Basic Concepts in Geology

Chapter 1
BASIC CONCEPTS
IN GEOLOGY
Figure I-I
Geological map of the suhurbs
north-east of lhe centre of the city
of Melbourne. B
(From Melbourne and Suburbs
geological sheet, scale 1:31 680,
1959, Geological Survey of
Victoria).

Collingwood
COLLmG!"OOIllM~,y.
'C
"8
Victoria I

I)

Kilometres

m Alluvial flats. mud flats.

QUATERNARY
{m Basalts

TERTIARY
f""Cl Marine and non-marine sands, clays.
~ ferruginous sandstones and gravels

SILURIAN ~ Mudstones, siltstones and sandstones

~-s. 6. ~ Disused pit - Sand. Gravel, Clay

The most enjoyable way to study geology is to go into the country beyond the
Land use buildings and roads of the cities and to look at the various earth materials that occur
underfoot. Crops and pastures and other vegetation cover much of the land but
there are still plenty of places where rocks and soils can be inspected. In coastal
areas, cliffs are another place where there are large exposures of bare rocks. Even
in large cities earth materials can be found in places such as road cuttings, the banks
of streams and excavation made at construction sites.
People interested in finding out what makes up Mount Buffalo or what lies
below the Wimmera plains may start their investigations by buying a geological map
from a Government bookshop. They will hope that the map will tell them where
2 Chapter 1

to find different kinds of rock and that it will explain the geology of various places.
But although it may appear that the different colours on the map mean different
kinds of geology, the reader probably will still be bewildered by all the unfamiliar
names. On a geological map of the Melbourne district words such as Devonian,
Balcombian, rhyodacite, Deep Creek Formation and so on will mean nothing to
the reader. Nevertheless a start in studying geology can be made by going to several
areas represented by different colours on the map and considering what differences
there are between the areas - difference in natural features, in the shape of the
land and in ways in which the land is used.
Figure I-I has been copied from part of a geological map of Melbourne and
its surrounding suburbs that was published in 1959 by the Geological Survey of
Victoria. The figure covers some of the north-eastern suburbs. There are four areas
that were shown in different colours on the original map. In Figure I-I, these areas
are represented by different shadings and leners. A few of the features of each area
are discussed below:

Figure 1-2
Area A on Ihe map, al Abbotsford.
There is a large market garden in
from of the inslitmion in the
background. The garden is
established on rich loamy soils
formed on material deposited by
the Yarra River (in the
foreground) when it nooded
over its banks in the past. The
high ground on the right has a
shallow topsoil over clay and it
supports eucalyptus woodland.
(Photograph by N. W. Schleiger).

Figure 1-3
Area Bon Ihe map. at Collingwood.
The nat land is the ite of large
factories and high rise buildings.
Factorie were fir t built in this
area because the nearby Yarra
River provided a reliable source of
water and a layer of hard rock al
shallow depth offered slrong
foundations for big building. A
in Figure 1-2. Ihe land on the near
side of the river is hilly and more
suited 10 parkland and lower
density housing. (Photograph by
.W. Schleiger).

•'igure 1-4
Area D on .he map. Dighls Falls
on the Yarra al SlUdle~ Park.
There are lilted layer of a hard
rock in the river bank. The
original falls were composed of the
same rock. Further exposures of
similar rocks are found in cuttings
in the hills around ludley Park.
(Photograph by G.W. Quick).
 Basic Concepts in Geology 3

Area A (green on the published map)

Shape - the land is very flat.
Use - this area is used widely for recreational purposes (e.g. golf courses, sports
ovals). There are not many houses.
Soil - mainly deep loams. In the past, this sort of land was used for growing
vegetables and for small farms. Similar land today along the Maribyrnong River
is still used for market gardens.
Water - water is available at shallow depths in wells. In earlier days most water
had to be carried from the Yarra River.

Area B (pink on the published map)

Shape - also flat, but a little higher than area A land.
Use - dense housing and many factories, especially heavy industries.
Soil - heavy black clayey soils, which are very sticky when wet. They are fertile
but hard to cultivate. Brick houses sometimes develop bad cracks in the walls,
because the soils shrink and swell with seasonal change in the weather.
Water - good supplies of water can be obtained from borehole to shallow depths.
Mining - there have been some quarries in this area in a hard dark grey rock,
familiarly called 'bluestone'. The rock is crushed to give road metal. Block of
bluestone can be seen in old gutters, bridges and buildings. In similar terrain in
the western suburbs, bluestone quarries are till being worked.

Area C (yellow on the published map)

Shape - these areas form flat tops to some of the hilly suburbs on the map. Beyond
the boundary of the map, area C-type land forms most of the south-eastern
suburbs, where the terrain is gently rolling.
Use - this is also mainly residential land with only light industries. Many years
ago, the land was used extensively by market gardeners. There are many gol f
cour es laid out on this land.
Soil - gardening is easier on this land than anywhere else in Melbourne because
the sandy surfaces are easy to cultivate.
Water - rain soaks easily into the sandy soils, so water can be obtained from
boreholes. In time of drought and water restrictions, some residents use bores
to obtain water for their garden.
Mining - the map shows the sites of past and pit. In similar land to the south
in the Dingley - Springvale area, sand-mining i still an important indu try.

Area 0 (grey on the published map)

Shape - thi trongly contra t with the first two area: the land is a mixture of
hills and valleys.
Use - some of the more affluent suburbs are located on this land. Many houses
have attractive views of distant mountains to the east. It is less suitable for heavy
industry.
Soil - there is usually a shallow topsoil over blocky clay. The soils are hard to
dig and not very fertile.
Water - early residents would have found it difficult to find useful supplies of
water in wells or boreholes. Rainwater would have been the only assured source
of water in the higher parts.
Mining - the map shows there have been a few clay pits in this area. Further to
the east on similar land, clay excavations were more common. The material has
been used for bricks and house tiles. In addition, Melbourne's only underground
metal mines were on this class of land. Many years ago, gold was mined at
Warrandyte and antimony at Ringwood.

So what do these differences in land appearance and land use tell people about
geology? They show there are fundamental differences between the nature of the
four divisions on the geological map. These differences can be traced back to
differences in the rocks and loose earth materials that underlie Melbourne.
Area A, for example, is made up of alluvium deposited by nearby rivers when
they overflowed their banks in times of flood.
The dark grey rock, best seen in the quarries of arca B, solidified from lava thai
once flowed lowards the sea from volcanoes just north of Melbourne. These
volcanoes are now extinct. In the Organ Pipes ational Park near Sydenham, a
magnificent expo ure of thi volcanic rock can be seen.
Hard rocks are not so easy to find in area C. In the sand pits there are clearly
4 Chapter 1

deep layers of loose sand. However, there is also partly consolidated yellow and
brown sandy clay in railway cuttings close to Melbourne, especially those along the
Dandenong and Sandringham lines. If area C is followed to the coast, soft sandy
rocks are found in the cliffs at Sandringham and Black Rock, while hard brown
sandstones form low rocky ledges at the beach at Brighton.
In the hilly area D suburbs, the underlying rocks can be seen in many road
cuttings, e.g. at Studley Park. They are called sandstones and mudstones and typically
they occur in layers sloping to the east or west. The brick clays are simply decomposed
mudstones.
Geological maps are available for all parts of Victoria. By visiting several areas
of various colours, it will soon become clear that each colour has its own distinctive
appearance on the ground and is used in a particular way. In the country, potatoes
may be grown mainly on land of one colour only, fruit orchards may be on another
colour while other colours are left covered by forests. The different land uses all
relate in some way to differences in the underlying rocks and soils, that is to the
geology.

Composition an Our planet Earth has roughly the shape of a sphere with an average diameter of 12 740
kilometres. In their everyday lives, people are concerned only with the outermost
structure of skin of this sphere and the atmosphere above it. There are three important zones:
the Earth • the gaseous part or atmosphere, which is a mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, water
vapour and other minor gases;
• the liquid part, consisting of the waters of the oceans, lakes and streams;
• the solid part, consisting of rocks, ice and loose materials, such as soils and
sediments. These form the dry land and the floors of the oceans and lakes.
Apart from the heat and light provided by the Sun's energy, these three zones
supply everYthing that is necessary for human existence - oxygen, water, soils, food
and the raw materials for manufactured goods.
Water and oxygen circulate through the three zones and to some extent their
molecules help to build up the substances in the soils and rocks. However, most
of the substances from which soils and rocks are made came originally from inside
the Earth. It is therefore appropriate to continue the study of geology by considering
briefly the composition and structure of the Earth as a whole.
People have only seen directly the materials that are present at or very close
to the Earth's surface. They have reached depths of a little over four kilometres
in the deepest mines and less than that in the deepest descents into the oceans by
diving vessels. The deepest samples of rock have come from boreholes, which
penetrated up to twelve kilometres below the surface. There is, however, one natural
source of much deeper Earth materials. Many lavas and gases, that emanate from
volcanoes, are thought to have come from depths as great as 200 kilometres.

Figure 1·5
A small specimen of a meteorite
found af Cranboume, south-east
of Melbourne.
The first meteorite found in
ViclOria was in 1854, at
Cranbourne. II was composed of
coar ely-crystalline metallic iron. It
caused considerable excitement in
Europe at the lime, because it was
the largest meteorite ever
discovered. Since then, eleven
similar fragments have been found
along a flight path from
Beaconsfield 10 Pearcedale. Several
arc preserved in the Museum of
Victoria.

Other possible information on rock deep within the Earth may come from
the study of lIIeleoriles (Figure 1·5). These are extra-terreslrial rocks that come from
Space, Iravel through the atmosphere and finally collide with the Earth's surface.
Meleorite are believed to be fragments of small planet·like bodies that formed at
the same time as Earth and the other planets of the Solar System.
However, it is clear that people have never seen and are never likely to see the
great bulk of the material making up the Earth. Nevertheless, scientists are able
to make inferences about the interior of the Earth from stu<lies of some of its physical
properties - especially its denSity, its magnetic field and the behaviour of seismic
waves generated by earthquakes.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 5

It is generally believed that the Earth is made up of three major concentric

zones (Figure l'{). The zones are called the crust, the mantle and the core. The
materials in each zone have different compositions and different properties. There
appear to be fairly sharp breaks between these main zones. Each zone is further
subdivided into two. The heaviest materials are located in the innermost zone and
the lightest at the surface. Brief details of each zone are given below.
Inner core - composed of solid iron and nickel at temperatures up to 5000'C. Some
meteorites have a similar composition.
Outer core - composed mainly of molten iron and some nickel at temperatures
above 2000'C.
Inner mantle - is solid and composed mainly of silicates of iron and magnesium.
This contains by far the largest part of the Earth's material.
Outer mantle - has a similar composition to the inner mantle but it is plastic,
Le. capable of slow movement. The layer is about 600 kilometres thick. It is
an important layer because it is responsible for three major geological processes
which are disucssed later - earthquakes, some volcanic activity and the bending
and breaking of rocks in the overlying crust.
Crust - consists of two parts. The continental crust underlies the continents. It
consists of the large landmasses above the level of the sea and the submerged
margins of the continents called continental shelves. The outer edges of the
continental shelves, at a depth of about 120 metres, slope down steeply to the
floors of the deep oceans (Figure 1'{)3).
The oceanic crust lies below the floors of the deep oceans. It consists of rocks
that are heavier (denser) than those of the continental crust. The continental crust
is commonly about 35 kilometres thick, but its thickness increases to 60 kilometres
beneath some mountain ranges. The oceanic crust is only 5 to 10 kilometres thick
on average.

Figure Hi
7-70Km
The internal structure of the
Earth.
400Km .. ~ .. NORTH POLE
The structure and composition of
the Earth's interior have been
deduced from studies of its
density, its magnetic field and the
way it transmits seismic
(earthquake) waves. In addition,
volcanic eruptions supply samples
of materials that occur to depths
of up to 200 kilometres.

SOUTHPO~
Crust

Ouler Mantle (plastic) D Outer Core (liquid)

Inner Manlle (solid) D Inner Core (solid)

6 Chapter 1

The next sections of this chapter deal with the nature and origin of the materials
that make up the Earth's continental crust - soils, minerals and rocks. Before
moving on to these topics, however, a special earth-material called magma must
be considered. This is the parent material of rocks and minerals.

MAGMA
Magma is a hot fluid mixture of chemical substances. It includes both solid and
molten substances as well as water and gases in solution. Magma forms from the
melting of materials in the upper mantle and the lower crust. It is lighter and more
mobile than solid rock, so it tends to rise through the Earth's crust. The temperature
of magma varies between 500°C and 1400°C. As it nears the surface, magma
gradually cools. Some of it solidifies at depth, while the remainder forces its way
up through the crust and eventually is ejected from volcanoes as lava and hot gases.
Magma largely falls into two classes:
I. Basaltic magma - this is dark, very hot (900° - 1400°C) and relatively fluid. It
moves from the upper mantle to the surface. There it appears through volcanoes
on the land and sea-floor and through long cracks, especially across the deepest
parts of some oceans. The oceanic crust is derived from basaltic magma.
2. Granitic magma - this is lighter in colour, more viscous and cooler (below goo°C)
than basaltic magmas. It cools to form rocks that are only found on continents
and off-shore islands. Granitic magma forms when solid parts of the crust are
partly or completely melted by close contact with basaltic magma from the mantle.
Further discussion on magmas is given later in this chapter.

Most of the Earth's crust is made up of hard rock. Some of these rocks can be
Soils seen at the surface, where they are called outcrops. Large areas of outcrops are
mostly found in very arid, very high or very rugged regions or those that have been
scoured by sheets of moving ice. Elsewhere, even on the floors of the oceans, hard
rocks are covered by a variety of soft, unconsolidated materials. These can mostly
be called sediments. However there is one special layer of loose material, which
is vital to all living things that are found on dry land. This layer is known as soil.

NATURE OF SOILS
Soils are rarely more than one or two metres deep. People depend on them, however,
to obtain most of their food. This is supplied either directly through crops or
indirectly through pastures that support animals, the source of meat and dairy
products. The timber and natural fibre (wool, cotton, flax, etc.) industries are also
totally dependant on soil. It is the environment in which most plants and many other
living organisms (including bacteria, insects and burrowing animals) live.
Soils are dynamic resources because they have continual gains and losses of
materials to and from the air, streams, oceans, flora and fauna. They contain plant
debris and roots, small fauna of many kinds, air, water, organic matter (humus)
and mineral matter.
Soils are produced from two kinds of parent materials - residual and
transported.
I. Residual materials are underlying solid rocks, which are broken down very slowly
to form soils. In areas of temperate climate, such as in Victoria, probably less
than one millimetre of soil is produced every ten years. To develop deep soils
in this way, natural erosion must clearly be almost non-existent. Deep residual
soils are therefore mainly found in fairly flat upland areas. For example, there
are some high plateaus in Victoria, where there is little erosion by streams or
hillwash.
2. Transported materials are those that are carried imo an area by either water
(called alluvium) or wind (called aeolian material) or that slip downhill under
gravity (called colluvium). These materials are derived from the erosion of soils
that originated elsewhere. Deep soils on transported materials can develop
relatively quickly over a period of a few hundred years.
In many districts, young soils on river alluvium are the most fertile. They
contain freshly-decomposed rock particles. There has been insufficient time for
rain to dissolve out the chemical substances that provide plants with nourishment
(i.e. plant nutrients). Examples in Victoria are the river flats near Orbost and
Lindenow in Gippsland, which are prized for dairy farming and vegetable
growing.
There is a special kind of transported soil material that is common in western
Victoria. This was thrown out of volcanoes as recently as 10000 years ago. The
young soils on volcanic material are especially fertile. They are used intensively
to produce onions, potatoes and other crops and pastures.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 7

Soils are composed mainly of mineral mailer. This is made up of sand grains,
tiny clay particles and sill particles of intermediate size. They may also contain gravel
composed of pieces of local rock or of chemical deposits such as calcium carbonate,
magnesium carbonate or iron oxide. In drier regions, there may also be sodium
chloride (common salt) and calcium sulfate (gypsum) in soils.
Soils also contain humus. This is mainly decomposed plant matter, but it also
contains substances derived from animals. Humus is usually concentrated in the
top few centimetres, giving the topsoil a dark colour. Humus supplies much of the
fertility in soils and makes them easier to cultivate.
There are vast numbers of small organisms in soils. These range from
earthworms and small insects to microscopic plants, such as bacteria, fungi and
algae. These organisms and also larger plants play an important role in the weathering
of the parent rocks and sediments that produce soils. For example, plants liberate
humic acids, which then dissolve in soil water. These acids promote the breakdown
of minerals into soil particles, such as sand and clay, and also liberate plant nutrients,
such as calcium and potassium.
The depth, nature and appearance of soils vary greatly from place to place,
even within the one district. In part, these features depend on the types of rocks
from which the soils were formed. Other important factors are climate (especially
rainfall and temperature), drainage conditions, the slope of the land and the age
of the soils. Some soils in Victoria are one million or more years old. These materials
are quite distinctive, having been exposed to climates very different from present-
day ones. For example, tropical conditions several million years ago led to the
production of layers of ironstone and multicoloured clays - a process called
la/erisalion.
THE SOIL PROFILE
Most masses of rocks are uniform in appearance from one pan to another. By
contrast, soils are divided into layers called horizons. There are differences in the
colour, composition and other properties of the different layers. .
A vertical section of the various horizons from the surface down to underlymg
decomposed rock is called a soil profile (Figure 1-7). These profiles can often be
een in road and railway cuttings, trenches and other excavations. The main horizons
are referred to by letters of the alphabet as shown in Figure 1-7.
, ~~g:~odwp1~~I~eep
Figure \-7
The A, B, and C horizons of a ~;~kn:raanrrh~~~~11
soil profile. rools and organisms
e 9 worms lung,
Each horizon grades into (he one r...:.!4"-'-'qs~3.~ bacteria
beneath it. Pale loam Few rools
Hard when dry
seasonally waterlogged

c Weathered parenl malenal

(rock or unconsolidated
sed,menl)

Most of the humus occurs in the A horizon, so it is the darkest layer. Percolating
rainwater usually carries finely-divided clay and iron oxides out of this horizon down
to the underlying B horizon. The B horizon thus becomes rich in clay and may be
brightly coloured by iron oxides. Given thousands of years, this process may leave
a very pale A, horizon between the uppermost humus-rich A, horizon and the
underlying B horizon. This type of A, horizon ~nd the top of the B horizon may
also contain iron oxide nodules (called bucksho/ gravel) caused by alternate wetting
and drying. In some regions there are chemically-precipitated layers of calcium
carbonate or silica in the B horizon. If these layers are hard, they are called hardpans.
PROPERTIES OF SOILS
The properties most often used to identify soils are colour, texture, structure and
consistence.
Colour explain some things about the behaviour of soils. Dark layers, for
example, denote high humus contents. Red colours indicate good drainage. On the
other hand, alternate patches of brown and grey are an indication of waterlogging.
This prevents plant roOt and organisms, such as worms, obtaining air.
8 Chapter 1

Texture refers to the proportions of the particles, sand, silt, clay and gravel, that
are present in a soil. For example, sands, containing more than 90070 of sand-sized
particles by weight, are called 'light' soils. The heaviest soils, the clays, contain more
than 50070 clay.
These particles are defined by the folIowing ranges of grain sizes:

Particle Diameter
(milIimetres)

gravel > 2
sand .02 - 2
silt .002 - .02
clay < .002

Texture affects how easy it is to cultivate a soil, how easily water drains through
and the amount of moisture available to plants. Soil texture therefore has an important
influence on plant growth. The ideal texture is considered to be a loam, which is
a mixture of sand, silt and clay particles in roughly equal quantities. Grains of various
sizes are usually present in soils. Consequently it is possible to have such textures
as silty loam, sandy clay, etc.
Structure is the term used to describe how horizons break up into aggregates.
Terms such as platy, columnar, blocky and granular are used. Soils with no observable
aggregates (e.g. most sands) are termed 'single grain' when loose or 'massive' when
coherent. Structure has a big influence on the ease of digging, water penetration
and water retention. Granular material is crumbly and so is the easiest to cultivate;
it also drains well.
Consistence refers to the resistance of a soil to breaking. Terms such as 'soft',
'hard' and 'friable' are used. Soft and friable soils are easy to cultivate and they do
not hamper the spread of roots. Soils are only hard when dry. Some soils, particularly
in northern Victoria, are so hard in summer that they cannot be dug with a spade.
This greatly limits their productivity under crops and pastures.

Major differences in soil profiles provide the basis for classifying soils into
different groups. Smaller differences lead to a subdivision into soil series and types.
These form the basis for mapping and classifying soils in a district. Victorian State
Government departments, the CSI RO and some Universities have published soil maps
of many parts of Victoria.
Descriptions of the main soil groups in Victoria and problems associated with
soil are given in Chapter 2.

It has been shown that people could not survive without air, water and soils. However,
Minerals to reach out beyond a mere subsistence way of life, people have to use a large variety
of other substances. These other resources come from the rocks of the Earth's crust.
Some rocks are used in the form in which they are found in the ground. For
example, buildings can be constructed from blocks of hard rock. For many uses,
however, it is not rocks as a whole, but the individual grains within them, that provide
people with useful substances. These grains are known as minerals. Nearly all rocks
are mixtures of minerals. A mineral is a 'naturally occurring chemical compound
with a definite chemical composition and an orderly internal arrangement of its
aloms'.
This means:
I. Each mineral has a fixed chemical composition and so it can be represented by
a chemical formula.
A few minerals are chemical elements, for example:
• diamond - carbon (C)
• gold (Au).
Some are oxides or salts with simple formulae, for example:
• calcite - calcium carbonate (CaCO,);
• barite - barium sulfate (BaSO.);
• rutile - titanium oxide (TiO,).
Most minerals, however, including some common species, have complex formulae
containing four or more elements.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 9

2. Each mineral has a distinctive external crystalline shape, which reflects the orderly
internal arrangements of the atoms. Crystals are solid grains with distinctive
geometric shapes, consisting of flat faces meeting at sharp edges. Some crystal
shapes can be seen with the naked eye, but most are only visible under a
microscope (Figures 1-8 to 1-10).

Figure l-S
A cluster of needle-like crystals of
the mineral aragonite (CaCO,).
Each long crystal has six faces.
The longest crystal is 4.5
centimetres. The small crystals in
the background are analcime, a
mineral of the zeolite family. These
specimens were found at Kennon
Head on Phillip Island.
(photograph by 1. Leach).

Figure 1-9
A perfectly-shaped crystal of Ihe
zeolite mineral, analcime,
photographed using a scanning
electron microscope.
This crystal is 0.5 millimetres
across. Each face is nat and has
four sides: one pair of sides is
longer than the other. This
specimen was found in a quarry at
Bundoora, north of Melbourne.

Figure 1-10
Roughly rectangular-shaped
cryslals of plagioclase feldspar seen
under a microscope at 25 limes
magnification.
Both large and small feldspar
crystals are present. (photograph
by G.w. Quick).
'0 Chapter 1

FORMATION OF MINERALS
Most common minerals are produced from the crystallisation of magma on or below
the Earth's surface. Within the Earth's crust, they are usually chemically stable and
remain unchanged over long periods. Ne.ar the surface, however, many minerals slowly
react with water and oxygen to form new species. This process is called weathering.
New minerals may also be formed when older minerals are transferred to zones of
higher temperature andlor pressure by movements in the Earth's crust.
Water plays a very important role in lhe formation of minerals. Without water
the Earth would only have about 100 minerals. This is the number found on the
Moon, where there has never been any water.

CHEMISTRY OF MINERALS
Minerals can only be made up of one or more of the 90 or so naturally-occurring
elements of the Periodic Table. However, most of these elements are rare in the Earth's
crust. Most minerals are formed by combinations of two or more of only thirteen
elements. Surprisingly many useful elements are not in this group, e.g. copper (Cu),
sulfur (S), and zinc (Zn).
Over 99070 of the Earth's crust is made up of oxygen (0), silicon (Si), aluminium
(AI), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg).
Another 0.5% consists of titanium (Ti), hydrogen (H), phosphorus (P) and
manganese (Mn). Carbon (C) is also locally abundant in rocks derived from living
organisms, such as coal and limestone (mainly calcium carbonate).

Figure 1-11 IMPORTANT MINERALS

The smcon-oxygen tetrahedron of
atoms that forms the basic
building btock of most rock-
forming minerals.
The small silicon atom fits into
the space between four oxygen
aloms. the laller are arranged in
Ihe shape of a pyramid.
There are nearly 3500 recorded minerals on Earth and new ones are found every
year. Occasionally new minerals have been found in Victoria. Maldonite, a gold
bismuth compound (Au,Bi) was named after a gold mining town in central Victoria,
where the mineral was first recognised in the nineteenth century. A recently discovered
mineral in Victoria, ulrichite, a copper calcium uranium phosphate, was named after
an early geologist in Victoria, George Ulrich, who discovered maldonite.
Most minerals are only of interest to collectors or specialist mineralogists. Less
than two hundred minerals are either common or important for most people in their
daily lives. These fall into three groups:
• rock-forming minerals
• accessory minerals
• economic minerals.

Rock-forming minerals
As the name implies, rocks are mainly made up of one or more of these minerals.
The basic framework of most rock-forming minerals is made up of atoms of oxygen
and silicon. Each fundamental building block consists of four oxygen atoms equally
spaced around a central silicon atom (Figure 1-11). These units, called tetrahedrons,
are linked and stacked and combined with other atoms in many different ways to
give minerals classified chemically as silicates. Aluminium atoms are of similar size
10 silicon atoms. In some rock-forming mineral groups one or more of the silicon
atoms are replaced by aluminium atoms, giving aluminosilicates.
figure 1-\2 There are seven major groups of rock-forming silicate minerals; they are listed
Major rock-forming silicate groups. in Figure 1-12. The first group consists of only one mineral, quartz. In all the other
groups there is a range of minerals. Members of each group have similar internal
I. quartz arrangements of aloms and similar crystal shapes, but there are differences in the
2. feldspars aloms present. Chemically they are mostly silicates or aluminosilicates of five common
(a) ort hocla e metallic ions - potassium, sodium, calcium, iron and magnesium. These ions link
(b) plagioclase
3. micas
the silicon-oxygen tetrahedra. Calcium, potassium and sodium ions can substitute
4. pyroxenes for each other, and iron for magnesium.
5. amphiboles Quartz, feldspar and white mica are the clear or pale-coloured minerals in rocks
6. olivine formed from magma. Brown mica, pyroxenes and amphiboles are the dark minerals.
7. clays Olivine is green. When rocks containing these minerals decompose and disintegrate
on the Earth's surface, the feldspars, pyroxenes and amphiboles are converted to clays.
Quartz, however, is hard and chemically stable. Together with the clays, it passes
into soils. Many Victorian beaches also are made up of quartz grains.
There are a few other minerals which are common in some rocks. The most
important is calcite (calcium carbonate). Calcite is the main component of a widely-
occurring rock, limestone. Some beach sands and sand dunes are largely formed
from broken pieces of sea-shells, which in turn are made up of calcite crystals. Calcite
is also present in many soils in lower rainfall regions.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 11

Accessory minerals
A small number of minerals are present in minor amounts in many kinds of rocks.
Many of these accessory minerals are very stable. The commonest are magnetite
(Fe,O.), ilmenite (FeTiO,) and apatite (a complex calcium compound).
:>ome accessory mmerals provide much of the colour in rocks and clays. Yellow
and brown colours are usually caused by limonite, a mixture of iron oxide compounds
containing water. Red colours are mostly due to hematite (Fe,O,). Manganese oxide
(pyrolusite) produces black lines and deposits on rocks.

Figure 1-13 Economic minerals

Import8nl economic mineral Some rock-forming minerals have industrial uses. Quartz (as sand), clays and calcite
groups.
(as limestone) are especially important. Because they are so common, these minerals
usually do not sell at very high prices. On the other hand, there are many other useful
Economic minttal E.umple minerals that are valuable because they are comparatively rare. These are called
group economic minerals.
nalive elements gold (Au) Economic minerals are not normal constituents of rocks. However, in certain
metaUiC' oxides cassiterite (SnOl)
metaUic sulfides gal ena (PbS)
unusual geological environments they become concentrated in mixtures of minerals
metaUic carbonates magnesite (MgCO) called ore bodies. Rocks are ore bodies, when it is profitable to extract them from
other salts barite (BaSO.) the ground and to process them in order to obtain one or more minerals needed
by industry.
The chemical compositions of most common economic minerals are simpler
than those of the rock-forming minerals. Economic minerals are classified into the
five chemical groups given in Figure 1-13. Some economic minerals are deposited
from Ouids emanating from magmas. Others are concentrated by processes of rock
weathering.

Rocks form the solid outer part of the Earth's crust. For convenience most geologists
Rocks use the term 'rock' to include all materials of the crust apan from water, ice and
thin layers of soil. Following this definition, rocks include not only hard, massive
materials, but also unconsolidated deposits such as sand dunes, river gravels, thick
layers of clay and so on. These oft or loose materials are usually young in the
geological sense. However, at some time in the future, they will all consolidate to
form rocks in the popular meaning of the word. On geological maps, soft materials
such as river alluvium and swamp clays are treated as geological formations in the
same way as hard rock uch as granites are.
'Rock', however, ha a different meaning for engineers and engineering geologists
(see Chapter 7). They limit the term 'rock' to consolidated hard material, which will
support heavy loads and can only be extracted from the ground by blasting with
explosives. They call all soft material 'soil'.
On close examination, perhap helped by a magnifying glass or a microscope,
it is apparent that rocks are made up of a large number of mineral grains. Most
rock are hard because:
• the grains are interlocking; or
• because the grain are bound together by ome cementing substance, such as iron
oxide or silica.
In a few rocks, all the mineral grains belong to one species, e.g. limestone is
largely calcite. Most rocks though contain two or more types of minerals. There are
several hundred kinds of rocks, but only a few are common on all the continents.
The main components of rocks are the common rock-forming minerals discussed
previously - quartz, feldspars, micas, amphiboles, etc.
In Victoria, there are less than ten common rocks. In some country regions,
especially the Wimmera and Mallee, it is the unconsolidated materials - deep deposit
of sand and clay - that predominate. Elsewhere the most widespread rocks are
sandstone, shale, granite and basalt ('bluestone'). Most people will be familiar with
these rock name and many would recognise one or more of them in the ground.
There are also many other less common rock types in Victoria. As example,
limestone, coal and rocks with less well-known names such as siltstone, hornfels,
rhyolite, dacite, gneiss, schist and conglomerate are common in some areas. Large
quantities of dacite, hornfels and limestone are quarried in some outer eastern
suburbs of Melbourne to provide cru hed rock creenings.
Rocks can be classified in various ways to help people to understand the
differences between them. First they are divided into three major groups:
• igneous;
• sedimentary;
• metamorphic.
Thi division is based on fundamental differences in the ways in which rocks are
formed.
12 Chapter 1

Figure 1-14
Granite from Wilsons Promonlory.
This is a plutonic rock, which
solidified deep in the Earth's crust
about 360 million years ago. It is
made up of visible crystals of clear
quartz, white feldspar and the
dark brown mica mineral, biotite.

Figure 1-15
Basalt from a lava flow exposed in
the excavation made for the
Victorian Arts Centre on the south
side of the Yarra Ri"er, near
Princes Bridge.
The site is near the end of a now
of lava, that erupted from a
volcano at Hayes Hill, 30
kilometres north of Melbourne,
about 800 000 years ago. The
basalt is a dark grey rock. The
lava solidified quickly and
individual crystals are hard to see
with the naked eye. The black
patches are holes caused by steam
escaping from the lava.

Figure 1-16 IGNEOUS ROCKS

Magmatic differentiation.
As magma moves slowly upwards Igneous rocks form by the cooling and solidification (i.e. crystallisation) of magma.
through the Earth's crust, the As discussed in a previous section, there are two major types - granitic magma
mineral with the highest melting and basaltic magma It might be supposed, therefore, that there would be only two
igneous rock types - granite and basalt (Figures 1-14, 1-15). While these two are
point starts to crystallise first. As
very common, particularly in Victoria, there are also many other igneous rocks,
these crystals settle, the remaining
magma has a different composition although most are rare. There are three. main reasons for this variety of igneous rocks:
to the original magma The 1. Granitic magma forms from the melting of previously solid parts of the Earth's
gradual separation into layers of crust. The composition of the crust varies from place to place, so magmas of
different composition is called
magmatic differentiation.
different composition can form when the crust melts.
2. As magma rises from the upper mantle and lower crust, it becomes cooler.
Eventually minerals with higher melting points begin to crystallise and settle out.
This process is called magmatic differentiation (Figure 1-16). The composition of
a magma is therefore continually changing. The type of rock finally produced
depends on the composition of the magma when it solidifies.
3. The composition of a rising magma can also change as overlying crust rocks melt
and mix with it. This process is called assimilation.
Granitic rocks are rich in silicon.
• They contain much aluminium, smaller quantities of potassium, sodium, calcium
and water as well as minor magnesium and iron.
o The main minerals present are therefore quartz, feldspars and micas.
o They crystallise from viscous magmas, which erupt violently if they reach the
surface.

Basaltic rocks are poor in silicon.

• They also contain much aluminium, far more iron, magnesium and calcium than
are in granitic rocks, but less potassium, sodium and water.
• The common minerals are calcium·rich feldspars (plagioclase), biotite mica and
ferromagnesian minerals (i.e. olivine and members of the amphibole and pyroxene
groups).
• They crystallise from fluid magmas, which often erupt as relatively quiet flows
of lava.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 13

Classification of igneous rocks

Figure 1-17 A simple classification of igneous rocks is given in Figure 1-17. It includes localities
Classification of igneous rocks. where some types can be found in Victoria.

PLUTONIC MINOR) TRUSIONS VOLCANIC

Silica Common Orthoclase Plagioclase (dykes) Orthoclase Plagioclase
'I, minerals predominant predominant predominant predominant
present
A > 66'1, quartz, GRANITE GRANODIORiTE aplil~, pegmat;t~ RHYOLITE R H }'ODA CITE DACITE
C feldspar. e.g. e.g. quartz porphyry e.g . e.g.
I mica • Mount Buffalo • Mount Alexander • Warburton • Mount Dandenong
0 • Wilsons • Mount Baw Baw • Marysville • Mount Macedon
Promontory

I 55-66070 feldspar, sJ'~n;r~ diorite trQChYl~ Qndes;t~

N amphibole e.g. Benambra e.g. e.g. e.g.
T • Woods Point • Hanging Rock • Mount Stavely
E • Walhalla • Casterton • Nowa Nowa
R
M
E
0
I
A
T
E
B 45-55010 feldspar. gabbro do/~rit~ BASALT
A amphibole, e.g. orth of e.g. e.g. Western
S pyroxene Murrungower, East • Heathcote District
I Gippsland • Dookie
C
U < 45~0 pyroxene. monchiquitt
L olivine e.g.
T • Bendigo mines
R
A peridotite
B e.g. Aberfeldy
A
S
I
C

Rock names In capital lellers are common In VIClona

Rock names in small leiters are uncommon in Victoria
Ul
Figure \-18 -'
« ULTRABASIC BASIC INTERMEDIATE ACID
The chief minerals of igneous a:
w
rocks. z
The diagram shows the main ':1
z
minerals that are likely to be found « "S-
in the four main classes of igneous (jj 80 O
rocks. (After H.H. Read and J. w
z "o-;
Watson, Beginning Geology, Cl
« I
m
Macmillan - Allen and Unwin, ::; :D
1966).
o ;::
ffi 60 I
Z
u.. m
:D
u..
o '{!.
w ()
Cl o
;:: ;::
"U
z oZ
w
u m
ffi
Q.
20 z
-;
Ul

5a:
Q.
Q.
«

Two features of igneous rocks are used to establish where each one fit into
the classification.
I. Their chemical and mineral composilion
Silicon is the commonest chemical element present in igneolls rocks. In Figure
1-17, the four horizonlal divisions - acid, intermediate, basic and ullrabasic
- relate to the amount of silicon present as the oxide, SiO,.
One or more types of feldspars are present in most igneous nocks. The
classification distinguishes between rocks richer in pOlas ium (i.e. orthoclase
feldspar predominates) and those richer in sodium and calcium (i.e plagioclase
feldspar predominales).
14 Chapter 1
Figure 1-19 (below)
A basic dyke (right of the tree)
intruding folded Lower Palaeozoic
mudstones in a cutting on the
Woodstock - Wandong Road in
the Merriang Hills, north of
Melbourne.
East-west dykes of this sort are
common in the Melbourne region.
They range in age from Eocene to
Miocene. The strike of the
mudstones is nearly north-south,
parallel to the road. At this
locality the beds dip at a low angle
away from the road: they are close
to the axis of the Merriang
Syncline. This fold has been traced
for many kilometres. (photograph
by .w. Schleiger).
Figure 1-20 (right)
Thin layers of basaltic tuff along
the south rim of Tower HiU, a
volcanic complex between
\\\Irrnarnbool and Port Fairy.
The layers consist of fine volcanic
material that was thrown out of a
crater and deposited over the
surrounding country. Occasional
white layers consist of grains of
calcium carbonate. (Photograph
by .W. Sch leiger).
2. Where the rock formed
The three wide vertical columns in Figure 1-17 indicate whether the rock
solidified on or below the Earth' surface. Large bodies of rock that crystallised
from magma deep below the surface are said to be of plutonic or intrusive origin.
There are also thin sheet-like bodies of magma that solidified along cracks
through older rocks near the surface. The e minor intrusions are called dykes.
Magma that reached the surface produced volcanic or extrusive rocks. Volcanic
rocks are further subdivided into lavas (which flowed from a volcano) and
explosive (or pyroclastic) types which were thrown out as fragments from a
volcano. Only lavas are included in Figure I-I?
Volcanic rocks can be seen forming around many volcanoes in the world today.
By contrast, the intrusive rocks found at the surface were aU formed in the past.
They are only visible because other rocks, which once covered them, have been
worn away over a long period.
Pyroclastic rocks do not fit easily into a rock classi fication. They can be described
by their chemical and mineral composition, in which case the same names as for
lavas are used. For example, rocks in the Dandenong Ranges are called rhyodacites
and dacites, even though they solidified from material blown out of volcanoes, not
from lava flows.
Alternatively, names are used for pyroclastic rocks which reflect the size of
the fragments in the deposit and the type of volcanic explosion involved. Under
this system, some common rocks found in Victoria are:
• tuff-made up of fragments generally less than two centimetres in diameter and
often layered like a sediment. (Also called ash beds before consolidating to a rock);
• agglomerate - made up of fragments generally greater than two centimetres in
diameter;
• scoria - mas es of frothy basalt, which almost solidified in the atmosphere;
• ignimbrite - a rock formed from the cooling of a cloud of very hot gases and
volcanic fragments, that moved at high speed over the land. Much of the material
is non-crystalline volcanic glass, which welded the rock together.
The size, shape and orientation of the mineral crystals in an igneous rock are
determined mainly by where it solidified. These features provide the texture of
the rock. Intrusive rocks contain large crystals up to five millimetres or more across
because they formed from a slowly cooling magma beneath the Earth's surface.
They have a medium- to coarse-grained texture.
In contrast, volcanic rocks formed from magma that solidified rapidly at the
Earth's surface, so their crystals are much smaller than those in granitic rocks.
They have a fine-grained texture. Some volcanic rocks cooled very rapidly, for
example where the magma erupted under water. These rocks may consist mainly
of glass, that is amorphous material without any crystalIine structure.
Some minor intrusive rocks called porphyries contain large crystals (e.g. quartz)
in a matrix of fine-grained crystals. The large crystals are called phenocrysts
(Figure 1-21).
Igneous rocks are very widespread in Victoria and form many distinctive
landscape features. These include Mount Buffalo and Wilsons Promontory, made
up of granitic rocks. An acid volcanic rock, rhyodacite, forms the prominent
landmarks of Mount Macedon, Mount Donna Buang and the Dandenong Ranges.

Figure 1-21 (right)
A rhyolite ignimbrite from near
Eildon.
There are large crystals of pink
feldspar and grey quartz in a
streaky, fragmental groundmass. It
is an acid pyroclastic rock, which
formed from malerial ejected by a
large., explosive volcanic eruption
during Upper Devonian times.
Figure 1-22 (below)
Wealhering of a dyke rock al
O'Shannassy Reservoir near
Warburton.
This form of weathering in which
layers of weathered rock are
peeling off is called exjoliQ/ion or
simply, onion or spheroidal
weathering. The dark rock is a
near-vertical porphyry dyke,
about one metre thick, which
intruded acid volcanic rocks. It
contains larger crystals
(phenocrysts) of feldspar and
hornblende. Weathering ha taken
place where water and air
percolated along the margins of
the dyke and across occasional
horizontal fractures. The deeply
weathered outside material has
produced a thin residual soil, in
which grass has taken root.
(Photograph by P.G. Dahlhaus).
Basic Concepts in Geology 15
I 1"
By contrast, very fluid basalt lava flows erupted from many volcanoes in south-western
Victoria spread out over hundreds of square kilometres to form the nal plains of
the Western District. The sites of the volcanoes remain as small hills ri ing at intervals
over the plains.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
It has been shown that igneous rocks are produced from magma, which originated
deep below the Earth's surface. By contrast, sedimentary rocks are made up of recycled
minerals, which come from material already at the surface.
Sedimentary rocks to a large extent result from the two main processes, which
shape the Earth's landscape:
• erosion - or wearing away; this takes place mainly on land and along coastlines.
• deposition - or building up; this happens mainly under water, although some
occurs on land.
The most distinctive feature of sedimentary rock is that they are made up of
layers of minerals and (sometimes) rock fragments. Each layer is called a bed or
stratum. The planes separating beds are called bedding planes.
Sedimentary rocks are classified into two broad clas es:
• detrital or clastic rocks. (From the words, 'detritus' = material worn away and
'klastos' (Greek) = break);
• organic and chemical rocks.
Detrital rocks
These are made up of mineral grains, which were left after older rocks decomposed
and disintegrated under the innuence of various climatic factors. The mineral grains
were carried away by streams (or sometimes by wind or glaciers) and eventually
dropped in the sea, in lakes, along river beds or elsewhere on land. Initially the
material dropped was soft and unconsolidated, as in river silts, sand dunes and swarnp
clays - these are called sediments. Over millions of years, as layer upon layer of
sediment wa deposited in an area, the lowermost layers became compacted by the
weight of overlying material. The mineral grains were also cemented together by
chemical deposits. Finally hard rocks were formed.
The minerals in detrital rocks are chemically stable, as they have survived the
break-up of rocks, tran POrt and compaction. The main components are quartz
(e pecially in sands) and clays (in muds). Feldspars, micas and fragments of the parent
rocks may also be present.
Detrital rocks and sediments are like soils - they can be classified in terms
of the sizes of the particles that are present (Figure 1-24).
Because most detrital mineral grains have been rolled over and over and rubbed
against other grains during transport, they are usually partly or wholly rounded.
This contrasts with the sharp well-shaped crystal outlines in many igneous rocks.
Detrital rocks are widespread in Victoria. Coarse sand deposits occur on many
beache along the south coast. Sands are also heaped up in dune along parts of
the coa t and over the plains of north-western Victoria. Off hore on the noors of
the bays and on the deeper ocean noor, there are thick deposits of muds and sands,
which may become hard andstones and hales in the future. Sand tones, iltstones
and shale are common rocks in many hilly and mountainous area, and they also
form steep cErf along orne part of the coast, e.g. east and we t of Cape Ot\vay,
and Cape Paterson to San Remo.
16 Chapter 1

Figure 1-23 Some of the more attrnctive landscapes in Victoria are formed by thick deposits
Dip and strike of sedimentary of detrital rocks. Hard sandstones in particular often provide prominent escarpments.
beds. Scenic examples are found in The Grampians in western Victoria and the Moroka
Strike is the bearing or compass
direction of a horizontal line on a
- Wonnangatta region in centrnl Gippsland.
bedding plane of a sedimentary Figure 1-24
rock. The term is also used for Classification of detrital
fault planes and other planar sedimentary rocks
features in rocks, e.g. joints.
Dip is the angle between a SEDIMENT SEDIMENTARY ROCK
horizontal plane and a bedding
plane or other type of plane in a Diameter of particles Name Name Features
and pieces (mm)
rock. True dip is measured at right
angles to the direction of strike. C > 256 boulder
Apparent dip is the angle 0 conglomerate rounded rock fragments
measured in any other direction. A often cemented together
R 4 - 256 pebbles,
Apparent dips are often seen in S cobbles
sedimentary rocks exposed in road E breccia angular rock fragments
cuttings. that are not perpendicular 2-' gravel
lO the strike.
M 0.062 - 2 sand sandstone mainly Quartz.
E
D
I
U greY'fo'Dckt quanz, feldspar,
M rock fragmentS

0.004 . 0.062 silt siltslQlle line quant

F
I
sho/e·
N
E
< 0.004 clay
mudstone } mixtures of
silt and clay
claystolle abundant clay
marl lTUlinly clay and calcite

-The lerm shale is used for a fine-grained rock Ihal is laminared (i.e. very thinly-bedded) andjis.file (i,e. II spIllS
along bedding planes). A mudslone tends 10 break into irregular fragmenls.
Note: The ranges of diameters used for the various par1icle sizes by Geolo-
gists differ from those used by SDiis Scientists (see earlier).

Figure 1-25
Conglomerate from St Helena, Figure 1-26
northeast of the Melbourne suburb Shale from the Bendigo district.
of Greensborough. Shale is used for fine-grained
It consists of rounded pebbles of sedimentary rocks, that are fissile,
white quartz and grey sandstone in i.e. they split along the bedding
a cement of finely crystalline plane. Mudstone is used for fine-
quanz, clay and iron oxides. It grained rocks that split into
occurs in rocks called the Brighton irregular blocks when hit by a
Group on geological map of the hammer. Both contain silt and
Melbourne area. They were laid clay.
down in river beds over two
million years ago. These deposits
are widespread in the south-eastern
suburbs of Melbourne, but are
mostly only hill cappings in the
nonh and north-eastern districts.
 Basic Concepts in Geology '7

Organic and chemical rocks

These rocks are formed by biological activity and chemical precipitation.
The most abundant organic rock is limestone, which consists largely of calcite
crystals. There are many kinds of limestone. Most are made up of broken shells and
fragments of skeletons of various organisms, especially those that lived in the sea.
The fragments may have accumulated where they grew (as in a coral reel) or they
may have been carried away by ocean currents and deposited in layers elsewhere.
There are prominent beds of porous limestone, full of shell pieces, in the coastal
cliffs between Torquay and Anglesea and at Pon Campbell. Hard crystalline limestone
occurs at Lilydale and in the Buchan district.
Figure 1-27
Sandstone escarpments in the
Wonderland Range in The
Grampians.
The Grampians offer some of the
most piclUresque sceneI)' in
Victoria and they are easily
accessible for tourists. There are
many rock faces formed by beds
of sandstone, as seen in this
photograph. The shallow sandy
soils support a variety of low
native shrubs, which provide a
colourful noral display in the
Spring. (Photograph by G.W.
Quick).

Figure 1-28
Limestone from Buchan, in East
Gippsland.
It is made up of the remains of
corals (seen in cross-section)
packed together in a matrix of
fine-grained calcite and other
mineral grains. These corals
evidently lived in 'coral gardens'
with large numbers of conical
corals sitting upright. This rock is
dark grey in colour and was
formed in a shallow sea, some 380
million years ago. (Photograph by
lA. Webb).

Coal is another imponant organic sedimentary rock. It formed from rotting

vegetable matter, such as grasses, leaves and wood fragments, which accumulated
in poorly drained areas. (See Chapter 5 for further details of coal formation).
To some extem chemical rocks formed in a similar way to detrital rocks. When
older rocks decomposed and were worn away by running water, orne chemical
substance dissolved in the water. These ubstances were carried away in solution
to eas or lakes. In certain circumstances, e.g. after evaporation in lakes and lagoons,
the soluble substances crystalli ed as layers of salt. Rock salt (sodium chloride) and
gypsum (CaSO,.2H,O) form beds in some inland salt lakes. Some limeslOnes are
also chemical precipitates.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
In the past, some sedimentary and igneou rocks were heated andlor squeezed by
forces deep in the Earth's crust. They did nOI reach melting temperatures so magma
was nol formed. The force did, however, cause changes in the textures and mineral
compositions of lhe rocks. This process is called metamorphism and lhe results are
metamorphic rocks. Water comained in the minerals and pore spaces of rocks played
an important part in lhe chemical reaclions lhat look place during metamorphism.
The overall chemical composition of a mass of rocks does not change much during
metamorphism apart from the gains or losses of water.
Melamorphi m cannot be seen laking place on lhe Earth's surface. Nevertheless
metamorphic changes are alway happening very slowly deep in the upper cominental
crust. The changes take place in the solid state.
There are two broad types of metamorphism:
• contact (or thermal) metamorphism;
• regional metamorphism.
18 Chapter 1
Figure 1-29 (left)
Slate from near Tallangalla in
north-eastern Vicloria.
This is a dark grey, very fine-
grained rock wilh flat cleavage
planes. The rock can be easily split
along Ihese planes. The original
sedimentary rock was a mudstone,
Ihat was regionally metamorphosed
10 slale, probably aboul 400
million years ago.
Figure 1-30 (righl)
laly cleavage een in folded.
metamorphosed sedimentary rocks
exposed in a road CUlling.
A sequence of mud tones and
siltstones was folded by squeezing.
The Slresses changed the rocks 10
slales. They also cau ed flaky
minerals, rich in mica, to grow
into a parallel vertical alignment.
This alignment produced parallel
planes and weakne ses called
cleavage. The rock will split along
Ihe cleavage planes and not along
the bedding planes.
Contact metamorphic rocks
These were formed when magma intruded cooler sedimentary rocks. As
temperatures rose, chemical reactions occurred between water in the pores of the
sedimentary rocks and the mineral grains. The result was usually a denser, harder
rock than the original.
The zone adjacent to an intrusive rock, where contact metamorphism occurred,
is called a metamorphic aureole. This zone may vary in width from a few tens of
centimetres to many kilometres.
Some contact metamorphic rocks are:
Quartzite - a dense, hard rock formed by the recrystallisation of quartz grains in
a sandstone.
Marble - usually a coarse-grained rock formed by the recrystallisation of calcite
crystals in a limestone.
Hornfels - a dense, dark grey, fine-grained rock formed from mudstones and shales.
Contact metamorphic rocks can be found in ViC10ria almoS! everywhere granitic
rocks have intruded sedimentary rocks. Aureoles of hard rocks such as hornfels often
stand out as ridges, because they resist erosion beller than granite and sedimentary
rocks. Examples close to Melbourne occur at Lysterfield and near Broadmeadows.
Regional metamorphic rocks
These rocks formed in parts of the Earth's crust, where moderate to high pressures
and temperatures existed over million of years. A wide range of new minerals may
be present.
A feature called foliation is usually developed in regional metamorphic rocks.
Foliation is a roughly parallel structure along which the rock tends to split into flakes
or thin plates (Figure 1-29). It usually involves either:
• a parallel alignment of flat minerals (e.g. micas, chlorite) in fine-grained rocks; or
• a separation of different minerals into parallel bands in coarse-grained rocks.
Foliation should not be confused with bedding in sedimentary rocks. Foliation
is a response to the squeezing pressures during metamorphism; it can develop at any
angle to the original bedding.
Slaty
deavage
Some regional metamorphic rocks are;
Slate - a very fine-grained, dark grey rock u ually formed from shale. It can be
plit into thin slab along parallel planes - a feature called slaty cleavage
(Figure 1-29, 1-30).
Schist - a rock that splits along wavy planes. Platy crystal can often be seen with
the naked eye. Schists are formed under more inten e metamorphism than that
producing slates. They can be produced from many types of igneous and
sedimentary rocks. Schists are named after the mo t prominent mineral present,
e.g. mica schist, amphibole schist.
Gneiss - a coar e-grained rock made up of parallel bands of light and dark minerals.
The band may be highly contorted. Quartz and feldspar commonly form the
light band, and ferromagnesian minerals and biotite the dark bands.
Both igneous and sedimentary rocks can be changed by regional metamorphi m.
Granite gnei and green tone (formed from basaltic rock) are examples of former
igneous rocks that are found in Victoria. Some unusual minerals, which only form
at high temperatures, may also be found in metamorphic rocks, e.g. garnet,
sillimanite, cordierite.

Figure 1-31
The metamorphism of mudstone
or shale.
Mudstone or shale can change to
slate, schist or gneiss, depending
on the intensity of temperature
and pressure.
Fossils
Figure \-32
Slages in the formation of fossils.
(a) a primitive fish is swimming in
the sea in a past ~eological
period.
(b) the fish has died and is rapidly
being covered by sediments.
(c) The thickness of sediments is
increasing and the fish is now
completely buried. The deepest
sediments are slowly being
convened to rocks. The soft
parts of the fish have
decomposed or were removed
earlier by a scavenger. As the
rocks formed, the hard parts of
the fish were probably replaced
by minerals or they were
dissolved. In any case they left
an impression (cast) on the
sediment. A nautilus is
swimming in the sea above.
(d) casts of the nautilus shell and
the fish skeleton are preserved
in the rocks, which have been
upli fled above sea-level. Erosion
has exposed part of the fossil
fish.
Basic Concepts in Geology 19
MUDSTONE SHALE
layers or laminations
clay minerals change to ---.. mica crystals -change 1 0 _ feldspar crystals
r------- intenSity 01 metamorphism
Many sedimentary rocks in Victoria have been subjected to mild regional
metamorphism, because they were buried under considerable thicknesses of other
rocks and compacted. Schists and slates are common in the Pyrenees Range and
in hills west of Ararat and Staweli. Gneiss is widespread in the mountains between
Omeo and the H ume Reservoir.
The word fossil is applied to any evidence in sediments and sedimentary rocks that
living organisms existed in the past. This evidence can take many forms. It might
be a bone or shell of an extinct animal or it may be some indirect indication of
past life, such as a burrow made by a worm or an animal footprint left in the sand.
The study of the history of life on Earth, as recorded by fossils, is called
palaeon/ology. This science investigates the evolution of various animal and plant
families since life first appeared on this planet. By human observations, it is known
that many animals and plant species have become extinct over the past few hundred
years. Unfortunately most of these extinctions were caused by human activity.
However, similar processes were taking place long before humans appeared on this
planet. Over a very long period, various life forms have competed for particular
environments with dominant species eventually excluding weaker forms. The fossil
record shows that different species have been the dominant forms at different times
during the history of the Earth.
Most living things consist of fluids, soft parts (e.g. skin, tissues, flesh) and hard
pans (e.g. bones, shells, seeds). Hard parts have the best chance of surviving over
a long period and of becoming fossils. Clearly, shelly fossils are more likely to be
preserved than jellyfish. Whether an organism eventually becomes a fossil depends
on the environment in which it lived and died. Evidence of creatures that lived in
the sea is more likely to be found than that of land-dwelling plants and animals.
This is because on land animal and plant remains are destroyed fairly quickly by
the action of atmospheric agencies (e.g. oxygen, water) or by bacteria. There are also
many carrion-eaters (scavengers), that is, animals that eat dead flesh. For a land-
dweller to have been fossilised, it was usually necessary that some catastrophe took
place. For example, a creature may have been buried by a landslide, trapped in a
bog, drowned in a flood and covered with silt, or covered under material thrown
out by a volcano.
/ ..
~~~,~.!:~~:~ ..
(a) (b) . .
".
...
I •.
..
(e) . (d
20 Chapter 1

The main types of fossils are:

I. Those in which both hard and soft parts are preserved.
These are very rare. However, some complete remains of animals have been
preserved in peat bogs and frozen ground in Arctic regions, e.g. prehistoric
mammoths found in Siberia. Insects have also been found completely encased
in amber, a resin formed on extinct pine trees.
2. Those with only the hard parts preserved.
The shells in which marine organisms with soft bodies lived and the teeth and
bones forming the skeletons of more advanced creatures are common forms of
fossils. Most shells are made of the minerals calcite or aragonite (both calcium
carbonate). Calcite in particular is stable over very long periods. Many limestone
deposits are rich in fossils of th;s type. For example, in western Victoria, there
are extensive limestone formations, rich in shells, corals and sea mosses (called
bryozoa). Sharks' teeth are found in sandy clays in the cliffs at Beaumaris on
Port Phillip Bay.
3. Those in which the hard parts have been replaced.
In some fo sils, the hard parts of organisms were replaced or in filled by chemical
substances, such as silica, calcium carbonate, iron oxide or iron sulfide. These
chemicals were derived from water circulating in the ground. The replacement
took place gradually, molecule by molecule, and so even minute details of original
organic tissues were preserved.
The remains of vegetation found in brown coal are an example of this kind
of fossil - the original wood changed to other carbon compounds. Where the
brassy yellow mineral, pyrite, replaced plants or shells, it usually decomposed
rapidly when the rocks were later exposed to the air by erosion. The pyrite (iron
sulfide) oxidised to iron oxides and hydroxide, so the fossils now occur as rusty
red outlines.
There are also many occurrences in Victoria of petrified wood, i.e. wood replaced
by silica (Figure 1-33). Particularly striking forms of replacement fossils have been
found on occasions in opal mines in inland Australia. Colourful shells and
skeletons of fish have been found where animal skeletons were replaced by opaline
silica.

Figure 1-33
Petrified wood, a fossil exposed in
a cuning on the Princes Highway
near Manamingo Creek, eight
kilometres north-east of Genoa in
Easl Gippsland.
Along the CUlling there are
unconsolidated quartz gravels, grit
and sands, that were depo ited by
a river during the Tertiary period.
The fo sil tree trunk protrudes
from the sediments and appears to
extend well into the bank. It
formed beeau e silica molecules
replaced the original organic
compounds in the tree. The silica
was originally dissolved in V.later
percolating through the ground.
The tree now consists largely of a
variety of the mineral quanz. 4. Those in which the soft or hard parts have left an impression on sediments which
(Photograph by .J. Rosengren). later become rocks.
Impressions of very soft creatures such as jellyfish have been found in ancient
rocks in some pans of the world, e.g. in sandstones in the Flinders Ranges, South
Australia. Fo sil footprints of extinct animals are another feature. The animals
evidently walked across clayey or sandy ground, and their prints were later covered
by depo its of sediments. For example, footprints of an unknown vertebrate
have been found in sandstone on the floor of the Genoa River in East Gippsland
(Figure 1-34).
5. Those in which hard parts are preserved as casts or moulds.
Fos il shell are often found in this form. If a marine bivalve, (i.e. an animal
enclosed in a shell of twO interlocking valve ), died on the sea-floor and was
buried by sediments, the form of the shell may have been preserved in anyone
of three way :
(a) Percolating acidic solution may have completely di olved the calcareous
hell within the sediment, leaving an impre ion in a cavity known as an
extema/mould.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 21

(b) If the shell filled with sediment and later was dissolved, then both external
and internal moulds may be preserved, i.e. outer surface and inner surface
impressions of the shell (Figure 1-35c).
(c) If the cavity left by the shell (Le. the mould) was later filled by silica or
calcium carbonate deposited from percolating water, a cast of the original
fossil may have been preserved (Figure 1-35d).
Figure 1-34
Fossil tracks left by an amphibious
vertebrate on sandstone on the
noor of the Genoa River, East
Gippsland, near the border with
New South Wales.
These tracks were discovered in
1972 and are possibly the oldest
footprints left by a four-footed
animal found anywhere in the
world. The animal walked across
wet sand beside a river about 360
million years ago. The direction of
travel was from right to left.
(Photograph courtesy of Zoology
Department, Monash University).

Figure 1-35
Formation of fossil casts and
moulds.
Casts and moulds are impressions
left in sedimentary rocks by
former living creatures. In the
diagram, a bivalve has died and
been buried on the sea-noor. Its
shells can leave casts or moulds in
various ways:
(a) After the creature died, its
soft parts decayed, leaving the
shell.
(b) The shell was buried and
/.a
6. Indirect evidence of once-living creatures supplied by their burrows, trails and
droppings.
These fossils are surprisingly common in some rock. Ground which has been
disturbed by burrowing animals, such as worms, is said to be bioturbated. Modern
examples can be seen along the shoreline at the coast or along tidal river flats
(Figure 1-36).
An example of burrows preserved in ancient rocks formed in shallow seas is
provided by abundant vertical burrowings in sandstones of the Grampians Ranges,
e.g. along the track to the summit of Mount William.
PALAEONTOLOGY
To study palaeontology it is necessary to have a detailed knowledge of biology -
perhaps specialising in either zoology (animals) or botany (plants). In both sciences,
classifications have been developed that divide living organisms into various groups.
The naming of many fossils (and living organisms) is often difficult for beginners,
because changes are made to the classification tables from time to time. Only a
small proportion of the fossils di covered have been named and described. Later
in Chapter 4 of this book, various Victorian fossils are illustrated and described
as the history of the development of various geological formations in this State
is discussed. The main groups used in classifying plants and animals -living and
fossil - are given in Figure 1-37.

y
filled by sediment on the
sea-noor. (a)

0 +
(c) The sediments around the
shell were compressed by Cast 01 shell
overlying material and
eventually they have been (d)
converted to a sedimentary
rock. The shell dissolved (b)
away. Both internal and
external moulds of the shell
surfaces were left in the
sedimentary rock.
\J J::Q::) Original shelf
(d) Allernalively, the cavity left
by the shell in lhe sedimentary
rock was laler filled by silica
or calcium carbonate from
External mould t
~almOUld
Sediment

~)
~ Secondary calcite
percolating ground waters, so (C)
thaI a caSI of the shell was
produced.
22 Chapter 1

Figure )-36
Modern bioturbation.
The faint line seen below the
centimetre scale is the track left by
a gastropod (sea-snail) -
Bembicium nanum - as it moved
over wet sand from the sea to the
right. Such tracks can be preserved
in rocks, that is after sands have
hardened to sandstones. The .
depression in the sand around the
pebble may also be preserved.
(photograph by NW Schleiger).

MONERA
t= Bacteria
Cyanobacteria (stromatolites)
PROTISTA

~
Brown alga,
Diatoms
Green algae
Red algae
Protozoans (foraminifera. radiolarians)
Dinonagellales
FUNGI
PLA TAE
Mosses. liverworts
Lycopods
Horse-tails
Figure \-37 Ferns
A \JIble of the main forms of life Seed r,ms }
Penloxylales
found as fossils. Conifers Gymnosperms
Cycads
Ginkgos
Angiosperms (flowering plants, grasses,
A (MALIA
Porifera (spo:oges. stromatoporoids)
Coelenterates

~
rJt7.~~s
rugose corals
tabulate corals
hexacorals
Bryozoans (sea mosses)
Brachiopods
L articulates
C inaniculates
Annelids (segmented worms)
Molluscs

E
gastropods (snails)
bivalves (clams. scallops. CIC.)
scaphopods (tusk shells)
cephalopods (ammonoids. nautiloids, squids)
Arthropods
~ruslacealls· trilobites. ostracods, crabs

t=
Echinoderms
msects
horseshoe crabs

~
~~~~:~: (sea lilies)
star fish
briHle stars
echinoids (sea-urchins)
Conodonts
Hemichordates
L graptolites
Chordate!>
L vertebrates
jawless fish
fish with jaws and armour
bony fish
lungfish
!>harh and ray~
amphibians (frog.\. !lalanlandcrs)
reptiles (lizard.., dillo~aurs)
birds
mmnmals
 Basic Concepts in Geology 23

Geological time Geologists do not only want to know how and where minerals, rocks and fOssils
were formed - they are alsO interested in when they are produced. The matter
of time can be considered in two different ways:
• relative time
• numerical time

CONCEPT OF TIME
If someone says that John is older than Jane, we know that John has been living
longer than Jane or that John was born before Jane was. But from this statement,
John and Jane could be children, middle-aged or elderly people. Even if John and
Jane are standing in front of us, we cannot tell their ages by looking at them.
In the same way, it may be clear that lava from a volcano has flowed over an
area of sandstones - sO the volcanic rock is younger than the sedimentary rocks.
But the eruption may have occurred at any time - it may have been last year or
five hundred million years ago - the relative positions of the rocks could be the
same in both cases.
However, if the first statement is changed to John is 21 and Jane is 17 years
old, we have some numerical information. John was born 21 years before now and
Jane J7 years ago. Their years of birth can be calculated by counting back 21 or
17 years. Similarly rocks have ages. For example, the volcanic rock mentioned above
may have solidified one million years ago; the sandstones may be much older, say
200 million years.

RELATIVE TIME IN GEOLOGY

Geology first began to be recognised as a science in Europe in the late eighteenth
century. Over the next hundred years, geologists gradually established the sequence
in which geological events had taken place since the Earth was formed. This led to
the development of the subdivisions of time given on the left hand side of the
geological time scale shown in Figure 1-40.
On this scale, geological time is divided into various eras, periods and epochs.
The oldest rocks on Earth are placed in the Archaean division. Going up the scale,
the divisions become progressively younger, finishing with the Recent or youngest
rocks.
The names Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and sO on were given by various
European geologists. The origins of these words are explained in Chapter 4. They
were introduced to represent the periods during which certain prominent sequences
of sedimentary rocks in Europe were deposited. Each sequence contains distinctive
assemblages of fOssils. The end of one period was often indicated by the extinction
of a particular fOssil species or the appearance of some new form. One of the best
known extinctions was the disappearance of the dinosaurs, which marked the end
of the Cretaceous Period.
Gradually it became recognised that the European divisions could be applied
on a world-wide basis. It was reali ed for example that the Devonian Period was
one of widespread limestone reef formation in many pans of the world. The
Carboniferous Period was a time when thick coal deposits were formed in the
continents of the Northern Hemisphere. Several things should be noted:
J. When the time scale was introduced in the nineteenth century, the absolute ages
of the various time divisions were not known.
2. The divisions are not of equal length.
3. Although the end of each division was sharply defined in the country in which
it was first named, the sharp divisions are not necessarily present in all parts of
the world. In addition, there may have been a sudden change in the geological
environment in Australia during a particular period when uniform conditions
prevailed in Europe.
For example, in Victoria, sediments were continuously deposited on the floor
of the sea during the Silurian and early part of the Devonian Period. The later
part of the Devonian and the Carboniferous periods, however, are characterised
by sediments laid down by rivers over large areas of land. There was thus a more
important change in geological conditions in the middle of the Devonian than
there was at either the beginning or the end of that period.
4. During any particular period, it is possible that no sediments were deposited in
many regions, despite rocks of that age having been found in some part of Europe.
For example, during (he Triassic Period, the only sedimentary rocks (0 be
preserved in Victoria were those now found over a small area near Bacchus
Marsh.
24 Chapter 1

DETERMINATION OF RELATIVE GEOLOGICAL TIME

The geological time scale was built up gradually by studies of:
I. Field relationships between rock units.
2. The fossils in rocks.
Both sedimentary and igneous events are recorded in the time scale.
I. Field relationship are between rocks of different groups or types in contact
with one another. Several simple principles may be used to determine which of
two groups of rocks is the older.
(a) Principle of superposition. In a sequence of more or less flat layers of
sedimentary and/or volcanic rocks, it can be reasonably assumed, that the
oldest rocks are at the boltom and the youngest at the top.
(b) Principle of cross-cutting relations (Figure 1-38). Igneous intrusions and
geological fractures (e.g. faults) are younger than the rocks they intersect. An
intrusive igneous rock is also younger than adjacent sedimentary rocks if there
is a metamorphic aureole present. Conversely sediments lying over an intrusion,
but not metamorphosed by it, are younger than the intrusion. These ideas
can be extended in some places to telling the relative ages of two sedimentary
groups, which are close but not actually in contact with each other. One group
may be intersected by numerous dykes, whereas the other is not. The likelihood
is that the sequence of events was:
3. youngest formation of rocks not inter ected by dykes.
2. t intrusion of dykes.
I. oldest formation of rocks intersected by dykes.

Figure 1-38
Principle of cross-cutting relations.
This principle states that a rock is
younger than any other rock it CUIS.
In this illustration the rock units are
numbered in order of decreasing age;
namely:
I. older folded sedimentary rocks
2. large granitic intrusion
3. older dyke
4. younger sedimentary rocks
5. younger dyke

(c) Principle of inclusions. One rock is younger than another, if the first rock
contains fragments of the second. For example, conglomerates deposited by
fast-flowing rivers contain boulders of other rocks. The conglomerate is
younger than any of the formations from which the boulders were derived.
For example, in Figure 1-25, the quartz pebbles are of Devonian age, but the
conglomerate is Tertiary.
Likewise, some volcanic rocks contain lumps of rocks, which they tore out
of older sedimentary rock formations as they rose to the surface. This shows
the volcanoes erupted after the sedimentary rocks were formed.
2. Principle offaunal succession. Some nineteenth century geologists, who recognised
the principle of superposition, also studied the fossils contained in sedimentary
rock sequences. In some areas they noted that the upper (younger) rocks contained
different fossils to those in the lower (older) beds - even though the rocks may
have been very similar in appearance (e.g. both grey shales). Gradually it was
established that rocks of different relative ages usually contained different
assemblages of fossils. These differences were not simply explained by the rocks
being deposited in different environments, e.g. one sequence in marine conditions,
another in freshwater lakes.
Gradually a picture was built up of so-called faunal succession - or changes
in the forms of life on Earth over successive periods. Recognition of these changes
enabled geologists to compare the relative ages of sedimentary rocks, even when
they were not close to each other.
Not all fossils are useful in determining the relative ages of rocks. Some existed

Figure 1-39
An angular unconformity between
Silurian and Tertiary rocks
exposed on the southern side of a
railway cutting near Royal Park
station.
Evidence of two geological events,
that occurred about 400 million
years apart, is seen in this cutting,
only four kilometres north of the
centre of Melbourne. Most of the
cutting exposes thin beds of
sandstones and mudstones of
Silurian age. They were laid down
in horizontal layers on the ocean
floor, just over 400 million years
ago. Later forces within the Earth's
crust lifted the beds above sea-level
and squeezed them, so they are
now tilted to the east. Near the
top of the cutting, there are
sandstones and some gravels,
which were deposited in shallow
sea water about five million years
ago. Fossils found in similar rocks
not far away indicate the ages of
both these rock formations.
(photograph by G.w. Quick).
Basic Concepts in Geology 25
over many periods without changes in their appearance. There are some cyano-
bacteria (stromatolites) that are found in rocks of all ages from the Pre-Cambrian
onwards. The presence of fossil stromatolites in a rock therefore gives no clue
to the age of the rock.
The most valuable fossils are those that existed for a relatively short time, but
were nevertheless widespread around the world. Many species of small floating
marine organisms called graptolites are very useful for this reason. Some are
described in Chapter 4. Graptolites found in rocks of Victoria are identical with
species found in Ordovician rocks of Great Britain; hence the Victorian rocks
are also Ordovician.
Unconformities
An unconformity is a surface between two rock masses, that represents a substantial
break in the geological record. It indicates a period of time after earlier sedimentary
rocks were deposited, when erosion removed some of the rocks and finally deposition
of sediments started again.
There are several kinds of unconformities. The most obvious type is illustrated
in Figure 1-39; it is called an angular unconformity. The sedimentary rocks on the
lower part of the railway cutting are older than those at the top. The older beds
dip at a steeper angle than the younger ones. The unconformity marks a period when
the older rocks were tilted and eroded. It is also possible to have a nonconformity,
which is an unconformity where younger sedimentary rocks were deposited on an
eroded surface of older igneous rocks.
NUMERICAL GEOLOGICAL TIME
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, afler the geological lime scale had been
developed, geologists began to look for ways by which the numerical ages of various
geological divisions could be calculated. Various techniques were used, including
studies of the rates at which sediments were laid down and the rate at which the
salt content of the oceans increased - assuming the first oceans contained fresh
water only. These methods all proved to be unsatisfactory for one reason or another.
Nevertheless they pointed to a common conclusion - that the planet Earth wa of
great age, probably hundreds of millions of years old.
26 Chapter 1

Figure 140
Geological lime =Ie.
Geologists throughout the world
use the subdivisions given in this
scale, although in the United States
of America, the Carboniferous is
divided into a younger major unit,
the Pennsylvanian and an older
major unit, the Mississippian.
However, there is much
disagreement about the ages at
which each period commences and
finishes. The ages given here were
supplied by the Geological Survey
of Victoria and are considered to interval is too shon to be shown
be suitable for use in Victoria. As on the time scale. The Pleistocene
more radiometric dating of igneous and Recent together constitute the
rocks and other geological research Quaternary Period.
is carried out, there will be an
increasing trend towards a
universally accepted dating of the
various periods and epochs.
On the right are shown the
ranges in time during which
various forms of life existed.
Note: the last 10000 years of
geological history are usually
called the Recent Epoch. This

J-.:'RA-=--",,,,PE,,R..IOO,,,"~EPOCH

CRETACEOUS

U
'ON 'RA 6 145
~NI'fOZ
N
PHANER 250 0 JURASSIC
-OZOIC P....LAEOZOIC UJ
560 W
::;
205

~ TRIASSIC

Z °• 250

a:" 5
m ••
PERMIAN

::; 290

"
U
W
2500
CARBONIFEROUS

c: 360
Q.

U
6 DEVONIAN
N
0
w 405
"it-' SILURIAN
436

ORDOVICIAN

51

CAfvlBRIAN

560
LAND PLANT
L.ANDAN/IML T FORM EXtiNCT
MARINE ANIMAL

MARINE iLAND PLANT

AERIAL LIFE t FORM CONTINUES

Finally over the past few decades. a technique known as isotope dating or
radiometric dating has been used to calculate the numerical ages of rocks with
confidence. There are certain unstable radioactive elements (called parent isotopes)
that gradually lose particles from their atomic nuclei and change into atoms of other
elements (called daughrer isotopes). By experiment it is known that the rate of
decomposition or decay from any parent to its daughter isotope is constant. Each
Figure 141 (IeCl) parent-daughter pair has a distinctive rate of decay. which is measured by the time
Decay of a radioacth'e isotope at taken for half the radioactive isotope to decay. This is known as the radioactive half/ife
an exponenfial rate. of the pair (Figure 1-41).
After each time interval, half the
isotope decays. It never completely
disappears.
Figure 142 (righl)
A linear rate of decay. AMOUNT OF
Half the candle burns in a certain ORiGINAL Amount 01
ISOTOPE candle
time and the remaining half 1/4 ! remaining
REMAINING
disappears after the same time.
Sand passing through an hour :~; ;~~~·:~::;;~~~~;;E;~~~~~::~~:j.:~;~~~~~~;:;·:: : : : /
/
glass al 0 has a uniform straight 1 2 3 4 5- o 2hr 4hr 1-
line depletion. Number of Half Lives I I hall lire 2 half liotes

Figure 1-43
Radioactive isotopes used in the
radiometric dating of igneous
rocks and hence in calculating
numerical geological time.
The uranium-lead pairs are often
studied in zircon crystals and the
other two in muscovite or biotite
crystals.
The term tectonics comes from the
Greek word, tektonikes, a
carpenler. It embraces all the
building processes in the Earth's
crust that affect the structure of
the rocks and lhe shapes of rock
masses.
Basic Concepts in Geology 27
As an example, the isotope uranium-235 disintegrates to form lead-207. This
decay has a half-life of 713 million years. This means that if a vein containing uranium
ore was intruded 713 million years ago, the ore mineral today would contain equal
amounts of uranium-235 and lead-207. The decay occurs at an exponential rate. In
the next 713 million years, half the remaining uranium-235 will decay and so on.
The decomposition never quite reaches the point where all the uranium disappears
(Figure 1-41). This contrasts with the burning of a candle, which follows a linear
decay. That is to say, if half the candle burns in two hours, the remaining half burns
in the next two hours (Figure 1-42).
Isotopes Half-life l)f EHective
parent dal ing range
Parent Daughter (millions of years) (mUlions of years)
Uranium·238 Lead·206 4S00 10·4600
Uranium·235 Lead·20? 710 10·4600
Potassium40 Argon-40 1300 0.1-4600
Rubidium-87 Stranlium-87 47000 10·4600
Radioactive dating is applied chiefly to unweathered igneous rocks. It is assumed
that when they were first intruded into the upper crust, they contained no daughter
isotopes. Hence if the ratio of parent to daughter isotopes is m~asured today, a
calculation can be made of the time that has elapsed since the parent first arrived
in the crust.
By combining the ages of igneous events calculated by isotope dating with the
information about relative geological ages previously known, a geological time scale
with numerical ages before the present time has been developed (Figure 1-40).
Present evidence suggests that the age of the Earth is about 4.5 - 4.6 billion years.
This is the time that has elapsed since the Earth condensed from a large rotating
gas cloud called the sotar nebuta.
The laboratory techniques used for measuring the concentrations of radioactive
isotopes in minerals are complex. It is usually only possible to achieve dates that
are accurate within a few per cent. There are also still disagreements between geologists
about the precise positions of many boundaries shown in the geological time scale.
Consequently there are usually differences in detail to be found in the time scales
given in different books. For example, the start of the Cambrian is variously given
as 600 to 530 million years ago. In Victoria, 560 million years is considered to be
close to the date. Undoubtedly, as experimental techniques and geological knowledge
improve in the future, more precise dates will be allocated to past geological events
and the duration of each period and epoch.
Many natural physical and chemical aClions control the geological processes that
shape the face of the Earth. Some of the processes already discussed briefly include
the rise of magma, the changes to metamorphic rocks, the decomposition and erosion
of rocks and so on. Other processes will be introduced later in this chapter.
However, there is one major geological process known as plate tectonics which
must be considered at this point. Full details of this process have only become
understood in recent times, but within its framework, nearly all other geological
processes can be explained. Plate tectonics involves the continuous, very slow,
movement of slabs of the Earth's crust called plates. These plates slide over the top
of the upper mantle at the rate of centimetres per year.
The concept of plate tectonics does not only explain how and why there are
continuous, although almost imperceptible, movements of the continents. It also
explains why, associated with these slow movements, there are periodic sudden violent
events such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. It also shows how layers of
sediments, that were deposited on past ocean floors, were later lifted above sea-level,
crumpled, crushed and built into mountain ranges.
There are many aspects of plate tectonics, which can only be satisfactorily
explained at the Tertiary level of geology studies. Indeed the theories are continuously
being reviewed and modified as new information comes to light. In simple terms,
however, the main points about the theory of plale tectonics are as follow:
1. The Earth's crust is made up of about fifteen plates, seven of which are very large.
All are moving at different speeds and in different directions (Figure 1-44). At
their surface the plales may be represented by either continents (continental crust)
 28 Chapter 1

EURASIAN

PLATE NORTH

-
AMERICAN
Japan Trench 11, PLATE /
San Andrea~ "'1:.
Faull "$.p
Marianas CARIBBEAN ARABIAN
;::
P~ATE

"
Trench PLATE a:\
cocos
~ r'7
\
PHILIPPINE
PLATE J'/l
""
(
'."em
I'/c C">.
~, '-:) CJ~ PLATE PACIFIC PLATE 'T/(j

'" /; '=:- ~~
SOUTH AMERICAN iP~
I PLATE
INDIAN- ""- AFRICAN PLATE()
I
~"
AUSTRALIAN Kermadec
.1'0(, PLATE
17---
Tonga Trench
(v
-
o~
"$/
0 (J
11)(1: -
Ian Rise
- --

• • Subduction zone

Mid-ocean ridge
- Direction of plate movement
Zones of deep-focus earthquakes

Figure 1-44 (above)
The world's major te<lOnic plates.
The plates move away (diverge)
from the mid-ocean ridges, where
new oceanic cruSt is continually
being formed. The plates move
towards (converge on) the
subduction wnes. Earthquake belts
occur along many of the plate
boundarie . The Pacific, Nazca
and Cocos plates are mainly
oceanic crust. The other plates
contain both continental and
oceanic crust
Along its nonhern boundary,
the Indian-Australian Plate is
converging on other plates and the
collision is forcing up great
mountain ranges, e.g. Himalayas.
Owen Stanley Range (papua
Guinea).
or by the floors of the oceans (oceanic crust) or by combinations of these two
(Figure 1-45).
2. The oceanic crust is made up of basaltic rocks. The continental crust consists
of less dense granitic and metamorphic rocks.
Although sedimentary rocks form well over half the outcrops around the world,
the total thickness of this skin is very small compared with the total thickness
of the crust. Hence only the granitic and basaltic parts are discussed here.
3. There are some long zones where two oceanic plates are diverging, that is, moving
away from each other. These movements do not leave a great widening chasm
in the crust under the ocean however. Instead new oceanic crust is being created
continuously by the eruption of lava along the so-called mid-ocean ridges (Figure
1-45). This eruption occurs mainly below the sea. The new crust moves outwards
from the ridges by a proce s called sea floor spreading. Figure 1-44 shows for
example where the Indian-Australian Plate is splitting away from the Antarctic
Plate along the South-east Indian Rise beneath the Southern Ocean.
4. Where two blocks of continental crust collide, the materials of the upper crust
are pu hed up to form mountain ranges. for example, the collision between the
ew north-moving Indian-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate led to the formation
of a long mountain belt, that include the Himalayas. The building up of

Figure 1-45 CONTINENTAL CONTINENTAL

Oceanic and contineRlal crusi. PLATFORM PLATFORM

The average composition of the

upper part of the Earth's crust is
similar to that of the rock
granodiorite. At deeper levels, Ihe
rocks are under greater pressure.
They are probably more layered
wilh an average composition like
that of basalt. The oceanic crust
has up to one kilomelre of
sediment overlying basalt. II is
continuously moving away from
mountain ranges does nOl continue indefinitely of course. High mountains are
the mid-ocean ridge.
constantly being worn down by moving ice (glaciers) on their upper slopes and
high rainfall and torrential river on their lower lopes.
5. A plate of oceanic crust can move towards and pass underneath a continental
crust plate. This occurs at a subduction zone. An example occurs where the
azca Plate meets the western edge of the South American Plate. Pushing-up
 Basic Concepts in Geology 29

Figure 146
The geological processes occurring Folding and
along a convergent plate boundary. mountain building
The oceanic crust on the left is Metamorphism and I
converging (colliding) with the
crustal deformation + Granitic intrusions

continental plate on the right Trench

along a subduction zone.

Sediments on the oceanic and Sd· t :~=O:c=O:.n:iC~p~'.~t~o~~
e lmen S
Oceanic crust
continental plates are crumpled
into a folded mountain belt along
the margin of the continent.
Older sedimentary rocks on the
continental plate, deep in the
crust, are undergoing
metamorphic changes where the
temperatures and pressures are
high. The descending oceanic crust
is partly melted and reacting with
the lower crust 10 form new
granitic magmas. These magmas
rise through the folded
sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks of the continent to form
igneous intrusions. effects along this boundary have caused the uplift of the Andes Mountains
(Figure 1-46). Both 4. and 5. are examples of convergent plate boundaries.
6. Some plates do not diverge or converge, but slip past one another, e.g. San
Andreas fault system of western North America.
7. Nearly all the world's active volcanoes are situated close to the main subduction
zones or on spreading ridges. The Hawaiian volcanoes are a notable exception.
They are far from the boundaries of the Pacific Plate on which they occur.
8. Most of the world's largest and most destructive earthquakes occur on subduction
zones or where plates are colliding or sliding past each other. In recent times severe
earthquakes in Iran, Yugoslavia, Turkey and Armenia all occurred along the
southern boundary of the Eurasian Plate.
9. The pattern of crustal plates, that is recognised today, has not always existed. The
Antarctic and Indian-Australian plates have only been diverging since Early
Cretaceous times, some 130 million years ago. Prior to that, Australia and
Antarctica were joined together as one continent. Earlier again all the Southern
Hemisphere continents formed part of a supercontinent called Gondwana. During
the first half of the Palaeozoic times, Australia was near a converging plate margin
to the east. There were then various periods of mountain building.
10. Over the complete geological history of the Earth, there were other plate systems,
within which continents were being formed, joined, broken apart and moved in
different directions. Like all the other continents, Australia is a jig-saw puzzle,
consisting of irregular blocks of continental crust added at different times. Working
out the origin of the various pieces and when they were fitted together is a task
in which some geologists specialise.

If the Earth's crust was nOl split into various moving plates, long ago it probably
would have consolidated into a uniform mass of rock covered by a universal ocean.
But, because there are various chemical and physical forces acting in the crust and
mantle, particularly along the boundaries of the moving crustal plates, the Eanh
has an ever-changing face. At any time, parts of it are being built up while other
pans are being destroyed. The most active regions keep changing in time and place.
Today Australia is geologically a fairly stable continent with a subdued
topography. This is explained because it is located well inside the Indian-Australian
Plate. But not far away along the nonhern coast of Papua New Guinea and extending
we tward across Indonesia, some of the most powerful geological forces are manifest
from time to time. There, where the Pacific Plate is converging on the Indian-
Australian Plate, there have been recurring violent volcanic eruptions. Nearby in Papua
New Guinea great mountain ranges have been thrown up in geologically recent times
by the tectonic forces.
During the Early Palaeozoic era Victoria probably was clo e to a converging
plate boundary. Then there were many superimposed episodes of mountain building,
intrusions of granite and regional metamorphism as well as volcanic activity and
probably earthquakes. It is difficult to unravel this complex geological history and
explain it in simple plate tectonic terms.
In the next sections, some of the main geological processes, which have been
referred to briefly earlier, will be discussed in more detail. Most of these processes
are driven by forces related to plate tectonics.
30 Chapter 1
Magmas and
igneous activity
Figure 147
The formation of magmas in the
continentsl crust.
Basaltic magma rises from the
upper mantle and is erupted
through volcanoes. Granitic
magma is formed by the melting
of rocks in the lower crust and it
intrudes into the upper crust. Dyke
swarms may include both basaltic
and granitic magma types. The
boundary between the lower crust
and the upper mantle is calJed the
Mohorovicic Discontinuity or
Moho. It is not a sharp junction,
however, and is probably much
deeper beneath continents than
below the ocean.
The illustration shows features
which have occurred during the
geological history of Victoria.
TYPES OF MAGMA
Earlier in this chapter, reference was made to the existence of granitic and basaltic
magmas below the Earth's surface and to the parts they played in forming igneous
rocks.
The principles of plate tectonics can be used to explain why there are different
types of magma and how they move upwards through the Earth's crust.
There are two main sources of magmas:
• some come straight from the Earth's upper mantle - these are primary magmas;
• some form by the melting of other rocks - these are secondary magmas.
Magmas originate at depths between 2 and 200 kilometres below the Earth's surface
(Figure 1-47).
Basaltic volcanoes Folded sedimentary rocks.
with lava llows metamorphic locks
at depth
/"--...
Melling 01 lower porlion Upweling basaltic magma
01 continental crusl by Irom upper mantle
basalllc magma Itorn mantle
1. Primary magmas - these magmas originate in the Earth's partly molten upper
mantle. They are usually basaltic in composition and fairly mobile. They can
therefore rise rapidly, eventually reaching the surface as volcanic material at one
of the following outlets:
• at a diverging plate boundary provided by a mid-ocean ridge, e.g. the boundary
between the African and South American plates. The island of [celand is a rare
case of an oceanic ridge rising above sea-level at the north-eastern end of this
ridge.
• where a deep fracture, cutting through a continent, meets the surface.
2. Secondary magmas - these magmas form when masses of rock are heated by
one of the following ways:
• by oceanic crust being forced deeper into the Earth during subduction.
• by lower continental crustal rocks being intruded and melted by primary magma.
When basaltic oceanic crust, covered by some sediments previously deposited
on the ocean floor, moves down a subduction zone towards the mantle, it is heated.
Some of the material melts to give a new magma with a higher silica content than
the original basaltic magma. The first magma is often formed offshore from the
edge of a continent. [t commonly has the composition of an andesite and it rises
to give a chain of andesitic volcanoes called an island arc. The Japanese islands
were built in this way.
Where the subduction zone continues under the margin of a continent,
increasingly silica-rich magma is formed. This magma is produced partly from
molten oceanic crust and partly from the melting of the rocks of the crust. The
result is a granitic magma, the most common type found at depth within
continents.
MOVEMENT OF MAGMAS
All magmas move upwards because they are less dense than the surrounding rocks.
They push upwards along fractures or by melting, chemically attacking and punching
through overlying rocks. All magmas, primary and secondary, finally solidify to form
igneous rock s.
1. Magmas reaching the surface give volcanic rocks. Basaltic magmas are the most
fluid. They can spread over large areas of the ocean floor or the land surface.
Granitic magmas are more viscous and often contain large amounts of trapped
gas. They occasionally erupt to form rocks of rhyolitic or dadtic composition.
They produce the most explosive types of volcanoes.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 31

Figure 1-48
A cross-section through part of the
upper portion of the continental
crusl of Victoria.
Land surface 360 mllon years ago
<a) During Devonian limes:
Granitic magma has intruded t
as a batholith into folded
Lower Palaeozoic sedimentary
rocks. The heat of the magma
has caused contact
metamorphic changes in the ..... Ring fracture
sedimentary rocks in the
aureole around the intrusion.
Elsewhere there is an explosive
eruption of granitic magma
along a ring fracture to Plk! of volcanIC rocks
produce ignimbrite deposits Rng lraclure (IQmmbnles)
within a subsiding caldera. formulg ra nges
<b) Present-day:
After several hundred million
years of erosion, the granite is
exposed at the surface. Around
it, the tough contact
metamorphic rocks form a low 2. Magmas not reaching the surface accumulate in magma chambers. When the
ridge. The ignimbrites formerly magma ultimately crystallises, usually to a mass of granitic rocks, it forms a pluton
filled a depression but because
they have resisted erosion more or batholith.
than the sedimentary rocks,
they now form a mountain Dykes and sills
range. Magma may also solidify in thin sheets along fractures in the crust. The rocks are
These features are seen in called:
and around the Dandenong • siffs, if they crystallise along the bedding planes in sedimentary rocks; or,
Ranges, east of Melbourne. • dykes, if they cut across sedimentary beds or older solidified igneous rocks.
Groups of sub-parallel dykes are called 'swarms. Individual dykes and sills may
only be a few tens of centimetres thick, but they can range up to many kilometres
in length.

MAGMAS IN VICTORIA
The intrusion and eruption of magmas has been very important in shaping Victoria.

Granitic magma intrusions

Between 500 and 370 million years ago, there were several periods, each lasting up
to 10 million years, when there were numerous intrusions of granitic magma into
the crust below Victoria. These plutons crystallised to give various masses of granite,
granodiorite and related rocks. The magmas for these rocks formed when
metamorphic rocks in the lower crust were heated to melting point. These periods
occurred when there were active subduction zones close to Eastern Australia. Other
effects were the formation of volcanic island arcs, the development of zones of
regionally metamorphosed rocks and particularly the uplifting of high mountain
ranges. The granitic plutons were intruded into the roots of the mountain ranges.
Since Late Devonian times (360-370 million years ago), there have been no large
granitic intrusions in the Victorian region. Over this period, the sedimentary and
volcanic rocks overlying the granites were gradually worn away by erosion. Today
there are nearly 300 separate areas of granitic rock outcrops in Victoria, which have
been exposed by erosion (Figure 1-48).

A feature of the final stage of the long period of magmatic intrusion during
the Palaeozoic era was the intrusion of large numbers of parallel dykes in some parts
of Victoria. These dykes solidified to rocks varying in composition from ultra basic
to acidic, although intermediate compositions (e.g. diorite) were the mOSt common.
The best-known swarm of these dykes extends through mountainous country around
the old gold mining towns of Woods Point and Walhalla in central Gippsland.
Another group of ultrabasic dykes is found throughout the Bendigo Goldfield. These
are of Jurassic age. The rock is called monchiquite.

Magmas erupted from volcanoes

The Earth's largest and most active volcanoes are generally found along zones where
crustal plates are interacting. These include subduction zones, mid-ocean ridges and
some deep fault-bounded valleys on continents. Although there is no volcanic activity
in Victoria today, there were many volcanic episodes through Victoria's geological
32 Chapter 1

Figure 149
Three types of volcanic activity in
Victoria.
-====="'ji~~r=T}·". OCflan surface
(a) Island arc volcanoes - '~__~ean flOQ(
A chain of volcanoes called
an island arc was typical 0 f
Cambrian volcanic activity.
back arc basin --,,~--

"
..,,:::.)"-.--':.:-
An island arc forms above a 10 con~margln
subduction zone. Oceanic
crust and sediments pass down
into a trench, where they mix
and melt to produce new (volcamc Islands 10-100 kllometres wide)
basaltic magma. The islands
are made up of volcanic and
RIANl
intrusive rocks formed from
the new magma. The volcanic
chain is separated from a large ignimbrite \,{
-
.........\'-(f"... (" .....
~~ -
nearby continent by a shallow eruptions "'"iCJ~'I;i-\'
sea, known as a back-arc
basin. Sediments derived from
both the continent and the
volcanic islands are deposited
in the basin.
(b) Large continental volcanoes
Two major forms of volcanic
activity occurred during the
Silurian and Devonian period
in Victoria. In cauldron
subsidence, a large, roughly (20 or more kllometres across each diagram)
cylindrical block of crust
collapses along a fracture (i) CAULDRON SUBSIDENCE OR CALDERA COLLAPSE Qi) MIXED ACID -INTERMEDIATE VOLCANISM
system into a magma
chamber. At the surface, the
sunken area is called a
caldera. Explosive eruptions
of magma take place along scoraa cone WIth small lava llow lava shteld volcano
the fracture. Thick rhyolite
and rhyodacite ignimbrite or
a h (low deposits accumulate
within the caldera. Thin layers
of sediments are deposited in
100m --~~~~I
~~O<'-;=--~., ' = - -
~=

occasional lakes. "--....Z_L _

Mixed acid and intermediate
volcanic rocks are found in
eastern Victoria. In Figure
1-49b(ii) a volcano erupting
andesite lava is near a larger
ash now eruption of rhyolite
and rhyodacite. Many
different volcanic rocks may
be found in this region. These
include mud nows, which
form when pyroclastic layers
are saturated by heavy rainfall
and then move rapidly down
the slopes under gravity.
(c) Small continentaJ volcanoes
A variety of volcanoes
occurred in central and western
Victoria during the Cainozoic
era. The highest features are
scoria cones, formed by the
piling up of basaltic cinders
around the vent. Lava flowed
from some scoria cones, but
not as much as came from [he
broad lava shield nows. Maar
craters are unusual explosive
forms, which do not have
much lava. Many volcanoes in
the Western District are
combinations of these three
types.
>
-~---
----,---- 1-2Km------
_ --:-__ maar crater ~
2Km - - - - -
(C) DES' g CAl OZOIC)
history. The first was some 560 million years ago and the most recent a mere 7240
years ago. There have been three main types of volcanic activity in Victoria:
• island arc volcanoes (Figure 149a);
• cauldron subsidence and caldera collapse (Figure 149b);
• small continental volcanoes (Figure 149c).
Island arc volcanoes
The oldest rocks in Victoria are Cambrian in age; they are called greens/ones. They
are probably the squeezed and metamorphosed remains of basaltic and andesitic
volcanic and intrusive rocks formed on or near island arcs. The volcanoes forming
these rocks would have looked very much like the chains of volcanic islands in
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea today. Typical greenstones are found in a narrow
belt through Colbinabbin, Heathcote and Lancefield in central Victoria.
Cauldron subsidence and caldera collapse
Volcanoes of this type during Devonian times Were amongst the most spectacular
and catastrophic events ever to affect Victoria. Huge cylindrical or rectangular blocks
of crust, many kilometres across, collapsed along fractures into magma chambers

Figure I-SO
An agglomerate or ash now tuff in
the Snowy River Volcanics, 3
kilometres north of Mount
Cobberas, East Gippsland.
The rock consists of rounded to
angular fragments of rhyodacite
and sedimentary rocks, including
shales and slates, in a fine-grained
matrix. The rounded boulders were
possibly stream deposits which
were thrown out during an
explosive ignimbrite eruption in
Lower Devonian times.
(Photograph by N.J. Rosengren).
Figure 1-5 I
Two stages in the formation of
Hanging Rock and Camels Hump,
neaf Macedon.
Between 6.5 and 7 million years
ago, a small volcano erupted layers
of volcanic ash and then a trachyte
lava now. Trachyte also solidified
in the neck of the volcano. With
the passing of time, the soft ash
deposits and some of the now
rock were removed by erosion. A
blocky jointing pallern developed
as the plug cooled; this has since
been accentuated by weathering.
Trachyte is an intermediate
volcanic rock containing
potassium-rich feldspar and minor
amphibole and pyroxene.
Basic Concepts in Geology 33
below. Magma forced its way up these fractures and erupted with great violence.
Eruption took place not from a single crater, but in a continuous line or arc of fire
along the fractures. The magma exploded into huge billowing clouds of very hot
gases carrying crystals and fragments of glass and frothed-up magma known as
pumice. These turbulent mixtures flowed like boiling milk over the landscape at speeds
up to 100 kilometres per hour. When they eventually came to rest, the solid particles
settled into layers blanketing the surface. The resulting layer was often still hOI enough
for the glassy particles to stick or weld together to form a hard compact rock known
as an ash flow ruff or ignimbrite.
The thickest ash flow layers accumulated in the calderas or depressions created
where the crustal blocks collapsed. These deposits may be up to one or (WO kilometres
thick. The Dandenong Ranges, Mount Macedon and the Cerberean Ranges between
Marysville and Eildon are composed of rhyolite and rhyodacite ash flows, erupted
in this way some 360-370 million years ago. In some of these volcanic areas, the
rocks also include andesites and basalts.
Much of the Snowy River valley in eastern Victoria has been cut down through
large thicknesses of rhyodacite ignimbrites, which accumulated in fault-bounded
valleys in the Early Devonian.
There were also orne Devonian acid lava, imilar in compo ition to the
ignimbrites, but containing less gas, that flowed quietly over the land. Some occur
JUSt weSt of The Grampians.
VISCOUS trachyte magma
plugs vent and solodlfies
_~=::::::=~e
Iavi llow Irom crater
ErOSKln removes flanks
01 volcano around plug
~----~
,&
.'.
Remnant of trachyte flow
Small continenlal volcanoes
The nat plains of the Western Dislrict and the country north and west of Melbourne
are dOlled with many volcanic cones and craters. These erupted al intervals through
the Cainozoic era. Primary basaltic magmas from the upper mantle forced their way
up through fractures in the continenlal crust to erupl as isolaled volcanoes. These
were small volcanoes lhat may have been aClive for only a few week or months.
Basaltic lavas are lypically very fluid, so much of the volcanic aClivity produced long
nows from cones with gentle slopes.
34 Chapter 1
Figure I-52
Volanic bombs.
(a) Typical spindle-shaped bomb.
(b) This specimen from Mount
oorat, near Terang is 12
c.entimetres across. It consists
of an ouler shell of dark grey,
vesicular basalt and a core of
the green minera~ olivine.
These blocks were carried up
from the Eanh's mantle by
volcanic action.
Deformation and
m up to form mountain ranges. They usually involve the uplift of horizontal layers of
Figure I-53 (below)
Fold lerminology.
(a) When sedimentary rocks are
compressed evenly from
opposite directions, symmetrical
folds are produced. The
U-shaped fold or trough on
lhe left i called a syncline. The
arch-shaped fold on lhe right is
an anticline. The line, where
there i maximum curvaturt; is
called the fold axis. The sides
of the folds are the limbs.
(b) This bed of rock has not only
been folded, bUI it has also
been lilted in a direction at
righl angles to the force of
compression. A plunging fold
has been produced. The angle
of plunge is the angle between
the fold axis and a horizontal
line in a common vertical plane.
(c) Gentle warping may produce
structures termed domes and
basins. They also may re ult
where there have been
compressive forces from (wo
different pair of directions.
The beds everywhere dip
outwards from the crest of a
dome. They everywhere dip
inwards in a basin.
AntICline
There are also a few very steep-sided lava domes, e.g. Hanging Rock and Camels
Hump, near Macedon. These formed when a very viscous lava cooled and blocked
the vent of the volcano. They are composed of the intermediate rock, trachyte
(Figure I-51).
There are also many explosive volcanoes. Some form prominent cone-shaped
hills built up of outward-dipping layers of the rock, scoria, e.g. Mount Fraser at
Beveridge beside the Hume Highway. In plaoes, these layers contain aerodynamically-
shaped blobs of magma blown from the vent. These are known as volcanic bombs
(Figure 1-52). They usually have olivine in their core. This is material brought up
from deep in the crust or the upper mantle.
Some unusual volcanoes erupted fine ash and large volumes of gas (mainly
steam) but little lava A wide crater formed, surrounded by a rim or ring of piled-up
volcanic ash (tuff). These features are known as moors and tuff rings.
Over 400 volcanoes have been identified in the Victorian province. This forms
part of a chain of Cainozoic basaltic volcanoes, which extends from Queensland
to Tasmania. Its origin is uncertain. The volcanic chain was not associated with mid-
oceanic ridges and probably magma did not escape from the upper mantle along
deep fractures in the crust. One possibility is that the Indian-Australian Plate, which
was drifting northward during the Cainozoic era, passed over a sequence of fixed
'hot spots in the Earth's upper mantle. Magma possibly welled up at these hot spots.
It may have leaked up through the crustal rocks and escaped through various fractures.
Deformation and metamorphism are terms applied to the great physical and chemical
changes that take place as thick piles of sedimentary and volcanic rocks are forced
ediment and volcanic rocks from the sea-floor to high, dry land. Similar changes
can occur if these rocks are forced deep into the crust and compressed. These processes
were most intense over relatively short periods in the Earth's history called orogenies.
They mostly lasted five to ten millions of year. Most orogenies were accompanied
by widespread intrusions of granitic magmas.
The most visible effects of past orogenies are those produced by processes known
asfolding andfal/lting. Folding is mainly restricted to sedimentary and volcanic rocks,
whereas faulting affects all kinds of rock.
Orogenie are movements in parts of the Earth's crust which are close to
subduction zones. As was the case \vith major magmatic intrusions, there have been
no orogenic event in Victoria since Devonian times, some 360 million years ago.
However, since then there have been frequent more gentle squeezing and stretching
movements in the cruSl, which caused faults, mild forms of folding and uplift of
large areas, e.g. in the Ot\vay Range.
Some of the effects of plate tectonics can be observed in parts of the world
today. The mo I obvious are active volcanoes and earthquakes. Orogenic movements.
however, are far less aClive events of this kind. Mountain building movements, that
take place over a period of say 10 million years, only require a few centimelres
movement each year. Thi is far below human perception. evertheless there are a
few plale boundaries where earth movements can be detected by careful
measurements. For example, a plate boundary crosses the South Island of ew
Zealand. The Southern Alps there are riding up over a ubduction zone. Their rise
has been measured as up to six centimetres per year.
FOLDING
During orogenies, when a pile of more or less horizontal sediments and volcanic
rocks is queezed by pressures on the ides, they begin to crinkle and buckle into
folded shapes.
(b) (e) Dome
surfact'
20' Af'lQle Of Of
, ut\ge
 Basic Concepts in Geology 35

The tightness (or wavelength) of the folds depends on:

• the size and direction of the compressing forces;
• the types of rocks in the layers;
• the total thickness of the pile.
Some of the terms that are used when describing folds are illustrated in
Figure I-53. Fine-grained rocks such as shales are more easily folded than beds of
massive sandstone.
Figure 1-54
A relief diagram of plunging folds
in sedimentary rocks.
Interbedded hard rocks (I), e.g.
sandstones, and soft rocks (2), e.g.
mudstones, have been folded by
forces from the east and west. The
folds are also plunging to the
north. The sandstones form ridges,
while rivers have carved out valleys
in the mudstone. The ridges have a ,, ,
characteristic zigzag pattern due to '-'
the effects of the plunging folds.

Figure I-55
An anticline at Cape Liptrap on
the Soulh Gippsland coast.
Many prominent folds are seen in
the Early Devonian sedimentary
rocks on the coast east and west
of Cape Liptrap. The thick beds
are sandstones, which are most
resistant to erosion. Mudstones and
shales weather more easily.
(photograph by G. Medwell).

Throughout Victoria, all the sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Cambrian 10

Early Devonian age were affected by pressures from the east and west during one
or more orogenies. As a result, these rocks (which are mainly sandstones, siltslOnes
and shales) are usually found with fairly open folds with very roughly nonh-south
axes. The wavelengths of these folds are commonly in the range from a few hundred
metres to one kilometre. In some areas, the pressure was greater from one direction
(e.g. the west) than the other. This produced asymmetrical folds or slightly overturned
folds (Figure I-56).
Figure 1-56
A synclinal fold exposed in a
cutting on the road between
Wallan and Romsey.
The rocks are sandstones of
Silurian age. The fold is said to be
asymmetrical, because the dip of
the beds on the left hand side is
greater than the dip on the right
hand side. In the distance, an
asymmetrical anticline is visible.
(photograph by N.W. Schleiger).
36 Chapter 1

Figure 1-57 (right)

A recumbent fold in Ordovician
sand tones and shales on the heach
near Mallacoota airport, East
Gippsland.
Folds of lhis type are unusual in
Vicloria. Instead of even forces
being applied on both sides of a
fold, there has been a much
greater force from lhe right hand
side. As a result, the fold has
toppled over. The plane of the axis
of the fold i nearly horizonlal.
(Pholograph by NW. Rosengren).

Figure I-58 (above)
A monocline.
The sedimentary beds bend down
near the surface, but al depth lhey
have separated along a faull.
e ,.
The layered rocks that were deposited in Victoria from the Late Devonian through
to Mesozoic times exhibit much more open folds than those in the older rocks. These
folds were produced during gentle sagging or uplifting over broad areas. Folds of
this type can be seen along the cliffs of the Otway Range coast and between Cape
Pater on and San Remo.
Young, horizontal or gently inclined beds sometimes display a step-like bend:
this is called a monocline or monoclinal fold (Figure I-58). At depth, the monocline
may pass into a fault.

Figure I-59
Faults in Palaeozoic rocks.
(a) above - A normal fault in a
CUlling at Studle)' Park.
The wavy line F-F touching lhe
geological pick is a normal
fault in Silurian sand tones.
The fault is more-or-Iess
parallel to lhe bedding planes
in the sandstones on the left-
hand side. The sandstone beds
on Ihe right-hand side are FAULTING
clearly CUI off by Ihe fault.
(Photograph by G. W. Quick). A faull is a fracture in rocks, where one block has moved relative to another
(b) right - A quarlz "'cinici
(Figure 1-59). The simplest faults are sharp breaks along single planes. However, quite
displaced by a reverse fault. often the movement lakes place within a zone that is bounded by parallel or nearly
The quartz vein let intersected parallel planes. The rocks within the zone are usually broken up into fragments of
Ordovician sandstones 31 varying sizes - the resulting rocks are said to be a faull breccia. These zones of
Mallacoota. The fault is the faulting are called shear zones. Such structures can often be seen in old gold mine
harp line passing from the top working in central Victoria; the gold was often found wilhin shear zones.
left 10 the lower right corner of
the photograph. The righI-hand Faulting often accompanied folding when rocks were compre ed. However, it
parI of Ihe quam veinlet has can also occur where rocks have been tretched. Faults can pass acro all kinds of
been pushed up and over Ihe rock, including intrusive. The common types of faults seen in Victoria are illustrated
left-hand part. in Figure 1-60.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 37

Figure I~O
Types of fault mo..,menls.
(a) Normal fault
The right hand block has
dropped down relative to the
left hand block. The faull
movement occurred because the
Earth's crust was in tension, i.e.
was being slretched. Most
normal faults are sleeply
inclined. A scarp or cliff is
formed along geologically
recent faults.
(b) Reverse or Ihrust fault
The left hand block has moved
over lhe right hand block. The
fault movement occurred
because the crust was
compressed, i.e. squeezed from
both sides. Reverse faults often
have low angles of dip. Scarps
are quickly worn away.
(c) Lateral slip fault
The left hand block has moved
(c)
horizontally lO the lefl relative
to the righl hand block. The
San Andreas Fault along the
coast of California is a major
fault of this type.
---
The biggest faults are the boundaries hetween adjacent plates fanning the Earth's
crust. The best known is lhe San Andreas Fault, which extends along the Californian
coast of the Uniled States of America. There, the Pacific oceanic plate is moving
in a north-westerly direction pasl the North American continental plate. The
destructive earthquakes, that are periodically associated with this fault, result from
the intermittent jerky nature of the fault movements.
The movements along most faults were less noticeable than those along the San
Andreas Fault. In most cases they would have been imperceptible over the human
life span. Vet because they took place repeatedly over tens of millions of years, their
total displacement may measure hundreds or sometimes thousand of metres. Many
big faults in Victoria separate blocks of folded sediments and volcanic rocks which
were formed at different times in the State's geological history. For example, the
Heathcote Faull, which runs north-south between Heathcote and Rochester, separates
a block of Cambrian rocks on lhe western side from Lower Devonian rocks to the east.
Like folds, small faults can oflen be seen in cuttings and cliff faces. Old faults
are not alway easily recognised on lhe ground. They may only become apparent
when geological mapping shows layers or rocks ending abruptly against different
rocks. Recently active faults, however, may be visible at the surface due to a ridge
or scarp marking the boundary between the uplifted and downthrown rock masses.
An example is the Rowsley Fault along the eastern edge of the Brisbane Ranges
between Bacchus Marsh and country west of Geelong (Figure 7-9).
Figure l~l
Joints in Silurian sandstones (the JOINTING
Ihicker beds) and mudstones (the
Ihinner beds) on a hillside beside To a greater or lesser extent, all hard rocks are crisscrossed by fractures or cracks
the lrack to Parlingtons Flat, calledjoinls. Joints differ from faults, because there is no displacement along joints.
Greensborough. Most joints in sedimentary rocks are the result of past fold and fault movements
A major joint (fracture) COlS and of broad-scale upwarping. On lhe other hand, joints in igneou rock were mostly
across the sedimentary rocks in the produced by the rocks shrinking as they cooled. In addition, some probably were
middle of the photograph. Minor caused by the unloading of the rock mass when a cover of overlying rocks was eroded
joints (cracks) only intersecl one or away. Some joints were also produced by atmospheric forces, such as the heating
two beds. Bedding planes can be of rocks by day and their cooling by night.
traced directly across the joint. If
there was any displacement of the Two major geological processes - weathering and erosion - are greatly aided
beds, the feature would be a small by the existence of joints in rocks. Water, oxygen, and humic acids and salts from
fault, not a joint. (Photograph by soils penetrate into rocks along joints. These substances react with the minerals in
NW. Schleiger). the rocks to produce newer, usually softer minerals in the proce s of weathering.
38 Chapter 1

REGIONAL METAMORPHISM
Folding and faulting was often accompanied by regional metamorphism.
Metamorphic rocks developed in the cores or root zones of moun tain chains formed
from folded rocks, where pressures and temperatures were greatest. At these depths,
granites may have intruded as well, adding to the metamorphic effects. The nearest
Victoria had to conditions like these is probably represented by schists, gneisses and
granites in the north-eastern region of the State. These are probably the remains of
the root systems of a very large mountain range forced up by a collision between
crustal plates in Early Palaeozoic times.

The major geological processes described so far, e.g. magmatism, metamorphism,

Erosion and orogenesis, faulting, have all occurred sporadically through the Earth's history. Some
sedimentation like volcanic or earthquake activity can be seen or felt during a human lifetime. Others
such as fold movements may take several million years to complete.
By contrast, the last two processes to be described, erosion and sedimentation,
have been going on continually over vast areas almost since the Earth was formed
as a solid mass. They are bound to continue into the future.
Erosion, in particular, is taking place over aU land surfaces, except those covered
by deep ice or flat, permanently frozen areas. Erosion and sedimentation are always
linked to one another. Mineral grains and fragments of rocks that are deposited as
sediments are derived from the erosion of rocks elsewhere.

The main agents of erosion are:

I. Water:
• running water on land;
• the action of the sea along the coast;
• moving ice.
2. Wind - whenever and wherever there is little vegetation covering the land surface.

Many examples of erosion taking place can be seen in Victoria. Wind erosion
is seen as dust storms or moving sand along beaches and sand dunes. Rounded
waterworn boulders occur along mountain streams and finer material is carried as
mud, silt and sand by rivers. An impressive example of coastal erosion occurred in
1990 when a scenic feature near Port Campbell, known as London Bridge, was
demolished by the force of the sea. The previous bridge-shape had been sculptured
in Tertiary sedimentary rocks, probably over a period of many hundreds of years
(Figure 3-60).

Figure 1~2 s:
The main environments where • wind erosion dunes
detrital and organic sediments are lakes and swamps
• river erosion
deposited and the processes
producing them. river channels
alluvial fans
flood plains
• ice erosion tills

• river erosion deltas

shallow seas

• shallow seas limeslone reefs and shell deposits

sands and silts on continental shelf
• deep ocean turbidites at foot of contintental shelf
mud and clays

Sedimentation follows erosion, as eroded material is carried away by water or

wind and deposited elsewhere. The main environments where sediments may be
deposited are summarised in Figure 1-62 and illustrated in Figure 1-63.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 39

Desert
(sand dunes, salt lakes)

~- ~
+--

River Lagoon

a level

Continental shel'l'
"~ ,,~
f \.~=
Turbidity current
Continental slope'/

Figure 1~3 (above) SEDIMENTARY BASINS

The various environments where
sediments can be deposited on
land, along the coast and on the
sea-noor.
Some of the deposits referred to in Figure 1-62 cover small areas, e.g. sand dunes,
swamp silts. But other accumulations of sediments are very thick and extend over
large areas called sedimentary basins. These basins are found both on land (onshore)
and beneath the sea (offshore). A basin often commences as a broad shallow
depression. Eventually a great thickness of sediments may be laid down as the floor
of the basin subsides under the weight of added material. Examples of present-day
sedimentary basins are;
• the flood plains of the Murray River and Coopers Creek;
• the delta of the Nile River in Egypt;
• The Gulf of Mexico, a shallow sea, where sediments are deposited by the
Mississippi River.
Deep narrow basins may be called troughs. The term, rift valley or graben
is used for a depression produced when a long block of land drops between faults.

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS IN VICTORIA

Most of the sedimentary environments given in Figure 1-62 are represented by rocks
in Victoria. During anyone period in the State's geological history, one or two types
of sedimentation were dominant. From Cambrian to Early Devonian times, most
sedimentary rocks were laid down in marine environments. From the Late Devonian
to the end of the Mesozoic era, however, most sediments were deposited onshore
by rivers. Both marine and continental sediments are found in Cainozoic rock
formations.
Marine sediments
The Early Palaeozoic marine sediments include deep water, shallow water and
turbidite types.
1. The deep water rocks are black shales, which were deposited very slowly in still
water on the bottom of a deep ocean basin during the Ordovician period. These
rocks are finely-banded and often contain fossils of small floating organisms
known as graptolites.
2. Some Silurian and Early Devonian sandstones, mudstones and shales were laid
down in shallow marine basins. Ripple marks, formed by the action of waves
on the sea-floor, are common in these rocks (Figure 1-64b).
3. Turbidites are interbedded fine- and coarse-grained sedimentary rocks, which were
deposited by turbidity currents. These currents are turbulent mixtures of sediment
and water that slumped off the edge of the continental shelf and flowed down
the slope on to the deep ocean floor. Turbidity currents often gouge out
channelways or submarine canyons. As they become slower on reaching deep water,
a layer of heavier, coarser sand or silt particles is deposited firs!. Gradually the
fmer particles are laid down until quiet conditions return. Later turbidity currents
bring further alternations of coarser and finer sediments. A sequence of coarse
to fine sediment is called a graded bed (Figure 1-65). Turbidity currents often
carry shells and other remains of marine animals typical of shallow water into
much deeper water.
40 Chapter 1

figure 1-64
(a) Ripple marks formed on the
seabed in shallow water as the
tide came in near Sl IGlda Pier.
The ripple marks were left on
lhe sand afler the lide receded.
The ripples splil and branch
due to changes in the directions
and speeds of the waves.
During the last ebb lide, water
nowing back scoured the earlier
ripple marks in the lower right
hand of the photograph.

(b)Sandslone from lhe Calhedral

Range, Buxlon.
These ripple marks formed on
a sandy seabed, about 375
million years ago. The
sandstone consists mainly of
sand grains cemented by silica
(quartz) and iron oxides. The
presence of ripple marks shows
the sand was deposited in
shallow water, similar to the
conditions prevailing in Figure
1-64a.
(Pholographs by N.W. Schleiger).

Figure 1-65
Graded bedding produced by
turbidity currents.
Large amounts of sediments are
carried down the continental slope
at intervals by turbidity currents.
Each current slows down as it
passes over the floor of the deep
ocean. Coarse sand grains senle
first. These are followed by
progressively finer sediments
through sills to muds. In lhis
figure the turbidity sequences
deposited by two successive
turbidity currents are shown.
Continental Sediments
The largest areas of continental sediment depo ited by rivers are found in the Otway
and Strzelecki ranges. These accumulated in a rift-like valley during the Early
Cretaceou time. The valley noor was an extensive nood plain with occasional coal
swamps. Channelways known as braided rivers spread acros the plain. Braided rivers
have a eries of channels that continually fork and rejoin. Between the channels are
large sandbars. These sandbanks continually move downstream, pushed by the river
current. As they do so, layers of sand periodically avalanche down the lee Or
downcurrent faces of the banks. The e avalanching sandbanks are preserved as cross-
bedded sandstones, where the small-scale layering within the individual beds represents
the avalanching faces of the sandbank. In places gravels were deposited in the river
channels and muds were carried beyond the river banks by nood waters. The result
is a sequence of cros -bedded sandstones interbedded with occasional conglomerate
and mudstone layers.
In north-eastern Victoria, east and south-east of Mansfield, there are Late
Devonian sedimentary rocks which were deposited in a somewhat different
environment. Sands and muds were laid down in rivers and lakes in a long narrow
valley, surrounded by hills bare of vegetation. Fans of sediments spread out across
the valley and from small side valleys and braided streams wandered over the valley
noor.
Sand dunes built up by winds are another type of continental sedimentary
deposit. These also commonly exhibit cross-bedding. Pleistocene dune limestones
occur in various places along the south Viclorian coast (Figure 3-59).
LITHIFICATION OR DIAGENESIS
Most sediments begin as loose masses of mineral grains and rock fragments. Gradually
with the passage of time they start to consolidate. First soft rocks, and eventually
hard, massive rocks are produced. Sands become sandstones, muds become
mudstones and so on. These changes are called lithification (rock formation) or
diagenesis.
 Basic Concepts in Geology 41

As sediments are deposited in a basin, the lower layers come under increasing
pressure due to the weight of overlying material. They compact as the pore space
between the individual grains decreases. If the basin is slowly subsiding, the
compressed layers are forced deeper and are also heated. Chemical reactions begin
between water in the pore spaces and the mineral grains. These produce new minerals
such as clays, zeolites, feldspars and chlorite. These new minerals fill the pore spaces
and cement the remaining old grains together, hardening and toughening the rock.
Quartz, calcite and iron oxides are also cementing materials.

Figure 1-66
Formation of a sedimentary rock (a)
from unconsolidated particles.
(a) There is an accumulation of
loose grains of sand and broken
pieces of various shells in
shallow water near a coast. The
sand grains were derived by the
erosion of sandstone c1i ffs, Grains of
while wave action gradually quartz sand
smashed the shells of small
creatures, which once lived in
the sea.
(b) After the deposit was lifted
permanently above sea-level,
calcium carbonate crystallised
from groundwater percolating
through the porous sediment. Pore space
Gradually crystals of calcite
filled most of the spaces, which
previously occurred between the
various particles. The mass
became harder and solidified to (b)
form a sedimentary rock - in
this case a siliceous (sandy)
limestone.

Pore by ~~"'O:::::::S::£.-J--
filled space ,
calcite cement

The work of a geologist in the field involves the identification of the various rocks
Geological maps in an area, the tracing of boundaries between different rock types and the measuring
of dips and strikes in sedimentary rocks. This information is usually recorded first
on aerial photographs, because the precise positions of many geological features can
be seen on these photographs (Figure 1-67). Later the data are transferred to
topographical maps at specific scales. Geologists may also collect rock samples to
enable further investigations to be carried out at a laboratory, e.g. identification of
minerals and fossils under a microscope, chemical analyses of are rocks, etc.
Geologists pass on the information they acquire by means of geological maps,
geological cross-sections and geological reports. Since it was established in 1852, the
Geological Survey of Victoria has been the main public authority responsible for
producing geological maps and reports of the State. These may be purchased at the
Victorian Government Bookshop in Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, and at some
Government offices elsewhere in the State. A standard series of geological maps at
a scale of 1:250 000 has been prepared for the whole of Victoria. Each map sheet
covers a rectangular area enclosed by 1.5' longitude by I' latitude (nearly 15 000 square
kilometres). Below each map, there is a geological cross-section. This is a vertical
slice across the map sheet, which shows the relationships between the main rock
formations beneath the surface.
42 Chapter 1

Figure )'{i7
The use of aerial photographs in
geological mapping.
(a) The photograph is taken
from the air al a height of
over 7000 metres above the
ground. It covers very rugged,
forested country around
Cromwell Nob, a high plateau,
aboul 100 kilomelres north-wesl
of Bairosdale. Geological
mapping on the ground is a
slow and arduous task in lhis
largely uninhabited country
with few roads for access.
\Vhen (wo successive aerial
pholographs taken on Ihe flighl
run are examined under
equipment known as a
stereoscope, a three-dimensional
view of Ihe country is obtained.
This enables many geological
boundaries and structures to be
identified on a photograph.
(Acknowledgement: Survey and
Mapping, Vicloria Ministry of
Finance).
(b) An interprelation of Ihe
geology is given on Ihe map.
The 'striped' areas are
sandstone and conglomerate
beds overlying more massive
volcanic rocks, all of Devonian
age. These have been
compressed into broad anticlinal
and synclinal fold. In the
deeper valleys in the north,
these rocks unconformably
overlie more strongly folded A-N
Ordovician sedimentary rocks.
The bedding in the older rocks
is not visible on the
pholograph. There is, however,
a distinctive branching drainage
panero over these rocks. The
semi-cleared (speckled) patches
on the photograph are areas
where logging of alpine ash or
woolly bun (Eucalyptus
delegatensis) has taken place
recently. Alpine ash, which
typically occurs in localised
palches at high elevations, is al
pre ent the main source of
hardwood board timber in the
State. Regeneralion and
reseeding will produce a forest
again in the future.

The main purpose of a geological map is to tell the reader what rocks are pre ent
in an area and what their geological ages are. This information is presented by showing
areas marked with different colours, shadings and symbols (Figure 1-68). The
 Basic Concepts in Geology 43

Figure 1-68
A medium-scale (I:25 0(0)
geological map of lhe Bald Hill (
area, three kilometres north-west of
) 001
Bacchus Marsh. (
The area shows many interesting
geological fealures, including a rare
occurrence in Victoria of
sedimentary rocks of Triassic age
in the Council Trench quarry. The
key to lhe geological formations
shown on the map from youngest
to oldest is given below: D

Qra Recenl '"

river alluvium
Qrt Recent
low level river terraces
Qpt Pleislocene
high level river gravels
Opl
Qvn Pliocene
basalt
Tmg Miocene
sand, gravel
Tew Eocene·Miocene
clay, sand, gravel
1\ro Palaeocene-Eocene
basalt
TR Triassic
sandstone
P Permian
tillite, sandstone,
mudstone
(Geology from 1:50000 Bacchus
Marsh geological map sheet, 1985,
Geological Survey of Victoria).

po it ions of major geological structures, such as faults, are al 0 indicated. A

geological reference beside the map explains where the various rock formation fit
in the geological time scale.

CORRELATION OF GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS

An important aim of geological mapping is to show which rocks occurring in
separated area are of equivalent type and/or age. This is done by a process called
correlalion.

Correlation of igneous rocks

Outcrops of intrusive rocks may be correlated, (that is, shown to be parts of one
particular batholith), if each outcrop has the same mineral composition and texture.
This evidence may be supported by checking that some outcrops have similar chemical
compositions. It might also be possible to measure the absolute ages of separate
outcrops by radiometric dating - but this is an expensive technique.

Correlation of sedimentary rocks

The correlation of sedimentary rocks can be ba ed on either rock type and/or fossil
contenl.
I. Rock correlation
(a) If two boreholes, drilled through horizontal strata at localities several kilometres
apart, both intersect a similar sequence of rock units, it is likely each rock
unit can be correlated.
(b) Similar rocks may be correlated simply because they were all formed in an
unusual way. For example, all the outcrops of rocks of glacial origin in one
district might be correlated because ice age are rare events in the geological
record.
2. Fossil correlation
Sedimentary formations at differeOl localities can be correlated if they cOOlain
the same populations of animal and plant remains (Figure 1-69).
44 Chapter 1

Figure 1-69
Correlation of sedimentary beds AREA 1 AREA 2
using fossils. -Coastal Cliff Outcrop- -River Valley Outcrop-
Geological mapping has identified
a sequence of nat-lying beds ROCKS
numbered 7 (the oldest) through to
1 (the youngest) in a coastal cliff, ~ Limestone
and another sequence, G to A, in
the sides of an inland river valley.
This example might be typical of
f}.i@ Marls
Tertiary strata in the Pon I:}~{I
.......... Sandstone
Campbell - Timboon area of
south-western Victoria.
The first assumption would
probably have been to correlate
bed I with bed A, 2 with B, 3
with C. etc., because of the similar FOSSILS
thickness and rock type in each BED 2 BED 4 BED B BED E BED G
pair of beds. However, after fossils Crab A CRA Snail B S8 Snail A SA Crab A eRA Snail B S8
were collected from several beds, it Echinoid E Echinoid E Bivalve A SA Echinoid E Echinoid E
was clear that beds 2 and B Coral A CA Coral B CB Bivalve B BB Coral A CA Coral B CB
contained different sets of fossils, Echinoid E
whereas 2 and E contained
identical fossils. Therefore 2 can be
correlated with E, though the
thicknesses of the outcrops and In special investigations, some unusual scientific techniques have been used to
their elevations in the two areas correlate rocks over a very large area. For example, rocks from several parts of the
are different. Similarly 4 world are correlated with an age at the Cretaceous - Tertiary boundary because they
correlates with G. contain uncommonly high amounts of the rare metal, iridium. This metal is believed
to have been derived from an extra-terrestrial body, which collided with Earth at
that time. This event may have led to the mass extinction of life including the
dinosaurs.

Geological collections GEOLOGICAL MAP NOMENCLATURE

L ke cent \\ C' lud\ bl u
A feature of most modern geological maps is that each geological unit is given a
II': e t an pi 1l. COlC' I \J1
formal name, e.g. Shepparton Formation, Coldstream Rhyolite, Mount Buffalo
make colle tlO" of r k, mn
Granite. All rock outcrops identified by a particular name can be correlated. The
and "t T~ese are " b th
for reSC3J... an fOI rclercn first part of a name is a locality where the rocks occur - preferably a well-known
purpo e I em thar are lh town or land feature. The second part is the main rock type present. Terms such
great mtece 1 or all ad \C Me ul asformation and beds are used for sedimentary rocks, where two or more rock types
o publ1c d. pi l\ in m m are well represented in the pile. For example, on the Tallangatta 1:250 000 map sheet,
The e eolo lL:aJ l.. e 10 the Tambo Beds are made up of hale, andstone, conglomerate and minor
mp rtan! re cd 0 ci ntifk \\ interbedded rhyolite.
n
The derivation of some names is not immediately clear. For example, Melbourne
is in part underlain by the Dargile Formation. But Dargile is not a suburb of
Melbourne, it is the name of a parish in central Victoria near Heathcote. The
formation was first named after detailed mapping in that area in the 1930s.
Subsequent mapping showed that the rocks of the same type and age could be traced
southwards to Melbourne.