Gile Mountain Formation, Meetinghouse Slate Member (VTDgm;0)

Gile Mountain Formation, Meetinghouse Slate Member - Chiefly gray slate or phyllite characterized by beds of gray schistose quartzite 1/8 inch to 3 inches thick. Gile Mountain Formation and its Meetinghouse Slate Member were previously considered to be Early Devonian based on Emsian plant fossils from Compton Formation of QUE (Hueber and others, 1990; Hatch, 1991). Age assignment here changed to Early Devonian(?) because recent mapping indicates that Gile Mountain and Compton are not coextensive across VT-QUE border as formerly believed by Doll and others (1961, State map) and St. Julien and Slivitsky (1987). Instead, the formations are separated by Ironbound Mountain Formation. Ironbound Mountain Formation is conformably overlain by Compton, but it is not yet known whether Ironbound Mountain is overlain or underlain by Gile Mountain; this is shown by queried Ironbound Mountain-Gile Mountain contact in area of Averill 7.5-min quad, VT. Correlation of Gile Mountain and Compton is justified only if Gile Mountain in this area conclusively is shown to be underlain by Ironbound Mountain; otherwise, Gile Mountain (with possible exception of its Meetinghouse Slate Member) would be coeval with Silurian Frontenac Formation. Hatch (1988) proposed that Meetinghouse represents upper part of Gile Mountain on basis of graded bedding seen south of map area. This relationship is not proven, however, because Gile Mountain-Meetinghouse contact is difficult to define and graded beds are not always easily interpreted. On this map, Meetinghouse is tentatively shown to occur below main body of Gile Mountain on basis of remarkable similarity between it and Ironbound Mountain Formation. This relationship easily explains highly pelitic character of the Meetinghouse with upward-coarsening character of Lower Devonian sequences elsewhere in map area. Meetinghouse Slate Member includes volcanic facies (Moench and others, 1995).

State	Vermont
Name	Gile Mountain Formation, Meetinghouse Slate Member
Geologic age	Devonian
Original map label	Dgm
Comments	Part of Eastern Vermont Secondary unit description per VT003.
Primary rock type	slate
Secondary rock type	phyllite
Other rock types	quartzite
Lithologic constituents	Major Metamorphic > Metasedimentary > Metaclastic > Phyllite Metamorphic > Metasedimentary > Metaclastic > Slate Minor Metamorphic > Metasedimentary > Metaclastic > Quartzitebeds of gray schistose quartzite 1/8 inch to 3 inches thick
Map references	Nicholson, S.W., Dicken, C.L., Horton, J.D., Foose, M.P., Mueller, J.A.L., and Hon, Rudi, 2006, Preliminary integrated geologic map databases for the United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1272. [http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20061272]
Unit references	Doll, C.G., Cady, W.M., Thompson, J.B., Jr., and Billings, M.P., 1961, Centennial Geologic Map of Vermont: Vermont Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Map MISCMAP-01, scale 1:250,000. Moench, R.H., Boone, G.M., Bothner, W.A., Boudette, E.L., Hatch, N.L., Jr., Hussey, A.M., III, Marvinney, R.G. and Aleinikoff, J.N., 1995, Geologic map of the Sherbrooke-Lewiston area, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, United States, and Quebec, Canada: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map, I-1898-D, 56 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000, Prepared in cooperation with the Maine Geological Survey and the New Hampshire Geological Survey. [http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i1898D]
Geographic coverage	Caledonia - Essex - Orange - Windsor