Revised Manuscript 8/7/12

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1
2
3
4
5 The Dalradian rocks of the north-east Grampian
6
7 Highlands of Scotland
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9 D. Stephenson, J.R. Mendum, D.J. Fettes, C.G. Smith, D. Gould,
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11 P.W.G. Tanner and R.A. Smith
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13 * David Stephenson British Geological Survey, Murchison House,
14 West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3LA.
15 [email protected]
16 0131 650 0323
17 John R. Mendum British Geological Survey, Murchison House, West
18 Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3LA.
19 Douglas J. Fettes British Geological Survey, Murchison House, West
20 Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3LA.
21 C. Graham Smith Border Geo-Science, 1 Caplaw Way, Penicuik,
22 Midlothian EH26 9JE; formerly British Geological Survey, Edinburgh.
23
David Gould formerly British Geological Survey, Edinburgh.
24
P.W. Geoff Tanner Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences,
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26 University of Glasgow, Gregory Building, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow
27 G12 8QQ.
28 Richard A. Smith formerly British Geological Survey, Edinburgh.
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30 * Corresponding author
31
32 Keywords:
33 Geological Conservation Review
34 North-east Grampian Highlands
35 Dalradian Supergroup
36 Lithostratigraphy
37 Structural geology
38 Metamorphism
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40
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42
ABSTRACT
43
The North-east Grampian Highlands, as described here, are bounded
44
to the north-west by the Grampian Group outcrop of the Northern
45
Grampian Highlands and to the south by the Southern Highland Group
46
outcrop in the Highland Border region. The Dalradian succession
47
therefore encompasses the whole of the Appin and Argyll groups, but
48
also includes an extensive outlier of Southern Highland Group
49
strata in the north of the region. The succession includes
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shallow-marine sequences, glacigenic deposits at two
51
stratigraphical levels, the earliest evidence for volcanism in the
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Dalradian, a later major development of basaltic and picritic sub-
53
marine lavas, and thick turbiditic sequences.
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In the south, the Grampian-Appin group boundary is a high-strain
55
zone, with no obvious dislocation or stratigraphical excision,
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which was formerly termed the Boundary Slide. Shear-zones at
57
higher structural levels are associated with pre-tectonic granites,
58
such as the Ben Vuirich Granite, which have been dated at c. 600 Ma
59
and hence place limits on the timing of sedimentation, deformation
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4 and metamorphism. The region is divided from north to south by a
5 major zone of shearing and dislocation with associated igneous
6 intrusions, termed the Portsoy Lineament. To the west of the
7 lineament, the stratigraphy is more-or-less continuous along strike
8 with that of the Central Grampian Highlands. D1, D2 and D3
9 structures extend from the Tummel Steep Belt north-eastwards
10 throughout this area. The stratigraphical succession is broadly
11 continuous across the Portsoy Lineament but to the east, in the
12 Buchan Block, correlations are more tenuous and do not extend below
13 subgroup level. High-grade migmatitic paragneisses were once
14 interpreted as pre-Dalradian basement but they are now assigned to
15 the Crinan Subgroup, within the Dalradian succession. Within the
16 Buchan block the outcrop pattern is controlled by two broad, open,
17 post-metamorphic folds, the Turriff Syncline and the Buchan
18 Anticline.
19 The Buchan Block is the international type area for the high-
20 temperature/low-pressure Buchan-type regional metamorphism. To the
21 south and west, this passes into higher pressure Barrovian-type
22 metamorphism. South of Deeside, metamorphic conditions reached
23 820oC and over 8 kbar, well into granulite facies and the highest
24 recorded in the Grampian Terrane. The detailed relationship
25 between the high heat-flow and the emplacement of large bodies of
26 basic and silicic magma is a matter of ongoing research. Plutons
27 of the North-east Grampian Basic Suite, emplaced at c. 470 Ma,
28 during or shortly after the peak of metamorphism and the D3
29 deformation, provide key evidence for the timing of the Grampian
30 orogenic event.
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32
33 1 INTRODUCTION
34
35 D. Stephenson, J.R. Mendum and D.J. Fettes
36
37
38 The North-east Grampian Highlands are defined here largely by two
39 geological boundaries (Figure 1). To the north-west, the boundary
40 with the Northern Grampian Highlands is taken at the Grampian–Appin
41 group junction, which to the south of the Cairngorm Pluton is
42 marked by the Boundary Slide or the Loch Tay Fault; farther north,
43 a rapid stratigraphical transition is present, albeit with some
44 local shearing. To the south, the boundary with the Highland
45 Border region is taken at the top of the Loch Tay Limestone
46 Formation between Pitlochry and the Mount Battock Pluton, and then
47 along the projected continuation of the Argyll–Southern Highland
48 group junction on Deeside, east to Aberdeen. The short south-
49 western boundary with the Central Grampian Highlands is the valley
50 of the rivers Garry and Tummel, as followed by the railway and A9
51 road, between Pitlochry and Blair Atholl.
52 The region is divided into three distinct geological areas by two
53
of the major lineaments of the Grampian Highlands (see Stephenson
54
et al., 2013a). The east–west Deeside Lineament, to the north of
55
56 the River Dee, is marked by a line of large granitic plutons with
57 only narrow intervening outcrops of Dalradian strata. The
58 Dalradian succession is generally coherent across this essentially
59 late-Caledonian lineament, although some facies changes have been
60 recognized and many of the formation names change. Hence it is a
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4 useful boundary for descriptive purposes, at least in upper
5 Deeside. The north–south Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament is an
6 older structure that was active during Dalradian sedimentation and
7
was a locus for basic magmatism and major tectonic dislocation
8
during the Caledonian Orogeny (Fettes et al., 1986; Goodman, 1994).
9
10 It forms a fundamental stratigraphical and structural boundary
11 stretching from the north coast at Portsoy to Glen Muick on south
12 Deeside. To the south-west of the Lochnagar Pluton, it is less
13 well defined but marks changes in stratigraphy that were recognized
14 by Barrow (1912). It is coincident with the later, brittle Glen
15 Doll Fault for some distance but turns towards the south-west,
16 along strike, and peters out beyond Duchray Hill in Glen Shee.
17 To the west of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament, Dalradian
18 successions and structures can be traced into those of the Northern
19 and Central Grampian Highlands with little difficulty. A generally
20 eastward-younging stratigraphical succession does seem to continue,
21 albeit with some attenuation and disruption, across the lineament
22 and elements of the structural history are common to both sides.
23 However, to the east of the lineament only tentative
24 stratigraphical and structural correlations can be made with higher
25
parts of the Dalradian succession elsewhere and this area seems to
26
have had, to some extent, a distinctly different sedimentological,
27
28 structural and metamorphic history. It is commonly referred to as
29 the ‗Buchan Block‘ and has been regarded by several authors as a
30 tectonically juxtaposed separate subterrane. Regional gravity and
31 magnetic anomalies, which show steep gradients coincident with the
32 Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament, suggest that there are fundamental
33 differences in the sub-Dalradian basement (Trewin and Rollin,
34 2002). The southern margin of the Buchan Block is difficult to
35 define either geologically or geophysically. It extends southwards
36 at least to the Deeside Lineament, where the geophysical anomalies
37 are subsumed by the plethora of large granitic plutons. To the
38 south of Deeside the lithologies and structures gradually merge
39 with those of the Highland Border region.
40 Early interpretations divided the succession in the Buchan Block
41 into a ‗Banff division‘, restricted to a ‗Banff Nappe‘, separated
42 by a slide from an underlying, more typical Dalradian sequence,
43
termed the ‗Keith division‘ (Read, 1923, 1955; Read and Farquhar,
44
1956). Although some authors have also suggested that parts of the
45
46 area are allochthonous (Sturt et al., 1977; Ramsay and Sturt,
47 1979), most current interpretations have attempted to correlate the
48 stratigraphical succession in broad terms (i.e. at subgroup level)
49 with Argyll and Southern Highland group successions farther to the
50 south-west (Harris and Pitcher, 1975; Ashworth, 1975; Harte, 1979;
51 Treagus and Roberts, 1981; Ashcroft et al., 1984; Fettes et al.,
52 1991; Harris et al., 1994; Stephenson and Gould, 1995).
53 Several other lineaments and dislocations in the North-east
54 Grampian Highlands have been recognized as being of more than just
55 local significance. Some have contributed significantly to debates
56 over the timing of Caledonian and earlier deformation, and their
57 associated intrusions have provided material for precise
58 radiometric age determinations that now define magmatic events both
59 at 600 Ma and 470 Ma.
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4 1.1 Stratigraphy
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6
7 1.1.1 Pitlochry–Blair Atholl area to Deeside
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9
10 In this area, most of the Appin and Argyll group succession can be
11 correlated precisely with that of the adjoining Central Grampian
12 Highlands, certainly down to formation level and in many cases also
13 down to member level (Figure 2). However, facies changes do occur,
14 most notably the disappearance of the Schiehallion Quartzite
15 between Glen Tilt and Glen Shee, partly resulting from structural
16 excision but most probably due to non deposition or a local
17 unconformity. The absence of this familiar marker, together with
18 its basal tillite sequence, does cause problems in that it results
19 in the juxtaposition of the Killiecrankie Schist (Easdale Subgroup)
20 upon the lithologically similar upper part of the Blair Atholl
21 Subgroup. As the Cairn Mairg Quartzite of the Central Grampian
22 Highlands is also absent from this area, correlations of some key
23 units between the lower part of the Blair Atholl Subgroup and the
24 distinctive graphitic pelites and calcareous schists in the upper
25
Easdale Subgroup are rather uncertain (Goodman et al., 1997; Crane
26
et al., 2002). This in turn makes it difficult to estimate the
27
28 magnitude and significance of ductile displacements on some high-
29 strain zones. Local names for stratigraphical units are a
30 particular problem owing to the large number of workers who have
31 worked here at different times, with varying success in attempts to
32 correlate with adjoining areas. Unfortunately, many of these names
33 have been adopted on BGS maps, the publication of which which has
34 spanned a significant time period. Only recently has an attempt
35 been made to rationalize the nomenclature in the BGS Lexicon of
36 named rock units and those names have been used in this special
37 issue wherever possible.
38 Throughout much of this area the junction of the Appin Group with
39 the underlying Grampian Group is coincident with a zone of high
40 strain that is a continuation of the Boundary Slide-zone from the
41 Central Grampian Highlands. However, at the Gilbert’s Bridge GCR
42 site in Glen Tilt there does appear to be a continuous
43
stratigraphical transition from the Struan Flags of the Grampian
44
Group into calcareous semipelite lithologies of the Glen Banvie
45
46 Formation that have been assigned to the Lochaber Subgroup. A
47 similar situation occurs south-west of Braemar at the Glen Ey Gorge
48 GCR site, where flaggy psammites of the Grampian Group are overlain
49 by highly strained pelites and semipelites of the Tom Anthon Mica
50 Schist Formation (Upton, 1986).
51 All the constituent formations of the Ballachulish Subgroup can be
52 traced from the Blair Atholl area (Smith and Harris, 1976)
53 north-eastwards to Braemar (Upton, 1986), where they can still be
54 matched almost bed for bed with those in the type areas of Lochaber
55 and Appin. The distinctive basal dolomitic metalimestone, the
56 graphitic pelites passing via a striped transition into the An
57 Socach Quartzite, and the topmost limestone and phyllite formation
58 with its crystalline white limestone and striped ‗tiger rock‘, can
59 all be found throughout this area (Figure 2).
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4 The base of the Blair Atholl Subgroup is well marked throughout
5 the area by a change from a background lithology dominated by
6 semipelites and psammites to one in which dark schistose pelites
7
predominate. Thick units of dark bluish-grey graphitic
8
metalimestone in the lower part of the subgroup are a distinctive
9
10 feature and several have been quarried extensively. Higher parts
11 of the subgroup tend to be paler and more semipelitic. Although
12 some of the metalimestones are laterally persistent, some units
13 have been recognized only locally, and it is the broad
14 characteristics of the subgroup that enable it to be traced from
15 Blair Atholl through the Glen Shee area almost to Braemar (Bailey,
16 1925; Pantin, 1961; Smith and Harris, 1976; Upton, 1986; Goodman et
17 al., 1997; Crane et al., 2002).
18 The Schiehallion Quartzite is the only unit of the Islay Subgroup
19 represented in the Blair Atholl area. In the lower part, locally
20 developed conglomeratic beds contain scattered clasts of granite
21 and quartzite and are considered to be equivalent to the tillites
22 of the Schiehallion Boulder Bed; dolomitic beds are also present
23 locally. The quartzite thins considerably north-eastwards and is
24 eventually excised by a slide in Glen Tilt. It re-appears, with
25
basal boulder beds, farther north-east in the Glen Shee area, where
26
it is termed the Creag Leacach Quartzite. This passes up through a
27
28 transition formation of interbedded quartzite and black graphitic
29 pelite into the graphitic Glas Maol Schist Formation, followed by
30 calcareous semipelite and schistose calcsilicate rocks (the Glen
31 Girnock Calcareous Formation), a sequence typical of the upper part
32 of the Easdale Subgroup in the Central Grampian Highlands (i.e. Ben
33 Eagach Schist and Ben Lawers Schist equivalents). At Coire Loch
34 Kander, stratabound syn-sedimentary barium deposits, similar to
35 those at the Craig an Chanaich to Frenich Burn GCR site in the
36 Central Grampian Highlands and at the same stratigraphical level,
37 occur in the Glas Maol Schist Formation. A 15 m-thick band of
38 barian quartzite contains sphalerite, galena and iron sulphides,
39 and bedded baryte-quartz rock, 4.5 m thick, has been proved by
40 drilling over a strike length of 700 m (Fortey et al., 1993). The
41 upper part of the Easdale Subgroup is dominated in places by basic
42 meta-igneous rocks. On Ben Vrackie, near Pitlochry, these have
43
been interpreted as intrusions, but in the Ballater area a sequence
44
of banded amphibolites at the top of the Easdale Subgroup
45
46 represents basic lavas in an equivalent position to the tuffaceous
47 Farragon Beds (Goodman and Winchester, 1993; Fettes et al., 2011)
48 (Figure 2).
49 In the Pitlochry area, the Crinan Subgroup is represented by the
50 dominantly semipelitic Ben Lui Schist Formation, as is the case
51 throughout the Central Grampian Highlands. However,
52 north-eastwards from Ben Vrackie, the metamorphic grade of the Ben
53 Lui Schist increases. The unit becomes migmatitic with abundant
54 concordant quartzofeldspathic segregations and thick pegmatite
55 veins and pods. In the Glen Shee area and through to the
56 headwaters of Glen Isla and Glen Clova, the Ben Lui Schist
57 Formation (known locally as the Caenlochan Schist) grades into
58 lit-par-lit migmatites that constitute the Duchray Hill Gneiss
59 Member (Williamson, 1935). The equivalent Queen‘s Hill Formation
60 can be traced north-eastwards into Glen Muick and to the eponymous
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4 Queen‘s Hill, near Aboyne (Read, 1927, 1928). The dominant
5 migmatitic semipelites and pelites, well seen at the Balnacraig,
6 Dinnet GCR site, are interbedded with psammites, rare quartzites
7
and thin bands of calcsilicate rock. The formation also includes
8
numerous bands of gneissose amphibolite, implying that it was a
9
10 preferred horizon for the intrusion of basic sheets, which dominate
11 the Cairn Leuchan to Pannanich Hill GCR site. Similar migmatitic
12 and gneissose lithologies occur in lower Deeside between the Hill
13 of Fare and Mount Battock granites.
14 The Tayvallich Subgroup is represented by the Loch Tay Limestone
15 Formation, which can be traced from Pitlochry to Glen Doll.
16 Farther to the north-north-east, calcareous semipelites around the
17 head of Glen Mark pass into ribbed calcsilicate rocks and
18 metalimestones of the Water of Tanar Limestone Formation. In
19 middle Deeside, this becomes the Deeside Limestone Formation (Read
20 1927, 1928), which consists mainly of calcsilicate rocks with
21 calcareous psammite, amphbolite and thin layers of impure
22 metalimestone. These calcareous rocks are overlain by a diverse
23 but dominantly psammitic unit, the Tarfside Psammite Formation,
24 consisting of quartzites, psammites, semipelites and pelites but
25
with locally abundant calcsilicate and amphibolite bands (Harte,
26
1979). Parts of this unit are gneissose.
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28
29 1.1.2 Deeside to the north coast, west of the
30 Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament
31
32 To the north of the Cairngorm, Glen Gairn, Ballater and Mount
33 Battock granitic plutons that mark the enigmatic ‘Deeside Lineament’,
34 many elements of the Appin Group and lower Argyll Group
35 stratigraphy of the Central Grampian Highlands can still be
36 recognized. This is particularly true of the Lochaber and
37 Ballachulish subgroups, in which correlations are possible at
38 formation level. The Blair Atholl, Islay and Easdale subgroups can
39 also be defined with confidence from their overall lithological
40 characteristics. The succession is terminated to the east by the
41 shear-zone that marks the Portsoy Lineament (Fettes et al., 1991).
42 The continuous section along the north coast that forms the western
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part of the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site has been well known since
44
the work of H.H. Read (1923, 1936), but its connection with the
45
46 established succession of Perthshire was not known until the
47 detailed resurvey of the North-east Grampian Highlands by the
48 British Geological Survey in the 1980s and 1990s.
49 A poorly defined association of micaceous psammites with thin
50 lenticular quartzite units overlies Grampian Group psammites
51 conformably south of Tomintoul. However, farther north, psammites
52 grade upwards into slaty and calcareous semipelites, which
53 represent a thin development of the Lochaber Subgroup, well seen at
54 the Bridge of Brown GCR site. Close to the contact the psammites
55 and semipelites are commonly flaggy and highly strained, recalling
56 the features seen along the Boundary Slide-zone farther to the
57 south-west.
58 Still farther north, the Lochaber Subgroup thickens markedly
59 between Dufftown and the north coast (Read, 1923, 1936; Peacock et
60 al., 1968). Here a thick sequence of flaggy, micaceous psammites
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4 and semipelites, the Findlater Flag Formation, forms the lower part
5 of the subgroup, whereas the upper part contains calcareous
6 lithologies, recalling the division in the Lochaber type area. The
7
calcareous rocks are lithologically variable but are characterized
8
locally by abundant tremolitic amphibole (Stephenson, 1993). They
9
10 are dominated by thinly banded grey, cream and pale-green
11 calcareous psammites and semipelites termed the Pitlurg Calcareous
12 Flag Formation, which grades laterally into the Cairnfield
13 Calcareous Flag Formation towards the coast. Beds and lenses of
14 metalimestone occur locally in the upper parts of this formation,
15 presaging the limestone development in the Ballachulish Subgroup.
16 The Ballachulish Subgroup is well developed and can be traced
17 northwards as far as the Keith area. The Mortlach Graphitic Schist
18 Formation is several hundred metres thick in Glen Livet but thins
19 locally to 5 or 6 m. A dark metalimestone, the Dufftown Limestone
20 Member, is commonly present at or near the base of the formation,
21 and other metalimestones occur in the lower part, notably in Glen
22 Rinnes. The formation appears to thicken markedly on the north-
23 east side of the NW-trending Rothes Fault and, although much of
24 this thickening is probably due to fold repetition, the fault could
25
coincide with an earlier synsedimentary structure or lineament
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(Fettes et al., 1986). At the base of the Corryhabbie Quartzite
27
28 Formation there is a transitional unit of interlaminated pelite and
29 psammite, which is thick in the south but is reduced to a few
30 metres farther north, where the formation is made up of a lower
31 thick-bedded psammite unit, a clean, cross-bedded quartzite, and an
32 upper psammite unit. The succeeding Ailnack Phyllite and Limestone
33 Formation consists of phyllitic semipelite, with several
34 distinctive thin white metalimestones, calcsilicate beds and one
35 more-persistent banded metalimestone member. The Dufftown
36 Limestone and Mortlach Graphitic Schist are particularly well seen
37 at the Auchindoun Castle GCR site and most of the succeeding units
38 are exposed at the Bridge of Avon GCR site.
39 Farther to the north-east, marked facies changes, probably
40 associated with NW-trending growth faults, and increased structural
41 complexity, make individual units difficult to trace so that
42 formations become ill defined. The graphitic character of the
43
lower part of the subgroup is locally much reduced and thick,
44
persistent metalimestones are absent. A condensed sequence of
45
46 metalimestone and graphite-schist is seen around Deskford, but in
47 boreholes on the coast at Sandend Bay over 300 m of kyanite-rich
48 schistose graphitic pelite has been proved. The pelite is overlain
49 directly by phyllitic semipelite and metalimestone with no
50 intervening quartzite.
51 The Blair Atholl Subgroup consists mainly of schistose
52 semipelites, which are locally pelitic, graphitic and calcareous.
53 A thick bluish grey metalimestone formation, the Inchrory
54 Limestone, occurs in its central part (see the Bridge of Avon GCR
55 site report) and minor metalimestones occur locally in the lower
56 part. Maximum development of the subgroup occurs in the upper
57 Donside–Braes of Glenlivet area. Farther north, around Edingight,
58 black graphitic pelites with staurolite are interbedded with thin
59 beds of blue-grey metalimestone. From there the metalimestones
60 thicken considerably northwards and become dominant in the Fordyce
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4 Limestone Formation that constitutes the only part of the subgroup
5 exposed on the coast in the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site.
6 The lowest units of the Argyll Group can be traced intermittently
7
to the coast. The lower part of the Islay Subgroup consists of two
8
interdigitating and diachronous formations, both of which are
9
10 represented in the Kymah Burn GCR site. On Donside, semipelites
11 and pelites with thin metalimestones and metadolomites comprise the
12 Nochty Semipelite and Limestone Formation. These lithologies pass
13 laterally northwards and westwards into thinly interbedded, locally
14 graded, psammites, semipelites and minor pelites, which comprise
15 the Ladder Hills Formation. This formation is several kilometres
16 thick in its type area, but is absent or only thinly developed
17 elsewhere. Boulder beds, typically associated with thin
18 metadolomite beds, occur locally towards the top of the Ladder
19 Hills Formation. The best section of these boulder beds is found
20 in the Muckle Fergie Burn GCR site, south of Tomintoul, where a
21 metadolostone unit is succeeded by a 10 m-thick boulder bed
22 containing clasts of dolostone in its lower, calcareous part and of
23 granite above. Minor beds of basic metatuff also occur locally and
24 in the Muckle Fergie Burn basaltic pillow lavas have been
25
recognized a short distance below the boulder beds. In some areas,
26
for example in upper Donside near Corgarff, boulder beds occur
27
28 within the lower units of the overlying Kymah Quartzite Formation
29 and in the Kymah Burn GCR site thin basic lavas and tuff lenses are
30 found near the base of the quartzite. The quartzite varies
31 considerably in thickness, from only 10 m over fault-controlled
32 structural highs (e.g. Lecht–Cockbridge) to a more-typical
33 development of 300 to 500 m in adjacent basins. To the west of
34 Huntly the Islay Subgroup is cut out structurally by the Portsoy
35 Shear-zone. However, north of the River Isla, the Durn Hill
36 Quartzite is confidently assigned to this subgroup on account of
37 loose blocks of metadiamictite (boulder bed) that have been found
38 within the outcrop of the underlying Arnbath Psammite Formation in
39 several locations around Fordyce and Edingight (Spencer and
40 Pitcher, 1968).
41 A typical Easdale Subgroup sequence crops out from east of the
42 Glen Gairn Pluton to north of Glenbuchat. There, the Kymah
43
Quartzite is overlain by the Culchavie Striped Formation, a thick
44
sequence of striped semipelites and psammites with a distinctive
45
46 pebbly quartzite. These are succeeded in turn by the Glenbuchat
47 Graphitic Schist Formation, followed by calcareous semipelites and
48 minor psammites with metalimestone and calcsilicate beds that
49 constitute the Badenyon Schist and Limestone Formation. Graphitic
50 pelites and semipelites are also present around the headwaters of
51 the River Don and in the eastern part of the Muckle Fergie Burn GCR
52 site, where they include the Delnadamph Volcanic Member, consisting
53 of basic pillow lavas and volcaniclastic beds.
54 To the north of these outcrops, the Easdale Subgroup is cut out
55 completely by the Portsoy Shear-zone. However, on the coast, in
56 the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site, a thin development of the Durn
57 Hill Quartzite is succeeded eastwards by a sequence of graphitic
58 pelites and semipelites with metalimestone and quartzite in its
59 upper part, which are intruded by gabbroic and ultramafic rocks
60 within the Portsoy Shear-zone. This Easdale Subgroup sequence,
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4 consisting of the Castle Point Pelite and Portsoy Limestone
5 formations, is highly strained and very much attenuated as it
6 effectively lies within the shear-zone.
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8
9
1.1.3 The Buchan Block
10
11 Within and immediately to the east of the Portsoy Shear-zone are a
12 number of formations, which are commonly bounded by ductile shears
13 and are interspersed with mafic and ultramafic intrusive rocks of
14 the 470 Ma North-east Grampians Basic Suite. They are difficult to
15 correlate with any established successions, but their overall
16 lithological character, consisting largely of semipelites and
17 graphitic pelites with gritty psammites and a few minor
18 metalimestones, is typical of the Argyll Group (Fettes et al.,
19 1991). On published maps they are mostly designated as ‗Argyll
20 Group, subgroup unassigned‘, and they probably belong in the
21 Easdale, Crinan and Tayvallich subgroups.
22 Most notably, in the Cabrach area, a turbiditic sequence of black
23 pelites, semipelites, psammites, pebbly psammites and metavolcanic
24 rocks is termed the Blackwater Formation. The metavolcanic rocks
25
dominate the lower part of the formation, which is well exposed in
26
the Black Water GCR site. They are composed of aphyric,
27
28 pyroxene-phyric and pillowed tholeiitic metabasalts and both
29 massive and autobrecciated metapicrite lavas (MacGregor and
30 Roberts, 1963; Macdonald et al., 2005). Since the formation
31 appears to pass upwards into Southern Highland Group lithologies,
32 the volcanic rocks have been tentatively correlated with the 600 Ma
33 Tayvallich Volcanic Formation of the South-west Grampian Highlands,
34 with which they share some geochemical characteristics such as
35 unusually strong Fe and Ti enrichment and some evidence for crustal
36 contamination (Fettes et al. 2011).
37 The higher parts of the Argyll Group form a broad horseshoe
38 outcrop of generally gneissose semipelitic rocks around the Turriff
39 Syncline, from mid-Donside to Fraserburgh and in a narrower zone
40 from Huntly to Portsoy. Within these poorly exposed areas, thick,
41 mixed sequences of semipelite, psammite and pelite show little
42 mappable variation and no consistent detailed stratigraphy has been
43
established. The metamorphic grade is generally high and most of
44
the rocks are gneissose with local migmatization. The gneissose
45
46 and migmatitic textures clearly transgress primary lithological
47 boundaries but, by analogy with the development of the Queen‘s Hill
48 and Duchray Hill gneisses to the south, they have been assigned to
49 the Crinan Subgroup (Read, 1955; Harris and Pitcher, 1975; Harris
50 et al., 1994; Stephenson and Gould, 1995). However, some probably
51 belong to the Tayvallich Subgroup and it is possible that minor
52 units of the Easdale Subgroup are included in some areas (e.g. near
53 Portsoy). Hornfelsing and partial melting have further complicated
54 relationships close to the major basic intrusions.
55 In mid-Donside, between the eastern margin of the Morven–Cabrach
56 Intrusion and the Tillyfourie area, lies the Craigievar Formation,
57 which consists mainly of finely interlayered, schistose and
58 gneissose psammites and pelites. Major developments of pelitic
59 gneiss, concordant amphibolite and thin developments of
60 metalimestone and calcsilicate-bearing rock occur locally. East
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4 and north-east of the Bennachie Granite Pluton, equivalent
5 Crinan/Tayvallich subgroup rocks are known as the Aberdeen
6 Formation (Munro, 1986). The dominant lithologies are less pelitic
7
than those to the west, consisting mainly of psammites and
8
semipelites and characterized by small-scale compositional banding.
9
10 The gneisses of the Ellon Formation crop out around the lower
11 Ythan valley (Read, 1952; Munro, 1986). They are derived mainly
12 from semipelitic and psammitic metasedimentary rocks, although
13 amphibolites are abundant locally. Calcsilicate rocks are rare.
14 The gneisses are distinguished from those of the Aberdeen Formation
15 by their lack of regular lithological banding, their poor fissility
16 and a foliated, streaky appearance. Bodies of migmatitic ‗granite‘
17 are widespread. The boundary with the Aberdeen Formation is
18 transitional in places but elsewhere it is marked by shear-zones.
19 To the north and east of Ellon, the Ellon gneisses grade into the
20 structurally overlying Stuartfield ‗division‘ of semipelites,
21 pelites, psammites and metagreywackes. The upper part of this
22 ‗division‘ has a more coherent stratigraphy and is termed the
23 Strichen Formation. To the north this may be further divided into
24 a lower part containing massive channel quartzites up to 500 m
25
thick (e.g. the Mormond Hill Quartzite Member) and an upper part
26
containing calcareous beds; the latter have been taken to indicate
27
28 that the Strichen Formation spans the boundary between the Crinan
29 and Tayvallich subgroups (Kneller, 1988).
30 To the north of Peterhead is the Inzie Head Gneiss Formation (see
31 Read and Farquhar, 1956). This mixed assemblage of rocks, exposed
32 in the Cairnbulg to St Combs GCR site, has a general migmatitic
33 appearance due to more-homogeneous granitic gneisses alternating
34 with schollen and schlieren gneisses. The schollen show a wide
35 range of metasedimentary lithologies, including calcsilicate rock
36 and psammite, and can be discerned locally in trails resembling
37 dismembered sedimentary units. More-coherent bands of amphibolite,
38 psammite and calcareous schist with impure metacarbonate rock have
39 been mapped in places. On the west side of the Turriff Syncline,
40 the Cowhythe Psammite Formation crops out along the coast east of
41 Portsoy (see the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site report), and extends
42 southwards to near Huntly (Read, 1923). It is composed essentially
43
of schistose psammite and semipelite with rare metalimestone and
44
pelite beds. Streaky lit-par-lit migmatites and feldspathized
45
46 rocks occur, particularly in the semipelitic units, but for the
47 most part the original compositional banding can still be
48 discerned.
49 Most of the dominantly gneissose units described above probably
50 include some Tayvallich Subgroup rocks, as indicated by the
51 presence of calcsilicate and metalimestone beds. Notable examples
52 are the calcareous parts of the Strichen Formation and its lateral
53 equivalent, the Kinnairds Head Formation, which is well exposed on
54 the north coast in the Fraserburgh to Rosehearty GCR site.
55 Although metalimestone beds up to 20 m thick do occur in the
56 Strichen Formation, calcareous units are restricted in general to
57 thin-banded calcsilicate beds in an overall sequence of pelite,
58 semipelite and psammite.
59 On the west side of the Turriff Syncline, the Tayvallich Subgroup
60 comprises a 1200 m-thick sequence of semipelite, calcsilicate rock
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4 and metalimestone, termed the Boyne Limestone Formation (Read,
5 1923; Sutton and Watson, 1955). It includes the Boyne Castle
6 Limestone Member, a thickly bedded but finely banded metalimestone,
7
some 200 m thick (Figure 2) (see the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site
8
report). The metalimestones can only be traced inland for some
9
10 2.5 km through poorly exposed ground.
11 The Southern Highland Group occupies the broad core of the Turriff
12 Syncline, represented by the Fraserburgh to Roseharty GCR site and
13 the eastern part of the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site, and a small
14 outlier on the east coast around the Collieston to Whinnyfold GCR
15 site.
16 In the Turriff Syncline a sedimentological transition from the
17 Argyll Group into the Southern Highland Group is well seen. On its
18 western limb, the base of the Southern Highland Group is drawn in
19 the coast section at the base of the first gritty psammite that
20 marks the change from lagoonal deposition of calcareous silts and
21 muds to turbiditic sedimentation. The overlying succession
22 consists of some 2000 m of psammite, with subordinate semipelite
23 and pelite, referred to as the Whitehills Grit Formation. On the
24 eastern limb a similiar transition is observed from the calcareous
25
successions of the Kinnairds Head Formation and the Strichen
26
Formation into the non-calcareous psammites and pelitic lithologies
27
28 of the Rosehearty Formation and Methlick Formation (Read and
29 Farquhar, 1956). In the core of the syncline the Southern Highland
30 Group is represented by the Macduff Formation (1700 m), a finer
31 grained, more-distal turbidite facies with slump deposits, clean
32 channel sandstones and subsidiary greywackes (Sutton and Watson,
33 1955). A more-persistent semipelitic facies to the south-west has
34 been termed the Clashindarroch Formation, and this unit has been
35 quarried extensively in the past for roofing slate in an E–W-
36 trending belt to the north of the Insch and Bogancloch intrusions.
37 The closure of the Turriff Syncline can be traced to the south of
38 the Insch Intrusion, in the Correen Hills. There, the Southern
39 Highland Group is represented entirely by the Suie Hill Formation,
40 which consists dominantly of semipelite and gritty psammite with
41 prominent pelite units. The base is taken at a magnetite-bearing
42 schistose pelite, which forms a regional magnetic anomaly. Similar
43
magnetic units occur on the western limb of the syncline and
44
elsewhere in the basal part of the group; the influx of detrital
45
46 magnetite could indicate a change in provenance caused by the
47 unroofing of a new source or a mafic volcanic input.
48 On the east coast, low-grade turbiditic rocks occur in an
49 eastward-younging sequence, represented almost in its entirety by
50 the Collieston to Whinnyfold GCR site but traceable for only a few
51 kilometres inland (Read and Farquhar, 1956; Munro, 1986). These
52 rocks, termed the Collieston Formation, are assigned to the
53 Southern Highland Group and form a predominantly psammitic graded
54 sequence with characteristic ‗knotted‗ pelites containing
55 andalusite and cordierite. Contacts with adjoining units are not
56 exposed but south of Collieston lenses and beds of calcsilicate
57 rock are common and thin impure metalimestones also occur, possibly
58 indicating a transition downwards into the Argyll Group.
59 Boulders and pebbles of igneous and metamorphic rocks, some of
60 extrabasinal origin, occur in the higher exposed part of the
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4 Macduff Formation in the coastal section at Macduff (see the Cullen
5 to Troup Head GCR site report). These deposits have been
6 interpreted as the products of ice-rafting or as debris flows
7
linked to marine tills (Sutton and Watson, 1954; Hambrey and
8
Waddams, 1981; Stoker et al., 1999). Some poorly preserved
9
10 microfossils have also been found in the adjacent rocks and
11 correlations with various glacial periods, some as young as
12 Ordovician, have been suggested (see Stephenson et al., 2013a).
13
14 1.2 Structure
15
16
17 1.2.1 Major dislocations
18
19 The development of the concept of a ‘Boundary Slide’ separating the
20 Grampian Group from higher stratigraphical units of the Dalradian
21 throughout much of the Grampian Highlands has been fully discussed
22 by Stephenson et al. (2013a). The Boundary Slide can be traced
23 north-eastwards from Glen Tilt, where it is well exposed in a
24 continuous section at the historic Gilbert’s Bridge GCR site,
25
through the Glen Ey Gorge GCR site in upper Deeside to the eastern
26
end of the Cairngorm Granite Pluton (Upton, 1986). However, there
27
its overall effect might be much reduced. Farther north, zones of
28
29 high strain, accompanied locally by slides, are common at or below
30 the Grampian– Appin group transition, e.g. around Strath Avon, at
31 the Bridge of Brown GCR site, and in the upper part of Glen Rinnes.
32 Between Glen Rinnes and the north coast, at the western end of the
33 Cullen to Troup Head GCR site, the Grampian–Appin group boundary
34 appears to represent a relatively undisturbed, rapid
35 stratigraphical passage.
36 In this northern part of the region, ductile dislocations occur at
37 both higher and lower stratigraphical levels than the Grampian–
38 Appin group boundary, although it is unclear whether any of these
39 relate specifically to the Boundary Slide. The zones of shearing
40 in Glen Rinnes can be projected north-eastwards towards a major NE-
41 to NNE-trending shear-zone that passes through Keith and can be
42 traced for some 30 km to reach the coast between Sandend and
43
Portsoy in the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site. The effect of this
44
Keith Shear-zone upon the succession is difficult to determine
45
46 owing to poor exposure and uncertainties about the stratigraphical
47 affinities of some of the units involved but it appears to have
48 excised parts of the Ballachulish Subgroup in places. The shear-
49 zone consists of multiple branches, each dipping at a low to
50 moderate angle towards the south-east quadrant and commonly showing
51 a very strong down-dip stretching lineation. Shear-sense
52 indicators suggest a thrust (top to north-west) sense of movement.
53 Between the branches are several pods and lenses of deformed
54 muscovite-biotite granite, and zircons from two separate lenses of
55 this Keith–Portsoy Granite have yielded a precise U-Pb intrusion
56 age of c. 600 Ma (Barreiro, 1998). Although the granite pods and
57 adjacent metasomatic country rocks were deformed and metamorphosed
58 during the Grampian Event, which was undoubtedly a time of major
59 movement on the shear-zone, the sites of the individual shears were
60 clearly a locus for the intrusion of granite sheets. Hence they
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4 must follow earlier lineaments that were in existence at around 600
5 Ma, possibly soon after sedimentation as the youngest rocks
6 affected are lower Islay Subgroup.
7
The best known and most extensively studied of the pre-Caledonian
8
c. 600 Ma intrusions is the Ben Vuirich Granite, between Pitlochry
9
10 and Glen Shee, which has yielded much vital information about the
11 timing of Caledonian deformation and metamorphism. Determinations
12 of the age of the intrusion and interpretations of its structural
13 setting have changed considerably since its significance was first
14 recognized by Bradbury et al. (1976) and these make the Ben Vuirich
15 GCR site one of the most significant in this special issue. The
16 granite was intruded into Blair Atholl Subgroup strata at around
17 590 Ma and hence provides a minimum age for Appin Group deposition
18 (Rogers et al., 1989; Pidgeon and Compston, 1992). It is now
19 considered to have been deformed by the D2 phase of deformation of
20 the Grampian Event (Tanner, 1996). The age and significance of an
21 earlier, D1 fabric affecting the granite is still a matter of
22 debate (e.g. Dempster et al., 2002; Tanner, 1996; Tanner et al.,
23 2006). The intrusion does crop out between major slides to the
24 north-west and south-east, but there is no evidence that these are
25
earlier structures that might have controlled granite emplacement.
26
However, smaller nearby bodies of foliated granite, at Glach Ghlas
27
28 in Glen Tilt, and near Fealar Lodge, are either located between
29 major slides or within ductile shear-zones.
30 A number of major zones of shearing and dislocation occur on the
31 western margin of the Buchan Block and each of these has been used
32 at some time to define its limit. Thrust-related fabrics at the
33 western margin of the Cowhythe Psammite Formation were attributed
34 by Elles (1931) to a Portsoy Thrust, which is now regarded as the
35 eastern limit of the 1 km-wide Portsoy Shear-zone, described in
36 detail in the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site report. Earlier fold
37 axes and lineaments have been rotated so that they plunge down-dip
38 adjacent to and within the zone and a down-dip stretching lineation
39 is present locally. Highly sheared mafic and ultramafic igneous
40 rocks occupy the centre of the zone and cross-cutting, but
41 lineated, sheet-like granite bodies are present near the margins.
42 This zone can be traced inland to the south-south-west as a
43
narrower zone of dislocation that forms the western boundaries of
44
the Huntly-Knock and Morven-Cabrach mafic-ultramafic intrusions
45
46 (Munro and Gallagher, 1984; Ashcroft et al., 1984) and defines the
47 northern part of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament (Fettes et al.,
48 1986, Goodman 1994). Major stratigraphical and structural
49 discontinuities occur across the shear-zone and marked differences
50 in metamorphic history on opposite sides indicate major westward
51 overthrusting during the regional D3 event (Baker, 1987;
52 Beddoe-Stephens, 1990). The margins of major syn-D3 mafic–
53 ultramafic intrusions of the North-east Grampian Basic Suite are
54 severely affected by this and by other related shear-zones, and
55 their aureoles have been displaced by several kilometres in places,
56 suggesting significant lateral movement (Ashcroft et al., 1984).
57 Kneller and Leslie (1984) demonstrated that the shearing occurred
58 whilst the adjacent rocks were at or close to their peak
59 metamorphic conditions. Farther south, the Coyles of Muick Shear-
60 zone, to the west of the Cairn Leuchan to Pannanich Hill GCR site,
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4 lies on the same lineament, although there the discontinuities are
5 less marked (Goodman, 1994).
6 On the eastern edge of the Cowhythe Psammite Formation outcrop is
7
another zone of highly deformed rocks with some thin mylonites.
8
This zone marks the position of the Boyne Line of Read (1955),
9
10 which was interpreted as a major slide underlying his proposed
11 allochthonous Banff Nappe. In Read‘s model, movement on the Boyne
12 Line was held responsible for the excision of Tayvallich Subgroup
13 calcareous lithologies, which are absent over much of the
14 North-east Grampian Highlands, apart from the Boyne Limestone
15 Formation, which is seen only in the coast section.
16 Some structural and Rb-Sr geochronological evidence has been
17 interpreted to infer that the Cowhythe Psammite Formation, along
18 with all the other gneissose units of the North-east Grampian
19 Highlands, represents a pre-Caledonian Neoproterozoic basement
20 gneiss complex (Sturt et al., 1977). Ramsay and Sturt (1979)
21 suggested that all the rocks above the Portsoy Thrust constitute an
22 allochthonous block, and that this consists of a gneissose basement
23 separated from a Dalradian metasedimentary cover by a décollement
24 along Read‘s Boyne Line. However, subsequent detailed mapping and
25
advances in the reliability of radiometric dating techniques now
26
suggest that the gneissose parts of the succession can be explained
27
28 as part of the Dalradian stratigraphy, albeit heavily deformed,
29 thrust and metamorphosed during the mid Ordovician Grampian Event
30 (see Ashcroft et al., 1984; Stephenson and Gould, 1995).
31
32 1.2.2 Folding
33
34 Between the Tay Nappe and the Boundary Slide there is a progressive
35 change in dips from the flat-lying strata and pervasive S2 cleavage
36 of the Flat Belt, north-westwards into a 10 km-wide zone of steep
37 to vertical folded strata known as the Tummel Steep Belt (Bradbury
38 et al., 1979) (Stephenson et al., 2013a, fig. 7). The tight,
39 upright folds characteristic of the steep belt have been documented
40 in the Central Grampian Highlands east of the Loch Tay Fault by
41 Treagus (1999, 2000) and a similar structural pattern can be traced
42 north-eastwards into the Kirkmichael–Glen Shee area (Crane et al.,
43
2002) and on towards Braemar, where it is known as the Cairnwell
44
Steep Belt (Upton, 1986). Throughout these areas, the steepening
45
46 has been interpreted as at least partly the result of late, D3 to
47 D4, ENE-trending flexuring and corrugation of pre-existing flat-
48 lying, recumbent, SE-facing D1 and D2 structures linked to the Tay
49 Nappe and its complementary underlying syncline, formerly referred
50 to in this area as the Kirkmichael Fold (Bailey, 1925; Read, 1935,
51 1955). Tight F3 folds are commonly co-axial with the earlier folds
52 and hence the F1, F2 and F3 fold closures can be difficult to
53 distinguish. In some areas, large-scale F2 and F3 folds trend
54 north-west, most notably in the complex 5 km-wide NW-trending Carn
55 Dallaig Transfer Zone that effectively links the Tummel Steep Belt
56 and the offset Cairnwell Steep Belt (Crane et al., 2002, fig. 19).
57 This transfer zone has a marked effect upon the outcrop pattern in
58 the Gleann Fearnach area, but as the F2 fold axes are not re-
59 orientated within it, Crane et al. interpreted it as a steep
60
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4 transpressive D2 structure, analogous to a lateral ramp in thrust
5 terrains.
6 To the north of the Deeside Lineament and west of the Portsoy–
7
Duchray Hill Lineament, Appin and Argyll group rocks are disposed
8
in a series of large-scale NW- to SW-facing early tight folds,
9
10 which can be traced downwards into the underlying Grampian Group. A
11 related fine-scale penetrative cleavage (S2) is also developed.
12 Later folds, which fold the S2 fabric and post-date the primary
13 metamorphic assemblages, are commonly co-axial with the early
14 folds. The related S3 penetrative cleavage, typically a finely
15 spaced or a tight crenulation, is best developed in the more-
16 pelitic lithologies (well seen in the Auchindoun Castle GCR site).
17 These F3 folds are typically close to tight and upright to NW-
18 facing. Their axes trend north or north-east and they exert a
19 strong control on the outcrop pattern both locally and regionally,
20 as is well demonstrated by the Ardonald Fold in the Dufftown area.
21 Post-D3 minor chevron folds and kink bands are widely developed but
22 usually only local in extent. In part they are related to late
23 uplift, faulting and basement block movement.
24 Within the main part of the Buchan Block, along the north coast
25
that forms the eastern part of the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site
26
and the Fraserburgh to Rosehearty GCR site, the rocks of the
27
28 Macduff Formation exhibit locally complex open to tight upright F1
29 folding. A related S1 spaced cleavage, formed by pressure
30 solution, is well developed in the psammites and a slaty cleavage
31 occurs in the intervening pelites. The folding, is responsible for
32 the generally steep bedding dips over much of the section, although
33 regionally the dip of the overall stratigraphy is relatively
34 shallow (Figure 3a). In fact, the outcrop pattern is controlled
35 by two late (D3 or D4), open, broad, upright folds, the Turriff
36 Syncline and the Buchan Anticline, whose axes plunge gently to the
37 north-north-east. Read (1955) considered that the Dalradian
38 succession, which is generally the right way up across the section,
39 constitutes the upper limb of a major early SE-facing recumbent
40 anticline which he termed the Banff Nappe (Figure 3b). The overall
41 ‗nappe‘ has similarities to the Tay Nappe of the Highland Border
42 region and some authors have linked the two structures (e.g.
43
Treagus and Roberts, 1981; Ashcroft et al., 1984). In Read‘s
44
model, the high-grade migmatitic gneisses seen in the Cairnbulg to
45
46 St Combs GCR site form the core of the nappe and are exposed in the
47 hinge-zone of the later Buchan Anticline (Read and Farquhar, 1956).
48 To the west of Banff the beds are subvertical and form the steep
49 limb of a monoform, regarded as a major early (F1) fold closure by
50 Sutton and Watson (1956) who named it the Boyndie Syncline.
51 Subsequent workers have regarded this structure as a later (F3)
52 structure, devaluing its regional importance (Johnson and Stewart,
53 1960; Johnson, 1962; Fettes, 1970), although Treagus and Roberts
54 (1981) also assigned it to D1.
55 Recumbent, tight to isoclinal, east-facing F1 folds occur on the
56 east coast and are well exposed at the Collieston to Whinnyfold GCR
57 site. The fold geometry is in marked contrast to the north coast
58 section, where bedding is generally steep within the shallow
59 Turriff Syncline; here the generally flat-lying beds collectively
60 define steeply dipping overall stratigraphical boundaries (Figure
61
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3
4 40), a point that was highlighted by Read and Farquhar (1956). The
5 beds are regionally inverted and the folds and cleavages face to
6 the east. A major early fold closure must occur between this
7
section and the coast sections around Fraserburgh, where the
8
succession is the right way up. The axial surface of this fold
9
10 cannot readily be traced; it lies in a poorly exposed complex
11 sheared zone between Ellon and Inverallochy that is characterized
12 by the presence of several mafic intrusions and high-grade
13 metamorphism. It was regarded as the hinge-zone of the Banff Nappe
14 by Read (1955) and Read and Farquhar (1956) and some later workers
15 have regarded it as equivalent, at least in part, to the Tay Nappe
16 (Stephenson et al., 2013a, fig. 7). Such a correlation must however
17 remain highly speculative given the considerable distance between
18 the traces of the structures and the intervention of the Deeside
19 Lineament.
20
21 1.3 Metamorphism
22
23 The North-east Grampian Highlands include an area of Buchan
24 metamorphism, characterized by low P/T, an area of typical
25
Barrovian intermediate-P/T metamorphism and a transitional zone
26
between the two focussed on the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament.
27
28 This pattern can be attributed to high heat flow in the Buchan
29 area, falling off to the west and south. In general, the
30 metamorphic grade increases with structural and
31 lithostratigraphical depth, the lowest grade rocks occurring in the
32 core of the Turriff Syncline (Stephenson et al., 2013a, fig. 12).
33 The highest grade rocks are associated with late-metamorphic
34 intrusions (see below). The porphyroblast growth was broadly
35 synchronous across the region and occurred from syn-D2 to syn- to
36 post-D3 (Johnson, 1962, 1963; Crane et al., 2002; Strachan et al.,
37 2002).
38 In the area west of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament,
39 metamorphic mineral assemblages are characteristic of the epidote-
40 amphibolite facies in the south but mostly fall within the lower
41 amphibolite facies. Mineral assemblages in pelitic lithologies are
42 typical of Barrovian zones (biotite → garnet → staurolite →
43
kyanite → sillimanite). In general, progressive increases in
44
pressure are assumed to have taken place during the main phases of
45
46 deformation, along a simple curve on a pressure-temperature plot,
47 to reach a metamorphic peak in D3. However, in the Tummel Steep
48 Belt the Barrovian zones are poorly developed and Dempster and
49 Harte (1986) documented a significant post-D3 increase in pressure,
50 with the replacement of chloritoid + biotite by garnet + chlorite,
51 as well as the localized growth of kyanite- and staurolite-bearing
52 assemblages. They ascribed the pressure increase, of c. 2–3 kbar,
53 to rotation and burial of originally flat-lying strata (i.e. in the
54 Flat Belt) associated with the development of the D3 steep belt.
55 In the north, there is good evidence that the line defining the
56 inversion of regional andalusite to kyanite lay to the west of the
57 Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament. In a well-defined zone up to 10 km
58 wide, immediately to the west of the lineament, original andalusite
59 is overprinted by later kyanite as a result of an increase in
60 pressure due to westward overthrusting during D3 (Chinner and
61
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4 Heseltine, 1979; Baker, 1985; Beddoe-Stephens, 1990). Pseudomorphs
5 of kyanite after andalusite are well seen in the Auchindoun Castle
6 GCR site and immediately west of Portsoy in the Cullen to Troup
7
Head GCR site.
8
To the east of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament, the metamorphic
9
10 conditions were characterized by low pressures (2–4 kbar) and by a
11 high temperature gradient. This is the type area for the Buchan
12 zones (biotite → cordierite → andalusite → sillimanite →
13 sillimanite+K-feldspar). The lowest grade rocks (greenschist
14 facies) occur at the highest structural levels, in the core of the
15 Turriff Syncline, and the metamorphic grade increases structurally
16 downwards. The regional high geothermal gradients were closely
17 associated with the emplacement of large volumes of basic and
18 silicic magma, during or shortly after the peak of metamorphism at
19 c. 470 Ma (Fettes, 1970; Pankhurst, 1970; Ashworth, 1975, 1976).
20 Consequently the highest grade rocks are found in close contact
21 with these igneous bodies, with local pressures and temperatures of
22 over 8 kbar and c. 820°C, characteristic of granulite-facies
23 conditions (Baker and Droop, 1983; Baker, 1985). Granulite-facies
24 hornfelses and migmatites, characterized by garnet-orthopyroxene-
25
cordierite assemblages, are found in the roof-zones, inner aureoles
26
and in screens within the mafic and ultramafic intrusions, notably
27
28 the Huntly–Knock Pluton (Fletcher and Rice, 1989). The assemblages
29 imply that anatectic melting occurred at temperatures of 800–900°C
30 under pressures of 4.5–5 kbar (Droop and Charnley, 1985; Johnson et
31 al., 2001a; Droop et al., 2003). The link to the large early-
32 Ordovician granite intrusions is not clear. However, Johnson et
33 al. (2003) showed that granulite-facies metamorphism and
34 emplacement of mafic rocks into the host Dalradian metasedimentary
35 rocks is a feasible mechanism to have derived granitic melts, which
36 might have coalesced to form larger bodies such as the Strichen and
37 Aberdeen plutons (c.f. Oliver et al., 2008). The higher grade
38 rocks have been subjected to widespread migmatization, as is well
39 seen in the Cairn Leuchan to Pannanich Hill, the Balnacraig, Dinnet
40 and the Cairnbulg to St Combs GCR sites.
41 The background cause of metamorphism across the Grampian Highlands
42 was thermal relaxation of an overthickened crust. In addition, in
43
the North-east Grampian Highlands there was a very significant
44
advective heat input, leading to the low-P/T style of metamorphism
45
46 (e.g. Vorhies and Ague, 2011). How far the various syn- to late-
47 metamorphic igneous intrusions are the underlying cause of this
48 advective heat and how far they are an expression of it is
49 uncertain.
50 Initial workers believed that the thermal effects of the igneous
51 bodies were imposed on a regional metamorphic pattern. For
52 example, Chinner (1961, 1966) argued that sillimanite formed in
53 response to a thermal overprint on an original depth-controlled
54 metamorphism. However, Fettes (1970) demonstrated that the
55 ‗regional‘ porphyroblast growth was also directly related to the
56 effects of the igneous bodies. Harte and Hudson (1979) recognized
57 two phases of sillimanite growth, closely linked in time, one
58 ‗regional‘ and the other related to the basic intrusions. On this
59 basis, they delineated a ‗regional‘ sillimanite isograd within the
60 overall sillimanite zone (Stephenson et al., 2013a, fig. 12),
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4 although they agreed that both phases might relate to a general
5 high heat input. However, in the high-grade areas of the south the
6 distinction is problematical and more-recent work, for example in
7
the area around the Cairn Leuchan to Pannanich Hill GCR site, has
8
regarded the sillimanite growth as the climax of a single prograde
9
10 event (Smith et al., 2002).
11 Current models for metamorphism clearly identify the advective
12 heat input (including that from the igneous bodies) as the primary
13 cause of the higher grades of metamorphism. Thus the growth of
14 sillimanite must be seen as the culmanating phase of the
15 progressive metamorphism in the areas of greatest heat input. As
16 such, any separation of growth phases might relate to a pulsed heat
17 input (Ague and Baxter, 2007; Vorhies and Ague, 2011).
18 The cause of the high heat input and associated magmatism in
19 Buchan is uncertain; it might relate to lithospheric stretching
20 and/or slab drop-off beneath the Buchan area immediately following
21 the main arc–continent collision that resulted in the Grampian
22 orogenic event (Kneller, 1985; Oliver, 2002).
23
24 1.3.1 The North-east Grampian Basic Suite
25
26
The large intrusions of mafic and ultramafic rock are entirely
27
28 confined to the Buchan Block and comprise the North-east Grampian
29 Basic Suite. They are described in some detail in the Caledonian
30 Igneous Rocks of Great Britain GCR volume (Stephenson et al., 1999)
31 but the relationships between the intrusions, the Buchan
32 metamorphism and the D3 deformation make the suite a vital time
33 marker for the peak of the Grampian Event. A number of U-Pb
34 mineral ages are now available from these intrusions, which imply
35 that basic and silicic magmatism was focussed in a short time
36 interval at around 470 Ma. It seems clear that the Grampian Event
37 in the North-east Grampian Highlands was well under way by 480–475
38 Ma and was completed by c. 460 Ma (Oliver et al., 2000; Oliver
39 2001; Carty 2001; Dempster et al., 2002).
40
41 2 BEN VUIRICH
42 (NO 008 686–NO 012 700 AND NN 990 703)
43
44
45
P.W.G. Tanner
46
47
48 2.1 Introduction
49
50 Ben Vuirich (2903 m) is a prominent feature in the Perthshire
51 landscape, 13 km north-east of Pitlochry. It provides some
52 excellent exposures of the deformed and foliated Ben Vuirich
53 Granite Intrusion, which was emplaced before the main deformation
54 and regional metamorphism that has affected the Appin Group country
55 rocks. Its importance has therefore long been recognized as a
56 target for radiometric dating to determine a minimum age for the
57 Dalradian succession. More recently, with its radiometric age well
58 established as 590 Ma, attention has turned to its field
59 relationships, which reveal crucial evidence for the relative
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4 timing of structural events that have affected the granite and its
5 host rocks.
6 The Ben Vuirich Granite is a member of the small, but geologically
7
important, suite of pre-Caledonian intrusions that has commonly
8
been referred to as the ‗Older Granites‘ (e.g. Barrow et al.,
9
10 1905). Such granites are uncommon but are scattered widely
11 throughout both the Northern Highlands and the Grampian Highlands.
12 Several smaller bodies occur near Ben Vuirich in Glen Tilt (e.g.
13 within the Gilbert’s Bridge GCR site). Recent radiometric dating
14 has added several new intrusions to this suite, which is now
15 recognized as representing a major 600 Ma magmatic event (Strachan
16 et al., 2002; Kinny et al., 2003b). Hence any deductions regarding
17 the structural relationships and timing of the Ben Vuirich
18 intrusion have profound implications for the tectonic history of
19 the whole Grampian Terrane.
20 The Ben Vuirich Granite Intrusion was first described by Barrow et
21 al. (1905) and is included in the British Geological Survey‘s 1:50
22 000 Sheet 55E (Pitlochry, 1981). Research into the structural
23 significance and age of the granite has aroused much controversy,
24 which was generated initially by a large difference between the
25
apparent ages given by early Rb-Sr (whole-rock) and U-Pb (zircon)
26
dating methods (Giletti et al., 1961; Bell, 1968; Pankhurst and
27
28 Pidgeon, 1976), and later by disagreement over structural
29 correlations. A precise U-Pb age on abraded zircons from the Ben
30 Vuirich Granite of 590 ± 2 Ma, obtained by Rogers et al. (1989),
31 combined with the existing structural interpretation of Bradbury et
32 al. (1976), was thought to show that the Dalradian block had been
33 affected by both a Neoproterozoic orogeny (D1 and D2) and an Early
34 Palaeozoic orogeny (D3 and D4). The 590 Ma age was subsequently
35 confirmed by Pidgeon and Compston (1992) using the SHRIMP ion-
36 microprobe. However, the structural interpretation was challenged
37 by Tanner and Leslie (1994) who concluded that:
38
39 (1) the foliation in the granite is correlated with S2 in the
40 country rocks, and
41 (2) the granite is pre-D2 in age and only post-dates a fabric which
42 is possibly of regional D1 age.
43
44
The current dispute is between those workers who consider that the
45
46 intrusion was most likely intruded, during a pre-orogenic rifting
47 episode, into previously undeformed sedimentary rocks at c. 590 Ma
48 (Soper and England, 1994; Tanner, 1996; Soper et al., 1999; Tanner
49 et al., 2006) and those who favour emplacement into a sequence that
50 had already been affected by a pre-590 Ma Neoproterozoic orogenic
51 event (Rogers et al., 1989; Bluck and Dempster, 1997; Dempster et
52 al., 2002). In short, whether or not a pre-Grampian orogenic event
53 has affected that part of the Dalradian Supergroup that lies below
54 the base of the Southern Highland Group (dated at c. 600 Ma;
55 Dempster et al., 2002), the origin of the earliest fabric in the
56 hornfels and xenoliths found at this GCR site is pivotal. Two
57 critical localities, one within hornfels of the contact metamorphic
58 aureole and the other featuring xenoliths within the marginal part
59 of the granite, preserve evidence of the undeformed nature of the
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4 Dalradian host rocks immediately prior to the intrusion of the
5 granite.
6
7 2.2 Description
8
9
10 The Ben Vuirich Granite Intrusion is a small (6 × 2 km) sheet-like
11 body of pink or grey peraluminous monzogranite containing
12 megacrysts of oligoclase and K-feldspar, up to 7 mm in length,
13 together with quartz, muscovite, biotite, titanite, zircon and
14 almandine-grossular garnet. It cuts poorly exposed metacarbonate
15 rocks, quartzites, psammites, semipelites and pelites belonging to
16 the Blair Atholl Subgroup of the Appin Group (Crane et al., 2002).
17 The Dalradian country rocks have been affected by four phases of
18 deformation (D1–D4), the first three of which comprise the Grampian
19 Event. The granite was variably deformed during D2, resulting in
20 NE-trending zones of strongly foliated rock transecting the main
21 body of weakly foliated to granoblastic granite (Figure 4). The
22 intrusion lies within the Tummel Steep Belt and is contained
23 between two tectonic slides (ductile faults) of D2 age (Crane et
24 al., 2002) (Figure 4). The Killiecrankie or Glen Loch Slide is
25
inferred to follow the western margin of the intrusion, where
26
metacarbonate rocks belonging to the Sron nan Dias Pelite and
27
28 Limestone Formation strike towards this contact, and there is clear
29 excision of part of the stratigraphical sequence. The Creag
30 Uisge Slide to the east of the intrusion is seen locally as a
31 prominent zone of mylonitic rock, and its position farther south is
32 taken as the western margin of the Ben Lawers Schist.
33 The Ben Vuirich GCR site consists of two groups of exposures
34 (localities A and B on Figure 4). An exposure of hornfels found at
35 locality A on the north-west flank of the mountain is the only
36 place in the whole Dalradian outcrop where rocks from the contact
37 metamorphic aureole of one of the ‗Older Granites‘ are exposed. At
38 this locality, spotted hornfels have developed in finely banded
39 semipelite typical of the Tulaichean Schist Formation (Crane et
40 al., 2002, plate 4). At locality B on the north-east side of the
41 body, xenoliths of locally-derived quartzose psammite, caught up in
42 the granite magma before it was fully crystalline, preserve the
43
lithological layering but show no sign of pre-intrusion minor
44
folding. There, the granite locally cuts across bedding in the
45
46 Tulaichean Schist Formation.
47 The main feature of the GCR site is the hornfels that occurs in
48 metre-scale exposures and small patches of scree on the north-west
49 side of the hill. The early workers reported hornfels-like rocks
50 (Barrow et al., 1905; Pantin, 1961) but it was not until 1990 that
51 the spotted hornfels was discovered at locality A, 750 m west-
52 north-west of the summit of Ben Vuirich (Tanner and Leslie, 1994).
53 Examination of the material in the screes shows that the hornfels
54 grades from finely laminated, non-spotted rock to coarser grained,
55 spotted hornfels that originally contained andalusite (of the
56 chiastolite variety) and cordierite. The andalusite-bearing types
57 are inferred to have come from the innermost parts of the aureole.
58 Porphyroblasts of andalusite are now pseudomorphed by feathery
59 intergrowths of kyanite and are identical to those found in the
60 contact metamorphic aureole of the Carn Chuinneag intrusion, an
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4 ‗Older Granite‘ in the Moine Supergroup rocks of Sutherland
5 (Tanner, 1996). The largest and most abundant spots were
6 originally of cordierite; they reached 2 cm across and grew across
7
a pre-existing, fine-grained fabric. That fabric is still
8
preserved within the pseudomorphs after cordierite, although the
9
10 original mineral has been altered to an aggregate of minute flakes
11 of biotite and muscovite, with small grains of almandine garnet
12 0.4–0.8 mm across (Figure 5) and less-obvious kyanite needles.
13 Petrological studies have shown that the original overall contact
14 metamorphic assemblage, which contained cordierite ± andalusite,
15 has been overprinted and converted to an equilibrium assemblage of
16 muscovite + biotite + garnet + kyanite + plagioclase + quartz
17 during the D2 regional metamorphism (Tanner and Leslie, 1994;
18 Tanner, 1996). A scanning electron-microscope and electron-
19 microprobe study of the small regional metamorphic D2 garnets has
20 shown that they preserve an extremely unusual chemical zonation
21 with, for example, Ca increasing from the core to the rim of the
22 garnet (Ahmed-Said and Tanner, 2000).
23 At locality B, an irregular contact of the granite with quartzite
24 and quartzose psammite is well exposed locally, with apophyses of
25
granite cutting the country rock. Angular to sub-rounded xenoliths
26
of country rock are common locally in the marginal facies of the
27
28 granite; they commonly preserve a finely spaced alternation of
29 light and dark layers, which on microscope examination is seen to
30 be bedding with some mimetic growth of micas (Tanner and Leslie,
31 1994; Tanner, 1996; Tanner et al., 2006). Along the contact
32 farther to the south-west, schistose pelites containing garnet over
33 1 cm across are in direct contact with the granite.
34
35 2.3 Interpretation
36
37 Now that both the radiometric age for the granite intrusion of 590
38 Ma, and the D2 structural age of the main fabric that affects it,
39 are generally accepted, the only contentious issue at present
40 concerns the origin of the early fabric in the Ben Vuirich
41 hornfels. It is developed in rocks with a grain size of only 0.1–
42 0.4 mm and, in all but the highest grade (andalusite-cordierite)
43
hornfels, represents a very low-strain deformation (Figure 6).
44
This fabric could have resulted from:
45
46
47 (1) Neoproterozoic, pre-D1, tectonism;
48 (2) D1 deformation at an early stage in the development of the Tay
49 Nappe; or
50 (3) Deformation of the country rocks synchronous with emplacement
51 of the granite.
52
53 There are problems with both (1) and (2) above. If the fabric is
54 of Neoproterozoic (pre-590 Ma) age, it would be absent from all
55 rocks younger than the 600 Ma Tayvallich Lavas, and would
56 necessitate the presence of a so-far undiscovered orogenic
57 unconformity within the Argyll Group in Scotland. Alternatively,
58 if the fabric is of D1 age, this would restrict D1 to 600–590 Ma
59 and separate it by 120 Ma from D2 at 470 Ma. However, from work at
60 Callander, Tanner (1995) has demonstrated that D1 in Southern
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4 Highland Group rocks of the Highland Border is post-515 Ma in age
5 (see the Keltie Water GCR site report). As D1 and the D2 can be
6 correlated between the Tummel Steep Belt, including the rocks
7
around Ben Vuirich, and the Highland Border (Crane et al., 2002),
8
and an orogenic unconformity has not been demonstrated in this
9
10 ground, (1) is not a viable option. The most likely interpretation
11 is that the early fabric is of syn-emplacement origin (Tanner,
12 1996). This conclusion was based on evidence that the pre-hornfels
13 fabric increases in intensity toward the granite margin, and that
14 microveinlets of granite are seen in thin section to have been
15 deformed by the early fabric-forming event.
16 Further evidence of the nature of the pre-intrusion fabric is
17 given by the xenoliths in the granite at locality B. The
18 compositional layering in the population is randomly orientated,
19 with some xenoliths exhibiting folds. However, it is clear that
20 the S2 schistosity in the granite is axial planar to the folds in
21 the xenoliths. In addition, long, thin blocks are parallel with,
22 or at a small angle to, this external S2 fabric, whereas the
23 shorter, more equidimensional, blocks contain folds. This
24 situation is directly analogous to that described from the Port
25
Selma GCR site (Treagus et al., 2013), where a population of clasts
26
originally showing randomly orientated planar bedding, has been
27
28 deformed. The result is that clasts with bedding initially at a
29 low angle to the resultant cleavage plane are stretched and show
30 boudinaged layers, whereas those with bedding initially at a high
31 angle to the resultant cleavage are buckled internally. The
32 conclusion to be drawn from the Ben Vuirich xenoliths is that the
33 bedding laminations in these were all planar before the D2
34 deformation, and that the folds seen in some of them are the result
35 of the D2 deformation of the internal foliation of the bedding in
36 suitably orientated xenoliths.
37 An intriguing feature of the hornfelsed rocks at this GCR site is
38 that they not only preserve a very fine-grained early fabric, but
39 also show little sign of having been affected by the D2
40 deformation, despite the rocks to either side of them (granite
41 intrusion and country rock, respectively) having been strongly
42 deformed during D2. At that time, the country-rock pelites were
43
being transformed into coarse-grained schists with garnets up to 2
44
cm across (see Figure 4 for their distribution). The contact
45
46 metamorphic assemblage may be used to give an estimate of the
47 lithostatic pressure at which the assemblage crystallized, and
48 hence the depth of emplacement of the granite. Comparison with
49 published data on hornfelsed rocks gave an estimated pressure of 2–
50 4 kbar, representing a depth of 7–14 km (Tanner, 1996). This
51 conclusion is important when considering the origin and tectonic
52 setting of the granite, and has been the cause of some debate (see
53 Dempster et al., 2002). In addition, the chemical zonation
54 patterns in D2 regional metamorphic garnets reported by Ahmed-Said
55 and Tanner (2000) were interpreted by them to indicate that there
56 was a marked increase in confining pressure as the garnets grew
57 during D2, caused by the major crustal-thickening event that was
58 taking place at the time.
59 It has been proposed that the granite was emplaced during
60 extensional tectonism approximately synchronous with the eruption
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4 of the Tayvallich volcanic rocks (e.g. Soper, 1994), and 100 Ma
5 before the Early Palaeozoic Grampian Event. This hypothesis
6 involves neither a separate Neoproterozoic orogenic event, nor a
7
splitting of the D1–D4 deformation episodes in the Grampian Terrane
8
into two packages separated by a long, ill-defined time break. It
9
10 is supported by the results of a recent geochemical study of the
11 granite (Tanner et al., 2006). The granite samples have a
12 restricted compositional range and occupy the within-plate granite
13 field of Pearce et al. (1984), the A-type granitoid field (on Ga/Al
14 plots) of Whalen et al. (1987), and lie wholly within the field for
15 A2-group granites, as defined by Eby (1992). Such granitoids are
16 characteristically found in rift-related environments. The Ben
17 Vuirich Granite is one of an increasing number of c. 600 Ma pre-
18 Caledonian intrusions that are now being recognized throughout the
19 Northern and Grampian highlands of Scotland (Strachan et al., 2002;
20 Kinny et al., 2003b). These are regarded as being related to a
21 swarm of diverse A-type magmatic bodies intruded at around 700–600
22 Ma which, in a Neoproterozoic reconstruction, can be traced across
23 the Appalachian Fold Belt (Bingen et al., 1998; Tanner et al.,
24 2006).
25
26
27
2.4 Conclusions
28
29 The Ben Vuirich Granite was one of the first members of an
30 important suite of c. 600-million-year-old intrusions to be
31 recognized and dated radiometrically. Members of this suite were
32 intruded into the Neoproterozoic rocks of the Scottish Highlands
33 before they were deformed during the Caledonian Orogeny. Hence the
34 Ben Vuirich granite is of great national importance. Its
35 radiometric age has been the subject of numerous investigations,
36 initially to establish a minimum age for the Dalradian succession,
37 and increasingly as a means of dating the early phases of
38 Caledonian deformation.
39 The granite magma was intruded as a sheet-like body into a
40 sequence of limestones, mudrocks, and quartzose sands belonging to
41 the Appin Group. The heat that was released transformed the
42 adjoining sedimentary rocks into a baked rock, or hornfels, of
43
which only a small area remains and is currently exposed at ground
44
level. Because of having been heated to c. 600°C, and losing much
45
46 of their fluid during this process, the hornfelsed rocks became
47 resistant to later deformation and hence much of their early
48 history has been preserved intact. Their most significant feature
49 is that minerals such as cordierite and andalusite, which grew in
50 response to the heat, preserve a weak tectonic fabric within them.
51 Unfortunately, it is not possible to be absolutely certain whether
52 this fabric formed due to the forceful emplacement of the granite,
53 or during an earlier, pre-Caledonian deformation event. However,
54 it is clear that the granite was emplaced before the first
55 deformation to affect the Dalradian Supergroup (D1). Fragments of
56 the country rock that were torn off and encapsulated in the magma
57 when it was emplaced, preserve significant evidence of the non-
58 folded state of the rocks at that time.
59 From a study of the mineralogy of the hornfels it has been
60 concluded that the granite stopped rising and had crystallized
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4 fully at an estimated depth of 7–14 km beneath the surface of the
5 Earth. The granite and enclosing country rocks were then strongly
6 deformed, metamorphosed, and recrystallized, during the main
7
progressive deformation (D2) and associated climax of regional
8
metamorphism of the Grampian Event at about 470 million years ago.
9
10 This process had a dramatic effect upon the mineralogy of the
11 hornfels, as the low- to medium- pressure cordierite and andalusite
12 were replaced by new high-pressure minerals such as kyanite and
13 garnet that reflect the greatly increased depth of burial reached
14 during the orogeny.
15 Geochemical and isotopic analyses of the Ben Vuirich Granite show
16 that it has the chemical fingerprint characteristic of granites
17 found in rifted portions of the Earth‘s crust. This finding
18 supports an earlier hypothesis that the granite formed in the same
19 extensional tectonic setting that enabled the extrusion of the 600
20 Ma Tayvallich Lavas to take place (see the West Tayvallich
21 Peninsula GCR site in Tanner et al., 2013a). The granite was
22 possibly derived from partial melting of the Dalradian sedimentary
23 rocks, or their basement, and belongs to a swarm of rift-related
24 granitoids that originally stretched along the Caledonian orogenic
25
belt from the Appalachians to Scotland and heralded the break-up of
26
the supercontinent Rodinia. Hence its age and structural
27
28 relationships have attracted considerable international interest.
29
30 3 GILBERT’S BRIDGE, GLEN TILT
31 (NN 881 699–NN 903 719)
32
33 R.A. Smith
34
35
36 3.1 Introduction
37
38 The river section around Gilbert’s Bridge in Glen Tilt, Perthshire
39 is a classic historical GCR site that provides good sections
40 through the tectonized junction between the Grampian and Appin
41 groups of the Dalradian. This junction, between the psammitic
42 Struan Flags to the north-west of Glen Tilt and a pelite,
43
semipelite, metalimestone and quartzite succession to the south-
44
east, was formerly considered to be the Moine–Dalradian boundary.
45
46 It is currently regarded as part of the Boundary Slide-zone, but
47 its nature is a matter of considerable debate (see 1.2.1 in
48 Introduction).
49 The first geological appraisal of Glen Tilt was made during the
50 historic visit by James Hutton and Sir John Clerk of Eldin in 1785
51 in search of evidence for the intrusive nature of granite (see the
52 Forest Lodge GCR site report in the Caledonian Igneous rocks of
53 Great Britain GCR volume; Stephenson et al., 1999). A plan of the
54 central part of the glen, drawn by Clerk, clearly shows the
55 orientation of the strata and three concordant sills of ‗porphyry‘
56 immediately downstream from Gilbert‘s Bridge (Craig et al., 1978).
57 The results of the primary geological survey were published as 1‖
58 Sheet 55 (Blair Atholl, 1902) with an accompanying memoir (Barrow
59 et al., 1905). Barrow‘s interpretation (Barrow, 1904, figure 9)
60 emphasized the importance of concertina folding and metamorphic
61
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3
4 recrystallization of part of the Dalradian to form the ‗Moine
5 gneiss‘. But it was Bailey (1925) who established that this is the
6 site of a major junction between a very thick succession of Struan
7
Flags and the structurally overlying Dalradian. He described the
8
Dalradian succession, which is separated from the bulk of the
9
10 Dalradian to the south-east by the Loch Tay Fault, as the ‗Blair
11 Atholl Series of the Banvie Burn Belt‘. He indicated a possible
12 slide between the Banvie Burn Belt and the Struan Flags on his map
13 but was unable to confirm its existence due to ‗lack of local
14 evidence‘. Its continuation in the Schiehallion area was later
15 established as the Boundary Slide by Bailey and McCallien (1937),
16 who described a fundamental structure, or decollement, separating
17 complex folding in the Dalradian from simpler structures in the
18 Struan Flags below. Pantin (1961), who introduced the simpler term
19 Glen Banvie ‗Series‘ for the ‗Blair Atholl Series of the Banvie
20 Burn Belt‘, found no evidence for sliding at Gilbert‘s Bridge.
21 However, Harris (1963) interpreted the junction to be a thrust
22 slide carrying the Dalradian rocks to the north-west, and Thomas
23 (1965, 1980) concluded that the Boundary Slide is associated with a
24 tectonic schist equivalent to the Beoil Schist of the Schiehallion
25
area (Rast, 1958) (see the Strath Fionan GCR site report in Treagus
26
et al., 2013).
27
28 The Struan Flags have since been re-allocated to the Grampian
29 Group and the Glen Banvie ‗series‘ to the Appin Group, both of the
30 Dalradian Supergroup (Harris et al., 1978). Although the junction
31 is recognized as a zone of high strain (Smith, 1980), the amount of
32 excision could be relatively small because a through succession
33 from the Grampian Group into the Appin Group can be demonstrated
34 nearby in the area around Schiehallion (Treagus and King, 1978;
35 Treagus, 1999). The fact that the Ballachulish Subgroup is present
36 on the southern side of Glen Tilt (Smith and Harris, 1976) also
37 makes the tectonic break less important stratigraphically and the
38 Glen Banvie ‗Series‘ was correlated tentatively with the Lochaber
39 Subgroup by Smith (1980). It has now been formally designated the
40 Glen Banvie Formation.
41
42 3.2 Description
43
44
The section in Glen Tilt between Gilbert’s Bridge and Marble Lodge
45
46 shows a clear and consistent relationship between the Struan Flags,
47 now part of the Glen Spean Subgroup of the Grampian Group, and the
48 younger Dalradian (Figure 7). The Grampian Group psammites, which
49 are perfectly exposed in the along-strike river section, have a
50 characteristic parallel flaggy banding which is largely tectonic;
51 their junction with rocks of the overlying Glen Banvie Formation is
52 strongly attenuated. Most of the attenuation appears to be
53 flattening, although a weak down-dip lineation is evident locally
54 and the axial planes of early (F2) folds have been drawn into
55 parallelism with the main foliation.
56 Sections across the Boundary Slide are exposed in the River Tilt
57 immediately below Gilbert‘s Bridge (NN 8812 7005), at the junction
58 of the Tilt with the Allt Fas-charaidh (NN 8832 7035), near its
59 junction with the Allt Mhairc (NN 8902 7118) and at Coille Sron an
60 Duine (NN 8950 7164). At all of these localities, approaching the
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4 Boundary Slide from the Grampian Group, the flagginess of the
5 psammites increases and the banding in them becomes closer spaced
6 and parallel. Coarse white mica is concentrated on the flaggy
7
surfaces. At the slide itself, about 1 m of coarse muscovite-
8
biotite schist has a platy aspect with parallel quartz lenticles.
9
10 However, similar bands of schist occur within the Glen Banvie
11 Formation above, together with mylonitized metalimestones and
12 strongly deformed quartzites, so that the formation as a whole
13 appears to constitute a high-strain zone. The strong fabric in the
14 rocks near the slide is best appreciated where small quartz pebbles
15 with elongation ratios of 6:1 occur in the quartzites. The
16 elongation lineation is fairly uniform, plunging at about 30o to the
17 south-east.
18 On the south-east side of Glen Tilt, the Glen Banvie Formation
19 comprises intercalated metalimestones, calcsilicate rocks,
20 schistose pelites and semipelites, psammites and quartzites. A
21 strong foliation has effectively destroyed any sedimentary
22 structures. Alumina-rich calcsilicate rocks with pink microcline
23 are particularly characteristic of the lower part of the formation.
24 Epidote, actinolite and diopside are present locally in these
25
rocks; plagioclase is less common, as is quartz. Downstream from
26
Gilbert‘s Bridge at NN 881 698, pale-grey crystalline
27
28 metalimestones are interbedded with quartz-plagioclase-mica
29 schists. The grey metalimestones contain sparse graphite dust and
30 impure types have tremolite and clinozoisite-epidote or zoisite.
31 Some of the very fine-grained metacarbonate bands are mylonitic.
32 Elsewhere, white metalimestones, up to 2 m thick, are fairly common
33 and several contain calcsilicate minerals. A well-known example of
34 the latter type is the ‗Glen Tilt Marble‘, which was quarried for a
35 short time at NN 9027 7186. This decorative marble has pale and
36 darker green blotches of serpentine mineral (antigorite) elongated
37 within the foliation. Antigorite is a common alteration product of
38 tremolite, diopside and forsterite. White mica (?talc) lies in the
39 foliation but pyrite is disseminated within the marble. Dolomitic
40 metalimestones are also present and are composed of up to 90%
41 fibrous tremolite.
42 In the central part of the Glen Banvie Formation, a quartzite
43
unit, up to 300 m thick, forms a persistent marker (Figure 7).
44
Within the quartzite are local feldspathic bands and thin beds of
45
46 dark pyritic semipelite. Above and below the quartzite are pelites
47 composed of quartz-muscovite-biotite-plagioclase, with or without
48 garnet and kyanite. Some of the pelites are intercalated with
49 fine-grained quartzites on a centimetre scale; others are graphitic
50 and many are retrogressed to chloritic schists. Slightly
51 calcareous pelites contain zoisite, clinozoisite and minor calcite.
52 Near the Sron a‘ Chro Granite, andalusite porphyoblasts overprint
53 the earlier pelitic assemblages.
54 The Glen Banvie Formation contains two types of amphibolite that
55 are both considered to have been intrusions; thin sheets of dark-
56 green hornblende schist and larger amphibolitic bodies. The
57 hornblende schists contain up to 75% hornblende, minor plagioclase,
58 quartz, garnet, titanite and iron oxides; the larger bodies
59 additionally contain thin leucocratic bands rich in pinkish
60 sericitized plagioclase, quartz and epidote.
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4 Two sheets of foliated granite are exposed in Glen Tilt about 30 m
5 above the Boundary Slide. They are up to 2 m thick and are roughly
6 concordant with the foliation/banding in the Glen Banvie Formation.
7
The reddish biotite granites show a granoblastic texture of quartz,
8
microcline and albite, and a parallel alignment of sparse biotite
9
10 laths. Minor secondary muscovite is present and biotite is locally
11 retrogressed to chlorite. At NN 895 716 by the River Tilt,
12 xenoliths of biotite semipelite (0.15 to 1.2 m long) possess a
13 foliation that is oblique to the one in the granite.
14 The Glen Banvie Formation has been subjected to three major phases
15 of deformation (Smith, 1980). It typically has a strong flaggy
16 foliation dipping at about 40o to the south-east, which is a
17 composite S1+S2 fabric. Boudinage of the more-competent bands
18 within the main foliation is common and is accompanied by flexing
19 in the less-competent units. Most of the long axes of boudins
20 trend north-east perpendicular to a stretching lineation and both
21 are considered to relate to D2. It is likely that the foliation of
22 the granite sheets is also related to D2, so that the oblique
23 fabric preserved in the xenoliths is probably S1 (c.f. Bradbury et
24 al., 1976; Tanner and Leslie, 1994; Tanner, 1996). A poorly
25
developed local crenulation cleavage is assigned to D3. Local
26
brittle deformation, fracturing and kink bands are related to
27
28 sinistral movement on the Loch Tay Fault, a branch of which lies
29 about 0.5 km south-east of Gilbert‘s Bridge (Treagus, 1991).
30 The peak regional metamorphism is of amphibolite facies, as is
31 indicated by the presence of kyanite-grade assemblages in the
32 pelites. Estimates of pressure and temperature on garnet rims from
33 the Glen Tilt area indicate 9–12 kbar and 550–620o C (Wells and
34 Richardson, 1979). Recrystallization of minerals such as the
35 amphiboles in the hornblende schists (post D2) and later partial
36 retrogression of the rocks is common.
37
38 3.3 Interpretation
39
40 There are two issues concerning the geology of the central section
41 of Glen Tilt that have generated much debate in the past and are
42 not as yet fully resolved. The first is the stratigraphical
43
affinity of the Glen Banvie Formation and the second is the nature
44
and regional significance of the high-strain zone, the so-called
45
46 Boundary Slide, that lies between this and the structurally
47 underlying ‘Struan Flags‘.
48 The varied lithological assemblage that comprises the Glen Banvie
49 Formation, with its distinctive calcsilicate and metacarbonate
50 rocks, resembles parts of the Appin Group. However, it is difficult
51 to correlate with the Dalradian succession because it lies between
52 the Boundary Slide and the Loch Tay Fault. A calcsilicate-bearing
53 metalimestone, about 3 m thick, downstream from Gilbert‘s Bridge
54 was formerly correlated with the unit now known as the ‗Dark
55 Limestone‘ of the Blair Atholl Subgroup (Barrow, 1904). Further
56 metalimestone intercalations were considered by Barrow to be folded
57 repetitions of this metalimestone, and in places it was seen to be
58 in contact with the Struan Flags and other rock types such as dark
59 schist and red microcline-rich rock. This was explained as a
60 tightly folded local unconformity of the metalimestone on the Moine
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4 rocks (Barrow, 1904). However, Bailey (1925) measured the section
5 downstream from Gilbert‘s Bridge and concluded that the
6 intercalations are not the Struan Flags or the ‗Dark Limestone‘,
7
but are all part of his ‗Blair Atholl Series of the Banvie Burn
8
Belt‘. He suggested that the rocks of the Banvie Burn Belt could
9
10 be equated with his ‗Pale Group‘, i.e. the upper part of what is
11 now the Blair Atholl Subgroup, but he was not certain because of
12 the structural complexity in Glen Tilt. Pantin (1961) made a
13 similar correlation, although the presence of local graphitic bands
14 and a thick quartzite unit are not consistent with this
15 interpretation. A suggestion by Thomas (1965) that the central
16 quartzite unit occupies a synclinal core, and hence a higher
17 stratigraphical level, was refuted by Smith (1980), who found no
18 structural or stratigraphical evidence for this hypothesis.
19 Although the outcrop of the Glen Banvie Formation is entirely
20 bounded by faults, its position between the Grampian Group
21 psammites and the upper part of the Appin Group, together with its
22 overall lithology, suggests that it could be part of the Lochaber
23 Subgroup (Smith, 1980) e.g. equivalent to the calcareous upper
24 parts of the Leven Schist. It could alternatively represent the
25
Lochaber Subgroup and the lower part of the Ballachulish Subgroup
26
in a condensed sequence (c.f. Treagus, 1999, 2000 in the
27
28 Schiehallion area).
29 The importance of the Boundary Slide was stressed by Thomas
30 (1980), who interpreted the presence of a muscovite-rich schist to
31 be a result of the sliding (c.f. the Beoil Schist of the
32 Schiehallion area). According to Thomas, the slide probably
33 developed during the evolution of the primary F1 nappes but was re-
34 activated locally during later deformation. He described it as
35 a dislocation between the Appin Group succession of the Tay Nappe
36 and the Grampian Group rocks beneath, which form a primary south-
37 east- and downward-facing Atholl Nappe. However, Smith (1980)
38 inferred that, because tight to isoclinal F2 folds had their limbs
39 cut out and were sheared locally along their axial planes during
40 D2, the age of the major sliding is D2. The Glen Banvie Formation
41 as a whole is strongly deformed and there are numerous minor slides
42 between the contrasting lithologies, such as the one that Barrow
43
(1904) interpreted as an unconformity. This fact, coupled with the
44
sharp contrast in stratigraphy between the formation and the
45
46 Dalradian succession to the south-east, led Smith (1980) to the
47 conclusion that the Loch Tay Fault might obscure another major
48 slide forming the south-eastern boundary to the Glen Banvie
49 Formation. He also suggested that the Grampian Group psammites
50 acted as a competent block during deformation and might have
51 influenced the location of the Loch Tay Fault close to the Boundary
52 Slide.
53 On a regional scale, the age, nature and importance of the
54 Boundary Slide are still debatable issues. Within the northern
55 Grampian Highlands, Appin Group rocks rest on various levels of the
56 Grampian Group (Smith et al., 1999, Highton et al., 1999), and in
57 the Central Grampian Highlands, large parts of the Appin and Argyll
58 group succession are absent where high-strain zones are present
59 just above the Grampian Group (Roberts and Treagus, 1979). So it
60 is even possible that the Boundary Slide and/or related structures
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4 could conceal orogenic unconformities at various stratigraphical
5 levels, which could eventually help to explain such outstanding
6 problems as the apparently wide age span between older parts of the
7
Grampian Group at c. 730 Ma and the top of the Dalradian, which
8
contains an Early Cambrian (c. 515 Ma) fauna (e.g. Prave, 1999;
9
10 Dempster et al., 2002; Hutton and Alsop, 2004). See Stephenson et
11 al., 2013a for further discussion.
12
13 3.4 Conclusions
14
15 The River Tilt at Gilbert’s Bridge provides a classic section
16 through the junction between the Grampian Group and the Appin Group
17 successions of the Dalradian Supergroup. This junction, usually
18 referred to here as the Boundary Slide, was originally regarded as
19 a major tectonic dislocation or decollement between the highly
20 variable lithologies of the Dalradian to the south-east and the
21 structurally underlying, dominantly psammitic succession to the
22 north-west that was formerly regarded as part of the Moine.
23 Subsequent work has failed to find specific evidence for a major
24 dislocation or for significant excision of strata. However, the
25
junction does occur within highly deformed rocks and the Boundary
26
Slide, at least in this area, is presently interpreted as a high-
27
28 strain zone related to the D2 phase of deformation.
29 The problem is compounded in Glen Tilt by uncertainty over the
30 stratigraphical affinities of the strata that lie structurally
31 above the Boundary Slide but separated from the main Dalradian
32 succession to the south-east by the Loch Tay Fault. These
33 lithologically variable strata, termed the Glen Banvie Formation
34 and including some distinctive metacarbonate and calcsilicate
35 rocks, are currently assigned tentatively to part of the Lochaber
36 Subgroup. If this correlation is correct, there could be no
37 significant stratigraphical break here at the Boundary Slide
38 between the Grampian Group and the lower part of the Appin Group.
39 No matter whether the Boundary Slide is a major dislocation or
40 merely a high-strain zone focused upon the junction between two
41 successions of markedly different competence, it does constitute a
42 major boundary throughout much of the Grampian Highlands. The
43
section at Gilbert‘s Bridge is one of the best exposed and the
44
conclusions drawn from this GCR site, however tentative, have
45
46 broader implications for the possible presence or absence of
47 tectonic and/or stratigraphical breaks elsewhere in the Dalradian
48 succession. It is therefore of national importance.
49
50 4 GLEN EY GORGE
51 (NO 0867 8834–NO 0884 8630)
52
53 C.G. Smith and D. Stephenson
54
55
56 4.1 Introduction
57
58 Glen Ey in upper Deeside provides one of the best-exposed sections
59 through the Boundary Slide, a zone of highly strained rocks, which
60 separates the Grampian Group from other, more lithologically
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3
4 variable, parts of the Dalradian throughout much of the Grampian
5 Highlands. At one time the slide was regarded as a fundamental
6 tectonostratigraphical boundary separating the Moine and Dalradian
7
successions, but the re-assignation of most of the Moine south-east
8
of the Great Glen Fault to the Dalradian has lessened its potential
9
10 importance. Discussion now centres upon whether or not the high-
11 strain zone coincides with a major dislocation and whether any
12 stratigraphical units or major structures have been excised (see
13 1.2.1 in Introduction). The Glen Ey gorge section is particularly
14 valuable since, unlike some sections to the south-west, there is
15 continuity from the top of the Grampian Group, through increasingly
16 strained rocks, into highly deformed schistose rocks assigned to
17 the Lochaber Subgroup at the base of the Appin Group. Here, at
18 least, there would appear to be no reason to suggest that large
19 parts of the succession are missing.
20 The area around Glen Ey was first mapped by the Geological Survey
21 in 1898–99 and the results were incorporated into the one-inch
22 Sheet 65 (Balmoral, 1904) and the accompanying memoir (Barrow and
23 Cunningham Craig, 1912). This area of the present BGS 1:50 000
24 Sheet 65W (Braemar, 1989), is for the most part based on the
25
mapping and re-interpretation of Upton (1983, 1986), who was the
26
first to recognize the Boundary Slide in the Braemar area. Much of
27
28 the ensuing geological description and interpretation is based on
29 Upton‘s work.
30
31 4.2 Description
32
33 The Ey Burn is a major tributary on the south side of the River
34 Dee, approximately 7 km south-west of Braemar. To the north of the
35 ruins of Auchelie (NO 0875 8630), as far as the bridge at NO 0867
36 8834, the burn flows for about 2 km through a narrow gorge,
37 generally less than 10 m deep but with steep to vertical sides.
38 The best-known part of the gorge, between NO 0872 8718 and NO 0875
39 8695, includes a historical curiosity known as the Colonel’s Bed.
40 This rocky recess in the western wall of the gorge is where John
41 Farquharson of Inverey, the ‘Black Colonel’, reputedly hid while
42 being pursued after the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689.
43
The Boundary Slide in the Ey Gorge separates essentially
44
arenaceous rocks of the Grampian Group from the more-varied pelitic
45
46 and calcareous lithologies of the Lochaber and Ballachulish
47 subgroups of the Appin Group (Figure 8).
48 The northernmost 600 m or so of the section are entirely within
49 Grampian Group rocks, which dip consistently at low angles (less
50 than 20o) to the south-east or east. These uppermost units of the
51 Grampian Group are probably equivalent to the Struan Flags of the
52 Blair Atholl area (see the Gilbert’s Bridge GCR site report). In
53 Glen Ey they have been termed the Deeside Quartzites and Psammites
54 by Upton (1983, 1986). These comprise units of pale slabby
55 quartzite and quartzose psammite, 5–15 cm thick, interbedded with
56 pale-green and buff colour-banded psammite and thin beds of
57 semipelite (up to 5 cm thick). The semipelites contain
58 poikiloblastic garnet aligned parallel to the schistosity,
59 indicating syn- to late-D2 growth. Heavy-mineral laminae are
60 commonly seen in the quartzites and Upton (1983) recorded south-
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4 easterly younging evidence in the psammites, confirming that the
5 succession is the right way up.
6 The quartzite and psammite contain bedding-parallel pelitic
7
laminae dominated by thick felts of porphyroblastic muscovite and
8
titaniferous biotite, which define the S2 fabric and whose spacing
9
10 reflects proximity to the Boundary Slide. Thus, by the bridge at
11 the lowest point in the section, these partings are widely spaced
12 with an interval of 20–30 cm, whereas at NO 0880 8800, where a
13 small tributary enters from the east, the spacing reduces from 10–
14 20 cm at river level to 3–7 cm at the lip of the gorge.
15 Approximately 20 m upstream on the east bank, at NO 0879 8797,
16 psammite becomes increasingly flaggy upwards and is overlain by
17 quartz schist, marking a transition into the Tom Anthon Mica Schist
18 Formation, the lowest unit of the Appin Group. South of this, the
19 contact between the two formations descends gradually to reach
20 river level at NO 0885 8776.
21 Roughly 200 m to the south, the gorge turns to the west and the
22 rocks dip gently to the east or, more rarely, to the north-east.
23 As a result of this slight change in overall strike, the gorge cuts
24 down the succession upstream and Grampian Group rocks crop out to
25
form an elongate ‗window‘ up to 100 m wide and 500 m long. As in
26
the lower part of the gorge, the quartzites and psammites
27
28 demonstrate an upward increase in flagginess and pass up into the
29 Tom Anthon Mica Schist Formation at stream level just to south of
30 the Colonel‘s Bed.
31 The Tom Anthon Mica Schist, which in this area is estimated to be
32 40–70 m thick, is a very distinctive platy silvery grey rock. It
33 is essentially a quartz-feldspar-muscovite-biotite schist dominated
34 by thick porphyroblastic muscovite felts, which give the rock its
35 particularly distinctive appearance. Isolated garnets crystallized
36 late, during the D2 deformation. The thick mica foliae are
37 compressed around augens of recrystallized porphyroblastic
38 plagioclase, the lamellar twinning of which has been accentuated by
39 the high strain. Also present are augen-shaped lenses of calcite
40 and calcsilicate-rich hornblendic amphibolites. The lithology at
41 the base of the formation is dominated by mica foliae with only
42 rare lenses of quartz, feldspar and amphibolite. The mica foliae
43
contain heavy minerals such as tourmaline, zircon, apatite and rare
44
small poikiloblastic garnets. There is an upward increase in the
45
46 quartz-feldspar content of the matrix and at the top of the
47 formation the mica felts are separated by quartzofeldspathic
48 microlithons. This partly reflects a more-arenaceous protolith and
49 partly the effects of high D2 strain producing a pressure-solution
50 striping in the rock.
51 The top of the Tom Anthon Mica Schist is not exposed in the gorge,
52 but small exposures of epidote-tremolite-dolomite-bearing
53 calcsilicate rock occur in an eastern tributary at around NO 0900
54 8782 and mark the location of the overlying Baddoch Burn Dolomite.
55 These rocks are easily recognizable and form an important marker
56 horizon. Here they consist of green calcsilicate rocks, dominated
57 by tremolite laths with subordinate amounts of quartz, feldspar and
58 muscovite or phlogopite. The tremolite laths are preferentially
59 aligned, forming a rough schistosity.
60
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4 The succeeding Glen Clunie Graphitic Schist Formation crops out in
5 the gorge section to the south of the major NE-trending Tom Anthon
6 Fault (see below). This formation is dominated by dark-grey
7
graphitic pelite with porphyroblasts of garnet, staurolite and
8
kyanite. It is evident from these rocks that garnet and staurolite
9
10 formed early during D2, whereas kyanite porphyroblasts, which
11 marked growth at the peak of metamorphism, developed statically
12 after D2 but before D4. The formation also includes minor beds of
13 calcsilicate rock and rare psammite units and is cut by hornblendic
14 sheets thought to represent metamorphosed basic intrusions.
15 Close to the Tom Anthon Fault, the dip of the foliation in the Tom
16 Anthon Mica Schist steepens and is predominantly to the north. At
17 around NO 087 869, the Ey Burn swings sharply to the north-east and
18 for about 80 m follows the trace of the fault, which is well seen
19 in this section. The Tom Anthon Mica Schist is exposed on the
20 north bank of the burn, whereas to the south there are good
21 exposures of intensely tectonized and strongly folded pale-green
22 and grey calcsilicate rocks. The two contrasting lithologies are
23 separated by a breccia zone, over 2 m wide, of pale-green rock cut
24 by anastomosing calcite veins. A further 30 m or so to the south
25
another breccia zone separates the calcsilicate rocks from the Glen
26
Clunie Graphitic Schist, which crops out upstream for a further
27
28 kilometre.
29
30 4.3 Interpretation
31
32 In common with Dalradian rocks elsewhere, at least three of the
33 regional episodes of deformation (D1, D2 and D4) have been
34 recognized in the rocks of the Glen Ey area. They were also
35 affected by two major dislocations of contrasting style and age,
36 the ductile Boundary Slide, which is equated with D2 and the later,
37 more-brittle Tom Anthon Fault. The main fabric/schistosity is
38 recognized as being S2, although evidence of an earlier, S1 fabric
39 is present locally. There is little evidence of early folds in the
40 section, but from the regional synthesis of Upton (1986; Figure 9)
41 it can be established that the rocks all lie on the lower, inverted
42 limb of a major F1 isoclinal anticline, possibly equivalent to the
43
Tay Nappe, or on a parasitic fold on the lower limb of the nappe.
44
The present disposition and attitude of the rocks is largely
45
46 attributable to D2, when a stack of tight recumbent downward- and
47 SE-facing folds was created. These F2 folds are broadly equivalent
48 to the Ben Lui folds below the Tay Nappe in the South-west Grampian
49 Highlands. Thus the right-way-up Grampian Group rocks of Glen Ey
50 lie on the upper limb of a major F2 synformal anticline that faces
51 downwards to the south-east. The rocks overlying the Boundary
52 Slide are also right way up, being on the lower limb of the F2
53 Morrone Antiform, which also faces downwards to the south-east.
54 Only minor, near upright F4 folds occur in this area.
55 The nature of the Boundary Slide at this GCR site is ambiguous.
56 There is a well-exposed, gradual, possibly sedimentary, transition
57 from the Deeside Quartzites and Psammites of the Grampian Group
58 into the Tom Anthon Mica Schist of the Lochaber Subgroup, implying
59 little or no dislocation or excision of strata. However, elsewhere
60 in upper Deeside, Upton (1983) has recognized a higher unit of the
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4 Grampian Group, the Linn of Dee Banded Pelites and Psammites, which
5 is absent from this section. Has it been excised due to truncation
6 of the upper limb of the F2 fold by the Boundary Slide or is it
7
absent as a result of facies changes or an unconformity? Above the
8
inferred position of the slide, the Tom Anthon Mica Schist appears
9
10 to be analogous to the Beoil Schist of the Schiehallion area (see
11 the Strath Fionan GCR site report in Treagus et al., 2013). These
12 highly schistose lithologies are thought to have developed as a
13 result of high strain on pelitic rocks in the area of the Boundary
14 Slide. As is the case elsewhere along its trace, there is
15 undoubtedly high strain focussed upon the marked contrast in
16 lithology and competence at the Grampian–Appin group boundary, but
17 it is not possible to prove any dislocation or excision.
18 The Tom Anthon Fault is a major dislocation, trending north-east–
19 south-west, which can be traced for over 15 km from Braemar on
20 Deeside to Fealar Lodge in the upper Glen Tilt area. It might be
21 considered as one of several splays of the Loch Tay Fault, which to
22 the north-east of upper Glen Tilt departs from its usual single
23 straight course. The fault plane is considered to be near
24 vertical, as its straight trace is unaffected by considerable
25
topography throughout the area. The movement on the fault is hard
26
to estimate, but it almost certainly includes both strike-slip and
27
28 dip-slip components. However, the evidence regarding the sense of
29 movement in the Glen Ey area is conflicting. The stratigraphy
30 suggests a downthrow to the south-east. However, Upton (1983)
31 proposed that the rocks to the south-east of the Tom Anthon Fault
32 are at a lower structural level, below the Morrone Antiform.
33 There, the dips of the S2 fabric are much steeper, and the outcrop
34 thickness of the Glen Clunie Graphitic Schist is increased
35 significantly as a result of repetition about the F2 An Socach Fold
36 trace and an F1 fold-pair. This structural interpretation would
37 imply a downthrow to the north-west on the Tom Anthon Fault.
38
39 4.4 Conclusions
40
41 The Glen Ey Gorge encompasses one of the most complete sections
42 through the Boundary Slide, in terms of degree of exposure,
43
accessibility and continuity of Dalradian lithostratigraphy. The
44
perceived importance of the slide has diminished in recent years,
45
46 as it no longer represents a fundamental tectonostratigraphical
47 boundary between the Moine and Dalradian successions. However, it
48 does comprise a zone of intense ductile deformation that,
49 throughout much of its length, is focussed upon the boundary
50 between arenaceous rocks of the Grampian Group and the more-varied
51 lithologies found in higher parts of the Dalradian succession.
52 In Glen Ey there is a continuous section, in a right-way-up
53 sequence, from increasingly flaggy quartzites and psammites of the
54 Grampian Group, into the highly sheared Tom Anthon Mica Schist
55 Formation of the Lochaber Subgroup (Appin Group). Large-scale,
56 isoclinal F2 folds have been identified in the area, and the main
57 deformation fabric is S2, but it is not possible to establish
58 whether any stratigraphical units or any fold limbs have been
59 excised by movement on the shear-zone. The so-called ‗slide‘ could
60 merely be a zone of high strain with no significant displacement.
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4 A later NE-trending brittle fault, possibly related to the Loch
5 Tay Fault, is well exposed in the gorge and is marked by breccia
6 zones cut by calcite veins.
7
8
9
5 CAIRN LEUCHAN
10 (NO 380 908–NO 393 941)
11
12 C.G. Smith
13
14
15 5.1 Introduction
16
17 The hill of Cairn Leuchan (679 m) is located 5 km south-east of
18 Ballater in upper Deeside, on the broad NE-trending ridge that
19 separates Glen Muick to the west from Glen Tanar to the east. The
20 GCR site is representative of a variety of rocks that have
21 contributed considerably to the understanding of conditions of
22 high-grade regional metamorphism in the Grampian Terrane. Firstly
23 it lies within the area where Barrow established the concept of
24 metamorphic zones and index minerals. Secondly, it lies close to
25
the trace of the kyanite–andalusite isograd, which in simple terms
26
has been taken to define the boundary between the Barrovian and
27
Buchan styles of metamorphism. Thirdly, and perhaps most
28
29 importantly, geothermometric and geobarometric studies on gneisses
30 from Cairn Leuchan have established that peak metamorphic
31 temperatures and pressures were among the highest recorded in the
32 Grampian Terrane, and that this was one of the few areas in the
33 Scottish Highlands where metamorphic conditions during the
34 Caledonian Orogeny approached granulite facies.
35 The primary survey of the Glen Muick–Glen Tanar area was carried
36 out by Barrow in 1896 and the results were incorporated into the
37 one-inch Sheet 65 (Balmoral, 1904) and the accompanying memoir
38 (Barrow and Cunningham Craig, 1912). The area lies close to the
39 boundary between the Dalradian of Perthshire and that of the North-
40 east Grampian Highlands and, as such, forms an important link
41 between these two contrasting successions, as was highlighted by
42 Read (1928). Cairn Leuchan was the focus of detailed studies of
43
metamorphic conditions by Baker and Droop (1983) and Baker (1985).
44
The area was resurveyed by staff of Aberdeen University and Queen‘s
45
46 University, Belfast under contract to the British Geological
47 Survey, resulting in a new edition of the 1:50 000 Sheet 65E
48 (Ballater, 1995) and an accompanying memoir (Smith et al., 2002).
49 Bedrock at the GCR site consists dominantly of the Queen‘s Hill
50 Formation, which in this area constitutes the entire thickness of
51 the Crinan Subgroup and comprises two main gneissose lithologies,
52 one semipelitic to pelitic and one hornblendic. The hornblendic
53 rocks are metamorphosed basic sheets, which were mostly intruded
54 before deformation, although some fine-grained rocks exposed near
55 the base of the formation are regarded as metavolcanic.
56 The Dalradian rocks were affected by four phases of folding as a
57 result of which the strata are inverted and dip steeply to the
58 north-west. At the same time the rocks underwent high-grade
59 metamorphism and were extensively migmatized. They were intruded
60 subsequently by small late-tectonic ultrabasic to intermediate
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3
4 bodies and, to the north and east of Cairn Leuchan and Pannanich
5 Hill, by post-tectonic silicic rocks of the Ballater and Mount
6 Battock granite plutons. Later faults trend north, north-west and
7
east-north-east.
8
9
10 5.2 Description
11
12 The following account is based on descriptions by Baker and Droop
13 (1983), Goodman et al. (1990) and Smith et al. (2002). Exposures
14 in the immediate area of Cairn Leuchan are dominated by gneissose
15 basic meta-igneous rock with subordinate interlayered
16 metasedimentary gneiss (Figure 10). The meta-igneous rocks show a
17 wide range of magnetic susceptibilities, but generally record
18 higher values than the surrounding metasedimentary rocks, and hence
19 ground magnetic surveys were employed extensively in the last
20 resurvey of the area.
21 The intrusive meta-igneous rock is part of a sheet-like unit that
22 can be traced along strike for nearly 12 km. To the south of Am
23 Mullach (NO 375 904) the outcrop width of this sheet is generally
24 less than 200 m but in the vicinity of Cairn Leuchan, largely as
25
the result of repetition in the core of a major F2 fold, it reaches
26
a width of around 1 km. In common with other meta-igneous sheets
27
28 in the area it consists of coarse-grained hornblendic gneiss, which
29 is locally agmatitic.
30 Semipelitic to pelitic metasedimentary gneisses are exposed c. 400
31 m to the north-west of Cairn Leuchan and are inferred from magnetic
32 mapping to underlie the unexposed ground at a comparable distance
33 to the south-east. The outcrop width of these units ranges from
34 nearly 500 m to less than 30 m.
35 Three episodes of folding, corresponding to the D1–D3 regional
36 events have been recognized in the Dalradian rocks of the Cairn
37 Leuchan to Pannanich Hill area. In common with the surrounding
38 ground there is no evidence of any large-scale F1 folds. However,
39 the earliest event produced a number of small-scale (5–10 cm
40 wavelength or less) rootless isoclines that are intrafolial to the
41 regional fabric and are particularly evident in the hinge-zones of
42 F2 folds. These early structures fold an evenly spaced fabric
43
marked by quartzofeldspathic material, reminiscent of tectonic
44
striping or spaced cleavage. This suggests that these are not
45
46 truly F1 folds, but could be an early D2 phase. The main
47 deformation occurred during D2 with the development of large
48 asymmetrical folds, and the axial surface trace of a major synform
49 passes directly through Cairn Leuchan. These F2 folds have long
50 NW-dipping and short horizontal or SSE-dipping limbs and plunge to
51 the south-west. It has been suggested that they verge to the
52 north-west, but the outcrop pattern suggests that they verge to the
53 south-east. The main regional fabric (S2) is aligned parallel to
54 the long limbs and hence, in common with the sheet dip, strikes
55 north-east–south-west and is inclined steeply to the north-west.
56 Few examples of F3 folds are to be seen in the area, but the
57 orientation of the S2 fabric is largely attributed to that phase of
58 folding.
59 The Dalradian rocks are all coarse-grained gneisses or migmatites,
60 whose mineral assemblages and textures largely reflect the peak
61
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3
4 metamorphic conditions that prevailed during the D2 deformation.
5 The meta-igneous rocks vary from those with a planar gneissose
6 foliation to heavily agmatized types. The latter are characterized
7
by lenticular clots rich in ferromagnesian minerals, surrounded by
8
anastomosing stringers of leucocratic material that can form up to
9
10 40% of the rock; the subparallel alignment of these clots gives
11 rise to an indistinct foliation. Compositional banding is not
12 present. They have the mineral assemblage garnet-clinopyroxene-
13 hornblende-plagioclase-quartz-ilmenite-apatite-titanite, although
14 there is considerable variation in the proportions of minerals
15 present; e.g. hornblende content can range from 10–70%. Garnets
16 are common, particularly in the more-mafic examples, and are of
17 almandine composition, typically Alm56Gr30Py7Sp7, little zoned, and
18 stable within the metamorphic assemblage. In the Cairn Leuchan–
19 Drum Cholzie area, diopside occurs as large idioblastic
20 porphyroblasts, several centimetres in diameter, with a typical
21 composition of Ca1Mg0.5Fe0.5Si2O6. They too are stable within the
22 regional metamorphic assemblage.
23 The metasedimentry gneisses also exhibit a wide range of mineral
24 assemblages. Simplest are those that consist of quartz, andesine,
25
K-feldspar and dark brown biotite, with accessory opaques, apatite,
26
zircon and titanite. The foliation in the rocks is defined by the
27
28 orientation of biotite laths and by elongation of quartz grains,
29 which commonly show considerable strain. Almandine garnets are
30 common in pelitic rocks, often being full of biotite and quartz
31 inclusions. They typically have the composition Alm73Py16Gr7Sp3,
32 although they can show some zoning, the rims being slightly more Fe
33 rich and Mg poor than the cores. In places the garnets have atoll
34 shapes, the central parts having been replaced by a fine-grained
35 biotite symplectite. Sillimanite is present in pelites as
36 fibrolite, and is also found at the centre of atoll garnets; the
37 sillimanite sworls seen in some specimens could be pseudomorphs
38 after garnet.
39 Two main episodes of migmitization in the metasedimentary rocks
40 are recognized in the Ballater district; an early generation, which
41 is widely developed and is characterized by stromatic leucosomes of
42 leucotonalitic composition, and a later episode from which the
43
ultimate product is a massive coarse-grained rock of igneous
44
aspect, consisting of biotite, oligoclase and quartz. The later
45
46 episode has a much more localized development than the earlier.
47 Although it has not been recognized in the immediate area of Cairn
48 Leuchan, there is an extensive development 2–3 km to the north,
49 where it is known as the Pannanich Hill Complex (Goodman, 1991).
50 (See also the Balnacraig GCR site report.)
51
52 5.3 Interpretation
53
54 Major- and trace-element analyses of the basic meta-igneous rocks
55 show they have tholeiitic affinities, typical of the volcanic rocks
56 that were erupted during the extensional tectonic regime that
57 prevailed during deposition of the Argyll and Southern Highland
58 groups (Fettes et al., 2011). It has been suggested that such
59 meta-igneous rocks, which occur throughout the Crinan and
60 Tayvallich subgroups in various parts of the Grampian Highlands,
61
62
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3
4 were high-level intrusions associated with the volcanic activity.
5 However, those in the area of Craig Leuchan and Pannanich Hill
6 intruded rocks that post-date the nearest metavolcanic rocks (the
7
Meall Dubh Metabasite Formation and the Balnacraig Metabasite
8
Member, close to the Easdale–Crinan subgroup boundary). Hence they
9
10 were most likely to have been associated with the tuffaceous Green
11 Beds that occur within the Southern Highland Group and crop out
12 extensively in the Glen Clova area, some 15–20 km to the south
13 (Smith et al., 2002).
14 The coexisting mineral phases present in the rocks of the Cairn
15 Leuchan to Pannanich Hill area are considered to represent
16 equilibrium assemblages and, other than some minor patchy
17 retrograde alteration, these are the products of peak metamorphic
18 conditions. The assemblage garnet-clinopyroxene-hornblende in the
19 basic meta-igneous rocks suggests conditions that approach
20 granulite facies, although Smith et al. (2002) have suggested that
21 the presence of diopside might reflect the protolith composition
22 rather than metamorphic grade. But, using the garnet-clinopyroxene
23 (Ganguly, 1979; Ellis and Green, 1979) and garnet-biotite (Ferry
24 and Spear, 1978) Fe-Mg exchange thermometers, Baker and Droop
25
(1983) calculated peak pressure in the area to have been close to 8
26
kbar at 820oC. Baker (1985) subsequently suggested that pressures
27
28 might even have exceeded 9 kbar, and these are undoubtedly the most
29 extreme metamorphic conditions so far recognized in the Grampian
30 Terrane.
31 The mineral assemblages, including abundant sillimanite in the
32 regional foliation, are intimately associated with F2 folds, and
33 hence the peak of metamorphism and the early migmitization were
34 syn-D2. Although there is some evidence in the area (e.g. near
35 Creag Dearg, NO 360 876) that some of the sillimanite developed
36 from kyanite, this is considered to be a continuous prograde
37 regional event and there is no evidence of it being a separate
38 later overprint as was suggested by Chinner (1961, 1966). In rocks
39 of the nearby Pannanich Hill Complex, reaction rims between peak
40 metamorphic assemblages preserved in inclusions of refractory
41 material and the migmatized matrix indicate that the later
42 migmatites developed some time after peak temperatures, almost
43
certainly between D2 and D3 (Goodman, 1991). Formation of these
44
later migmatites was aided by the presence of aqueous fluids,
45
46 shearing and high heat flow, the latter attributed by Goodman to
47 intrusions of the 470 Ma North-east Grampian Basic Suite that crop
48 out nearby (e.g. the Coyles of Muick Intrusion). There are no
49 estimates of the pressures and temperatures under which the later
50 migmatization occurred, but the minerals present in the Pannanich
51 Hill Complex inclusions, particularly andalusite and sillimanite,
52 indicate that their re-equilibriation occurred at lower pressure
53 than the regional maximum, though possibly still at high
54 temperature, suggesting some post-D2 uplift.
55
56 5.4 Conclusions
57
58 Mineral assemblages in both metasedimentary and basic meta-igneous
59 gneisses of Cairn Leuchan, Pannanich Hill and adjacent areas
60 clearly demonstrate that the peak metamorphic conditions here were
61
62
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3
4 the most extreme so far recorded in the Scottish Dalradian, with
5 pressures in excess of 8 kbar and temperatures approaching 820oC.
6 The metasedimentary rocks, together with those of the nearby
7
Pannanich Hill Complex, clearly show two generations of migmatites,
8
the first coinciding with D2 deformation and peak metamorphism, the
9
10 second occurring somewhat later, after some regional uplift and
11 probably between the D2 and D3 events. The rocks also demonstrate
12 that the growth of sillimanite was the climax of a single prograde
13 metamorphic event and does not represent a later overprint as has
14 been previously suggested. The metamorphic rocks of this GCR site
15 therefore provide a wealth of information on the nature and timing
16 of high-grade regional metamorphism in the Grampian Terrane.
17
18 6 BALNACRAIG, DINNET
19 (NJ 4755 0045–NJ 4855 0160)
20
21 D. Gould
22
23
24 6.1 Introduction
25
26
The Balnacraig GCR site in northern Deeside provides a spectacular
27
illustration of the effects of intrusion of basic magma into
28
29 metasedimentary rocks that were already undergoing amphibolite-
30 facies regional metamorphism. Here, xenolithic gneisses containing
31 large, prismatic crystals of sillimanite have yielded valuable
32 information on the variation of pressure and temperature with time
33 during metamorphism. Adjacent exposures of amphibolite display
34 polyphase folding and are intruded by veins of leucotonalite.
35 Pelitic, semipelitic and psammitic metasedimentary rocks,
36 belonging to the Queen‘s Hill Formation of the Crinan Subgroup,
37 were intruded shortly after deposition by sills of tholeiitic
38 dolerite, which are now amphibolite sheets. During the Grampian
39 Event (c. 470 Ma), amphibolite-facies metamorphism and
40 migmatization occurred, and at the time of peak metamorphism,
41 norites of the Tarland Intrusion were emplaced, resulting in
42 partial melting of the adjacent metasedimentary rocks.
43
The first geological description of the area followed primary
44
mapping by the Geological Survey (Grant Wilson and Hinxman, 1890).
45
46 Work by Read (1927) highlighted the evidence for migmatization and
47 ‗injection‘ phenomena, as well as the presence of xenoliths of
48 more-refractory lithologies in the gneissose pelites. Read‘s
49 detailed petrography still forms the main descriptive work on the
50 rocks, although the interpretation has changed. Read described the
51 rocks between the outcrop of the Deeside Limestone Formation to the
52 south and the gabbroic and granitic intrusions to the north as a
53 ‗injection complex‘, which he considered to be caused by the
54 intimate admixture of silicic igneous materials with sedimentary
55 and igneous materials of earlier date. Depending on the proportion
56 of igneous material, the result ranged from largely metasedimentary
57 ‗oligoclase-porphyroblast-schist‘ through ‗oligoclase-biotite-
58 gneiss‘ to ‗orthoclase-oligoclase-biotite-gneiss‘, which Read
59 classed as largely igneous in origin. However, even the latter
60
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62
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4 contains fine-grained wisps of quartz, feldspar and biotite, and
5 isolated xenoliths, representing an original metasedimentary host.
6 Subsequently, Baker (1985) undertook a detailed petrological
7
study, including geothermometry and geobarometry, on these and
8
other selected rocks within the Dalradian of the North-east
9
10 Grampian Highlands to try to unravel the timing and localization of
11 metamorphic peaks. Then, following a resurvey of the area, Gould
12 (1997) re-interpreted the textural features described by Read as
13 being caused by anatexis. He also recognized the Tarland Intrusion
14 as a syn-D3 pluton of the North-east Grampian Basic Suite, and
15 identified the heat of the basic magma as the cause of the intense
16 local metamorphism and partial melting of the country rocks.
17
18 6.2 Description
19
20 This GCR site is located on the northern side of the valley of the
21 River Dee in Aberdeenshire, about 2 km north of Dinnet, and is
22 centred upon the cottage at Balnacraig. It lies within a belt of
23 coarse-grained, gneissose metasedimentary rock, 0.3 – 1.3 km wide
24 (Figure 11), which includes the rocky hills of Creag Ferrar,
25
Mullloch, Craigie and Scar Hill (300 m), and extends as far west as
26
the contact with the Tarland Intrusion at NJ 475 015. In places
27
28 the rocks are recognizably psammitic, semipelitic or pelitic, but
29 in most places the protolith is not recognizable. From south of
30 Craigie to Mulloch, the rocks have suffered shearing and
31 retrogressive metamorphism. However, a traverse from the eastern
32 side of Craigie at NJ 477 008 to the summit of Scar Hill (NJ 482
33 013) enables the full range of partial melting phenomena to be
34 examined and forms the nucleus of the site.
35 On the eastern slopes of Craigie there is a transition from
36 coarse-grained pelite with scattered porphyroblasts of oligoclase
37 up to 20 mm across, to gneisses in which pelitic material is cut by
38 irregular veins of granitic material carrying large garnet and
39 biotite crystals. In thin section, the pelites consist of
40 plagioclase (An23), biotite, garnet, sillimanite, and magnetite.
41 Minor cordierite and orthoclase are also present. The sillimanite
42 is coarsely crystalline, forming stumpy prisms aligned within the
43
main foliation. Later retrogressive metamorphism has formed
44
sericitic aggregates and, in places, andalusite replaces
45
46 sillimanite and plagioclase.
47 The gneisses display a single, coarsely developed foliation,
48 striking north-east and dipping steeply to the north-west. As the
49 traverse is continued from Craigie to Scar Hill, the proportion of
50 granitic material increases and the leucosome of the gneiss
51 includes orthoclase as well as plagioclase feldspar. The feldspar
52 porphyroblasts are mostly well crystallized, and contain few
53 inclusions. The proportion of pelitic material decreases until all
54 that is left is a number of large xenoliths, in which the foliation
55 is no longer parallel to that in the host, and a few streaks of
56 biotite and fibrolitic sillimanite.
57 The most noteworthy feature of the rocks is the presence of
58 sporadic xenoliths within the porphyroblastic gneisses of more-
59 refractory lithologies (quartzite, calcsilicate rock, silica-poor
60
61
62
63
64
65
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2
3
4 pelitic hornfels) (Read, 1927). These xenoliths vary in shape from
5 elongated to almost spherical (Figure 12).
6 The siliceous xenoliths are banded feldspathic quartzites with
7
sutured quartz grains. They contain small grains of basic
8
plagioclase and flakes of colourless to red-brown biotite. The
9
10 pelitic xenoliths contain fractured crystals of garnet and
11 prismatic sillimanite and streaks of biotite lying within
12 aggregates of sericite. Biotite and garnet are in many cases
13 altered to chlorite. One pelitic xenolith contains staurolite,
14 forming large prisms concentrated within certain layers and
15 streaked out into films of pale mica with fibrolite needles. The
16 intervening layers consist largely of large flakes of muscovite and
17 biotite.
18 Xenoliths of calcsilicate rock show a poikiloblastic granular
19 texture and consist of diopside, amphibole, labradorite plagioclase
20 and quartz. Amphibole-rich xenoliths are abundant; compared with
21 the orthoamphibolites in the intrusive sheets of Craig Dhu and
22 Balnacraig Cottage (see below), they contain a higher proportion of
23 amphibole, and the plagioclase is more calcic, reaching anorthite
24 in some cases. Quartz occurs only as small pellets or tubules in
25
the plagioclase and amphibole. Some specimens contain large sieve-
26
like porphyroblasts of garnet.
27
28 A sheet of amphibolite, about 100 m thick, is well exposed at
29 Balnacraig Cottage (NJ 479 006). The rocks of the sheet have a
30 grain size of 0.5–1 mm, with a well-developed planar fabric and
31 consist of prismatic hornblende and granoblastic labradorite, with
32 minor clinopyroxene in places. The sheet is traversed by veins of
33 leucocratic material, both parallel to and cutting across the
34 foliation of the amphibolite. The veins consist of plagioclase
35 (generally oligoclase, in contrast to the labradorite of the
36 amphibolite), with minor quartz and hornblende. In places the
37 veins expand into large, diffuse patches within the amphibolite
38 (Figure 13).
39
40 6.3 Interpretation
41
42 Modern interpretations of the xenolithic gneisses at this GCR site,
43
and of other examples nearby within Crinan Subgroup semipelitic
44
rocks, suggest that the least-refractory metasedimentary rocks have
45
46 been partially melted during the peak of regional metamorphism
47 (syn-D3). This was contemporaneous with the intrusion of magmas,
48 now represented by mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Tarland,
49 Coyles of Muick and other plutons, which produced a large heat
50 flux. A granitic melt was formed first in semipelitic rocks, then
51 in pelites and feldspathic psammites. As the proportion of partial
52 melt of the pelitic rocks increased, to include some ferromagnesian
53 material, the resulting melt crystallized as quartz, orthoclase and
54 andesine, with minor garnet and biotite. The residue after this
55 more-intense partial melting was highly aluminous, and
56 recrystallized as knots of biotite, sillimanite, cordierite,
57 magnetite and, locally, spinel. Later metamorphism, producing
58 andalusite and sericitic aggregates, was post D3, but pre-dated the
59 local contact metamorphism associated with the Mount Battock and
60 Cromar granite plutons. Where partial melting of the amphibolite
61
62
63
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3
4 occurred, the first melt to form was tonalitic, crystallizing as
5 quartz, oligoclase, and minor hornblende, reflecting its
6 undersaturation in alumina.
7
Migmatites resembling those in the Balnacraig GCR site also occur
8
within the Queen‘s Hill Formation to the south-west of the Ballater
9
10 Pluton, where they have been described as the Pannanich Hill
11 Complex (Goodman, 1994; see the Cairn Leuchan to Pannanich Hill GCR
12 site report). There, garnetiferous oligoclase-biotite gneisses
13 contain refractory inclusions showing peak regional metamorphic
14 assemblages. The gneissose matrix is considered to have formed by
15 reconstitution of semipelitic lithologies, aided by the presence of
16 abundant aqueous fluids and high temperatures. Peak metamorphic
17 conditions were estimated at 820°C and 8 kbar (Baker and Droop,
18 1983). Partial melting was considered to be likely under those
19 conditions. More conclusive evidence of partial melting of similar
20 metasedimentary rocks was obtained by Goodman and Lappin (1996)
21 from the aureole of the Lochnagar Pluton, where intrusion of
22 dioritic magma followed by granite magma into high-grade regional
23 metamorphic rocks produced temperatures of up to 750° C at 2.5 kbar
24 pressure in the aureole. Temperatures in the Balnacraig rocks
25
would have been comparable to those in the Pannanich Hill Complex
26
during the D3 metamorphic peak due to the proximity to the Tarland
27
28 basic intrusion, so at least some partial melting could be
29 expected.
30 The polyphase nature of the metamorphism was demonstrated by Baker
31 (1985), who found that andalusite, where present, always post-dated
32 sillimanite, indicating that pressures were significantly lower
33 during the later metamorphic episodes. Two specimens of gneissose
34 pelite from Balnacraig gave results of 762°C at 7.6 kbar, and 799°C
35 at 9.2 kbar for the main metamorphic event, similar to those at
36 Pannanich Hill.
37
38 6.4 Conclusions
39
40 The Balnacraig GCR site is of national and possibly international
41 importance as an exceptional example of the enhancement of the
42 effects of regional metamorphism by the emplacement of basic magma
43
shortly after the regional peak. Many classical features of
44
migmatization of metasedimentary rocks are displayed, including
45
46 veining by a granitic leucosome and the formation of xenoliths of
47 refractory compositions within irregularly layered gneisses. The
48 migmatization was a result of partial melting of the rocks during
49 the local D3 phase of deformation, which occurred shortly after the
50 regional metamorphism had reached its peak in the upper amphibolite
51 facies. This deformation was contemporaneous with the intrusion of
52 basic magma (the Tarland Intrusion), which might have increased the
53 heat flux sufficiently to cause a local increase in the proportion
54 of partial melt.
55 A striking feature of the gneisses is the presence of large
56 prismatic crystals of sillimanite that formed during the peak of
57 metamorphism. Later retrograde metamorphism at lower pressure
58 resulted in the growth of andalusite, and the well-preserved
59 mineral assemblages from this GCR site have contributed
60 significantly to a study of variations in temperature and pressure
61
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63
64
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3
4 during metamorphism in this part of the Grampian Highlands.
5 Possible further research could include an investigation of
6 variations in mineral compositions between the xenoliths and their
7
host rocks, and a comparison with similar metasedimentary rocks
8
near the eastern contact of the Morven–Cabrach Pluton.
9
10
11 7 MUCKLE FERGIE BURN
12 (NJ 164 140–NJ 167 139)
13
14 J.R. Mendum
15
16
17 7.1 Introduction
18
19 The lower part of the Muckle Fergie Burn, a tributary of the River
20 Avon 5 km south of Tomintoul, cuts through the basal units of the
21 Islay Subgroup, which here include several metamorphosed diamictite
22 beds that are readily correlated with the Port Askaig Tillite of
23 Islay and the Schiehallion Boulder Bed of Perthshire. This
24 section, together with other occurences in Upper Donside and
25
farther north to within sight of the Banffshire coast, shows that
26
the tillite unit recognized at the base of the Argyll Group in
27
Connemara, Donegal and Islay can also be traced through the
28
29 Grampian Highlands. The tillite unit was probably deposited over a
30 relatively short period of geological time; hence, it is
31 effectively considered to be a chronostratigraphical marker unit
32 within the Dalradian succession. In addition, the section below
33 the tillites in the Muckle Fergie Burn preserves the earliest
34 record of mafic volcanism in the Argyll Group, whilst farther east
35 in the section tuffs and lavas are also found higher in the Islay
36 Subgroup and in the Easdale Subgroup (Figure 14).
37 The Muckle Fergie Burn section was first described by L.W. Hinxman
38 during primary mapping for the Geological Survey in 1888-9. He
39 recognized the existence of a ‗boulder bed‘ akin to that described
40 near Schiehallion and recorded the presence of granitic and
41 dolomitic clasts in a greenish grey, sandy to silty matrix in the
42 brief memoir for Sheet 75 (Hinxman, 1896). Gregory (1931) also
43
included a description of the unit in his book on Dalradian
44
Geology. Both authors failed to attribute a glacial origin to the
45
46 beds, interpreting them as pebbly calcareous psammites. Morgan
47 (1966) carried out more-detailed mapping over a wide part of the
48 Muckle Fergie–Inchrory area and provided detailed descriptions of
49 the stratigraphy and structure. Then, following the recognition of
50 the glaciomarine origin of the Port Askaig boulder bed (Kilburn et
51 al., 1965), Spencer and Pitcher (1968) extended the correlation and
52 interpretation to the Muckle Fergie Burn section and published a
53 stratigraphical log, as well as noting metadiamictite occurrences
54 farther north-east near Fordyce. The Geological Survey remapped
55 the area in the 1980‘s during the revision of 1:50 000 Sheet 75W
56 (Glenlivet, 1996) and this description uses material gathered
57 during that work.
58 Spencer and Pitcher (1968) recognized the wider importance of
59 metadiamictite units with regard to correlation along the whole
60 Dalradian outcrop and more widely in the North Atlantic region, a
61
62
63
64
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2
3
4 concept that was extended to a worldwide scale by Hambrey and
5 Harland (1981). A tentative correlation has long been made between
6 the Port Askaig Tillite and the Varanger tillites of northern
7
Norway (Spencer, 1971). Recent Rb-Sr illite age dating has
8
bracketed deposition of the Varanger glacial deposits between 620
9
10 and 590 Ma (Gorokhov et al., 2001; Bingen et al., 2005), which is
11 more comparable with the top of the Argyll Group than the bottom.
12 Hence, more-recent suggested correlations are with the older
13 Marinoan (c. 635 Ma) or Sturtian (c. 720 Ma) glaciations. (See
14 Stephenson et al., 2013a for a full discussion.)
15
16 7.2 Description
17
18 The lower part of the Muckle Fergie Burn flows through a wooded and
19 shrubby gorge, some 240 m south of Auchnahyle. The burn provides a
20 reference section for the Auchnahyle and overlying Kymah Quartzite
21 formations (Islay Subgroup) and in its upper part passes through
22 the overlying semipelitic, pelitic and basic metavolcanic units of
23 the Easdale Subgroup. Generally the sequence dips at 30–70° to the
24 east and is the right way up, although some overturned sections are
25
present locally. Medium-scale, close to tight folding repeats some
26
of the ‘boulder bed’ units.
27
28 The metadiamictite beds lie within the Auchnahyle Formation, an
29 interbedded sequence of psammites and semipelites containing
30 amphibolites in the lower part and beds of metalimestone and
31 metadolostone in the upper part. The formation maps out as a
32 lensoid unit, faulted out on its northern margin, whose strike
33 length is about 2 km and maximum thickness is of the order of 150
34 to 200 m (Figure 14). The contact of the Auchnahyle Formation with
35 the underlying Glenfiddich Pelite Formation of the Blair Atholl
36 Subgroup is not exposed in the Muckle Fergie Burn. However a rapid
37 transition from graphitic pelites and semipelites conformably up
38 into amphibolites is seen on a rocky bluff at NJ 163 143, some 300
39 m to the north.
40 The exposed burn section (Figure 14) starts with 7 m of dark grey-
41 green amphibolite that contains two cleavages and prominent quartz
42 and minor calcite veining. Tightly folded, thin- to medium-bedded
43
psammites and semipelites overlie the amphibolite and within these
44
beds (at NJ 1647 1401) is a prominent coarse- to medium-grained
45
46 amphibolitic unit with an internal structure resembling pillows.
47 No vesicles are seen but the ‗pillow structures‘ do contain radial
48 cracks and show a crude textural zonation; features indicative of
49 lavas. The micaceous and feldspathic psammite and semipelite
50 sequence immediately upstream from the pillowed amphibolites
51 contains some lenticular siliceous psammite units. Several
52 psammite beds show cut-offs and grading implying younging to the
53 east. A c. 4 m-thick sheet of foliated metadiorite intrudes the
54 psammite-semipelite sequence here.
55 At NJ 1655 1399 a c. 4 m-thick, thinly banded, grey, fine-grained
56 crystalline metalimestone with thin biotite-rich pelitic interbeds
57 is seen. Upstream for some 15 m, graphitic pelite and minor thin
58 metalimestones are present in the thinly bedded psammite-semipelite
59 sequence. They are succeeded by a c. 6 m-thick cream- to fawn-
60 weathering, mottled white and pink, fine- to medium-grained
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4 metadolostone, which has a rubbly fragmental zone at its top. It
5 passes up into a c. 5 m-thick, unbedded, grey-green, amphibole-
6 bearing, highly micaceous psammite containing subangular to
7
subrounded rusty brown-stained metadolostone clasts in its upper
8
part. The metadolostone clasts are deformed with elongations as
9
10 high as 7:1. This metadiamictite unit and others upstream are
11 notably pyritic. A thin psammite bed separates the lower
12 metadiamictite from the succeeding 5–7 m-thick metadiamictite that
13 contains moderately abundant granitoid and metadolostone clasts in
14 a slightly purplish grey matrix of highly micaceous psammite.
15 These units are succeeded by psammite and a further 6 m-thick
16 metadiamictite with quartz and rare granitoid pebbles and cobbles.
17 A thicker sequence of psammites follows eastwards. The lowest
18 unit is an indurated recrystallized quartzite with pyrite and minor
19 chlorite giving it an unusual translucent dark bluish green-grey
20 colour, but the higher parts vary from pink siliceous psammite to
21 feldspathic and micaceous psammite. Thin amphibolite sheets are
22 present. A further 4–5 m-thick metadiamictite unit is exposed at
23 the second waterfall (at NJ 1657 1396). It contains scattered
24 granitoid clasts in a grey-green amphibole-bearing semipelitic
25
matrix grading up to a grey semipelite with small metadolostone
26
clasts (Figure 15). A 4 m-thick sheet of metadiorite could be the
27
28 same intrusion as that seen in the lower part of the section. An
29 upper metadiamictite, some 5m thick and consisting of green-grey
30 highly micaceous psammite with scattered small granitoid and rare
31 metadolostone pebbles, occurs at NJ 1661 1395.
32 There is a lack of exposure for some 300 m in the burn section
33 above this lower part until the more-massive cross-bedded siliceous
34 psammite of the Kymah Quartzite Formation is reached. This forms a
35 major scarp feature with the prominent small crags of Sìdh Beag and
36 Sìdh Mòr above the burn (Figure 14).
37 The metadiamictite units are invariably matrix supported. The
38 matrix is normally a highly micaceous psammite, which in thin
39 section is seen to be markedly inequigranular with angular to
40 subrounded clasts of quartz, plagioclase and potash feldspar, and
41 clots of chlorite, partly overgrown by biotite. Apatite is a
42 common accessory and zircon is also present. The matrix is
43
dominated by chlorite but locally it is rich in carbonate or
44
amphibole, the latter now mainly altered to chlorite and biotite.
45
46 The matrix is normally structureless, although a crude ill-defined
47 lamination can be discerned in places.
48 The majority of clasts are of pebble size with a few cobbles up to
49 26 cm and a white granite boulder some 41 cm by 26 cm was recorded
50 by Morgan (1966). White to pale-yellow metadolostone is the
51 predominant sedimentary variety of clast, although grey
52 metalimestone (Blair Atholl Subgroup), quartzite, gritty psammite
53 and slate have also been recorded (Gregory, 1931; Morgan, 1966).
54 The igneous clasts are largely granitic and range from white to
55 pink granite to quartz-syenite and granodiorite, with diorite less
56 abundant.
57 Although the exposure in the Muckle Fergie Burn does not allow
58 full documentation of the structure, open to tight minor folds are
59 seen at various points and bedding dips range from near horizontal
60 to near vertical, implying the presence of small- and medium-scale
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4 folds. Minor fold axes plunge gently to the south-east,
5 corresponding approximately with a lineation (L2). A crenulation
6 cleavage (S3) that dips steeply to the north-east is developed
7
locally in the more-pelitic units (Morgan, 1966). Two major fold
8
phases (F2 and F3) are well displayed in Blair Atholl Subgroup
9
10 metalimestones in the Little Fergie Burn 3 km to the south-south-
11 east, where F2-F3 fold interference patterns are present. There,
12 F2 and F3 fold axes mainly plunge gently to the east-south-east,
13 but some F2 axes plunge gently to the north-west.
14
15 7.3 Interpretation
16
17 The true thickness of the Auchnahyle Formation in the Muckle Fergie
18 Burn is unclear. Morgan (1966) alluded to repetition by folding,
19 but confusingly included the repetition in his stratigraphical
20 sequence. Similarly, the stratigraphical log given by Spencer and
21 Pitcher (1968) shows nine metadiamictite beds, but does not allow
22 for or even reflect the fold repetition. Allowing for dips varying
23 from 30° to near vertical, the sequence would be 250 m to 280 m
24 thick, but fold repetition probably reduces this to nearer 150 m.
25
The metadiamictite beds are interpreted as marine glacial tillites
26
(Spencer and Pitcher, 1968) and are correlated with the more-
27
28 extensive and less-deformed Port Askaig Tillite Formation
29 documented by Spencer (1971) from Islay and the Garvellach Islands
30 (see the Garvellach Isles GCR site report in Tanner et al., 2013a).
31 The lowest fragmental metadolostone unit represents the start of
32 glacial deposition in this area, recording the scouring of the
33 immediately underlying unit, presumeably by ice and/or meltwater.
34 The overlying tillite bed contains some metadolostone clasts but
35 also includes granitoid cobbles and represents input from a wider
36 area.
37 Abundant amphibolite sheets and some amphibole-rich metadiamictite
38 units occur in the upper part of the succession, whereas thicker
39 amphibolite sheets and basic pillow lavas are found below the
40 metadiamictite beds. These features, together with the ubiquitous
41 presence of pyrite, suggest that input from a mafic volcanic source
42 coincided with the glacial episode. Much of this altered
43
amphibolitic material could be derived either from erosion of basic
44
volcanic units or relate directly to volcanic activity. In the
45
46 Ladder Hills area to the north-east, the lowest Islay Subgroup
47 sedimentary sequence is considerably thicker than in the Muckle
48 Fergie Burn and tuffaceous and lava units occur within the
49 turbiditic psammite-semipelite succession (see the Kymah Burn GCR
50 report). This volcanic association is prominent only in the
51 tillite units of the North-east Grampian Highlands (Harris et al.,
52 1994; Fettes et al., 2011).
53 There is also a close association of metadiamictite with
54 metadolostone units in the Muckle Fergie Burn, in Upper Donside and
55 in the Ladder Hills, suggesting that the dolomitization and
56 glaciation are closely related.
57 The tillite unit is generally accepted to be a
58 chronostratigraphical marker and could have formed at either c. 635
59 Ma (Marinoan tillites) or at c. 723 Ma (Sturtian tillites).
60 Adoption of either age creates problems in trying to understand the
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4 depositional history and palaeogeography of the Dalradian
5 succession. The older age allows little time, possibly only 30 Ma,
6 for the deposition of the Grampian and Appin groups but gives a
7
period of c. 120 Ma for the deposition of the Argyll Group. The
8
more likely younger age, however, allows 120 Ma for deposition of
9
10 the Grampian and Appin groups and c. 30 Ma for deposition of the
11 Argyll Group (see Stephenson et al., 2013a).
12
13 7.4 Conclusions
14
15 The lower part of the Muckle Fergie Burn section contains several
16 poorly sorted, matrix-supported ‘boulder beds’, similar to those
17 found near the base of the Argyll Group at Schiehallion, the
18 Garvellach Isles and on the Isle of Islay. The ‘boulder beds’, more-
19 precisely termed ‘metadiamictites’, represent marine glacial tills
20 and form a small relict fragment of a unit that can be traced
21 intermittently from Connemara in the west of Ireland to the
22 Banffshire coast. They record the presence of glacial conditions
23 during a finite time period in the late Neoproterozoic and hence
24 form a chronostratitigraphical marker unit that is possibly the
25
most reliable and the most widespread in the whole Dalradian
26
succession; the Muckle Fergie Burn provides the most north-easterly
27
28 detailed section through this crucial unit.
29 In the Muckle Fergie Burn section, the lowest metadiamictite rests
30 upon an erosion surface and is dominated by clasts of metalimestone
31 and metadolostone that were most likely derived quite locally from
32 the underlying Appin Group rocks. But, as is the case elsewhere,
33 higher metadiamictites contain an increasing proportion of granitic
34 clasts reflecting a much more-widespread source area.
35 The section also contains poorly preserved pillow lavas, which
36 provide evidence of basic volcanism coeval with the glaciation.
37 Not only is this the only area in the whole strike length of the
38 tillite unit where volcanic rocks are found but it is also the
39 earliest evidence for basic igneous activity anywhere in the
40 Dalradian succession; volcanism subsequently continued throughout
41 Argyll Group and much of Southern Highland Group times.
42 These tillites and related lithologies clearly consititute vital
43
evidence for a major glacial period in the Earth‘s history and
44
hence are of great international importance. Much interest is
45
46 currently focussed upon correlation with other, dated, glacial
47 deposits in the North Atlantic region and worldwide. Possibilities
48 include the Marinoan tillites at c. 635 Ma or even the Sturtian
49 tillites at c. 723 Ma. The correlation has vital implications for
50 the history of Dalradian sedimentation and for global
51 reconstructions of the Neoproterozoic Era.
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
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4 8 BRIDGE OF BROWN
5 (NJ 1200 2117–NJ 1269 2019)
6
7 J.R. Mendum
8
9
10
11 8.1 Introduction
12
13 The river section at Bridge of Brown, on the A939 between Tomintoul
14 and Grantown-on-Spey, provides one of the few coherent sections
15 through the transition from the Grampian Group up into the Appin
16 Group. The section spans the uppermost psammite and quartzite units
17 of the Grampian Group, the interbedded psammites, semipelites and
18 highly calcareous semipelites of the Lochaber Subgroup, and lower
19 Ballachulish Subgroup metalimestone, calcareous semipelite, and
20 graphitic pelite–semipelite units. Within the Lochaber Subgroup is
21 a distinctive gneissose kyanite-garnet-muscovite-biotite semipelite
22 unit that can be traced northwards as far as the Banffshire Coast.
23 The sequence is deformed but no evidence is seen for a major slide,
24 such as occurs at this stratigraphical level in the Schiehallion
25
and Glen Tilt areas of Perthshire to the south-west.
26
The Bridge of Brown GCR site is complementary to the adjacent
27
Bridge of Avon GCR site in that it extends the stratigraphical
28
29 section down through the lower part of the Appin Group and into the
30 Grampian Group. It also continues the structural cross-section to a
31 lower level. The bedding dips moderately to the south-south-east
32 throughout the section and, although minor folds are seen locally,
33 there is no evidence for significant fold repetition or inverted
34 bedding. Similarly, although the bedding appears to be somewhat
35 attenuated, lineations and strong planar fabrics are conspicuously
36 absent. The transition from the thick, competent, lithologically
37 relatively uniform, psammite-dominated Grampian Group to the mixed
38 pelite–metalimestone–quartzite Appin Group sequence must act as a
39 focus for enhanced deformation. An early slide is interpreted to
40 lie at or near the base of the Ballachulish Subgroup over much of
41 the Glenlivet district to the south but in the Burn of Brown
42 section only a small part of the stratigraphy appears to be
43
excised. South of the Cairngorm Granite Pluton, ductile sliding is
44
focussed along the Grampian–Appin group boundary (see the Glen Ey
45
46 Gorge and Gilbert’s Bridge GCR site reports) and farther north
47 around Ben Rinnes mylonitic rocks are also developed at this level.
48 On the Banffshire Coast section, west of Sandend a stratigraphical
49 transition is well seen (see the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site
50 report), but there the Lochaber Subgroup is abnormally thick.
51 The Bridge of Brown area was originally mapped by L.W. Hinxman
52 during the primary geological survey but was not deemed worthy of
53 particular mention in the Sheet 75 memoir (Hinxman, 1896). The
54 area was remapped by the Geological Survey as part of the revision
55 of the bedrock geology of the Glenlivet district (1:50 000 Sheet
56 75W, Glenlivet, 1996) and that work forms the basis for this
57 account.
58
59
60
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4 8.2 Description
5
6 The Burn of Brown flows through a narrow incised gorge, where the
7
original, General Wade road crossed the burn; the more-recent road
8
bridges occur a few hundred metres downstream (Figure 16). The
9
10 incised section probably represents capture of the Glen Brown
11 drainage basin by the Burn of Lochy, with the former drainage
12 flowing eastwards to the River Avon via Fodderletter.
13
14 8.2.1 Stratigraphy
15
16 The Grampian Group rocks are seen near the ruin of Blàr an Lochain
17 (NJ 1213 2110), where they comprise feldspathic, siliceous and
18 micaceous psammite with semipelite interbeds with rare
19 calcsilicate-rock lenses and lenticular bands. These mixed
20 lithologies form part of the Strathavon Psammite Member of the
21 Tormore Psammite Formation. Individual semipelite units reach 2 to
22 3 m in thickness and show evidence of two penetrative cleavages.
23 The semipelites contain garnet, muscovite and biotite and the
24 calcsilicate-rock lenses contain garnet and hornblende. These
25
metamorphic mineralogies are characteristic of the lower
26
amphibolite facies. Upstream, at around NJ 1207 2100, thin- to
27
28 medium-bedded psammites are dominant with bed thicknesses normally
29 ranging from 2 cm to 30 cm, but reaching up to 50 cm in the coarser
30 grained units. Good examples of cross-bedding and slump folds with
31 prominent cut-offs show that the beds are right way up. Slump fold
32 axes plunge to the south-east. Upstream, thinly bedded feldspathic
33 and micaceous psammites with minor semipelite beds and partings are
34 dominant with thin quartzite beds present locally.
35 Just below Bridge of Brown, flaggy, thinly bedded to laminated
36 semipelite and micaceous psammite become dominant and constitute
37 the basal Lochaber Subgroup unit, the Dalvrecht Slate Formation.
38 These rocks have a strong penetrative planar fabric and a slaty
39 parting. In thin section they contain quartz, plagioclase
40 feldspar, muscovite and biotite, with garnet common in parts. The
41 abundant micas define three separate cleavages in some of the
42 specimens. Thin bands of calcsilicate rock are also present.
43
Between the present bridge and the Wade bridge greenish grey
44
micaceous and highly micaceous psammites with minor calcsilicate-
45
46 rock bands crop out. They pass upstream into flaggy, sparsely
47 garnetiferous, micaceous psammites with thin siliceous psammite
48 interbeds. Calcsilicate-rock bands are common and quartz veins are
49 present. The Dalvrecht Slate Formation is some 120 m thick here.
50 Upstream the beds become grey-green in colour and consist of
51 thinly bedded but lithologically more-uniform, calcareous
52 semipelite and highly micaceous psammite with abundant lenses of
53 white and green calcareous quartzite. Locally the calcsilicate-
54 rock lenses overgrow bedding features showing that they were formed
55 during diagenesis or perhaps even later. In parts darker green
56 amphibolitic beds (originally marls) are seen. These calcareous
57 units constitute the Fodderletter Calcareous Flag Formation. In
58 thin section the calcsilicate rocks contain much tremolite but
59 relict diopside is present locally. At NJ 1266 2034, a massive
60 gneissose kyanite-muscovite-biotite-(garnet) semipelite bed, some 5
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4 m thick, forms a small waterfall. This is the Fireach Beag Kyanite
5 Gneiss Member and contains elongate laths of blue-grey kyanite up
6 to 2 cm long. Under the microscope the gneiss consists of coarse-
7
grained, well-formed muscovite laths intergrown with more-ragged
8
biotite enclosing coarse-grained aggregates of quartz and
9
10 plagioclase (oligoclase). Kyanite forms laths up to 5 mm long and
11 is partly altered to fine-grained muscovite with chlorite common
12 locally. Garnets are altered to quartz-feldspar-biotite-ilmenite
13 aggregates and fractured staurolites up to 1 mm long are present.
14 Ilmenite is common and rutile, apatite and tourmaline are also
15 present. Above the gneiss the formation is lithologically more
16 variable and consists of thinly bedded calcareous and non-
17 calcareous micaceous psammites, semipelites and biotitic pelite
18 units. Calcsilicate-rock units remain abundant and are locally
19 pyritic. At NJ 1267 2027, graded units are seen and possible slump
20 folds occur at NJ 1268 2023. The highest lithology exposed in the
21 GCR site consists of slaty micaceous psammite and semipelite, which
22 show tight folding locally. The overlying Mortlach Graphitic
23 Schist Formation is not exposed in the burn section but a block of
24 silicified metalimestone has been recorded in the nearby till and
25
graphitic pelite that characterizes the formation is seen widely in
26
the float, together with dark-grey tremolitic material representing
27
28 graphitic calcareous mudstone.
29
30 8.2.2 Structure
31
32 The Grampian and Appin group units form an ordered succession that
33 dips between 20 and 45° to the south-east. Although minor folding
34 has duplicated the succession locally, the sequence is essentially
35 right way up and youngs to the south-east (Figure 17). The best
36 examples of tight F2 folds and open to tight F3 folds are seen in
37 the interbanded psammites and semipelites of the Grampian Group at
38 the northern end of the section. Above the Allt an Doruis, at NJ
39 168 2139, gritty quartzite beds and intervening semipelites are
40 tightly folded, with the axes of tight recumbent F2 folds plunging
41 gently to the east-north-east and axial planes dipping moderately
42 to the south-east. A quartz mineral lineation also plunges gently
43
to the east-north-east, near-coincident with the F2 axes. The fine
44
S2 cleavage is best seen in semipelite units in the F2 hinges.
45
46 Higher in the stratigraphy, very little evidence is seen for minor
47 F2 folds, with only isolated examples reported. The F3 folds vary
48 from open to tight and are also best seen in the mixed Grampian
49 Group lithologies. Examples are recorded at the Allt an Doruis and
50 around NJ 1198 2109, where layers of calcsilicate rock show
51 excellent NW-verging close F3 folds, whose axes plunge gently to
52 the north-east. A penetrative axial plane crenulation cleavage
53 that dips steeply to the south-east is developed in the adjacent
54 semipelite layers. The F3 folds refold an earlier easterly
55 plunging L2 lineation.
56 Although minor folds are rare in the Lochaber Subgroup rocks,
57 several cleavage generations can be recognized in hand specimen and
58 in thin section these show discordant relationships. In the
59 laminated psammite-semipelite units of the Dalvrecht Slate
60 Formation, an early fine-scale mica cleavage, S1, is preserved
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3
4 locally in the 0.5 to 2 mm microlithons between the dominant spaced
5 muscovite-rich lamellae that form the main S2 spaced/crenulation
6 cleavage. In some specimens a later cleavage, defined by muscovite
7
laths, lies markedly discordant to the earlier fabrics. This S3
8
cleavage can relate to open to close minor folds. Generally all
9
10 three cleavages dip more steeply than bedding. Garnets, where
11 present, contain inclusion trails of the S1 cleavage and apparently
12 pre-date the S2 cleavage. In the more-slaty units, by Bridge of
13 Brown, minor F4 kink folds are also sparsely developed. Recorded
14 F4 axes plunge gently east and south-west.
15 Peak metamorphic conditions were attained during the D2
16 deformation, and in this area they reached temperatures of 620 to
17 650°C and pressures of 8 to 8.5 kbar (Beddoe-Stephens, 1990).
18 These conditions lie close to the upper limits of the lower
19 amphibolite facies.
20
21 8.3 Interpretation
22
23 The Grampian Group rocks represent shallow-marine shelf-sands and
24 subsidiary silts with material being repeatedly reworked. The
25
presence of cross-bedding and slump structures attests to the
26
presence of strong currents and at least locally, relatively rapid
27
28 deposition. The transition to Appin Group rocks is marked by the
29 incoming of more-intermixed psammite and semipelite and calcareous
30 lithologies that make up the Lochaber Subgroup. It signifies basin
31 shallowing and regression in this area with some possible emergent
32 areas, although in the Northern Grampian Highlands, Banks (2005)
33 has suggested that the semipelitic and pelitic elements represented
34 more-distal deposition during a moderate transgression. The
35 quartzitic units are interpreted as a product of reworking of the
36 underlying succession, rather than input of additional sand
37 material. The Fireach Beag Kyanite Gneiss, which forms a marker
38 unit, represents aluminous mud and silt, possibly representing
39 input of tropically weathered material derived from the nearby
40 source area.
41 Elsewhere in the Dalradian succession, block uplift appears to
42 have created local unconformities in the Lochaber Subgroup
43
succession, and in extreme cases the entire subgroup is absent (see
44
Treagus et al., 2013). Although the presence of gaps in the
45
46 succession at Bridge of Brown cannot be ruled out, there is no
47 evidence for significant gaps in the lithostratigraphy. The
48 Fodderletter Calcareous Flag Formation occupies a similar position
49 in the stratigraphy to the Leven Schist Formation of Glen Spean and
50 Appin and the Baddoch Burn Striped Pelite of Glen Shee. It
51 presages the incoming of the Ballachulish Subgroup, indicative of a
52 more-widespread transgression that covered most of the upstanding
53 blocks (Banks, 2005).
54 The Grampian–Appin group boundary throughout much of Perthshire is
55 marked by a zone of very highly attenuated Appin and Argyll group
56 rocks that form a major NNW-verging D2 shear-zone, termed the
57 'Boundary Slide' (see the Allt Druidhe, Strath Fionan, Gilbert’s
58 Bridge and Glen Ey Gorge GCR site reports). In those areas, the
59 position of the slide might also reflect an original unconformity
60 or a basement lineament. The tectonics of the North-east Grampian
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3
4 Highlands are somewhat different and shear-zones are found within
5 several parts of the Grampian, Appin and Argyll group succession,
6 mostly reflecting thrusting to the north-west during the major
7
Grampian D2 event. Although the Grampian–Appin group boundary does
8
represent a major lithological competence contrast, it is not
9
10 coincident with a single, laterally continuous major shear-zone and
11 in many places, particularly towards the north coast, there is no
12 shearing or dislocation at all. At Bridge of Brown, although there
13 is evidence of increased strain and even localized shearing in the
14 Lochaber Subgroup rocks, no specific Boundary Slide-type structure
15 is present.
16
17 8.4 Conclusions
18
19 The Bridge of Brown GCR site demonstrates the transitional nature
20 of the contact between Grampian Group and Appin Group strata in the
21 North-east Grampian Highlands. Here, there is no major shear-zone
22 or dislocation at this junction, in marked contrast to the
23 situation in Perthshire, where the Boundary Slide is recognized.
24 Structurally the rocks are relatively simple in that the
25
succession dips moderately to the south-east and the beds become
26
younger in that direction. The Grampian Group rocks are psammites
27
28 and subsidiary semipelites that show cross-bedding and slump
29 structures indicative of shallow-marine shelf deposition. Where
30 lithologies are mixed, two sets of folds and related cleavages are
31 developed. They pass upwards into thinly interbedded psammites and
32 semipelites with thin quartzites that mark the lowest beds of the
33 Lochaber Subgroup. These beds are attenuated and show evidence of
34 three cleavages and increased strain. They are succeeded upwards
35 by calcareous semipelites and micaceous psammites with abundant
36 bands and lenses of calcsilicate rock, minor graphitic pelite and
37 some thin quartzite beds. These lithologies show very little
38 internal structural complication but they do contain a prominent
39 massive gneissose kyanite-muscovite-biotite-garnet semipelite unit
40 that can be recognized as a marker bed in several parts of the
41 North-east Grampian Highlands.
42 This site is complementary to the Bridge of Avon GCR site, which
43
effectively extends the cross-section to the south-east. It also
44
provides an important reference site between the complex geometry
45
46 of the Boundary Slide in Perthshire and the enhanced
47 stratigraphical sequence of the Banffshire Coast.
48
49 9 BRIDGE OF AVON
50 (NJ 1497 2032–NJ 1541 1915)
51
52 J.R. Mendum
53
54
55 9.1 Introduction
56
57 The River Avon and adjacent areas around Bridge of Avon, 2 km
58 north-west of Tomintoul, expose sections through the Ballachulish
59 and Blair Atholl subgroup rocks that here are disposed in
60 kilometre-scale fold patterns. The sequence includes several very
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4 distinctive units that can be recognized not only throughout the
5 North-east Grampian Highlands but also along most of the Dalradian
6 outcrop elsewhere and hence are valuable stratigraphical markers.
7
Here, the stratigraphy is condensed and probably represents
8
deposition over an original basin high. The Ballachulish Subgroup
9
10 sequence ranges from graphitic pelite of the Mortlach Graphitic
11 Schist Formation up through the Corriehabbie Quartzite Formation to
12 the mixed Ailnack Phyllite and Limestone Formation. The Inchrory
13 Limestone Formation represents the overlying Blair Atholl Subgroup
14 rocks. Although the lithologies are deformed and metamorphosed to
15 kyanite grade (lower amphibolite facies), they clearly show
16 internal bedding features in parts e.g. cross-bedding in the
17 quartzite and grading in some of the semipelitic units.
18 The structure of the Dalradian rocks is complex and four
19 deformation phases can be recognized. Bedding generally dips
20 moderately to the south and south-east but dips vary from 25° to
21 vertical locally. Cleavages are best seen in the more-pelitic
22 units, notably in the graphitic pelite. Minor folding is well
23 displayed in the thinner bedded units, notably in the calcareous
24 semipelite and psammite. A set of faults that mainly trend north–
25
south disrupt the structural pattern. These faults are of Devonian
26
and later age, as several of them affect the conglomerates and
27
28 sandstones of the late Silurian to Early Devonian Tomintoul
29 Outlier, which overlie the Dalradian rocks about a kilometre south
30 of the GCR site.
31 The Bridge of Avon area was mapped by L.W. Hinxman during the
32 primary geological survey and brief descriptions were given in the
33 Sheet 75 memoir (Hinxman, 1896). Hinxman mapped the area solely on
34 the basis of lithology and in some areas his map linked together
35 several stratigraphically disparate units. The area was remapped
36 by the British Geological Survey between 1982 and 1988 (1:50 000
37 Sheet 75W, Glenlivet, 1996), and that work forms the basis for this
38 account. A detailed geochemical study of Dalradian metacarbonate
39 units by Thomas (1989, 1999) included several samples from the
40 Bridge of Avon area.
41
42 9.2 Description
43
44
The Bridge of Avon GCR site encompasses some 1.4 km of the River
45
46 Avon section, extending from downstream of the old General Wade
47 bridge, up river almost to below the abandoned lime quarry at Creag
48 Chalcaidh. It also includes the lowermost part of the Allt na
49 Cluaine and some small crags marginal to alluvial terraces.
50 Exposure is not continuous but amalgamation of all the information
51 available gives a moderately comprehensive picture of the geology
52 (Figure 18).
53
54 9.2.1 Stratigraphy
55
56 The Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation forms the core of an F2
57 anticline that is mapped mainly from the float on Tom Beag, west-
58 south-west of Bridge of Avon. Poor exposures are seen in the river
59 section on its west bank. It consists mainly of dark-grey, to
60 nearly black, schistose graphitic pelite and semipelite, with small
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3
4 garnets abundant in parts. Pyrite and quartz veins are also
5 abundant locally and in thin section kyanite and staurolite
6 porphyroblasts are common. The dominant parting is a millimetre-
7
scale penetrative spaced cleavage (S2). The earlier fine-grained
8
S1 fabric, which generally lies near-parallel to bedding, is seen
9
10 only in thin section. The formation shows a rapid transition
11 upstream into the Corriehabbie Quartzite Formation, a white to
12 fawn, blocky, commonly indurated, fine- to coarse-grained
13 quartzite, with minor siliceous and feldspathic psammite. It is
14 thin to medium bedded with some gritty feldspathic basal zones in
15 individual sand units. Cross-bedding is present locally, defined
16 by heavy-mineral streaks (magnetite/haematite). Around Bridge of
17 Avon the quartzite formation is only about 55 m thick but it
18 thickens to over 250 m a few kilometres to the north-east and
19 farther south in the Water of Ailnack section. The outcrop pattern
20 of the quartzite is convolute in the area north-west of Tomintoul
21 as a result of both F2 and F3 kilometre-scale folding. These give
22 rise to the interference structures seen in plan on Figure 18,
23 which together with the initial thickness variations and later
24 faulting, result in a complex structural pattern. Some of the
25
step-like offsets of the quartzite outcrop around Bridge of Avon
26
are a product of local F4 folding.
27
28 The overlying Ailnack Phyllite and Limestone Formation consists of
29 psammite, semipelite, metalimestone and minor pelite lithologies.
30 Calcsilicate rocks are characteristic of parts of the formation and
31 thin quartzite beds commonly occur near its base. An across-strike
32 section occurs beneath the Bridge of Avon itself (NJ 1495 2015) but
33 the unit forms a complex outcrop pattern in this area. It contains
34 some prominent members that can be recognized widely on Sheet 75W
35 (Glenlivet). At the base of the formation lies the Torulian
36 Limestone Member, which here forms a prominent, almost pure white
37 unit c. 5 m thick. Its outcrop can be traced from the bank into
38 the rocky bed of the river, where it is cut out against a fault.
39 The metalimestone consists dominantly of calcite with pyrite-rich
40 laminae. It shows a poorly defined, thin banding that has been
41 etched out by the river to show tight to isoclinal folds with
42 amplitudes of up to 2 m. Their axial planes lie subparallel to the
43
bedding, and the folds are confined to individual layers, in parts
44
truncated by overlying thin beds. They are interpreted as slump
45
46 folds but could be F1 structures.
47 The metalimestone member is succeeded by phyllitic semipelite and
48 pelite, in parts graphitic, which is followed by thinly banded
49 calcareous semipelite, calcsilicate rock and impure metalimestones
50 that show good examples of F3 minor folding. These latter
51 lithologies are exposed directly beneath the Wade bridge. They
52 pass upwards into the more-semipelite-dominated upper part of the
53 Ailnack Phyllite and Limestone Formation, which here is distinctive
54 enough to be termed the Kylnadrochit Semipelite Member. This unit
55 is about 65 m thick, and consists of purplish and greenish mid-
56 grey, flaggy to blocky, calcareous, highly micaceous psammite and
57 semipelite. The beds are laminated to thinly banded, commonly with
58 retrogressed garnet porphyroblasts. They are folded by open to
59 tight F3 folds that have attenuated limbs and a related penetrative
60 S3 planar cleavage; they verge mainly to the south-west. In the
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4 lower part of the Allt na Cluaine section, between NJ 1475 1932 and
5 NJ 1494 1937, more-pelitic and graphitic lithologies at the top of
6 the member are exposed. These are charcoal grey to blue-grey,
7
flaggy to fissile, calcareous semipelite and pelite with abundant
8
small garnet porphyroblasts. Tight folding is present, but in the
9
10 semipelitic units good fine-scale grading has been recorded. These
11 uppermost lithologies are probably equivalent to parts of the
12 Clashnoir Semipelite Formation, which is mapped as a separate unit
13 in the Blair Atholl Subgroup to the north-east in the Braes of
14 Glenlivet, where the sequence is considerably thicker.
15 In the Bridge of Avon area, the Kynadrochit Semipelite Member
16 passes up by rapid transition into the Inchrory Limestone
17 Formation, the main metalimestone unit of the Blair Atholl
18 Subgroup. Transitional lithologies consisting of interbedded
19 calcareous semipelite, graphitic pelite and grey crystalline
20 metalimestone are seen below Urlamore at NJ 1507 1998 and in crags
21 east of the A 939 road at NJ 1506 1967. In the Campdalmore area,
22 north-west of Tomintoul, the Inchrory Limestone Formation appears
23 to be notably thick (c. 430 m), but where seen in the Creag
24 Chalcaidh Lime Quarry (NJ 156 194), it contains numerous tight to
25
isoclinal minor and medium-scale folds. The overall outcrop
26
pattern also implies fold repetition and its true stratigraphical
27
28 thickness is estimated to be closer to 150 m. The unit is composed
29 of blue-grey, flaggy to massive, fine- to coarse-grained (typically
30 2 mm grain size), crystalline metalimestone, normally thinly to
31 thickly bedded or banded. The finer grained variants are mid to
32 dark grey, whereas the coarser grained metalimestones are pale
33 bluish grey and commonly almost translucent. Laminae and thin
34 interbeds of graphitic pelite are common and pyrite is also
35 abundant. Minor thin siliceous, cherty bands are present locally
36 in the metalimestone, and thicker calcareous semipelite interbeds
37 are also seen. Calcite veining is common, and adjacent to faults
38 the metalimestone is recrystallized. Good exposures are seen in
39 the River Avon section at NJ 1535 1917, where metalimestones with
40 thin graphitic semipelite interbeds exhibit abundant tight F3
41 folding.
42 Dark-green amphibolite lenses and pods are seen in parts of the
43
sequence, notably in the Inchrory Limestone Formation and the
44
underlying Kylnadrochit Semipelite Member. They appear to cross-
45
46 cut bedding locally but are strongly deformed and commonly
47 boudinaged. They represent metadolerite or metabasalt intrusions
48 and many show metamorphic reaction rims with the adjacent
49 metalimestone. It is unclear as to whether they were intruded
50 early in the geological history, possibly coeval with volcanic
51 units in the Argyll Group, or whether they are linked to the
52 Morven–Cabrach Pluton, which is mid Ordovician in age. A 0.5 to 1
53 metre-thick boudinaged sheet is seen in semipelites in the Allt na
54 Cluaine at NJ 1488 198 and amphibolite pods are abundant in the
55 Inchrory Limestone Formation at NJ 1529 1917 and at NN 1506 1966.
56 Larger pods are seen on the north-west face of the Creag Chalcaidh
57 Lime Quarry (NJ 1554 1944).
58
59
60
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4 9.2.2 Structure
5
6 The distinctive lithologies in the Bridge of Avon area define a
7
basic refolded F2-F3 fold pattern that is further complicated by
8
the presence of late-stage steeply plunging open folds (F4) and the
9
10 abundant faulting (Figure 17). The area lies close to the marked
11 ‘knee-bend’ in the Dalradian succession, defined by the strike of
12 bedding that swings from north-east around the Bridge of Avon and
13 Bridge of Brown GCR sites to south-east farther south (see 1.2.2 in
14 Introduction, Figure 1 and Stephenson et al., 2013a, fig. 1). The
15 vergence of the main folds changes from north-west to south-west
16 respectively around this major structure.
17 The D1 structure is normally expressed as a bedding-parallel
18 cleavage or schistosity, best seen in thin sections of the more-
19 semipelitic or pelitic rocks. However, tight to isoclinal folds,
20 invariably confined to individual beds or packages of beds, are
21 seen locally, particularly in some of the metalimestone units. It
22 is unclear whether they represent slump folding, convolute bedding
23 or early tectonic deformation. Examples are seen in the Torulian
24 Limestone Member and in the Inchrory Limestone Formation. Where
25
differential weathering has occurred, such folds stand out in the
26
metalimestones, but in quarries and in clean river sections the
27
28 folds are more difficult to recognize, unless pelitic interbeds are
29 present. In some clean-washed sections stylolites are
30 preferentially seen, e.g. in the River Avon at NJ 1573 1926 where
31 they are folded. Early formed extensional slides are present in
32 the sequence and a major south-easterly dipping slide does underlie
33 the Bridge of Avon area at shallow depth. The metamorphic grade
34 that accompanied D1 deformation is not known but was probably
35 either greenschist or lower amphibolite facies.
36 The D2 deformation was penetrative and resulted in the generation
37 of a widespread cleavage and tight folding on both small and medium
38 scales. It was accompanied by middle amphibolite-facies
39 metamorphism, and samples from pelites 1 to 2 km north-north-west
40 of Bridge of Avon have yielded consistent pressure estimates of 8
41 to 8.5 kbar and temperature estimates of 620 to 650°C (Beddoe-
42 Stephens, 1990). Minor folds are typically tight but vary from
43
close to isoclinal. F2 fold axes plunge gently to moderately to
44
the south-east and south-south-east, and their axial planes dip
45
46 moderately to the south-east.
47 The D3 deformation has resulted in abundant medium- to small-scale
48 folding and local generation of a penetrative or spaced S3 cleavage
49 dependent on the intensity of deformation and lithology. F3 folds
50 refold earlier D2 features but small-scale examples of fold
51 interference structures are only rarely seen. Where the succession
52 is thinly banded, F3 minor folds are abundant (Figure 19). F3 axes
53 plunge gently to moderately to the south-east and south-west and
54 fold axial planes mostly dip moderately to steeply to the south-
55 east, although locally they do show considerable variation in
56 orientation. The folds are typically asymmetrical and generally
57 verge to the north-west and south-west. Accompanying metamorphism
58 attained lower to middle amphibolite-facies conditions.
59 The D4 deformation was a relatively local event, manifested as
60 steeply plunging medium-scale open folds that affect the outcrop
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3
4 pattern around Bridge of Avon and a late-stage steeply dipping
5 crenulation cleavage in the Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation.
6 Such structures might reflect the unusual structural position of
7
the area, which lies close to the northern termination of a fault
8
system that extends southwards along the valley of the Avon to join
9
10 the Loch Tay Fault. Alternatively they could reflect an earlier
11 lineament, e.g. the NW-trending Lecht Lineament (Fettes et al.,
12 1986) or the structural high that appears to have controlled
13 sedimentation patterns in this area. The D4 structural event
14 occurred under greenschist-facies conditions, possibly linked to
15 retrogression of the earlier higher grade metamorphic assemblages.
16 Faulting is abundant in the Bridge of Avon area, which lies at the
17 junction of the roughly N–S-trending fault system that tracks Glen
18 Avon and the NW-trending Lecht Fault-system. The faults appear to
19 be steeply dipping, commonly subvertical, and have associated
20 localized brecciation and alteration. They are Early Devonian or
21 later in age. There is no evidence that these late faults mimic or
22 even reflect the earlier lineaments that controlled sedimentation.
23
24 9.3 Interpretation
25
26
The Dalradian rocks in the Bridge of Avon area show a condensed
27
28 stratigraphical sequence. Most elements of the Ballachulish and
29 Blair Atholl subgroup successions are represented but there seem to
30 be gaps in the sequence. For example, it is clear that the
31 Torulian Limestone Member overlies the Corriehabbie Quartzite
32 Formation almost directly, whereas in adjacent areas some tens of
33 metres of semipelite and micaceous psammite are present between the
34 two units. As Appin Group units were deposited under shallow
35 marine conditions and can be traced over much of the overall
36 Dalradian outcrop, uniform conditions obviously prevailed over a
37 wide area. Hence, in the Bridge of Avon area, deposition could be
38 interpreted as having taken place over a basin high, albeit with
39 some transitional lithologies being absent, and/or in part of the
40 basin where sediment supply was deficient. The area lies close to
41 the major strike swing of the Dalradian outcrop (the ‘knee bend’)
42 that is now thought to reflect a lineament that stretched from
43
Deeside to Dulnain Bridge and to have separated parts of the
44
depositional basin. The localized occurrence of quartzites and
45
46 metalimestones in the Lochaber Subgroup rocks some 5 km to the west
47 and early-formed slides in the succession all suggest that
48 structural activity occurred during and following deposition and
49 that the basin geometry controlled the local patterns of
50 sedimentation.
51 Deformation has been focussed on the Bridge of Avon area from
52 early in the geological history. The presence of a slide, whose
53 trace crops out just to the north-west, shows that early
54 extensional movements occurred either during sedimentation of
55 younger Dalradian rocks or early in the tectonic history of this
56 area. The superimposition of F2 and F3 folds in this area has
57 generated a kilometre-scale fold pattern that probably dates from
58 the mid Ordovician and formed part of the Grampian Event of the
59 Caledonian Orogeny. Minor fold orientations and vergence are
60 variable, particularly for the F2 folds, but F2 and F3 vergence is
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3
4 mainly towards the north-west. The lower Ballachulish Subgroup
5 units, the Mortlach Graphitic Schist and Corriehabbie Quartzite
6 formations, form an anticlinal outcrop that closes both to the east
7
and the west (a pericline). The major fold closures are defined by
8
F2 anticlines and synclines with the F3 folds effectively
9
10 corrugating the earlier pattern. The folding results from Grampian
11 deformation of the thin, yet lithologically variable sequence,
12 focussed on a pre-existing lineament. The major change in strike
13 of the Dalradian succession that forms a ‗knee-bend‘ just to the
14 south of the Bridge of Avon area could also reflect the original
15 basin geometry and presence of lineaments (Fettes et al., 1986).
16
17 9.4 Conclusions
18
19 The Bridge of Avon GCR site provides an excellent stratigraphical
20 cross-section through a condensed Appin Group succession that is
21 interpreted as having formed on a high in the original offshore
22 sedimentary basin. Although reduced in thickness, the
23 characteristic lithologies of this Ballachulish and Blair Atholl
24 subgroup sequence are still eminently recognizable and are
25
representative of a large area of the North-east Grampian
26
Highlands. The Ballachulish Subgroup comprises the Mortlach
27
28 Graphitic Schist Formation, succeeded by the Corriehabbbie
29 Quartzite Formation and the mixed Ailnack Phyllite and Limestone
30 Formation. The overlying Blair Atholl Subgroup is represented in
31 the site area only by the Inchrory Limestone Formation. These
32 units represent alternating deeper and shallower water parts of the
33 succession, providing a record of transgression and regression that
34 is typical of many shallow marine sedimentary sequences.
35 The sequence has undergone early tectonic sliding and subsequently
36 has been deformed and metamorphosed under lower amphibolite-facies
37 conditions during the Grampian orogenic event in the mid
38 Ordovician. Although four phases of deformation can be recognized,
39 only two main sets of folds and related cleavages are widely
40 developed and they provide a good example of a kilometre-scale fold
41 interference pattern. The overall geometry is of NW-verging
42 folding and moderate to steep south-easterly dipping cleavages.
43
However, the area lies close to a regional swing of strike (the so-
44
called ‗knee-bend‘) and change in fold vergence, with the fold
45
46 structures in the rocks a few kilometres to the south generally
47 verging to the south-west. The Bridge of Avon area forms a natural
48 focal point in the Dalradian outcrop of the North-east Grampian
49 Highlands.
50
51 10 KYMAH BURN
52 (NJ 2881 2304–NJ 3008 2236)
53
54 J.R. Mendum
55
56
57 10.1 Introduction
58
59 The Kymah Burn is a major headwater tributary of the River Livet,
60 which cuts through the Ladder Hills providing a cross-section
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3
4 through the Ladder Hills Formation and overlying Kymah Quartzite
5 Formation of the Islay Subgroup. The section illustrates the varied
6 nature of the stratigraphy at the base of the Argyll Group and the
7
overall fold structure. It is the type section for the Kymah
8
Quartzite Formation. Thin pillow-lava units show that periodic
9
10 basic volcanism took place during sedimentation.
11 The Ladder Hills Formation is laterally equivalent to the
12 metadiamictite-bearing Auchnahyle Formation, which lies some 16 km
13 to the south-west and is described in the Muckle Fergie Burn GCR
14 site report. It consists mainly of interbedded psammite,
15 semipelite and pelite, much of it showing grading and other bedding
16 features typical of turbidite deposition. It also includes some
17 mottled grey, green and cream ‗fragmental‘ units rich in chlorite
18 and epidote, possibly representing tuffaceous units, and rare cream
19 metadolostone beds. Along strike to the south, similar lenticular
20 metadolostone beds are associated with metadiamictite units but no
21 metadiamictites have been reported from the Kymah Burn section. To
22 the south-east, towards Glen Buchat, the upper part of the Ladder
23 Hills Formation passes laterally into a more-pelitic and calcareous
24 unit, the Nochty Semipelite and Limestone Formation. The overlying
25
Kymah Quartzite Formation consists mainly of quartzite and
26
psammite, but includes thin amphibolitic metavolcanic units, which
27
28 locally show vesicular textures and pillow structures. Basic
29 sheets also intrude the quartzite, and although they are now
30 foliated and metamorphosed to amphibolite, discordant relationships
31 are still visible in places.
32 The succession has been folded into a kilometre-scale refolded
33 fold, repeating the stratigraphy. As the beds themselves show only
34 low to moderate strain, the structure can be determined from
35 bedding and cleavage measurements and observations, taking
36 cognizance of relatively abundant way-up indicators (grading,
37 cross-bedding, pillow lavas).
38 The area was first mapped by L.W. Hinxman for the Geological
39 Survey in 1892-3 and it was he who recognized the presence of basic
40 sheets in the quartzite. No further work was done until the area
41 was resurveyed by the British Geological Survey in the mid 1980‘s
42 as part of the revision of 1:50 000 Sheet 75E (Glenbuchat, 1995).
43
44
45
10.2 Description
46
47 The Kymah Burn runs through an incised gorge in the Ladder Hills,
48 where relief ranges from 150–230 m in the lower part, overlooked by
49 the crags of The Eachrach, to c. 100 m in the higher parts of the
50 section. Although there is a reasonable coherent bedrock section
51 along the burn, the sides of the gorge are mostly scree covered or
52 are obscured by slipped material. To the north of the gorge
53 section, the outcrop of the Kymah Quartzite Formation terminates
54 where it has been intruded and hornfelsed by a small microgranite
55 body. This is part of the immediately adjacent Glenlivet Granite
56 Pluton, which crops out in the lower part of the burn.
57 The burn section traverses obliquely across the overall strike of
58 the Ladder Hills and Kymah Quartzite formations, which here are
59 disposed in a complex, large-scale, refolded fold pattern (Figure
60 20). The Ladder Hills Formation consists of cream to fawn and
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3
4 pale-grey, thin- to medium-bedded, typically flaggy to blocky,
5 micaceous and feldspathic psammites interbedded with dark-grey
6 pelites and mid-grey semipelites. The psammites commonly show
7
grading, in parts from gritty psammite bases up to semipelitic or
8
even pelitic tops. Graded bedding, load structures, cut-offs and
9
10 cross-bedding are all seen, indicative of turbiditic conditions
11 during deposition. Locally, deformed thin psammite dykelets occur,
12 indicating dewatering during compaction, and implying rapid
13 deposition of the sand and silt sequence. Beds of graphitic pelite
14 are thin in this section, but elsewhere such units can attain 20 m
15 in thickness. The base of the Ladder Hills Formation is not
16 exposed in the Kymah Burn but is seen some 3 km to the south-west
17 by Ladderfoot (at NJ 2663 2066), where there is a transition from
18 the graphitic pelites and semipelites of the underlying Glenfiddich
19 Pelite Formation up into thinly interbedded semipelites and
20 psammites.
21 Good exposures of the typical Ladder Hills Formation occur in the
22 Kymah Burn between the tributary burns of Caochan Domhain and
23 Caochan Ranaich (Figure 20a). Although cleavages are developed in
24 the pelitic lithologies the beds are not schistose. Here,
25
chloritic material occurs in the basal parts of some psammite beds
26
and amphibole + plagioclase feldspar-bearing ‗fragmental‘ units up
27
28 to 2 m thick are also present. These mottled grey-green-fawn
29 amphibole-bearing units weather irregularly to a pale-brown colour
30 and are invariably altered to chloritic and biotitic material.
31 Examples of these probable volcaniclastic ‗green beds‘ are seen at
32 NJ 2988 2245 and, adjacent to a 10–25 cm-thick lenticular
33 metadolostone bed, at NJ 2994 2244. The upper parts of the
34 formation are seen between NJ 2936 2263 and NJ 2958 2257; there,
35 amphibolite units are interbedded with micaceous and feldspathic
36 psammite, semipelite, minor quartzite and amphibole-bearing
37 psammite. In one instance, exposures of a variably bluish to
38 purplish grey, fine-grained, knobbly weathering amphibolite are
39 seen. This amphibolite unit is several metres thick, apparently
40 concordant, finely cleaved, and notably pyritic.
41 The transition up into the Kymah Quartzite Formation is marked by
42 the incoming of thicker quartzite units, commonly with gritty
43
bases. The boundary is faulted in the Kymah Burn section, but as
44
the beds dip moderately to steeply to the east-south-east, probably
45
46 only a small part of the succession is missing. The lowest
47 exposures stratigraphically (at NJ 2942 2262) consist of blocky to
48 massive, thick-bedded, gritty quartzites and feldspathic quartzites
49 with thin pelitic interbeds and laminae. Grading and bottom
50 structures show that the beds are inverted and young to the west.
51 The succeeding lithologies are interbedded quartzites and 5–20 m-
52 thick units of grey-green to purplish grey amphibolite. More-
53 indurated, massive to blocky, cream to white quartzite beds,
54 locally showing gritty bases, are present downstream.
55 Where the Dry Stripe enters the main gorge at NJ 2927 2268, a c.
56 10 m-thick, greenish grey metabasalt sheet passes laterally into a
57 c. 4 m-wide dyke, which transects the quartzite beds adjacent to a
58 small SE-trending fault. This intrusive sheet is massive, sparsely
59 feldspar-phyric and is a member of a suite of early-Caledonian
60 metadolerite intrusions (see Interpretation)
61
62
63
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3
4 The middle and higher parts of the Kymah Quartzite Formation are
5 folded into a tight downward-facing antiform (where the beds young
6 downwards). The white to cream quartzites are well bedded, locally
7
gritty and show good cross-bedding and some grading. On the
8
eastern limb of the antiform, the beds dip very steeply to the
9
10 south-east and the change in dip that marks the antiformal hinge-
11 zone corresponds with the change in burn orientation from north–
12 south to ESE–WNW at around NJ 2912 2312. Downstream, the beds
13 first dip very steeply to the west and young eastwards, but west of
14 The Eachrach they dip steeply eastwards and young westwards, i.e.
15 they define a downward-facing synform (Figure 20b). The bedding is
16 difficult to discern in these massive to blocky quartzites. Where
17 the burn turns northwards, several amphibolitic beds are
18 interbanded with the quartzites. At NJ 2882 2324 a several metre-
19 thick unit of purplish and greenish grey, pyritic amphibolite shows
20 vesicular textures and pillow structures. Tuffaceous units are
21 also present. In thin section these basic metavolcanic rocks
22 consist of plagioclase feldspar, chlorite, hornblende, biotite,
23 quartz, ilmenite, and titanite. Epidote is locally abundant in
24 some units. Two fine but penetrative cleavages can be discerned in
25
parts of the metavolcanic outcrops. The quartzite downstream dips
26
steeply eastwards and shows cross-beds in parts. It is generally
27
28 indurated and becomes hornfelsed with chlorite and pyrite veining
29 adjacent to the microgranite intrusion.
30 The outcrop of the Kymah Quartzite Formation diminishes in width
31 to the south-south-west where it lies in the core of the earlier
32 tight syncline that is refolded by the later upright antiforms and
33 synforms in the Kymah Burn section (Figure 20a, b). The Ladder
34 Hills Formation and its lateral equivalent, the Nochty Semipelite
35 Formation, underlie most of the Ladder Hills area, where their c.
36 3–5 km-wide outcrop is a result of a similar refold structure to
37 that defined by the main quartzite unit in the Kymah Burn section.
38
39
40 10.3 Interpretation
41
42 The distinctive stratigraphy of the Islay Subgroup rocks in the
43
Ladder Hills shows that a several kilometre-thick turbiditic sand-
44
silt-mud succession developed locally in this area. The resultant
45
46 Ladder Hills Formation and Nochty Semipelite Formation were
47 probably deposited relatively rapidly from density currents in a
48 small fault-bounded marine basin, accompanied by periodic basic
49 volcanicity. Metadiamictite units and associated metadolostones
50 occur within the Ladder Hills Formation farther south around NJ 242
51 177. The occurrence of thin metadolostones and tuffaceous units in
52 the Kymah Burn section suggests that either diamictites were not
53 deposited here, or that they were deposited and eroded prior to
54 deposition of the overlying sediments. However, it is clear that
55 the deposition and volcanicity here were coeval with the occurrence
56 of shallow marine ice sheets elsewhere in Scotland and Ireland (see
57 the Muckle Fergie Burn, Tempar Burn and Garvellach Isles GCR site
58 reports).
59 The concordant and interbedded nature and pillow-lava features of
60 several of the amphibolitic units show that they were originally
61
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2
3
4 deposited as sub-marine basaltic lavas. Unequivocal metavolcanic
5 rocks occur in the uppermost parts of the Ladder Hills Formation
6 and at the lower and middle levels of the Kymah Quartzite
7
Formation. Tuffaceous units occur close to lavas in the Kymah
8
Quartzite Formation and scattered through the Ladder Hills
9
10 Formation. The metavolcanic rocks show two penetrative cleavages
11 locally, suggesting that they have undergone the same structural
12 history as the adjacent metasedimentary rocks. Other mafic units
13 might represent subvolcanic basic sheets, but the thicker sheets
14 with relict metadolerite textures were probably intruded during a
15 later period of basic intrusion approximately coeval with the
16 emplacement of the nearby Morven–Cabrach Pluton at c. 470 Ma
17 (Dempster et al., 2002). These early-Caledonian basic sheets and
18 related dykes are very abundant on upper Donside around Corgarff
19 and in the eastern part of the Ladder Hills.
20 The structure of the area can be readily interpreted as the
21 product of two phases of ductile deformation. Two distinct
22 penetrative cleavages are seen in pelitic and mafic lithologies and
23 a later crenulation cleavage is present locally in the some of the
24 pelitic units. The Kymah Quartzite Formation is little deformed
25
internally, thus preserving original sedimentary features.
26
However, the formation acted as a more-competent layer and has
27
28 provided the focus for the large-scale refold structure. The
29 quartzite was originally disposed in a tight, anticline-syncline
30 fold-pair, overfolded to the north-west and with an axial plane
31 dipping gently to moderately south-east. The mapping of bedding
32 and way up, combined with limited cleavage observations, shows that
33 upright tight folds have refolded this primary structure, with an
34 antiform prominent in the Kymah Burn section. It is difficult to
35 know whether the original basin architecture has had any control on
36 the subsequent structural development, but such phenomena are
37 common in more-recent basins subject to tectonic compression and
38 inversion.
39 The rocks of the Kymah Burn and surrounding area do not preserve
40 their full metamorphic history. Here, later retrogression to
41 greenschist facies has altered many of the earlier amphibolite-
42 facies assemblages in both the metasedimentary and meta-igneous
43
rocks. In particular, the high-pressure kyanite assemblages
44
recorded to the north and west from nearby Glen Fiddich and Glen
45
46 Livet by Beddoe-Stephens (1990) are absent (see the Auchindoun
47 Castle GCR site report). Additional, later fluid-related
48 alteration is linked to the presence of NNE-trending faults and
49 related breccia zones that are present in this area.
50
51 10.4 Conclusions
52
53 The Kymah Burn GCR site provides a spectacular cross-section
54 through a large-scale refolded fold affecting the lowest units of
55 the Argyll Group. By careful observation of bedding and cleavage
56 orientations, combined with sedimentological way-up evidence, it is
57 possible to recognize an early near-isoclinal syncline-anticline
58 fold-pair whose axial plane originally dipped gently to the south-
59 east. These NW-verging folds have been refolded by more-obvious
60
61
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4 tight upright folds, giving rise to a large-scale interference
5 structure that is transected by the Kymah Burn.
6 The site is representative of three major formations and is a type
7
section for one. The Ladder Hills Formation is a sequence of
8
turbiditic psammites, semipelites and pelites over a kilometre
9
10 thick that formed in a small local basin coeval with the deposition
11 of tillites and related glacial deposits over a wider area of
12 Scotland and Ireland. It includes minor metabasalt units with
13 pillow structures, altered basic volcaniclastic units and thin
14 lenticular metadolostone beds. Laterally it passes south-eastwards
15 into the Nochty Semipelite and Limestone Formation. Both
16 formations are overlain by the Kymah Quartzite Formation, marked by
17 the incoming of thicker purer sands, typically showing cross-
18 bedding and gritty bases to the beds. Basaltic lavas and possible
19 tuffaceous units are also recognized in this formation.
20 Metadolerite sheets and rare dykes have also intruded the whole
21 sequence during the Caledonian Orogeny. Although the beds have
22 been metamorphosed to amphibolite facies, later retrogression has
23 partly altered the original peak metamorphic mineral assemblages to
24 greenschist facies.
25
The site is of national importance as it documents some unique
26
stratigraphical variations in the Islay Subgroup, displays good
27
28 evidence of basic volcanism coeval with the widespread mid-
29 Dalradian glaciation, and provides a valuable insight into the
30 overall structure of this part of the North-east Grampian
31 Highlands.
32
33 11 BLACK WATER
34 (NJ 355 303–NJ 378 308)
35
36 D. Stephenson and D.J. Fettes
37
38
39 11.1 Introduction
40
41 The lower part of the Black Water, a major tributary of the River
42 Deveron in the Cabrach area, south-west of Huntly, provides a
43
continuous section through the most-extensive sequence of
44
metavolcanic rocks in the Dalradian of the North-east Grampian
45
46 Highlands.
47 The metavolcanic rocks occur within a varied succession of gritty
48 psammites and pelites of turbiditic character that crop out
49 immediately to the east of the Portsoy Lineament (see 1.1.3 in
50 Introduction). Together, these metasedimentary and metavolcanic
51 rocks form the Blackwater Formation. As with most stratigraphical
52 units to the east of the Portsoy Lineament, direct correlation at
53 formation level with Dalradian outcrops to the west and south is
54 not possible (Fettes et al. 1991; Stephenson and Gould 1995).
55 However, the rocks have lithological characteristics that are
56 typical of the Argyll Group and pass upwards and south-eastwards
57 into Southern Highland Group strata. This would seem to be
58 consistent with a stratigraphical position near the top of the
59 Argyll Group, probably equivalent to the Crinan and/or Tayvallich
60 subgroups elsewhere.
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4 The lower part of the Blackwater Formation has been divided into
5 three members, based upon the compositions of the metavolcanic
6 rocks. In ascending stratigraphical order these are the Lynebain
7
Basic Volcanic Member, the Kelman Hill Ultrabasic Volcanic Member
8
and the Ardwell Bridge Basic Volcanic Member. The Lynebain and
9
10 Ardwell Bridge members consist mainly of metabasaltic rocks, which
11 locally exhibit complete or fragmental pillow structures. The
12 Kelman Hill Member contains some metabasalts but is dominated by a
13 variety of ultrabasic rocks (metapicrites), some of which are
14 highly fragmented with a fine-grained hyaloclastite appearance.
15 Above, the formation consists mainly of dark-grey pelites,
16 graphitic in parts, with conspicuous andalusite schists and a
17 number of persistent beds of gritty psammite (the Corinacy Pelite
18 Member).
19 The Blackwater Formation is poorly exposed over much of its
20 outcrop but high-amplitude magnetic anomalies, mostly restricted to
21 the part of the formation that is known to contain metavolcanic
22 rocks, have greatly assisted in its mapping. Measurements of
23 magnetic susceptibility on pelites from the Black Water section
24 indicate that some of the anomalies result from high magnetite
25
contents in metasedimentary rocks (Fettes et al., 1991). An
26
igneous source for this magnetite seems likely and this strengthens
27
28 the case for the meta-igneous rocks being penecontemporaneous with
29 their host sediments in a volcanic setting. Magnetic evidence is
30 unable to differentiate between the basic and ultrabasic types.
31 The first Geological Survey map of this area was published as one-
32 inch Sheet 85 (Rothes, 1898), with an accompanying memoir (Hinxman
33 and Grant Wilson, 1902). Mackie (1908) was the first to suggest
34 that some of the basic meta-igneous rocks in the area had a
35 volcanic origin and Dewey and Flett (1911) identified pillow lavas
36 at this GCR site. The pillow structures were described in some
37 detail by MacGregor and Roberts (1963), together with an account of
38 their petrography and metamorphic history. A detailed resurvey,
39 incorporating the results of ground magnetic traverses at 200 m
40 spacing, was undertaken by the British Geological Survey and
41 published as 1:50 000 Sheet 85E (Glenfiddich, 1996). This work was
42 incorporated in a regional synthesis (Fettes et al., 1991) and
43
formed the basis for a programme of geochemical sampling and
44
drilling that targeted the igneous rocks as potential hosts of gold
45
46 and platinum-group elements (Gunn et al., 1990). However, the
47 mineral investigations were not encouraging, with uniformly low PGE
48 (maxima 11 ppb Pt, 10 ppb Pd, 5 ppb Rh), only sporadic slight
49 enrichment in gold (maximum 150 ppb Au) and no attendant enrichment
50 in base metals or chalcophile elements. Mineralogical and
51 geochemical aspects of the volcanic rocks have been described and
52 discussed by Macdonald et al. (2005) and by Fettes et al. (2011),
53 and there is a brief field guide to the eastern end of the section
54 by Gillen (1987).
55
56 11.2 Description
57
58 The Blackwater Formation is bounded to the north-west throughout
59 its outcrop by the Portsoy Shear-zone. In this area, the shearing
60 is concentrated in a 1 km-wide zone, in which lie many pods of
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3
4 sheared serpentinite and metagabbroic rocks between the larger
5 Succoth–Brown Hill and Blackwater intrusions of the North-east
6 Grampian Basic Suite (Fettes et al., 1991). To the south-east of
7
the shear-zone, for a cross-strike width of at least 2 km, and
8
certainly extending across the entire outcrop width of the
9
10 metavolcanic rocks, all lithologies have a single, possibly
11 composite, planar fabric sub-parallel to the bedding. The whole
12 sequence strikes north-east–south-west with a generalized steep dip
13 to the south-east. No folds of any scale are seen, and instances
14 where the fabric in pelitic beds is slightly oblique to bedding are
15 rare.
16 The stream section that is the GCR site extends from the faulted
17 contact of the Blackwater Formation with the sheared margin of the
18 Blackwater Intrusion at NJ 355 303, downstream to Blackwater Bridge
19 (NJ 378 308), which was formerly known as Ardwell Bridge (Figure
20 21). From this section, the outcrop of the metavolcanic rocks
21 extends north-eastwards, averaging c. 2 km in width, for some 8 km.
22 To the south-west lava exposures become impersistent in poorly
23 exposed ground and their magnetic anomalies cannot be traced for
24 more than 5 km.
25
The metavolcanic rocks are, for the most part, interbedded with
26
gritty psammites and mica schists, locally with black, graphitic,
27
28 schistose or phyllitic pelites. Some gritty psammites have been
29 mapped out separately and commonly have distinctive blue-grey
30 quartz clasts. A basal predominantly pelitic unit is present in
31 places. Excellent graded units at the western end of the Black
32 Water section (for example, at NJ 3596 3040 and NJ 3621 3040)
33 indicate younging to the south-east.
34 The metavolcanic units range from a few metres to 50 m in
35 thickness and are concordent with the metasedimentary rocks.
36 Contacts with the metasedimentary rocks are variable; in some cases
37 these are relatively sharp, in others the metavolcanic rock is
38 rather nodular with carbonate veining and in some cases the edge of
39 the metavolcanic unit is brecciated with metasedimentary infilling.
40 In excellent examples at NJ 3714 3058 and NJ 3734 3087 a
41 metavolcanic unit has a carbonated nodular margin passing into a
42 relatively massive centre, the opposite margin being brecciated
43
with a metasedimentary matrix. This asymmetry is consistent with
44
an origin as a lava, although it is not clear which margin marks
45
46 the base and which the top. Vesiculation is common in all three
47 members.
48 Metabasaltic pillows are well exposed near Blackwater Bridge, at
49 NJ 3776 3083 and NJ 3751 3082 (MacGregor and Roberts, 1963).
50 Fragmental pillows also occur in places and are particularly well
51 developed in the River Deveron at Lynebain (NJ 412 351), some 7 km
52 north-east of the Black Water section. The pillows at Blackwater
53 Bridge are ellipsoidal, with horizontal cross-sections of some 60 x
54 15 cm and vertical dimensions of up to 150 cm. Small, originally
55 spherical vesicles within the pillows show concentric banding in
56 places and, rarely, elongate vesicles radiate around the noses of
57 individual pillows. The pillows are bordered by fine-grained, non-
58 vesicular selvedges and small volumes of altered basaltic material
59 occur between the pillows. Both pillows and amygdales are
60 flattened within the regional fabric, which is most strongly
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3
4 developed at the margins of and between the pillows.
5 Interpretation of the pillow orientations is equivocal but better
6 evidence from the metasedimentary rocks confirms that the Black
7
Water section traverses a continuous south-east-younging sequence.
8
In terms of their whole-rock chemistry, the metavolcanic rocks
9
10 range from ultrabasic (metapicrites) to basic (metabasalts and
11 meta-basaltic andesites), with some intermediate compositions
12 (meta-andesites) (Macdonald et al., 2005). As a result of
13 amphibolite-facies regional metamorphism, they have mineral
14 assemblages dominated by amphiboles.
15 The metabasalts and meta-andesites are mainly aphyric. They
16 consist of aggregates of dark green clinoamphibole (actinolite to
17 magnesiohornblende to pargasitic magnesiohastingsite in
18 composition), with lesser amounts of plagioclase, quartz and
19 ilmenite, the latter commonly rimmed or replaced by titanite.
20 Aggregates of epidote and quartz could represent pseudomorphs after
21 plagioclase phenocrysts. Distinctive pyroxene-phyric types crop
22 out near Shenval (NJ 368 308) and have been found as float on
23 Kelman Hill (NJ 396 334), some 3 km to the north-east. In these
24 rocks, amphibole pseudomorphs after phenocrysts of original,
25
igneous clinopyroxene contain rare relict cores of ferroan
26
diopside.
27
28 The metapicrites are variable, ranging from massive to highly
29 fragmented with sharp fine-grained shards, giving the appearance of
30 a hyaloclastite. The more-massive forms consist almost entirely of
31 felted intergrowths of colourless to pale green magnesian
32 clinoamphibole (tremolite to magnesiohornblende in composition)
33 with chlorite and sparse small rounded grains of chromian
34 magnetite. Excellent examples of brecciated ultrabasic rocks are
35 found as float to the east of Shenval. These consist of ultramafic
36 clasts set in an ultramafic matrix (Figure 22). The fragments are
37 of varying type, up to several centimetres in size and constitute
38 60–80% of the rock; they are generally flattened into alignment
39 with the regional fabric. The matrix to the fragments is highly
40 sheared, streaky and chlorite rich. At the microscopic scale, so
41 few original features are preserved that it is difficult to
42 determine whether the rocks are of extrusive or intrusive origin.
43
Some sections contain highly elongate grains of ilmenite, which
44
might indicate rapid cooling and therefore a volcanic origin. In
45
46 others a variolitic texture is preserved, while some of the
47 fragments were originally glassy and now have a grain size less
48 than 10 microns.
49 Overall, there is little doubt of the predominantly volcanic
50 origin of most of the meta-igneous rocks, although some of the
51 more-massive sheets could have been shallow, subvolcanic sills. An
52 undoubtedly intrusive metabasaltic unit occurs near Torr of
53 Shenwell (NJ 3746 3083), where a c. 20 m-thick sheet shows a sharp,
54 non-vesiculated contact against psammites and andalusite schists.
55 The intrusion is geochemically similar to extrusive rocks of the
56 Ardwell Bridge Member and it is assumed that they were broadly
57 coeval. The most evolved, and finest grained, rock occurs at the
58 eastern margin of the intrusion and there is a gradational increase
59 in grain size towards a metagabbroic central facies, which is less
60
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3
4 evolved. The intrusion seems, therefore, to have formed from a
5 magma column that had become differentiated at greater depth.
6 The ENE-trending faults that are prominent on Figure 21 are part
7
of a regional set, which has been particularly well delineated in
8
this area by the ground magnetic survey (Fettes et al., 1991). The
9
10 linear magnetic anomalies are clearly displaced, the inferred
11 dislocations commonly coincide with topographical features and some
12 are readily seen on air photographs. This is one of the youngest
13 sets of regional faults, which elsewhere in the North-east Grampian
14 Highlands are associated with late-Carboniferous quartz-dolerite
15 dykes.
16
17 11.3 Interpretation
18
19 The geochemical studies of Macdonald et al. (2005) and Fettes et
20 al. (2011) have shown that the Blackwater metavolcanic rocks as a
21 whole are of tholeiitic affinity and are broadly similar to
22 metavolcanic rocks elsewhere in the Dalradian succession. Their
23 inferred parental magmas were relatively Ti- and Fe-rich high-
24 magnesia basalts with total iron oxides c. 14 % and MgO c. 10 %.
25
Fractionation of iron-titanium oxide minerals, olivine and
26
clinopyroxene from the parental magmas generated a range of
27
28 daughter magmas extending to tholeiitic andesite composition. Some
29 of the more-evolved rocks show evidence of minor accumulation of
30 iron-titanium oxides. A continuous enrichment in Al2O3 indicates
31 that plagioclase fractionation must have been absent or muted,
32 which is consistent with an absence of Eu anomalies in rare-earth
33 patterns. Crystallization of plagioclase can be significantly
34 delayed under conditions of high PH2O and hence Macdonald et al.
35 (2005) suggested that the Blackwater magmas might have been
36 relatively hydrous. The picritic rocks formed by accumulation of
37 olivine and minor chrome-spinel within the parental basalts,
38 probably at deep crustal levels. Their high MgO content (over 18%
39 and ranging up to 35%) had originally led to speculation that they
40 might reflect primary, high-temperature (possibly komatiitic)
41 magmas, which to some extent prompted the investigations for gold
42 and platinum-group mineralization (Gunn et al., 1990; Fettes et
43
al., 1991). However, this was not considered likely by Macdonald
44
et al. (2005).
45
46 Concentrations of incompatible trace elements such as Zr, Nb and Y
47 suggest that the primary magmas of the Blackwater metavolcanic
48 rocks were generated from a mantle source that was relatively
49 enriched compared to a Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB) source. This
50 is a feature that they share with other late-Argyll Group
51 metavolcanic rocks such as the Tayvallich lavas (Fettes et al.,
52 2011). Other metavolcanic rocks, from lower in the Dalradian
53 succession, have geochemical characteristics more typical of a
54 depleted, MORB-like, mantle source (e.g. Goodman and Winchester,
55 1993). Hence Macdonald et al. (2005) and Fettes et al. (2011) have
56 speculated that Dalradian metavolcanic rocks represent varying
57 degrees of mixing of magmas from these two mantle sources.
58 It would appear that there was an overall trend in the Dalradian
59 from basalts generated in more-depleted mantle sources, which were
60 erupted earlier, to ‗enriched‘ types, which were erupted later.
61
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3
4 The latter, including the Blackwater metavolcanic rocks, can be
5 classed as Fe-Ti basalts, which are developed typically at
6 propagating rifts that are progressively breaking through rigid
7
lithosphere, and Macdonald et al. (2005) suggested that progressive
8
rupturing along the margin of Laurentia, resulted in the more-
9
10 enriched source rising to higher levels and tending to mix less
11 with the depleted source.
12 The Blackwater metavolcanic rocks are interbedded with
13 metasedimentary lithologies, characterized by coarse turbidites
14 that originated as deep-water basin sediments. Together they
15 record a crucial stage in the break-up of the supercontinent of
16 Rodinia, as lithospheric thinning, crustal instability and
17 continental rifting led into the formation of the Iapetus Ocean
18 during Argyll Group times (Fettes et al., 2011). The siting of
19 this sub-marine volcanism, along the Portsoy Lineament, emphasises
20 the importance of the lineament as a tectonothermal boundary and
21 suggests that its origins might lie in the basin architecture that
22 evolved as a result of the initial continental rupture (Ashcroft et
23 al., 1984; Fettes et al., 1986).
24
25
11.4 Conclusions
26
27
28 The Black Water provides a continuous river section through the
29 thickest and most extensive sequence of metavolcanic rocks in the
30 Dalradian of the North-east Grampian Highlands. The presence of
31 metabasaltic pillow lavas in this section has long been known but
32 even more remarkable are the wide range of fragmented high-
33 magnesium ultrabasic lavas (metapicrites) that originated by the
34 accumulation of olivine from the basaltic magmas in deep-crustal
35 magma chambers. The formation of pillows and the fragmentation of
36 the metapicrites are the results of sub-marine eruption in deep
37 unstable basins, characterized by turbibitic sedimentation.
38 The Blackwater metavolcanic rocks, together with the near-
39 contemporaneous Tayvallich lavas in the South-west Grampian
40 Highlands, are typical chemically of volcanic rocks in propagating
41 rift basins, and provide vital information about the
42 tectonomagmatic conditions that resulted from the break-up of
43
Rodinia and the initial formation of the Iapetus Ocean, some 600
44
million years ago. The basin in which the Blackwater rocks were
45
46 erupted might have been related in some way to the initial
47 formation and location of the Portsoy Lineament, which was to
48 influence sedimentation, magmatism and tectonics for the following
49 140 million years or more.
50
51 12 AUCHINDOUN CASTLE
52 (NJ 345 368–NJ 362 375)
53
54 D. Stephenson
55
56
57 12.1 Introduction
58
59 The ruins of Auchindoun Castle stand on a knoll of metalimestone
60 above the River Fiddich, 3.5 km south-east of Dufftown. Exposures
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4 below the castle, in the river banks, are of dark graphitic pelite
5 of the Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation, and it is the regional
6 metamorphic minerals in the pelite that are the main feature of
7
interest at this GCR site. Square cross-sections of chiastolite (a
8
variety of andalusite), clearly seen in hand specimen, are seen in
9
10 thin section to have been replaced by kyanite, indicating a
11 significant increase in regional pressure. The metalimestone is
12 the Dufftown Limestone Member at the base of the Mortlach
13 Formation, which in this area marks the base of the Ballachulish
14 Subgroup.
15 The primary survey of the area was published as one-inch Sheet 85
16 (Rothes) in 1898, together with a brief memoir (Hinxman and Grant
17 Wilson, 1902). The area was not revisited until it was remapped by
18 the British Geological Survey for 1:50 000 Sheet 85E (Glenfiddich,
19 1996), which was when the interesting relationships between the
20 regional metamorphic minerals were discovered. This led to a
21 detailed investigation of the pressure–temperature conditions of
22 metamorphism by Beddoe-Stephens (1990) that formed part of a wider
23 study of metamorphic conditions on either side of the Portsoy–
24 Duchray Hill Lineament. The rocks at Auchindoun lie on the west
25
side of the lineament, where peak pressures were up to 4 kbar
26
higher than they were immediately to the east of the lineament, due
27
28 to near-isothermal compression beneath westerly directed thrusting
29 along the line of the Portsoy-Duchray Hill Lineament/Shear-zone.
30 Samples from this locality were also used in a regional geochemical
31 study of Dalradian metacarbonate rocks, which proved to be of
32 significant value in stratigraphical correlation (Thomas, 1989),
33 and calcsilicate beds within the pelites provided material for a
34 study of amphibole geochemistry that revealed implications for the
35 original depositional environment (Stephenson, 1993).
36
37 12.2 Description
38
39 The area around Auchindoun lies on the south-eastern limb of the
40 Ardonald Anticline, a NW-verging, tight, regional-scale fold of
41 possible D3 age. The right-way-up succession extends from the
42 Pitlurg Calcareous Flag Formation of the Lochaber Subgroup, here
43
poorly exposed, through the Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation, to
44
the Corriehabbie Quartzite Formation of the Ballachulish Subgroup,
45
46 which forms a continuous ridge to the south-east of Glen Fiddich
47 (Figure 23). Bedding dips to the south-east at between 30o and 65o
48 and the dominant cleavage in the pelites (?S2) commonly dips at a
49 lower angle, indicating local inversions possibly due to
50 intermediate-scale folds.
51 The Dufftown Limestone Member in this area is of variable
52 thickness, up to about 3 m, but at Auchindoun Castle the outcrop is
53 thickened by a series of tight, SSW-plunging folds. The member is
54 composed typically of banded, grey, crystalline metalimestone, but
55 in places thin beds of metalimestone and pinkish brown-weathering
56 calcsilicate rock are interbedded with phyllitic pelites. At the
57 castle, thin pelitic partings in the metalimestone have a strong
58 spaced cleavage (?S2) as is seen in the overlying pelites. South-
59 west of the castle the metalimestone outcrop is terminated by a
60 fault.
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3
4 The main part of the Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation, above
5 the Dufftown Limestone Member, is well exposed in the banks of the
6 River Fiddich and in tributaries on the south-east side of Glen
7
Fiddich, in particular the Allt a‘ Choileachain, the Red Burn and
8
the Small Burn, where the outcrop width is greatly increased by
9
10 tight folding. In this area, it is composed predominantly of dark-
11 grey, fine-grained, finely banded pelite. Banding takes the form
12 of thin, 1–5 mm-wide bands of pale semipelite or psammite, which
13 enable the orientation of the original bedding to be seen in most
14 exposures. The pelites are usually hard and blocky, but are
15 phyllitic to schistose in places, with a strong S2
16 spaced/crenulation cleavage. Where the dominant cleavage is near
17 coincident with the bedding, the rock becomes very hard and slaty.
18 Such slates have been quarried at several places on the hill slopes
19 to the east (e.g. at NJ 358 370 and NJ 375 386). In most exposures
20 the pelites contain prominent, square-sectioned chiastolite and
21 many are garnetiferous. Most are graphitic and some are quite
22 pyritiferous. Bands and pods of tremolitic amphibole, with or
23 without subsidiary carbonate-rich laminae, within the pelites have
24 been interpreted as para-amphibolites and indicate a continuation
25
of the calcareous facies above the basal metalimestone member
26
(Stephenson, 1993).
27
28 Throughout the exposures of pelitic rocks, there is good evidence
29 in thin section of replacement of chiastolite by kyanite in what
30 appears to be a direct pseudomorph relationship. Squarish to
31 rectangular porphyroblasts of chiastolite with preserved inclusion
32 ‗crosses‘ of graphite have been replaced by radial fan-like sheaves
33 of kyanite (Figure 24), which commonly show varying degrees of
34 later replacement by muscovite. A fine-grained crenulated
35 micaceous fabric can be seen to post-date the chiastolite and
36 slight strain effects in the kyanite suggest that this fabric might
37 also post-date kyanite growth. Other regional metamorphic minerals
38 present are garnet and biotite.
39
40 12.3 Interpretation
41
42 It has long been recognized that metamorphism in the Buchan region,
43
to the east of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament, is distinct from
44
that elsewhere in the Grampian Terrane, being characterized by
45
46 relatively low-pressure/high-temperature mineral assemblages (see
47 1.3 in Introduction). The western limit of this low-pressure
48 metamorphism is broadly coincident with the shear-zones that define
49 the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament and also mark the western margin
50 of the structurally and stratigraphically distinct ‘Buchan Block’
51 (Baker, 1985; Fettes et al., 1986; Harte and Dempster, 1987). To
52 the west of the lineament, lower structural levels and older
53 Dalradian rocks are exposed and the metamorphic mineral assemblages
54 are characteristic of a higher pressure.
55 The low- and high-pressure assemblages are characterized
56 essentially by andalusite and kyanite respectively, and D.J. Fettes
57 (on the BGS 1:250 000 Sheet 57N 04W, Moray–Buchan, 1977) and
58 Chinner and Heseltine (1979) each plotted andalusite–kyanite
59 isograds, parallel and close to the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament.
60 However, there is a well-defined zone, up to 10 km wide on the
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4 western side of the lineament, where original andalusite has
5 inverted to kyanite indicating a pressure increase after the
6 initial metamorphism (Chinner and Heseltine, 1979; Baker, 1985).
7
On the Banffshire coast, this zone is narrow but is beautifully
8
illustrated in the well-known chiastolite-bearing pelites at the
9
10 swimming pool west of Portsoy (see the Cullen to Troup Head GCR
11 site report). There, the chiastolite is clearly seen in thin
12 section to be pseudomorphed by kyanite and muscovite, but the
13 relationships are complicated by the presence of sillimanite, which
14 pre-dates the kyanite, and by later overgrowths of kyanite and
15 muscovite that post-date the main fabric. Inland, and especially in
16 the area around Auchindoun Castle, there is a much simpler
17 replacement of the original chiastolite porphyroblasts.
18 The regional study of Beddoe-Stephens (1990) placed quantitative
19 pressure and temperature constraints on the observed metamorphic
20 reactions on both sides of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament.
21 Values were calculated from various thermodynamic calibrations
22 based upon reactions between commonly occurring minerals. Both
23 thermal and barometric ‗breaks‘ are clearly seen at the lineament.
24 East of the lineament, where only andalusite and sillimanite occur,
25
pressures never exceeded 4.5 kbar and temperatures of up to 660oC
26
are recorded. West of the lineament, where kyanite occurs either
27
28 as the sole aluminosilicate phase or as a replacement of
29 andalusite, pressures of 7.5 to 8.5 kbar are recorded close to the
30 lineament and these increase to over 9 kbar farther west. There is
31 also a corresponding temperature increase from 500oC to 600oC
32 westwards from the lineament. A sample from close to Auchindoun
33 Castle, some 4.5 km to the north-west of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill
34 Lineament, gave values of 8.5 kbar and 605oC. Compositional zoning
35 in garnet crystals enables the pressure–temperature path that the
36 rock has experienced during the growth of the garnet to be
37 modelled. Using this method, samples from immediately west of the
38 lineament have shown an increase in pressure of about 2 kbar,
39 associated with only minor heating, which was sufficient to account
40 for the observed inversion of andalusite to kyanite.
41 From detailed studies such as that of Beddoe-Stephens (1990),
42 associated with previous work based largely on the coastal sections
43
(e.g. Harte and Hudson, 1979; Hudson, 1985; Baker, 1987), it has
44
been possible to deduce a sequence of structural and metamorphic
45
46 events to account for all of the features described above. The
47 development of andalusite, characteristic of high-temperature, low-
48 pressure metamorphism, clearly extended westwards from the Buchan
49 area, across the position of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament as
50 is shown by the relics of andalusite, for example in the Auchindoun
51 area. The andalusite–kyanite isograd of Chinner and Heseltine
52 (1979) marks the western limit of this original andalusite, which
53 might have developed at least in part in response to high heatflow
54 associated with the emplacement of basic magma in the Buchan Block
55 at around 470 Ma.
56 Subsequent to the development of andalusite, the rocks immediately
57 to the west of the lineament underwent a pressure increase of up to
58 2 kbar that transformed the andalusite to kyanite and it is these
59 peak metamorphic conditions that are recorded by the calculated
60 pressure and temperature values of Beddoe-Stephens (1990).
61
62
63
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3
4 Ashcroft et al. (1984) suggested that it was subvertical shear
5 movements along the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament after the
6 emplacement of the basic magmas, with relative uplift to the west,
7
that brought up the higher grade rocks. However, Baker (1987) and
8
Beddoe-Stephens (1990) refined this to suggest that westerly or
9
10 north-westerly directed thrusting across the lineament emplaced a
11 thick upper Dalradian sequence of the Buchan Block above older
12 rocks to the west, which were hence subjected to increased
13 overburden pressure and near-isothermal compression. Although this
14 explanation has been generally accepted, there is little
15 stratigraphical evidence for overthrusting and the Dalradian
16 stratigraphy seems to young consistently from west to east across
17 the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament with no repetition (Fettes et
18 al., 1991). Hence Dempster et al. (1995) have offered the
19 alternative suggestion that the pressure increase was due to
20 magmatic loading caused by emplacement of the basic magmas.
21 The present steep attitude of the shear-zones along the Portsoy–
22 Duchray Hill Lineament is probably attributable to subsequent late
23 folding and crustal warping, during D3 and later events, resulting
24 in exhumation of strata from deeper levels on the western side.
25
This uplift must have been relatively rapid in order to have
26
preserved the mineral relationships without further retrograde
27
28 reactions taking place, and this is nowhere more true than at
29 Auchindoun Castle.
30
31 12.4 Conclusions
32
33 Metamudstones (pelites) in the banks of the River Fiddich, below
34 Auchindoun Castle, contain prominent minerals that provide a
35 fascinating insight into the history of deformation and regional
36 metamorphism in Dalradian rocks of the North-east Grampian
37 Highlands. Rectangular white cross-sections are easily visible in
38 hand specimen. Some have a dark ‘cross’ due to inclusions of
39 graphite and their overall appearance is characteristic of
40 chiastolite (a variety of the aluminium silicate, andalusite).
41 However, thin sections reveal that the original andalusite has been
42 replaced by kyanite, identical in composition to andalusite but
43
stable under higher pressure conditions. These are exceptionally
44
clear examples of a feature that has great significance in the
45
46 understanding of metamorphic terranes and hence could be said to
47 have international importance.
48 Detailed mineralogical studies have enabled the temperature and
49 pressure at the peak of metamorphism to be calculated and, when
50 combined with similar determinations throughout the region, these
51 data reveal significant differences in metamorphic history between
52 rocks on either side of the N–S-trending Portsoy–Duchray Hill
53 Lineament. It has been suggested that this is due to a
54 considerable thickness of low-pressure–high-temperature rocks from
55 the Buchan Block in the east having been overthrust westwards,
56 increasing the overburden pressure on the rocks below and hence
57 causing the low-pressure andalusite to recrystallize as the high-
58 pressure form of aluminium silicate, kyanite.
59
60
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4 13 CULLEN TO TROUP HEAD
5 (NJ 511 673–NJ 828 669)
6
7 D. Stephenson, J.R. Mendum and D. Gould
8
9
10
11 13.1 Introduction
12
13 This very large GCR site extends for 32 km along the north coast of
14 the North-east Grampian Highlands from Cullen Harbour in the west
15 to Troup Head in the east. Apart from a 1 km-wide outcrop of
16 Caledonian igneous rocks at Portsoy and a 2 km-wide outcrop of
17 Devonian sedimentary rocks at Gardenstown, the bedrock is entirely
18 Dalradian (Figure 25). It comprises a near-complete succession
19 from the Cullen Quartzite Formation at the top of the Grampian
20 Group to the highest parts of the Macduff Formation of the Southern
21 Highland Group, although the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament forms a
22 major stratigraphical, structural and metamorphic break in the
23 middle of the section (see 1.2.1 in Introduction). Exposure is
24 generally excellent, notably in the intertidal zone, in marked
25
contrast to the drift-covered inland areas where it is largely
26
confined to generally poor stream sections. The coast therefore
27
provides an invaluable and unique type section for the Dalradian
28
29 succession that can be compared and contrasted with that of the
30 Central Grampian Highlands. To the west of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill
31 Lineament, many elements of the stratigraphy are common to both
32 successions, and correlations are possible to subgroup and in some
33 cases to formation level. However, east of the lineament
34 correlations, even at subgroup level, are more tenuous.
35 The strata young overall from west to east, with only minor local
36 reversals. To the west of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament,
37 structures are comparable to those of the Central Grampian
38 Highlands and are dominated by tight NW-verging folds. Here, there
39 is no high-strain zone comparable to the Boundary Slide at the
40 Grampian–Appin group boundary, but shear-zones do occur at higher
41 stratigraphical levels. The lowest, stratigraphically and
42 structurally, is the Keith Shear-zone, which encloses pods of 600
43
Ma granite and whose trace intersects the coast just west of
44
Portsoy. Deformation increases dramatically eastwards towards the
45
46 Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament, with most structures becoming
47 largely coplanar and colinear. The wide shear-zone that here marks
48 the lineament contains variably deformed mafic and ultramafic
49 intrusive igneous rocks of the 470 Ma North-east Grampian Basic
50 Suite. East of the lineament, in the so-called ‘Buchan Block’, the
51 rocks show small- and medium-scale folding, in parts with
52 interference patterns, but the regional outcrop pattern is
53 dominated by the broad, open Turriff Syncline, whose axis plunges
54 gently to the north-north-east.
55 The coast section also provides a continuous section across the
56 low-pressure regional metamorphic Buchan zones that characterize
57 this part of the North-east Grampian Highlands (Stephenson et al.,
58 2013a, fig. 12). The overall grade of metamorphism increases from
59 low greenschist facies (biotite zone) in the centre of the Turriff
60 Syncline in the east, to upper amphibolite facies (sillimanite-K
61
62
63
64
65
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2
3
4 feldspar zone) adjacent to the Portsoy Lineament farther west.
5 Immediately to the west of the lineament the Buchan mineral
6 assemblages have been overprinted by higher pressure metamorphism
7
of Barrovian type (lower amphibolite facies; kyanite zone), and
8
there is evidence that pressures increased to the west.
9
10 The area was first mapped for the Geological Survey by J. Horne,
11 and one-inch Sheet 96 (Banff) was published in 1895. The area was
12 subsequently remapped in greater detail by H.H. Read who published
13 the first full account of the district (Read, 1923) together with a
14 revised one-inch map (also published in 1923). Read‘s work
15 established the lithostratigraphy of the coast section and led to
16 numerous important publications on the magmatism, structure and
17 metamorphism of the region (Read, 1919, 1936, 1955; Read and
18 Farquhar, 1956). These in turn prompted and inspired other
19 investigations, such that this coast section became one of the most
20 intensively studied parts of the whole Dalradian outcrop. It has
21 certainly been studied by the greatest number and variety of
22 workers. The sedimentation was studied by Sutton and Watson (1955)
23 and Loudon (1963), but most of the subsequent investigations
24 concentrated upon the structure and metamorphism (Sutton and
25
Watson, 1956; Johnson and Stewart, 1960; Johnson, 1962; Loudon,
26
1963; Fettes, 1970, 1971; Treagus and Roberts, 1981; Moig, 1986).
27
28 Several papers have concentrated upon the position and nature of
29 the western margin of the Buchan Block and its relationship to the
30 ‗main‘ part of the Grampian Terrane (Elles, 1931; Sturt et al.,
31 1977; Ramsay and Sturt, 1979) leading to speculation on the nature
32 and significance of the Portsoy–Duchray Hill Lineament (Ashcroft et
33 al., 1984; Fettes et al., 1986, 1991). More-detailed studies of
34 the metamorphism have been undertaken by a number of workers
35 (Chinner, 1966; Ashworth, 1975, 1976; Hudson, 1980, 1985; Hudson
36 and Harte, 1985; Baker, 1985, 1987; Beddoe-Stephens, 1990; Dempster
37 et al., 1995). The presence of glacigenic boulder beds at two
38 separate stratigraphical levels has generated much interest and
39 discussion on the age of the succession (Sutton and Watson, 1954;
40 Spencer and Pitcher, 1968; Hambrey and Waddams, 1981; Stoker et
41 al., 1999) but the palaeontological studies of the higher parts of
42 the succession are now viewed as inconclusive (Skevington, 1971;
43
Downie et al., 1971; Bliss, 1977; Downie, 1984; Molyneux, 1998).
44
The area has been remapped by the British Geological Survey,
45
46 resulting in the publication of two 1:50 000 sheets, 96W (Portsoy,
47 2002) and 96E (Banff, 2002). As part of this remapping programme,
48 samples from the coast section contributed to a regional
49 geochemical study of metacarbonate rocks that proved to be of value
50 in stratigraphical correlation (Thomas, 1989).
51 Much of the coastline is relatively easily accessible and it is
52 very popular with field parties. Excursions have been described by
53 Read (1960) and by C. Gillen, N.H. Trewin and N.F.C. Hudson (in
54 Trewin et al., 1987).
55
56 13.2 Description
57
58 The coastal section is described here from west to east, moving up
59 the stratigraphical succession to originally higher structural
60
61
62
63
64
65
 1
2
3
4 levels and correspondingly lower metamorphic grades (Figures 25,
5 26).
6
7 13.2.1 Grampian Group: Cullen Quartzite Formation
8
9
10 The GCR site includes only the upper three members of the Cullen
11 Quartzite Formation, the lowest, the Findochty Quartzite Member is
12 exposed between Buckie and the western side of Cullen Bay.
13 The section from Cullen Harbour (NJ 5110 6733) to Logie Head (NJ
14 5310 6810) exposes the upper 1000 m of the Logie Head Quartzite
15 Member, some 70% of its total thickness. The strata are
16 overturned, and dip at between 55° and 90° to the north-west;
17 apparently shallower dips are mostly due to landslips. They are
18 largely psammites with thin pelitic and semipelitic interbeds.
19 Planar-laminated beds with flat bases, generally less than 0.5 m
20 thick, together with tabular cross-bedded units, are
21 characteristic. Some psammite units show aligned mud clasts and a
22 poorly defined wispy lamination. Fold axes of prominent slump
23 folds imply an original palaeoslope towards the north-north-west.
24 At the western side of Portlong Hythe (NJ 5215 6765), some 70 m of
25
pale-brown thicker bedded quartzites are present, but along its
26
eastern side psammites are interbedded with semipelite beds ranging
27
28 from a few centimetres up to 7 m thick. Pale-green garnet-
29 clinozoisite-bearing calcsilicate pods and lenses are developed
30 locally (e.g. at NJ 5254 6770). Thick lenticular quartzite and
31 psammite beds form the western and eastern promontories of Logie
32 Head, separated by thinly bedded micaceous and feldspathic
33 psammites and semipelites with calcsilicate lenticles.
34 The Dicky Hare Semipelite Member, c. 200 m thick, is exposed on
35 the foreshore east of Logie Head from NJ 5310 6810 to NJ 5325 6755.
36 It consists of thinly bedded, flaggy micaceous and feldpathic
37 psammites, and garnetiferous semipelites and pelites with scattered
38 calcsilicate lenses and rare centimetre-thick garnet-rich bands.
39 In the upper part of the member, sedimentary structures include
40 fine-scale and ripple-drift cross-bedding, flame structures and
41 slump structures. Minor and medium-scale, close to tight and
42 rarely isoclinal tectonic folds are also abundant in the mixed
43
lithologies. The folds are generally asymmetrical with a Z-
44
profile, and their axes mainly plunge gently to the south-west. In
45
46 parts a folded lineation (L1) is seen and in the more-pelitic units
47 a penetrative crenulation cleavage (S3) is developed. Read (1923)
48 considered this unit to be a faulted repetition of the lowest part
49 of the West Sands Member of the succeeding Findlater Flag
50 Formation. The contact with the overlying Sunnyside Psammite
51 Member is defined by a strike-fault, marked by several metres of
52 shattered rock, but this does not result in any significant
53 repetition of the near-vertical strata.
54 The Sunnyside Psammite Member, some 500 m-thick, consists of
55 typically grey to fawn, planar bedded quartzite and psammite, with
56 tabular cross-bedding seen in parts. Individual beds are normally
57 less than 1 m thick and semipelitic interbeds are present near the
58 top of the member. Open to tight folding (F3 and F1) is present,
59 particularly in its lower part.
60
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3
4 13.2.2 Appin Group: Lochaber Subgroup: Findlater Flag
5 Formation
6
7
The Findlater Flag Formation consists of grey to brown, planar,
8
thin-bedded to laminated, micaceous and feldspathic psammites with
9
10 some thin, schistose, locally garnetiferous semipelite units.
11 Flaggy partings rarely exceed 15 cm in thickness. They strike
12 north-east, generally dip steeply south-east and show few outward
13 signs of early large-scale fold structures. However, in parts
14 minor folds with axial planes roughly parallel to bedding and
15 gently NNE- or SSW-plunging axes are developed. The psammitic beds
16 are not conspicuously deformed, but the more-pelitic lithologies
17 have a well-developed schistosity commonly at a low angle to
18 bedding.
19 Two members are recognized within the formation, which is
20 otherwise undivided. The basal West Sands Mica Schist Member is
21 about 125 m thick and consists of dark-grey to green-grey schistose
22 garnetiferous semipelites, with psammitic ribs up to 1 cm thick.
23 The bedding and well-developed schistosity are both subvertical,
24 but centimetre-scale minor folds have axes that plunge gently to
25
the south. The c. 7.5 m-thick Findlater Castle Quartzite Member
26
forms the spine of a conspicuous promontory, topped by the ruins of
27
28 Findlater Castle at NJ 5418 6720. The white to fawn quartzite is
29 thickly bedded and steep bedding surfaces show conspicuous large-
30 scale ripple marking (Figure 27). Cross-bedding is visible on
31 clean-washed exposures at the base of the promontory. At low water
32 the quartzite can be traced into the bay to the east where it is
33 tightly folded.
34
35 13.2.3 Cairnfield Calcareous Flag Formation
36
37 This formation consists mainly of micaceous psammite and semipelite
38 but is characterized by the presence of calcsilicate- and
39 carbonate-bearing units. Most lithologies contain amphibole in the
40 compositional range tremolite–magnesio-hornblende but its mode of
41 occurrence varies (Stephenson, 1993). The dominant flaggy, finely
42 bedded calcareous psammites and semipelites, range in colour from
43
striped dark-grey and cream to pale-green and bluish grey.
44
Amphibole in these beds is mainly fine grained and disseminated but
45
46 some of the more-schistose lithologies contain radiating coarse-
47 grained aggregates (c.f. ‘garbenschiefer’). The beds strike north-
48 north-east and dip very steeply to the east-south-east. Small-
49 scale tight folding is common locally and fold interference
50 patterns are seen in places. Fold axes typically plunge gently to
51 the north-north-east or south-south-west.
52 In the coast section, two distinctive members can be recognized.
53 The lower, Crathie Point Calcsilicate Member consists of about 300
54 m of predominantly pale-fawn and grey calcsilicate-bearing rocks
55 with beds of impure cream metacarbonate rock, possibly dolomitic;
56 the latter weather typically with a pale brownish and honeycombed
57 surface. Some 250 m south of Crathie Point (around NJ 5490 6716),
58 thin bands of gneissose muscovite-biotite semipelite contain
59 kyanite and staurolite, indicative of lower amphibolite-facies
60 metamorphism. This lithology can be correlated southwards as far
61
62
63
64
65
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2
3
4 as Glenlivet and the Cairngorm Pluton (see the Bridge of Brown GCR
5 site report). The upper, Garron Point Tremolitic Flag Member
6 consists of about 350 m of generally dark-grey, thin-bedded, flaggy
7
muscovitic psammite and semipelite with abundant disseminated
8
amphibole. Thin beds of dark green amphibole-rich rock (para-
9
10 amphibolite) are characteristic and thin beds or lenses of impure
11 metacarbonate rock occur rarely.
12
13 13.2.4 Ballachulish Subgroup: Mortlach Graphitic
14 Schist Formation
15
16 About 250 m east of Garron Point (at NJ 5565 6685), rocks of the
17 Garron Point Member are stratigraphically overlain by black,
18 pyritic, highly graphitic pelite interbedded with metalimestone.
19 These lithologies pass upwards at Sandend Harbour into grey
20 calcareous psammite and semipelite with subsidiary graphitic pelite
21 and metalimestone units. These lithologies constitute the Sandend
22 Harbour Limestone Member, the basal unit of the Mortlach Graphitic
23 Schist Formation. The beds of white to pale-grey coarsely
24 crystalline metalimestone are up to several metres thick. They are
25
prominent among the intertidal exposures on account of their creamy
26
yellow weathering and well-developed banding, with many pelitic
27
28 partings. Some are finely laminated and it has been suggested that
29 they might be stromatolitic. Thin beds rich in amphibole, similar
30 to those in the Garron Point Member, are also present in places.
31 Abundant tight to isoclinal minor folds plunge at low angles to the
32 north-north-east.
33 The main part of the Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation lies
34 beneath the beach and dune sands of Sandend Bay. It has been
35 proved by a series of BGS boreholes (1992) to be c. 325 m thick and
36 to be composed of dark-grey, graphitic, schistose to slaty pelite,
37 with pale-grey kyanite porphyroblasts abundant in places. The
38 boreholes found no trace of an overlying quartzite, the
39 Corriehabbie Quartzite, one of the most persistent markers in the
40 Appin Group of the Central and North-east Grampian Highlands.
41 However, the quartzite does crop out inland, some 10 km to the
42 south-west of Sandend Bay.
43
44
45
13.2.5 Tarnash Phyllite and Limestone Formation
46
47 A disused and flooded quarry behind the dunes of Sandend Bay at NJ
48 5578 6595 exposes centimetre-scale, banded, flaggy, pale-grey
49 metalimestone with phyllitic semipelite partings and some thin beds
50 of micaceous psammite. This is the Linkbrae Limestone Member that
51 occurs at the base of the Tarnash Phyllite and Limestone Formation.
52 Its lower contact was penetrated in a BGS borehole, in which the
53 Mortlach Graphitic Schists pass upwards into banded greenish grey
54 psammites and semipelites, which are calcareous in parts. The
55 remainder of the formation (the major part) that consists of grey
56 schistose to phyllitic semipelite, is very poorly exposed
57 ephemerally on the beach at Sandend.
58
59
60
61
62
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3
4 13.2.6 Blair Atholl Subgroup: Fordyce Limestone
5 Formation
6
7
Exposures on the east side of Sandend Bay are of blocky to massive,
8
thin- to thick-banded, generally blueish grey crystalline
9
10 metalimestones with subsidiary interbedded phyllitic to schistose
11 pelites and semipelites. Cherty lenses and calcite veining are
12 common. In contrast to the exposures on the west side of the bay,
13 the axes of the numerous tight minor folds here plunge steeply (45–
14 60o) to the east-north-east. Fold interference patterns are seen in
15 parts. The metalimestones are overlain unconformably by Old Red
16 Sandstone breccia and sandstone.
17
18 13.2.7 Argyll Group: Islay Subgroup: Arnbath Psammite
19 Formation
20
21 The upper part of the Fordyce Limestone Formation is cut out by a
22 NW-trending fault that passes through Red Haven (NJ 5640 6630). To
23 the north-east of this fault, and beyond a complex zone of
24 shearing, most of the headland that terminates in Redhythe Point
25
(NJ 5760 6715) is composed of quartzites, micaceous and feldspathic
26
psammites and minor semipelites that constitute the Arnbath
27
28 Psammite Formation. Calcsilicate pods are locally abundant. Small
29 shear-zones are developed and the quartzite beds are commonly
30 boudinaged giving a complex structurally disharmonic appearance to
31 the rocks. Close upright F3 folds that plunge southwards at 30 to
32 45o are prominent in the cliff exposures, which are composed
33 dominantly of thinly banded and laminated grey quartzites of the
34 basal Redhythe Quartzite Member. The upper parts of the formation
35 crop out inland and are very poorly exposed. However, on the
36 north-west flank of Durn Hill (at NJ 567 642), some 2 km from the
37 coast, numerous blocks of metadiamictite in field walls, almost
38 certainly derived from the upper parts of this formation, have been
39 interpreted as tillites (Spencer and Pitcher, 1968).
40 From about 300 m south-east of Redhythe Point, at NJ 5765 6695,
41 the strata dip steeply and consistently to the south-east and
42 display a strong bedding-parallel fabric; fold axes plunge more
43
steeply (45 to 70o) to the south-east and east-south-east. At the
44
inlet of Foul Hole (NJ 5775 6675) there is a sharp contact of
45
46 quartzites with gneissose and locally migmatitic psammites and
47 semipelites, which is interpreted as the position of the Keith
48 Shear-zone. About 1500 m south of here, at Boggierow Quarry (NJ
49 5747 6516), a highly foliated and xenolithic pale- to mid-grey
50 muscovite-biotite granite, the Portsoy Granite, is inferred to mark
51 the position of the shear-zone. U-Pb dating of zircons from the
52 granite has given an emplacement age of 599.9 ± 2.5 Ma (Barreiro,
53 1998). Farther east, at NJ 5780 6679, folded migmatitic and
54 gneissose psammites, semipelites and quartzites are cross-cut by a
55 12 m-thick amphibolite body with foliated margins, which is cross-
56 cut in turn by a c. 60 cm-wide irregular sheet of foliated
57 muscovite-biotite granite.
58
59
60
61
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3
4 13.2.8 Durn Hill Quartzite Formation
5
6 East of Foul Hole, in a rocky semicircular bay at NJ 5790 6659, a
7
fault divides amphibolite to the west from micaceous psammites
8
overlain by c. 13 m of finely banded cream and grey metalimestones
9
10 and metadolostones. Amphibolite lenses and pods are common and a
11 2.2 m-wide talc-magnesite pod occurs at the base. The
12 metacarbonate rocks are succeeded by thick-bedded quartzites that
13 contain a few quartz and granite pebbles, and pass up into poorly
14 bedded, blocky to massive quartzites with subsidiary siliceous and
15 micaceous psammites. The ‘beds’ dip steeply eastwards but are
16 characterized by a strong foliation and steep down-dip lineation.
17 Although traces of tight to isoclinal folds with steeply plunging
18 axes can be distinguished in parts, in other areas the quartzites
19 are rodded to form mullions. Deformation features dominate here
20 and the lithologies are not typical of the Durn Hill Quartzite as
21 seen inland.
22
23 13.2.9 Easdale Subgroup: Castle Point Pelite
24 Formation
25
26
At St John’s Well, the rapid transition from the Durn Hill Quartzite
27
28 into the Castle Point Pelite Formation is well exposed on the
29 foreshore. Graphitic pelite and semipelite are dominant at the
30 base but pass eastwards into mid- to dark-grey, schistose, partly
31 graphitic semipelite and pelite with minor thin beds of micaceous
32 psammite. Calcsilicate pods and metacarbonate beds are present but
33 only become abundant near the top of the formation at the outdoor
34 swimming pool west of Portsoy. The formation typically shows
35 abundant small-scale chevron-style folding and crenulation
36 cleavages, but in its upper part close to tight, small- to medium-
37 scale folding is well seen. Fold axis orientations are variable
38 with refold patterns present. The rocks contain kyanite locally,
39 both as blades and as pseudomorphs of chiastolite (andalusite);
40 notable examples can be seen in the uppermost part of the formation
41 at NJ 5846 6638. Staurolite is also present in parts and
42 sillimanite has been recorded from muscovite-bearing pelites at
43
Sandy Pots (NJ 5844 6654).
44
45
46 13.2.10 Portsoy Limestone Formation
47
48 The Portsoy Limestone Formation encompasses all of the
49 metasedimentary rocks within the Portsoy Shear-zone on the coast
50 section. It cannot be traced inland where thick superficial
51 deposits mantle the bedrock, but many of its elements are certainly
52 lenticular and its lateral continuity southwards is questionable.
53 The variable lithologies are tightly folded and generally very
54 strongly deformed, in parts having almost mylonitic fabrics.
55 The basal part of the formation, well exposed at Legg Moon (NJ
56 5851 6645), consists of tight to isoclinally folded pale to dark
57 and bluish grey metalimestones with thin pelitic laminae. These
58 thick metalimestones mark the transitional change up into more-
59 varied lithologies. Semipelites and quartzites succeeding the
60 metalimestones are intruded by gabbros and a large serpentinized
61
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4 lherzolite or harzburgite body, known locally as the ‘Portsoy
5 Marble’. This is succeeded eastwards by graphitic pelite,
6 quartzite, semipelite and micaceous psammite. Pebbly and gritty
7
quartzites show strong rodding and folding about steep, commonly
8
near-vertical axes on a distinctive promontory at NJ 5864 6632
9
10 (Figure 28); they are succeeded by tightly folded and refolded
11 metadolostones, graphitic pelite and psammite, and white to pale-
12 grey, tight folded metalimestone. The metalimestone also contains
13 small veins of sphalerite, pyrite and chalcopyrite.
14
15 13.2.11 Intrusive igneous rocks of Portsoy
16
17 The metasedimentary rock outcrop is terminated against a vertical
18 pod of anorthosite and to the east, beneath the town of Portsoy,
19 variably deformed and amphibolitized ultrabmafic and mafic
20 intrusive rocks, cut by sheets and pegmatitic veins of granite,
21 dominate an across-strike section of 750 m. However, substantial
22 screens and rafts of metasedimentary rocks are present in the Old
23 Harbour area. The mafic and ultramafic rocks are interpreted as
24 being truncated against a major fault on the eastern side of Links
25
Bay, which probably coincides with a steep shear-zone on the
26
eastern edge of the Portsoy Lineament. Almost all of the intrusive
27
28 rocks have been shown by U-Pb zircon dating to have been emplaced
29 at c. 470 Ma. Their complex field relationships and wider age
30 constraints imply that emplacement was coeval with thrusting and
31 penetrative deformation.
32
33 13.2.12 Crinan Subgroup: Cowhythe Psammite Formation
34
35 The majority of this formation consists of micaceous and
36 feldspathic psammite with subsidiary biotitic semipelite and some
37 minor calcareous units, notably the distinctive Rosehall Croft
38 Limestone and calcareous semipelites on Cowhythe Head. At the
39 western edge of the outcrop, on the east side of Links Bay, are
40 tightly folded calcsilicate rocks, metalimestones and semipelites
41 with lenticular quartzite and psammites bodies. Although those
42 beds are shown as part of the Cowhythe Psammite Formation on the
43
BGS 1:50 000 Sheet 96W (Portsoy, 2002), some authors have
44
attributed them to the Portsoy Limestone Formation.
45
46 The rocks have been metamorphosed to sillimanite grade and
47 migmatization is variably developed, with the more-migmatitic units
48 found in the western part of the outcrop. The first coherent unit
49 of sheared and migmatitic semipelite that marks the eastern extent
50 of the mixed calcareous rocks at Links Bay has been interpreted as
51 marking the Portsoy Thrust (Elles, 1931; Ramsay and Sturt, 1979;
52 see Interpretation below). Although deformation is high and small-
53 scale dislocations are present, no major dislocation is now
54 recognized in the sequence. Indeed, as Ramsay and Sturt (1979)
55 showed, there are ‘enclaves’ of unmigmatized rocks within the
56 migmatitic semipelitic units. Tight folding on very steeply
57 dipping axes, large-scale cuspate structures and shear-zones can
58 readily account for the complex detailed distribution of
59 lithologies.
60
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4 Anastomosing shear-zones are found near the south-eastern margin
5 of the Cowhythe Psammite Formation, which is marked on the north-
6 western side the bay of Old Hythe by a steep narrow zone of
7
mylonitic biotite-rich semipelite and tightly folded recrystallized
8
white metalimestones. This structure, termed the Boyne Line by
9
10 Read (1923), was thought to represent a fundamental regional
11 dislocation in the Dalradian succession, but later work has shown
12 that it does not correspond to a major stratigraphical, structural
13 or metamorphic break (see Interpretation). The structure is
14 further complicated due to the presence of variably orientated,
15 commonly steeply plunging F2 and F3 folds, a later monoform, and
16 faulting (see Read, 1923, figure 5).
17 Although there are steep dips in parts, the overall bedding and
18 structural profile of the Cowhythe Psammite Formation are only
19 gently inclined. In some areas the bedding is notably lenticular
20 and chaotic zones are present; this seems to be a primary
21 depositional feature. Some idea of the structural complexity is
22 given by the outcrop of the Rosehall Croft Limestone on the
23 foreshore and cliffs around NJ 5978 6640, which shows a refolded
24 fold pattern that can be traced over a few hundred metres.
25
Two main fold generations can be distinguished, an earlier tight
26
folding (F2) with a penetrative cleavage (S2), and a dominant late
27
28 open to tight folding (F3) with a variably developed crenulation or
29 penetrative cleavage (S3). Fold axes show a wide range of plunge
30 orientations. A moderately plunging rodding lineation (L2) that
31 appears to define the maximum finite extension direction during the
32 D2 deformation episode, traces an arc between south-south-west at
33 Links Bay and west at Kings’s Head. Late-stage crenulation
34 cleavages are developed locally in the more-semipelitic lithologies
35 and monoformal structures also deform the earlier D2 and D3 fabrics
36 and folds.
37 On the foreshore some 250–500 m south-west of East Head, around NJ
38 667 600, are several small circular to ovoid bodies of ultramafic
39 rock, which hornfels the adjacent metasedimentary rocks. By East
40 Head, the gneises are cut by 3–4 m-thick NNE-trending veins of pink
41 to orange muscovite and tourmaline-bearing pegmatitic granite.
42
43
13.2.13 Tayvallich Subgroup: Boyne Limestone Formation
44
45
46 The lowest unit of the formation, the Old Hythe Semipelite Member
47 consists of purple-grey semipelites interbedded with white to grey
48 metalimestones and calcsilicate-rock bands and lenses. Immediately
49 east of the ‘Boyne Line’ ductile dislocation, the beds are tightly
50 folded, contain small-scale shears, and show widespread development
51 of a later fracture cleavage. Quartz pods are common. Semipelite
52 outcrops in the central part of Old Hythe bay show more-typical
53 structural patterns and sillimanite (fibrolite) has been recorded
54 from these beds.
55 On the south-eastern side of Old Hythe, spectacularly refolded
56 interbedded metalimestones and calcsilicate rocks of the succeeding
57 Boyne Castle Limestone Member are exposed in the cliffs. F1 and F3
58 folding is abundant in these white, cream, pale-purple and greenish
59 grey, laminated and thinly banded metalimestones and subsidiary
60 calcsilicate rocks, which are very well exposed on the Craig of
61
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4 Boyne (NJ 6163 6612). The distinctive fine-scale lamination, thin
5 cherty layers and pelitic laminae of this unit might relate to an
6 algal, partly stromatolitic origin. The unit has been extensively
7
quarried immediately inland at Boyne Bay Quarry.
8
On the south-east side of Boyne Bay are thinly bedded, pale-grey
9
10 to pink-purple, greenish grey and cream, calcsilicate rocks, impure
11 metalimestones and calcareous semipelites. These candy-striped
12 rocks mark the base of the Whyntie Brae Calcsilicate Member and
13 show excellent F3 and earlier F1 folding with interference patterns
14 common. F1 folds are tight and their axes typically plunge
15 moderately to the north-east or south-west. The superimposed F3
16 folds vary from open to tight and verge to the north-west, with
17 their axes mainly plunging gently to moderately to the south-west
18 and south-south-west. Overall the beds dip gently to the south-
19 east, but the folding gives rise to steeper dips locally.
20 At NJ 6215 6585 a c. 10 m-thick sheet of dark green-grey
21 metadolerite intrudes the calcareous rocks. It is locally
22 discordant to bedding, yet defines an upright, close, NW-verging
23 fold-pair some 70 m across, interpreted as an F3 structure. At
24 least four further metadolerite sills occur to the east, and an
25
unfoliated hornblende metagabbro body, some 50–60 m thick, crops
26
out around Whyntie Head (e.g. at NJ 6284 6583). These mafic bodies
27
28 probably relate to the large poorly exposed Boyndie Intrusion that
29 lies some 1.5 km to the south-south-east.
30
31 13.2.14 Southern Highland Group: Whitehills Grit
32 Formation
33
34 The metagabbro sheet at Whyntie Head marks the base of the
35 overlying Whitehills Grit Formation, which signals a change in the
36 overall depositional facies of the Dalradian succession from
37 shallow-marine shelf to deeper water turbiditic sedimentation. The
38 Southern Highland Group rocks appear to overlie the underlying
39 Argyll Group succession with slight unconformity. The basal
40 lithology is a notably thick gritty psammite, locally calcareous in
41 part. Farther east interbedded psammites, semipelites and pelites
42 are more typical of the formation. A single metalimestone bed
43
occurs near the base of this mixed succession but calcareous
44
psammites and semipelites, and calcsilicate lenses are relatively
45
46 abundant throughout. The thicker psammite beds are commonly gritty
47 and show coarse to fine grading. A prominent thick, relatively
48 planar bed of massive, cream to fawn calcareous gritty psammite is
49 well exposed on the foreshore at Stake Ness (NJ 6442 598). The bed
50 has an erosional lower contact and shows internal, tight
51 disharmonic folds, interpreted as slump folds. Similar intrafolial
52 folds occur in some of the other thick psammite beds. The lower
53 part of the formation is intruded by metadolerite sheets up to 4 m
54 thick.
55 The formation has low overall regional dips but exhibits small-
56 and medium-scale tight F1 folding, mainly along NE- and NNE-
57 plunging axes. However, the outcrop pattern is dominated by the
58 more-open, NW-verging F3 folds whose axes plunge gently to the
59 north-east. Fold interference patterns are clearly seen in places.
60 A penetrative S1 cleavage is normally present, but an S3
61
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3
4 crenulation cleavage is only variably developed. Andalusite is
5 seen in the pelitic units and the tops of graded psammite–pelite
6 beds, and staurolite is present in some pelites (Hudson, 1980,
7
1985).
8
9
10 13.2.15 Macduff Formation
11
12 A thick gritty psammite unit forms the promontory and skerries of
13 Craig Neen (NJ 6517 6571) at the western margin of Whitehills
14 village; this effectively marks the end of the calcareous units and
15 the base of the Macduff Formation. A kilometre-thick lower unit,
16 the Knock Head Grit Member is dominated by pelite, semipelite and
17 psammite units with minor calcsilicate lenses in the lower part but
18 the frequency and thickness of intervening gritty psammites
19 increases eastwards until, at Knock Head, pebbly psammites are
20 dominant. From there, the pelitic element increases eastwards
21 towards the west side of Boyndie Bay, where psammite is again
22 subsidiary. The pelitic units commonly show concentrations of
23 large (average c. 1 cm long) grey elongate ‘slugs’ of andalusite,
24 and/or black rounded cordierite porphyroblasts, reflecting the
25
respective iron-rich and less common magnesium-rich nature of the
26
protolith muds (Figure 29). Porphyroblasts reflect the grading in
27
28 the turbiditic units, becoming larger and more abundant in the
29 pelitic tops. Small red manganiferous garnets and brown
30 staurolites up to 2 mm long are also present. The bedding in the
31 Knock Head Grit Member generally dips east at over 50°. Minor
32 folding is only rarely seen, except near Whitehills where close to
33 tight F1 folds with moderately north-plunging axes are present. D3
34 effects are mainly limited to development of a coarsely spaced
35 crenulation cleavage in some pelitic units. S3 clearly overprints
36 the porphyroblast growth, which overgrows the earlier S1
37 cleavage/schistosity (Johnson, 1962; Fettes, 1971; Hudson 1980).
38 This steep zone forms the western limb of the so-called Boyndie
39 Syncline, whose status is discussed below.
40 The Dalradian outcrops lie close to the Devonian land surface in
41 this area, and small patches of breccioconglomerate are present.
42 In parts the Dalradian rocks are heavily stained red-brown; in
43
other areas the andalusite is stained red, with the pelitic matrix
44
remaining mid to dark grey.
45
46 The higher parts of the Macduff Formation occupy the remainder of
47 the coast section from the eastern side of Boyndie Bay to More Head
48 and around Troup Head, which is north-east of the Devonian outlier
49 at Gardenstown. The metamorphism is greenschist facies (biotite
50 grade) and only a single deformation phase is present. Hence, the
51 sedimentary features of the interbedded psammites, semipelites and
52 pelites are clear. Bouma sequences are common, with flame
53 structures, grading, cross-bedding, ripple lamination and mud-flake
54 breccias, all indicative of a turbiditic, density current origin.
55 The psammites, which vary from quartz-rich to micaceous, have
56 gritty and even pebbly bases locally. Good examples can be seen in
57 Tarlair Bay, around NH 7188 6450. The more-quartzose lithologies
58 commonly form discrete lenticular units and probably represent
59 reworked channel-fill material in an offshore fan.
60
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4 At Macduff thin metadiamictite units, with pebbles, cobbles and
5 rare boulders, are interspersed in a turbiditic succession that
6 occurs on the broad hinge of a syncline between NJ 7128 6491 and NJ
7
7144 6488. These beds were interpreted as glaciomarine deposits by
8
Sutton and Watson (1954). Stoker et al. (1999) have documented the
9
10 sequence in detail and confirmed that at least some of the larger
11 boulders are probable dropstones from floating ice (Figure 30).
12 Metamorphic grade increases from east to west. Rounded dark-grey
13 cordierite porphyroblasts, seen to be altered to pinite in thin
14 section, are first seen in the pelitic units west of Banff Harbour.
15 Farther west at Scotstown the cordierites are paler with only
16 partial or marginal dark-grey alteration to pinite. Zoned
17 calcsilicate pods are present locally (Hudson and Kearns, 2000). A
18 little farther west, at NJ 6817 6459, Hudson (1987) recorded the
19 first andalusite porphyroblasts as small whitish grey laths or
20 square-section crystals in cordierite-bearing pelitic units and
21 staurolite appears on the west side of Boyndie Bay in the Knock
22 Head Grit Member.
23 The rocks of the Macduff Formation are disposed in a series of
24 open to tight F1 folds typified by steeply dipping bedding, well
25
seen on the foreshore at Banff and Scotstown. However, somewhat
26
perversely, the overall or sheet dip is shallow, with the
27
28 succession defining a very open regional syncline, the Turriff
29 Syncline (Figures 3a, 26). Although it is difficult to correlate
30 the detailed stratigraphy, the upper part of the formation exposed
31 on this coast section could be only 2–3 km thick.
32 Farther east at the Howe of Tarlair (NJ 719 646), a thick gritty
33 psammite unit defines an upright F1 anticline-syncline pair with an
34 amplitude of some 130 m and a wavelength of c. 320 m. F1 axes
35 plunge gently northwards. The related S1 cleavage is a variably
36 developed pressure-solution cleavage in the psammites but a slaty
37 cleavage in the pelitic units. Cleavage-bedding relationships are
38 well seen and the abundant sedimentary features clearly show that
39 the structures are upward facing. The fold structure is controlled
40 by the thickness of psammite units and generally the folds have a
41 neutral vergence. However, at Stocked Head, the F1 fold vergence
42 changes from neutral to westerly and S-profile folds dominate
43
farther east. Late kink folds are common locally and the F1
44
structures are refolded by open monoforms. All of these structures
45
46 lie within the broad axial zone of the Turriff Syncline.
47 The Gardenstown outlier of Devonian sandstones, siltstones and
48 conglomerates has faulted boundaries against Dalradian rocks,
49 although an unconformity can be seen in a small exposure at Crovie.
50 The Macduff Formation rocks to the north-east that form the
51 peninsula of Troup Head are fault bounded to the south-east and
52 form an isolated enclave. They consist of psammites and pelitic
53 units and have gentle but variable dips. Their overall dip is
54 easterly and they show west-verging close F1 folds.
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
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4 13.3 Interpretation
5
6
7 13.3.1 Stratigraphy and sedimentation
8
9
10 The generally clean, mature nature and ubiquitous cross-bedding of
11 the Cullen Quartzite Formation suggest that the sands were
12 deposited under shallow marine conditions where tidal, wave and
13 current action were important. Slumped units suggest that at times
14 deposition was rapid and local instabilities resulted. The
15 succeeding more-pelitic units probably represent quieter
16 sedimentation conditions dominated by mud deposition under inshore
17 intertidal, lagoonal or estuarine conditions. Similar conditions
18 prevailed during deposition of the overlying Findlater Flag
19 Formation. The clean quartzite units such as the ripple-marked and
20 cross-bedded Findlater Castle Quartzite probably represent short-
21 lived sandy channels (Figure 27). However, the upper parts of the
22 Lochaber Subgroup, as elsewhere in the Grampian Highlands, show a
23 progressive increase in calcareous material. Calcsilicate rocks
24 are abundant and dolomitic metacarbonate rocks, calcareous
25
semipelites, and minor kyanite-bearing rocks characterize parts of
26
the succession. A study of the tremolitic amphiboles that are a
27
28 major component of the Cairnfield Calcareous Flag Formation
29 revealed that the protolith muds were very high in Mg relative to
30 Ca, with high but variable Al (Stephenson, 1993). The aluminous,
31 magnesian and potassic nature of these lithologies imply input of
32 periodic weathered material, probably under very shallow water,
33 locally evaporitic, partially emergent conditions, with only
34 restricted circulation of seawater (Thomas, 1999). Detrital input
35 of silica and clay minerals was variable and possibly seasonal,
36 giving rise to the colour banding; marl beds with a low detrital
37 component gave rise to the essentially monomineralic para-
38 amphibolites.
39 The graphitic pelite and metalimestone succession of the
40 Ballachulish Subgroup is indicative of a widespread marine
41 transgression across the Dalradian basin, marked by deposition of
42 anoxic or reduced mudstones and chemical or derived limestones. In
43
this section, boreholes have revealed a continuous stratigraphical
44
passage from the graphitic pelites up into overlying thinly bedded
45
46 semipelites, metalimestones and calcsilicate rocks of the Tarnash
47 Phyllite and Limestone Formation. A return to very shallow water
48 conditions with possible local evaporates is indicated, though
49 without any major influx of detrital siliciclastic material, as
50 represented by the quartzite seen elsewhere at this stratigraphical
51 level. The deposition of graphitic semipelites and pelites and
52 metalimestones, typical lithologies of the Blair Atholl Subgroup,
53 signals a further transgression phase.
54 The Islay Subgroup has a locally developed metadiamictite at the
55 base that relates to a marine glacial event. This was accompanied
56 and followed by local basin formation and deposition of largely
57 siliciclastic sediments. Although the Arnbath Psammite Formation
58 contains a greater proportion of semipelite than is normal at this
59 stratigraphical level, it does contain much sandy material
60 including a quartzite member. The overlying Durnhill Quartzite
61
62
63
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2
3
4 Formation is also reduced in thickness and purity by comparison
5 with its manifestation inland.
6 The rapid change to more-graphitic and aluminous pelitic rocks of
7
the Easdale Subgroup (Castle Point Pelite and Portsoy Limestone
8
formations) appears to mark a transgression, although this could
9
10 reflect formation of a local marine basin. The presence of
11 isolated quartzite lenses, a pebbly quartzite unit, and mixed
12 metalimestone–graphitic pelite–quartzite units suggests that the
13 palaeoenvironment and sediment provenance were locally varied. The
14 overlying Cowhythe Psammite Formation, assigned to the Crinan
15 Subgroup, is highly metametamorphosed, structurally complex and
16 partly migmatitic. However, in places in the psammite and
17 semipelite unit there are suggestions of grading, disrupted
18 bedding, and slumped or chaotic units. The beds might have been
19 turbiditic and if that was the case they would represent the infill
20 of a local deeper water basin. The rapid transition up into
21 semipelites and metalimestones of the Boyne Limestone Formation
22 (Tayvallich Subgroup) represents a shallowing, with marine shelf
23 conditions becoming dominant. The thick metalimestones in this
24 formation show laminae and small-scale structures suggestive of
25
algal reef growth, implying that warm shallow conditions prevailed.
26
The overlying calcareous semipelites and calcsilicate rocks were
27
28 originally marls and possible evaporitic deposits, suggesting
29 possible lagoonal conditions with some local emergence.
30 This quiet shallow marine-shelf deposition was interrupted by the
31 incoming of the first turbiditic units of the Southern Highland
32 Group and signalled the development of a deeper marine basin that
33 developed subsequently into the Iapetus Ocean. The lowest psammite
34 unit of the Whitehills Grit Formation appears to cross-cut the
35 underlying Argyll Group succession regionally, suggesting that it
36 might mark a slight angular unconformity. The sediments deposited
37 ranged from coarse siliciclastic to muddy but contained a large
38 component of derived carbonate material, probably from nearby
39 reefs. The succeeding Macduff Formation consists of psammites and
40 intervening pelitic units that show excellent features typical of
41 turbiditic fans. The rocks have been interpreted as channel,
42 overbank or outer-fan deposits, depending on the coarseness of the
43
units, Bouma features and lithological associations (Kneller,
44
1987). Hence, the Knock Head Grit Member represents a channel
45
46 environment, whereas the adjacent more-pelitic succession
47 represents an interchannel or perhaps outer-fan environment.
48 The Macduff Boulder Bed, which lies near the top of the
49 stratigraphical sequence in this GCR site, has been interpreted as
50 a glaciomarine deposit with slumped units and dropstones (Figure
51 30) (Sutton and Watson, 1954; Hambrey and Waddams, 1981; Stoker et
52 al., 1999). By analogy with Pleistocene deposits offshore to the
53 north-west of the British Isles, such glacigenic deposits are
54 characterized by debris-flow packages and the Macduff succession is
55 compatible with distal deposition in a base-of-slope or basin-plain
56 situation, with a water depth of over 1000 m. The deposit has been
57 correlated with Ordovician glacial episodes on the basis of a
58 single acritarch Veryhachium lairdii collected from adjacent
59 pelitic units (Molyneux, 1998). However, failure to replicate this
60 find and its atypical state of preservation despite metamorphism to
61
62
63
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2
3
4 biotite grade cast doubt upon the acritarch evidence, which should
5 probably be discounted at the present time. Hence, the glacial
6 deposits more likely correlate with dropstone localities near the
7
base of the Southern Highland Group in Donegal (Condon and Prave,
8
2000), which would imply that only the lowermost parts of the group
9
10 are exposed in the North-east Grampian Highlands, albeit in a
11 relatively thick sequence.
12
13 13.3.2 Structure
14
15 Figure 26 shows the composite cross-section along the coast, based
16 upon recent British Geological Survey mapping and the overall
17 structure is illustrated in Figure 3a. Note that on these
18 sections, the areas of steeply dipping succession have been much
19 reduced, compared with previously published sections (e.g. Sutton
20 and Watson, 1956; Treagus and Roberts, 1981). This has several
21 consequences: the stratigraphical succession is thinner than
22 formerly estimated; the Boyndie Syncline is reduced to a smaller
23 scale steep zone with more-gently dipping, locally subhorizontal
24 beds on either side; the Cowhythe Head and Redhythe Point areas,
25
that lie respectively east and west of the Portsoy Shear-zone, also
26
show regionally shallow dips. In detail many parts of the coastal
27
28 section show alternating steep and shallow dipping zones and it is
29 unclear as to their age relative to main phases of folding and
30 related cleavage formation. The following discussion progresses
31 broadly from higher structural levels in the east of the section to
32 deeper levels as seen in the west.
33 The linked concepts of the Boyne Line and the SE-facing Banff
34 Nappe were introduced by Read (1955) to explain the major structure
35 of the North-east Grampian Highlands (see 1.2.2 in Introduction;
36 Figure 3b). Along much of the coast section east of Boyne Bay, the
37 rocks exhibit locally complex F1 folding with steep dips, but
38 regionally they are the right way up and are disposed in a broad,
39 gentle syncline, the Turriff Syncline, which would constitute the
40 upper limb of the nappe in Read‘s model. The overall structural
41 and metamorphic sequences of this section are quite well understood
42 due to detailed studies of the minor structures (Johnson, 1962;
43
Loudon, 1963; Fettes, 1971; Treagus and Roberts, 1981). Early (F1)
44
folds and related cleavages face consistently upwards and the style
45
46 of the folds varies according to structural level, being generally
47 upright and open to close at the highest levels in the centre of
48 the Turriff Syncline and generally recumbent and tight on the
49 limbs. Across the whole section F1 folds face to the north-west,
50 apparently contrary to Read‘s (1955) model of a SE-facing Banff
51 Nappe. However, Read attributed these folds to gravitational flow
52 on the western limb of the Buchan Anticline, which he envisaged as
53 having developed as an early structure accompanying nappe
54 formation.
55 Post-D1 structures are restricted to the lower structural levels
56 and hence are seen only on the western and eastern limbs of the
57 Turriff Syncline. There is some confusion, particularly in the
58 Portsoy area, as to the number of major fold phases that can be
59 identified, and their relationship to regional D2 and D3 defined
60 elsewhere in the Grampian Highlands. Both Johnson (1962) and
61
62
63
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65
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3
4 Treagus and Roberts (1981) have identified separate D2 and D3
5 phases but differ as to their distribution and interpretation.
6 Their conclusions are incorporated in the following summary, which
7
is based largely on that of Kneller (1987). D2 folds and cleavages
8
are recognized only to the west of the Boyne Limestone outcrop and
9
10 to the east of Fraserburgh Bay. In the area around Portsoy, F2
11 folds are locally dominant. Those folds have steeply plunging
12 axes, which are colinear with a very strong stretching lineation
13 attributed to thrusting and focussed along the Portsoy Shear-zone.
14 The D3 deformation, which post-dates the peak of metamorphism and
15 main growth of porphyroblasts east of Boyne Bay, has limits that
16 effectively coincide with the andalusite isograd. Large-scale F3
17 folds are characteristically open to close and monoclinal in form.
18 Associated finely spaced cleavages and tight crenulation cleavages
19 occur in the more-pelitic units and small-scale open to tight fold
20 structures are well seen in the more-banded units. The Turriff
21 Syncline and Buchan Anticline have been tentatively attributed to
22 the D3 phase by several authors. However, west of Whitehills,
23 smaller scale D3 structures have easterly to south-easterly dipping
24 axial planes and a westerly vergence. It is difficult to correlate
25
these D3 structures with the open and upright character of the
26
Turriff Syncline, which is more compatible with major D4 structures
27
28 elsewhere. Numerous sets of minor kink and brittle folds in the
29 area, notably in the pelitic lithologies, are attributed to later
30 events.
31 Steeply dipping beds on the western limb of the Turriff Syncline
32 are the result of a monoform, regarded as a major fold closure pre-
33 dating the metamorphic peak by Sutton and Watson (1956), who named
34 the structure the Boyndie Syncline. However, Read (1923, 1955),
35 who concentrated firstly on the stratigraphy and secondly on the
36 regional structural interpretation, portrayed the syncline merely
37 as a perturbation on the top limb of the Banff Nappe. Subsequently
38 Johnson (1962) and Fettes (1971) recognized two fold phases in the
39 Whitehills area and allocated the Boyndie Syncline to the secondary
40 phase, which they termed D3. They argued that the syncline folds
41 the metamorphic isograds and hence post-dates the metamorphic peak.
42 Treagus and Roberts (1981) argued that F1 folds consistently face
43
upwards along the coast section and favoured a D1 age for the
44
Boyndie Syncline. The structural evidence and metamorphic pattern
45
46 would be compatible with formation of the steep zone during or
47 prior to D1, followed by superimposition of the metamorphic pattern
48 and D3 deformation. This would accord with other coastal sections
49 where F3 folds appear to be superimposed on a stepped profile.
50 The Boyne Line as envisaged by Read (1955) underlies the Banff
51 Nappe and separates it from the Argyll and Appin group succession
52 to the west; it is a ‘lag’ rather than thrust structure, i.e.
53 younger rocks are juxtaposed over older rocks (Figures 3b, 26).
54 Ashworth (1975) argued strongly against Read’s model, preferring
55 Horne’s original idea of sedimentary facies variations to explain
56 the absence of the Boyne Limestone Formation to the south (Horne,
57 in Read, 1923, p.72). Most authors agree that later faulting is
58 also present. However, the presence of biotite-grade mylonitic
59 rocks at Old Hythe and the local deformation patterns do suggest
60 that it is the site of a steep shear-zone, possibly with lateral
61
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3
4 movement. That said, there is no metamorphic hiatus and moderate
5 structural continuity is retained across the section. The
6 structure may well be linked to the Portsoy Shear-zone that crops
7
out to the west but there is no need to invoke a Boyne Line sensu
8
Read (1955).
9
10 Between the putative Boyne Line and the Portsoy Shear-zone, Sturt
11 et al. (1977) and Ramsay and Sturt (1979) recognized a complex
12 structural history in the Cowhythe Psammite Formation and allocated
13 the migmatitic gneissose rocks to a pre-Dalradian basement unit
14 formed in the Neoproterozoic. They maintained that the contact of
15 the migmatitic semipelite at the base of the Cowhythe Psammite is
16 visibly discordant with the structurally underlying calcareous
17 psammitic and semipelitic succession to the west along the Portsoy
18 Thrust, thus resurrecting Read’s concept of an allochthonous
19 succession in Buchan. However, most workers regard the gneisses as
20 migmatized equivalents of the upper parts of the Argyll Group (see
21 1.1.3 in Introduction).
22 The Portsoy Shear-zone shows evidence of a complex and lengthy
23 tectonic history (Goodman, 1994), as discussed on a regional basis
24 in section 1, Introduction. The main problems associated with the
25
structure are to reconcile its identities as an initially steep
26
lineament, a subsequent shallow dipping shear-zone, and a steep
27
28 fault/shear-zone along which preferential uplift later occurred.
29 Although evidence for these three manifestations is present on the
30 coast section, it is unclear as to how and where the different
31 elements might be projected at depth or farther south to Deeside
32 and beyond. Local and regional stratigraphical patterns imply that
33 a lineament could well have been active at the time of Argyll Group
34 sedimentation (Fettes et al., 1991). The main tectonic activity
35 was focussed in mid-Ordovician time at around 470 Ma when thrusting
36 to the west-north-west and associated deformation, metamorphism and
37 fluid flow, occurred roughly coeval with intrusion of basic and
38 ultrabasic bodies (Baker, 1987; Oliver, 2002). The overprint of
39 kyanite after andalusite to the west of the shear-zone reflects a
40 pressure increase of c. 2 kbar at this time, consistent with an
41 increase in overburden of 6–7 km (Beddoe Stephens, 1990). Later
42 steep shear-zones, along which granitic veins are intruded in
43
parts, are well seen around Portsoy and show foliations and
44
geometries indicative of dextral shearing.
45
46 The position of the Keith Shear-zone on the coast section is
47 marked by strong planar and linear fabrics and localized
48 migmatization of Islay Subgroup rocks around Foul Hole just west of
49 Portsoy. Shear-sense indicators imply top-to-west movement. The
50 shearing post-dated both lithification of these rocks and intrusion
51 of the Keith–Portsoy Granite and was most likely associated with
52 the Grampian Event in mid-Ordovician time. Just inland, at
53 Boggierow, the granite has been reliably dated at c. 600 Ma and is
54 interpreted as having been intruded into an early lineament that
55 was subsequently re-activated as the shear-zone, thereby providing
56 a minimum age for its initiation. A full appraisal of the shear-
57 zone and its associated intrusions, incorporating evidence from
58 outwith this GCR site, is given in section 1.2.1 in Introduction.
59 Farther west in the Appin Group rocks, two phases of penetrative
60 deformation are seen, manifested as folding and related planar and
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3
4 linear fabrics. These structures are particularly clear in the
5 pelitic and metalimestone lithologies, but it is uncertain whether
6 they should be attributed to D1 and D2, D2 and D3, or D1 and D3.
7
By analogy with deformation chronologies farther south they are
8
generally attributed to D2 and D3. In fact, Peacock et al. (1968)
9
10 showed that to the south-west of Cullen, the penetrative early
11 fabrics and folds attributed to D2 post-date an earlier bedding-
12 parallel schistosity that they termed S1.
13
14 13.3.3 Regional Metamorphism
15
16 The Cullen–Troup Head section remains one of the classic areas for
17 studying the nature of the relatively low-pressure and high-
18 temperature Buchan-type metamorphism (Read, 1952). Many studies
19 have documented the transition from greenschist facies in the
20 Macduff–Gardenstown area to lower and upper amphibolite facies in
21 the Portsoy and Fraserburgh areas (Johnson, 1962; Chinner, 1966;
22 Fettes, 1971; Hudson, 1980, 1985; Hudson and Harte, 1985; Johnson
23 et al., 2001a, 2001b). The occurrence of upper amphibolite-facies
24 assemblages (sillimanite-potash feldspar) in the Cowhythe and East
25
Head area and granulite-facies assemblages east of Fraserburgh Bay
26
(see the Cairnbulg to St Combs GCR site report) was shown by
27
28 Ashworth (1975) and Johnson et al. (2001b) to relate to mafic
29 intrusions of the North-east Grampian Basic Suite. Pressure and
30 temperature conditions ranged from 1.2 kbar, 400°C in the lowest
31 biotite-grade rocks to 1.8 kbar, 490°C at the andalusite isograd and
32 3.3 kbar, 545°C at the sillimanite isograd (Hudson, 1985). The
33 higher grade rocks reached 4.2 kbar, 630°C, values consistent with
34 pressure–temperature estimates derived from the hornfels mineralogy
35 of larger mafic intrusions (Droop and Charnley, 1985).
36 The Buchan metamorphic peak occurred following the D1 deformation
37 but mainly prior to the later D3 event (Johnson, 1962, 1963).
38 Porphyroblasts overgrow generally planar S1 fabrics, but thin-
39 section studies from several rocks in the Inverboyndie area show
40 that cordierite overgrowths also occurred synchronous with D3
41 deformation (Phillips, 1996). A later phase of retrogressive
42 metamorphism characterized by chlorite and sericite (muscovite) is
43
found in many of the rocks, in parts associated with late-formed
44
structures.
45
46 The metamorphic pattern has influenced both the original
47 lithological divisions and former tectonic models for the Buchan
48 area. Read (1923) defined several lithological units on the basis
49 of their metamorphic features. Thus, the former Boyndie Bay
50 ‗group‗, west of Banff, which is characterized by andalusite
51 schists, is now regarded as merely the lower part of the Macduff
52 Formation. Similarly, to the south-east, the Macduff Formation
53 grades downward into the ‗Fyvie Schist‘, which is characterized by
54 andalusite and cordierite porphyroblasts giving a ‗knotted‗
55 appearance and is now placed in the Methlick Formation. He also
56 erected the Boyne Line on the basis of a supposed metamorphic
57 hiatus between his overlying ‗Banff division‘ and underlying ‗Keith
58 division‘ rocks. However, Ashworth (1975) dismissed the evidence
59 for a metamorphic hiatus and showed that the metamorphic zones
60 appeared to be superimposed on the early-formed structural pattern.
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3
4 Hence, he rejected the concept of both the Boyne Line and the Banff
5 Nappe.
6 Within the Portsoy Shear-zone the metamorphic mineralogy is
7
undoubtedly complex. By the Portsoy swimming pool (at NJ 5844
8
6648), graphitic pelite shows apparent andalusite (chiastolite)
9
10 porphyroblasts. However, in thin section a different picture
11 emerges. Large andalusites are partly pseudomorphed by blocky
12 kyanite, set in platy to felted muscovite. Ragged early staurolite
13 with sigmoidal inclusion trails and smaller, later, more-euhedral
14 porphyroblasts are also present. Garnets are ragged and show
15 evidence of partial dissolution. The biotite-rich fine-grained
16 schistose matrix is deflected around the andalusites but platy
17 muscovite and kyanite overgrow this fabric locally. Fibrolitic
18 sillimanite also occurs, which on textural evidence pre-dates
19 growth of small kyanite blades (Beddoe-Stephens, 1990). Although
20 the mineralogy gives us a record of at least parts of the lengthy
21 metamorphic history of this rock, it is difficult to unravel which
22 mineral associations were in equilibrium at each stage.
23 West of the Portsoy Shear-zone, porphyroblast growth occurred at
24 several times. Garnet and biotite formed both prior to and
25
synchronous with formation of the S2 fabric; the metamorphic
26
minerals are wrapped by the later amphibolite-facies schistosity
27
28 and show some resorption or alteration (Peacock et al., 1968).
29 Beddoe-Stephens (1990) showed that the Buchan-type assemblages were
30 present in this area but were subsequently overprinted under higher
31 pressure conditions during the D3 deformation (see the Auchindoun
32 Castle GCR site report). It is this event that deformed the Keith–
33 Portsoy Granite, implying thrusting to the west-north-west,
34 probably with movement focussed along the Portsoy and Keith shear-
35 zones.
36
37 13.4 Conclusions
38
39 The coast between Cullen Bay and Troup Head provides the longest
40 continuous section across the strike of the Dalradian succession in
41 Scotland. It extends from the top of the Grampian Group to the
42 highest preserved beds of the Southern Highland Group and is the
43
type section for the Argyll and Southern Highland groups of the
44
North-east Grampian Highlands. It records the progression from
45
46 deposition in a shallow marine gulf in an intracontinental rift
47 that became a series of fault-bounded deeper sedimentary basins on
48 a continental shelf heralding the opening of the Iapetus Ocean, to
49 deposition from turbidity currents in major sub-marine fans on the
50 subsiding shelf and continental slope.
51 The coast also provides a near-complete structural and metamorphic
52 transect across the Dalradian outcrop. The beds are basically the
53 right way up and range from steeply dipping in the west to
54 regionally shallow dipping in the core of the Turriff Syncline to
55 the east. The succession is interrupted by several major
56 dislocations, each of which probably marks the site of a
57 fundamental structure with a long history extending back to the
58 time of sedimentation. The Keith Shear-zone intersects the coast
59 west of Portsoy; it does not remove or repeat much of the
60 succession but it does include granite dated at 600 million years
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3
4 old. At Portsoy, a 1 km-wide zone of shearing that involves
5 various 470 million year-old mafic and ultramafic intrusions marks
6 the position of the Portsoy Shear-zone and the Portsoy Lineament.
7
The latter structure seems to have acted as a controlling feature
8
at the time of sedimentation, and through the deformation,
9
10 metamorphism and magmatism of the Grampian Event. It separates the
11 so-called Buchan Block to the east, which exposes higher
12 stratigraphical levels and exhibits higher-level structures and
13 low-pressure regional Buchan-type metamorphism, from structurally
14 and stratigraphically lower level, higher pressure rocks to the
15 west that seem to be a continuation of the sequences and structures
16 typical of the Central Grampian Highlands.
17 The nature and origin of the Buchan Block and of its boundaries
18 have been a constant source of discussion. It has clearly been
19 decoupled at times from the adjacent terranes and possibly from the
20 lower parts of the originally underlying Dalradian rocks; it has
21 even been suggested that it might have been a separate
22 allochthonous terrane with an entirely different sedimentological,
23 structural and metamorphic history to the remainder of the Grampian
24 Terrane. However, within this GCR site it could be argued that
25
elements of both the stratigraphy and the structure are continuous
26
across the Portsoy Shear-zone and relics of the Buchan metamorphism
27
28 have been identified up to 10 km farther west, casting doubt on
29 suggestions of large-scale regional displacement.
30 The coast section has contributed to speculation on the age of the
31 Dalradian. At least the lower parts of the succession must be
32 older than the 600 million year-old Portsoy Granite, and the
33 highest parts have reportedly yielded some poorly preserved
34 microfossils. An Ordovician age has been suggested, both from the
35 microfossils and from the presence of glacigenic boulders that have
36 been attributed to a late-Ordovician glacial period, but this
37 interpretation cannot be reconciled with the dating of metamorphic
38 events or the Dalradian succession elsewhere.
39 Most of this GCR site is well exposed and readily accessible,
40 except for parts where the cliffs are particularly steep. With
41 thick superficial deposits characterizing the hinterland this
42 reference section is therefore extremely important in a national
43
and possibly an international context. It has been the subject of
44
more research and more publications than any other part of the
45
46 Dalradian outcrop and is used extensively for teaching purposes.
47 Yet there is so much about it that is still to be learned.
48
49 14 FRASERBURGH TO ROSEHEARTY
50 (NK 001 663–NJ 918 668)
51
52 D.J. Fettes
53
54
55 14.1 Introduction
56
57 This GCR site comprises the coastal section running westwards from
58 Fraserburgh harbour to Rosehearty. It is separated from the
59 Cairnbulg to St Comb GCR site by the wide, sandy expanse of
60 Fraserburgh Bay. Because the section runs for most of its length
61
62
63
64
65
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2
3
4 at almost right angles to the regional strike and the main
5 structures, it provides an excellent geological profile. It is of
6 interest for three main reasons. Firstly, it exposes a transition
7
from the calcareous rocks and metagreywackes of the Tayvallich
8
Subgroup (Argyll Group) into the overlying andalusite schists and
9
10 metagreywackes of the Southern Highland Group. Secondly, it
11 provides a section through the western limb of the Buchan Anticline
12 (corresponding to the eastern limb of the Turriff Syncline) and
13 clearly demonstrates the nature of the first and second
14 deformational phases. Thirdly, the rocks display excellent
15 examples of Buchan metamorphism and the transition from the
16 andalusite schists to sillimanite-bearing schists and gneisses.
17 The geology of the area was first described by Grant Wilson (1882,
18 1886) but the basis of the modern interpretation lies in a series
19 of papers by H.H. Read on the Buchan area (Read, 1952, 1955) that
20 culminated in a paper on the Buchan Anticline (Read and Farquhar,
21 1956). The detailed sedimentology and structure of the area was
22 first interpreted by Loudon (1963) as part of a wider study of the
23 upper Dalradian. Subsequently important contributions were made on
24 the structural and metamorphic history by Fettes (1968, 1970), on
25
the nature of the metamorphism by Hudson (1975) and Harte and
26
Hudson (1979), and on the sedimentology and structure by Kneller
27
28 (1988). An excursion guide to the eastern part of the site was
29 provided by Kneller (1987).
30
31 14.2 Description
32
33 The coastal section (Figure 31) provides almost continuous exposure
34 along its length of c. 9 km, which comprises a series of low
35 cliffs, rocky foreshores, small sandy bays and the rugged headland
36 of Kinnairds Head. The stratigraphy youngs to the west away from
37 the core of the Buchan Anticline, whereas the metamorphic grade
38 rises to the east, towards the anticlinal core.
39
40 14.2.1 Stratigraphy and sedimentation
41
42 The eastern part of the section, from Fraserburgh harbour westwards
43
to Broadsea at around NJ 988 676, is dominated by calcareous
44
turbiditic units, including some partial Bouma sequences (Kneller,
45
46 1987). Kneller also reported a slump breccia around NJ 998 677.
47 The sequence is characterized by impure sandy metalimestones,
48 calcareous psammites and calcsilicate bands and nodules that
49 together constitute the Kinnairds Head Formation (Figure 32).
50 Calcareous rocks also occur in an isolated exposure south of the
51 harbour at NK 002 664. The contact with the underlying gneisses of
52 the Cairnbulg to St Combs GCR site is not seen.
53 The section from Broadsea to Rosehearty consists of tubiditic
54 rocks with graded units and typical elements of Bouma cycles. The
55 bedding is on the centimetre to metre scale. Various sedimentary
56 features can be seen including rip-up-clasts and convoluted
57 bedding; coarse pebbly psammite units might, in part, represent
58 channel fills. Good examples of sedimentary structures can be seen
59 throughout the section, for example at NJ 952 673, and partial and
60 complete Bouma cycles may be examined around NJ 986 673. One
61
62
63
64
65
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2
3
4 rather spectacular rock type that dominates much of the section
5 consists of regular graded units, which are characteristically 20–
6 30 cm in thickness and consist of a finely layered psammite base
7
succeeded by pelite. The pelites, which comprise the greater part
8
of the graded unit are now recrystallized to coarse-grained
9
10 andalusite schist giving the appearance of reverse grading (Figures
11 33, 34). These rocks may be examined around Rosehearty and on the
12 foreshore west of Sandhaven. In general the rocks provide
13 excellent and abundant way-up evidence and allow the larger folds
14 to be traced out. This part of the section constitutes the
15 Rosehearty Formation.
16 The boundary between the Kinnaids Head and Rosehearty formations
17 is marked by the relatively sharp disappearance stratigraphically
18 upwards of calcareous material. However the background
19 sedimentation remains essentially unchanged with partial and
20 complete Bouma sequences identifiable throughout the section.
21
22 14.2.2 Structure
23
24 Minor folds ranging from centimetre scale up to amplitudes of tens
25
of metres are abundant throughout the section. There are two
26
generations of deformation present, defined as D1 and D3 on the
27
28 regional classification. The F1 folds are present throughout the
29 section. They trend approximately north to north-east, and are
30 subhorizontal or plunge gently to the north at up to 20o. The
31 characteristic structural profile shows a series of gentle vertical
32 or subvertical folds. In places along the section, these become
33 tightened to form asymmetric folds, which are steeply inclined or
34 overturned to the west with inverted limbs. In some cases the
35 axial planes become curved with fold noses ‘drooping’ to the west.
36 Way-up and cleavage-bedding relationships show that the folds face
37 consistently up to the west. The nature of D1 folding and cleavage
38 relationships is well seen on the foreshore around Sandhaven and
39 westwards to NJ 950 679, as well as in the area to the west of
40 Rosehearty harbour. Minor folds are spectacularly developed in the
41 mixed calcareous lithologies to the west of Kinnaird Head. S1
42 axial planar fabrics are developed throughout the section.
43
Cleavage planes that cross-cut the lithological banding in the
44
andalusite schists are spectacular between Rosehearty and Sandhaven
45
46 (Figures 33, 34).
47 The F3 folds are broadly coaxial with the F1 folds and are
48 overturned to the west, as seen for example at NJ 985 673 and NJ
49 998 677. They can be clearly shown to refold D1 structures and
50 excellent examples of refolded folds can be seen below the foghorn
51 at NJ 998 677 (Figure 32). Kneller (1987) also reported refolded
52 structures at NK 001 675. S3 axial planar fabrics are sporadically
53 developed and in places are associated with microfolds of S1. S3
54 characteristically forms a spaced clevage, for example at NK 001
55 675.
56
57 14.2.3 Metamorphism
58
59 Andalusite and cordierite are present throughout the section with
60 spectacular coarse-grained andalusite schists characterizing the
61
62
63
64
65
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2
3
4 outcrops between Rosehearty and Sandhaven. Typical assemblages are
5 quartz-plagioclase-biotite-andalusite-cordierite. At Kinnairds
6 Head fibrolite appears, reflecting the general increase of grade to
7
the east. Kneller (1987) reported mixed assemblages in the
8
calcsilicate rocks, including calcic amphiboles, diopside, epidote
9
10 and zoisite. Fettes (1968) showed quite clearly that the peak of
11 metamorphism, marked by the major prophryroblast development, took
12 place in a static phase between D1 and D3, the porphyroblasts
13 overgrowing the S1 fabrics and being broken or rotated during D3
14 and mantled by the S3 fabrics.
15
16 14.2.4 Igneous and meta-igneous rocks
17
18 A coarse amphibolitic rock is shown on the BGS 1:10 000 sheets
19 immediately south of Fraserburgh harbour. In addition, Kneller
20 (1987) reported a number of igneous or meta-igneous rocks around
21 Kinnairds Head. He described a large crag in the middle of a small
22 bay at NK 000 675, which is composed of biotite-actinolite schist
23 and is apparently conformable with the bedding. Kneller also
24 described a similar, although less mafic ‘greenstone’, below the
25
harbour wall at NK 001 675. He noted that the mottled appearance
26
of the first occurrence is reminiscent of metamorphosed basic tuffs
27
28 found at similar stratigraphical horizons elsewhere in the
29 Tayvallich Subgroup. A number of aplitic and pegmatitic
30 leucogranite sheets (for example at NJ 998 677 and NJ 993 674) have
31 sharp contacts and post-date all the deformation structures; they
32 most probably relate to the late-Caledonian granites.
33
34 14.3 Intreptation
35
36 Sedimentological features clearly indicate that the rocks are
37 tubiditic and typical of the unstable conditions prevalent at the
38 time. This background sedimentation persists throughout the
39 section (see Kneller, 1987), although there is a relatively sharp
40 junction between the part of the succession that includes
41 calcareous rocks in the east and the part devoid of calcareous
42 lithologies to the west. The section comprises the Kinnairds Head
43
and Rosehearty formations (previously called ‘groups’ by Read and
44
Farquhar, 1956). The Kinnairds Head Formation is correlated with
45
46 the Tayvallich Subgroup (Argyll Group) and the Rosehearty Formation
47 is correlated with the lower part of the Southern Highland Group.
48 The Kinnairds Head Formation was previously regarded as equivalent
49 to the Whitehills ‘group’ in Banffshire. However the BGS 1:50 000
50 Sheet 96 (Banff, 2002) has placed the lower part of the Whitehills
51 ‘group’ in the Boyne Limestone Formation (Argyll Group) and the upper
52 part in the Macduff Formation of the Southern Highland Group. This
53 division is made on the first appearance, stratigraphically
54 upwards, of distinct, coarse-grained turbiditic units, albeit
55 within the part of the sequence that contains calcareous
56 lithologies. This boundary has no apparent equivalent in the
57 Rosehearty to Fraserburgh section, which obviously complicates
58 stratigraphical correlations across the Turriff Syncline and
59 questions the previously established criteria for delineating the
60
61
62
63
64
65
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2
3
4 top of the Argyll Group at the top of the calcareous sequence
5 (Harris and Pitcher, 1975).
6 Read (1955) postulated that the rocks of the Buchan Block
7
constitute the upper limb of a recumbent Banff Nappe, an
8
allochthonous eastward-facing structure lying above a major
9
10 dislocation (the Boyne Line). The nappe structure was seen as
11 having been gently folded into the upright Turriff Syncline and
12 complementary Buchan Anticline. Read and Farquhar (1956) argued
13 that the Buchan Anticline was formed by an upsurging core of
14 gneissose rocks related to the translation of the Banff Nappe.
15 They postulated that the westward vergence and sense of movement of
16 the folds indicated that the metasedimentary pile had slumped off
17 the uprising anticline as a form of gravity slide. This view was
18 questioned by Loudon (1963) and it is now generally discounted.
19 The westward-verging F1 folds are consistent with those found
20 throughout the Aberdeenshire and Banffshire area and this is
21 evidence against a major D1 structure in the area. The westward
22 vergence of the D3 structures on the western limb of the Buchan
23 Anticline is also inconsistent with that structure being of D3 age,
24 suggesting, as noted elsewhere, that the Buchan Anticline might be
25
a relatively late structure, possibly of D4 age.
26
Read (1955) and Read and Farquhar (1956) believed that the
27
28 metamorphic pattern was imposed as a thermal aureole around the
29 upsurging gneisses in the core of the Buchan Anticline and was
30 essentially post deformation. Although the metamorphism is indeed
31 superimposed on the main structures, it is obvious that the
32 isograds are folded by the Buchan Anticline and the Turriff
33 Syncline. It is also clear from microstructural studies that the
34 metamorphic and thermal peak pre-dates the D3 and D4 structures
35 (Fettes 1968, 1970).
36 This coastal section, along with the adjacent Cairnbulg to St
37 Combs GCR site, exhibits typical Buchan metamorphism, characterized
38 by the zonal sequence cordierite → andalusite → sillimanite →
39 sillimanite+K-feldspar. Along with the Ythan gorge to the south,
40 these are the key exposures of the lowest P/T-style of metamorphism
41 (i.e. the lowest pressure/temperature ratios) present in the
42 Dalradian (the Buchan metamorphism as seen in Banffshire is
43
characterized by higher P/T values and the zonal sequence
44
cordierite → andalusite → staurolite → kyanite) (Harte and Hudson,
45
46 1979). The generally low P/T values of Buchan metamorphism
47 compared to the Barrovian areas might reflect a relatively
48 unthickened crust (Strachan et al., 2002): the role of the basic
49 intrusions of the North-east Grampian Basic Suite in this
50 situation, as either the cause or an effect of high heat-flow, is
51 uncertain. However, it is reasonable to note that the basic
52 intrusions, over much of their outcrop, are associated spatially
53 with the gneisses that represent the culmination of Buchan
54 metamorphism. Thus, Read and Farquhar‘s suggestion of an aureole
55 around a thermal gneiss dome might not be entirely wrong.
56
57 14.4 Conclusions
58
59 The superbly exposed coastal section between Rosehearty and
60 Fraserburgh is critical to understanding the geology of the Buchan
61
62
63
64
65
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2
3
4 Block, which differs significantly in its structural and
5 metamorphic history from the Dalradian successions to the west and
6 south. It is of the highest national importance for three main
7
reasons. The sedimentological and stratigraphical evidence
8
demonstrates the nature of the Argyll Group–Southern Highland Group
9
10 transition, highlighting both similarities and contrasts with the
11 Perthshire and Banffshire successions. The structural history
12 provides a major piece of evidence to suggest that major D1
13 structures are absent from the Buchan Block, which is in marked
14 contrast to the major nappe-dominated structures of Perthshire.
15 The spectacular andalusite schists between Rosehearty and Sandhaven
16 and the transition to the sillimanite schists at Fraserburgh
17 constitute one of the type sections of Buchan metamorphism in the
18 Grampian Highlands, which is of international interest as one of
19 the first well-documented examples of low-pressure–high-temperature
20 regional metamorphism in the world.
21
22 15 CAIRNBULG TO ST COMBS
23 (NK 031 654–NK 062 626)
24
25
J.R. Mendum
26
27
28
29 15.1 Introduction
30
31 The coastal foreshore between Cairnbulg and St Combs, at the north-
32 eastern tip of the Grampian Highlands, provides an across-strike
33 section through migmatitic semipelites, pelites and psammites of
34 the Inzie Head Gneiss Formation (Crinan Subgroup) that are intruded
35 by numerous sheets, veins and irregular lenses of diorite and
36 granite. The metasedimentary rocks show evidence of amphibolite-
37 to granulite-facies metamorphism and anatectic melting. They have
38 been variously interpreted as gneissose basement forming the core
39 of the Banff Nappe (Read and Farquhar, 1956), allochthonous
40 Neoproterozoic basement gneisses (Ramsay and Sturt, 1979), and
41 migmatitic Argyll Group semipelites that have been subject to
42 partial melting (Kneller, 1987; Johnson et al., 2001a, 2001b).
43
These different designations have important consequences for models
44
of the structural and metamorphic history of the North-east
45
46 Grampian Highlands.
47 The gneisses lie in the core of the Buchan Anticline and their
48 outcrop extends south-west in a broad swathe to Mintlaw. Their
49 distribution, and western and eastern transition through the more-
50 calcareous Strichen and Kinnairds Head formations (Tayvallich
51 Subgroup) and into the overlying Southern Highland Group turbiditic
52 succession, suggests that they are Argyll Group rocks that belong
53 to the Crinan Subgroup. Thus, they are considered to be laterally
54 equivalent to the Cowhythe Psammite Formation, the Ellon Formation,
55 the Aberdeen Formation, the Queen‘s Hill Formation and the Ben Lui
56 Schist Formation (including the Duchray Hill Gneiss Member). All
57 of these lithological units generally show amphibolite-facies
58 metamorphic assemblages, ranging from garnet to sillimanite grade,
59 but in parts the mineral assemblages imply that conditions reached
60 granulite facies. In the Cairnbulg–St Combs section, peak
61
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4 metamorphic temperatures of over 775° C and pressures of 3–4.5 kbar
5 have been inferred (Johnson et al., 2001a). Many of the rocks have
6 experienced significant retrogression, resulting in extensive
7
chlorite and sericite replacement of the high-grade mineralogies.
8
The area was first mapped as part of the primary geological survey
9
10 of one-inch Sheet 97 and a brief account of the gneissose and
11 intrusive rocks was given in the sheet memoir (Grant Wilson, 1882).
12 Somewhat later, H.H. Read and O.C. Farquhar visited the coastal
13 sections, as the Inzie Head gneisses were integral to their model
14 of the Banff Nappe (see Read, 1955; Read and Farquhar, 1956).
15 Sturt et al. (1977) obtained a Rb-Sr isochron from gneisses at
16 Cairnbulg Point that gave an age of c. 691 Ma, which was accepted
17 by Ramsay and Sturt (1979) as dating the migmatization. They
18 modified Read‘s hypothesis of the Banff Nappe and described a
19 complex and lengthy history for the gneisses, which they considered
20 to be allochthonous basement. Subsequently, Kneller (1987)
21 described the Cairnbulg–Inverallochy coast section and noted that
22 migmatization post-dated most of the deformation. He also
23 mentioned the presence of a gravity and magnetic anomaly beneath
24 the area implying the presence of a basic intrusion at shallow
25
depth. Later petrographical and geochemical work by Johnson (1999)
26
has documented the high-grade metamorphic assemblages, migmatitic
27
28 textures and detailed migmatite–granitic melt relationships
29 together with a link to mafic rocks of the North-east Grampian
30 Basic Suite (Johnson et al., 2001a, 2001b, 2003).
31
32 15.2 Description
33
34 The Cairnbulg–St Combs coastal section (Figure 35) is some 4.7 km
35 long and encompasses rocky foreshore, smooth glacially scoured rock
36 platforms, and sandy bays, all within the intertidal zone. Blown
37 sand backs much of the coast and there is no bedrock exposure
38 immediately inland.
39 The compositional banding and accompanying foliation in the Inzie
40 Head Gneiss Formation dip at between 40° and vertical towards the
41 north-west and west. The foliation is composite but basically
42 reflects the D2/3 deformation that accompanied the main period of
43
migmatization and partial melting. The section appears to lie on
44
the north-west limb of the open Buchan Anticline but it is not
45
46 possible to determine the detailed structural profile owing to the
47 degree of migmatization, partial melting, and number of intrusive
48 sheets present. In places early tight folds (F1) with axial planes
49 subparallel to the bedding are cross-cut by migmatitic segregations
50 and leucogranite veins (Johnson et al., 2001b).
51 The metasedimentary rocks consist of thin- to medium-bedded,
52 semipelite, micaceous psammite and feldspathic psammite with pelite
53 interbeds and subsidiary calcsilicate pods and lenses. Where
54 migmatized, the calcsilicate pods have remained relatively
55 refractory and obviously behaved in a more brittle manner. In
56 places a ‗ghost‘ bedding can be reconstructed from their incidence.
57 In the more-feldspathic psammites a spaced cleavage resembling that
58 seen in Southern Highland Group psammites of the Collieston–
59 Whinnyfold and Rosehearty areas is present. The psammite has been
60 recrystallized and the defining mineralogy is now high grade, but
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4 the relict nature is still apparent. In places, pelitic rocks show
5 prominent cordierite and more-rarely andalusite porphyroblasts.
6 Sillimanite is common throughout the section.
7
Kneller (1987) was the first to mention the different types of
8
migmatite that can be seen in the section but Johnson (1999) has
9
10 mapped and studied their distribution and origin in detail. The
11 migmatites show variable development of segregation and partial
12 melting giving rise to abundant quartzofeldspathic material, termed
13 leucosome, which in most places resembles a pale-grey medium-
14 grained leucocratic granite. The material remaining after loss of
15 melt is termed melanosome and is richer in biotite and plagioclase
16 feldspar. Johnson et al. (2003) described the leucosome in thin
17 section as consisting of quartz, variably zoned plagioclase,
18 cordierite, biotite and potash feldspar with apatite, zircon and
19 opaque phases, mainly ilmenite as accessory minerals. Garnet,
20 orthopyroxene, tourmaline, muscovite and andalusite can occur as
21 additional phases. Potash feldspar is commonly altered to
22 myrmekitic blebs where it is in contact with plagioclase, and
23 larger muscovite and quartz symplectites, common in some
24 leucosomes, are interpreted as pseudomorphs after potash feldspar.
25
Many of the minerals are altered and pseudomorphed in these rocks,
26
with cordierite invariably altered to shimmer aggregate of chlorite
27
28 and white mica (rarely pinite) and no pristine orthopyroxene
29 preserved. The amount of leucosome present increases from north-
30 west to south-east with a concomitant decrease in the size and
31 abundance of the relict metasedimentary rocks (termed schollen).
32 Johnson et al. (2001b) distinguished three main migmatite zones
33 based on the mineralogy of the leucosomes; Leucosome-cordierite (L-
34 crd), Leucosome-garnet (L-gt) and Leucosome-orthopyroxene (L-opx).
35 The indicator minerals, cordierite, garnet and orthopyroxene, which
36 formed at the time of melting of the metasedimentary host rock,
37 were in equilibrium with the melt and are termed peritectic phases.
38 Figure 36 shows the distribution of the various migmatite types and
39 diorite and major granite sheets across the section.
40 The limit of melting, marked by initial generation of leucosome,
41 is now concealed beneath Fraserburgh Bay. However, exposures at
42 West Haven and Cable Shore, south-west of Cairnbulg Point show
43
sections with less than 10% leucosome in the effectively unmodified
44
metasedimentary mesosome, the resulting migmatite being termed a
45
46 metatexite. The leucosome occurs as small blebs or discontinuous
47 streaky (stromatic) layers parallel to the bedding and foliation as
48 well as in dilatant zones such as shear-zones or boudin-necks. In
49 other instances the leucosome layers converge laterally or are
50 connected vertically by small extensional shears to give a veined
51 network, termed a diktyonitic structure (Johnson et al., 2001b).
52 Thicker sheets and veins of white to pale-grey leucogranite up to a
53 few metres across containing metasedimentary schollen and ragged
54 and diffuse schlieren are also present, notable on Cable Shore west
55 of Cairnbulg Harbour (Figure 37). Generally, the sheets trend
56 near-parallel to the foliation but some do show local discordance.
57 Typically, they have a consistent grain size (1–2 mm) and show
58 diffuse margins with the adjacent mesosome, commonly dark coloured
59 and leucosome deficient. The nearby 300 m-thick Cairnbulg
60 ‗granite‘ body shows a much higher degree of leucosome development
61
62
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3
4 and is best described as a diatexite; only the more-refractory
5 elements of the original parent metasedimentary material remain,
6 forming abundant dispersed ‗ghost‘ schollen and resulting in a
7
nebulitic texture.
8
Immediately south-east of the Cairnbulg ‗granite‘ is a c. 125 m-
9
10 wide zone of veined (diktyonitic) metatexites with an enhanced
11 foliation, in turn bounded to the south-east by a c. 25 m-thick
12 diorite sheet. Psammite with relict spaced cleavage forms enclaves
13 in the migmatitic semipelite section beyond. The enclaves attain
14 some tens of metres thick, e.g. by Gowan Hole (NK 0448 6512) at the
15 east end of Inverallochy.
16 The boundary of the L-crd and L-gt zones is crossed between Gowan
17 Hole and the Point of Whitelinks at around Broad Hive. It is
18 marked by the incoming of dark purplish red almandine garnets up to
19 5 cm across in the white to pale-grey leucosomes; the garnets are
20 commonly retrograded wholly or in part to biotite, chlorite and
21 shimmer aggregate. Good examples are seen on the clean, striated
22 rock platform between Boat Hive and the Point of Whitelinks (Figure
23 38). Leucosome abundance reflects the original compositional
24 banding in the semipelitic rocks and is commonly focussed around
25
the calcsilicate-rock schollen and smaller pelitic inclusions.
26
Mafic selvidges occur at the margins of some of the plagioclase-
27
28 rich L-gt sheets and veins and they contain mafic schlieren (mainly
29 biotite) and ‗ghost‘ schollen that are manifested as rounded
30 concentrations of now-relict cordierite. In places flame-like L-gt
31 sheets are mingled with L-crd.
32 On the peninsula between Whitelinks Bay and Millburn Shore (by The
33 Gwights), diatexites with schollen are cut by a thin diorite sheet.
34 To the south-east, at the northern end of Millburn Shore, leucosome
35 of both granitic and granodioritic composition is dominant with
36 abundant dispersed biotite schlieren and schollen of calcsilicate
37 rock and psammite. Rare pelitic and semipelitic ‗ghost‘ enclaves
38 are also present. Sinuous contacts can be recognized between the
39 compositionally different phases of leucosome, but individual
40 garnet porphyroblasts lie across such boundaries showing that the
41 different leucosome melts were coeval. This zone must lie only a
42 short distance above the north-western boundary of the St Combs
43
diorite, which is concealed beneath the sands of Millburn Shore.
44
The section at St Combs is dominated by two thick diorite sheets,
45
46 some 100–200 m thick (Figure 35). Sandwiched between them is a
47 large metasedimentary raft consisting of coarse-grained garnet
48 and/or orthopyroxene, cordierite, biotite, quartz and feldspars and
49 containing irregular intergranular leucosome. Johnson et al.
50 (2001b) termed this unit a granoblastic restite. Larger
51 accumulations of leucosome form irregular pods and lenses that in
52 places form centimetre-scale stromatic layers parallel to the
53 regional foliation. Thicker discordant leucosome veins also occur,
54 which Johnson et al. (2001b) interpreted as channelways.
55 Underlying the diorite, to the south-east of Bailiff‘s Skelly, are
56 melanosome-rich migmatites (leucosome less than 10%) with a strong
57 foliation and abundant pseudomorphs after orthopyroxene. These
58 dark-green porphyroblasts are up to 3 cm long and are now composed
59 of green biotite and shimmer aggregate, but still retain their
60 prismatic form and perpendicular cleavages. Cordierite is also
61
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3
4 present and biotite is variably abundant. Leucosome pods here are
5 discontinuous and locally form a fine millimetre-scale stromatic
6 layering. Only relics of the metasedimentary bedding are
7
preserved, notably where psammite beds are present. Leucosome
8
becomes more abundant towards Inzie Head as the migmatites grade
9
10 from metatexites up to diatexites with a moderate foliation defined
11 by aligned mafic schlieren and semipelitic schollen. Orthopyroxene
12 occurs in the thicker leucosome veins but the thinner ones
13 typically contain cordierite.
14 Microdiorite and diorite sheets, ranging from some 10 cm up to 300
15 m wide, are common throughout the migmatitic sequence and lie
16 subparallel to the regional banding/foliation. They show evidence
17 of only minor deformation and commonly cross-cut the
18 metasedimentary banding and early structures. The diorites consist
19 of essential hornblende, plagioclase and quartz with ilmenite and
20 titanite present. Johnson et al. (2001a) noted that they are
21 similar to uralitized gabbros near Ellon with no trace of
22 clinopyroxene now remaining. Good examples of the relationships
23 between diorite, granite, leucosome and mesosome are seen on Cable
24 Shore, some 200 m south-west of Cairnbulg pier (Figure 35). Back-
25
veining of the granitic leucosome material into the diorite is
26
common and granite-diorite contacts range from sharp to
27
28 gradational. Leucosome/granite veins penetrate the diorite,
29 commonly forming wispy tongues that invade lobate pillows of
30 diorite. Leucosome is developed preferentially marginal to the
31 diorite sheets, particularly adjacent to their upper margins. In
32 contrast, beneath the diorite sheets the foliation in the
33 migmatitic rocks is intensified and the amounts of leucosome are
34 generally low. The diorite commonly shows evidence of multiple
35 intrusion, with the darker, more-mafic parts of the diorite sheet
36 cross-cutting the earlier paler grey hybridized parts. Within the
37 Cairnbulg ‗granite‘, sheets of diorite show evidence of magma
38 mingling with the leucogranite, which in places is finely
39 porphyritic.
40
41 15.3 Interpretation
42
43
At various times the gneisses of the Cairnbulg–St Combs section have
44
been ascribed to an earlier succession of basement rocks. Read
45
46 (1955) interpreted them as part of an older Dalradian succession,
47 the ‗Keith division’, overlain unconformably by younger Dalradian
48 rocks of the ‘Banff division’ in the Banff Nappe. However, Read and
49 Farquhar (1956) inferred that the migmatization post-dated the
50 metamorphism and that both were superimposed on the Banff Nappe.
51 Sturt et al. (1977) obtained an Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron from
52 gneisses at Cairnbulg Point that gave an age of 691 ± 39 Ma (674 Ma
53 with currently accepted decay constants). They interpreted this
54 age to date the formation of the migmatitic gneisses and the linked
55 diorite and granite bodies. Ramsay and Sturt (1979) subsequently
56 described a complex multistage tectonic, metamorphic and intrusive
57 history based on detailed field relationships in the gneisses.
58 Accepting the Rb-Sr isochron age, they viewed the lower gneissose
59 rocks as Cadomian basement rocks transported to the North-east
60 Grampian Highlands from elsewhere and inferred that the mid-
61
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4 Ordovician Grampian Event was responsible only for the later
5 deformations. However, Rb-Sr isochron ages are dependent on the
6 Rb- and Sr-bearing minerals in the sample being in isotopic
7
equilibrium and having not been disturbed by subsequent igneous or
8
metamorphic processes or subjected to loss of Sr. The Inzie Head
9
10 gneisses fail most of these tests and the ages are now regarded as
11 spurious. A clear structural and stratigraphical pattern has now
12 emerged in which all of the dominantly semipelitic gneissose rocks
13 in the North-east Grampian Highlands can be allocated to the Crinan
14 Subgroup in the upper part of the Argyll Group (Kneller, 1987;
15 Stephenson and Gould, 1995; Strachan et al., 2002).
16 The Inzie Head gneisses lie on the western flank of an antiformal
17 structure that was originally recognized by Grant Wilson (1886) and
18 termed the Ellon Anticline. Read (1923, 1955) renamed this
19 structure the Buchan Anticline and envisaged it as an integral part
20 of the Banff Nappe, reflecting the presence of the migmatitic
21 geissose core of the nappe beneath a resistant ‗cap‘ formed by the
22 Mormond Hill Quartzite. However, as the anticline patently folds
23 both the foliation in the migmatitic rocks and the metamorphic
24 isograds, it is most probably a late-stage Caledonian structure,
25
complementary to the Turriff Syncline to the west (Stephenson and
26
Gould, 1995). Its precise age of formation is not known, but it
27
28 post-dates the early Ordovician and pre-dates the deposition of the
29 Early Devonian Crovie Group of the Turriff Outlier.
30 The migmatitic nature of the Inzie Head Gneiss Formation has long
31 been recognized and these rocks represent the acme of the classic
32 high-temperature–low-pressure assemblage characteristic of the
33 Buchan-type metamorphism (see Chinner, 1966; Harte and Hudson,
34 1979). Further work between 1980 and the present has shown that
35 the high-temperature metamorphism in these rocks was supplemented
36 by heat and an initial fluid input due to the intrusion of a
37 significantly large body of basic magma at shallow depth.
38 Johnson et al. (2001a, 2001b, 2003) documented the petrography and
39 whole-rock geochemistry of the semipelitic rocks together with the
40 leucosomes and leucogranite sheets from the Inzie Head Gneiss
41 Formation. They concluded that the granitic bodies were formed
42 effectively in situ by melting of the semipelitic host, initially
43
at c. 2.9 kbar and c. 650°C with abundant fluid present (aH20 =1).
44
Fluid input was ascribed to dehydration of the metasedimentary
45
46 rocks resulting from the emplacement of a basic magma accompanied
47 by the formation of shear-zones. The mineral assemblages and
48 nature of the peritectic phases suggest that P–T conditions
49 increased south-eastwards to c. 4.5 kbar and c. 775°C such that
50 melting occurred in the absence of a volatile fluid phase. When
51 the normative compositions of the granites are plotted on a quartz–
52 albite–orthoclase diagram they cluster around the minimum-melt
53 compositions at pressure and temperature conditions of c. 3 kbar
54 and over 750°C, with low aH20 (c. 0.3) as implied by the
55 mineralogies. The melting reactions largely consume biotite (in
56 addition to quartz and feldspar) in these circumstances.
57 The nature of the protolith semipelitic and pelitic rocks prior to
58 migmatization and partial melting is not fully known but the
59 mineralogies and geochemistry strongly suggest that they were
60 magnesium-rich aluminous pelitic and semipelitic rocks. Following
61
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2
3
4 the method of Inger and Harris (1993) Rb vs Sr plots of the
5 pelites, migmatites, leucosomes and leucogranites imply that potash
6 feldspar differentiation (assuming c. 10% crystallization) has
7
controlled melt composition during its ascent to higher crustal
8
levels. The steeper Rb vs Sr trends for the related garnetiferous
9
10 aplitic veins that are found in the Fraserburgh area suggest that
11 plagioclase feldspar differentiation has controlled melt evolution
12 at a late stage (Johnson et al., 2003).
13 Johnson et al. (2001b; 2003) suggested that the anatectic melting
14 gave rise initially to melt generation in small patches and vein
15 networks from which the melt then passed upwards into channel ways.
16 The movement of melt material was accompanied by some potash
17 differentiation to give rise to the leucogranites. The rocks seen
18 in the Cairnbulg–St Combs section provide a ‗snapshot‘ of this
19 overall process. Johnson et al. (2003) argued that much of the
20 leucosome is still in situ but their geochemistry also suggests
21 that a variable proportion has moved out of the rocks. Melt has
22 moved to higher levels and some granitic material has certainly
23 moved up from structurally lower levels. The amount of melt
24 produced in the L-crd zone is only possible in the presence of
25
considerable quantities of fluid and Johnson et al. (2001a) argued
26
that fluid supply was enhanced by the formation of numerous shear-
27
28 zones. Quantities of melt seen in the L-gt and L-opx zones are
29 considerably less and are compatible with dry melting reactions.
30 The proportion of leucosome is greater directly above and below
31 the diorite intrusions, and the metasedimentary rocks beneath show
32 higher concentrations of more-mafic material suggesting that melt
33 has been generated there and migrated upwards. The presence of a
34 gravity and magnetic anomaly suggests that the diorite intrusions
35 are probably related to a mafic–ultramafic intrusion that underlies
36 the area at a very shallow depth and is a member of the mid-
37 Ordovician North-east Grampian Basic Suite (Johnson et al., 2001b).
38 Figure 36 shows the overall pattern envisaged by Johnson et al.
39 (2001b), whereby they postulated that this process could ultimately
40 have been responsible for the generation of the mid-Ordovician
41 granite plutons such as Strichen and Aberdeen. They hypothesized
42 that at the time of emplacement of the North-east Grampian Basic
43
Suite an overlying subhorizontal zone of migmatitic melts would
44
have been generated and that (D2) strain would have been
45
46 partitioned into such zones giving rise to a network of ductile
47 shear-zones. Field relationships and age dates from the Portsoy
48 and Huntly areas do indeed imply that major shearing, emplacement
49 of the mafic and ultramafic plutons, and formation of migmatitic
50 rocks all occurred in a short episode at around 470 Ma (Strachan et
51 al., 2002; Carty, 2001; Oliver, 2002). The older foliated
52 muscovite-biotite granite plutons were also intruded at about this
53 time.
54
55 15.4 Conclusions
56
57 The Cairnbulg to St Combs coastal section displays a spectacular
58 range of migmatites that developed in Dalradian metasedimentary
59 host rocks during mid-Ordovician (Grampian Event) low-pressure–high-
60 temperature metamorphism. The rocks belong to the Inzie Head
61
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3
4 Gneiss Formation, which consists dominantly of gneissose
5 semipelites, with pelites, psammites and lenticles and bands of
6 calcsilicate rock. Some researchers have ascribed these gneisses
7
to various basement successions, which according to one theory were
8
pre-Dalradian and were transported to the North-east Grampian
9
10 Highlands from elsewhere. However, later work has rejected the
11 basement hypotheses and has re-affirmed the overall coherence of
12 the Dalradian succession across the area. The Inzie Head gneisses,
13 along with most other gneissose sequences in the North-east
14 Grampian Highlands, are now assigned to the Crinan Subgroup of the
15 Argyll Group.
16 The gneissose rocks are at the sillimanite grade of metamorphism
17 and show evidence of partial melting, at first in the presence of
18 excess fluid but later in a fluid-absent mode. The granitic
19 material generated (termed the leucosome) pervades the host rocks
20 as pale-grey veins, lenses, streaks, patches and larger irregular
21 bodies. Thicker discordant veins, commonly formed of white to
22 pale-grey leucogranite, are interpreted as channel ways, through
23 which granite that had been mobilized at slightly deeper levels
24 migrated upwards to be ‗frozen‘ in its present position. The
25
leucosome material has resulted from the melting of semipelite and
26
pelite at pressures of 3 to 4.5 kbar (equivalent to 10–14 km
27
28 crustal depth) and temperatures of 650–775°C. Minerals that
29 crystallized in the leucosome at the time of melt formation show
30 zonation of the migmatitic rocks from cordierite- up to garnet- and
31 ultimately orthopyroxene-bearing leucosome. The highest grades are
32 seen around St Combs, where the original bedding of the
33 metasedimentary rocks is preserved in places as a ‗ghost
34 stratigraphy‘. Only rarely has the accumulation of granitic
35 material been sufficient to result in larger granitic bodies, as
36 for example by Cairnbulg Point. This ‗migmatitic granite‘ contains
37 abundant metasedimentary relics that represent the more-refractory
38 components of the host rock.
39 Diorite sheets that have been intruded throughout the section show
40 textural and structural relationships with the granitic leucosome,
41 implying that their intrusion coincided with melt generation. The
42 diorite intrusions are probably related to a mafic–ultramafic
43
intrusion that underlies the area at a very shallow depth and
44
belongs to the mid-Ordovician North-east Grampian Basic Suite. If
45
46 this is the case, it is valuable evidence that the basic suite was
47 emplaced close to the peak of regional metamorphism in the Buchan
48 area.
49 The migmatization and associated partial melting post-date an
50 earlier penetrative deformation phase but were accompanied by a
51 secondary deformation that generated the overall foliation seen in
52 the migmatitic rocks. The foliation dips moderately to steeply to
53 the north-west, as the outcrops lie on the western flank of a major
54 late-stage antiform termed the Buchan Anticline, which controls the
55 distribution of Dalradian units and folds the metamorphic isograds
56 in the Ellon–Fraserburgh–Peterhead area.
57 This GCR site clearly has a wide significance in terms of the
58 overall history of the Grampian Event, including the peak of
59 metamorphism and the role of the mafic and ultramafic intrusions of
60 the North-east Grampian Basic Suite. It is also clear that studies
61
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3
4 of the gneisses have been particularly significant to our
5 understanding of the small- and medium-scale processes of migmatite
6 formation and generation of granitic melts from semipelitic and
7
pelitic protoliths. In this they have potential international
8
importance.
9
10
11 16 COLLIESTON TO WHINNYFOLD
12 (NK 084 337–NK 042 287)
13
14
15 J.R. Mendum
16
17
18 16.1 Introduction
19
20 The c. 7 km-long coastal section between Collieston and Whinnyfold,
21 20 km south of Peterhead, exposes turbiditic psammites and pelites
22 assigned to the Collieston Formation of the Southern Highland
23 Group, which are disposed in a series of recumbent folds. The beds
24 show an abundance of grading from gritty bases to pelitic tops and
25
Bouma sequences can be recognized, albeit generally incomplete.
26
Basic sheets intrude the metasedimentary rocks, mainly as sills but
27
locally as dykes, and a possible tuffaceous unit occurs on the
28
29 north-east side of Collieston Bay. The grade of metamorphism
30 varies from greenschist facies in the north-east to lower
31 amphibolite facies in the south-west and the section encompasses
32 the andalusite and cordierite isograds. The relatively low
33 metamorphic grade and abundance of grading in the rocks enables the
34 geometry of the early-formed fold structures to be elucidated. The
35 beds form part of a large-scale recumbent syncline that faces
36 eastwards and most of the exposed succession lies on its upper,
37 inverted limb. Evidence for a second deformation episode can be
38 found towards the south-west end of the section.
39 The area was mapped during the primary geological survey by J.S.
40 Grant Wilson and the resulting one-inch Sheet 87 was published in
41 1885. A brief description of the metamorphic rock types and some
42 of the structures was given in the accompanying memoir (Grant
43
Wilson, 1886). Subsequently, the coastal section was mapped in
44
detail by O.C. Farquhar and a comprehensive summary of the
45
46 structure was given by Read and Farquhar (1956). The area was
47 revised by the Geological Survey in 1980-81 and an account of the
48 section was given in the excursion guide to the Geology of the
49 Aberdeen area by Mendum (1987). This account is based upon the
50 latter work.
51 Read (1955) and Read and Farquhar (1956) showed that the
52 Collieston–Whinnyfold section is important in terms of interpreting
53 the overall geology of the North-east Grampian Highlands. They
54 proposed that the rocks here form the hinge-zone of their Banff
55 Nappe, a regional east-facing recumbent anticline whose upper limb
56 crops out in the Banffshire coast section, east of the Boyne Line
57 (see the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site report). They envisaged
58 formation of the Collieston folds by gravitational processes linked
59 to the rise of the open Buchan Anticline farther west. However, it
60 is now clear that the Buchan Anticline, which exposes sillimanite-
61
62
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3
4 grade gneissose Argyll Group rocks in its broad hinge-zone, is a
5 late-stage structure that refolds the earlier cleavages (see the
6 Cairnbulg to St Combs GCR site report). The Collieston–Whinnyfold
7
section remains anomalous as the only area of the North-east
8
Grampian Highlands that contains a regionally inverted succession
9
10 and a structural pattern similar to that seen in Southern Highland
11 Group rocks near the Highland Border.
12
13 16.2 Description
14
15 This GCR site consists of coastal cliffs, typically 25–30 m high but
16 in parts reaching 45–50 m, and intertidal foreshore. As the area
17 has been used for inshore fishing over many years the various
18 indentations of the coast have been given names; these are partly
19 topographical, partly historical and in places obviously personal
20 (Figure 39).
21 The section lies oblique to the strike of the bedding and to the
22 gentle NNE-plunging fold axes. Traversing south-west from
23 Whinnyfold, one moves structurally down but stratigraphically up
24 the section (Figures 39, 40). Recumbent folding on a scale of tens
25
of metres disrupts the simple progression but south-west of Old
26
Castle, fold amplitude and wavelength increase to several hundreds
27
28 of metres. This latter section appears to be part of the hinge-
29 zone to the large recumbent syncline. From Collieston south-
30 westwards one appears to be traversing out of the hinge-zone and
31 onto the lower limb of the main east-facing syncline; the overall
32 structure becomes more complex and the superimposed secondary
33 deformation and folding become more dominant. Impure
34 metalimestones and calcsilicate bands some 2.5 km south-west of
35 Collieston, between The Smithy (NK 0262 2658) and Rockend (NK 0215
36 2668), are possible representatives of the Tayvallich Subgroup. The
37 coast section is described below from north-east to south-west.
38 At Sandy Haven, 350 m north-east of Whinnyfold, locally brecciated
39 and hornfelsed psammites and semipelites are cut by the red
40 Peterhead Granite. The contact is sharp, steeply dipping and when
41 traced southwards it is offset in places by small faults. At the
42 south margin of the bay, large xenoliths of grey to olive-green
43
psammite, up to 30 m wide and 100 m long, show irregular contacts
44
with the granite. On the headland to the south-east (the Cruner)
45
46 thin- to medium-bedded psammites and semipelites contain gritty
47 bands that show flattened quartz and feldspar clasts. Some
48 boudinage is present and a discrete S1 spaced cleavage is developed
49 (spacing 5 mm to 13 mm).
50 South-west from Whinnyfold are further grey coarse- and medium-
51 grained psammites and semipelites with interbeds of fissile
52 cordierite-bearing pelite. In parts thicker pelitic units are
53 present. Calcsilicate lenses are common within the turbiditic
54 succession. Lenticular, fawn-weathering, cream, gritty quartzites
55 with notable quartz veining form discrete units several metres
56 thick within the turbiditic succession. The beds dip at 15° to 17°
57 to the north-north-east and excellent grading at NK 0809 3298 shows
58 that the succession is inverted. Large-scale tight recumbent folds
59 (F1) are present in Buck‘s Nose Bay and have a variably developed
60 axial-planar spaced cleavage. Well-defined grading and bottom
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4 structures at the gritty psammite–pelite contacts show that the
5 folds face to the east. Some of the folds north-east of the bay
6 have disharmonic profiles and show discontinuities near parallel to
7
bedding. Similar features occur farther to the south-south-west at
8
Lady‘s Step (NK 0801 3274) where tight S-profile F1 folds with
9
10 attenuated middle limbs are seen. In these fold-pairs, the
11 syncline is much larger in amplitude than the corresponding
12 anticline, which when traced westwards diminishes to zero. The
13 fold axes are subhorizontal and trend 010°.
14 Cliffs on the south side of Green Craig Bay, at NK 0684 3154,
15 expose inverted graded beds with cuspate bottom structures trending
16 142°. In the pelitic units, which here form a greater proportion
17 of the succession, grey andalusite ‗slugs‘ and darker grey, small,
18 rounded cordierite porphyroblasts are abundant. The stack of Green
19 Craig itself shows recumbent F1 folds underlain by an apparent
20 discontinuity (Read and Farquhar, 1956, plate VI, figure 1). F1
21 fold hinges are exposed on the foreshore at the southern edge of
22 the bay. Fold axes here plunge very gently to the south-south-
23 west, with the S1 axial-planar cleavage dipping at 18° to the east-
24 south-east. However, the prominent rounded fold hinge in massive
25
gritty psammite units figured by Read and Farquhar (1956, plate IV,
26
figure 2) at this location folds the S1 spaced cleavage and is
27
28 attributed to the secondary deformation (termed D3). Although this
29 later fold is co-axial with F1 folds, the related axial plane dips
30 at 26° to the west-north-west. A further sign of this later, D3
31 deformation is shown by the abundant folded quartz veining in more-
32 pelitic units on the north side of the bay, which imply some 58%
33 shortening.
34 At the Devil‘s Study (NK 0606 3091), a spectacular example of a
35 recumbent westward-closing F1 syncline is exposed (Figure 41). It
36 occurs in thick-bedded, locally gritty psammites and subsidiary
37 interbanded cordierite-bearing schistose pelites and semipelites.
38 A prominent S1 axial-planar spaced cleavage (spacing c. 5 mm) is
39 uniformly developed across the fold profile. The lower limb is
40 strongly attenuated and the complementary antiform in the pelitic
41 beds below has a much smaller amplitude. The fold appears to be
42 underlain by a discontinuity. To the south-west, towards Radel
43
Haven, tight folds confined to individual beds are interpreted as
44
slump folds. In addition, the gritty bases of inverted psammite
45
46 units are exposed on the low foreshore. The dominant quartz and
47 feldspar clasts show little evidence of significant superimposed
48 strain in these thicker psammites, yet the more-elongate clasts
49 show a strong grain alignment that plunges gently to between 340°
50 and 020°. Grain alignment is also seen on the bases of inverted
51 graded psammite units just north of the Devil‘s Study, where the
52 resultant lineation plunges at 10° towards 007°. On the north edge
53 of Radel Haven (NK 0584 3083), more-complete Bouma sequences
54 contain both laminated and cross-laminated silty units.
55 The cliffs below Old Castle (NK 0525 3005) are composed mainly of
56 cordierite-rich schistose semipelite and pelite with coarse
57 andalusite present in parts. Abundant tight F1 folds plunge gently
58 to the north, and are commonly confined to particular
59 stratigraphical intervals. In parts a later S3 crenulation
60 cleavage is also developed. North of the Old Castle promontory,
61
62
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3
4 psammites show a more closely spaced (c. 3 mm) S1 cleavage and in
5 the intertidal zone the S1 cleavage is folded by minor open to
6 close folds whose axes plunge about 25° to the north-north-east. A
7
fine-scale spaced S3 cleavage is developed locally. F1+F3 folding
8
is abundantly developed farther south at Portie Shore (around NK
9
10 0415 2991) involving the lenticular quartzite units. A weakly
11 developed S3 spaced cleavage is widely seen on weathered surfaces
12 in the psammites; it shows a spacing of 15–20 mm. A finely spaced
13 crenulation cleavage in the pelitic units attests to the oncoming
14 of penetrative D3 deformation.
15 Between Old Castle and Collieston, tight F1 and open to tight F3
16 folds are particularly abundant. An excellent example of a
17 recumbent fold train in interbedded psammitic and pelitic units is
18 displayed at Pottie Murlan (NK 0478 2916) (Read and Farquhar, 1956,
19 plate IV, figure 1). The fold axes plunge at 2° to 031° and axial
20 planes dip at 23° to the east-south-east. Although the fold
21 profile is coherent and individual hinges are complementary to one
22 another, closer inspection shows that there is a combination of F1
23 and F3 folds. Hence in some fold hinges the S1 cleavage is axial
24 planar but in others S1 is folded and a new S3 spaced cleavage is
25
developed. In thin section both cleavages are defined by biotite
26
concentrations but individual biotite laths are generally aligned
27
28 parallel to S3.
29 South-west of Pottie Murlan, thin- to medium-bedded psammites and
30 pelitic units show tight F1 and F3 folding but are right way up
31 overall. By Dowiestone Cave, a deformed metadolerite dyke has
32 cuspate margins and shows cleaved biotite amphibolite marginal
33 zones. Several other metadolerite intrusions are seen farther
34 south in the cliffs between Aver Hill and Collieston.
35 At Collieston, most of the psammite–pelite succession is inverted
36 but tight recumbent F1 folds are common giving rise to way-up
37 reversals. The quarry face behind the car park on the east side of
38 Tarness Haven displays a c. 10 m-high profile of a recumbent
39 syncline formed in gritty, locally pebbly psammites and subsidiary
40 semipelites and pelites. The fold faces east-south-east, has a
41 pervasive S1 spaced cleavage, and its axis plunges at 16° to 026°.
42 At the northern end of the quarry, similar pebbly psammites form
43
units up to 4 m thick and contain ripped-up mud clasts derived from
44
underlying pelitic lithologies. On the rocky slabs above St
45
46 Catherine‘s Dub, south-east of the car park, inverted psammites
47 with prominent gritty and pebbly bases show a strong grain-
48 alignment lineation. The white to pink quartz clasts are notably
49 elongate and the lineations are curved on some bedding planes and
50 of variable intensity. The lineations plunge gently to moderately
51 to the north-north-east. Their variability and association with a
52 linear fabric in the matrix suggests that here they are dominantly
53 of tectonic origin, and the overall strain patently reflects both
54 D1 and D3 deformation events. In the psammites, minor F3 folds
55 fold the pervasive S1 spaced cleavage and an accompanying S3 spaced
56 cleavage is developed locally. Near the low watermark by the arch
57 at the west side of St Catherine‘s Dub, tight F1 and F3 folds are
58 abundant in gritty psammites and cordierite-bearing pelites and
59 semipelites. F1 fold axes plunge gently to the north-north-east,
60 co-axial with an L1 lineation, and a discordant S3 cleavage is well
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3
4 developed. Discordant quartz veins that post-date F1 folds and S1
5 cleavage are tightly folded here (F3).
6 A 4 m-thick discordant metadolerite sheeet with cuspate margins
7
and small boudinaged offshoots can be traced up the east side of
8
Tarness Haven and across the car park to the gully on the east side
9
10 of St Catherine‘s Dub. The marginal alteration to biotite-rich
11 foliated amphibolite is clearly seen.
12 Near low-water mark on the east side of Tarness Haven, weathered
13 fine-grained, green-brown, ?chlorite-rich units are interbanded
14 with dark-grey, thinly banded cordierite-rich pelites and
15 semipelites over a vertical interval of 1.5 m. These units might
16 represent tuffaceous horizons deposited in more-distal parts of the
17 turbidite fan.
18 South of Collieston Harbour, coastal outcrops show psammites with
19 excellent non-inverted grading, interbedded with pelites that
20 contain larger cordierite porphyroblasts and some andalusite. D3
21 deformation generally becomes more penetrative to the south,
22 although the earlier D1 structures are still generally apparent.
23
24 16.3 Interpretation
25
26
The Collieston to Whinnyfold section exposes beds that are assumed
27
28 to represent the lower part of the Southern Highland Group on the
29 basis of thin impure calcareous beds and quartzites, exposed at the
30 lowest stratigraphical level to the south-west of the GCR site,
31 which could be the sparse representatives of the Tayvallich
32 Subgroup in this area. Read and Farquhar (1956) interpreted these
33 calcareous and quartzose lithologies as part of the Mormond Hill
34 Quartzite, now the Mormond Hill Quartzite Member of the dominantly
35 semipelitic Strichen Formation. They believed that the Mormond
36 Hill Quartzite forms a thick lenticular unit in the core of the
37 Buchan Anticline but the distribution of units strongly implies
38 that there are significant lateral facies variations. Inland
39 bedrock exposures are few on the eastern limb of the anticline, and
40 it is difficult to correlate the stratigraphy with the better-
41 established succession on the western limb.
42 The psammites and pelitic rocks of the Southern Highland Group
43
succession are interpreted as having been deposited on a sub-marine
44
fan by density currents in the late Neoproterozoic. The lenticular
45
46 quartzose units appear to represent channel fills and might have
47 been produced by reworking of the turbiditic units by bottom
48 currents. Although quartz is the dominant clastic constituent of
49 the succession, locally with a bluish opalescent tint indicative of
50 inclusions, potash feldspar and more rarely plagioclase grains have
51 been recorded (Read and Farquhar, 1956). The matrix consists of
52 sericite, chlorite, altered feldspar and quartz in the low-grade
53 rocks but as metamorphic grade increases biotite, muscovite,
54 feldspar and quartz form a mosaic. Accessory iron-oxide minerals,
55 tourmaline, garnet, zircon and titanite have also been recorded.
56 Retrogression to chlorite and sericite is common locally. The
57 pelitic rocks show more-recrystallized mica fabrics south-west of
58 Bruce‘s Haven (NK 0680 3144) but cordierite porphyroblasts occur
59 throughout much of the section. These are rounded dark-grey spots,
60 except just south of Collieston Harbour where larger ‗black slugs‘
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3
4 are found. In thin section many are altered to pinite but as grade
5 increases some sector-twinned cordierite is present. Andalusite is
6 paler grey and forms elongate ‗slugs‘; it is first seen as
7
pseudomorphs around Berry‘s Loup (NK 0745 3217) but forms coherent
8
porphyroblasts farther south-west with laths up to 6 cm long
9
10 recorded south-west of Collieston (Munro, 1986). Both cordierite
11 and andalusite overgrow the S1 fabric and are wrapped and deformed
12 by the S3 fabric, thus placing the peak of metamorphism between the
13 two deformation events.
14 Structurally the Collieston–Whinnyfold section is important as it
15 shows the nature of the early D1 deformation and makes an
16 interesting comparison with that seen on the Banffshire Coast (see
17 the Cullen to Troup Head GCR site report) and near the Highland
18 Border (see the Little Glenshee GCR site report). In the
19 Collieston–Whinnyfold section the F1 folds are recumbent, face
20 eastwards and there are significant stretches of overturned strata.
21 Oncoming of the secondary deformation (D3) is gradual but coincides
22 approximately with the andalusite isograd. On the Banffshire coast
23 F1 folds are largely upright and verge and face to the west and the
24 secondary deformation comes on more sharply, again coincident with
25
the andalusite isograd. Fold axes plunge gently northwards in both
26
sections. Development of S1 spaced cleavage and metamorphic
27
28 assemblages are also similar.
29 The F1 fold geometry seen in the Collieston–Whinnyfold section
30 shows some unusual features. Fold profiles are variable along
31 their axial planes and in numerous instances the synclines and
32 anticlines that constitute fold-pairs have disparate amplitudes.
33 Dislocations are also numerous both in fold stacks and beneath
34 folded zones. This geometry suggests that either the turbiditic
35 Southern Highland Group sequence here might not have been fully
36 lithified at the time of deformation or that the mode of
37 deformation was shear dominated with abundant fluids present.
38 However, the related S1 cleavage is uniformly developed and fold
39 axis orientations are relatively consistent, showing that
40 deformation was tectonic and not syn-sedimentary. Although slump
41 or soft-sediment folds seem to be present locally, they are not
42 abundant. As this part of the sequence lies in the lower part of
43
the Southern Highland Group, which is little younger than 600 Ma
44
(Dempster et al., 2002), and the uppermost parts of the group were
45
46 deposited at about 515 Ma, it seems unlikely that the succession
47 would remain unlithified over some 80 Ma.
48 The lack of marker bands in the sequence makes it awkward to
49 construct an accurate cross-section, but Figure 40 shows a
50 projected, composite, down-plunge cross-section that represents an
51 overall structural profile of the exposed section. The orientation
52 data for the section between Whinnyfold and Old Castle, where D3
53 deformation is not well developed, are shown on the stereoplot
54 (inset to Figure 39). The fold geometry is consistent, whereas
55 farther south-west where D3 deformation is stronger, the F1 and F3
56 axes show a greater spread.
57 Read and Farquhar envisaged the Collieston folding to have been
58 initiated as a large recumbent fold, the Banff Nappe, which moved
59 eastwards generating the Buchan Anticline as a ‗tectonic drumlin‘
60 due to the inclusion of the resistant Mormond Hill Quartzite in the
61
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3
4 thrust succession. The folding of the Collieston turbiditic
5 succession was attributed to ‗gravity sliding‘ on the steep ‗brow
6 of the bulge‘ formed by the quartzite.
7
Ashcroft et al. (1984) and Harte et al. (1984) both suggested that
8
the Collieston structure could represent a lateral equivalent of
9
10 the hinge-zone below the Tay Nappe, albeit with a reduced
11 amplitude. Certainly, the styles of folding and metamorphic
12 conditions resemble those found in the eastern Highland Border
13 region, but the fold facing is to the east rather than south-east.
14 If the Collieston–Whinnyfold rocks do belong to the lower limb of
15 the Tay Nappe, it is interesting to speculate whether the upright
16 F1 folding of the Banffshire coast section was indeed coeval with
17 the recumbent F1 folding at Collieston. It seems clear that the
18 metamorphic peak in the Dalradian rocks in general relates to
19 orogenic events, termed D2, that are not represented by structures
20 in the Collieston–Whinnyfold section, or elsewhere in the Buchan
21 area. The D2 deformation occurred coeval with the intrusion of the
22 mid Ordovician-age North-east Grampian Basic Suite at c. 470 Ma
23 (Strachan et al., 2002). The D1 and D2 deformations were succeeded
24 by a further deformation event and metamorphism, D3, that is
25
represented here by the onset of reworking and enhanced metamorphic
26
grade.
27
28
29 16.4 Conclusions
30
31 The well-exposed coast section between Collieston and Whinnyfold
32 demonstrates the nature of early folding in the some of the
33 youngest Dalradian rocks seen in the North-east Grampian Highlands.
34 These Collieston Formation beds lie in the lower part of the
35 Southern Highland Group and comprise turbiditic, originally sandy
36 and muddy, psammites, semipelites and pelites. More-quartzose
37 gritty psammites form distinctive lenticular units up to c. 10m
38 thick in the turbiditic fan succession and probably represent
39 reworked sands within channels. Grading is common and the ‘Bouma
40 sequences’ that typify turbidite successions can easily be
41 recognized. Groove casts, pebble alignment and rare pebble
42 imbrication at the base of individual units imply that the density
43
currents flowed north, and hence the offshore depositional slope
44
appears to have been towards the north, at least in this area.
45
46 The rocks are folded into a large, composite, recumbent syncline.
47 Numerous smaller scale anticlines and synclines have axes that
48 plunge gently to the north and axial planes that dip gently to the
49 north-east. The beds become younger eastwards and hence the folds
50 face east. A penetrative spaced cleavage, defined by mica-rich
51 seams and intervening quartz-rich microlithons, is developed in the
52 psammites and a slaty to schistose cleavage is developed in the
53 pelitic lithologies. Much of the succession lies on the upper,
54 inverted limb of the main syncline, as is shown by the graded
55 bedding. The more-pelitic rocks contain abundant cordierite, and
56 andalusite is present in all but the lower grade north-eastern part
57 of the section. A secondary deformation becomes progressively more
58 important in the south-west. This has resulted in tightening of
59 the early structures and attenuation of the cleavages. However, in
60
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62
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3
4 many parts westward-verging minor folds fold the early cleavage and
5 a new spaced or crenulation cleavage is developed.
6 The Collieston–Whinnyfold folds could represent the most north-
7
easterly exposed extent of the Tay Nappe, although the structure
8
here seems to have reduced amplitude. It remains an area of
9
10 crucial importance in terms of regional interpretations of the
11 Dalradian structure and sequence and lends itself to further study
12 as well as providing an excellent teaching section.
13
14
15 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
16
17 This regional paper is the combined work of 7 authors, many of
18 whom, in addition to their own site descriptions, have made
19 valuable comments on other aspects of the work.
20 The paper has been compiled and edited by D. Stephenson. The GCR
21 editor was P.H. Banham and the referee was M.R.W. Johnson, who also
22 provided valuable editorial suggestions. The project was cofunded
23 by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the British
24 Geological Survey (BGS) and has been managed by N.V. Ellis for JNCC
25
and D.J. Fettes and M. Smith for BGS.
26
The initial site selection and site documentation for the
27
28 Dalradian block of the Geological Conservation Review was by S.J.
29 Moorhouse. Since then, much new mapping and refined interpretation
30 has taken place, and the site list has been revised, firstly by
31 J.E. Treagus and subsequently through a panel consisting of R.
32 Anderton, A.L. Harris, J.R. Mendum, J.L. Roberts, P.W.G. Tanner, R.
33 Threadgould and J.E. Treagus. The necessary amendments to the GCR
34 documentation were greatly facilitated by R. Wignall (for Scottish
35 Natural Heritage).
36 K.M. Goodenough and S.W. Horsburgh assisted with preliminary
37 drafts of key maps and all diagrams were drafted for publication by
38 S.C. White (JS Publications, Newmarket) and K.J. Henderson (BGS,
39 Edinburgh). Photographs were scanned and prepared by B.M. McIntyre
40 (BGS, Edinburgh). Photographs from the BGS collection are
41 reproduced by kind permission of the Director, BGS © Natural
42 Environment Research Council; all rights reserved (PR/23–27).
43
Several of the principal authors of the Dalradian GCR have been
44
involved in the writing of other reviews of the Dalradian of
45
46 Scotland and, inevitably, sections of introductory text have been
47 adapted and updated from their contributions to those earlier
48 works. In particular, large sections have been adapted from
49 British Regional Geology: the Grampian Highlands (Stephenson and
50 Gould, 1995) and some smaller sections have been adapted from a
51 chapter in The Geology of Scotland (Strachan et al., 2002) and from
52 a recent review of the evolution of the north-east margin of
53 Laurentia (Leslie et al., 2008). The original sources of many key
54 diagrams taken from these and other works are acknowledged in their
55 captions.
56 The first complete draft of the Dalradian GCR was submitted to the
57 JNCC in June 2009. In 2010, the JNCC terminated its involvement in
58 Earth Science conservation and abandoned its contractual agreements
59 to publish the remaining GCR volumes. So, the authors are greatly
60 indebted to Diarmad Campbell, Chief Geologist Scotland for the BGS,
61
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3
4 for funding the drafting of remaining figures and to the
5 Geologists‘ Association and Elsevier, for ensuring that this volume
6 is published as a Special Issue of their Proceedings. We are
7
particularly grateful to Neil Ellis of the JNCC for his efforts to
8
secure a new publisher and to Professor James Rose, Editor in Chief
9
10 of the PGA, for making it all happen.
11 Finally, on behalf of all of the site authors, we would like to
12 record our thanks to the owners and managers of land and quarries
13 who have allowed access to the sites, either during previous work
14 or specifically for the GCR exercise.
15
16 REFERENCES
17
18 Agrell, S. O. (1942) 1. A petrological investigation of the
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22 Ahmed-Said Y. and Tanner P. W. G. (2000) P-T conditions during
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24 Granite, Perthshire, Scotland. Mineralogical Magazine, 64, 737–53.
25 Ague, J.J. & Baxter, E.F., 2007. Brief thermal pulses during
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29 Allen, J. R. L. 1963. The classification of cross stratified units
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31 Allison, A. (1933) The Dalradian succession in Islay and Jura.
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34 Tayvallich-Danna. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society,
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36 Allison, I., May, F and Strachan, R.A. (1988) An Excursion guide to
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52 Anderson, E M. (1951) The Dynamics of Faulting. (Second edition).
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54 Anderson, J. G. C., (1942) The stratigraphical order of the
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57 Glasgow, 20, 223–37.
58 Anderson, J.G.C. (1947a) The geology of the Highland Border,
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4 Anderson, J.G.C. (1947b) The Kinlochlaggan Syncline, southern
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6 Glasgow, 21, 97–115.
7 Anderson, J.G.C. (1948) Stratigraphic nomenclature of Scottish
8 metamorphic rocks. Geological Magazine, 85, 89–96.
9 Anderson, J.G.C (1956). The Moinian and Dalradian rocks between
10 Glen Roy and the Monadhliath Mountains, Inverness-shire.
11 Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 63, 15–36.
12 Anderton, R. (1974) Middle Dalradian sedimentation in Argyll, with
13 particular reference to the Jura quartzite, Scarba conglomerate
14 and Craignish phyllites. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of
15 Reading.
16 Anderton, R. (1975) Tidal flat and shallow marine sediments from
17 the Craignish Phyllites, Middle Dalradian, Argyll, Scotland.
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58 Vogt, T. 1930. On the chronological order of deposition in the
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34
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40
41 Zeh, A. and Millar, I. L. 2001. Metamorphic evolution of garnet-
42 epidote-biotite gneiss from the Moine Supergroup, Scotland, and
43 geotectonic implications. Journal of Petrology 42, 529–554.
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45 evolution in metabasites from the classical Barrovian metamorphic
46 zones in Scotland. Mineralogical Magazine, 68, 769-786.
47
48
49
50 Figure 1 Map of the North-east Grampian Highlands based upon BGS
51 1:50 000-scale maps and showing the location of Dalradian GCR
52 sites.
53 GCR sites: 1 Ben Vuirich, 2 Gilbert’s Bridge, Glen Tilt, 3 Glen
54 Ey gorge, 4 Cairn Leuchan, 5 Balnacraig, Dinnet, 6 Muckle Fergie
55 Burn, 7 Bridge of Brown, 8 Bridge of Avon, 9 Kymah Burn, 10
56 Black Water, 11 Auchindoun Castle, 12 Cullen to Troup Head, 13
57 Fraserburgh to Rosehearty, 14 Cairnbulg to St Combs, 15
58 Collieston to Whinnyfold.
59 BS Boundary Slide, KSZ Keith Shear-zone, PSZ Portsoy Shear-zone.
60
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 1
2
3
4 Figure 2 Principal stratigraphical units in the Dalradian of the
5 North-east Grampian Highlands, adapted from Stephenson and Gould
6 (1995, figure 10). The columns are not to scale.
7
8 Figure 3
9 (a) Generalized cross-section along the north coast of the North-
10 east Grampian Highlands from Cullen to Fraserburgh showing the main
11 structural features and dominant deformation/fold phases
12 (Stephenson and Gould, 1995, figure 21, partly after Loudon, 1963).
13 Stipple = the Old Red Sandstone outlier at Gardenstown. The entire
14 section is included in the Cullen to Troup Head and Fraserburgh to
15 Rosehearty GCR sites.
16 (b) Highly generalized cross-section across the Buchan Block to
17 illustrate the broad structure as envisaged by Read (1955) as
18 modified by Kneller (1987). The approximate locations of GCR sites
19 relative to the structure are shown.
20
21 Figure 4 Map of the Ben Vuirich Granite Intrusion and adjoining
22 country rocks, showing the locations of the two groups of exposures
23 (A and B) which comprise the GCR site. g exposure of pelitic
24 schist with garnet over 2 cm across.
25
26 Figure 5 Hornfels associated with the Ben Vuirich Granite, with
27 centimetre-scale, altered porphryoblasts of contact metamorphic
28 cordierite (pale grey), dotted with small garnets (white) that
29 formed during the subsequent D2 regional metamorphism. (Locality
30 A, Figure 4). (Photo: P.W.G. Tanner.)
31
32 Figure 6 Xenoliths of banded quartzose psammite and pelite in
33 the Ben Vuirich Granite at locality B, Figure 4. See text for
34 explanation. The scale is 5 cm long. (Photo: P.W.G. Tanner.)
35
36 Figure 7 Map of the area around the Gilbert’s Bridge GCR site,
37 based upon the BGS 1:50 000 Sheet 55E (Pitlochry, 1981).
38
39 Figure 8 Map of the area around lower Glen Ey adapted from the
40 BGS 1:50 000 Sheet 65W (Braemar, 1989). In this area most of the
41 information used for the BGS compilation was taken from Upton
42 (1983).
43
44 Figure 9 Schematic structural cross-section across the area
45 between Deeside and Glen Shee. Reproduced from Upton (1986, figure
46 3). The rectangle indicates the approximate position and exposure
47 level of the Glen Ey Gorge GCR site.
48
49 Figure 10 Map of the area around the Cairn Leuchan to Pannanich
50 Hill GCR site, adapted from the BGS 1:50 000 Sheet 65E (Ballater,
51 1995). The Coyles of Muick Intrusion is bounded on both sides by
52 ductile shears that define the Coyles of Muick Shear-zone. The
53 shear-zone also marks the position of the regional andalusite–
54 kyanite isograd; to the north-west metasedimentary rocks contain
55 andalusite ± staurolite (a Buchan-type assemblage), whereas to the
56
south-east they contain the assemblage sillimanite ± kyanite ±
57
staurolite, characteristic of Barrovian metamorphism.
58
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 1
2
3
4 Figure 11 Map of the area around Balnacraig, Dinnet. Modified
5 after Gould (2001, figure 11)
6
7 Figure 12 Xenolithic gneiss with folded remnants of psammite
8 dispersed in poorly foliated feldspar-porphyroblast gneiss.
9 Craigie, 1.5 km north-east of Dinnet (NJ 476 007). Coin is 26 mm
10 in diameter. (Photo: BGS No. P220491, reproduced with the
11 permission of the Director, British Geological Survey, © NERC.)
12
13 Figure 13 Amphibolite, with irregular patches of feldspathic
14 material, Balnacraig Cottage, north-east of Dinnet (NJ 4787 0056).
15 Coin is 25 mm in diameter. (Photo: BGS No. P 220371, reproduced
16 with the permission of the Director, British Geological Survey, ©
17 NERC.)
18
19 Figure 14 Map of the Muckle Fergie Burn section, Glen Avon, based
20 upon British Geological Survey mapping, 1982–88.
21
22 Figure 15 Granitic cobbles, typically up to 10 cm across, in
23 metadiamictite in the lower part of the Muckle Fergie Burn (NJ 1657
24 1397). The smaller clasts include granite, quartz and ochreous
25 yellow-brown-weathering metadolostone (see example at bottom
26 right). (Photo: J R Mendum, BGS No. P 726597)
27
28 Figure 16 Map of the area around Bridge of Brown, based upon BGS
29 1:10 000 Sheet NJ12SW (1991). The line of part of the cross-
30 section in Figure 17 is indicated.
31
32 Figure 17 North-west–south-east cross-section across the area
33 surrounding the Bridge of Brown and Bridge of Avon GCR sites. The
34 line of section intersects Figure 16 and passes to the south-west
35 of Figure 18.
36
37 Figure 18 Map of the area around the Bridge of Avon, based upon
38 BGS 1:10 000 sheets NJ12SW (1991) and NJ12SE (1992) and on BGS 1:50
39 000 Sheet 75W (Glenlivet, 1996). The cross-section of Figure 17
40 passes the south-west corner of this map.
41
42 Figure 19 Asymmetrical minor F3 folds of thinly interbedded
43 metalimestone, calcsilicate rock and calcareous semipelite of the
44 Ailnack Phyllite and Limestone Formation at Bridge of Avon (NJ 150
45 201). The folds show attenuated limbs and fold axes plunge at 25o
46 to 152o. (Photo: BGS No. P 220186, reproduced with the permission
47
of the Director, British Geological Survey, © NERC.)
48
49 Figure 20
50
(a) Map of the Kymah Burn section, Glen Livet, based upon British
51
Geological Survey mapping, 1982–88.
52
(b) Cross-section along the line A–B showing the major fold
53
interference structure in the Kymah Burn section.
54
55
Figure 21 Map of the section through metavolcanic rocks in the
56
lower part of the Blackwater Formation, exposed in the Black Water.
57
Adapted from the BGS 1:10 000 Sheet NJ33SE (1993).
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
 1
2
3
4 Figure 22 A typical fragmental ultrabasic volcanic rock from the
5 Kelman Hill Member of the Blackwater Formation. The dominant,
6 pale, subrounded to subangular clasts are derived from picritic
7 lavas and there are smaller, darker and more-rounded clasts that
8 are probably from metabasalts. Loose block near Shenval, Black
9 Water GCR site (NJ 363 308). Coin is 20 mm diameter. (from
10 Macdonald et al., 2005, figure 4.) (Photo: BGS No. P 582442,
11 reproduced with the permission of the Director, British Geological
12 Survey, © NERC.)
13
14 Figure 23 Map of the area around Auchindoun Castle, Glen Fiddich
15 from BGS 1:10 000 sheets NJ33NW (1993) and NJ33NE (1993). The
16 Portsoy Lineament lies some 4.5 km to the south-east of the castle.
17 Most of the exposures of pelites in this area show square cross-
18 sections of chiastolite in hand specimen and thin sections reveal
19 that this has been replaced by kyanite (Figure 24).
20
21 Figure 24 Chiastolite (=andalusite) porphyroblasts pseudomorphed
22 by fan-like sheaves of kyanite in a sample of pelite from the
23 Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation close to Auchindoun Castle.
24 The original ‘crosses’ formed by graphite inclusions in the
25 chiastolite are still clearly visible. (from Beddoe-Stephens,
26 1990, figure 2a). (Photo: BGS No. P 254543, reproduced with the
27
permission of the Director, British Geological Survey, © NERC.)
28
29 Figure 25 Map of the coastal strip between Cullen and Troup Head,
30
based largely upon BGS 1:50 000 sheets 96W (Portsoy, 2002) and 96E
31
(Banff, 2002). Late-Caledonian minor intrusions are omitted for
32
clarity.
33
34 Figure 26 Cross-section of the coast between Cullen and Troup
35
Head, based largely upon sections accompanying BGS 1:50 000 sheets
36
96W (Portsoy, 2002) and 96E (Banff, 2002). Key as in Figure 25.
37
38 Figure 27 Ripples on bedding surface in the Findlater Castle
39
Quartzite at Findlater Castle. (Photo: BGS No. P 008614,
40
reproduced with the permission of the Director, British Geological
41
Survey, © NERC.)
42
43
Figure 28 View westwards from Portsoy Old Harbour towards
44
Redhythe Point. The rocks of the near and middle distance are
45
46 mostly highly deformed semipelites, quartzites, metalimestones and
graphitic pelites within the Portsoy Shear-zone; note the very
47
strong, steeply plunging lineation in the quartzite on the left.
48
The second promontory away from the camera consists of
49
50 serpentinized peridotite, worked and sold locally as ‘Portsoy
51 Marble’. (Photo: J.R. Mendum, BGS No. P 001134.)
52
53 Figure 29 Andalusite porphyroblasts in the semipelitic part of
54 the Knock Head Grit Member of the Macduff Slate Formation at
55 Boyndie Bay. The hammer shaft is 35 cm long. (Photo: BGS No. P
56 221160, reproduced with the permission of the Director, British
57 Geological Survey, © NERC.)
58
59 Figure 30 Quartzofeldspathic boulder, interpreted as a dropstone
60 from a floating iceberg in the Macduff ‘Boulder Bed’, Macduff Slate
61
62
63
64
65
 1
2
3
4 Formation, The Sclates, Macduff. Professor Janet Watson provides a
5 scale. (Photo: J.R. Mendum, BGS No. P 726598.)
6
7 Figure 31 Map of the coast section between Fraserburgh and
8 Rosehearty, based upon the BGS 1:50 000 Sheet 97 (Fraserburgh,
9 1987). The diagrammatic cross-section is adapted from Loudon
10 (1963) and is not to scale.
11
12 Figure 32 Refolded folds (F1 + F3) in a mixed sequence of thinly
13 bedded calcareous semipelites, calcsilicate rocks and impure
14 metalimestones of the Kinnaird’s Head Formation at Kinnaird’s Head,
15 Fraserburgh.
16 (a) Tight F1 folds refolded by close to tight F3 folds,
17 immediately east of the foghorn at NJ 998 677. A prominent S3
18 axial-planar cleavage and an L3 lineation are well developed in
19 places. Hammer head is 16.5 cm long. (Photo: J.R. Mendum, BGS No.
20 P 726599.)
21 (b) Refolded folds (F1 + F3), viewed to the east, at NJ 998 676.
22 Key fob is 4 cm in diameter. (Photo: D.J. Fettes, BGS No. P
23 726600.)
24
25 Figure 33 Cyclic bedding with graded units in the Rosehearty
26 Formation. Andalusite is abundant in the finer-grained units.
27 Note the cross-cutting cleavage. West of Sandhaven, NJ 952 679.
28 Key fob is 4 cm in diameter. (Photo: D.J. Fettes, BGS No. P
29 726601.)
30
31 Figure 34 Graded units with thin sandstone layers in a dominantly
32 pelitic facies of the Rosehearty Formation. Abundant andalusite is
33 clearly visible. Location as Figure 33. Pen is 15 cm long.
34 (Photo: D.J. Fettes, BGS No. P 726602.)
35
36 Figure 35
37 (a) Map of the Cairnbulg to St Combs coast section showing the
38 textural varieties of migmatitic rocks within the Inzie Head Gneiss
39 Formation. Modified after Johnson et al. (2001b). See text for
40 explanations of the terminology.
41 (b) Map summarizing mineralogical characteristics of the leucosome
42 element of the gneisses.
43
44 Figure 36 Schematic crustal section prior to D4 folding and
45 uplift, showing the nature of migmatitic rocks in the Inzie Head
46 Gneiss Formation and their relationships with the mid-Ordovician
47 mafic and felsic intrusions. From Johnson et al. (2001b).
48
49 Figure 37 Cairnbulg Granite intruded into diktyonitic metatexite
50 and nebulitic diatexite with relict metasedimentary schollen of the
51 Inzie Head Gneiss Formation. Top of beach, south of Cairnbulg
52 Harbour. The hammer shaft is 35 cm long. (Photo: J.R. Mendum, BGS
53 No. P 726603.)
54
55 Figure 38 Schollen diatexites (L-gt zone), with large garnets now
56 mainly retrogressed to chlorite in the Inzie Head Gneiss Formation.
57 The calcsilicate lenses and psammites form metasedimentary
58 schollen. The rocks were derived by anatectic partial melting of
59 the dominantly semipelitic rocks. Point of Whitelinks, east of
60
61
62
63
64
65
 1
2
3
4 Inverallochy, Cairnbulg to St Combs GCR site. The hammer shaft is
5 35 cm long. (Photo: J.R. Mendum, BGS No. P 726604.)
6
7 Figure 39 Map of the Collieston to Whinnyfold coast section
8 showing D1 and D3 structural elements, adapted from Mendum (1987).
9 The inset equal-area stereographic projection shows structural
10 elements of the section between Whinnyfold and Old Castle.
11
12 Figure 40 Composite cross-section of the coast section between
13 Collieston and Whinnyfold, showing the overall fold pattern in a
14 plane normal to the fold axes. From Mendum (1987).
15
16 Figure 41 An excellent example of a recumbent, east-facing F1
17 fold in dominantly inverted gritty psammites of the Collieston
18 Formation, viewed towards the north-north-east. Devil’s Study,
19 Collieston to Whinnyfold coast section. J.R. Mendum provides a
20 scale. (Photo: BGS No. P 002878, reproduced with the permission of
21 the Director, British Geological Survey, © NERC.)
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
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44
45
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 3
Figure 9 3 8 14 4 8 4
70 6.1 10 90 80 10 60 20
Fraserburgh
N
13 8
40
Peterhead

0 kilometres 15

12
Banff
3
50
Portsoy 15 8
20
Ellon
Ellon
PS Z

Formation
Buckie
PSZ
KS

Aberdeen
Z

Keith Formation Aberdeen

8
Huntly Inverurie 00
3
30

Dufftown 11 Alford
10
Craigievar Stonehaven
Formation
7
80
Banchory
PSZ
9 Aboyne

3 5
10

7 8 Tomintoul Silurian, Devonian and younger

Ballater sedimentary and volcanic rocks
6
4 Southern Highland Group
Crinan and Tayvallich
subgroups (undivided)
Islay and Easdale subgroups
(undivided)
Braemar
Blair Atholl Subgroup
3
ault

2
90 Ballachullish Subgroup
yF
ar

BS Lochaber Subgroup
nd
ou
dB

Grampian Group
lan
gh
Hi

felsic Caledonian intrusions

mafic and ultramafic
1 Caledonian intrusions
felsic pre-Caledonian intrusions
2
BS

Blair Atholl mafic Neoproterozoic intrusions

Pitlochry major faults, slides
and shear-zones
3 GCR site in Chapter 6
Figure 6.2a
Group Subgroup Glen Tilt to Glen Shee Deeside

SOUTHERN for details of Southern Highland for details of Southern Highland

HIGHLAND Group in this area see Chapter 4 M Group in this area see Chapter 4
M
M
M
M
M M M M M
CCCC
CCCC
CCCC CCCC
CCCC
CCCC
CCCC Tarfside Psammite Fm
Tayvallich Loch Tay Limestone Fm

CCC
CCC Water of Tanar Limestone/
CCCC
CCC
CCCC
Deeside Limestone Fm

Ben Lui Schist Formation

(mostly Duchray Hill Queens Hill Fm
Crinan Gneiss Member)
Balnacraig Metabasite
r-zone
?
Member
M ui ck Shea
? Coyles of
ARGYLL
Farragon Volcanic Fm CCCC
Meall Dubh Metabasite Fm
CCC
CCCC CC
CCCC CCCCC Glen Girnock Calcareous Fm
CCCC Ben Lawers Schist Fm
Easdale CCCC
CCCC
Creag nam Ban Psammite Fm/
CCCC CC Glas Maol Graphitic Schist Fm
Ben Eagach Schist Fm Cairn of Claise Transition Fm

Schiehallion/Creag Leacach Creag Leacach Quartzite Fm

Islay Quartzite Fm

Sron na Gaoithe Boulder Bed

Rimarsin Limestone Fm
CCCC CC Gleann Beag Schist Fm
CCCC Lawsie Psammite Fm
CCCC
Blair CCCC

Atholl
Tulaichean Schist Fm Crathie Schist and
Sron nan Dias Pelite Limestone Fm
and Limestone Fm

CCCC
Glen Loch Phyllite and Birchwood Semipelite Fm
CCC
Limestone Fm
Ballachulish An Socach Quartzite Fm
APPIN
An Socach Quartzite Fm (Transition)
Beinn a Ghlo Transition Fm Glen Clunie Graphitic Schist Fm
Glen Clunie Graphitic Schist Fm Baddoch Burn Dolomite Member
position of Loch Tay Fault CCCCCCC

C C C C Glen Banvie Fm
CCCCCCC Tom Anthon Mica-schist Fm
CCCC

Lochaber

Bo un d a r y S l i d e-z o n e ?

Struan Flags

GRAMPIAN
Figure 6.2b
Strathdon, Tomintoul, North coast and North-east coast and
Dufftown, Huntly Turriff Syncline Buchan Anticline

Macduff Fm
Macduff Fm
Collieston Fm/
Rosehearty Fm/
Clashindarroch Fm Whitehills Grit Fm Methlick Fm
M M M M M Garnel Burn Pelite Member
CCC

CCCC CCCCC
Kinnairds Head Fm/
CCCC
Boyne Limestone Fm CCCC Strichen Fm/
Blackwater Fm (upper)
CCC

Mormond Hill Quartzite

Member/Strichen Fm
(lower)
? ? Cowhythe Psammite Fm
Inzie Head Gneiss Fm/
Ellon Fm
Scors Burn Schist Fm/
Beldorney Pelite Fm
Por tsoy Shear-zone
Reppachie Semipelitic Schist Fm/
Portsoy Limestone Fm
CC Badenyon Schist and Limestone Fm
Glenbuchat Graphitic Schist Fm
Culchavie Striped Fm Castle Point Pelite Fm
quartzite

flaggy and micaceous

Kymah Quartzite Fm psammite
Durn Hill Quartzite Fm
psammitic metagreywacke
and gritty psammite
Ladder Hills Fm/Nochty Arnbath Psammite Fm
Semipelite and Limestone Fm semipelitic metagreywacke
Glenfiddich slaty and phyllitic
Pelite Fm semipelite, mica-schist
Tornahaish Fordyce Limestone Fm
Inchrory Dark Schist and black slaty and
Limestone Fm Limestone Fm schistose pelite
Clashnoir metalimestone,
Semipelite Fm metadolostone
Cock Burn Calcareous Schist/ Tarnash Phyllite and
Ailnack Phyllite and Limestone Fm Limestone Fm lava

Corryhabbie Quartzite Fm volcaniclastic rocks,

Mortlach Graphitic green beds
(Transition)
Schist Fm
Mortlach Graphitic Schist Fm
Sandend Harbour tillite and boulder beds
Dufftown Limestone Member Limestone Member
CC CCCCCCCC
CCCC
Garron Point CCCCC calcsilicate beds
CCCC KK
Member Cairnfield
CCCCCCCC Fodderletter Calcareous Flag Fm/ CCCC
KK
Calcareous
CCCCCCCC Pitlurg Calcareous Flag Fm CCCCCCCC Crathie Point kyanite gneiss in upper
CCCCCCCC Flag Fm KKKKK
Member Lochaber Subgroup
Dalvrecht Slate/
Findlater Flag Fm MMMMM magnetic beds
Findlater Flag Fm

Cullen Quartzite Fm
Figure 6.3
(a)
W
Whitehills
Portsoy–Duchray Hill Boyndie
Lineament Syncline
Findlater Stocked
2 Cullen Castle Portsoy ‘Boyne Line’ Banff Macduff Head
km

Portsoy
Shear-zone

D1 and D3 D1, D2
structures and D3 D1 and D3 D1 structures
predominant structures
structures

Stocked E
Head Troup
Gardenstown Head Pennan Rosehearty Fraserburgh 2

km
Turriff Syncline
0

0 kilometres 4

D1 structures D1 and D3 structures

(b)
WNW ESE
position of Boyndie Turriff Fraserburgh to Buchan
‘Boyne Line’ Syncline Syncline Rosehearty Anticline
of Read (1955)
Cullen to Troup Head

Cairnbulg to
St Combs
Collieston to
Whinnyfold
Southern Highland Group 0 kilometres 10

Tayvallach Subgroup

Crinan and Easdale subgroups Argyll

Group
Islay Subgroup

Appin Group
Figure 6.4

99 00 44 01
fault

GS
60
60 50
tectonic slide 62 A
llt 50
(ductile fault) 54 42 G
l en
42 70
direction of Lo
c h
younging 46 64 71
58
inclined bedding, 60 76
dip in degrees
58
inclined S2 cleavage, 68
dip in degrees

?
vertical S2 cleavage 70
42

?
A
98 ? 58 70
N 0 metres 500 ? 50
52 62 84
64 70
Ben Vuirich 84
72
74
52 52 62
74
26 84
86 72
86
?

Loch 47
NF
76 B
Valigan C arn
Dubh 80
68 NF 84
60 85
66 70
74 69
NF 82
77 g
NF 66 74
NF
76
S

74
G

C reag nan 74 NF
Gobhar NF
ks 42 67

CS
oc NF NF
at er NF 75
on 55 Ben Vuirich Granite (mostly foliated)
ar b NF
t ac
e me 50 granoblastic to weakly
hit 68 NF
foliated granite
n dw
ya
gr e strongly foliated granite
h
n ac
h ar

67
hornfels
l ac

C rochton 75
Ch

82
M oi re

ea g

Ben Lawers Schist Formation

65
Cr

Easdale
pelite
A llt na Leacai nn

82 Subgroup
78 CS
Creag Uisge Slide
?

C arn 67 Tulaichean Schist Formation

75 Liath
80
77 NF ? g garnet-mica schist
57 88
NF ?
NF quartzose psammite/
? CS quartzite
58 NF
69 NF GS
Blair Atholl
65 Killiecrankie–
C noc Dubh g Subgroup
Glen Loch Slide
S Sron nan Dias Pelite and
G g Limestone Formation
? Cl
48 77 un
sk pelite
72 e aB
ur 66
n mainly metacarbonate
rock
Figure 6.7

88 89 90 91 C lachghlas
Argy ll Group
A

30 54
llt
M

Coille Sron
ha

an Duine Blair Atholl Subgroup

i rc

72 25 26
t
r T il Appin
R i ve Ballachulish Subgroup
Group
Marble
35 Lodge marble Glen Banvie Formation with
38 quartzite (q) ?Lochaber Subgroup
ult quarry
26 y Fa
Ta
t

Grampian Group
l

ch
i

Lo
T

71
33 Sron a’C hro Granite (C aledonian)
n
e
l
G

24 C lachghlas Granite (pre-C aledonian)

Allt Fas-charaidh
24
Gilbert’s amphibolite
Bridge 28
7032
fault
14 16
slide
C lachglas
r
Glen Brua

inclined main foliation (S2),

lt

16
Ti

Marble
dip in degrees
l en

Lodge
G

69
r
nde

Gilbert’s
Fe

32 Bridge
en
Gl

G area of N
l en figure
36 Ba
n vi
e
Blair Loch
68 C astle Moraig 0 kilometres 1
R iver Ga Blair
Struan rry Atholl
Figureive6.8 Mar Lodge
R r Dee

N
Inverey
BS
0 metres 500 16 4
89 19

5
C raig a’ 29
C hait 11

16 14 Tom
Anthon
88 8
23 72
17 35
ie
nn
Co

27
lt
Al

The
Colonel’s 50
Bed 5
87 20
16
23 lt
au
nF
t ho 82 C arn
An Deag
BS

m
To Auchelie
Ey B
urn

86 08 09 10

felsic intrusions (late C aledonian); minor

intrusions omitted
amphibolite (Neoproterozoic), probably
metamorphosed basic intrusions
Dalradian
Birchwood Semipelite Formation

An Socach Quartzite Formation and

Beinn a’Ghlo Transition Formation Ballachulish
Glen C lunie Graphitic Schist Subgroup
Formation
Baddoch Burn Dolomite Member
Lochaber
Tom Anthon Mica-schist Formation Subgroup
? ? ? Boundary Slide-zone
Grampian Group
BS
Boundary Slide

fault

inclined bedding, dip in degrees

inclined dominant schistosity, dip in degrees

direction of younging determined from
sedimentary structures
Figure 6.9

NW SE

C
BBS C

BS

Glen Ey
Gorge

BS AE
AL M
BBS B
AS
DE

Easdale Subgroup slide-zone

Islay Subgroup F1 axial trace

Blair Atholl Subgroup F2 axial trace

Ballachulish Subgroup F4 axial trace

Birchwood Semipelite Formation
F1 facing
An Socach Quartzite and Beinn a’Ghlo
Transition formations AE Allt Elrig–Carn Aosda fold trace (F2)
Glen C lunie Graphitic Schist Formation AL Altanour Lodge fold trace (F2)
AS An Socach fold trace (F2)
Lochaber Subgroup B Baddoch Burn fold trace (F2)
BBS Baddoch Burn–Morrone Slide (D2)
Tom Anthon Mica Schist Formation BS Boundary Slide (D2)
C Cairnwell–Gleann Beag fold trace (F1)
Grampian Group DE Devil’s Elbow fold trace (F4)
Struan Flags M Morrone fold trace (F2)
Figure 6.10
Ballater

ee
D
n er
795 o Riv
si
u
tr Pannanich Hill

n
I
k

k
uic
ic
794

rM
82

ve
M

Ri
of

18
es

793
yl

82
Co

792
36
30
45

791
Cairn
Leuchan

Am Mullach 60

7
90
74
48 75 r
Water of Tana
52

789

56
N
28

788
56
Drum
Cholzie Creag Dearg
52 0 kilometres 1
332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340

plutons, largely silicic (late Silurian; late-Silurian

minor intrusions omitted)
intrusive basic and ultrabasic rocks (Ordovician) inclined metavolcanic rocks, dip in degrees
inclined foliation or gneissose fabric,
intrusive basic meta-igneous rocks (Neoproterozoic) dip in degrees

Dalradian Supergroup fault

Tay vallich Subgroup
ductile shear-zone
Crinan Subgroup (Queen’s Hill Formation);
areas of intense migmatization indicated by overlay
Basic metavolcanic rocks within the Easdale and
C rinan subgroups
Easdale Subgroup
Figure 6.11 346 3
47 348 349 350
N
Tarl a n d
9 B9
11 09
B9 4

802

84 72
A9
7

Ab
Scar Hill

oyn
Craig Dhu

e
78 42
801

Craigie Balnagowan
66 Hill
84
40
Mulloch Balnacraig 20
42
Braeroddach Loch
800
20

86
Tomachallich 40
20
Craig Ferrar

799
Aboyne
Dinnet A93
A93
B a ll a t e r
0 kilometres 1
D ee
B976 er
Riv

Silurian-Devonian
geological boundary
Caledonian Igneous

Tomnaverie Granodiorite
Supersuite

Logie Coldstone Tonalite fault, with sense of

displacement shown by tick
Ordovician inclined gneissose foliation,
Tarland Intrusion: dip in degrees
Norite (stipple shows area of shearing) NB in this area, all of the
Neoproterozoic Neoproterozoic rocks
amphibolite: metamorphosed tholeiitic sheets are migmatitic
Tayvallich
Subgroup

road
Deeside Limestone Formation: calcsilicate rock and
metalimestone with beds of psammite and minor semipelite
Dalradian Supergroup

Queen’s Hill Formation

Argyll Group

psammite with minor semipelite layers

Crinan Subgroup

pelite and semipelite, coarse grained,

with large feldspar porphyroblasts
mixed psammite, semipelite and pelite,
becoming poorly foliated and xenolithic in patches
heterogeneous xenolithic gneiss of metasedimentary origin
(stipple shows area of shearing and retrogression)
Figure 6.14

50 0 metres 200
8143
60
N

Auchnahyle
8142

8
141
35
von

41
River A

8
140
140
69
60 Sìdh Mòr
Sidh Beag
65
52

40 69
B urn 8138
rgie
M uc kle Fe

8137

8136
136

Torbain
3161 3162 3163 3164 3165 3166 3167 3168 3169 3170 3171

Argyll Group
Kymah Quartzite Formation: inclined bedding, way up not known,
quartzite, feldspathic psammite dip in degrees where known
Auchnahyle Formation:
vertical bedding
Psammite and subsidiary semipelite and pelite
metalimestone inclined schistosity, dip in degrees
Islay
metadolostone Subgroup direction of younging
given by cross bedding structures
metadiamictite fault
amphibolitic mafic bodies
road, track
(lavas and intrusive sheets)
Appin Group
Glenfiddich Pelite Formation: Blair Atholl
graphitic pelite and semipelite, partly calcareous Subgroup
Later intrusions (?Caledonian)
metadiorite
Figure 6.16

N Appin Group
Ballachullish Subgroup
Creag an Iaruinn
Ailnack Phyllite and
Limestone Formation
Cr

20
os

0 metres 200 Mortlach Graphitic

s-s
ect

Schist Formation
Blar an Lochain
i

44
on

(not exposed in burn)

(F

30
ig

20 Lochaber Subgroup
29
6.1

8 Fodderletter Calcareous
7)

21
24 Flag Formation. Fireach
35 37
Beag Kyanite Gneiss
Bur 37 Member in middle part
no
fB Dalvrecht Slate
row
n Formation
ul
36 41 i nto Grampian Group
m
To Tormore Psammite Formation
35 39
A9 Strathavon Psammite Member
43
feldspathic psammite
A939 Bridge of Brown
Grantown 40 quartzite
Wade Bridge
38 feldspathic psammite
mixed psammite
idh 40
da 40 41 and semipelite
a
om

I inclined bedding, way up

All t 44
G

51 42 not known, dip in degrees

le

43
n

48
fault
B
ro

43 44
slide
wn

farm or house

820
3 3
12 13
Figure 6.17

NJ 1218 2183 NJ 1488 1812

NW SE
Burn of Creag an Tom Allt na Cnocan
Lochy Iaruinn Beag Cluaine Eirich
1000

500

-500

-1000 0 kilometres 1

Old Red Sandstone Supergroup

Tomintoul Group (late Silurian or Early Devonian) Grampian Group
Delnabo Conglomerate Formation Tormore Psammite Formation
Strathavon Psammite Member
Dalradian Supergroup (Neoproterozoic) feldspathic psammite
Appin Group quartzite
Blair Atholl Subgroup feldspathic psammite
Glenfiddich Pelite Formation mixed psammite and semipelite
psammite
Inchrory Limestone Formation

Ballachulish Subgroup Cromdale Hills Quartzite Member

Ailnack Phyllite and Limestone Formation fault
Corriehabbie Quartzite Formation slide

Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation

Lochaber Subgroup
Fodderletter Calcareous Flag Formation
Fireach Beag Kyanite Gneiss Member
in middle part

Dalvrecht Slate Formation

Figure 6.18 A9
39

B91
36
30
N 57

metres 25 81
0 200

40

65 Old Bridge of Avon

38
41
26 820
Urlarmore

Kylnadrochit Lodge
39 Campdalmore

33 23
57

939
26 A
Torrans
ul
21 42
Creag
35 into
Chalcaidh Tom
Ri

rA
ve

e vo
27 n
ain 36
Clu 33 34
na
A l lt

34
40
48 35 27
57
315
819

Appin Group
Blair Atholl Subgroup inclined bedding, dip in degrees
Inchrory Limestone Formation inclined bedding, way up
Ballachulish Subgroup not known, dip in degrees
Ailnack Phyllite and Limestone Formation
Contains several distinctive members fault

Kylnadrochit Semipelite Member farm, lodge

Torulian Limestone Member road

Corriehabbie Quartzite Formation former limestone quarry

Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation

Figure 6.20a
N

450

Di t ch
73

k
Blac
Bachd 58 0 metres 200
Buidhe A 80 85
85The Eachrach
85 Ky
mah
Burn

650
87 81 81

600
500 85 86

550
8 79 80
23
550 82

600 81

650
73
e 78
ip

tr 44
yS 74 80
700
r

B
D

65 68
77 70
65
65
69 73
550 67 75 62
ich

Carn na Glascoill 70
ana

733m 68
nR

53 C
88
cha

78 63
Cao

600 67
77
78 84
8
22
70
86 74
in
ha

69 80
om
nD

650
62
ha
oc
Ca

3 3
29 30
Late-Caledonian Igneous Rocks
microgranite (part of Glenlivet Granite Pluton) inclined bedding, dip in degrees
Argyll Group inclined bedding, known to be overturned,
Islay Subgroup
dip in degrees
Kymah Quartzite Formation inclined bedding, way up not known,
dip in degrees
Nochty Semipelite and Limestone Formation vertical bedding

inclined cleavage, dip in degrees

Ladder Hills Formation
vertical cleavage
metabasalt (possibly lava)
metavolcaniclastic rocks direction of younging

metadolostone fault
meta-igneous rocks (possibly early Caledonian)
metadolerite sheet
Figure 6.20b

Caochan Caochan
Ranaich Domhain
A B C

metres
800

700

600

500

400

300

200

axial plane trace of early syncline

Figure 6.21

Duf
3 3 3
36 37 38 H u n tl y

ftow
L Tom na A
0 metres 500 K Vowin A

n
N 65 A 70
831
31
Torr of 86 A
85 Shenwell
72 P
Shenval 68 P
32
L Blackwater
(Ardwell)
65 Bridge
The Ri
ve
46 Grouse Inn r Dev
Upper ero
74 n
Ardwell 64
72 68
Bla
c k Wa t er
ch

K a
L br
L A A Ca 941
A 830

Old Red Sandstone Dalradian Supergroup P pillow lavas

breccia of local clasts Argyll Group inclined composite fabric
Blackwater Formation (bedding and foliation), dip in degrees
Blackwater Intrusion Corinacy Pelite Member vertical composite fabric
metagabbro graphitic pelite and andalusite schist (bedding and foliation)
mainly gritty psammite with some direction of younging of
serpentinite schistose semipelite and pelite graded beds
mainly metabasalt lavas;
L = Lynebain Member fault
A= Ardwell Bridge Member
mainly metapicrite lavas; road
K = Kelman Hill Member
track
Figure 6.23

3 3

Sm
35 22 36
36

all
Bu
rn
75
35 N 38

45

er Fi dich
d
Ro
th

0 metres 500
es

30

R iv
Fa

8
38
ult

22
Gallow Hill
13
45
45 60
72 65 30
A941 Dufftown

20 60 Red
80 Burn
65 55 30
Auchindoun 70 80 43
Castle 60

52 74
Allt

60
30
a’ Ch

45 25
43
oileach a

53 old slate
8 48 quarries
37
in

43 30
35 45
38
45 45 32
75 60
45
38
50

Appin Group inclined bedding,

dip in degrees
Ballachulish

Corriehabbie Quartzite Formation

Subgroup

inclined dominant cleavage (?S2),

Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation dip in degrees
Dufftown Limestone Member at base inclined coplanar bedding and
slaty cleavage, dip in degrees
Subgroup
Lochaber

55 Pitlurg Calcareous Flag Formation axis of minor fold,

836 plunge in degrees
fault
1
A94

25 road

Cabrach track
Figure 6.25

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67
Logie Head 82 N
8
Cullen 66 78 68
Crathie
Bay Redhythe
82 76 Point Garron East
Cullen Point
Point 68 Head
78 65 Links Cowhythe 0 kilometres 2 8
67
Sandend Bay Head
85 Bay 75 80
76 35 50 Old Hythe Knock
77 Whyntie Stake Ness
36 Head Head
Sandend Boyne Bay
A9

56 55 65 8
55 66
8

70 70
Portsoy 43
Bu 30 Boyndie
70 rn Whitehills
of Bay
865
De

62

121
skford

72
B urn

80

B9
A98
o f Boyne

52 864
53
018
B9

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83

8
68
N Troup
30
Head

8
67
40 27
0 kilometres 2
8
More 66
32
Howe of Head
River Gamrie
Boyndie Deveron 60 80 Tarlair Stocked 88 Crovie
53 Bay 1
03
Bay 80 45 76 38 Head B9
865
52 44 Gardenstown
68 22
55
A98 Macduff 67
44 30 15
123

1 8
Banff B903 64
B9

7 A9
A9 72 47 A9
8

76

74
Figure 6.25 + 6.26 key

Old Red Sandstone Supergroup Appin Group Intrusive Igneous Rocks

Blair Atholl Subgroup
Fordyce Limestone Formation. Longmanhill Granite (Ordovician)
Dalradian Supergroup (Neoproterozoic) includes prominent metalimestone unit,
Southern Highland Group shown in the cross-section only pegmatitic granite veins mainly in
Macduff Formation, Ballachulish Subgroup Portsoy Complex
showing prominent psammite units Tarnash Phyllite and Limestone Formation. ultramafic and mafic bodies (early Ordovician)
includes the Linkbrae Limestone Member
Knock Head Grit Member amphibolitic mafic sheets and dykes
(shown in the cross-section only)
(mainly early Ordovician)
Mortlach Graphitic Schist Formation
Whitehills Grit Formation, Portsoy Granite (Neoproterozoic)
showing calcareous gritty psammite and lower Sandend Harbour Limestone Member
gritty psammite units (in cross-section only) inclined bedding,
Lochaber Subgroup dip in degrees
Argyll Group Garron Point Tremolitic
Flag Member inclined bedding known to be overturned,
Tayvallich Subgroup
Cairnfield Calcareous dip in degrees
Whyntie Brae Calcsilicate Member Crathie Point Flag Formation inclined bedding, way up
Boyne
Boyne Castle Limestone Member Calcsilicate Member not known, dip in degrees
Limestone
Formation Findlater Flag Formation. vertical bedding
Old Hythe Semipelite Member
includes Findlater Castle
Crinan Subgroup Quartzite Member geological boundary
West Sands Mica Schist Member
Cowythe Psammite Formation,
fault
including prominent metalimestone unit Grampian Group

Easdale Subgroup Cullen Quartzite Formation (undivided) thrust

Portsoy Limestone Formation Sunnyside Psammite Member

road
Dicky Hare Semipelite Member
Castle Point Pelite Formation,
including related semipelitic and pelitic rocks Logie Head Quartzite Member
Islay Subgroup
Durn Hill Quartzite Formation

Arnbath Psammite Formation

Figure 6.26

Logie Findlater
Head Castle Sandend Portsoy Boyne Bay
[5262 6793] [5612 6625]
metres
500
250
OD
-250
-500
-750

Knock Head
Whitehills Banff Macduff
[6361 6589] [6925 6445] [7186 6512]

Troup
More Head Crovie Head
[7935 6469] [8301 6719]
metres
500
250
OD
-250
-500
-750
Figure 6.31

392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400

N

Typical fold profiles

868
Typical fold profiles refolded folds
50 70
28 23 30
60 28 23
23 Kinnairds Head
Excellent sedimentary 23
structures in Rosehearty Sandhaven
40 20 Broadsea
this area
8
67 42
Harbour
23
Fraserburgh

Fraserburgh
866 coarse-grained basic
Bay
meta-igneous body and
mixed calcareous rocks

Kinnairds Head Formation inclined foliation, dip in degrees boundaries of built-up areas
0 kilometres 1
Rosehearty Formation direction of younging, fault
indicated by graded bedding
Prominent psammite beds
 Figure 6.35

Cairnbulg 404 405 inclined foliation or lithological banding,

(a) Point dip in degrees

865
vertical foliation or lithological banding,
geological boundary
866 Gt Broad
Gowan in
50 58 Hole Hive Boat fault
85 60 74 45 Hive Point of
60 metamorphic boundary (peritectic phase boundary.
41 Whitelinks
52 40 Crd – cordierite, Gt – garnet, Opx – orthopyroxene)
Cable 64
65 54 49 36 54 61 road
Shore 60
Cairnbulg
West Inverallochy track
Haven 60
LWM

403 71
boundaries of built-up areas
HW
M

40 864 406
Whitelinks
Bay The N
r th Gwights Kittyloch Shore
o

404
r o f P h il

43
Types of migmatitic rocks in the
Intrusive rocks (early Ordovician) Inzie Head Gneiss Formation 41
te
Wa

diktyonitic (network-veined) Millburn 0 metres 300

leucogranite and granite Shore Opx
865 403 metatexites
864 in 863
diorite schlieren metatexites Bailiff ’s
Skelly
schollen diatexites
Gt Inzie
out 56 Head
schlieren diatexites 48
St Combs 29
hybrid diatexites 41

59
granoblastic restite 44
405 406

404 405 406 407

Intrusive rocks (early Ordovician)
(b) Cairnbulg Point N
geological boundary
Gt in 0 kilometres 1 leucogranite and granite

diorite fault
Fraserburgh Whitelinks Opx
Bay Bay in Migmatitic rocks in the Inzie Head Gneiss Formation
866
Gt metamorphic boundary
Inzie leucosome characterised by cordierite (L-crd)
7

out
B910

Inverallochy Head
M

402 road
LW leucosome characterised by garnet (L-gt)
Cairnbulg
M
865
HW B90
33
St Combs leucosome characterised by orthopyroxene (L-opx)
864 863
Figure 6.36
unmigmatized metasedimentary rock granite

deformed unmigmatized garnetiferous

metasedimentary rock aplitic veins

diktyonitic L-crd
L-crd zone

metatexites leucosome channel

diorite
L-gt zone

L-gt diatexites
hy brid diatexites
granoblastic
restites
L-opx zone

L-opx diatexites

hy brids

gabbro body

restites
granite/leucosome peraluminous
leucogranite
L-crd
restite
L-gt
diorite and gabbro
L-opx
 8
Figure 8
35 6.39 34 Intrusive rocks
17
8
33 Peterhead Granite (late Caledonian)
Sandy Haven
metadolerite sheets
409 Dalradian Supergroup
N
The Cruner
16 Southern Highland Group
Whinnyfold Slagduff Collieston Formation
Buck’s Nose
0 metres 500 15 geological boundary
Lady’s Step
inclined bedding, right way up,
8
32 dip in degrees
inclined bedding, inverted, dip in degrees
oil pipeline 10 Berry’s Loup 5 axis of F1 minor fold, plunge in degrees
booster station
N 408 road

9 buildings (mainly farm buildings)

Green Craig
8
31
3
Stereogram
Bruce’s Haven F1 fold axis

10 F3 fold axis
A975

4
07 pole to S1 cleavage and/or F1 axial plane
Devil’s Study
3 pole to S3 cleavage and/or F3 axial plane
2
8
Radel Haven 30

Broad Haven
5
Old Castle
Portie Shore 4
06
20 8
29

18 Pottie Murlan
Meikle Loch Dowiestone Cave
Aver Hill

75
A9 30
4
18 05
St Catherine’s Dub
B9 8
28
003 8Tarness Haven
Collieston Collieston Harbour

Cotehill Loch
20
03 Sand Loch
B90 4 4
03 04
Figure 6.40

2
Old Whinny fold
The Pier C astle
Collieston

D1 deformation dominant
kilometres
1
D3 deformation
penetrative
The
Smithy

0
2 1
kilometres

direction of younging
of strata
Figure 6.5 colour
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Figure 6.6 colour
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Figure 6.12 colour
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Figure 6.13 colour
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Figure 6.15 colour
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Figure 6.19 colour
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Figure 6.22 colour
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Figure 6.27 colour
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Figure 6.28 colour
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Figure 6.29 colour
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Figure 6.30 colour
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Figure 6.32a colour
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Figure 6.32b colour
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Figure 6.33 colour
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Figure 6.34 colour
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Figure 6.37 colour
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Figure 6.38 colour
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Figure 6.41 colour
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Figure 6.24
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Figure 6.5 B&W
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Figure 6.6 B&W
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Figure 6.12 B&W
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Figure 6.13 B&W
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Figure 6.15 B&W
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Figure 6.19 B&W
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Figure 6.22 B&W
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Figure 6.27 B&W
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Figure 6.28 B&W
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Figure 6.29 B&W
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Figure 6.30 B&W
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Figure 6.32a B&W
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Figure 6.32b B&W
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Figure 6.33 B&W
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Figure 6.34 B&W
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Figure 6.37 B&W
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Figure 6.38 B&W
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Figure 6.41 B&W
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