The Lower Paleozoic rocks and klippen of the Pistolet Bay area, northern Newfoundland.

• Main Author: Tuke, Michael Francis.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of Ottawa (Canada) 1966
• Subjects: Geology; Goose Tickle; Northwest Arm; Tickle; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10393/10540; https://doi.org/10.20381/ruor-8341

Rocks of two major sedimentary fades, shelf and eugeosynclinal, outcrop in the most northern part of Newfoundland. The area is similar in geological setting to the west coast of Newfoundland where the juxtaposition of two such fades of equivalent ages has been the subject of much discussion. Strata of the shelf fades occur in three units: (1) Lower and Middle Ordovician limestones, (St. George and Table Read Formations) forming the western half of the region; (2) Middle Ordovician shale and greywacke, (Goose Tickle Formation) lying to the east of the limestone; (3) clean white Cambrian sandstone restricted to islands off the east coast. Eugeosynclinal rocks lie to the east of the limestone. Black and green shale of the Lower Ordovician Northwest Arm Formation is contemporaneous with the nearby limestone but is surrounded Q faults. The remainder of the eugeosynclinal rocks lie further east in two thrust slices, one on top of the other. The lower slice consists of volcanic rocks, greywacke, and shale whereas the upper slice is composed of volcanic rocks intruded and metamorphosed by peridotite. Intensity of structural deformation increases from west to east but also varies with the lithologies involved. The massive limestones are gently folded whereas the volcanic and clastic rocks in the east are more tightly folded, and are overturned towards the west. In addition to the major thrust planes that underlie parts of the eugeosynclinal group several smaller thrusts cut the shelf rocks. Movement of the thrust slices was towards the northwest. The eugeosynclinal rocks are thought to have originated 60 km to the southeast and to have been moved to their present position by gravity sliding.