The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units — Result Details

Ballantrae Ophiolite Complex

Computer Code: BX Preferred Map Code: BX
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)
Alternative Name(s): Ballantrae Ophiolite [Obsolete: use BX]
Ballantrae Complex
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