DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

87°

COMPILATION DIAGRAM

oO!

50°00!

Base from U.S. Geological Survey, 1968

150°C0"
"0

87°00"
150°00"

135¢00"

87°00"
135°00"

86°00"

Photogrammetric compilation

Isogonic lines compiled from U.S.N.0.0.
Chart 1706 S, 1965

144°

Prepared by the
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Under the auspices of the
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

142° od

SCALE 1:250 000

15 20 25 MILES
1

oI ° 5 10

20 25 30 35 KILOMETERS
1

Polar Sterographic Projection ~ Standard Parallel 80°14"
CONTOUR INTERVAL 200 METERS—NATIONAL GEODETIC VERTICAL DATUM OF 1929

REFERENCES

Blackburn, Q. A., 1937, The Thorne Glacier section of the Queen Maud Moun-
tains: Geographical Review, v. 27, p. 598-614.

Borg, S. G., 1983, Petrology and geochemistry of the Queen Maud batholith,
central Transantarctic Mountains, with implications for the Ross Orogeny, in
Oliver, R. L., James, P. R., and Jago, J. B., (eds.), Antarctic Earth Sciences:
Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, p. 165-169.

Burgener, J. D., 1975, Petrography of the Queen Maud batholith, central
Transantarctic Mountains, Ross Dependency, Antarctic: University of Wis-
consin, Madison M. S. thesis, 75 p.

Burt, D. M., and Stump, Edmund, 1983, Mineralogical investigation of andalu-
site-rich pegmatites from Szabo Bluff, Scott Glacier area: Antarctic Journal
of the United States, v. 18, p. 49-52.

Doumani, G. A., and Minshew, V. H., 1965, General geology of the Mount
Weaver area, Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica: American Geophysical
Union Antarctic Research Series, v. 6, no. 1299, p. 127-139.

Dreschhoff, G. A. M., Zeller, E. J., Schmit, Hubert, Bulla, Claus, Morency,
Maurice, and Tremblay, Alain, 1983, Radioactive mineral occurrence at
Szabo Bluff, Transantarctic Mountains: Antarctic Journal of the United
States, v. 18, p. 48-49.

Katz, H. R., 1982, Post-Beacon tectonics in the region of Amundsen-Scott
Glaciers, Queen Maud Range, Transantarctic Mountains, in Craddock,
Campbell, (ed.), Antarctic Geoscience: University of Wisconsin Press, Madi-
son v. 4, p. 827-834.

Katz, H. R., and Waterhouse, B. C., 1970, Geological reconnaissance of the
Scott Glacier area, south-eastern Queen Maud Range, Antarctica: New Zea-
land Journal of Geology and Geophysics, v. 13, no. 4, p. 1030-1037.

Minshew, V. H., 1965, Potasssium-Argon age from a granite at Mount Wilber,
Queen Maud Range, Antarctica: Science, v. 150, 741-743.

1967, Geology of the Scott Glacier and Wisconsin Range areas,
central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica: Ohio State University, Depart-
ment of Geology, Ph.D. dissertation, 268 p.

Mirsky, A., 1969, Geology of the Ohio Range-Liv Glacier area: American
Geographical Society Antarctic Map Folio Series, 12, XVI.

Smit, J. H., 1981, Sedimentology, metamorphism, and structure of the La
Gorce Formation, La Gorce Mountains, upper Scott Glacier area, Antarctica:
Arizona State University, Tempe, M.S. thesis, 83 p.

Stump, Edmund, 1976, On the late Precambrian—early Paleozoic metavol-
canic and metasedimentary rocks of the Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica,
and a comparison with rocks of similar age from southern Africa: Ohio State
University, Institute of Polar Studies Report no. 62, 212 p.

Stump, Edmund, 1983, Type locality of the Ackerman Formation, La Gorce
Mountains, Antarctica in Oliver, R. L., James, P. R., and Jago, J. B., (eds.),
Antarctic Earth Sciences: Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, p. 170-
174,

Stump, Edmund, Self, Stephen and Smit, J. H., 1982, Timing of events during
the Beardmore Orogeny, Antarctica, and comparison with phases of the
Pan-African episode in southern Africa: Geological Society of America
Abstracts with Programs, v. 14, no. 7, p. 627.

Stump, Edmund, Self, Stephen, Smit, J. H., Colbert, P. V., and Stump, T. M.,
1981, Geological investigations in the La Gorce Mountains and Scott Glacier
area: Antarctic Journal of the United States, v. 16, p. 55-57.

138°

Geology mapped in 1934-36 by Q. A. Blackburn; in 1962-63

INTERIOR-GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, RESTON, VIRGINIA 1865 -C83396 135 °Q(,

135°0Q°
E53 86°09

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87°09

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by G. A. Doumani and V. H. Minshew; in 1969-70
by H. R. Katz and B. C. Waterhouse; in 1970-71 by
J. D. Burgner, E. Stump and V. P. Wendland; end

in 1980-81 by S. Self, J. H. Smit, and E. Stump

TRANSANTARCTIC MOUNTAINS, ANTARCTICA

By

Edmund Stump, J. H. Smit, and Stephen Self

1985

be

+

INDEX TO ADJOINING SHEETS 0

wT) wou, | MAES
Wetine | siete

a7

180°00" 120°00'

Sheet numbering system based on
International Map of the World
Dashed outlines show coverage
of previously published sheets,
not on this system

RECONNAISSANCE GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE MT. BLACKBURN QUADRANGLE,

U.S. ANTARCTIC RESEARCH PROGRAM
MT. BLACKBURN QUADRANGLE
ANTARCTIC GEOLOGIC MAP A-12

EXPLANATION OF MAP UNITS

} JURRASSIC

[ve | Ferrar Group
Beacon Supergroup } PERMIAN AND.

Angular unconformity (Kukri erosion surface)

PENNSYLVANIAN(?)

Granite Harbour ORDOVICIAN AND
Intrusives CAMBRIAN

LATE PRECAMBRIAN

DESCRIPTION OF MAP UNITS

Beacon Supergroup and Ferrar Group Undifferentiated—Inter-
bedded sandstone, siltstone, and shale, carbonaceous toward the
top. Basal tillite on striated pavement. Glossopteris flora in higher
portions of the sequence. Two sills of Ferrar Dolerite intrude the
section, one of which caps Mt. Blackburn.

Minshew (1967) subdivided, but did not map, the Beacon Super-
group in this area as follows:

Queen Maud Formation—Cyclic - alternations of volcanic
sandstone, siltstone, shale, carbonaceous shale, and coal,
‘overlying about 75 m of conglomeratic sandstone, arena-
ceous limestone and calcareous sandstone. Poorly distin-
guishable boundary with underlying

Weaver Formation—Upper portion—Sandstone, calcareous

sandstone, carbonaceous shale, conglomeratic stringers.
About 350 m.
Lower portion—Black to green, silty shale, with carbona-
ceous intercalations. On northern face of Mt. Blackburn
strata grade into fine-grained red sandstone and siltstone,
with numerous desication cracks. About 15 m thick. Discon-
formably overlies

Scott Glacier Formation—Massive tillite, with clasts predomi-
nantly of granite, with lesser amounts of La Gorce and Wyatt
Formation, set in a poorly-sorted matrix. Minor lenticular
beds of siltstone and shale. 0-20 m thick. Overlies glacially
striated pavement.

Nonconformity and Angular Unconformity

Granite Harbour Intrusives, undifferentiated (Borg, 1983)—
Calc-alkaline plutonic complex including granite, granodiorite,
quartz monzonite, quartz diorite, tonalite and diorite. Gray and
pink phases, equigranular and porphyritic (K-feldspar pheno-
crysts). Predominantly non-foliated, but with some foliated por-
tions. In general rocks contain quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar and
biotite. Hornblende is a common phase in the Mt. Blackburn-
Gothic Mountains area. Altered cordierite is present at Price Bluff.

Zanuck granite—Coarse-grained, K-feldspar porphyry, with
phenocrysts 6-10 cm in length. Quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase,
biotite, and altered cordierite. Cross-cut by younger pluton at Mt.
Zanuck (Liv Glacier Quadrangle).

Tourmaline-bearing granite—Pink, equigranular, K-feldspar rich
granite, with 5-6 cm spheres of tourmaline evenly distributed
throughout the pluton.

Ackerman Formation (Stump, 1983)—Alternating clastic and
volcanic units, Interbedded gray to green sandstone, and gray,
green, and purple shale and phyllite. Sandstones are both wackes
and arenites, containing clasts of quartz, plagioclase and/or vol-
canic rock fragments. A minor calcareous fraction occurs. Light-
colored, well-rounded, sparce-pebble conglomerates occur at
several horizons.

Massive, dark green to gray silicic, volcanic porphyry. Pheno-
crysts of embayed quartz, plagioclase, and altered biotite, or-
thopyroxene(?) and cordierite(?) in finely recrystallized ground-
mass. Both tuffs and lava flows.

2000-meter section, with top faulted at contact with La Gorce
Formation. Cleavage developed within 500 meters of fault.
Metamorphism produced a chlorite-muscovite assemblage.

Wyatt Formation (Minshew, 1967)— Massive, dark green, gray
and black, silicic porphyry. Phenocrysts of embayed quartz,
euhedral, twinned plagioclase, biotite, and alterations of or-
thopyroxene(?) and cordierite(?) in finely recrystallized ground-
mass. Porphyroblasts of K-feldspar to 5 cm around Johansen
Peak.

Volcanic phase overlain conformably by Ackerman Formation on
Ackerman Ridge. Hypabyssal phase intrudes folded La Gorce
Formation south of Hourglass Buttress.

La Gorce Formation (Minshew, 1967)—Alternating dark gray to
black silty argillite, black metapelite and medium to light gray
metagraywacke. Complets of massive to finely laminated meta-
graywacke beneath metapelite with eroded top, Bouma se-
quences, minor graded-bedding, scour marks, load casts and
flame structure. Metagraywackes contain poorly-sorted, coarse
sand to silt-sized clasts of quartz and plagioclase, with minor mus-
covite and garnet, set in a pelitic matrix comprising 55—75 percent
of the rock.

Deformed during Beardmore Orogeny into steeply plunging, tight
to isoclinal, chevron-style folds, with axial plane cleavage variably
developed. Highly folded zones interspersed with zones of un-
folded strata.

Metamorphism produced a muscovite-chlorite-biotite assemblage
at Kessen’s Peak and biotite-muscovite on much of Ackerman
Ridge. Cordierite + andalusite is developed around Hourglass
Buttress. Retrograde chlorite—muscovite assemblages occur adja-
cent to contacts with Wyatt and Ackerman Formations.

EXPLANATION OF MAP SYMBOLS
Contact

Fault—Dotted where concealed. U, upthrown side; D, down-
thrown side

Anticline, showing plunge
Syncline, showing plunge
Anticline-syncline pair, showing plunge
Zone of multiple anticlines and synclines, showing average plunge
Strike and dip of bedding
Inclined
Vertical
Overturned

Strike and dip of cleavage

For sale by Branch of Distribution, U.S. Geological Survey,
1200 South Eads Street, Arlington, VA 22202