the quaternary geology of the rawhide lake area, district of algoma
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Ontario Geological Survey Open File Report 5867
The Quaternary Geology of the Rawhide Lake Area, District of Algoma
1993
Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
Ontario
ONTARIO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Open File Report 5867
The Quaternary Geology of the Rawhide Lake Area, District of Algoma
By
M.J. Ford
Parts of this publication may be quoted if credit is given. It is recommended that reference to this publication be made in the following form: Ford, M J . 1993. The Quaternary Geology of the Rawhide Lake area, District of Algoma;
Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 5867, 10p.
© Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1993
1993
Ontario Geological Survey
OPEN FILE REPORT
Open File Reports are made available to the public subject to the following conditions:
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction Bedrock Geology... Physiography Quaternary Geology Economic Geology.. References Conversion Table..
Maps P.3231 Quaternary Geology of the Rawhide Lake Area....Back pocket
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The Quaternary Geology of the Rawhide Lake Area, District of Algoma
by M.J. Ford 1
Geologist, Sedimentary and Environmental Geoscience Section, Ontario Geological Survey
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1
The Quaternary Geology of the Rawhide Lake Area, District of Algoma
M.J. Ford Geologist, Sedimentary and Environmental Geoscience Section, Ontario Geological Survey
Introduction
This project is a component of the Elliot Lake Initiatives Program, a 4 year program of geological mapping and geochemical surveys in the Elliot Lake region.
The Rawhide Lake map area (NTS 41J/10) lies between 46°30'N and 46°45'N and 82°30'W and 83°00'W and comprises about 1040 km 2. Provincial highways 546 and 639 provided primary access, supplemented by forestry roads, trails, and water access on lakes by canoe and power boat. Pace-and-compass traverses were carried out in remote areas of special interest.
Previous geological work in the area includes bedrock mapping by Robertson (1963, 1968, 1977a, 1977b), Wood (1975), and Siemiatkowska (1977). A broad regional reconnaissance study of surficial geology by Boissonneau (1965, 1968) included the present study area. Henderson and Halstead (1992) mapped the Quaternary geology of the adjacent Elliot Lake map area. As part of the present program, F.W. Breaks (1991) began a reconnaissance study of Archean granitoid rocks in the region and M.C. Rogers (1991) reexamined Archean supracrustal rocks in the southern part of the map area.
Bedrock Geology
The Rawhide Lake map area lies on the boundary between the Southern and Superior Structural provinces of the Canadian Shield. Major structures within the area include the Quirke syncline and the Flack Lake fault. The axis of the syncline trends east-southeast from its closure south of Lillybet Lake, passing out of the area at Dunlop Lake. The Flack Lake fault is a high angle reverse to vertical fault that strikes southwest through Hughson and Hembruff townships, turns westerly at Semiwite Lake and continues to Speckle Lake. West of Speckle Lake it again strikes southwesterly and then curves to the northwest beyond Endikai Lake.
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Numerous other faults are present in the area including the westerly-striking Ompa Lake fault which joins the Flack Lake fault south of Flack Lake. The Quirke Lake thrust fault enters the area near Manfred Lake and strikes westerly to Ten Mile Lake. In the central and northern parts of the area, the major faults strike westerly and southwesterly, with a number of north- and northwesterly-striking cross faults. These features played a major role in controlling post glacial drainage and the distribution of glaciofluvial sediments.
The oldest rocks in the area are Early Precambrian (Archean) supracrustal rocks: mainly mafic to felsic metavolcanic rocks and associated clastic metasedimentary rocks. These are found principally in a narrow, easterly-striking belt that runs from just south of Fullerton Lake through Hembruff and Hughson townships. This belt, along with some younger Archean granitoid rocks, is bounded on the north by the Flack Lake fault. Small enclaves of Archean supracrustal rocks are present in the granitic terrane in the northern part of the area.
Late Archean grantitoid rocks underlie much of the northern part of the map area, as well as parts of Bouck, Buckles, Hembruff, Hughson, Beange, and Raimbault townships. They are generally composed of uniform, massive, medium- to coarsely crystalline, equigranular granite . Breaks (1991) has found 3 distinct granitic masses that are probably parts of separate plutoris. Just north and east of Rawhide Lake, the rocks are rich in metasedimentary inclusions and are locally migmatitic and quite inhomogeneous, with small zones of pegmatite. Pegmatites are uncommon in the area and are composed simply of quartz and alkali feldspars.
Unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks of the Middle Precambrian (Early Proterozoic) Huronian Supergroup underlie much of the map area and make up the bulk of the rocks in the Quirke syncline. Useful summaries of the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Huronian Supergroup in the area can be found in Robertson and Card (1972) and Wood (1975) . Within the syncline, there are rocks of the Hough Lake, Quirke Lake, and lower Cobalt Groups. These are principally repetitive sequences of clastic sedimentary rocks of probable fluvial, deltaic and near shore marine origin that range from agillites and siltstones, through quartz and subarkosic arenites, to ortho- and paraconglomerates. Some of the matrix-supported conglomerates are though to be of glacial origin. The Espanola Formation (Quirke Lake Group) contains interbedded siltstone and carbonate rocks.
North of the Flack Lake Fault, a relatively complete sequence
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of Cobalt Group rocks underlies the area to as far north as Block's Pond in Sagard Township. These rocks generally dip gently to moderately southwards, except for a few small open folds. The 3 upper formations of the group, the Bar River (youngest), Gordon Lake, and the upper Lorraine, are well exposed along Highway 639. These rocks include quartz and subarkosic arenites, quartz wacke, conglomeratic quartz wacke, siltstone, and chert. Further north there are numerous outcrops of the Gowganda Formation, stratigraphically the lowest formation in the group. It is an assemblage of arkosic sandstones and conglomerates.
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paraconglomerates with wacke matrices (diamictites), and laminated siltstones and lies unconformably on the predominantly granitic Archean basement.
The Huronian sequence, particulary the Cobalt Group rocks, have been intruded in several places by tholeiitic mafic sills (Nipissing diabase). In the thicker sills where magmatic differentiation occurred, the rocks range from gabbro upwards to quartz diorite and granophyre. Related mafic dikes crosscut Archean granitoid rocks in the southern part of the area (Wood 1975). Rocks in the much of the area are cut by northwesterly-striking olivine diabase dikes of the Sudbury swarm. These dikes, in part, seem to be cut by late faults.
Physiography
The physiography of the area is largely bedrock controlled, with the many faults and other lineaments, and the major bedrock ridges acting as major landscape elements. The north-facing scarp of the Flack Lake fault is a prominent feature across much of the southern part of the area. In the central part of the area, the Nipissing diabase sills form prominent cuestas and hogback ridges that strike easterly across the area. The most notable is "Boland Hill" between the Boland and Little White rivers and its eastward extension along the south shore of Rawhide Lake. Olivine diabase dikes form the cores of several northwesterly-striking ridges near the east end of Rawhide Lake. The highlands in the northern part of the map area strongly reflect the underlying granitoid rocks and their rectilinear pattern of faults and master joints. Local relief exceeds 200 m in some parts of the area.
Most of the area is drained to the southwest by the Little White River and its tributaries, which include the Boland and Kindiogami rivers. The Little White River joins the Mississagi River southwest of the study area. The southward flowing Serpent River drains the southeastern corner of the map area. The many lakes in the area lie in bedrock controlled basins. The largest are Rawhide, Flack, Ten Mile, Mount, and Semiwite lakes.
Locally, glacial and glaciofluvial landforms are significant. There are low drumlinoidal features in Nicholas and Albanel townships but well-formed drumlins are not present in the area. Small moraines, first noted by Wood (1975), are present east of Semiwite Lake, in southeastern Poulin Township, and in the Boland River valley. Other ice-contact landforms, including esker complexes, crevasses fillings, and an ice-marginal delta.are
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prominent in the Boland valley in Viel, Hembruff, and Hughson townships. Notable outwash plains are present in the Little White River valley, the Boland River valley, east and northwest of Rosemarie Lake in Piche and Viel townships. There are series of erosional terraces in the Little White River valley outwash in Sagard Township and near Distant Lake and west of Square Lake in Tweedle Township.
Quaternary Geology
All Quaternary sedimentary deposits in the Rawhide Lake map area are thought to be of Wisconsinan and Recent age. No older deposits were recognized and only a few useful stratigraphic sections were found during the course of field mapping.
Striations, along with crescentic and lunate fractures, drumlinoid features, and till flutings, yielded valuable ice-flow direction data. Two dominant directions were recognized: 175° (range 165° to 180°) and 195° (range 190° to 210°) . This latter range seems predominant in the western part of the area. Several sites with either intersecting striae or contrasting adjacent striations were found and the available evidence suggests that the 195° group represents the more recent flow direction. At 3 sites, clearly older 100° to 120° striations were found intersecting either the 175° or 195° sets. At one location in Nicholas Township, well preserved striae trending 240° were found adjacent to 195° striations. The 240° set appear older but this was not established conclusively. These variations in ice-flow directions can only be partly explained by local topographic deflection of the moving glacial ice.
The oldest known stratigraphic unit in the area is a silty sand to sandy silt till. Two general lithofacies were observed: (a) a compact, relatively uniform matrix, 5 to 10% clasts, commonly with distinct fissility; and (b) a loose to moderately compact matrix, with sand lenses and stringers, substratified appearance, and up to 40% clasts. In profile, the weathered horizon in the till typically extends to 0.7 to 1.0 m., is typically light yellowish brown, and generally is siltier and somewhat more stony than the fresh underlying material. Below the weathering horizon, the compact facies "a" ranges in colour from light olive brown to medium olive grey. Facies "b" is commonly very light grey to light olive grey. It is thought that facies "a" was deposited mainly at the base of active glacial ice. The more complex facies "b" was probably deposited mainly as subaerial debris flows. In sections where both are visible, facies "b" always overlies "a". Other
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processes may have contributed to the formation of either of these till facies.
Occurrences of glaciolacustrine sediments are limited within the area and form only very small mappable surficial units. Laminated silt and fine sand and silt-clay rhythmites were found below glaciofluvial sediments in several sections in the Little White River valley and at one site north of the Boland River in Hembruff Township. Silt-clay rhythmites are exposed at surface at one site in northeastern Albanel Township. Couplet thickness ranges from 3 to 8 cm with abundant fine internal laminations in the silt layers and uniformly thin, 2 to 3 mm, clay layers. Minimum thickness of this deposit at this location is 3 m. The field evidence suggests that ponding occurred in the Little White River valley to as far east as the Poulin-Sagard Township line and in the area of Stag Creek in Hembruff Township, possibly extending into adjacent Viel Township. It is possible that these lakes are related to the post glacial lakes of the Lake Huron basin.
Deposits of glaciofluvial ice-contact stratified drift are composed of variable sand, gravel, and boulders, locally with minor silt and/or till. The positive landform features associated with these types of deposits occur in several locations within the area. The small moraines in the area seem to be composed either of very bouldery material or largely of sand, at least near surface. The esker ridges in Hughson Township contain pebble and cobble gravels with coarse to very coarse sand, boulders, gravelly sand, and minor silt.
Glaciofluvial outwash is common in low-lying areas throughout the map area. The outwash of the Boland River valley and the terraced deposits in the Little White River valley in Sagard Township are the most significant. The character and composition of these 2 outwash systems contrast sharply. The Little White river valley deposits are predominantly pebble and cobble gravels with the terraces indicating a series of erosional events that are probably related to changing lake levels in the Lake Huron basin. The Boland River outwash is mainly fine to coarse sand and lacks terraces, except in Hughson Township. Other important outwash bodies are present at Dougall Lake in Le Caron Township, along the Serpent River in Bouck Township, and near Square Lake and Distant Lake, both in Tweedle Township.
Lag deposits of boulders are common in the area. Notable lags occur along the Sister River in Sagard Township, west of West Richie Lake in Viel Township, south of Christman Lake in Mississagi Provincial Park, in the southeastern part of Vance Township, east
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of Reed Lake in Tweedle Township, and along the Little White River in Albanel Township.
Many of the rivers and creeks in the area have mappable Recent floodplain deposits that typically reflect the underlying Pleistocene sediments. Alluvial deposits along the Boland River are mainly sand and the river has constructed a sandy delta at Mikel Lake roughly 1 km 2 in area. Well-sorted gravel deposits predominate along meandering sections of the Little White River.
Throughout the area, there are swamp deposits of muck and organic-rich silt. These deposits are generally small, bedrock controlled, and occur along small streams. Far less common are bog deposits of sphagnum-derived peat. The only significant area of peat accumulation is the large bog east of Stag Creek in Hembruff Township. Peat thickness in the bog increases from <20 cm near its northern margin to about 3 m at the bog's centre. Thickness may increase further south toward the Flack Lake Fault, which forms the southern margin of the basin. There are a few other small bogs in the map area.
Talus accumulations are common below the many bedrock scarps and steep, rocky hills. Talus cones and slopes typically display gravity sorting with the coarsest material near the base. This rock debris is angular and ranges from fine pebble size to large boulders. Locally, talus debris includes enormous blocks of up to 10 m maximum dimension. Other colluvial deposits include mixtures of angular local rock debris and glacial till. These are of restricted areal extent and are not considered mappable.
Economic Geology
Supplies of sand and gravel are more than ample to supply local need for the foreseeable future. The extensive outwash deposits of southwestern Sagard Township are more than 10 m thick and contain high percentages of pebble and cobble gravel. Rock types constituting the gravel are predominantly mechanically sound felsic plutonic rock and Huronian sandstone. Locally, oversized material may be a problem. Several pits in Sagard Township and one pit in Bouck Township are operated intermittently on a demand basis. Boulders and oversized cobbles are a problem in this latter pit. Materials for forest access road construction can generally be found along or near the road route in most parts of the area.
The thickness and generally low level of humification of the peat in the large bog in Hembruff Township make it a possible source of horticultural peat moss. A much more comprehensive
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evaluation of the quality and quantity of the material is needed before any type of feasibility study could be attempted. The bog's proximity to Mississaugi Provincial Park may constrain development.
References
Boissonneau, A.N. 1965 Surficial geology, Algoma, Sudbury, Timislearning and Nipissing, Ontario Department of Lands and Forests Map S465.
-1968. Glacial history of Northeastern Ontario II. The Timiskaming-Algoma area. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol 5, p.97-109.
Breaks, F.W. 1991. Geology of the Rocky Island Lake-Lac Aux Sables Area; in Summary of Field Work and Other Activities 1991, Ontario Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Paper 157, p. 40-45
Henderson, P.J. and Halstead, J.M. (1992). The Quaternary Geology of the Elliot Lake Area, District of Algoma. Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Map 193, 1:50,000.
Robertson, J.A. 1963. Townships 155, 156, 161, 162, and Parts of 167 and 168, District of Algoma. Ontario Department of Mines Report 13. 88p.
-1968. Geology of Township 149 and Township 150, District of Algoma. Ontario Department of Mines Report 57. 162p.
-1977a. Geology of Poulin and Sagard Townships, District of Algoma. Ontario Geological Survey Map 2346, 1:31,680.
-1977b. Geology of Nicholas and Raimbault Townships, District of Algoma. Ontario Geological Survey Map 2347, 1;31,680.
and Card, K.D. 1972. Geology and Scenery, North shore of Lake Huron Region. Ontario Division of Mines Geological Guidebook 4, 224p.
Rogers, M.C., 1991. Geology of the Ompa Lake Greenstone Belt, District of Algoma; in Summary of Field Work and Other Activities 1991, Ontario Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Paper 157, p.52-56.
Siemiatkowska, K.M. 1977. Geology of the Endikai Lake Area, District of Algoma. Ontario Geological Survey Map 2399, 1:31, 680
Wood, J. 1975. Geology of the Rawhide Lake Area, District of Algoma. Ontario Division of Mines Report 129, 67p.
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CONVERSION FACTORS FOR MEASUREMENTS IN ONTARIO GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PUBLICATIONS
Conversion from SI to Imperial Conversion from Imperial to SI
SI Unit Multiplied by Gives Imperial Unit Multiplied by Gives
L E N G T H 1 mm 0.039 37 inches 1 inch 25.4 mm 1 cm 0.393 70 inches 1 inch 2.54 cm l m 3.280 84 feet 1 foot 0304 8 m l m 0.049 709 7 chains 1 chain 20.116 8 m 1km 0.621 371 miles (statute) 1 mile (statute) 1.609 344 km
A R E A 1 cm 2 0.155 0 square inches 1 square inch 6.451 6 cm 2 l m 2 10.763 9 square feet 1 square foot 0.092 903 04 m2 l k m 2 0.386 10 square miles 1 square mile 2.589 988 km2 1 ha 2.471 054 acres 1 acre 0.404 685 6 ha
V O L U M E 1 cm3 0.061 02 cubic inches 1 cubic inch 16387 064 cm 3 1 m3 35.314 7 cubic feet 1 cubic foot 0.028 316 85 m3 1 m3 1.308 0 cubic yards 1 cubic yard 0.764 555 m3
C A P A C I T Y 1 L 1.759 755 pints 1 pint 0.568 261 L 1 L 0.879 877 quarts 1 quart 1.136 522 L 1 L 0.219 969 gallons 1 gallon 4.546 090 L
MASS
l g 0.035 273 96 ounces (avdp) 1 ounce (avdp) 28.349 523 g l g 0.032 150 75 ounces (troy) 1 ounce (troy) 31.103 476 8 g 1kg 2.204 62 pounds (avdp) 1 pound (avdp) 0.453 592 37 kg 1kg 0.001 102 3 tons (short) 1 ton (short) 907.184 74 kg 1 1 1.102 311 tons (short) 1 ton (short) 0.907 184 74 t 1kg 0.000 984 21 tons (long) 1 ton (long) 1016.046 908 8 kg 1 t 0.984 206 5 tons (long) 1 ton (long) 1.016 046 908 8 t
C O N C E N T R A T I O N l g / t 0.029 166 6 ounce (troy)/ 1 ounce (troy)/ 34.285 714 2 g/t
ton (short) ton (short) l g / t 0.583 333 33 pennyweights/ 1 pennyweight/ 1.714 285 7 g/t
ton (short) ton (short)
O T H E R U S E F U L C O N V E R S I O N F A C T O R S
Multiplied by 1 ounce (troy) per ton (short) 20.0 pennyweights per ton (short) 1 pennyweight per ton (short) 0.05 ounces (troy) per ton (short)
Note: Conversion factors which are in boldtype areexact. The conversion factors have been taken from or have been derived from factors given in the Metric Practice Guide for the Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Industries, published by the Mining Association of Canada in co-operation with the Coal Association of Canada.
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3268 ISSN 0826-9580 ISBN 0-7778-1757-8
