The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units — Result Details
Ballantrae Ophiolite Complex
Computer Code: | BX | Preferred Map Code: | BX |
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Status Code: | Full | ||
Age range: | Tremadoc Series (O1) — Arenig Series (OR) | ||
Lithological Description: | Tectonically assembled complex consisting largely of sepentinised ultramafic rock and basaltic pillow lavas. The latter are associated with basaltic breccias and a range of volcaniclastic rocks, conglomerate, mudstone-supported melange and chert. Some of the sedimentary rocks contain a graptolite fauna. There are several generations of dolerite and gabbro intrusions, and tectonism has locally produced amphibolite and greenschist. | ||
Definition of Lower Boundary: | Not seen; speculatively a thrust contact on crystalline basement. | ||
Definition of Upper Boundary: | Major unconformity beneath the overlying sedimentary cover. Above different parts of the Complex this cover is assigned to the Barr and/or Ardmillan groups and/or the Old Red Sandstone. | ||
Thickness: | Highly speculative; at least several kilometres and possibly as much as 10km. | ||
Geographical Limits: | About 75 square kilometres between Girvan and Ballantrae, Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. | ||
Parent Unit: | Not Applicable (-) | ||
Previous Name(s): | Ballantrae Igneous Series [Obsolete Name and Code: Use BX]
(-2653)
Ballantrae Ophiolite [Obsolete Name and Code: Use BX] (*626) Girvan - Ballantrae Complex [Obsolete Name and Code: Use BX] (-4510) Ballantrae Igneous Complex [Obsolete Name and Code: Use BX] (-3887) Ballantrae Group [Obsolete Name And Code: Use BX] (BVS) |
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Alternative Name(s): | Ballantrae Ophiolite [Obsolete: use BX] Ballantrae Complex |
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Stratotypes: | |||
Type Area | Coastal section about 10km long between Kennedy's Pass and Bennane Head. Stone and Smellie, 1988. | ||
Type Area | Coastal and inland sections, Ballantrae to Girvan, southwest Scotland. Stone and Smellie, 1988. | ||
Reference(s): | |||
Stone, P and Smellie, J L, 2001. Geochemical characteristics and geotectonic setting of early Ordovician basalt lavas in the Ballantrae ophioloite, SW Scotland.Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, Vol.91, 539-555. | |||
Williams, A, 1962. The Barr and Lower Ardmillan Series (Caradoc) of the Girvan district, southwest Ayrshire, with descriptions of the Brachiopoda. Memoir of the Geological Society of London, No.3. | |||
Stone, P and Smellie, J L, 1988. Classical areas of British Geology: The Ballantrae area: a description of the solid geology of parts of 1:25 000 sheets NX 08, 18 and 19. [London: HMSO for British Geological Survey.] | |||
Ingham, J K, 1978. Geology of a continental margin 2: Middle and late Ordovician transgression, Girvan. "In" Bones, D R and Leake, B E. Crustal Evolution in North Western Britain and Adjacent Regions. Geological Journal Special Issue, No.10. p.163-176. | |||
Spray, J G and Williams, G D, 1980. The sub-ophiolite metamorphic rocks of the Ballantrae Igneous Complex, south-west Scotland. Journal of the Geological Society of London, Vol.137, 359-368. | |||
Bailey, E B and McCallien, W J, 1952. Ballantrae problems: historical review. Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society, Vol.15, 14-38. | |||
Balsillie, D. 1932. The Ballantrae Igneous Complex, south Ayrshire. Geological Magazine, Vol 69, 107-131. | |||
Bloxham, T W, 1954. Rodingite from the Girvan-Ballantrae Complex, Ayrshire. Mineral Magazine, Vol.30, 525-528. | |||
Stone, P and Rushton, A W A, 1983. Graptolite faunas from the Ballantrae Ophiolite Complex and their structural implications. Scottish Journal of Geology, Vol. 19, 297-310. | |||
Greig, D C. 1971. British Regional Geology: the South of Scotland (3rd Edition). (Edinburgh: HMSO for the Institute of Geological Sciences.) | |||
Church, W R and Gayer, R A, 1973. The Ballantrae ophiolite. Geological Magazine, Vol.110, 497-510. | |||
Bluck, B J, 1978. Geology of a continental margin 1: The Ballantrae Complex, 151-162. "In" Crustal evolution in north western Britain and adjacent regions. Bowes, D R, and Leake, B E. (editors). Geological Journal Special Issue, No.10. | |||
Wilkinson, J M and Cann, J R, 1974. Trace elements and tectonic relationships of basaltic rocks in the Ballantrae Igneous Complex, Ayrshire. Geological Magazine, Vol.III, 35-41. | |||
1:50K maps on which the lithostratigraphical unit is found, and map code used: | |||
S007 S008 |