Geology of Queensland
Encyclopedia
The geology of Queensland can be subdivided into several regions with different histories.
A Precambrian
basement is found in the north west and Cape York
regions.
The Thomson Orogen occurs in the central and southern parts of Queensland
, but is mostly covered by younger basins.
The North Queensland Orogen is along the coast from Charters Towers to Princess Charlotte Bay
.
The Bowen Gunndedah Sydney basin can be considered as one system that extends into Queensland.
The New England Orogen is on the coastal parts from the border with New South Wales north to Ayr
,
The Murphy Province crosses over into the Northern Territory, consisting of the Murphy Metamorphics, the Nicholson Granite and Cliffdale Volcanics. It is from 1820 to 1730 Mya. North of the Murphy Province is the McArthur Basin, also crossing the Northern Territory border. It consists of the Tawallah Group of sediments and volcanics from 1725 Mya and the McArthur Group tuff at 1740 Mya. The South Nicholson Basin is a basin straddling the Queensland-Northern Territory border, south of the above provinces.
The Savannah Province on Cape York initially formed ar9ound 1585 to 1550 Mya as sediments, but are now converted to slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss and quartzite. They were intruded bydolerite and amphibolite
. The Etheridge Province lies to the east. It started as a rift in the continent, between 1700 and 1650 Mya. This was deformed and intruded with granite and metamorphosed at 1550 Mya. The Croydon Province contains the Croydon Volcanic Group of acid volcanids, the Esmeralda
Supersuite granite, and quartz rich sediments of the Inorunie Group.
period formed the Bowen-Gunnedah-Sydney Basin System. This was a foreland basin
from Late Early Permian into the Triassic
. Granites from this time also intruded. From middle
to Late Triassic
an ocean arc collided. This folded and trusted the surface contents of the basin starting in the east extending to the west.
and Surat Basin
s are superimposed on the older rocks of the Lachlan Orogen. They are components of the Great Artesian Basin
. Beneath the Eromanga basin in the mantle below 200 km is a region of fast seismic wave transmission.
is found in South East Queensland
across the border to New South Wales.
on 12 May 1868 to explore the northern regions. Their job was to look for gold. The jobs only lasted for one to two years as the parliament cut off funding for the Geological Survey. Daintree produced the first geological map of Queensland in 1872.
In 1875 Augustus Charles Gregory was appointed as the geologist for the southern part of Queensland, and Robert Logan Jack
started work in 1877 in Townsville. The focus extended beyond gold to coal as well. In 1892 the Geological Survey moved from Townsville to Brisbane, establishing a museum. In 1893 the office was flooded and it moved to the intersection of George and Queen Streets.
A Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
basement is found in the north west and Cape York
Cape York
Cape York may refer to:* Cape York , a cape at the north-west coast of Greenland, in northern Baffin Bay* Cape York meteorite, meteorite found in 1894 near Cape York, Greenland...
regions.
The Thomson Orogen occurs in the central and southern parts of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, but is mostly covered by younger basins.
The North Queensland Orogen is along the coast from Charters Towers to Princess Charlotte Bay
Princess Charlotte Bay
Princess Charlotte Bay is a large bay on the east coast of Far North Queensland at the base of Cape York Peninsula, 350 km north northwest of Cairns. Princess Charlotte Bay is a part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and it is a habitat for the dugong....
.
The Bowen Gunndedah Sydney basin can be considered as one system that extends into Queensland.
The New England Orogen is on the coastal parts from the border with New South Wales north to Ayr
Ayr, Queensland
Ayr is a town in Queensland, Australia near the delta of the Burdekin River, named after the Scottish town of Ayr by the settlers from the United Kingdom...
,
Precambrian
The Precambrian basement in Queensland is west of the Tasman Line. It includes elements such as the Mount Isa Orogen and the Georgetown Inlier. The Mount Isa Orogen started with sediments, volcanics and intrusive rocks, and was deformed and metamorphosed during the Barramundi Orogeny 1870 Mya. Sedimentary layers formed on top, firstly felsic volcanic rocks from 1870 to 1850 Mya. Shallow water sediments formed from 1790 to 1705 Mya. Fine grained sediments and carbonate rocks formed from 1675 to 1590. Then this was folded in the Isan Orogeny 1620 to 1520 Mya, overlapping with sedimentation. At 1620 Mya the compressive force was north-south, but this changed to east-west at 1520 Mya The Kalkadoon Botholith and Ewn intruded the central Kalkadoon-Ewen Province between 180 and 1850 Mya. The Sybella Batholith intruded the Western Fold Belt around 1670 Mya. Other batholiths are the Wonga, Williams, Naraku ranging from 1750 to 1490 Mya.The Murphy Province crosses over into the Northern Territory, consisting of the Murphy Metamorphics, the Nicholson Granite and Cliffdale Volcanics. It is from 1820 to 1730 Mya. North of the Murphy Province is the McArthur Basin, also crossing the Northern Territory border. It consists of the Tawallah Group of sediments and volcanics from 1725 Mya and the McArthur Group tuff at 1740 Mya. The South Nicholson Basin is a basin straddling the Queensland-Northern Territory border, south of the above provinces.
The Savannah Province on Cape York initially formed ar9ound 1585 to 1550 Mya as sediments, but are now converted to slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss and quartzite. They were intruded bydolerite and amphibolite
Amphibolite
Amphibolite is the name given to a rock consisting mainly of hornblende amphibole, the use of the term being restricted, however, to metamorphic rocks. The modern terminology for a holocrystalline plutonic igneous rocks composed primarily of hornblende amphibole is a hornblendite, which are...
. The Etheridge Province lies to the east. It started as a rift in the continent, between 1700 and 1650 Mya. This was deformed and intruded with granite and metamorphosed at 1550 Mya. The Croydon Province contains the Croydon Volcanic Group of acid volcanids, the Esmeralda
Supersuite granite, and quartz rich sediments of the Inorunie Group.
Bowen-Gunnedah-Sydney Basin System
Stretching of the continental crust of the New England Orogen in the PermianPermian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
period formed the Bowen-Gunnedah-Sydney Basin System. This was a foreland basin
Foreland basin
A foreland basin is a depression that develops adjacent and parallel to a mountain belt. Foreland basins form because the immense mass created by crustal thickening associated with the evolution of a mountain belt causes the lithosphere to bend, by a process known as lithospheric flexure...
from Late Early Permian into the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
. Granites from this time also intruded. From middle
Middle Triassic
In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided. It spans the time between 245 ± 1.5 Ma and 228 ± 2 Ma...
to Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...
an ocean arc collided. This folded and trusted the surface contents of the basin starting in the east extending to the west.
North Queensland Orogen
The North Queensland Orogen is also denotated by the North Lachlan Orogen. The northernmost part is called the Hodgekinson Fold Belt.Eromanga Basin
The EromangaEromanga Basin
The Eromanga Basin is a large Mesozoic sedimentary basin in central and northern Australia. It covers parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia, and New South Wales, and is a major component of the Great Artesian Basin...
and Surat Basin
Surat Basin
The Surat Basin is a part of the Great Artesian Basin of Australia. The Surat Basin extends across an area of 270,000 square kilometres and the southern third of the basin occupies a large part of northern New South Wales, the remainder is in Queensland. It comprises Jurassic through to Cretaceous...
s are superimposed on the older rocks of the Lachlan Orogen. They are components of the Great Artesian Basin
Great Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of inland Australia. The basin is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over a total of , with temperatures measured ranging from 30°C to 100°C...
. Beneath the Eromanga basin in the mantle below 200 km is a region of fast seismic wave transmission.
Clarence-Moreton Basin
The Jurassic to Cretaceous Clarence Moreton BasinClarence Moreton Basin
The Clarence Moreton Basin is a Mesozoic sedimentary basin on the easternmost part of the Australian continent. It is located in the far north east of the state of New South Wales around Lismore and Grafton and in the south east corner of Queensland. It formed by oblique extension of the...
is found in South East Queensland
South East Queensland
South East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...
across the border to New South Wales.
Government
The Queensland Government appointed its first geologist Christopher D'Oyly Hale Aplin on 1 April 1868, and the second one Richard DaintreeRichard Daintree
Richard Daintree was a pioneering Australian geologist and photographer. In particular, Daintree was the first Government geologist for North Queensland discovering gold fields and coal seams for future exploitation...
on 12 May 1868 to explore the northern regions. Their job was to look for gold. The jobs only lasted for one to two years as the parliament cut off funding for the Geological Survey. Daintree produced the first geological map of Queensland in 1872.
In 1875 Augustus Charles Gregory was appointed as the geologist for the southern part of Queensland, and Robert Logan Jack
Robert Logan Jack
Robert Logan Jack was Queensland Government geologist for twenty years.-Early life:Jack was born at Irvine, in Ayrshire, Scotland the son of Robert Jack, a cabinet-maker, and his wife Margaret, née Logan...
started work in 1877 in Townsville. The focus extended beyond gold to coal as well. In 1892 the Geological Survey moved from Townsville to Brisbane, establishing a museum. In 1893 the office was flooded and it moved to the intersection of George and Queen Streets.