Emily Rogalski

ES305 Structure
Berkshire Trip Paper

Introduction

This field trip consisted of five main stops in the Berkshires through eastern New
York and western Massachusetts. Its main purpose was to explore structural features
talked about in ES305 Structural Geology as well as practice field techniques such as
taking strike/dip measurements and mapping of actual structural features rather than in
the classroom.

Fig 1: Field sites seen on Berkshire trip.

Geologic History

The eastern coast of the United States has experienced multiple orogenies due to
both continental collisions and island arc accretions over the last billion years. The
combination of these orogenies is responsible for the present day structure and
topography of the eastern coast of the United States.
The first major orogeny is referred to as the Grenville orogeny and occurred 1.1-
1.2Ba. It is associated with the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia and provided
most of the metamorphic basement rocks found in the core of the Berkshires. The second
major orogeny is the Taconic orogeny, which occurred in the Ordovician period.
Subduction off the coast of Laurentia formed the Shelburne Falls and Bronson Hills
volcanic chains that later collided with the continent and created the Taconic Mountains.
The Acadian orogeny occurred in the Devonian period when three microcontinents (the
Merrimack, Nashoba, and Avalon terranes) collided with and accreted onto Laurentia.
These terranes form the eastern half of present day Massachusetts. Lastly, the
Alleghenian orogeny occurred when Africa collided with eastern Laurentia during the
formation of the supercontinent Pangea in the Carboniferous to Permian periods. This last
orogeny is responsible for most of the uplift seen today in the eastern United States.

Site 1: Intersection of Rt. 23 & I-87 near Leeds, NY (421422.45N 735310.93W)

Fig 2: Taconic Unconformity (in pink) next to fault (in blue) with Arshan to scale.

There were several structural features to be seen at this site. The Taconic
Unconformity (seen above in pink) separates the Austin Glen formation (the shale to the
right) and the Roundout Formation (the weathered dolomite to the left of the pink line). A
thrust fault (shown in blue) can also be seen here. It runs parallel to bedding, which
means it is a flat on flat fault. Three other formations can be seen if you walk left towards
the west: the Coeymans and Manlius, the Kalkberg, and the New Scotland. The
Coeymans and Manlius are Devonian aged shale, the Kalkberg is a wackestone with thin
chert layers, and the New Scotland is a gray limestone and mudstone mixture.
On the eastern side of the highway, all the layers (except for the Austin Glen) dip
to the northwest. However, on the western side of the highway, the layers dip the
opposite direction (to the southeast) which suggests the presence of a syncline.
Continuing up the highway to the west, the layers dipped northeast again and the layers
repeated themselves, suggesting the presence of an anticline.

Site 2: Intersection of Rte. 23 & Taconic Parkway at Chief Martindale Diner in

Craryville, NY (421218.74N 73383.48W)
Fig. 3: Elizaville Formation with Christine to scale

The Elizaville Formation seen at site 2 is Ordovician aged and is the

metamorphosed version of the Austin Glen formation seen at site 1. The rock is classified
as somewhere in between a low-grade phyllite and a high-grade slate, suggesting a shale
protolith. The rock is foliated in one direction (seen in the above image in blue) trending
east to west, which means the principle stress direction (sigma 1) is perpendicular to that.
Since the rock has only experienced low-grade metamorphism, the rocks original
bedding can also be seen. As seen above in orange, the bedding is curved which suggests
the presence of a fold. Because the axial plane of the above fold is parallel to the
cleavage, it suggests that the same sigma 1 that created the foliations in the rock was also
responsible for the folding of the bedding.

Site 3: Along Rte. 7 near Lenox, MA (422125.00N 731610.08W)

Fig 4: Stopbridge Formation with friends for scale.

The rocks seen here are a part of the Stopbridge formation and are Ordovician in
age. The formation is primarily composed of marble with some calcite veins running
through them. Micas can also been seen in this formation because the protolith to this
rock was a dirty limestone intermixed with some clays and shales which have been
replaced by muscovite. There was no visible cleavage or bedding at this site.
A recumbent fold can also be seen at this site (seen above in orange) with an axial
plane running horizontal and parallel to the ground.

Site 4: Intersection of Rte. 7 and Dan Fox Drive in Pittsfield, MA (422438.25N 73

1551.77W)
Fig 5: Walloomsac Formation with Phil for scale.

This site consists of the Walloomsac Formation - an Ordovician aged, highly

deformed pelitic schist. The protolith of this rock is a shale similar to Austin Glen. The
hornblende and biotite crystals found in the rock were formed from metamorphosed
clays. There is a faint light to dark banding visible with suggests this rock is a proto-
gneiss.
Mode I hydrothermal fractures filled with quartz are scattered through the rock,
forming parallel to foliation which suggests at least two different sigma 1 directions
acting on this rock over time. The foliation was formed before the veins were created
which was then followed by the folding of this veins and foliation (seen in pictures
above). However, since the sigma 1 directions have changed over time, the rock has
definitely experienced multiple deformation events though it cannot be determined
exactly how many.

Site 5: On the Appalachian Trail off Grange Hill Road near Dalton, MA (422737.42N
73949.33W)

Fig 6: Great Unconformity with dinguses for scale.

There were two rock types seen at this site the basement rock which was a
Proterozoic hornblende gneiss and the overlying Cambrian-aged Dalton formation
metaconglomerate. The metaconglomerate is composed of cobbles which have been
strained in one main direction, making them mainly cigar-shaped or prolate. However,
there is 500Myrs of rock record missing between these layers, which is referred to as the
Great Unconformity (seen above in blue).
Citations

Dave Marchants ES333 Surface Processes class notes.