Josh Summerhill 200620764

Ingleton Field Report

Abstract: The greywacke beds were deposited frst and then folded due to
compressional forces, due to the high clay mineral content (!"#$ clea%age
planes are %isible& Following a period of erosion, the limestone was deposited in
a warm, shallow, tropical sea& The beds were then uplifted and sub'ected to
glacial process and the %alley was formed, the deposition of the glacial moraine
forced the ri%er to take a di(erent route creating Thornton Force&
Introduction
The aim of the report was to understand the geology of the Ingleton area
specifcally the region between Thornton Force and )ecca Fall& This in%ol%ed
looking at two di(erent rock types in detail and also the
geological features of the wider area
including the *ra%en Fault system&
Rock descriptions
Rock ! + ,imestone, -ld .uarry (/012,3"43$
The rock at the frst location was a blue5grey in colour and well 'ointed, the rock
was calcareous as it reacted with dilute 6*l, it is most likely a limestone& The
rock is soft and can be scratched with a penknife& The grains are %ery fne
Fig. 1
Copy of the map provided on the day
showing the area.
Josh Summerhill 200620764
grained, not %isible e%en with a hand+lens, the bedding is also on a small scale,
decimetre& The beds ha%e almost no dip and and lie almost hori7ontal making
all measurements di8cult, strike5dip 942154:;& There are also numerous
e<amples of cross bedding which can be used as way up indicators, re%ealing
that the limestone beds are the correct way up& There are also some included
fragments of a harder mineral, rounded crystals that can not be scratched by a
penknife implying it may be =uart7& The coarser =uart7 crystal layer indicated
there was a change in energy as larger crystals were deposited for a period of
time& This also acts as a way up indicator as the bottom of the erosion channels
ha%e been eroded out&
Rock : + >reywacke, *uckoo Island (/01",3":!$
The rocks at location : was a grey + green in colour, it was a hard as it
scratched a knife& It was fne grained although the indi%idual grains were %isible
with a hand+lens& The grains are sub+angular implying a short period of
transportation, not allowing for attrition to occur prior to deposition& The green
tint to the rocks is due to the inclusion of other softer minerals, micas and
chlorite& The strike5dip 9!!05"3? was easy to measure& The rocks is a
greywacke and due to the high clay mineral content (!"#$ there are clea%age
planes %isible, the planes are %ery steep 9!145@1;, the clea%age formed as a
result of compressional forces acting on the greywacke after deposition& The
depositional en%ironment was most likely marine but near the shore gi%en the
te<turally and mineralogically immature nature of the greywacke, howe%er
there is little concrete e%idence for this& It is possible the greywacke formed as
part of a turbidite a submarine a%alanche of sediment down the continental
slope and onto the abyssal plain& There are fne bedding laminations grading
from the ?outh edge of each bed, indicating the se=uence is fning to the ?outh
and also younging to the ?outh& The rock has been mildly metamorphosed and
as it is a clay rich rock it can also be described as a metasedimentary
semipelite rock&
?tructure
?tratigraphic relationship between units
Josh Summerhill 200620764
Through the presence of way up structures within the greywackes and within
the limestones it can be determined the >reywacke is older than the limestone
therefore the ,aw of ?uperposition applies, the strata at the bottom of the
outcrop (greywacke$ is older than that on top (limestone$& The two rock types
are separated by an unconformity, the
deposition of the limestone took place after
the deformation of the greywacke
otherwise the limestone would also ha%e
been altered& The unconformity is parallel
to the bedding in the limestone, the
unconformity is angular as the limestone
beds truncate the folded and uplifted
greywacke& The included =uart7 crystals
may originate from the greywacke and
indicate marine transgression o%er the
greywacke&
>eomorphology
The geomorphology of the Ingleton area is largely as a result of %arious coastal
processes& The turbidity currents that operate on the continental shelf possibly
form the greywackes& The marine transgression and regression are also
responsible for the period of erosion and deposition that result in the
unconformity being formed& -ther processes also operate tectonic processes
result in the folding of the greywackes and the *ra%en Fault system that is
acti%e in the area& >lacial acti%ity has also shaped the %alley and deposited the
boulder clay creating Thornton Force&
>eological history
Cross section
Pettijohns classifcation scheme from
sandstone - greywacke - mudstone.
Fig 2.
)etti'ohn, F& A&, )otter, )& B&, and
?ie%er, R&, !03:, ?and and
?andstone: ?pringer+ Cerlag
Josh Summerhill 200620764
The greywacke was deposited as sediments in an -rdo%ician sea ("!4+120 Da$
and gi%en the te<tural and compositional immaturity of the greywacke it may
ha%e been deposited relati%ely near to the shoreline as part of a turbidite
although it is impossible to say for certain& Following deposition the beds were
uplifted and folded, this is e%ident through the formation of the clea%age
planes within the greywacke which formed as a result of compressional forces
in the area, the whole area has been folded into anticlines and synclines&
Following the folding there was a pause in deposition and a period of erosion
creating a new land surface& This surface was then Eooded beneath a shallow
tropical sea, where a limestone formed, there was a period of repeated marine
regression as the *oal Deasures formed in a swampy deltaic en%ironment&The
was more uplift and erosion and the modern landscape was formed through an
ice age& ,arge amounts of impermeable boulder clay (glacial moraine$ buried
the old ri%er channel forcing the ri%er to take a new route forming Thornton
Force&
Bconomic geology
There were se%eral areas that hinted at some economic interest in the area,
along the ;orth *ra%en Fault there is an adit to a mine that was most likely
prospecting for lead, it appears to ha%e been unsuccessful as it has been
largely abandoned& There is also a disused slate =uarry near to the location of
rock ! (/012,3"43$&
*onclusion
The geology of Ingleton takes the form of an angular unconformity, with the
older folder greywackes at the base and the limestone beds deposited
Unconformity
Josh Summerhill 200620764
hori7ontally on top& The local region follows the same trend with se%eral hills
consisting of the hori7ontal limestone bedding&
Acknowledgements
Fr Aac=ueline 6oughton, helped with data collection
Fr Faniel Dorgan, helped with preparation
Fr >eo( ,loyd , helped by presenting debriefng