The Tuya-Teslin Areal Northern British Columbia
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BRITISH COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF MINES HON. E. C. CARSON, Minister JOHN F. WALKER, Dopulu Minis/#, BULLETIN No. 19 THE TUYA-TESLIN AREAL NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA by K. DeP. WATSON and W. H.MATHEWS 1944 CONTENTS. P*GS SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER I.-Introduction ....................................................................................................... 6 Location............................................................................................................................. 6 Access................................................................................................................................. 7 Field-work .......................................................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. 7 Previous Work.................................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER11.- I Topography ........................................................................................................................ 9 Kawdy Plateau.......................................................................................................... 9 Trenches ...................................................................................................................... 9 Teslin Trench.................................................................................................... 9 Jennings Trench............................................................................................... 10 Parallel and Cottonwood Trenches................................................................. 10 Atsutla Range............................................................................................................ 11 Tuya Range............................................................................................. :.................. 11 Climate............................................................................................................................... 11 Agriculture ........................................................................................................................ 12 Vegetation ........................ 1................................................................................................. 12 Game................................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER111.-General Geology .............................................................................................. 14 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 14 Oblique Creek Formation (1, la, lb, le) .................................................................... 14 .................................................................................. Kedahda Formation (2... 2a .I 2b). 15 TeslinFormation (3. 3a) ............................................................................................ 16 Nazcha Formation (4, 4a) ........................................................................................... I 17 Shonektaw Formation (5) ............................... I.............................................................. 19 Intrusive Rocks.................................................................................................................. 20 Introduction ............ ..................... 20 Serpentine and Talcose Alterations (6) ............................................................... 20 Quartz Diorite, Diorite,.. Gabbro (7)...................................................................... 22 Granite, Granodlorlte (8)....................................................................................... 22 Charliecole Stock (9) ........................................................................ ..................... 23 Christmas Creek.. Batholith (loa, lob) ..................... ~~~ ......................................... 23 Granite, Granodlorlte (11) ..................................................................................... 24 Glundebery Batholith.................................................................. 24 Granite, Granodlorlte (11) ............................................................................. 24 Granite and Granodiorite with Abundant Diorite Inclusions (lla).... 25 GraphicGranite, Miarolitic Granite (llb) ............................................... 26 Rhyolite Dykes.................................................................................................. 26 Tuya batholith^ ............................................................................................................ 27 Granite, Granodiorite (11) .............................................................................. 27 Granodioriteand Quartz Diorite with Abundant Schist 1nclu.sions (llc) 1 27 P arallel Creek Batholith (11) Batholith Creek Parallel ........................ 28 B asa lt Dykes Basalt ..................................................................... 28 Granitic Intrusives in Oblique Creek Formation ................................................ 28 Tuya Formation (12) ....................................................................................... I.............. 28 Drift and Alluvium (13) ................................................................................................. 31 2 . THE TUYA-TESLIN AREA. SUMMARY. HE Tuya-Teslin Area, 1,600 square miles in extent, is situated in the Stikine and Atlin Wining Divisions of Northern British Columbia, partly within the western margin of the Cassiar-Omineca Mountains. Although the area is accessible by several routes of travel it is, nevertheless, remoteaid transportation costs, at present, are very high.Because of the cold climateand the presence of snow in all but the summer months, prospecting can he carried on satisfactorily for only about four months of the year. A large part of the region rises above timber-line, which lies at about 4,500 feet above sea-level. About one-quarter of the area is occupied by a gently rolling upland known as the Xawdy Plateau. The Tuya Range, a north-westerly-trending belt of mountains in the eastern part of the area, contains several rugged peaks over 6,500 feet in altitude. The north-westerly-trending Atsutla Range, lying in the western half of the region, contains sharp peaks up to 6,500 feet in height in its central and north-eastezn parts and lower mountains with flat-topped summits in its south-western part. Large north- westerly-trending valleys or trenches characterized by broad, flat, drift-covered Boors .and by straight steep walls lie to the east of the Tuya Range, between the Tuya and Atsutla Ranges, and to the west of the Atsutla Range. In the Tuya Range the Oblique Creek formation, consisting of gneisses, quartzite, schists, crystalline limestone, and volcanics, of undetermined age, has been intruded by two separate granitic batholiths and 'numerous small intrusives of granite, basalt, and highlyaltered ultramafic rocks. In the western part of thearea the bedded rocks comprisePermian quartzite, argillite, chert, volcanics, andlimestone mapped as the Kedahdaand Teslin formations and Lower Mesozoic volcanicconglomerate, arkose, argillite, tuff, limestone, and volcanics mapped as the Nazcha and Shonektaw forma- tions. In the Atsutla Range some of these rocks have been intruded by two granitic batholithsand by many smaller bodies of granitic rocks, diorite,gabbro, rhyolite, basalt, and serpentine. Generally, the structural features of the Palaeozoic and Meso- zioc rocks trend north-westerly and dip at moderate to steep angles. In many places in the area theseolder rocks are overlainunconformably by late Tertiary (?) and Pleistocene lava, tuff, and agglomerate of the Tuya formation. During the Pleistocene an ice-sheet moved westerly and south-westerly across the area,hut it didnot greatly modify the land forms. About one-half of the area is covered withglacial drift and alluvium, which are generallythick and widespread below an elevation of 4,500 feet. TheTuya-Teslin Area is virtuallyunprospected for lode deposits.The thick mantle of drift and alluvium and the extensive areas of volcanicrocks of the Tuya formationunfortunately eliminate a largeproportion of thearea for prospecting. Parts of the remainder, however, aregeologically favourable for the occurrenceof lode depositsand indications of copper, gold, silver,iron, lead, zinc, tungsten,and tin mineralizationhave been found.In the north-eastern part of theTuya Range some ' . of the limestones overlying the flat upper surface of the Parallel Creek batholith have been altered to skarns and, inplaces, mineralized with tungsten, tin, lead,zinc, and iron. Parts of the Tuya-Teslin Area have been prospected without success for shallow deposits of placer gold, but little or no testing of the deep ground has ever been done. 5 CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. LOCATION. The Tuya-Teslin Area, comprising about 1,600 square milesof uninhabited country, is in the Stikine and Atlin Mining Divisions of Northern British Columbia (Fig. 1). The area extends from the southern end of Teslin Lake (approximately 59' 30' north,, 132" west) to within.about 18 miles