Date Thesis Awarded
5-2009
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelors of Science (BS)
Department
Geology
Advisor
Christopher M. Bailey
Committee Members
Brent Edward Owens
David W. Thompson
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. William & Mary. 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.