Date of Completion
2015
Document Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Geology
Thesis Type
Honors College, College of Arts and Science Honors
First Advisor
Keith Andrew Klepeis
Second Advisor
Jonathan Kim
Keywords
Iberville Shale, Horse Thrust Duplex Model, Horse Thrusts, Lozenges, Champlain Thrust Fault, Structural Geology
Abstract
The objective of this project was to identify a strain gradient and relative chronology within the foot wall of the Champlain Thrust Fault at Lone Rock Point, Burlington, Vermont in order to determine how the unique fault-bounded ellipsoidal lozenge structures formed and why they are contained to one area within the foot wall. Previously researched models seemed to suggest the fault bounded lozenges were a horse thrust system that followed the strong pre-existing limestone/dolostone bedding layers of the Iberville Shale. However, this paper indicates that the lozenges are a horse thrust system formed by an S-C fabric between the 1st and 2nd generation cleavages, not by bedding, and as such are a gauge of moderate strain within the foot wall. Also, by identifying a relative chronology within the foot wall, this paper lays the groundwork to explain why two wells drilled near Lone Rock Point by McGill University in the summer of 2014 observed the Champlain Thrust Fault to have a thirty five meter depth difference over a ten meter distance. The original hypothesis to explain this observation was that normal faults were crosscutting the main thrust and causing the displacement. However, this paper failed to conclusively support that hypothesis since the normal faults identified within the foot wall were found to neither cross the main thrust nor displace rock more than one centimeter. Further research should be conducted within the hanging wall at Lone Rock Point to conclusively interpret this observation.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Strathearn, Christina Marie, "Detailed Analysis of Structures in the Foot Wall of the Champlain Thrust at Lone Rock Point, Burlington, Vermont" (2015). UVM Honors College Senior Theses. 209.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/209
Comments
The full copy of this thesis will be available in the Spring of 2016, after further research is conducted within the hanging wall of the Champlain Thrust at Lone Rock Point, Burlington, Vermont.