Geology of the Central Paparoa range, North Westland
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The Greenland Group sediments in the Central Paparoa range most probably unconformably overlie the Constant Gneiss although the hypothesis that the Greenland Group has been thrust over the Constant Gneiss cannot be ignored. The contact shows a sharp transition from Gneiss to greywacke, and in places is mineralised.
The Constant Gneiss has been subdivided into two types, a Banded paragneiss and a leucocratic orthogneiss. The Leucocratic gneiss outcrops above the Banded Gneiss, and is overlain by the Greenland Group sediments. The gneiss has suffered a complex tectonic history, including three phases of pegmatite intrusion, and three phases of folding post dated the development of the foliation. A considerable part of the deformation of the gneiss occurred after the peak of metamorphism recorded by the growth of coarsely crystalline sillimanite.
The Greenland Group has suffered only low grade metamorphism except in Slaty Creek where it has been hornfelsed by the Paparoa granite. The Greenland Group sediments have undergone two phases of deformation, and K/Ar dates suggest it is older, at least in part,than the Upper Ordovician.
Intrusion of the Paparoa granite probably took place during the Tuhua Orogeny in Carboniferous times.
Cretaceous terrestrial strata, the Hawks Crag Breccia, Topfer Formation and the Paparoa Beds have been deposited in topographic lows in the Greenland Group basement during a period of uplift.
Bortonian Island Sandstone was deposited in a developing basin during the initiation of a marine in a transgression on the West Coast.
Kaikoura orogenic movements during the late Tertiary have uplifted the Paparoa range along the Hawera fault, developing other north-south trending structural features.
The Constant Gneiss has been subdivided into two types, a Banded paragneiss and a leucocratic orthogneiss. The Leucocratic gneiss outcrops above the Banded Gneiss, and is overlain by the Greenland Group sediments. The gneiss has suffered a complex tectonic history, including three phases of pegmatite intrusion, and three phases of folding post dated the development of the foliation. A considerable part of the deformation of the gneiss occurred after the peak of metamorphism recorded by the growth of coarsely crystalline sillimanite.
The Greenland Group has suffered only low grade metamorphism except in Slaty Creek where it has been hornfelsed by the Paparoa granite. The Greenland Group sediments have undergone two phases of deformation, and K/Ar dates suggest it is older, at least in part,than the Upper Ordovician.
Intrusion of the Paparoa granite probably took place during the Tuhua Orogeny in Carboniferous times.
Cretaceous terrestrial strata, the Hawks Crag Breccia, Topfer Formation and the Paparoa Beds have been deposited in topographic lows in the Greenland Group basement during a period of uplift.
Bortonian Island Sandstone was deposited in a developing basin during the initiation of a marine in a transgression on the West Coast.
Kaikoura orogenic movements during the late Tertiary have uplifted the Paparoa range along the Hawera fault, developing other north-south trending structural features.
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106 leaves : maps (1 in pocket), plates ; 26 1/2 cm.
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1972Hume
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POLYGON ((171.495675447717986 -42.173424006863442,171.511284242730852 -42.183993115330971,171.509029492722306 -42.239007682898645,171.466064496410439 -42.22557369120284,171.457226168330948 -42.213302635243615,171.458202189923099 -42.192942405532499,171.474874236570315 -42.179225602011975,171.495675447717986 -42.173424006863442))
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Hume, Barry J., “Geology of the Central Paparoa range, North Westland,” Otago Geology Theses, accessed February 8, 2025, https://theses.otagogeology.org.nz/items/show/64.