian) brachiopods (MacKinnon 1983) date siltstone and conglomerate known informall y as the the youngest beds. Fine-grained sandstone and siltstone. Heath Creek beds. whic h contain tri lobites of probable at least 360 m thic k, of the Peel Formation (€ht) is Floran (earl y Middle Cambrian) age. They are confi ned interpreted to be a lateral equivalent of the Lockett to a small area in the Heath-Salisbury fault slice (Fig. Conglomerate. 17) where they are interlayered with Benson Volcanics. In the Anatoki fault slice unfossiliferous turbidite granule Theclearest. and fullest developmentof the Haupiri Group conglomerate, sandstoneand siltstone. previously mapped is in the Lockett fault slice (Fig. 17). Laminated siliceous as Anatoki Formation (Grindley 1971 , 1980), are here si ltsto ne and fine-grained sandstone with lenses of mapped as undifferentiated Haupiri Group. To the north limestone and debris-now conglomerate form the of Aorere River these rocks have been metamorphosed Tasman Fonnatton (€ ht)(Figs 19&20). and toquartz-albite±hornblende±biotitet muscovite inarticulatehrachiopod faunas at several horizons indicate ±Chloritdgarnet schist. amphibolite and metasandstone an Undillan (Middle Cambrian) age for the lower part. of the Wakamarama Schist (€ pw). and a Boomerangian (late Middle Cambrian) age for the upper part. Allochthonous olistolithic limestone lenses The: Devil RiveI' Volca nics G roup (€d ) includes all contain ri ch trilobite (Cooper 197930). brachiopod volcanic and plutonic rocks of Cambri an to early ( Henderson & Mac Kinno n 198 1) and mollusc Ordovician age, previously included by Gri ndley (1971, (MacKinnon 1982. 1983) faunas. Theoverly ing Lockelt 1980) in the Haupiri Group. Volcanic rocks a re Conglomerate (€hl) is a polymict granule to boulder interbedded with. and in tertongue with, sediments o f the conglomerate (fig. 2 1) up to 500 m thi ckcontainingclasts Haupiri Group, particularly in the Waingaro fault slice of volcanic and ultramafic rocks. gabbro, granitoid. where the Mount Benson Sandstone and Peel Formations quartzite. limestone and sandstone including sandstone interdigitate with volcanic breccias. tuffs and sandstones, derived from Junction Formation. Abundant detrital and in the Heath-satisbury fault slice where basaltic flows chromite was probably derived from Cobb Igneous and breccias interdigitate with Salisbury Conglomerate. Complex (Hunter 1m.Pound 1993b). The conglomerate Four volcanogenic formations are recognised (MOnker is inferred to have been deposited in a fan-delta & Cooper 1997). The first. BellSOn Volcanics (€ db). is environment (Pound 1993a). Inarticulate brachiopods are the most extensive and comprises a thick pile of known from a si ngle locality and indicate a Mindyallan volcaniclastic breccia conglomerate and sandstone. tuffs (early Late Cambrian) age. The contact with the Tasman and nows representing II minimum of seven volcanic Formation is concordant, although locall y erosional suites (MUnker & Cooper 1995) composed of, in general (Pound 1993b). upward stratigraphic succession. from low-K to hi gh-K calc-alkali ne and basaltic with some Rocks previously mapped as Lockett Conglomerate andesite. dacite and . One of the more highly (Grindley 1971. 1980) are now thought to represent differentiated suites, Heath Volcanics (€ dh), is several other units. From the Anatoki River to the distinguished on the map and contains andesite with Waingaro River. in what is most probably Waingaro fault primary amphibole. plagioclase and magnetite. From slice, a thick polymict matrix-rich conglomerate is here their geochemistry. the rocks are inferred to represent mapped as C hristmas Conglomerate (€ hc:. following deposits formed on and adjacent to a volcanic island arc

14 FIgure 18 Disrupted packets ofthin-bedded larrinated siltstone ofthe ..I!sldion Foonation (probable Middle cambrian age) from Sytvester Road near . Junction Formation is infefTed to be the oldest recogRsed stratigrapne uRI in New """""".

figure 19 Thin- to W!If'i thin-bedded larrinated sandstone and siltstone ol the Tasman Formation ( Ha~ Group) from Cobb Valley.

Figure 20 Debris flow conglomerate within Tasman FOfmation (Haupiri Group) near Trilobite Rock, Cobb Valley.

Agure 21 Well rounded dasts in the l.odlett Conglomefate (Haupr; Group) at Lake Sylvester. The dasts have been derived from most 01 the older Haupiri Group and Devil RIver Volcanics G"oup units. figure 22 Basaltic andesite flow breocia ofthe Malaki \IoI<:arics (Devil River Votcanics Gr~) from Deep CteetI. upper Takaka Rtwer.

15 Mataki Volcanics (€dm; Fig. 22), is dominated by basaltic Late Cambrian melange and metamorphic rocks flows ,volcaniclastic breccia, conglomerate and sandstone with some shallow intrusive gabbro intrusions. The basalt Diamictite, broken formation and melange (after has a geochemical affinity with back arc basin tholeiites Raymond 1984. Fig. 23) are developed in the Balloon, (Stewart 1988. Milnker & Cooper 1997). The fourth unit, Anatoki and Tunnel fault slices (Cooper & Tulloch 1992. Cobb Igneous Complex(€dc), intrudes Mataki Volcanics Pound 1993a. Jongens 1997) and are here mapped as and contains gabbro and ultramafic rocks. now largely Balloon Melange (€b.€bj.€bl,€bh). The bulk of the serpentinised, interpreted as layered shallow level melange is derived from the Juncti on Formation by intrusions of boninitic (Hunter 1977, MUnker primaril y tectonic processes (Stewart 1988. Cooper & Cooper 1997). Numerous mafic and fe lsic dikes intrude 1997).11 includes exotic blocks, generally a few metres the gabbro and ultramafic rocks. but up to a few kilometres in length, of chert,limestone, conglomerate. siliceous siltstone, volcanic sandstone, From their relationship with fossiliferous rocks of the andesite. basalt and mafic intrusives. Parts of the melange Haupiri Group. the Benson Volcanics effusive rocks are are domi nated by blocks derived from Lockett inferred to range from Undillan to Mindyallan (late Conglomerate (€bl). Junction Formation (€bj), Heath Middle to earliest Late Cambrian) in age (Miinker & Volcanics (€bh), as well as Cobb Igneous Complex and Cooper 1997). Late stage felsic intrusives give SHRIMP Tasman Formation. Blocks fanned of the Ordovician to U-Ph zircon dates of494 ± II Ma and 485 ± 8 Ma (latest Devonian passive margin sequence rocks are absent and Cambrian to earliest Ordovician; Milnker. Weaver & the melange is therefore inferred to have formed in the unpublished). The Cobb Igneous Complex Late Cambrian (Cooper & Tulloch 1992. Cooper 1997). intrudes Mataki Volcanics and has given a SHRIMP U­ An elonga te. north-trending zone of ductile shear, up to Ph zircon ageof515 ± 7 Ma. (Munker 1997) and the age 1.5 km wide adjacent to and mostly west of the Devil of the Cobb Intrusive Complex is taken as Undil lan (late River Fault, is mapped as Waingaro Schist Zone Middle Cambrian). The Mataki Volcanics is inferred to (€wb.€wh.€wd,€w; Grindley 1971. 1980). The zone is be of Floran to Undill an (early Middle Cambrian) age. dominated by fine grai ned volcanic-derived greenschist contai ning quartz-albite-muscovite-chlori te-ca1c ite-

Figure 23 Balloon Melange rodlsfrom ltle Cobb Reservoir aJea. The Balloon Melange records a late Cambrian deformation event wtlich lofmed a tectonic unit comprising angular clasts of various parentage. with varying degrees 01 folialioo. The clasts are locally dominated by particular rock units of the Haupiri and Devit River Volcanics groups.

16 containing quartz- al bite- muscovite-chlori te-calc ite­ bedded, sil iceous siltstone, quartz sandstone, calcareous titani te-epidote with some schi stose sandstone and siltstone and locall y, carbonaceous shale and limestone conglomerate. Mylonitic fab ri cs are commonand a steepl y (6mw, called Baldy Formation in the western part of east-plunging stretching lineation is present (powell 1985). the terrane and \Vangapeka Formation in the east, Parent rocks include Hau piri Group (€wh), Devil Ri ver Coleman 198 1). Grapto lites indicate an Eastonian to early Volcanics Group (€wd), Balloon Melange (€wb) and Bolind ian age (Cooper 1979a, 1989). In the Pikikiruna Wangapeka Formation(powell 1985). fault slice the upper part of the Wangapeka Formation is replaced by black limestone and calcareous mudstone of Latest Cambrian to Devonian sedimentary rocks Arthur Marble 2 (6ma) contai ning sparse Late Ordovician corals and crinoids. The Late Cambria n to Silurian sequence for ms a "covering" succession ofcarbonates and siliciclastics that Overlying the Mount Arthur Group is the Ellis Group have geochemi ca l affin ities with passive margin comprisin g thin- to thick-bedded quartz sandstone, sequences (Roser & others 1996). Although the general quart zite and siliceous siltstone (Seh, Hailes Quartzite seque nce is similar throughout the Takaka terrane, there and Fowle r For-m ation, Coleman 198 1) with are variations between areas (Fig. 24) and wi th in the brachiopods in the upper part, indicating a Middle to Late various faul! slices, especially in Ihe late Cambrian to Silurian age (Cooper & Wright 1972), and a mixed earliest Ordovician Mount Patriarch Group.The oldest brachiopod-coral fau na indicating a Pridolian (Late unit in the group is the Anatoki Formation (€pa) wh ich Silurian) age (Wright 1967). The group appears to span consists of fi nely bedded and lami nated quartz- mica the Silurian Period. siltstone, volcaniclastic graded sandstone and granule conglomerate (Coleman 1981). They pass gradational ly In the Pi kiki runa Ra nge amphi bolite grade up into Patr iarch Formation (€pp) calcareous siltstone, q uartz±oligoclase±K-fe ld spa r-biotite-muscovite carbonaceous limestone and carbonaceous shale in gamel±c1 inozoisite±Staurolite schist with quartzite bands Wangapeka Va lley (Fig. 25). Trilobites and conodonts comprise Pikikiruna Schist (amp) which is thought to indicate that the Patriarch Formation ranges in age fro m re present metamorphosed Mount Arthur Group rocks lalest Cambrian to early Ordovician (Cooper & Druce (Ghent 1968, Cooper 197901) or Ell is Group (Shelley 1975, Wright & others 1994). A calcareous facies of the 198 1) rocks. Siliceous quart Z±albiteloligoclase-biotite­ Anatoki Formation in Cobb Valley (the "Myllon Beds" muscovite schist wilh thick bedded quartzite, calc-silicate ofCooper 1989) contai ns Late Cambrian conodonts. At lenses and metavolcanic bands are ma pped as , limestone and calcareous sandstone and Schist (9mo) which concordantly overlie Arthur Marble siltstone grading upward into more quartzose sandstone 2 and are strati graphicall y equivalent to the Hailes and siltstone comprise the Owen Formation (€pp). Quartzite and, possibly, upper Wangapeka Formation. Rocks mapped as Onekaka Schist near Onekaka are of The onset ofcarbonate deposition in the Late Cambrian uncertain stra tigraph ic affin ity. to Early Ordovician marks a major change in depositional regime at the base of the Mount Arthur Group. The Mudstone and fi ne-grained sandstone, wi th minor limestone, extensively al tered to marble, wi th calcareous limestone and conglomerate form the Baton Formation mudstone and sandstone, and some dolomite bands (ems, (Db), which is confi ned to the eastern part of the terrane. Coleman 1981) is mapped as Summit Limestone in the Brachiopods, bivalves, corals and tri lobi tes (Shi rley western part of the Taka ka terrane and Arthur Marble 1938) which fonn shell beds at several horizons indicate 1 in the east (Figs 26 & 27). At Springs Junction, to the a late Lochkovian to early Pragian (Early Devonian) south of the Nelson QMAP area, it is mapped as Sluice age and conodonts from near the base indicate an early Box Formation (Farmer 1967). The lower part of the Lochkov ian (basal Devonian) age (J.E. Si mes pers. S ummit Lim esto ne is generally composed of comm.). The basal contact has been interpreted as an carbonaceous and calcareous mudstone, and the upper unconformity (W illis 1965, Coleman 1981) but it may part ofall three units ofskeletal to intraclastic limestone. be conformable and gradational into quartzose sandstone Si liceous bands and nod ules are present in some areas. and siltstone of the El lis Group (Bradshaw 1997). Macrofossils are rare but conodonts have been recovered thoughout the Summit Li mestone at Moun t Mytton in the Peel Range. Whereas lhe base ofthe limestone ranges Structure and metamorphism in age from Late Cambrian (P. muelleri lime, Cooper 1989) to Early Ordovician (Arenigian; Cooper & Druce The earliest deformational event (01) recognised in the 1975), the lOp everywhere appears to be Midd le Cambrian-Devonian sequence was probably that Ordovician (Llanvirnian). Overl yi ng lhe limestone is lhi n- associated with melange formation in the Late Cambrian.

17 ~ a;.g>:!! ,• ,~c ~c . ' ~~N_0· • •• -§~ - Q =g~ ~ MtOWEN PIKIKIRUNA SKEET RIVEA (10) :r LAKE DANIELS Mt MYTTQN (7) MI PATRIARCH (8) Takaka Gorge RANGE (9) Takaka Gorge Marula laullsllce Mytton fault slice Patriarch fault slice laullstlce Plklklruna lault slice .Iault slice ..gooH ~ .--:::J5'&; ~ ~;ii ~ DEVONIAN ., * Baton ." ... ~ ~J 3 ~!f~ Halles * - Hal," SILURIAN .iP * Hal," 3--.~~ • .., ;~g I!. ~ Iii· ~ w ~,~i' ~" Wangapeka 'i ~o~ ;'".. I ? ?? :::J",,=" ~ Baldy ~~~ - I('~ b-=-,t ~

~~ 11·-.-0 n~ 8.­ g~ 'Pill"'. FIgure 25 Mount Patriarch comprises a cap of Ordovician Summit Umestone overtying Late cambrian Patriarch Formation The sequence has been disrupted by a number of recumbent folds and low angle faults (Coleman 1977). Photo: CN4124 D.L. Homer

FIgure 26 Recumbent folds within Arthur Marble 2 from Takaka Hill, west of Riwaka, Folding of Mount Arthur Group rocks reflects widespread Middle Devonian deformation.

It is not clear how much of the observed deformation parts. The western part is di ssected by numerous. occurred at this ti me but it is li kel y to have included some generall y north-trending faults includ ing those which of the folds and fau lts in Cambrian rocks. define the fault slices (Fig. 16). Where dip and sense of movement can be determined, they are east-dipping Most of the deformati on seen in the Takaka terrane is th rusts (e.g. Cobb Thrust). Folds are tight to isoclinal ascribed toa second (02) tectonic event. The Devil River (Fi g. 28), have similar northerly trend. moderate to gentle Fault divides the Takaka terrane into western and eastern plunge and, commonly . overt urned eastern limbs

19 Figure 27 Well bedded Summit Umeslone (Mount Arthur Group) near Mt Mytton, Peet Range.

Figure 28 The Uodsay Synctine, here defined by bedding in Tasman Formation on the Anatoki Range, is one 01 many north­ trending folds with Oyerturned limbs. These folds are associated with large scale thrusting, and resulted from a major period of deformation in the Middle Deyonian related to 01 the Takaka and Buller terranes. Photo: CN25685 D.L. Homer indicating a westerly verge nce (Coleman 1977 & 1981. tectonic th ickening ofthe Arthu r Marble at Mount Owen Grindley 1980).The eastern part ofthe terrane has fewer and Mount Arthur and Summit Limestone in the Peel north-trending faults. An early phase of recumbent Range at Mount Mynon. A later phase (F2) of open, folding (FI of Grindley 1980) with westerly vergence gently plunging, north trending folds is pervasive inyolYes Arthur Marble 1 and Wangapeka Formation at (Coleman 1981, Grindley 1971 & 1980). Mount Owen and near Mount Arthur (Coleman 1981. Johnston 1974). It is most probably responsible for

20 Grind ley (1 961 , 1971, 1980) pro posed the early There is almost no mixing of the two terranes along the recumbent folds :md thrusts were formed as a resu lt of entire length of the An:ltoki F:l ult. The frHlh has h:ld :l northward thrusting of the Cambrian sequence over the lo ng and complex hi story with several periods of Ordovician sequence. Geometrical and stratigraphic reactivation. and the sense of movement along the fault problems with Grindley's model (Bradsha w 1982, has almost certainly varied with ti me (Jongens 1996. Cooper 1989, see also Gri ndley 1982) resulted in an 1997). Earlier fault structures and fabrics have been alternative model involving largely east-directed thrusting largely obliterated by later reactivation. Powell ( 1985) and recumbent fol ding (Cooper 1989, Cooper & Tulloch inferred upl iftofTakaka terraneover Buller terrane rocks, 1992). The Devil Ri ver Fault and Waingaro Schist Zone consistent with westward thrusting, but the age o f are thought to have fonned during east-directed thrusting movement is unknown. Jongens recognised considerable and ductil e shear (Po well 1983, Jongens 1997). ductile dextral strike-slip movement at Mount Olympus Rec umbe nt folds with easterly vergence have been and dextral normal movement at Crow Ri ver; at both inferred by Shelley (1984) in the upper Takaka valley localities the movement post-dates emplacement ofEarly and may represent the same deformational event. Their Cretaceous Separation Poi nt Suite and Crow . relationship with the east-dipping faults and folds is unknown. Jongens (1997) suggested that terrane amal gamation was brought about by transcurrent movement along the The timing of 02 folding and thrusting pre-dates the Anatoki Fault followed by thrusting in the Early cross-cutting Late Devonian Ri waka Complex intrusive Devonian, prior to emplacement of the Karamea rocks (Grind ley 1978). The Permian rocks at Parapara Batholi th . The major movement along the fault may Peak (see below) are also folded into a syncline(Grindley therefore have been transcurrent, and for this reason the 1971), presumably representing a third (03)deformation. original name of Anatoki Thrust is here changed to Anatoki Fault. Two discrete phases o f pre- Middle Devoni an metamorphism recognised in volcanogenic rocks of the Tectonic history Takaka terrane by Powell (l986b). The first produced incipient recrystallisation under prehnite-pumpellyite to Buller terrane rocks were deposited in Ordovician time greenschi s t facies conditions with q uartz-albite­ adjacent to a continental landmass inferred to be the cl inozoisite-chIorite-ti tanite±actino Iite:tcarbonate± Australo-Antarctic segment of Gondwanaland (Cooper pumpellyite±prehnite±hematite assemblages. The 1989). Cambrian rocks of the Takaka terrane formed on. second phase, synchronous with fol ding, thrusting and and adjacent to. a volcanic island arc (M tin ker & Cooper foliation development, took place under lower to middle 1995, Roser & others 1996). The histories and tectonic greenschi st facies conditions and produced ankeri te­ settings of the two terranes suggests that they were quartz- aIbite-chlori te-rutile-muscovite assemblages ori ginall y a considerable distance apart. perhaps hundreds which replace the pre-exisitng assemblages in many of kilometres (Cooper 1989). It is possible that the chert rocks. Secondary ankerite is widespread in pre-Devonian bodies in the Ball oon Melange and th e Junctio n rocks and is a most distinctive character of the terrane. Formation represent one or more distinct terranes, and that the Takaka terrane is a com{X)site of two or more The Pikikiruna Schist. metamorphosed to amphibolite terranes (Cooper 1997). The Late Cambrian to Devonian facies (Ghent 1968), was thought to pre-date the Middle passive ma rgin part of the sequence is previously thought Devonian Riwaka Igneous Complex by Shelley (1981). to have been deposited conformably on the arc-related The schi st, however. is adjacent to Separation Poi nt Suite part (Grindley 1971 & 1980, Coleman 1981, Cooper granite (Early Cretaceous) and may have formed during 1989) but the recognition of the widespread Balloon granite emplacement as did similar grade schist in the Melange event in the Late Cambrian may indicate a Golden Bay area (Wodzicki 1972. Powell 1986a, L. Hoke significant tectonic contact. Although they are here pers. comm. ). retained as parts of the one terrane it is possible that the passi ve margin part of the sequence is allochthonous The Anatoki Fault separating the Buller and Takaka (Cooper 1997). terranes is the most significant fault in west Nelson basement rocks (Fig. 3). The faul t is generally marked Amalgamati on of the two terranes post-dates deposition by a conspicuous but narrow zone of breccia. mylonite of the Silurian Hailes Quartzite and possibly ofthe Early and cataclasite. and slivers of Ordovician limestone are Devonian Baton Formation (Cooper 1989. Bradshaw commonl y incorporated along the fault zone (Fig. 29). 1997). Amalgamation pre-dates emplacement of the In the Boulder Lake area it dips gently to the east but Middle Devonian Karamea Granite and Riwaka Complex elsewhere its dip is steeply east to vertical. diorites (Muir & others 1997a) and is therefore taken as

21 figure 29 A tectonlc sliver 01 sheared Summit Umestone ocaJrS within the Anatoki Fault zone where it crosses the Lockett Range northwest of Mt Benson. The Anatokl Fault separates the Cambriarl-Dev

Early to Middle Devonian. An early phase oftranscurrent grained Karamea Suite granite (Dk; Fig. 30)containing movemem was followed by fonnation ofthe eastdipping prismatic megacrysts of K-feldspar (Dkp) in a thrust faults and fault slices in the Takaka terrane (Jongens groundmass of quanz-plagioclase-biotite±muscovite. 1997). the Anatoki Fault. and the Boundary Syncline in 1be K·feldspar megacrysts. typically microcJine. are the Buller terrane. 1be west verging folds in the Takaka commonly pink or white. 1be eastern margin of the temne are likely 10 have formed at the same time. batholith has a north- to northeast-trending igneous flow banding defined by aligned K-feldspar megacrysts and Late Devonian intrusin rocks elongate metasedimentary xenoliths.The central portion ofthe batholith is intruded by a fine-IO medium-grained. Voluminous potassic biotite granitic rocks form the bulk equigranular biotite·muscovite granite and granodiorite of the Karamea Batholith which intrudes the Buller (Dke; Fig. 30). Biotite diori te (Dkd) occurs in a series terrane metasedimentary rocks in the west ofthe Nelson of gently dipping sheets which are intruded by the QMAP area (Tulloch 1988). The batholith is domi nated megacrystic granite (Fig. 30). The diorite is the oldest by a distinctive pink. white and black. medium-to coarse· intrusive phase recognised. Leucocratic muscovitetbiotite

22 Figure 30 The Karamea SUite grame is dominaled by a coarse-grained biotite grame with distinctive pink euhedral K-leldspar megacrysts (A,S l271 392993, Karamea area). locally the megacrystic granile intrudes biotite diorite (C, M27/537836, River) and is intruded by finer grained equigranuiar biotite granite in a runber ol areas (0, L27/462027, ).

B

23 granite (Dkm) wi th white labular K-feldspar phenocrysts CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY CRETACEOUS occurs in the southwest in Ih e Glasgow Range. F1uorite­ bearing biotite granite with A-type chemical affinities The Carboniferous 10 Earl y Cretaceous rocks of the east occurs at Whakapoai Poinl and from the base of the Nelson area have been subdivided into a number of Toropuihi-1 exploralion well 14 km offshore (Cooper & tectonostratigraphic lerranes (Figs 3 & 31; Coombs & Tulloch 1992). others 1976. Bi shop & others 1985): Brook Streel, Murihiku, Dun Mounlai n-Maitai, Caples. and Torlesse The Karamea Suite has been dated by two V- Pb zircon (i ncorporati ng the Raka ia and Pahau subterranes). In methods which indicate a Middle Devonian to Earl y addition, the Median Tectonic Zone has variously been Carboniferous crystallisation age of 358-388 Ma (Muir interpreted as a zone of small terranes, terrane shards & olhers 1996a. D.L. Kimbrough & AJ. Tulloch and sti tching pl utons (Bradshaw 1993). or as an igneous unpublis hed dala). The range of ages is in part due to suite (Mortimer & Tulloch 1996). The east Nelson differences in th e results of th e two V-Pb zi rcon dating terranes were emplaced over a long period culminati ng methods. The granite from the Toropuihi exploration well in the Early Cretaceous. Intrusive rocks, including the has been V-Pb zircon dated at 312 ±7 Ma (Mortimer & Tasman Intrusives. Separation Point Suite and Rotoroa others 1997). Large amounts of inherited zircon clustering Complex. dominate the central part ofthe Nelson QMAP around ages of 500. 600 and 1000 Ma suggest the suite area between the Takaka terranes and th e east Nelson has been derived from old continental basement or has terranes. An isolated occurrence of Permian sedimentary incorporated subslantial sediment into the (Muir rocks outcrops in west Nelson at Para para Peak. & others 1996a). Despite th ese sedimentary components in the granite, the Karamea Suite is ambiguous with Late Permian to Early Triassic sedimentary rocks respect to 1-5 type granite classification. The diorite. and to a lesser extent the porphyritic biotite granite. has closer Late Permian to Earl y Tri assic rocks occur in an isolated I-type affinities (Muir & others 1996b). fault-bounded outlier al Parapara Peak (Fig. 32) amidst the early Paleozoic rocks ofweSI Nelson. The Parapara Mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks of the layered Group (Ypp) includes a basal unil of pelitic schisl and Riwaka Complex (Dr) intrude th e Silurian-Devonian graphit ic slale, overlain by metaconglomerate and Onekaka Schist. Baton Formation, Arthur Marble, and fossi liferous pebbly sandSlone of the Flowers Formation, Wangapeka Formation. The Brooklyn Diorite (Drb) which in lurn is overlain by thin- to th ick-bedded forms the massive upper part of the la yered intrusion and quartzites and quanz sandstone of the Walker Quartzite consists of two-pyroxene-biotite diorite, hornblende­ (Walerhouse & Vella 1965). The basal pelitic schist and quartz diorite, and amphibolite in a semi-concord an t graphitic slate have previously been assigned 10 the pluton. The diorite represents the most fract ionated and Ordovician Bay Schist bUI are now considered to be fe lsic part of the primary magma (Grindley 1980). The Permian (Campbell & others in press). The rocks are diorite grades laterally into layered clinopyroxene gabbro. fol ded into a syncline with a sleep western limb which hornblende gabbro. norite. pyroxenite. and amphibolite has been truncated by the Parapara Fault. Delrital zircon of the Campbell Gabbro (Drg). The southern part of ages from the Parapara Group are similar to those of the the Riwaka Complex comprises olivine c1inopyroxenite Permian-Early Cretaceous Torlesse terrane, suggesting with minor hornblende pyroxenite. pyroxene . a common source area, and contrast wi th detrital zircon olivine-spinel peridoti te and dunite of the Pokororo ages from adjacent Paleozoic strata (Wysoczanski & Pyroxenite (Drp). others 1997).

The Riwaka Complex has yjelded Lale Devonian 362­ Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous intrusive rocks 383 Ma V- Pb zircon and Arr Ar ages (Harrison & McDougall 1980, Muir & Ol he rs 1994. D.L. Kimbrough An isolated pluton of hornblende-biOlile granite (Crow & A.J. Tulloch unpublished da ta) which are similar to Granite, Kc) with porphyriti c K-feldspar occurs in the Ihose of the Karamea Sui te and their age range also Crow Ri ver. The granite superficially resembles nearby renects differences between the daling meth ods. Kara mea Suite granite but has yielded an Ea rl y Geochemi cal simi lari ti es between the Riwaka Complex Cretaceous SHRIMP V-Pb zircon age of 137±3Ma(Muir and the diorites ofthe Karamea Suite suggest a common & others 1997b). The granite has calc-alkal ine I-type source (Muir & others 1996b) and may constrain docking affiniti es more typical of the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous of the Buller and Takaka terranes to pre-date Middle Median Teclonic Zone than of the Late Devonian Devonian (Muir & others 1997a). Karamea Suite.

24 Ii II! m Ii ~I Ii -" ~ I ' , - f J , 0 • I J , I ~ i h I J ... I i I i I ~ I !~nl ,

Figure 31 The late Paleozoic-Mesozoic basement rocks 01 east Nelson comprise lour terranes and the Median Tectonic ZOne, all 01 which show local variations In straUgraphlc thickness, complicated by excision or Imbrication by faulling , The southern O'Urville Island column Is for a locality 15 km northeast af the Nelson QMAP area, and the Red Hills column Includes some rocks 10 the south altha ares. Stratigraphic names nol described In the leKt Of map are mar1

25 Agur. 32 Permian age rocks In west Nelson 0CCl.I' In an IsoIaled tauIl-bounded ot.tIier at Parapara Peak. west of Takaka. Whether the Parapara Group is an erosional rermant of a previously widespread IXMIl' sequence on the pre-Devonian Takaka lerr_ rocks or has been tedoricaly emplaced over a substanliaI Ostance has not been resotYed. Pholo: CN25789 D.L. HonwN

The Separation Point Suite (Ks) occurs principally granitoids are widespread immediately south of the map within a major batholith of composite granite and area around the and the . The granodiorite pillions (Tulloch 1988) which intrudes the US-type Rahu Suite shows more crustal involvement than early Paleozoic Takaka terrane rocks. the Late Devonian Separation Point Suite. Riwaka Intrusives. and the Late J urassic Rotoroa Complex. The batholith is dominated by equigranular MedifJn Tectonic Zoue biotite granite (Ksg. Fig. 33). with minor amounts of leucocratic biotite-muscovite gllrnet granite. Biotite­ The Medilln Tectonic Zone of New Zealand incorporates hornblende granodiorite and diorite (Ksd . Fig. 34) occur several units which lie west of th e convergent margin in a number of large plutons through the batholith. rocks of the Eastern Province (Brook Street. Murihiku. Relatively leucocratic biotite quartz monzonite (Ksm) Dun Mountain-Maitai. Caples. and Torlesse terranes) and as well as granite, granodiorite and quartz porphyry occur east o f the Paleozoic Western Province (Buller and as isolated plutons intruding Paleozoic Buller terrane Takaka terranes). The Median Tectonic Zone hasevolved rocks and Late Devonian Karamea Suite. Some of the as a concept from a line (the Median Tectonic Line) granodiorite plutons contain molybdenum. copper. lead signifying the boundary of paired metamorphi c belts and zinc mineralisation (Tulloch & Rabone 1993). (Miyashiro 1961 ).1100 the boundary between the Western and Eastern provinces (Landis & Coombs 1967). to a The Separation Poim Suite batholith and ouLlyi ng plutons zone between 10 and 35 kIn wide consisting of mainly have been dated between 109 and 121 Ma by two U- Pb Mesozoic subductio n-related caJc· alkaline pluto ns. zircon methods (Kimbrough & others 1994, Muir & predominantly diorite (Bradshaw 1993. Kimbrough & others 1994. 1997). The I-type Separation Point Suite is others 1993). characterised by primitive Sr and Nd isotopic ratios and limited inherited zircon suggests the granite was derived In Nelson the Median Tectonic Zone is about 15-20 kIn from th e melting of mafic lithosphere (Muir & others wide but is largely obscured by Cenozoic rocks in the 1995). Moutere Depression. Only near Nelson Cit y and near Dark grey biotite quartz diorite in the southwestern part Glenhope are Median Tectonic Zone rocks exposed. of the map area near Granit y has Rahu Suite (K rd) although more extensive outcrop occurs immediately affinities (Tulloch 1983). Early Cretaceous Rahu Suite south or the Nelson QMAP area. Medinn Tectonic Zone

26 Figure 33 The Early Cretaceous Separation Point Suite is dominated by equlgranular, medium-grained biotite granite. The granite is typically weathered with leld:>par minerals breaking down into days as at Ugar Bay (N25I 024436). Photo: CN45200 D.L. Homer

Figure 34 Raft of hornblende quartz di orite within Separation Point Suite granite at Ugar Bay (N25/024436). Photo: CN45201 D.L. Homer

rocks have also been identified in the base of the Ruby Weakl y defo rmed, altered, coarse-grained Bay- l drill hole (Morti mer & others 1997). The Median biotite±homblende granod iorite (Echinus G ranite, Cae) Tectonic Zone is separated fro m the Brook Street terrane dated at 310 ± 5 Ma (V-Pb zi rcon, Kimbrough & others of the Eastern Province by the Delaware-Speargrass Faull 1993) intrudes the strongly foliated and lineated biotite Zone. In the west the zone is sutured to the Takaka terrane and/or hornblende quartzofeldspathic granite mylonite of the Western Province by the Separatio n Point and orthogneiss (Platform G neiss, Cap) at Pepin Island Batholi th. (Fig. 35; Lauder 1964, Beresford & others 1996). Hornfelsed and silicified quartzofeldspathic sandstone Carboniferous to Early Cretaceous intrusive and with in terbedded siltstone, mudstone and pebble sedimentary rocks conglomerate (Fall Formation/Pepin G roup, YpO occurs adjacent to the Platform Gneiss. The base and top TIle Rotoroa Complex (Jr) crops out at the southern of the Pepin Group are not exposed and the relationship edge of the map area at Glenhope and consists ofsheared to the Platform Gneiss is unclear. The Pepin Group is and altered biotite granite and granodiorite, and only constrained in age by the intrudi ng Early Jurassic amphibolitic hornblende-biotite diorite (Coleman 198 1). Tasman Intrusives Group. The Rotoroa Complex occurs more extensively to the south of the map area (Challis & olhers 1994) and has The Tasman Intrusives Group consists ofplugs and dikes been dated at 155 ± I Ma (Kimbrough & others 1994). of porphyritic hornblende andesite and quartz-bioti te The Rotoroa Complex is associated with slrong magnetic andesite of the Palisade Andesite (Jap), and a series of anomalies and is inferred to underlie the Late Miocene­ wid ely metasomatised small intrusive stocks of PlioceneGlenhope Formati on and Moutere Gravel in the hornblende granodiorite, tonalite, quartz diorite, and Moutere Depression (Well man 1973, Lihou 1992). syenite comprising the Cable Granodiorite (Jac). The

27 Figure 35 The ?Carboniferous Platform GneIss OIl Pepin Island is a strongly loIiated and 6neated. S8gl"egated granite mylonite and orthogneiss. The gneiss is one 01 many rock types 'l'WiIhin the Median Tectonic Zone.

Palisade Andesite dated at 132·176 M Ol (K-Ar Brook SIred terrane hornblende) is no younger than Late Jurassic (Johnston 1981). The Cable Granodiorite has been dated at 143 ± The Brook Street terrane contai ns the remnants of a 3 MOl (zircon U-Pb.Kimbrough & others 1993. 1994). Permian calc-alkali ne volcanic arc that is exposed in Southland and east Nelson. Withi n the Nelson QMAP 1lle Drumduan C roup (Jd) consists of fi ne-grained. area the terrane fonns a 5 km -wide faul t-bounded strip altered green tuffs and purplish-red tuff breccia of the from Delaware Bay to Nelson City. To the southeast the Botankal Hill Formation (J d b). and poorly bedded grey terrane is obscured by Cenozoic sedi ments although it mudstone, si ltstone. and fine-gra ined sandstone with thick reappears several kilometres south of the map area beds ofgrey breccia ofthe Marybank Formation (Jdm). bound ary. The Marybank Fonnation contains Late Tri assic to Earl y Permian volcanic a nd sedimentary rocks Cretaceous (probably Jurassic) plant macrofossils. The presence of metamorphic lawsonite ind icates high The Brook Street terrane in the Nelson QMAP area pressure- lOW te mperature metamo rph ism o f the comai ns volcanogeni c sedi mentary and minor igneous Drumduan Group (Johnston & others 1981). Fine­ rocks of the Brook Street Volca nics C roup. The basal grained altered green tuffs and purplish-red tuff breccia C rampian Forma tion (Ybr) contains bedded grey ofthe Botanical Hill Fonnation have been brac keted with calcareous mudstone. sil tstone. and sandstone. wi th some Marybank Formation as part of the Drumduan Group tuffaceous materi al (Fig. 36) and rare lenses of blac k (Johnston 1987). impure limestone. Conformably overl y'ing are andesitic augite tuff and breccia (Fig. 37) with rare basalt flows of Highly tectonised. brecciated and schistose sedimentary the Kaka ."o["mation (Ypk). wh ic h in turn is overlain rocks and mafic and intermediate volcanic rocks by gene rally poorl y bedded andesit ic t uffs and occurring between the Drumduan and Brook Street volcanogenic sandstone of the Croom Creek Formation Volcanics groups are mapped as Wakapuaka PhyUon.ite (Ybg; Bruce 1962. Johnston 198 1). The rocks are (Kw). Some of the rocks are derived from Marybank. typically altered wi th widespread albite, chlorile, epidote. Formation and a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age is sericite. pumpellyite. actinolite and prehni te. reflecting infemd (Johnston 1981).The foliation is typical ly steeply prehnite-pumpell yite to pumpellyite-actinolite facies east-dipping. The phyllonite has been imerpreted as the metamorphic grade. zone of thrusting of the Brook Street Volcanics Group Atomodesmatinid fragments scattered through the westward over the Drumduan Group (Johnston & others Grampian Formation and the gastropod Peruvispira 1987) in the Early Cretacoous. (Bruce 1962) indicate a Pennian age; fossils immediately south ofthe Nelson QMAParea are oflateEarly Permian age. The sequence dips steeply. and youngs to the ""'th=t.

28 Figure 36 Well bedded tulfaceous sandstone and siltstone near the gradational contact between Kaka and Grampian formations of the Brook Street Volcanics Group in the Maitai valley (027/ 360926) . Photo: CN45178 D.L. Homer

Figure 37 Augitetuff of the Kaka Formation, Brook Street Volcanics Group at its type locality at BrookStreet Quarry in Nelson City (027/346906). The coarse crystal size, and accompanying breccia fragments, indicate a proximal source of the volcanism. PhoIO: CN45180 D.L. Homer

Murihiku terrane contact is faulted against or obscured by Tertiary and Quaternary sediments but at depth is faulted against the The Murihi ku terrane consists ofTriassic-Jurassic, calc­ Brook Street Volcanics Group (Johnston 1982a,b). The alkal ine, volcanogenic sedimentary rocks which occur Eighty-eight Faull separates Richmond Group and the as thick sequences in the Southland, Nelson. and Maitai Group to the east. The Richmond Group is areas. characterised by indurated and weakly metamorphosed (zeolite facies) sedimentary rocks comprising poorly to T riassic sedimentary rocks mcxlerately we ll bedded sandstone, siltstone, mudstone. conglomerate, tuffs. and sparse andesitic sills. Most of In the Nelson QMAP area the terrane is represented by the group is fossiliferous. including some shellbeds, and the Richmond Group (Tr) of the Murihik u Supergroup, ranges in age from M iddle to Late Triassic. The which is present over a strike length of more than SOkm conglomerates typicall y contain igneous (including large in a belt nowhere more than 2 km wide. The western we ll rounded felsic plutonic rocks) and sedimentary clasts

29 ASJurw 38 Conglomerate COIlIaining abtniant igoeous and sedimentary dasts within a succession of medium bedded volcallOglll lie sandstone and mOOstone oftheTriassic Richnond Group (Murhku tMane) aI Wailoa Gorge (N28I211786).Phofo: CN45183 aL. Homer

(Fig. 38). The Richmond Group typically dips moderately in the vicinity of Red Hills where the rocks are about 9 to the southeast. The beds are folded into the Heslington kin wide. The rocks weather to a distinctive red-brown Syncline. although the eastern limb is locally overturned (dun) colour and lend to be sparsely vegetated (Figs 39. and elsewhere largely faulted out. 40). Beech forest (Norhofagus) is typically stunted or absent on these ultramafic rocks in sharp contrast to the Dun Mountain·MaiJai terrane mature tall stands on adjacent rock types. The lack of vegetation has been attributed to the higher and more The Dun Mountain-Maitai terrane is a distinctive feature toxic levels of extractable nickel and/or magnesium in of South Island geology. occurring in south . the ultramafic rocks (Robinson & others 1996).The Red northern Southland. and northwest Otago where the Hills consist largely ofunserpentinised. massive or locally terrane terminates against the Alpine Fault. The terrane layered protoclastic harzburgite (Ydp) or harzburgite. reappears in east Nelson at the Red Hills on the northwest with minor dunite (Ydm), and minor wehrlite. gabbro. side ofthe Alpine Fault. The 480 km ofapparent dextral and rare plagiogranite (Fig. 39. Walcott 1969). strike-slip along the Alpine Fault was recognised by Harzburgite. pyroxene and hornblende ga bbro and other linking th ese rocks with their counterparts in northwest cumulate rocks occur as fault slivers along the western Otago. margin of the ultramafic rocks.

The Dun Mounlain-Maitai terrane in Northwest Nelson North of the Red Hills Fault. the ultramafic rocks are of comprises the Dun Mountain Ultramafics and cumulate origin and consist largely of serpentinised Livingstone Volcanics groups. constituting the Dun layered harzburgite. with minor dunite, pyroxenite, and Mountain Ophiolite Belt (Coombs & othen 1976. Davis gabbro (Ydc:). Unserpentinised dunite occurs locally at & others 1980). overlain by the Maitai Group. The Maitai Dun Mountain. its type locality (Hochsteller 1864). Group ranges in age from Late Permian 10 Middle Triassic Rodingile (after the type locality at Roding River) dikes (Owen 1991 ) in Nelson. The Dun Mountain Ultramafics are common and irregular layers of chromite up to 30 Group and Livingstone Volcanics Group are of Early mm thick are widespread. Podiform chromite deposits Permian age whereas the Maitai Group ranges from Late with localised copper mineralisation are present close to Permian to Middle Triassic. the western boundary. Primary layering is typically steeply dipping and youngs to the west. The ultramafic Permian ultramafic and mafic igneous rocks rocks are variably IeCtonised from coherent sequences through to strongly sheared tectonic melanges on the The ullI1lmafic rocks ofthe Early Pennian Dun Mountain eastern margi nofthe terrane and as fault slivers oneither UltramafICS Group have a semi-continuous strike length side of the Red Hills. of 70 km within the Nelson QMAP area. The ultramafic rocks ofeast Nelson rarely exceed I km in width except

30 Figure 39 Vertical igneous layering in cumulate ultramafic rocks of the Dun Mountain Ultramafics Group Orl Porter Ridge In the Red Hills (N28/ 107522). Photo: CN7071 D.L. Homer

Figure 40 The red-brown coloration and lack 01vegetation typifies outcrop 01 the Dun Mountain Ultramafics Group, seen hel'e on the Bryant Range looking northeast to Dun Mountain (centre distance). To the southwest (right), the lorested Patuki Melange is in fautl contact with the ultramafics.To the northeast, the forested hills comprise Livingstone Volcanics Group and basal Maitai Group. Photo: CN13554 D.L. Homer

31 The Patuki Melange forms a struclural boundary zone Little Ben Sandstone (TOIl) conformably overlies between the Dun Mountain Ultramafics Group and the Tramway Sandstone. reaching thickncssa of 600 m. but Caples Group. Conventi ona l zircon U-Pb dati ng of is more laterally restricted and in some areas is absent samples from the Red Hills and correlalive ultramafic from the local Maitai Group stratigraphy. The Liule Ben rocks in Southland gives ages spanning 275-285 Ma Sandstone is dominated by hard green fine- to coarse­ (Early Permian. Kimbrough & others 1992). grained volcanogenic sandstone and minor sillStone. The Greville ,"'ormatton (Tmg) is one of the more areally The igneous rocks ofthe Livingslone Volcanics Group. extensive Mailai Group formations and. taking into formerly mapped in Nelson as the Lee River Group. accoumthe imernal folding and faulting. is estimated to comprises two formations; the Tinline Formation (VII) be belween 1000 and 1500 m thick. The Greville is overlain by theGtennie Fonnation (Y1g). TheTinline Formalion conforrnably overlies the Linle Ben Sandstone, Formation consislS of massive 10 foliated. tholeiitic. and locally Tramway Sandstone. and consists of plagioclase-augite-magnelile gabbro grading from laminated 10 thin-bedded grey sandstone and mudslone coarse-grained at the base through a sheeted dike complex (Fig.42) with locally interbedded thicker green sandslone 10 miCTOgabbro at the top. Alteration 10 amphibole-albite­ and sparse ammonites. The Waiua Formation (Tmw) chlorile-epidote-sericite is widespread. The Glennie is between 500 and 700 m thick and differs primarily Formation consislS of sheets and flows of fine-grained from the conformably underlying Greville Formation in spilitic basal! with minor microgabbro at the base and the red or reddish-purple colour ofthe finer grained beds. basahic breccia lenses. up to 8 m thick. near the top. caused by the presence of finely divided hematite (Fig. 43). Thicker sandslone unilS. with beds ofconglomerate The group is miner.alogically and chemically similar to containing andesitic and sandslone c1aslS occur in some floor basalIS with very low rlSr/'Sr and depleled areas. The Stephens Subgroup (Tms) is also areally large-ion Iilhophile elemenlS (Davis & others 1980). eXlensive and is estimated to be aboul2000 01 thick.The Zircon U-Ph dating indicates an Early Permian age both unil may be locally unconfonnable with the underlying in Nelson and Southland (Kimbrough & others 1992). Waiua Fonnation and is more lithologically variable than The Livingslone Volcanics Group is unconformably the other units within the Maitai Group. Slephens overlain by Ihe Late Pennian Maitai Group. Subgroup consislS largely ofpoorly 10 well bedded grey or green sandstone with minor mudstone (Fig. 44). Eal"ly Permian to Triassic sedimentary rocks Massive green or red sandstone, red mudstone, light grey luff and lenses of conglomerate and fos si liferous The Maitai Group comprises well bedded and relalively limestone occur sporadically through the sequence. weakly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks fo lded into Serpentinitic breccia containing c1aSIS of , the Reding Syncline. The basal format ions of Ihe group gabbro, dolerite, and ultramafic rock (Tmm) occurs in are only exposed on the southeast limb of the fold. The fau lt-bounded lenses wi thin basal Maitai Group at Upukerora Formation (Ynm) occurs as a narrow Croisilles Harbour. The origin of the tcctonised breccias discontinuous band unconformably overlying is unclear and they may be olistotromes (Landis & Blake Livingstone Volcanics Group in the Bryant Range. The 1987), intrusions. or diapirs (Johnston 1993). Upukerora Formalion is characterised by breccia clasls of fine-grained volcanic rocks in a hematised matrix. The Maitai Group has been folded into the regional Farther northeast. there are isolated occurrences ofdark Reding Syncline. the axis of which has largely been grey siltstone and sa ndstone. The Wooded Peak faulted OUI by the Whangamoa Fault. The eastern limb Limestone (Ymw) rests unconfonnably upon Upukerora comprising the basal formati ons of the Maitai Group Formation. and consists of bedded fine-grained grey generally dips sleeply west or northwesl and is relatively limestone (Fig. 41). and calcareous sa ndSlone and planar. The weslern limb comprising the upper unilS of si llStone with locally abundant atomodesmatinid shell the group has generally shallower dips and numerous debris. The limestone is up 10 I kin thick and occurs ENE- to NNE-trending folds. The group is internally throughout except where excised by faulting. The dissected by numerous faullS. and an axial planar cleavage conformably overl ying Tramway Sandstone (Ymt) is well developed within some lithologies. The age of auaios a thickness of I km along the Bryant Range and the Maitai Group is constr.ained by Late Permian fossils consislS of well bedded grey sandstone and sillStone, such as Maitaia from the Tr.amway Sandstone and Early impure limeslone with minor interbedded dark grey Triassic ammonoids in the Greville Formalion mudstone and numerous atomodesmatinid fossils (Waterhouse 1964. 1993). The Stephens subgroup (Johnston 1981. 1993). The sandstone contains abundant contains blocks oflimeslone. with reWttked Late Permian volcanic debris dominaled by andesite as well as fossils. The Permian-Triassic boundary is probably at sedimentary rock and locally minor serpentinite. The the top of the Tramway Sandstone (Owen 1991).

32 FIgure 41 Thin-bedded, fine-grained Wooded Peak Umestone FIgure 42 Steeply northwest-dipping, thin-bedded Greville Is the oldest Maital Grouplormation exposed on the Mauogatapu Formation with a weak steeply east-dipping cleavage on a Trad< in the Maltal Valley (027{424892). Photo: CN45 146 D.L. roadcut near Whangamoa Saddle (027/477988). Photo; Homer CN45173 D.L. Homer

After deposition of the basal Upukerora Formation in local fault basins, the bulk of the Maitai Group was probably deposited in a largeelongate basin.The Wooded Peak Limestone was derived from redeposited shell material and mafic/ultramafic clastic material from topographic paleohighs of LivingslOne Volcanics Group and Dun Mountain Ultramafics Group (Johnston 1996). The Tramway Sandstone contains more quartz and generally lacks a significant mafic rock contribution. in contrast to the more volcanogenic Little Ben Sandstone. The Greville and Waiua formations are fine-grained, th in­ bedded rocks which were probably deposited in deep water far from land. The Stephens Subgroup is also attributed to deep-water turbidite fan deposition although the variability of the formation may reflect shallowing of the sea. Metamorphism of the Maitai Group largely fall s within the prehnite-pumpellyite facies but sparse lawsonite within the basal formations and in the vicinity ofthe axis of the Roding Syncline indicates local metamorphism to lawsonite-albite-chlorite facies (Landis & Blake 1987).

FIgure 43 Charact8fistic red and green laminated siltstone 01 the Waiua Formation at Lee River. The red coloration is caused by fine disseminated hematite (N28/230756) . Photo: CN45186 D.L. Homer

33 Figure 44 Well developed ripple marXs 00 a bedding surface 01 Stephens Subgroup al Federal quany, Reding River (N28I 230795). Photo: CN40935 D.L. Homer

Permian to Triassic schistose rocks

The Caples terrane is areally extensive and forms much The Caples Group becomes increasingly sc histose of south and west Otago, the Marlborough Sounds and southeast towards the Wairau Valley. The schistose western North Island geological basement. The Caples Caples Group rocks have been divided according to the terrane ranges from weakly metamorphosed sandstone textural zone nomenclature applied to the Otago Schist and siltstone to high-grade schist near its suture with the by Bishop (1972). These textural zones range from I.z. Torlesse terrane in Otago and Marlborough. In the Nelson IlA where incipient cleavage exists in sandstone units QMAP area the Caples terrane is represented by the through t.z. 1m where the foliation becomes penetrative Caples Group, which forms the bulk of the mountains and bedding becomes increasingly transposed and between the Bryant and Richmond ranges. dismembered unti l eventually obliterated. Incipient Permian toTriassic sedimentary rocks segregation laminae of quartz-feldspar 1-10 mm long mark t.z. IlIA, and I. z. um has laminae>10 mm long Non-schistose Caples Group (Ye), previously mapped and up to 2 mm wide. The formations described from in the Nelson/Marlborough area as Pelorus Group, the non-schistose Caples Group become difficult to map consists of grey generally well bedded indurated with increasing cleavage development and their schistose sandstone and siltstone (Fig. 45) with thick sequences of eq uivalents have generally not been differentiated. coarse sandstone and minor conglomerate (Ward Weakly metamorphosed, undifferentiated Caples Group Formation Yea). These rocks enclose alternating red and rocks grade into t.z. lIA semischists (Fig. 46), with green sandstone and si ltstone interbedded with massive widespread transposition ofbedding into parallelism with green sandstone and sparse conglomerate ofthe Wether foliation and grade further into t.z. IlIA segregated Formation ( Yew), and conformably overlie (Fig. 47). A distinctive band of well foliated quartzite predominantly massive to poorly bedded green sandstone and minor foliated greenschist occurs with t.Z. HB ofthe Star Formation (Yes; Walcott 1969). The Caples sch istose sandstone and siltstone in the Wakamarina Group generally dips southeast but sedimentary younging va lley (Wakamarina Quartzite, Ycq). Fine-grained directions indicate widespread overturning. I~ the upper mylonitic rocks below the quartzite have been variously Pelorus valley, a major east-closing inverted anticline is interpreted as a pre-metamorphic thrust (Johnston 1993) inferred from minor fold ve rgence (Johnston 1977) or a major extensional shear zone (Skinner 1996). North­ although the eastern upper limb of the fold has not been to northeast-trending narrow wnes of ducti le shear are recognised. The Caples Group lacks good diagnostic also present within the schistose rocks. fossils and is poorly constrained in age to between Late Permian and Middle Triassic.

34 Figure 45 Thin- to very thin·bedded indurated sandstone and siltstone with light-coloured carDOnate lenses of I.z. I caples Group In the Pelorus River (027/492871).Photo: CN4513B D.L. H~,

FIgure 46 Transposed sandstone and siltstone beds in t.z. IIA caples Group semlschist in the Wakamarina River (027{628835). Photo: CN45161 D.L. Homer

Figure 47 Foliated t.z. iliA caples Group-derived schist with incipient quartz segregation laminae on the La ke Chalice Road (028f394604). Numerous foliation-parallel quartz veins have accentuated the schistose appearance 01 the rock. Photo: CN25709 D.L. Homer

35 The dominant foliation throughout the schistose Caples susceptibilities to erosion has resulted in a characteristic Group is nonheast-lrending and shallow-dipping. The hummocky topogr'lI.phy (Fig. 49). Thc:.largely continuous foliation is regionally and openly folded into !he Goulter Patuki Melange. up to 4.5 km wide. is interpreted as !he Synform (Monimer & Johnston 1990. Johnston 1993. suture zone between !he Dun Mountain-Maitai and !he 1994). Textural metamorphic grade increases from l.z.l Caples terranes. The melanges cut Caples Group rocks in !he northwest to l.Z. lllA in !he sou!heast across !he and are probably younger man Triassic. The Croisilles axial trace of!he Gauller Synform. The lack of textural Melange consisting of sheared serpenlinite is zone symmetry across the synfonn suggests !he fold is discontinuous and in many places is on ly weakly not post-metamorphic despite the fold being defined by developed. At Croisilles Harbour the melange encloses deviations in metamorphic foliation. The origin of the a sandslone block containing a Late Permian fauna structure remains enigmatic. Cenozoic faulting. such as (Dickins & others 1986). the Queen Charlotte Fault Zone. has resulted in local displacement of textural zones. Torlesse terrane

The metamorphic grade ofthe Caples Group ranges from The Torlesse terrane has the largest onland area of any prehnite-pumpellyite facies in the northwest through terrane in New Zealand and extends through Otago. pumpellyite-actinolite facies to greenschist facies in the Canterbury. and Marlborough into the axial ranges of southeast. me North Island to East Cape. The terrane and a number ofsublemnes comprise meTorlesse Supergroup which ?Triassic melange ranges from Pennian to Early Cretaceous in age and consists predominantly of quanzofeldspathic sandstone Tectonic melanges occur between !he Dun Mountain (loosely termed greywacke) and argillite. The Esk Head Ultramafics Group and the Caples Group (Patuki Melange. the largest ofa number ofmelange units which Melange, Tmp), and within the Caples Group (Croisilles cut the Torlesse Supergroup. separates the Rakaia and Melange. Tmc). They consist of blocks of variable size Pahau suhtemtnes. In the Nelson QMAP area. the Rakaia comprising basalt. gabbro. ultramafic rock. siltstone. and subterrane rocks are strongly metamorphosed and the sandstone in a sheared serpentinitic matrix (Fig. 48). Pahau subtemne rocks have undergone only low grade The variation in rock type and their differing metamorphism.

Figure 48 The Patuki Melange contains tselonlc lenses 01 rodingite and other igneous rocks In a strongly foliated S8fpentinitic matrix at Collins Valley quarry, Whangamoa River (027/551055) Photos: CN45129.CN45133 D.L. Homer

36 Figure 49 The contrast in hardness between the tectonic clasts and the softer matrb( of the Patukl Melange commonly results in a hummocky topography which is otten accentuated by the scrubbier vegetation on the serpentinite, as on the Bryant Range southeast of MI Duppa. Photo: CN26423 D.L. Homer

Triassic schistose rocks

The rocks of the Rakaia sublerrane (Tt) are dominated by pelitic schist with textural metamorphism ranging from t.Z. lIlA 10 t.Z. lIm-IV. Schists at t.Z. IV are s!fongly fol iated and segregated with quartz-feldspar segregation laminae>2 mm thick (Bisho p 1972). The rocks are grey, well foliated and segregated with widespread veining parallel to foliation (Fig. 50). The source rocks were probably well bedded alternating quartzofeldspathic sandsto ne and mudstone. and sandstone dominated sequences. The schists are metamorphosed to greenschist facies and have been multiply folded and sheared. The age of the Rakaia subterrane schist is not known but is probably Triassic although a Permian age cannot be discounted.

The boundary between the Torlesse and Caples terranes is a tectonicall y mixed and metamorphosed transitio n zone (Tel) up to 1.5 km wide (Johnston 1994). The transition zone has been partly excised by Cenozoic movement on the Northbank Fault Zone. The transition zone consists of fine~ grained schist derived from Caples FIgure 50 Segregated t.z.IIIB Marlborough Schist derived from G ro up and Torl esse Supergroup. with le nses of metamorphosed Trlassic-Jurassic Torlesse Supergroup of the greenschist and talcose schist derived fro m mafic and Rakaia subterrane, north bank, WaJrau River. (028/616650). ultramafic igneous rocks respectively (Johnston 1994). Photo: CN45160 D.L. Homer

37 Agut.51 Foiated, veined, and segregated gteenschisl: band Agure 52 Medium-to 1t1n-bedded, unIroIiated sanclstone and witt'in Marlbclrou!tl SChist, north bat*. Wai'au River. Gteensctjst mudstone of the Cretaceous Pahau subterrane, T041esse bands such as these are usualty derived from tuffaceous Supergroup, at Two Cottage Stream, Wairau Vatley (028/ twJrizons (0281691671). Pholo: CN4S159 D.L . Homer 4055(4). The beds dip and young to the southeast. Photo: CN4S14911L. ~

The zone has similar rock types to the Aspiring chert and basal! (Ktm). occur within Pahau subterrane lithological association in nonhwest Otago (Craw 1984) rocks of the map area. The westernmost melange zone is which occurs at the Caples and Torlesse terrane boundary up to 4 kIn wide and extends south into the Waiohopai (Norris & Craw 1987, Co%. 1991). Mortimer (1993b) on valley. The melange is arbitrarily shown as the boundary geochemical grounds incorpora ted the Aspiring between Pahau subterrane rocks of Late Jurassic and lithological association into the Torlesseterrane, although Early CretacCQus age. The melanges are distinct from recognised there may be some structural complexities at the Esk Head Melange which truncates against the the Torlesse/Caples boundary. Greenschist and schist on AlpinelWairau Fault on the southern edge of the map the north bank of the Wairau Ri ver (Fig. 51) may be pari area beneath Quaternary alluvial gravels. The Esk Head of a down-faulted block of Caples terrane. Melange south of the Alpine Fault compri ses a 20 kIn­ wide zone of deformed Torlesse rocks that mark the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous sedimenlary tectonic contac t between the Pahau and Rakaia ' ocks subterranes (Johnston 1990).

The Torlesse Supergroup rocks of the Pahau subtemnc LATE CRETACEOUS TO EARLY are dominated by weakly-metamorphosed, grey. well­ PLEISTOCENE bedded alternating sandstone and mudstone (Fig. 52) with poorly bedded or thick-bedded sandslone (Jtp. Ktp). The Northwest ofthe Waimea Fault. Late Cretaceous Ioearly rocks are metamorphosed to zeolite facies. Plant Pleistocene sediments record the formation and fragments are locally abundant are not age-specific. deformation of localised fault-bounded sedimentary Fossils from the Leatham River area to the sooth of the basins in response to changing tectonic stresses across Nelson QMAP area boundary are of Late Jurassic age the developing boundary between the Australian and (Johnston 1990). A Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age is Pacific plates. Most time intervals ofthe LateCretaceous inferred for Pahau rocks in the Nelson QMAP area. The and Cenozoic are represented, and the sedimentary rocks strike north east and generally young to the succession commonl y shows marked lateral fac ies and south east although folding occurs in some areas. Two thickness changes, as well as relatively abrupt relocati on melange zones with disrupted sandstone and/or of depositional areas and changing paleohighs. The mudstone-dominated sequences, containing blocks of Murchison Basin in the southern part o f the QMAP

38 Nelson map area is one of these localised faul t-bounded offshore, placed the boundary between the Pakawau basins which has an unusually thick Late Oligocene­ Group and the Farewell Formation of the Kapuni Group Miocene sedimentary sequence. near the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary.

Late C retaceous to Paleocene sediments The Rakopi Fonnation (Kpr) consists of terrestrial coal measures, predominantl y sandsto ne cyclicall y In the northwest of the Nelson QMAP area, Late interbedded with carbonaceous mudstone and thin coal Cretaceous sedimentary deposits are present in narrow, seams. An abundance ofthin coal seams is typical of this northeast-trending, fa ult-bounded basi ns which are well unit For example, a drillholenear Rakopi in defined from offshore seismic surveys and dri llholes Inlet (M25n39656) penetrated 433 m of coal measures (King& Thrasher 1996, their map 8). Part of one ofthese with 75 cool seams, none more than 0.5 m thick. The basins is now partly exposed onshore around Whanganui Otimalaura Conglomerate Member (Kpo) is locally Inlet as the Pakawau Group. The group is divided into exposed at the base of the Rakopi Formation at the two major units; the predominantly terrestrial Rakopi southern edge of its o utcrop area (Bishop 1971). and Formation, resting on basement rocks, and the shallow consists ofcobble-size clasts of Paleozoic lithologies in marine North Cape Formation. King & Thrasher ( 1996), a sandy matrix. Lithofacies in the Rakopi Formation from consideration o f Taranaki Basin stratigraphy suggest swamp and overbank deposition on a fluviatile floodplain.

Figure 53 Cross-bedded sandstone and pebbly sandstone 01 the late Cretaceous North Cape Form ation, Pakawau Group, at Pecks Point, Whanganui Inlet (M24/784707).Photo: CN40468 D.L. Home'

Figure 54 carbonaceous laminae In cross-bedded sandstone 01 the Late Cretaceous Nort h Cape Formation, Pakawau Group, on the southern head of Whanganui Inlet (M24/705693). Photo: CN40792 D.L. Homo'

39 In contrast, theoverlying North Cape Formatton(Kpn) the Farewell Formation. exposed around Abel Head. is consists mainly ofshallow·marine sandslone interbedded signific3nlly more quartzose 3nd m3Y refleel a slowing with siltslone (Fig. 53; Wizevtch & others 1992). locally down of tectonic activity. with greater chemical containing dinoflagcllates. and minor conglomerate with weathering in the source area. Iittle carbonaceous material or coal seams (Fig. 54). The formation is inferred to have been deposited in a variety Much of the Nelson area was above sea level from Late of paralic and nearshore tcrrestrial environments as the Cretaceous to early Tertiary time. and the landmass was sea flooded a coastal floodplain and coastal valleys 10 a source area for terrigenous sediments of the Pakawau form an interconnected system oftidal embaymenlS (King Group and Farewell Formation. A widespread & Thrasher 1996). Ncar Whanganui Inlet. interbedded unconformity separates Farewell Formation from the coal measures and tidally influenced sandstones (Bal & overlying Brunner Coal Measures. This break in the Lewis 1994) have been mapped as the Puponga Member stratigraphic record. at least from 55 to 40 Ma (Early (Kpp). Eocene). is the culmination of a period of tectonic quiescence and subsequent erosion that affec ted much A faull·bounded sliver of cru shed. red-stained of New Zealand for varying periods between the latest conglomerate (Kh). containing generally well rounded Cretaceous and earl iest Oligocene. Generally the rocks c1aslS that include felsic intrusive and mafic volcanic beneath the erosion surface arc deeply leached. with the rocks. occurs wesl of the Aaxmore Faull in Nelson City. less resistant minerals such as feldspar and biotite ALatcCretaeeoUS age has been inferred (Johnston 1984). completely decomposed.

Paleocene to Eocene sediments Eocene sedimentation commenced with the deposition of non -marinc quartz sandstone. conglomerate. The Farewell Formation (PkO ofthc Kapuni Group carbonaceous shale and coal seams ofthe BrunnerCoal (Pk)consists offluvial quaruofeldspathic sandstone (Fig. MeasurtS(Eb. Figs 57 & 58). Being largely derived from 55) and pebbly conglomerate (Fig. 56) between Cape deeply weathered. mainly granitoid basement rocks. the Farewell and Kahurangi Point. and is inferred to have unit is characteristically highly quanzosc. The coal formed on a braided floodplain or heavily ladcn measures are widely preserved in three main geological meandering river system. Although Bal (1994) and Bal settings: as plateaux such as the BullerCoalfield. synclinal & Lewis (1994) describe an unconformity between the structures such as the Heaphy and Takaka coalfields, or North Cape and Farewell formations. there is no cvidence along major faults such as the Nelson-Richmond for a significant erosion or a time break onshore. The Coalfield. In the Takaka area. the BrunnerCoalMeasures contact is interpreted as the progradation of fluvial are up to 350 m thick immediately west of the Pikikuruna sediments over acoastalplain. Deposition ofthe Farewell Fault. The coal measures consist mainly of fining­ Formation occurred th roughout the Paleocene and earl iest upwards sequences of cross-bedded sandstone passi ng Eocene into the widening transgressive basin which hosts up into carbonaceous mudstone with sca ttered coalseams the Pakawau and Kapuni groups. The uppermost part of up to 2.5 m thick (Leask 1993). In the southwest of the

Figure 55 Cross·bedded Farewell FormatiOll sandstone at the mouth 01 Whanganui Inlet (M25/705693). Pholo: CN4079S D.L. Homer

40 Figure 56 Conglomerate with interbedded sand lenses in Fig ure 57 Cross·bedded and laminated sandstone. with Paleocene Farewell FOl'mation (lowermost Kapuni Group) near carbonaceous layers In Brunner Coal Measures at Rangihaeata cape Farewell (M24/B 12777). Photo: CN40719 D.L. Homer Head, N25/924440). Photo: CN40868 D.L. Homer

Nelson QMAP area. the coal measures of the northern O ligocene 10 earliesl Miocene sediments end of the Buller Coalfield are dominated by quartz Continued marine transgression from late Eocene into sandstone with subordinate conglomerate, mudstone and the Oligocene led to the gradual drowning of the low­ coal seams up to 17 m thick (Nathan 1996). lying land, and by the end of the Oligocene virtually the whole map area was submerged. The supply of The coal measures are conformably (and in most places terrigenous sediment dwindled. and as a consequence gradationally) overlain by shallow- water marine Oligocene sediments are ty pically calcareous, and sediments. In the southwest these marine sediments are limestone is widespread. Although Oligocene sediments massive carbonaceous mudstone with mino r muddy covered the whole area, their present limited distribution sandstone of the Kaiata Forma tion (Erk) whereas in is due to subsequem uplift and erosion (and, to a lesser Golden Bay and at Tadmor they are poorly cemented extent, burial by younger sediments). Nathan (1974) beach sands. Mudstone, commonly containing a high included all the calcareous sediments in the Nile Group proportion ofthick-bedded quartzofeldspathic sandstone, (O n), and Nathan & others (1986) divided Nile Group with minor conglomerate and thin coal seams, occurs in lithologies into two major groupings: the Murchison area as Forma tion (Em) (Fig. 58). In the vicinity of Nelson City, steeply dipping and (a) Platform facies (usually <100 m thick), consisting of extensively faulted well-bedded sandstone, siltstone, shallow-water bioclastic limestone and muddy micaceous conglomerate, and thin coal seams collectively form the limestone, formed on a stable shelf; and lower part ofJenkins G roup (Ej; Bruce 1962, Johnston (b) Basinal facies (usually >100 m thick), predominantly 1979). muddy limeS(Qne, massive calcareous mudstone and interbedded calcareous sandS(Qne and mudstone, formed Tectonic activity recommenced at about 38 Ma (late in rapidly subsiding basins. Middle Eocene), with regional extension leading to the formation of small, local basins, many of them fault­ The platform facies is found as erosional remnants over bounded, separated by areas of low-lying land. Ongoing much of Northwest Nelson. mainly as bluff-forming subsidence, from the Middle Eocene into the Late shelly, locally algal, limestone (Fig. 59& 60) that includes Oligocene, led to progressive drowning of the land area. the Takaka Limestone ofGolden Bay. The basinal facies At the end of the Eocene much of the present land area occurs in the south (Figs 61 & 62) in the Murchison Basin was stil l emergent, with a low-lying area (Karamea and the catchment, where it is mapped as Peninsula) surrounded by shallow seas (Nathan & o thers Matiri Forma tion (Om). In Nelson city, calcareous 1986, their map 13 and fig. 3.11). s iltstone with minor barnacle plate limestone of Oligocene to early Miocene age are included within the upper J enkins Grou p (Ej).

41 Agure 58 Remnartsofthe 8nn'lereoa Measures on a l1risbasemef'C ridge aI:loYa Sili91 I, "18 Creek. In the dstance, the coal meaSU'eSare CIII8IIlWl bythe ElXlllll8 ~ Fttmation nv..dstone and nerbedded sandstone at Pyramid on the Garabakli Ridge. Photo: CHI2151 DL. HomtK

Early to Middle Miocene sediments the Murchison Basin,thedominant lithology is light grey­ brown calcareous mudstone or muddy sandsto ne, A major change in the pattern ofsedimentation, related collecti vely mapped as Lower Blue Bottom Group(Mb, to the initiation of oblique compression between the after Neef 198 1). Pac ific and Australian plates, took place in early Miocene time (late Wailakia n to Altonian stages). Renewed In the Takaka area, there is a marked shallowing in the tectonic activity is reflected in a regional change from Middle Miocene (Clifdenian to Lillbumian stages) from carbonate-rich to terrigenous muddy sediments, locall y shelf mudstone upwards into marginal marine sandstone called 'papa' and collectively included in the Lower Blue (Grindley 197 1; Fig. 63). This represents the start of Bottom Group, which are typical of Neogene sediments regional uplift. and much of Northwest Nelson has on the western side of the South Island. remained emergent since that time. In the Murchison Basin, the gradational contact between the Oligocene Sedimentation ceased in several early Tertiary basins, Matiri Formation and the overl ying Mangles Formation and there is an unconfonnity beneath early Miocene (Mm) is marked by th e incoming of quartz· mica sediments in many places. In particular, the Otaian Stage sandstone beds within the calcareous interbedded (earliest Miocene) is missing over much of the onshore sandstone and mudstone at the top of th e Matiri area except in the northwest and in the Murchison Bas in Fonnaiion. The lower pan of the Mangles Formation, in the south (Nathan & others 1986, their fig. 3.24). exposed within the Nelson QMAP area, consists of an allernating sandstone and mudstone turbidite sequence, Early to Middle Miocene sediments are preserved in which passes upwards into more massive, locally several isolated depressions, separated by uplifted ranges glauconitic, shallow-water sandstone. In Nelson city, of pre-Tertiary rocks. Because of this isolation, several the upper part of the Jenkins Group (Ej) contains nomenclatural schemes have been devised for different Miocene graded sandstone-siltstone lenses, and massive areas (summarised by Nathan & others 1986, their fig . blue-grey siltstone with minor conglomerate and breccia. 3.23) for what are very similar sediments. Apart from

42 Figure 59 Oligocene Nile Group limestone nonconlormably overlying Karamea Granite under Ihe Oparara Arch, Opa1ara Valley (L27/418066).

Figure 60 Solution seams in Oligocene Nile Group limestone at Te Hapu, near Whanganui Inlel (M25/654657).

Figure 61 Nile Group calcareous Interbedded sandstone and mudstone (catcllysch) with a large granitic boulder at Uttle Wanganui Head (l28/308789). The boulders may have eroded off the Koogahu Faull scarp which lay to west (ollshore) prior to Miocene inversion. Photo: CN25619 D.L. Homer

43 FIgure 62 Well bedded, calcareous mudstone and sandstone of the Matiri Formation, viewed looking south along the Mann Range to The Haystack.

Late Miocene 10 Pliocene sediments exposed in the southwest of the Moutere Depression, consists oflocally derived conglomerate. sandstone, and Much of Nonhwest Nelson was emergent during the late ligni te seams of la test Miocene-Pliocene age (Coleman Miocene-Pliocene, and marine sediments (mapped as 198 1). In Nelson City, the Gravel (1'Ip), up Upper Blue Bottom G roup, I'b) are preserved only on to 500 m thick, consists ofgranitic conglomerate grading the southwest side of the map area near Karamea and upwards into conglomerate composed of clasts of further south near the mouth of the Mohikinui River. At volcaniclastic Permianrrriassic rocks largely derived both places the lithology is similar. consisting of blue­ from the east of the Waimea Fault (Johnston 1979). grey muddy fine sandstone containing shallow-water fossils. There is a change at about the Miocene-Pliocene Lale Pliocene to early Pleistocene sediments boundary to massive fine-grained sandsto ne. often weathered rusty brown in outcrop. Rapid uplift of the Southern Alps in the Late Pliocene is reflected by a flood of Torlesse--derived gravel that At Karamea, the late Miocene-Pliocene sediments are extended west and northwest. and is infened to have part of a continuous Neogene sequence (Neef 1981 ). covered much of the present land area (Nathan & others South of the Mohikinui River the Upper Blue Bottom 1986. their map 30). An extensive areaofuniform yellow­ Group sediments rest unconformably on early Tertiary brown. clay-bound gravel. with deeply weathered clasts sediments (Saul 1994), and the unconformity is a regional almost entirely of Torlesse--derived sandstone and semi­ feature that extends funher south (Nathan & others 1986, schist (Moutere G r avel, I'lm), is preserved in the their fig 3.28). Moutere Depression (Figs 5 & 64). A similar weathered conglomerate, but alsocontaining schist, granite and other Non-marine conglomerate and gravel of the Tadmor igneous and sedimentary clasts. as well as a higher G r oup, rest ing unconformably on o lder rocks, are proport ion of interbedded sandstone is exposed in the exposed further east. The G lcnhopc ."ormation (1PIg), Karamea area where it is mapped as O ld Man G roup

44 FIgure 63 Well bedded mudstone and siltstone of the Lower Blue Bottom Group lit the T81Skohe quarry, Goldon Bay (N25I 013419).

Figure 64 Slighlly weathered, well rounded quartzofeldspathic sandstone clasts in a brown weathefed muddy sand matrix comprise the bulk of the Moutere Gravel, shown here al Moutere Bluff, Tasman Bay (N27/17 1995). Photo: CN4S206 D.L. Homer

(Fo). The Late Pliocene HiIlersden Gravel (F h), Structure composed of c1ay·bound Torlesse·derived The early Eocene erosion surface were first buried by quanwfeldspalhic sandstone clasts, is preserved to the younger Cenozoic sediments, and subsequently exhumed south of the Alpine Fault in the Wairau Valley. in many parts of Norlhwest Nelson (Figs 4, 6). The Climatic cooling at about 2 Ma resulted in erosion surface forms a useful datum for assessing extending northward from the Spenser Mountains. Cenozoic defonnation (Suggate &. othen 1978, their fig. Torlesse--derived deposits with large glacial 6.2). Identification ofsedimentary depocentres and basin erratics. local lake sediment deposits. and well·sorted reconstruction (Nathan &. others 1986, King &. Thrasher gravels comprise the Podka Formation (eQp). The 1996) have highlighted significant spatial and temporal fonnation was deposited immediately above the Moutere changes in the sedimentary basins ofthe Nelson QMAP Gravel at the southern edge of the Nelson QMAP area area. 'These changes were strongly influenced by fault (Johnsoon 1990). movement and fault reactivation. For instance, the Cretaceous·Paleocene Pakawau Basin fonned as a half

45 graben during wesl-side-down. oonnal movement on the the terranes ofeast Nelson. The Moutere Depression. is Wakamarama Fault during a period of exten!'ional a faull-angle depression Of half-grabt'n thai developed tectonics. Tectonic conuaction in the Miocene resulted in the Early Pleistocene along the Waimea·Flaxmore in reverse reactivltlion of the Wakamarama Fault and Fault System. displacing the Moutere Gravels and older shifted the focus ofdeposition to the east side ofthe fault. rocks. Only in the Moutere Depression and to a lesser Farther south, the Eocene-Oligocene sediments deposited extent near Karamea and in the Wairau valley. are the against the east-dipping normal Kongahu Fault were formerly extensive Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene inverted in the Early Miocene with reverse reactivation terrestrial gravels now preserved. ofthe fault (Nathan & others 1986, Kamp & others 1996; Fig. 65). QUATERNARY

The north.uending Paleozoic structures of west Nelson. Alluviallerrace and flood plain deposits particularly in the western part of the Takaka terrane, have been offset by numerous, WNW- to ENE-trending Alluvial gravels (Qla, Q2a. Q6a. Q8a. uQa. eQa) are faults. with horizontal displacements of up to 1 kIn. The widespread and well preserved in the nood plains and faults are thought to pre-date the late Cenozoic structures. aggradation surfaces of major river valleys and alluvial fans within the Nelson QMAP area (Fig. 66). Some of In the east. much ofthe uplift has occurred on thedextral­ these gravels have been differentiated and formally reverse faults of the Waimea-Aaxmore Fault System. named on the basis ofrelative age and clast composition Many ofthe faults are reactivated older faults that separate (e.g. Suggate 1965 . Johnston 1983). The ages inferred

figure 65 l.ate Tertiary delomlation in Northwest. Neisoo has resulted in a series of monoctinaJ ftexlM"es 0'Jf!J( basemenllatJts. AJ. Kohaihai Bluff, Brunner Coal Measll"es and Nile Group dip steepfy tOWill"ds the ~-dipplng KongahJ FaUt zone. the su1ace trace ofwtich iesirmIdaIefy oflshore. Offset of these ris, wtich dip near horizonIaIy wittWl 3 krn of the faull both inland and otIshore. indicates a vertical sep8fation of abouI3 krn. Pnoto: CN25773 D.L. Homer

46 for the respective terrace deposits are largely based on from longshore drift form beach ridges adjacent to absolute and relative heights of correlated outwash Tasman Bay. The 13.5 km-Iong Boulder Bank barrier aggradation terrace surfaces, the degree of clast spit at Nelson City formed by longshore drift of boulders weathering, the presence of , and the proportion of derived from the Cretaceous Cable Granodiorite at clay content. Drumduan.

Alluvial fan deposils Sand dunes and marine sand deposils

Large alluvial fans, screes and coll uvial deposits (Qla, Beach ridges and dunes (Qld) occur along the western Q2a, uQa) are prominent at the foot of steep streams coast, parlicularly in the lee ofcoastal promontories such draining hill s and ranges. The fans comprise poorly as the Karamea area and northwest of Kahurangi Point sorted, angular, silt- to boulder-sized clasts and lack clear (Fig. 68). The arcuate sweep ofFarewell Spit, with both stratification. Extensive low-gradient fans near Nelson fixed and mobile dunes (Fig. 9), has formed from the City are the result oferosion of uplifted basement rocks northward longshore drift ofsand along the West Coast. southeast of the Waimea Fault. Many smaller fan s are The spit is prone to sea erosion from the north and is in a included with the mapped alJuvialterrace and flood plain continual state of depletion and replenishment. Sand deposits. dunes have formed along much of the coast of Golden Bay and Tasman Bay, as at Tahunanui Beach. Many of Marine deposils these dunes overlie marine beach ridges composed of sand. Marine and beach deposits consisting ofgravel, sand and mud (Qlb, Q5b, Q7b, uQb) are preserved on terraces Peat and swamp deposils along the West Coast (Fig. 67) and in places around Golden Bay. A gently sloping surface cut into Moutere Swamp deposits (Qla) consisting of poorly consolidated Gravel between Mapua and the Moutere Inlet may also sand, mud and peat are mapped in flat, generally low­ be a marine bench cut in the early 10 mid-Pleistocene. lying areas close to the coast, commonly on the landward Marine deposits such as boulder banks, storm ridge side of beach dunes near ri ver mouths. Smaller swamps beaches. and sand bars occur near sea level around have developed immediately upriver ofrecent landslides. Tasman Bay. Marine gravel and sandy gravel resulting

Figure 66 Modern nood plains, comprising alluvial gravels (ala) deposited by the Waimea River, are extensively used fOf horticulture and are an important source of aggregate. Phoro: CN17836 D.L. Hom,,,

47 Landslide deposits may possibly be the result of earthquake ruptwe on the adjacent Eighty-eight Fuult (sec beluw). Tertiary rocks Landslides (QII. uQI)area common fealweofthe steeper are typically low strength and many arc prone to failure. country throughout the map area. The larger landslides have involved several square kilomelres of source area Deposits of human origin and resulted in often devastati ng downslope movement of millions of tonnes of rock. The landslides vary in Significant land reclamation has occurred in the Nelson composition from very large masses of largely coherent City area around Nelson Haven using hard fill . hydraulic but very shattered rock to unsorted fragments of rock in fiJI. and domestic rubbish. Minor reclamation has also a silty clay matrix. Earthflow deposits. consisting of a occurred around . chaotic mixture of blocks up to 10 m across in a silly. locally serpentinitic matrix. fill valleys downslope of Structure areas of crushed rocks such as those of the Patuki and Croisilles melanges in east Nelson. Demonstrably active faults. such as those displacing yoong «125 (0) yr DP) surfaces in the Nelson QMAP Many ofthe landslides have been triggered by seismicity. area are the Alpine Fault. and the Waimea. Heslington. The 1929 Murchison earthquake caused widespread Eighty-eight. Whangamoa and Dishopdale faults within landsliding in parts of Northwest Nelson (Fig. 7). Some the Waimea-Aaxmore Faull System. The White Creek. of these landslides have dammed rivers to form lakes Lyell and Glasgow faults show evidence ofpost-125 000 (such as Lake Stanley and Lake Elmer. Fig. 69). Lake yr DP activity south of the Nelson QMAP area but their Chalice in the Richmond Range resulted from one of ac ti vity further north has not been demonstrated. In several landslides that occurred about 2100 years ago general. fault activity decreases away from the Alpine that may have been triggered by earthquake. Fault although some northern faults. such as the Whangamoa Fault. Eighty-eight and Dishopdale faults. The Marlborough Schist commonly fails along foliation contain sections with signi ficant surface rupture (Johnston planes and joint surfaces. The Triassic Richmond Group & others 1993). Other faults. such as the Karamea Fault. rocks have been involved in a number ofrelatively large have a significant level of mid-crustal seismic activity landslides. These landslides have largely stabilised and (Coote & Downes 1995).

Agure 61 Okler mame terraces cleared for grazing above the modem Holocene mame sands. gravels, and dune sands irrmedial:ely SOlJh of the MokiWU River mouth. Photo: CN313S2 D.L. Home<

48 FIgure 68 Longitudinal dunes formed by the prevailing coastal winds at the mouth of the Turimawiwi River. Photo: CN4149 D.L. Homer

Figure 69 The 1929 Murchison earthquake resulted in many large landslides in Northwest Nelson. A landslide deposit which dammed the Ugly River has formed Lake Elmer.Photo: CN25705 D.L. Homer

49 OrFSlIORE GEOLOG Y MiCttne and post-Middle MiCttne by reverse inversion of major normal faults suth lIS the Wakamarama, A major . the Late Cretaceous·Recent Kahurangi and Surville faults resulted in deep half-graben Taranaki Basin. lies to the north and west ofthe Nelson basins. cooslline. The offshore geology of the Taranaki Basin has been described in detail by King & Thrasher (1996) The offshore basement geology or the Nelson QMAP and is only summarised here for the area pertaining 10 area has been summarised by Mortimer & others (1997). the Nelson QMAP area. The offshore area has been mainly from oil exploration well core from the Taranaki extensively explored by seismic reflection surveys and and Wanganui basins. Paleozoic and Cretaceous granite deep exploration wells. The northern coastal geology of basement horsts extend north into the Taranaki Basin. the Nelson QMAP area provides the only exposures of Biotite granite samples from the exploration wells much of the southern Taranaki Basi n stratigraphy, Kongahu-J. Toropuihi-I and MOlueka-1are chemically particularly the Late Cretaceous Pakawau Group, the similar to Karamea Suite granite. The Motueka-l granite Paleocene-Eocene Kapuni Group. and the Oligocene­ has been da ted as Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous early Miocene Ngatoro Group (similar to the Nile Group). (S HRIMP U-Pb zi rcon) and Toropuihi-l granite as Major sub-basins developed along faults throughout the Carboniferous in age. The Survitle-I well. 23 km almost Cretaceous-Tertiary. The Pakawau Sub-basin developed due south of the Motueka-l well. bonomed in biotite as half grabens west afthe Wakamarama Fault and east granite ofSeparation Point Suite affinities. Further south, of the Kahurangi Fault in the Cretaceous-Paleocene and on the shore of Tasman Bay. the Ruby Bay- I well attained local sedimentary thicknesses in excessor2000 penetrated diorite with chemical and petrographic m. The Eocene was a period or relatively unirorm similarities with the Rotoroa Igneous Complex of the deposition and limited rault control on basin Median Tectonic Zone. development. Major subsidence in the Oligocene-

Fig ure 70 The east side 01 the lower Aorere Valley yielded significant alluvial gold last century Irom the colluvium, days and conglomerate on the Late Cretaceous to mId-TeI'\iary erosion surface and In Slate River. Alluvial workings are visible In the foreground, and the rich, hard-rock Johnstons Unlled Mine is Just left 01 the photo centre. Photo: CN25680 D.L. Homer

50 GEOLOGICAL RESOURCES

The Nelson QMAP area contains a diverse range of Ordovician Aorangi Mine Formation. Secondary mineral commodities hosted in a wide range of rock types. enrichment ofgold occurred near the surface. The Owen The geological resources ofthe Nelson QMAP area have River Goldfield was prospected and mined between 188 1 been described in detail by Williams ( 1974) and Roser and 1890 but only2.2 kg ofgold was extracted from 732 & others (1994) and the following is a summary of the t of quartz. The gold occurred in discontinuous quartz­ latter publicati on. The diversity or mineral commodities carbonate veins in the Owen Formation. Several hard­ has resulted in a number of periods of concentrated rock mines developed after the decline in the alluvial exploration beginning with the working of altered operati ons. Johnston's United (formerly Perservance) sedimentary blocks in the melanges of east Nelson by Mine was the richest producer yielding 583 kg of gold pre-European Maori for Slone implements. European from 62 240 t of although it was rarely profitable. mining followed with the discovery of gold in Northwest The nearby Ophir, Phoenix and Red Hill mines produced Nelson in 1842 with the first gold ru sh. to the liule. The deposits occur near a thrust contact between Collingwood area. occurring in 1857. Gold has continued schistose metavolcanic Haupiri Group rocks and to be mined and explored for throughout the Nelson underlying Wangapeka Formation schistose QMAParea although interest has been relatively subdued metasediments. Exploration in the 19805 identified the since 191 7. Chromite and ropper prospecting was al times Sams Creek prospect, west of the upper Takaka River, intensively undertaken between 1850 and 1900, and with a potential resource of 3.5 Mt at 2 gjt Au. The gold scheelite was mined around World War I. Curtailment occurs with arsenopyrite and pyrite in quartz vein of imparls during World War II sparked interest in stockworks within a Late Triassic(?) peralkaline granite serpentinite, talc-magnesite, iron, and asbestos. Regional porphyry emplaced into the Ordovician Wangapeka copper, mo lybdenum. and nickel surveys were Formation and the Silurian Ellis Group. undertaken in the late 1%Os and 1970$, followed by further gold explorati on in the 1980s. Non-metallic The Caples-derived semi-schists ofthe Wakamarina area mineral deposits such as aggregate, clay, dolomite, and host a number of quam lodes of which the Golden Bar serpentine have been the basis for a numbeT ofsuccessful reef yielded significant amounts of gold. The reef was local industries. traced over 1800 m at up to 3 m wide and yielded in excess of51 8 kgofgold and 442 t ofscheelite. The gold Gold occurred in vuggy quartz with scheelite. pyrite, and calcite. Ofthe several reefs in the Wairau valley only the The Nelson QMAP area has been a significant past Jubilee or Big Reef and the Sylvia or Small Reef are producer of gold. Detrital gold has been won from many noteworthy and yielded 37 kg of gold from 3673 t of riverbeds and terraces throughout the area. Early quartz. workings were concentrated in the Anatoki, Takaka, Aorere and Parapara valleys of Golden Bay, the Other metallic minerals Wangapeka and Baton valleys of west Nelson and the Wakamarina valley of Marlborough. The largest detrital Chromium from chromite has been produced from the gold operations centred around the east side of the lower ultramafic rocks of both east and west Nelson. The most Aorere valley including Slate River (Fig. 70). Much of important deposits were in the Dun Mountain Ophiolite th is gold, and that from other areas such as the Tablelands Belt rocks near Dun Mountain_Mineralisation typically near Mt Arthur. was concemrated in colluvium. clay occurs as lenticular podiform deposits and layers in and gravel lying on the Waipoonamu erosion surface. SCfPCntinised dunite and hanburgite, and as disseminated The Wakamarina River in east Nelson became a focus of grains within dunite and harzburgite. Chromite has also mining acti vi ty in 1864 for a few years. and several been mined from blocks within the Patuki and Croisilles tributaries of the were prospected but with melanges near Croisilles Harbour. In total about 6000 t limited success. Although exploration has continued, no ofchromite were mined and exported from east Nelson, large-scale mining has occurred si nce lustcentury. Smul l­ mostl y between 1862 and 1866. The ultramafic rocks of scale alluvial gold mining continues in many areas. the Cobb Igneous Complex have seams ofchromite-rich serpentinised peridotite. and detrital chromite is common The largest of the hard-rock goldfields was in the Aorangi within the Lockett Conglomerate. Mine (Golden Blocks) area. The Golden Ridge and Anthill mines produced 172.3 kg of gold from 107&4t Copper was produced in small quantities (a few hundred of ore between 1897 and 1904. The Aorangi (Golden to nnes) from serpentinite of th e Dun Mountain Blocks) Mine produced 870.2 kg from 23 994 t of ore Ultramafics Group. Primary chalcopyrite occurs with between 1897 and 1913. Most of the gold occurred in pyrrhotite, with secondary mineral assemblages ofnative quartz veins within a carbonaceous shale hor"iwn of the copper and malachite, and minor amounts of azuri te.

5 1 cuprite, chrysocolla. and chalcocite. Copper smelters in ahered dolerite. Pentlandite also occurs ..... ithin .....ere briefly in operalion in the Roding valley in 1886 serpenlinised peridOlite of the Dun Mount::ain Ophiolile and again in 1908. Disseminated copper mineralisation Group ..... ith chromite. ilmenite. bravoite. pyrrhotite and consisting ofchalcopyrite. pyrite and magnetite occurs chalcopyrite. Nickel-bearing awaruite has also been within calc-si licate skams and schist at Copperstain Creek reported from these rocks (Challis & Long 1964). in the Pariwhakaoho River. with an estimated resource of 10.7 Mt at 0. 15%. Chalcopyrite occurs with pyrrhotite Platinum group minerals (POM) occur in alluvial gravels and pentlandite in the gabbros. pyroxenites and diorites in a number of localities in the Golden Bay area. The ofthe Riwaka Complex in the lower Motlleka valley area PGM mainly contain Ru-Os- Ir suggesting they are (see below). Minor copper mineralis:uion is associated derived from an uluamafic source. and PGM occur in with the porphyry molybdenum deposits in Karamea and the Cobb Igneous Complex. POM containing Ir-Os-Ru Aorere valleys. and with other base metals within the occur in alluvial gravels in the Lee River. sourced from Devil River Volcanics Group in the upper Takaka and the adjacent Dun Mountain Ultramafics Group. Cobb rivers. Silver mineralisation has been documented in many Surficial limonitic iron ore occurs in a belt between areas. occurring .....ith copper. molydenum. gold and lead. Onekaka and Parapara Inlet overlying Arthur Marble in although no production of silver has been recorded. fault-angle depressions (Bishop 1971). The deposits are Si lver minerals have been found in quartz veins and thought to have been derived from laterite from the fractures in Wangapeka Fonnation quartzites and sericite Tertiary erosion surface (Grindley & Wauers 1965). schists in the Slate River. occurring with gal ena. pyrite, Production of40 640 t of pig iron occurred between 1922 arsenopyrite. sphalerite. pyrrhotite. chalcopyrite and and 1935. chalcocite. Argentiferous galena is present with pyrite. chalcopyrite and tetrahedrite in quartz veins CUlling Numerous porphyry molybdenum prospects have been diorite and Haupiri Group amphibolites in the Aorere investigated between 1970 and 1990 in the country rock Goldfield, including Richmond Hill in the Parapara River. to Late Cretaceous Separation Point Suite granite plutons Silver occurs with auriferous pyrite-galena-chaJcopyrite­ (Rabone 1989). Most deposits are hosted in Greenland sphalerite veins within Arthur Marble in the headwaters Group metasedimentary rocks. and some deposits occur of O..... en River. and with chalcopyrite-pyrite­ within Karamea Suite granite. Mineralisation typically anenopyrite-titanite-gaiena-sphalerite in Waingaro Schist consists of disseminated molybdenite occurring with in the Baton River area. minor pyrite. chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite, and rare galena. sphalerite. and bismuth sulphosalts. Ilmenite occurs in beach sand deposits in the Karamea area with other heavy minerals such as garnet. magnetite. Lead·zinc minerali sation occurs within the Aorere zircon and rutile. Goldfield, such as at Johnston's United Mine, in small lenses of galena-sphalerite-pyri te -a rsenopyrite­ Tungsten occurs in scheel ite-bearing quartz vei ns and pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite and nearby in association with auriferous lodes in Caples Group sc hists. and the several gold and silver bearing vein deposits. A small Wakamarina Goldfield area yielded 475 t of WO) galena-sphalerite-pyrite lode occurs in the Pariwhakaoho concentrate between 1874 and 1944. Relatively minor River and galena-sphalerite-Ag-Au quartz veins are production took place elsewhere in the Marlborough associated .....ith quartz diorite dikes nonh ofLake Stanley. Schist Zone. Scheelite also occurs with pyrite. minor Minor galena segregations occur in the Ordovician chalcopyrite. rare galena and rare molydenite in quartz marble. veins associated with intrusions ofSeparation Point Suite granodiorite in the east of the lo.....er Takaka valley. Nicke.l mineralisation occurs wilhin the Riwaka Complex Stratabound scheelite is present in marble lenses within in the Graham valley near Pokororo and the Skeet River the Benson Volcanics of the Devil River Volcanics area and was extensively explored bet.....een 1967 and Group. 1979. The mineralisation is best developed in cumulate Coal gabbro_ with lower concentrations in olivine pyroxenite and hornblende pyroxenite. Pentlandite occurs within Coalfields ..... ithin the map area include Collingwood. pyrrhotite with subordinate chalcopyrite, pyrite. Takaka. Nelson-Richmond. Baton. Heaphy. Karamea. marcasite. and mackinawite. Several occurrences of and Buller (northern part). The Collingwood Coalfield nickel mineralisation occur in the Takaka and Cobb worked coal measures from the Late CretaceoUS Pakawau valleys within the Devil River Volcanics. Pentlandite Group. whereas the other coa1rtelds in the Nelson QMAP occurs with pyrrhotite and minor chalcopyrite as lenses area have exploited the Eocene Brunner Coal Measures.

52 The Buller Coalfie ld has had the largest past producti on The Nelson-Richmond Coalfield is within a small area (Fig_ 71), and the working mines immediately south of ofBnlnnerCoal Measllres along the Wa imea Fault. Total the map area are currently producing over I million producti on is estimated to have been about 5000 t between tonnes per year. Coal production has been from the 1853 and 1910. The seams have been strongly sheared Middle to Late Eocene Brunner Coal Meas ures resulting in highly vari able thickness (0-3.3 m), and are containing seams up to 50 m thick. Coal rank increases typically steeply dipping, ofhigh-volatile sub-bituminous westward across the coalfield from high-vola tile C rank with high sulphur (>3%) and ash (>5%) contents. bituminous A-B to medium-volatile bituminous. The Karamea Coalfield is with in Eocene Brunner Coal The Collingwood Coalfield has had significant past Measures near Karamea township and the Garibaldi production of 868 000 t, most of which came from the Ridge. Total recorded production is 320toflow-volati le Puponga mines before 1975, working the non-marine bituminous to sub-bi tuminous rank. parts of the Late Cretaceous Pakawau Group. The seams are typicall y thin «3 m) and discontinuous, ranging in The H eaphy Coalfield consists of thin (