Stratigraphy

(COMPONENTS OF FORMATION DESCRIPTION)

 FORMATION NAME (Missir Banda Quartzite)
Stauffer 1968, introduced the term
Martin et al 1962, Swabi Quartzite and Chamla Quartzite in respected areas
Type Locality
Lithology
Thickness/Distribution
Fossils
Age
Contact
TYPE LOCALITY/SECTION
The originally described sequence of strata that comprise a formation.
Normally this is in an area where the formation is particularly well
exposed and where its character is seen. It serves as an standard to
which other parts of the formation can be compared.

69°49'58.86"E
29°58'51.26"N
LITHOLOGY
Begin by testing the rock for carbonate minerals by applying a small
amount of dilute hydrochloric acid to the surface of the rock.

1. The rock does not effervesce (fizz) in acid, or effervesces weakly, but
when powdered by a knife or hammer, the powder effervesces
strongly. If so, the rock is dolomite.
Limestone
Dolomite
(less bubbles)

Powdered
Dolomite
Gave more
bubbles

GEOLOGICAL FIELD WORK-GFW

2. The rock effervesces strongly. The rock is limestone. Go to part A of
this key to determine limestone type.
A. Limestone may be clastic or crystalline, fine- or coarsegrained, and may or
may not contain visible fossils. Usually gray, tan, buff, or white. Some
distinctive varieties are:
• A. Bioclastic limestone—clastic texture, grains are whole or broken fossils.
Two varieties are:
1. Coquina—very coarse, recognizable shells, much open pore space.
2. Chalk—very fine-grained, white or tan, soft and powdery.
• B. Oolitic limestone—grains are small spheres (less than 2 millimeters in
diameter), all about the same size.
• C. Travertine—coarsely crystalline, no pore space,
3. The rock does not effervesce at all, even when powdered, or
effervesces only in some places, such as the cement between grains.
Go to part B of this key.
B. With a hand lens or magnifying glass, determine if the rock has a
clastic texture (grains cemented together) or a crystalline texture
(visible, interlocking crystals).
3A. (If clastic):
• 1. Most grains are more than 2 millimeters in diameter.
a. Angular grains—sedimentary breccia.
b. Rounded grains—conglomerate.
• 2. Most grains are between 1/16 and 2 millimeters in diameter. Rock feels
gritty to the fingers. Sandstone.
a. More than 90% of the grains are quartz—quartz sandstone.
b. More than 25% of the grains are feldspar—arkose.
c. More than 25% of the grains are fine-grained rock fragments, such
as shale, slate, and basalt—lithic sandstone.
d. More than 15% of the rock is fine-grained matrix—graywacke.
• 3. Rock is fine-grained (grains less than 1/16 millimeter in diameter).
Feels smooth to fingers.
a. Grains visible with a hand lens—siltstone.
b. Grains too small to see, even with a hand lens.
1. Rock is laminated, fissile—shale.
2. Rock is unlayered, blocky—mudstone.
3B. If crystalline:
1. Crystals fine to coarse, hardness of 2—rock gypsum.
2. Coarse crystals that dissolve in water—rock salt.
C. Hard to determine if clastic or crystalline:
1. Very fine-grained, smooth to touch, conchoidal fracture, hardness of
6 (scratches glass), nonporous microcrystalline or
cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide
(SiO2)—chert (flint if dark).
2. Very fine-grained, smooth to touch, breaks into flat chips—shale.
3. Black or dark brown, readily broken, soils fingers—coal.
IGNEOUS ROCKS
Igneous rocks are classified on the basis of texture and composition.
For some rocks, texture alone suffices for naming the rock. For most
igneous rocks, composition as well as texture must be taken into
account.
1.What is the texture of the rock?
A. Is it glassy (a very vitreous luster)? If so, it is obsidian, regardless of
its chemical composition. Obsidian exhibits a pronounced conchoidal
fracture.
B. Does it have a frothy appearance? If so, it is pumice. Pumice is light
in weight and feels abrasive (it probably will float on water).
C. Does it have angular fragments of rock embedded in a volcanic-
derived matrix? If so, it is a volcanic breccia. If the precise nature of the
rock fragments and matrix can be identified, modifiers may be used; for
instance, the rock may be an andesite breccia or a rhyolite breccia.
D. Is the rock composed of interlocking, very coarse-grained minerals?
(The minerals should be more than 5 centimeters across.) If so, the rock
is a pegmatite. Most pegmatites are mineralogically equivalent to
granite, with feldspars and quartz being the predominant minerals.
E. Is the rock entirely phaneritic? (That is, does it have a coarse-grained,
interlocking crystalline texture in which nearly all grains are easily
distinguished by the naked eye?) If so, go to part 2 of this key.
2. Igneous rocks composed of interlocking
coarse-grained minerals.
A. Is quartz present? If so, the rock is a granite. Confirmation: Granite
should be composed predominantly of feldspar—generally white, light
gray, or pink (indicating high amounts of potassium or sodium in the
feldspar).
B. Are quartz and feldspar absent? If so, the rock should be composed
entirely of ferromagnesian minerals and is ultramafic, likely a
peridotite.
C. Does the rock have less than 50% feldspar and no quartz? If so, the
rock should be a gabbro. Confirmation: Most of the rock should be
ferromagnesian minerals. Plagioclase can be medium or dark gray.

D. Is the rock composed of 30% to 60% feldspar (and no quartz)? If so,

the rock is a diorite.
3.Igneous rocks that are fine-grained.
A. Can small grains of quartz be identified in the rock? If so, the rock is
a rhyolite. If the rock is too fine-grained for you to determine whether
quartz is present but is white, light gray, pink, or pale green, the rock is
most likely a rhyolite.
C. Is the rock composed predominantly of ferromagnesian minerals? If
so, the rock is basalt. If the rock is too fine-grained to identify
ferromagnesian minerals but is black or dark gray, the rock is probably
a basalt.
E. Is the rock composed of roughly equal amounts of white or gray
feldspar and ferromagnesian minerals (but no quartz)? If so, the rock is
an andesite. Andesite is usually medium to dark gray or green.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
The characteristics of a metamorphic rock are largely governed by
(1) the composition of the parent rock and
(2) the particular combination of temperature, confining pressure, and
directed pressure.
These factors cause different textures in rocks formed under different
sets of conditions. For this reason, texture is usually the main basis for
naming a metamorphic rock. Determining the composition (e.g.,
mineral content) is necessary for naming some rocks (e.g., quartzite),
Metamorphic rocks are identified by determining first whether the rock
has a foliated or nonfoliated texture.
1. If the rock is nonfoliated, then it is identified on the basis of its
mineral content.
A. Does the rock consist of mostly quartz? If so, the rock is a quartzite.
A quartzite has a mosaic texture of interlocking grains of quartz and will
easily scratch glass.
B. Is the rock composed of interlocking coarse grains of calcite? If so, it
is marble. (The rock is softer than glass.)
C. Is the rock a dense, dark mass of grains mostly too fine to identify
with the naked eye? If so, it probably is a hornfels. A hornfels may have
a few larger crystals of uncommon minerals enclosed in the fine-
grained mass.
2. If the rock is foliated,
A. Is the rock very fine-grained, and does it split into sheet like slabs? If
so, it is slate.
B. Does the rock have a silky sheen but otherwise appear similar to
slate? If so, it is a phyllite.
C. Is the rock composed mostly of visible grains of platy or needlelike
minerals that are approximately parallel to one another? If so, the
rock is a schist.
D. D. Are dark and light minerals found in separate lenses or layers? If
so, the rock is a gneiss.