A very poorly sorted rock with variably sized and angular quartz and feldspar pieces (both plagioclase and orthoclase; some fresh, others sericitized) set in a finer-grained matrix of chlorite, sericite, carbonate, silky quartz, leucoxene, magnetite and pyrite. Matrix chlorite corrodes quartz grains marginally. A few microfragments of rock (quartzite, granite, gneiss) also are present. Accessory detritals include muscovite, sphene, tourmaline and epidote. Most of the quartz pieces are markedly undulatory. A very low degree of incipient metamorphism is indicated by abundant secondary epidote in the matrix which also locally contains minute platelets of stilpnomelane.
This sample consists of two distinct populations distinguished by size and composition. The groundmass of elongate subhedral crystals of plagioclase, orthopyroxene and opaques is interspersed with vesicles infilled with calcite. The calcite amygdules are rimmed with quartz and occasionally chlorite.
The groundmass of this thin section is predominantly glass with a roughly-aligned mesh-work of plagioclase, much of which has been replaced by calcite. Pseudomorphism of euhedral plagioclase phenocrysts by calcite and serpentine is pervasive; calcite grains of variable crystallographic orientations preserve the Carlsbad and albite twins characteristic of plagioclase. Throughout the sample, ellipsoids of chalcedony-rimmed serpentine masses are common; the smallest and most spherical of these have only chalcedony. The largest, amoeboid vugs of this basalt are mantled first by a rim of chalcedony, and inwards of that, a rim of serpentine. The core of the vugs contain radiating masses of an unidentified zeolite.
The groundmass of this thin section contains a combination of glass and indiscernible crystals. It is densely populated by phenocrysts of a wide range of sizes and composition, which due to their angularity, lend a very fragmental texture to the rock. The quartzofeldspathic phases span a broad range of sizes, though the largest phenocrysts are all brittley-fractured and may be strongly embayed. No reaction rims are present in this sample. Biotite grains do not get as large as the quartzofeldspathic phases and display varying degrees of 'freshness.'
This hypidiomorphic, equigranular monazite has a classic granitic texture with a mosaic of grains all crystallizing simultaneously and impinging on one another's growth. Hornblende is particularly abundant and generally in contact with some combination of biotite, chlorite, and opaques. Some plagioclase grains are concentrically zoned.
This fine-grained granite has a mosaic texture. The quartz seems undisturbed, however, most other phases display evidence of weathering and disequilibrium. The dusting of clays and presence of sericite inclusions in the feldspars indicates they are chemically weathered. Biotite and muscovite are skeletal in appearance and biotite is frequently interfingered with chlorite.
The coarseness of this granite obscures in thin section the graphic texture so evident in handsample. The feldspars contain inclusions of muscovite as well as zircon (or another like mineral) and untwinned grains are readily distinguished from quartz by the comprehensive dusting of clay minerals due to weathering.
The olivine phenocrysts in this vesicular basalt are unaltered, in contrast to the second phenocrystic phase, plagioclase, which has a speckled, mottled alteration texture encroaching concentrically inwards from the grain boundaries. Only the cores and a thin corona of plagioclase on the outermost edges of the phenocrysts remains unaltered by this opaque phase. The glassy groundmass contains of unoriented plagioclase microlites and tiny olivine crystals. Olivine phenocrysts are smaller and less abundant in CF1B than CF1A. Plucking of olivine crystals is extensive.
The vesicles in this microporphyritic vesicular basalt are substantially smaller than the other Carr Mountain samples, though composition remains similar. More calcite permeates the groundmass, in which plagioclase microlites are visible. Unaltered augite and olivine microphenocrysts are observed. An isotropic zeolite, presumably analcite, is seen infilling several vesicles.
The outer rim phenocrysts of augite and olivine, though the red stain, which concentrates in the glass and olivine phases, obscures the characteristic birefringence of the olivine. Plagioclase microlites are present in the glass and calcite has infilled some pore spaces. The core of this bomb appears to be hematite and glass cemented tiny quartz crystals.
Hypidiomorphic, inequigranular k-feldspar and plagioclase with large clasts of chlorite which are likely pseudomorphs of hornblende. Radiating splays of chlorite are distributed randomly throughout, in addition to radiating zeolites, though the latter are confined to void spaces.
Sieve textured plagioclase blocks and laths dominate the phenocrystic population in this microporphyritic vesicular basalt. Clinopyroxene phenocrysts are less abundant and olivine less abundant still. All three phases are found in the groundmass. Groundmass clinopyroxene and olivine are more abundant than in BATUR 94 FL.
Sieve textured plagioclase blocks and laths dominate the phenocrystic population in this microporphyritic vesicular basalt. Clinopyroxene phenocrysts are less abundant. Both phases are found with glass as constituents of the groundmass.
Described by Western Minerals Inc. as 'porphyroblastic metasediments/hybrid rocks, interpreted by Eales and his coworkers as metamorphosed 'Red Beds' Formation sediments but conceivably magmatic in origin. The specimens illustrate the range in textures and compositions.' If so, textures in this sample, though difficult to describe, better resemble those of igneous than sedimentary rocks. This sample is jumbled mess of bladed, graphically intergrown k-feldspar and clinopyroxene, subhedral plagioclase altering to a dendritic, cloudy mineral, patches of anhedral, granular quartz, and elongate, poikilitic opaques.
This thin section is comprised entirely of glass and aligned plagioclase microlites. A few hematite nodules are found throughout. One weathered biotite phenocrysts can be seen.
Plagioclase and clinopyroxene form subhedral, unaltered grains amongst a background of finer-grained, intermingled iddingsite and zeolites. Iddingsite may be a pseudomorph after biotite. Described by Western Minerals Inc. as an 'interstitial ferrotholeiite, very highly fractionated…textures are similar to those associated with rapidly frozen or highly viscous melts.'
Plagioclase and clinopyroxene abundances are lower in this gabbro compared to others of Birds River. Radiating splays of zeolites with serpentinized margins, as well as iddingsite and chlorite replacement of an equant mineral phase contributes nearly half the bulk of the thin section.
The salt-n-pepper groundmass of opaques, pyroxenes, and feldspars appears almost intserstitial due to the high abundance of microphenocrysts. The phenocrystic population is dominated by subhedral plagioclase and, to a much lesser degree, clinopyroxene. Rounded, phenocryst-sized pockets of granular quartz are found throughout the groundmass.
Based on grain size, two populations of pyroxenes and plagioclase exist in this sample; the first are the fine-grained, equant crystals of the glassy groundmass, and the second, the subhedral to anhedral phenocrysts visible in handsample. The inconsistently-shaped plagioclase grains are sometimes zoned and frequently contain inclusions of glass.
Subhedral phenocrysts of plagioclase, clinopyroxene, and olivine are scattered randomly throughout this basalt. Plagioclase has a sieve texture and is frequently zoned. The corners of most grains are rounded. Both clinopyroxene and olivine are generally equant in shape and olivine is more abundant than the pyroxene. All three phases show some degree of resorption. The groundmass contains moderately-sized crystals of all three phases. This sample is very fresh and unaltered.
Plagioclase laths in this thin section have a continuous gradation in size from groundmass to phenocrysts. Most are euhedral in shape and this phase makes up roughly 70-80% of the minerals in this sample. Subhedral clinopyroxene makes up the remaining 20-30% of the minerals. The larger, blocky plagioclase is locally zoned and a sieve texture is observable in some grains.
Unoriented plagioclase laths and interstitial glass and clinopyroxene make up the groundmass of this vesicular basalt. Olivine and orthopyroxene microphenocrysts are scattered throughout.
Grain boundaries between the quartz and feldspar phases in this sample are consistently lobate, often with finer-grained subgrains rimming each crystal. Quartz in undulatory. The mica phases are subhedral and often resorbed, with kink bands causing undulose extinction along the length of the grain. Along one edge of the thin section is a seam dominated by clinozoisite. A hematite stain gives a dusty orange appearance to the feldspars and fractures within the sample contain higher concentrations of the phase.
This sample has a granoblastic texture defined by feldspars, garnet, and pyroxene. Crystals of all phases are roughly equant in shape. Alteration is concentrated along the rare hornblende grains and more commonly throughout the pyroxenes. Calcite and apatite are accessory phases and chlorite is found as an alteration product.
The foliation in this sample is due in part to aligned hornblende crystals and also to a slight compositional layering. The hornblende grains concentrate in layers of larger grains, with smaller, less abundant layers dominated more by granoblastic quartzofeldspathic phases. Lenticular layers of inclusions within the quartzofeldspathic layers lend a cloudy appearance to portion of the rock. Larger grains of epidote are evident by their classic yellowy-green pleochroism. Small, rounded, colorless titanite crystals are found throughout.
