Date Thesis Awarded
5-2009
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
Geology
Advisor
Christopher M. Bailey
Committee Member
Brent Edward Owens
Committee Member
David W. Thompson
Committee Member
Scott Southworth
Abstract
The Mesoproterozoic (1180-1030 Ma) basement complex in the central Virginia Blue Ridge consists of several mineralogically and texturally heterogeneous units. Near Crozet, Virginia, five compositionally distinct rock types occur and include: 1) layered gneiss, 2) charnockite and charnockitic gneiss, 3) biotite granitoid gneiss, 4) leucogranite, and 5) megacrystic granitoid. Two distinct foliations, including a high-temperature amphibolite to granulite facies and a low-temperature greenschist facies fabric, are variably developed in rocks with different deformation intensities. Several anastomosing northeast-southwest trending high-strain zones, including the connected Rockfish Valley and White Hall high-strain zones, cut through the basement complex. Lenses of relatively less deformed rock occur within the 1-3 km wide high-strain zones. Kinematic analysis indicates general shear with possible triclinic symmetry and apparent flattening strain. Palinspastic reconstruction of a cross-section to its undeformed state reveals 35% total shortening and less than 3 km of vertical displacement.
Recommended Citation
Lederer, Graham, "Geology and Structural History of the Blue Ridge Basement Complex, Albemarle County, Virginia" (2009). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 324.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/324
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Comments
Thesis is part of Honors ETD pilot project, 2008-2013. Migrated from Dspace in 2016.