Geologic units containing wacke

Mineral Resources On-Line Spatial Data

Wacke

A "dirty" sandstone that consists of a mixed variety of unsorted or poorly sorted mineral and rock fragments and of an abundant matrix of clay and fine silt; specif. an impure sandstone containing more than 10% argillaceous matrix.

Subtopics:
Graywacke

Arizona

Cretaceous to Late Jurassic sedimentary rocks with minor volcanic rocks (Late Jurassic to Cretaceous): Sandstone and conglomerate, rarely forms prominent outcrops; massive conglomerate is typical near base of unit and locally in upper part. These deposits are nonmarine except in southeastern Arizona, where prominent gray marine limestone (Mural Limestone) forms the middle of the Bisbee Group. Sandstones are typically medium-bedded, drab brown, lithic-feldspathic arenites. Includes Bisbee Group (largely Early Cretaceous) and related rocks, Temporal, Bathtub, and Sand Wells formations, rocks of Gu Achi, McCoy Mountains Formation, and Upper Cretaceous Fort Crittenden Formation and equivalent rocks. (80-160 Ma)
Early Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks (Early Proterozoic): Metasedimentary rocks, mostly derived from sandstone and shale, with minor conglomerate and carbonate rock. Includes quartz-rich, mostly nonvolcanic Pinal Schist in southeastern Arizona and variably volcanic-lithic sedimentary rocks in the Yavapai and Tonto Basin supergroups in central Arizona. (1600-1800 Ma)
Early Proterozoic metavolcanic rocks (Early Proterozoic): Weakly to strongly metamorphosed volcanic rocks. Protoliths include basalt, andesite, dacite, and rhyolite deposited as lava or tuff, related sedimentary rock, and shallow intrusive rock. These rocks, widely exposed in several belts in central Arizona, include metavolcanic rocks in the Yavapai and Tonto Basin supergroups. (1650 to 1800 Ma)
Early Tertiary to Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks (Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary): Rhyolite to andesite and closely associated sedimentary and near-surface intrusive rocks; commonly dark gray to dark greenish gray or greenish brown. In the ranges west of Tucson, this unit includes thick welded ash-flow tuffs. Volcanic rocks of this unit are inferred to be derived from vents and volcanoes above magma chambers that solidified to form the granitic rocks of map unit TKg. These rocks are restricted to southeastern Arizona except for a small outcrop near Bagdad. (50-82 Ma)
Jurassic sedimentary and volcanic rocks (Jurassic): Sandstone and conglomerate derived from volcanic rocks with associated intermediate-composition lava flows, breccias, and tuffs. In southern Arizona this unit includes rocks of the Artesa sequence, Pitoikam Formation, Mulberry Wash volcanics, Rudolfo Red Beds, Recreation Red Beds, and Gardner Canyon Formation. In western Arizona it includes the Harquar Formation, rocks of Slumgullion, and related(?) unnamed units in the Kofa and Middle Mountains. This unit is characterized by maroon, brown, and purplish-gray volcanic-lithic sandstone and siltstone, with subordinate to abundant conglomerate, quartz-rich sandstone and sparse limestone. (150-170 Ma)

California

Silurian and/or Ordovician marine rocks, unit 4 (Northern Sierra Nevada) (Ordovician to Devonian): Sandstone, shale, conglomerate, chert, slate, quartzite, hornfels, marble, dolomite, phyllite; some greenstone

Colorado

Felsic and hornblendic gneisses, either separate or interlayered (Proterozoic | Paleoproterozoic): Includes metabasalt, metatuff, and interbedded metagraywacke; locally contains interlayered biotite gneiss. Derived principally from volcanic rocks

Massachusetts

Bellingham Conglomerate (Pennsylvanian, Cambrian or Proterozoic Z): Bellingham Conglomerate - Red and gray metamorphosed conglomerate, sandstone, graywacke, and shale. Bellingham Conglomerate consists of conglomerate and lithic graywacke interbedded with chlorite phyllite and is confined to Bellingham basin. Also contains some volcanic rocks (rhyolite porphyry in roadcut on MA Hwy 146 at Premisy Hill west of Woonsocket, and felsite porphyry in the Franklin area east of Bellingham). Conglomerate contains pebbles of quartzite from adjacent Blackstone Group rocks and typical blue quartz of Milford Granite, so sediments are locally derived. Exposures on east side of Woonsocket Hill, southeast of Woonsocket, RI, show cliffs of steeply dipping, thin-bedded, white to gray quartzite of Blackstone Group standing above green schistose conglomerate containing many flattened white to gray quartzite pebbles and interbedded green calcareous quartz schist. Contact is probably a fault, but source of pebbles is quite obvious. In the same area, schist of Blackstone Group is difficult to distinguish from those of the Bellingham because of low-grade metamorphism of Blackstone rocks; it is probable that some of the low-grade Blackstone Rocks mapped northwest of Woonsocket in Blackstone River valley are part of Bellingham. The two rock units have been traditionally distinguished in the past by presence or absence of epidote (Warren and Powers, 1914), but this needs further study. Age is uncertain. Rocks have customarily been correlated with those of Pennsylvanian Narragansett basin; however, rocks in some exposures, such as the one at River St and Blackstone St in Woonsocket resemble Proterozoic Z Roxbury Conglomerate in Boston basin. Skehan and others (1979) suggest that Bellingham may have a similar age to that of Roxbury. This is supported by observation that Bellingham is a structural trough extending southwest from Boston basin and separating primarily Proterozoic Z granitoids from altered, but nongneissic, Proterozoic granitoids (Wones and Goldsmith, 1991). In deference to tradition, and because Proterozoic Z age has not been proven, age is shown on MA State bedrock map of Zen and others as Proterozoic Z to Pennsylvanian [map actually has age of Proterozoic Z, Cambrian, or Pennsylvanian, which differs from age stated in this report.] (Goldsmith, 1991).
Nassau Formation (Lower Cambrian and Proterozoic Z): Nassau Formation - Gray to dark-greenish-gray, siliceous phyllite with abundant beds of quartzite, olive-gray metasiltstone and subgraywacke (includes Bomoseen Graywacke Member and Zion Hill quartzite Member).

Maryland

"Chemung" Formation, Parkhead Sandstone, Brallier Formation, and Harrell Shale (Devonian): "Chemung" Formation - Predominantly marine beds characterized by gray to olive-green graywacke, siltstone, and shale; thickened ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 feet; Parkhead Sandstone - Gray to olive-green sandy shale, conglomeratic sandstone and graywacke; present in Washington County, identification uncertain in west; thickness averages 400 feet; Brallier Fomation - (Woodmont Shale of earlier reports). Medium to dark gray, laminated shale and siltstone; weathers to light olive-gray; grain size coarsens upward; thickness about 2,000 feet in west, about 1,7000 feet in east; and Harrell Shale - Dark gray laminated shale; absent in east where Brallier lies directly on Mahantango, Tully Limestone lies near base in west, in subsurface of Garrett County; total thickness in west 140 to 300 feet.
Juniata Formation (Ordovician): Juniata Formation - Red to greenish-gray, thin- to thick-bedded siltstone, shale, subgraywacke, and protoquartzite; interbedded conglomerate; thickness 180 feet in east, increases to 500 feet in west.

Maine

Devonian Hildreths Formation (Devonian): Devonian Hildreths Formation
Ordovician - Cambrian Cookson formation (Ordovician - Cambrian): Ordovician - Cambrian Cookson formation
Silurian - Ordovician Carys Mills Formation (Silurian - Ordovician): Silurian - Ordovician Carys Mills Formation
Silurian Smyrna Mills Formation (Silurian): Silurian Smyrna Mills Formation
Silurian undifferentiated pelites and sandstones (Silurian): Silurian undifferentiated pelites and sandstones, in part of the Allsbury Formation and in part unnamed
Silurian Waterville Formation (Silurian): Silurian Waterville Formation

Minnesota

Animikie Group; Shale, siltstone, feldspathic graywacke, and associated volcaniclastic rocks (Early Proterozoic): Animikie Group; Shale, siltstone, feldspathic graywacke, and associated volcaniclastic rocks - Includes the Rove Formation in Cook County, the Virginia Formation in St. Louis, Itasca, and Lake Counties, and the Thomson Formation in Carlton County
Metabasalt, metadiabase, and metasedimentary rocks metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies (Early Proterozoic): Metabasalt, metadiabase, and metasedimentary rocks metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies - Includes fragmental volcanic rocks, mafic hypabyssal intrusions, graywacke, graphitic argillite and oxide iron-formation
North Range Group; Mahnomen Formation (Early Proterozoic): North Range Group; Mahnomen Formation - Claystone, shale, siltstone, and graywacke metamorphosed to the greenschist facies

Nevada

Volcanic flows and flow breccias, chiefly of andesitic composition, tuffs, sparse sandstone and graywacke (Permian to Jurassic): VOLCANIC FLOWS AND FLOW BRECCIAS, CHIEFLY OF ANDESITIC COMPOSITION, TUFFS, SPARSE SANDSTONE AND GRAYWACKE-Includes Happy Creek Volcanic Series and related rocks in Humboldt County and similar rocks in Washoe and Pershing Counties; includes andesite breccias and volcanogenic sedimentary rocks in Mineral County
Volcanic sandstone, felsic ash-flow tuffs, rhyolite, and rhyodacite flows (Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous): VOLCANIC SANDSTONE, FELSIC ASH-FLOW TUFFS, RHYOLITE, AND RHYODACITE FLOWS (Upper? Jurassic)-Pony Trail Group of Cortez Mountains, Eureka County

New York

Mettawee Slate (Cambrian?): Mettawee Slate (Bull in Vermont) - includes Castleton (North Brittain) Conglomerate. Mudd Pond Quartzite, Zion Hill Quartzite, and Bomoseen Graywacke Members.
Mettawee Slate (Cambrian ?): Mettawee Slate - north of 43 degrees includes Castleton (North Brittain) Conglomerate. Mudd Pond Quartzite, Zion Hill Quartzite, and Bomoseen Graywacke Members.
Nassau Formation (Cambrian ?): Nassau Formation - south of 43 degrees; slate, shale, thin quartzite, includes Stuyvesant Conglomerate, Diamond Rock Quartzite, Curtis Mountain Quartzite, and Bomoseen Graywacke Members.
Undifferentiated Middle Ordovician thru Lower Cambrian allochthonous rocks (Cambrian - Ordovician): Undifferentiated Middle Ordovician thru Lower Cambrian allochthonous rocks - principally pelite; lesser quartzite, limestone, conglomerate, graywacke.

Oregon

Marine sedimentary rocks (Upper Triassic? and Upper and Middle Triassic) (Early Triassic): Black, green, and gray argillite, mudstone, and shale; graywacke, sandy limestone, tuff, and some coarse volcaniclastic rocks; chert, sandstone comprised of chert clasts, and chert pebble conglomerate; thin-bedded and massive limestone. Locally contains some interbedded lava flows, mostly spilite or keratophyre. In places metamorphosed. Invertebrate marine fauna indicates unit mostly of Late Triassic (Karnian and Norian) age. Includes the Begg and Brisbois Formations of Dickinson and Vigrass (1965; Vester Formation of Brown and Thayer, 1966) and the Rail Cabin Argillite of Dickinson and Vigrass (1965); Fields Creek Formation and Laycock and Murderers Creek Graywackes of Brown and Thayer (1966); Martin Bridge Formation and lower sedimentary series in and near the Wallowa Mountains (Prostka, 1962; Nolf, 1966); and Doyle Creek and Wild Sheep Creek Formations (Vallier, 1977). Probably partly age correlative with rocks of the Applegate Group (Wells and Peck, 1961) of southwestern Oregon
Sedimentary rocks (Jurassic) (Jurassic): Black and gray mudstone, shale, siltstone, graywacke, andesitic to dacitic water-laid tuff, porcelaneous tuff, and minor interlayers and lenses of limestone and fine-grained sediments metamorphosed to phyllite or slate. Locally includes some felsite, andesite and basalt flows, breccia, and agglomerate. Marine invertebrate fauna indicates age range from Early Jurassic (Hettangian) to early Late Jurassic (Oxfordian). In northeast Oregon, includes Graylock Formation, Mowich Group, and Shaw Member (of Snowshoe Formation) of Dickinson and Vigrass (1965); Keller Creek Shale of Brown and Thayer (1966); Weberg, Warm Springs, Snowshoe, Trowbridge, and Lonesome Formations of Lupher (1941); the Coon Hollow Formation of Morrison (1964); and unnamed Jurassic rocks near Juniper Mountain in northern Malheur County (Wagner and others, 1963)

Pennsylvania

Hamburg sequence rocks (Ordovician): Hamburg sequence rocks - Predominantly greenish gray, gray, purple, and maroon shale, siltstone, and graywacke; includes some wildflysch having Martinsburg matrix.

Rhode Island

Narragansett Bay Group - Wamsutta Formation (Pennsylvanian): Narragansett Bay Group - Wamsutta Formation - Red sandstone, shale, and conglomerate, locally containing abundant volcanic detritus as clasts and matrix. Plant fossil localities occur in adjacent Massachusetts. Minor, but significant amounts of interstratified bimodal-composition volcanic lava flows consisting of alkalic basalt (locally pillowed) and rhyolite are present in adjacent Massachusetts.

Tennessee

Unicoi Formation (Cambrian): Unicoi Formation - Sequence of gray feldspathic sandstone, arkose, conglomerate, graywacke, siltstone and shale; greenish amygdaloidal basalt flows near middle and base. Thickness 2,000 to 5,000 feet.

Virginia

Juniata, Oswego, Martinsburg (Reedsville and Dolly Ridge), and Eggleston Formations (Ordovician): Juniata, Oswego, Martinsburg (Reedsville and Dolly Ridge), and Eggleston Formations - Dusky-red shale and mudstone and sandstone; graywacke; shale and sandstone; and limestone.
Upper and Middle Ordovician Formations Undivided (Ordovician): Upper and Middle Ordovician Formations Undivided - Includes: Oun, Ous, Ou, Om, Okpl, Oeln, Oml, Ols.

Vermont

Gile Mountain Formation (Devonian): Gile Mountain Formation - Gray quartz-muscovite phyllite or schist, interbedded and intergradational with gray micaceous quartzite (graywacke northeast of Nulhegan River), calcareous mica schist, and, locally, quartzose and micaceous crystalline limestone like that of the Waits River formation. The phyllite and schist commonly contain porphyroblasts of biotite, garnet, or staurolite, and locally kyanite, andalusite, or sillimanite. Used as Early Devonian Gile Mountain Formation. Generally consists of gray to tan metawacke and schist or phyllite, gradational into its Meetinghouse Slate Member, but much more thickly bedded and less pelitic. Contains minor metavolcanic lentils. Unnamed metavolcanic member is possibly equivalent to Putney Volcanics of southeastern VT. Separately mapped interbedded gray slate or phyllite and brown-weathering calcite-ankerite metasiltstone, and minor marble and quartzite, resembles Waits River Formation of VT. Meetinghouse Slate Member consists of gray to black phyllite and silty metasandstone turbidite. Report includes geologic map, cross sections, correlation chart, and four 1:500,000-scale derivative maps (Lyons and others, 1997).
Hathaway Formation (Ordovician): Hathaway Formation - Gray to black argillite and bedded radiolarian chert, with included blocks and fragments of chert, limestone, dolomite, sandstone and graywacke.
Ottauquechee Formation (Cambrian): Ottauquechee Formation - Black carbonaceous phyllite or schist containing interbeds of massive quartzite commonly criss-crossed by veins of white quartz; quartzite is dark gray and carbonaceous, light gray, or white; also includes light green quartz-sericite-chlorite phyllite or schist and sercitic quartzite; beds of phyllitic graywacke and feldspar granule conglomerate are north of Lamoille River. Schist contains abundant porphyroblasts of garnet and biotite from Ludlow south. The Ottauquechee contains two major units: A black phyllite and the Thatcher Brook Member. The black phyllite contains a previously unreported sub-unit of gray carbonate schist. The Thatcher Brook Member (named in an abstract by Armstrong and others, 1988) is a carbonaceous albitic schist with greenstones and ultramafics. These rocks have previously been included in the Ottauquechee but have never been differentiated from the black phyllite. Member is in fault contact with the silvery green schist of the Pinney Hollow Formation to the west. Age is Cambrian (Ratcliff, in press).
Stowe Formation (Cambrian-Ordovician): Stowe Formation - Quartz-sericite (muscovite-paragonite)-chlorite phyllite and schist; porphyroblasts of albite, garnet, chloritoid, or kyanite common locally; includes phyllitic graywacke north of Lamoille River. Schist contains abundant segregations of granular white quartz. The Stowe Formation in the study are contains two unnamed members: a silvery green schist and a greenstone. The schist is a fine-grained, silvery to dark green quartz-muscovite-albite-chlorite schist. It is in fault contact with the black phyllite of the Ottauquechee Formation. The greenstone is a homogenous, fine-grained, light green actinolite-albite-epidote-calcite-chlorite schist. Large outcrops of the resistant greenstone are common. Age according to map symbols is Proterozoic and Cambrian. Unit is correlated with the Rowe Schist (of Zen, 1983). [Rowe Schist on 1983 MA map is Cambrian and Ordovician. No explanation here for older age.] (Walsh, 1992).

Washington

Carboniferous and Permian volcanic rocks (Devonian to Permian; Triassic in Asotin County): Predominantly altered andesite, basalt, and diabase with interbedded chert and argillite; includes some tuff, greenstone, and spilitic volcanic rocks; northern Cascade Mountains. Mostly schistose greenstone, some agglomerate, and rarely lapilli; includes minor beds of limestone with associated argillite and graywacke; northwestern Stevens County.
Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, mostly marine (Cretaceous): Upper Cretaceous black siltstone, graywacke, and silica pebble conglomerate in western Okanogan County.
Middle Jurassic volcanic rocks (Middle Jurassic): Andesite, dacite, and minor basalt with slate and graywacke interbeds in the Nooksack River region of Whatcom County.
Permian rocks (Permian-Triassic): Conglomerate, graywacke, siltstone, argillite and interbedded fossiliferous limestone, greenstone, and minor angular conglomerate in northwestern Stevens and Ferry Counties. Impure quartzite, sandstone, graywacke, greenstone, ribbon chert, chert breccia, and limestone in Snohomish County and on San Juan Island. Lower Permian limestone on Black Mountain in northwestern Whatcom County. Middle Permian rocks in northeastern Washington.
Pliocene nonmarine rocks (Pliocene): Conglomerate, sandstone, shale, and mudstone. Tuffaceous in part; contains alluvial fan type material locally.
Pre-Middle Jurassic sedimentary and volcanic rocks (Late Paleozoic deposition? with Cretaceous metamorphism?): Sedimentary and volcanic rocks, undivided. Graywacke, argillite, slate, greenstone, and spilitic volcanic rocks.
Pre-Middle Jurassic volcanic rocks, undivided (Early Cretaceous-Late Jurassic): Predominantly greenstone and spilitic volcanic rocks; includes some slate, argillite, and graywacke.
Pre-Upper Jurassic metamorphic rocks of the low-grade zone (Jurassic): Greenschist, phyllite, and slate; includes some limestone, quartzose phyllite, schistose metaconglomerate, breccia, and basic igneous rocks. Includes schist locally.
Upper Paleozoic rocks, undivided (Ordovician): Mostly graywacke, interbedded quartzite and phyllite, greenstone and serpentine, and black shale with minor limestone. Some quartz-mica schist in Bald Knob area of Ferry County. Schist, gneiss, and amphibolite in other parts of Ferry County. Some rocks of lower Paleozoic age, possibly Precambrian, and Mesozoic may be included.
Upper Triassic and/or Lower Jurassic Marine Rocks (Cretaceous-Triassic): Conglomerate, gritstone, graywacke, and carbonaceous argillite of northwestern Whatcom County.

Wisconsin

Felsic volcanic and volcanogenic rocks (Early Proterozoic): Felsic volcanic and volcanogenic rocks - Tuff, argillite, graywacke, and minor volcanic rocks of lower greenschist-facies in southern Rusk County. Could be younger in age than adjacent metavolcanic rocks.