Adirondack Marble Geology

Because of its limestone origin it has provided a natural buffering agent to the lake protecting it from the effects of acid deposition.

Adirondack marble geology. Commonly with subordinate leucogranitic gneiss biotite quartz plagioclase gneiss other metasedimentary rocks amphibolite migmatite. Marble is a metamorphic rock that forms when limestone is subjected to the heat and pressure of metamorphism. It is composed primarily of the mineral calcite caco 3 and usually contains other minerals such as clay minerals micas quartz pyrite iron oxides and graphite. The molten rock cooled and crystallized to form igneous rocks such as granite and anorthosite.

The protoliths of these metamorphic rocks were more or less impure limestone and dolostone deposited as shelf sediments in the trans adirondack basin. Amphibolite with porphyroblasts of k feldspar locally prominent in northwest adirondacks. Folded marble and calcsilicate east of speculator. Geology of the adirondack park the adirondack dome the adirondack mountains are very different in shape and content from other mountain systems.

Grenville marble forms the bedrock under rich lake here in newcomb. They mainly consist of metasedimentary rocks chiefly marbles and gneisses. Algonquin peak seen from the south meadows lake plain in north elba 4 october 2015. Bedrock geology of the adirondack region the current topography of the adirondacks is related to doming which began about 180 million years ago when the atlantic ocean opened.

Marble is an example of a metamorphic rock that was created when a chunk of limestone underwent extreme heat. Other adirondack rocks were formed from emerging magma molten rock squeezed up through existing sedimentary and metamorphic rock by the friction of sliding rocks up down and sideways. Geology of the adirondack mountains cont 2 adirondack lowlands the adirondacks lowlands are separated from the highlands by the ccmz to the southeast and from the frontenac terrane new york and ontario by the black lake shear zone to the northwest. Brief regional geology in the adirondack mountains of new york the adirondack lowlands domain contains sequences of shallow water carbonates evaporites and talc schists upper marble formation sitting on the popple hill gneiss that includes metamorphosed slates mudstones sandstones and volcanogenic sequences.

Unlike elongated ranges like the rockies and the appalachians the adirondacks form a circular dome 160 miles wide and 1 mile high. Although the reason s for this doming remain to be fully elucidated.