Contemporaneous faulting and clastic intrusions in the Quirke Lake Group, Elliot Lake, Ontario

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
• Main Author: Eisbacher, G. H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1970
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Elliot; Elliot Lake; permafrost
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e70-021; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e70-021

Contemporaneous faults and clastic intrusions near Elliot Lake are common within the Espanola Formation of the Quirke Lake Group. Contemporaneous faults formed in response to differential vertical displacements which controlled regional paleocurrents and basin slope. The normal faults within the sedimentary succession probably channeled the intrusive material of the clastic dikes. Four types of clastic dikes occur in the Espanola Formation: internally sorted conglomerate dikes; internally unsorted conglomerate dikes; thin sand- and siltstone dikes; and discordant sandstone masses with scattered quartz pebbles. Emplacement of the conglomerate masses into the Espanola Formation may represent a sub-permafrost phenomenon, provided the glacial origin for the boulder conglomerates within the Huronian succession is accepted.