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The Volcanogenic Mount Rogers Formation and the Overlying Glaciogenic Konnarock Formation-Two Late Proterozoic Units in Southwestern Virginia

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The Volcanogenic Mount Rogers Formation and the Overlying Glaciogenic Konnarock Formation-Two Late Proterozoic Units in Southwestern Virginia AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS AND MAPS OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Instructions on ordering publications of the U.S. Geological Survey, along with prices of the last offerings, are given in the current-year issues of the monthly catalog "New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey." Prices of available U.S. Geological Survey publications released prior to the current year are listed in the most recent annual "Price and Availability List." Publications that may be listed in various U.S. Geological Survey catalogs (see back inside cover) but not listed in the most recent annual "Price and Availability List" may be no longer available. 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Maps For maps, address mail orders to Maps Only U.S. Geological Survey, Map Distribution Maps may be purchased over the counter at the following U.S. Box 25286, Bldg. 810, Federal Center Geological Survey offices: Denver, CO 80225 Residents of Alaska may order maps from • FAIRBANKS, Alaska-New Federal Bldg., 101 Twelfth Ave. U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Science Information Center 101 Twelfth Ave. -Box 12 • ROLLA, Missouri-1400 Independence Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99701 • STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Mississippi-Bldg. 3101 The Volcanogenic Mount Rogers Formation and the Overlying Glaciogenic Konnarock Formation-Two Late Proterozoic Units in Southwestern Virginia By DOUGLAS W. RANKIN The Mount Rogers Formation, largely continental rift-facies volcanic rocks, is redefined, and the name Konnarock Formation is introduced for the overlying glaciogenic deposits of diamictite, arkose, and laminite. Four rhyolite members of the Mount Rogers are named and described U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 2029 / U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1993 For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Map Distribution Box 25286, Bldg. 810, Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Rankin, Douglas W. The volcanogenic Mount Rogers Formation and the overlying glaciogenic Konnarock Formation-Two Late Proterozoic units in southwestern Virginia I by Douglas W. Rankin. p. em. - (U.S. Geological Survey bulletin ; 2029) Includes bibliographical references. Supt. of Docs. no.: I 19.3:2029 1. Geology, Stratigraphic-Proterozoic. 2. Volcanic ash, tuff, etc.- Virginia. 3. Rocks, Sedimentary-Virginia. 4. Mount Rogers Formation. 5. Konnarock Formation. I. Title. II. Series. QE75.B9 no. 2029 [QE653.5] 557.3 s-dc20 [551.7'15'09755] 92-11110 CIP CONTENTS Abstract 1 Introduction 1 Acknowledgments 3 Previous Work 3 Regional and Structural Setting 6 Mount Rogers Formation (Revised Name) 7 Volcanic Centers 10 Fees Rhyolite Member (New Name) 10 Mt. Rogers Volcanic Center 10 Buzzard Rock Member (New Name) 12 Whitetop Rhyolite Member (New Name) 12 Wilburn Rhyolite Member (New Name) 14 Lower Contact 16 Upper Contact 17 Konnarock Formation (New Name) 19 Name, Type Area, and Thickness 19 Description 19 Upper Contact and Age 22 Discussion and Summary 24 References Cited 25 FIGURES 1-3. Geologic maps of: 1. Parts of the central and southern Appalachian orogen 2 2. The Blue Ridge tectonic province in southwestern Virginia and adjacent North Carolina and Tennessee showing thrust faults, Late Proterozoic vol­ canic centers, and location of the Mt. Rogers area 4 3. The Mt. Rogers area 8 4-13. Photographs of: 4. Greenstone in the lower part of the Mount Rogers Formation 12 5. Flow-layered lava, flow breccia, and lithophysae in lava of the Whitetop Rhyolite Member of the Mount Rogers Formation 13 6. Welded tuff in the Wilburn Rhyolite Member of the Mount Rogers Formation 15 7. Xenoliths in basal greenstone of the Mount Rogers Formation 17 8. Massive diamictite in the Konnarock Formation 19 9. Rhythmite in the Konnarock Formation 20 10. Rhythmite and interlayered arkose bed in the Konnarock Formation 21 11. Rhythmite containing dropstones in the Konnarock Formation 21 12. Bedded diamictite in the Konnarock Formation 22 13. Paraconformable contact between the Konnarock and Unicoi Formations 23 Contents Ill CONVERSION FACTORS Measurements in this report are given in metric units except that elevations are given in feet for ease in referring to U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps of the 7.5-minute quadrangles. Conversion factors are provided below. Multiply By To obtain foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m) millimeter (mm) .03937 inch (in.) centimeter (em) .3937 inch (in.) meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) kilometer (km) .6214 mile (mi) 3 3 cubic kilometer (km ) .2399 cubic mile (mi ) IV Conversion Factors The Volcanogenic Mount Rogers Formation and the Overlying Glaciogenic Konnarock Formation -Two Late Proterozoic Units in Southwestern Virginia By Douglas W. Rankin Abstract contact appears to be unconformable; in the second, concordant; and, in the third, the nature of the contact is In the Mt. Rogers area of southwestern Virginia and indeterminate but is probably concordant. The deforma­ adjacent North Carolina and Tennessee, the billion-year­ tion that caused the unconformity could be synvolcanic or old Grenvillian basement of the Blue Ridge anticlinorium postvolcanic block faulting, which is common in volcanic is nonconformably overlain on the northwest limb by a terranes. stratified cover sequence that is disconformably overlain by the Lower Cambrian Unicoi Formation. This cover sequence is here divided into two formations. The older, dominantly volcanic unit is called the Mount Rogers INTRODUCTION Formation (revised name). The younger, which overlies the Mount Rogers, is the glaciogenic Konnarock Forma­ The rocks described in this report are exposed in the tion (new name). Mt. Rogers area in southwestern Virginia and adjacent The volcanic rocks of the Mount Rogers Formation North Carolina and Tennessee (fig. 1). The Mount Rogers are a bimodal suite of basalt and rhyolite in which the Formation, as used by Rankin (1970) for rocks in this area, younger rhyolites have peralkaline affinity. The rhyolites consists of interlayered and interfingering bimodal volcanic are concentrated in thick masses thought to have been and clastic sedimentary rocks, all metamorphosed under volcanic centers. The erosion of the volcanic edifices of older centers, which may or may not be partially pre­ low to moderate greenschist-facies conditions. The prefix served in the area, produced extensive volcanic conglom­ "meta" is omitted in the following discussion but should be erates that make up much of the lower part of the Mount assumed for these rocks. The strata nonconformably overlie Rogers Formation in the type area. The Fees Rhyolite Middle Proterozoic Laurentian basement, are overlain with Member (new name), near the base of the Mount Rogers apparent conformity by the basal Cambrian clastic sequence Formation, was probably erupted from one of these ear­ of the Chilhowee Group, and are interpreted to be of Late lier centers, and clasts of the Fees are recognizable in the Proterozoic age. The strata crop out in three major thrust conglomerates. Rhyolites of the Mt. Rogers volcanic cen­ sheets and two or more areally restricted slices. Rankin ter constitute the upper part of the Mount Rogers Forma­ (1967, 1970) noted that these strata could be roughly tion in the type area. These include the Buzzard Rock divided into three parts: the lower part is interbedded clastic Member (new name) which is lava, the Whitetop Rhyolite sedimentary rock, greenstone, and rhyolite; the middle is Member (new name), also largely lava, and the climactic, zoned, welded ash-flow sheet of the Wilburn Rhyolite dominantly rhyolite; and the upper part is sedimentary and Member (new name). The rhyolites of the Mt. Rogers includes extensive glaciogenic deposits. The lower two volcanic center erupted about 760 Ma and are thought to parts form continuous sequences in more than one thrust be related to an early aborted episode of lapetan conti­ sheet but are generally separated by thrust faults from the nental rifting.
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