Smith 1896 - Geology of the Fox Islands Maine

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QE
120 Complements
F7
S65
Geo. Oleh
B 535269
THE GEOLOGY
OF THE
FOX ISLANDS, MAINE.

A Contribution to the Study of Old Volcanics.
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF

UNIVERSITY STUDIES OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY,
BY
GEORGE OTIS SMITH .

ARTED
LIBRARY CORTAD OF THE
| UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
PRESENTED BY
THE AUTHOR
QE
120
S65
THE GEOLOGY
OF THE
FOX ISLANDS, MAINE.

A Contribution to the Study of Old Volcanics.
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF
UNIVERSITY STUDIES OF THE Johns HOPKINS UNIVERSITY FOR

THE DEGREE OF Doctor of PHILOSOPHY.
BY
GEORGE OTIS SMITH .
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR .
SKOWHEGAN , MAINE .
I S06 .
PRESS OF
J. O. SMITH & Co. ,

SKOWHEGAN , ME .
CONTENTS .
PIGE
INTRODUCTORY:
Geographical, 7
Topographical, 7
Geological, 10
Nature of Problem , 11
Areal Distribution of Rock -types, 11
NORTH HAVEN GREENSTONE COMPLEX :
Distribution , 13
Description of Rock - types, 13
Diabases , 14
Amygdaloids, 15
Tuffs, 15
Columnar Structure , 16
Age , 19
aaaa
NIAGARA SEDIMENTS :
Distribution , 20
Southern Harbor Section , 20
Fauna , 21
Conditions of Deposition, 24
ततीती
CALDERWood's NECK SCHISTS :

Description and Distribution , 28
Relations, 28
Age , 29
THOROUGHFARE VOLCANICS:
Distribution , 30
Description of Rock -types, 30
Andesites, 31
Porphyries, 35 ,
Amygdaloids, 36
259966
4 CONTENTS .
37
Pyroclastics,
40
Sequence,
42
Age ,
43
Conditions of Volcanic Activity,
VINAL HAVEN ACID VOLCANICS:
46
Distribution ,
46
Description of Rock -types,
46
Aporhyolites,
51
Flow -breccias ,
51
Tuffs,
52
Sequence,
52
Conditions of Volcanic Activity,
DIKES:
56
Description,
57
Distribution,
DIABASIC AND GRANITIC INTRUSIVES:
Areal Distribution , 59
Granite , 60
61
Diabase and Diorite,
63
Relative Age ,
64
Relations to Dikes ,
Time and Conditions of Intrusion, 64
ALTERATION :
Character of Alteration , 66.
66
Structural and Mineralogical,
Devitrification , 69
Nomenclature of Altered Igneous Rocks, 70
GEOLOGIC HISTORY:
2251 5
72
Acadian Trough ,
72
Pre-Niagara Volcanic Activity,
Niagara Sedimentation , 73
74
Post-Niagara Volcanic Activity,
Devonian Intrusions, 75
PLATES .
I. Photo -micrographs.
II . Geological Map .
PREFACE .
The following geological study of the Fox Islands is presented

as a contribution to the solution of the problem of the identifica
tion and interpretation of ancient volcanic rocks. The writer
owes his interest in this subject to the late Professor George H.
Williams, whose enthusiasm in petrographical research was so in
spiring to his students .
The Fox Islands area was visited and studied in 1893 by Dr. W.
S. Bayley of Colby University, and the writer wishes to acknowl
edge the kindness of Dr. Bayley in granting him the privilege of
studying the rocks collected at that time, as well as the accom
panying full suite of thin - sections. The area was studied and the
different series mapped by the writer in the spring of 1895, and a
subsequent visit was made in the spring of 1896 .
In the preparation of this paper, assistance has been received
from Prof. Clark, Dr. Mathews, and Messrs. Gilbert and Willis of
the Geological Department of this University, and Dr. Bayley of
Colby University , to all of whom the writer desires to express his
indebtedness. He also wishes to acknowledge the courtesy of Pro
fessors Remsen and Morse of the Chemical Department, under
whose direction rock -analyses were kindly made by Messrs. E. W.
Magruder and W. A. Jones.
1
INTRODUCTORY .
GEOGRAPHICAL . The rock-bound coast of Maine offers special
attractions to the geologist. It is characterized by many deep in
dentations, the largest being Penobscot Bay, in which are situated
the Fox Islands. These islands, a geological study of which is
here presented , are slightly over eight miles due east from the city
of Rockland and about twenty - five southwest from Mount Desert.
Like the latter island , the Fox Islands lie just within the general
coast-line which has a southwest and northeast trend . Unlike
Mount Desert, however, they are at some distance from the main
land , being nearly in the middle of the bay, which is twenty-eight
miles wide , from Owls Head to Naskeag Point. To the southeast
and southwest, these islands are exposed to the open Atlantic, but
to the south about ten miles distant is an outer fringe of small
islands, the Matinicus group.
North Haven and Vinal Haven, the principal members of the
Fox Islands, are among the larger of the many rocky islands on
the Maine coast. Surrounding these are many smaller islands,
and the group extends ten and three-fourths miles from north to
south and eight and one-fourth from east to west .
TOPOGRAPHICAL . Topographically, these islands are well di
versified. Although at no point is there any great elevation, yet
many hills rise from one to two hundred feet above the sea-level ,
and afford pleasing variety of relief. The most striking topo
graphical feature, however, is the extremely irregular coast-line,
which is to be regarded simply as an unmodified contour of the
rocky relief. Peninsulas, necks and points, bays, harbors and
coves are the elements, which constitute the greatest charm of the
Fox Islands. Although one might sail around the islands in a dis
1. Maps of the Fox Islands are sheets 309 and 310, East and West Penobscot Bay
scale 1 :40,000, and 311a, Fox Islands Thoroughfare, 1 :20,000 , of the U. S. Coast and
Geodetic Survey. Sheets 309 and 310 were used to furnish the base of the geological
map herewith presented, Plate II,
7
8 GEOLOGY OF THE FOX ISLANDS .
tance of thirty miles, the coast- line of the two larger islands alone
measures nearly one hundred and fifty miles. Indeed,, so deeply
indented are the shores, and so low the divides, that a submerg
ence of less than twenty feet would divide North Haven and Vinal
Haven into scores of smaller islands .
In connection with the present topography it is of interest to
note its origin , as well as the modifications , which are at present ,
being made in it. Both the surface features of these islands and
the deeply incised coast-line have had their origin in the erosion
processes of the past. Penobscot Bay is one of the many drowned
river valleys on the New England coast; and the islands which
now comprise so large a part of the area between the shores of the
Bay, simply represent the tops of the hills in the old Penobscot
valley. Before the depression of the land, the time of which Prof.
Shaler, in his study of the geology of Mount Desert, has fixed as
about the close of the Glacial period , what we may term the Fox
Hills rose within the valley of the Penobscot just as the more
prominent Camden Hills still rise on the western side of the Bay .
The Penobscot, which now reaches tide water forty miles to the
north , then had its mouth perhaps as many miles to the south .
The Thoroughfare, now separating the two islands, was then a
transverse valley extending down on either side to the floor of the
larger valley and occupied by side streams. In a similar way, the
harbors and coves mark the drainage lines of the old Fox Hills.
Such topography naturally expresses the different degrees of rock
resistance to erosion, and the best example of this is the cutting of
the softer sedimentary rocks on North Haven almost down to what
is now sea-level , while the dense volcanic rocks immediately to the
south rise abruptly as Ames Knob . This topography, then , was
the product of atmospheric agencies, and differs in no essential re
spect from that which is being produced to -day under similar con
ditions.
During the ice invasion of Glacial time, some modification of
the older topography may have resulted. It is to be noted , how
ever, that the characteristic features of Mount Desert, interpreted
by Shaler and Davis as due to glacial erosion , are not represented
on these islands. The more prominent inlets, especially the
Thoroughfare, might be compared to the remarkable transverse
INTRODUCTORY .
valleys of the Mount Desert range, except that the former have a
general trend more nearly east-west, while the glacial striæ show
a north -south direction .
The mantle of glacial drift, consisting of clay and sand , with
some gravel , is comparatively thin on the Fox Islands, yet drain
age may have been embarassed somewhat by local deposits.
Fresh Pond on North Haven, originated, doubtless, in the dam
ming, at that point, of a stream with its several tributaries. In
the main , however, the pre-Glacial topography was only slightly
modified by the ice-cap which covered the Fox Hills.
Just as the topography of the present has had its origin in the
past, so that of the future is being determined by the agencies and
processes of to -day. The complex succession of inlets and pro
montories signifies a young coast-line. With lapse of time , as
maturity and old age are attained, such a coast-line would become
simpler through the action of the waves. Continued erosion, in the
same way, tends to reduce the relief of the land ; and it is on the
shore of these islands, that the beginnings can be noted of the
change from the present to the future topographical features of
the Fox Islands .
This work in which the waves are engaged is simply that of cut
ting back the salient and filling in the re -entrant features of the:
coast . The former process can be observed at every exposed point
on the islands, and the latter is no less apparent in many of the
coves between these points. Thus, at Oak Hill , the extreme
northern point on North Haven , the one process is to be seen,
while on either side , beaches and sea -walls of shingle and sand
have been thrown across the coves and the streams dammed , so
that marshes now mark what was once the upper part of the coves .
In many localities similar relations can be observed , and indeed it
may be possible that on the long south western peninsula of North
Haven, barrier beaches of this character may have connected an
old smaller island , about a half mile long, to the large island,
forming what is Crabtree Point.
Another constructive process allied to the one just mentioned is
that of sedimentation at the upper part of the long coves and
harbors. The fine sediments are brought in by the entering
streams and by the tides from other parts of'the shore, while the
outflowing tides are not strong enough to sweep out the mud and
sand , except in the channels where the scouring action is more
complete.
Thus, observation of what is being done on the coast at present
warrants the assertion that a continuance of these processes must
result finally in a coast line which will gain simplicity, but at the
same time lose its present charm of variety.
GEOLOGICAL. An oceanic island may be treated as a geologic
unit ; but lying as they do within the general coast -line, the Fox
Islands are to be regarded simply as detached portions of the main
land . Geologically, these islands are to be connected with the
other areas of the region, just as if they were yet what we have
termed the Fox Hills. Correlation with the rocks of other parts of
this coast is necessary to a full understanding of the geologic
problem .
It is, therefore , unfortunate that the amount of geological work
done on the coast of Maine has not been greater. The earlier
State surveys of Jackson and of Hitchcock ” were only reconnais
sances of the mineral and agricultural resources . Later works by
Professors Shaler ?, Davis , and Crosby , however, furnish detail
studies of limited areas to the east of Penobscot Bay , while that of
Dodge and Beecher is invaluable as determining the age of the
sedimentary series on North Haven , and calling attention to the
presence of associated volcanic rocks. The volcanic areas on the
Maine coast were also mentioned by the late Professor Williams in
his inspiring essay on the volcanic rocks of eastern North Ameri
ca?; and the importance of the volcanic series of the Fox Islands
has been noted by Dr. W. S. Bayleys and the writerº.
I. Annual Reports on the Geology of the State of Maine, 1837 , 1838 , 1839 .
2. Reports on the Geology of Maine, 1861 , 1862.
3. Geology of Mount Desert. Sth . Annual Report, U. S. G. S.
Am . Jour . of Science ( 3rd ser. ) Vol . 32, p . 35 .
4 . An Outline of the Geology of Mt. Desert . Introd. to Flora of Mount Desert Isl .
Me . 1894 .
5. Proc . Boston Soc . Nat . Hist. 1880. p . 109. Am . Jour. of Science (3rd ser . ) Vol.
23 , p. 64. 1882 .
6. Am. Jour. of Science ( 3rd ser. ) vol. 43, p. 412. 1892.
7. Journal of Geology, vol. 2, p . I. 1894.
8. Bull . Geol. Soc . Am ., vol. 6, p . 474. 1894 .
9. Johns Hopkins Univ . Circular No. 121. 1895 .
INTRODUCTORY . 11
In its broader geologic relations, this group of islands is to be

considered as forming a part of the Acadian province, which has
been recognized as an area of sedimentation throughout Paleozoic
time ; and the position of the Fox Islands on the northern side of
this great trough must be kept in mind as the geologic history is
traced out. The work of the Canadian geologists may assist ,
since the periods of sedimentation and of disturbance were pro
bably the same throughout the whole geological province .
NATURE OF THE PROBLEM . The problem is three- fold : To in
vestigate the geological relations of the different inembers of the
rock series on the Fox Islands; to determine the original nature of
the rock -types represented ; and to trace the changes which they
have subsequently undergone . The study is, thus, both geotec
tonic and petrographic. Its object is to obtain such data as to
suggest an outline, at least, of the geologic history of the Fox
Islands, and , perhaps, to contribute to the determination of those
conditions which prevailed in the Penobscot Bay area at a time
when it was the scene of long continued and widely extended
volcanic action .
AREAL DISTRIBUTION OF Rock - TYPES. In their whole extent ,

the two islands of North Haven and Vinal Haven present consider
able variety in the rocks which compose them . The bold character of
the coast and its great extent , due to the many indentations, afford
opportunity to realize the complexity of these rock masses. In
this complexity, however, there is system , and in the areal distri
bution of the rock - types represented is to be found the first clue to
the solution of the geologic problem which is the subject of the
present study . The delimitation of the different areas must be
preparatory to the study of the rock-types and their relations.
The island of North Haven is composed of greenstone schists,
with the exception of the two peninsulas which extend southwest
into the Thoroughfare, Indian Point and the larger one between
Waterman's Cove and Southern Harbor. Since these schists pre
sent considerable variation , the area may be termed the North
Haven Greenstone Complex.
Immediately south of the green schists, and extending eastward
from the shores of Southern Harbor, is a narrow strip of sand
stones, shales, conglomerates, and limestones, a fossiliferous series

of Niagara Sediments.
Other sedimentary rocks, quartzitic slates, wholly different from
those of Niagara age , are found on the northeastern part of Vinal
Haven ; these will be called the Calderwood's Neck Series.
Occupying the greater part of the two southern peninsulas of
North Haven , already mentioned , are the red , gray and purple
volcanic rocks. These continue across the Thoroughfare to the
northeastern shore of Vinal Haven and the northwestern part of
Calderwood's Neck, and the series being typically developed on
the shores of the Thoroughfare may be termed the Thoroughfare
Volcanics.
The northwestern part of Vinal Haven , with the exception of

the strip of volcanics just mentioned, is characterized by a differ
ent series of volcanic rocks, more acid in composition . These will
be described as the Vinal Haven Acid Volcanics .
Throughout these various areas are found dikes of igneous rocks,
both acid and basic, which deserve mention .
The southern and greater part of the island of Vinal Haven is
made up of holocrystalline rocks, granite , diabase, and diorite , the
Intrusivos.
In brief, such are the areas, which will be considered in the fol .
lowing pages. In the main, this order of discussion of the areas is
that from north to south , a succession , however, which will be
seen to be geological as well as geographical .
NORTH HAVEN GREENSTONE COMPLEX .
DISTRIBUTION . The greenstone area, as already defined, includes

the greater part of North Haven. Of this triangular island ,
the northwestern coast, almost all of the eastern , and the greater
part of the southern are composed of greenstone schists, which are
also found outcropping on the low hills of the interior. The topog
raphy of the region is without conspicuous features and the
northern coast-line is rather exceptional in its simplicity. The
general trend of the hills seems to be determined by that of the
rock structure or by intrusive dikes. Of the whole area, that por
tion bordering upon Southern Harbor presents the most
variety in rock-types and structures. Here also, the relations of
the greenstones to the rocks which lie to the south can be observ
ed, and a more careful study was made , therefore , of the rocks of .
this portion of the greenstone area.
DESCRIPTION OF ROCK - TYPES. The old field term, " green
stone,” has been employed for this area, since , although not exact,
it is descriptive. The metamorphosed character of the rocks is
evident, and the difficulties attending the determination of their
original nature justify the use of the name. The greenstones , in
the main, are aphanitic and of a light yellow to grayish green
color. In portions of the area the rocks are quite schistose , while
more generally they show a columnar structure which will be con
sidered in a following paragraph.
Study of the shores of Southern Harbor shows the presence of
large masses of amygdaloidal greenstone, as well as smaller
amounts of a rock, which is rather tuffaceous in texture and at one
point even breccia-like . The greenstone is locally also quite plain
ly crystalline , and it is often difficult to distinguish between this
greenstone complex , to be regarded as a geologic unit, and the
later intrusives. The number of dikes, both acid and basic , is
greater here than in any other equal area on the two islands.
13
14 GEOLOGY OF THE FOX ISLANDS.
DIABASES. The compact aphanitic rock found just west of the

head of Southern Harbor is the least altered of the specimens ex
amined microscopically and thus favors the determination of the
original nature of these greenstones. The structure is plainly
diabasic with feldspar laths mostly small, but often approaching a
porphyritic development. Between the feldspar individuals,
which have a composition about that of andesine , there are wedges
of chlorite, nearly isotropic, which may represent the pyroxene
constituent or possibly some amount of glassy base. The feld
spars show a considerable amount of alteration both at their edges
and in the interior of the larger laths. Secondary minerals con
stitute a large part of the rock section and include clear grains of
zoisite, small amounts of pyrite and calcite, spherulitic areas of
chlorite, with stronger double refraction than the other variety,
and water - clear grains of secondary feldspar, which appear in
marked contrast to the cloudy original feldspar. Another second
ary mineral even more abundant than the zoisite occurs in very
small yellowish grains, highly refractive and appearing quite
white in incident light. The bright interference colors and im
perfect extinction make it probable that this is either epidote or
titanite, very finely granular. Comparison with masses of the
latter mineral resulting from alteration of ilmenite , favors the de
termination as titanite . Some of the sections contain considerable
quantities of fine needles .005 to .01 mm . in length , golden yellow
in color, with high refractive index, strong double refraction ,
parallel extinction, and positive optical character, all of which
characters belong to rutile , thus showing the presence of titanium
in these greenstones.
The texture of these rocks and their composition, as shown by
the remnants of original minerals and the nature of the secondary
minerals, point to their original nature having been that of fine
grained diabases or possibly diabase porphyries.
The porphyritic phase of these diabases occurs at Websters
Head on the northern side of the island , where in a rock , similar
to the Southern Harbor greenstone in megascopic appearance , the
diabase texture is less evident, the feldspar being more prominent
and in larger individuals. The rock has been subjected to crush
ing and the feldspar fractured, one twinned individual having its
NORTH HAVEN GREENSTONE COMPLEX . 15
fragments separated by quite wide intervals. The light green

chlorite shows the Berlin-blue interference tint , characteristic of
pennine . Brightly polarizing fibers of a light green mineral also
occur in connection with the altered feldspar, and from its
pleochroism and optical orientation , this mineral is believed to be
an amphibole , probably actinolite .
ANYGDALOIDS. The amygdaloidal type occupies the more south
ern parts of the area, immediately north of the Niagara sediments.
On the weathered surface, the grayish greenstone is pitted , while
a fresh fracture is spotted with shining calcite grains. In the thin
section, the calcite areas are found to be surrounded by a ground
mass with feldspar laths and the general characters of that of the
rock already described . The calcite amygdules are well defined ,
for the most part, but in some of the greenstones which show
evidences of the most dynamic action , there are areas in which the
calcite has replaced parts of the rock , thus enclosing feldspar
laths.
TUFFS. The best development of the tuffaceous type is at the

head of Southern Harbor, although the tuffs also occur on Crab
tree Point and the south western shore of the island . In the most
aphanitic rock of this type, the diabasic structure is wholly want
ing, and the rock is composed of an aggregate of secondary
minerals similar to those found in the other types. These charact
ers may express a complete alteration of the diabasic rock , but
more probably indicate an original difference. Other specimens
are plainly tuffaceous, even megascopically, and the coarse breccia
occurring just south of where the second stream enters South
ern Harbor from the east, is doubtless a tuff breccia.
The greenstone complex thus resolves itself into a series of di
abase flows with accompanying pyroclastics. In places, these di
abases may have been porphyritic, while in the southern part of
the area , they were distinctly characterized by gas cavities, now
filled with amygdules of calcite . The general strike of the series,
as inferred from the succession of the different types, is somewhat
north of east.
The diabasic or ophitic structure has been thought to often ex
press crystallization under surface conditions. Lowinson - Less
ingl considers diabases to have been submarine effusives at consid

erable depth, and augite-porphyrites the terrestrial flows from a
magma of similar composition . Such a relation is thought by
Barrois? to have held in the Silurian volcanic series of Brittany .
This view interprets the diabasic structure as expressive of con
ditions of crystallization intermediate between those obtaining in
intrusive masses and those of sub -aerial effusives. Nevertheless,
the tuffaceous and amygdaloidal phases of the North Haven di
abases show that the conditions were essentially superficial and
truly volcanic. The structure of these rocks as described in the
following pages also adds to the weight of evidence as to the vol
canic character of this greenstone complex.
COLUMNAR STRUCTURE. Throughout the greater part of the
area, the aphanitic and amygdaloidal diabases are characterized
by a columnar structure. Seen in cross section only , as on a
glaciated surface or low cliff on the shore, the rock appears to be
divided into irregular ellipsoidal masses or lenses,, from aa few
inches to two feet in major diameter. These masses of compact
rock are embedded in a matrix , which is a schistose phase of the
same rock, and the less resistance of the matrix to weathering
agencies gives prominence to the structure , the oval sections often
being surrounded by narrow crevices. There is considerable
variation in the perfection of the structure. On especially favor
able exposures, the best one being a vertical cliff caused by a local
fault, the weathering has proceeded to such an extent that the
masses of more compact greenstone project, and remind one of
stumps of small trees in an inclined position. In short, the structure
is seen to be that of irregular cylinders of indeterminate length .
Somewhat similar structures have been observed in the green
stone schists of Michigan ?, of Canada4, and of Saxony), and in the
diabase amygdaloids of Vogtlande. In all of the occurrences, how !
i
I. Bull. Soc. Belge. de. Geol. Vol . 2, 1888, p . 86.
2. Bull . geol. carte France. No. 7 , 1889 , p. 61 .
3. Williams : Bull . U S. Geol . Survey, 62, p . 166.
4. Lawson : Report Geol . and Nat . Hist. Survey of Canada, 1885 , C C. p. 52 .
5. Rothpletz : Zeitschr. Deutsch, geol . Gesell. , vol. 31 , pp 374-397. 1879.
6. Dathe : Jahrbuch K. Preuss. geol. Landesanstalt, 1883 , p . 432.
ever, the structure is usually ellipsoidal rather than cylindrical ;

and where irregular masses are present they interlock as in a
mosaic , which is not characteristic to any extent of the North
Haven diabases .
The origin of the structure in the case of the Vogtland amygda
loid is believed by Dathe to be contraction during the consolida
tion of the diabase flow and in support of this view, a concentric
arrangement of the amygdules parallel with the surface of the ellip
soids is cited . No such arrangement was observed in the diabases
of North Haven, which otherwise have many points of similarity
with the Vogtland rock. Such an origin, moreover, would fail to
account for the schistose matrix between the columns .
A dynamic origin, that of brecciation in situ, has been consider
ed a more natural explanation for the other occurrences mentioned
above . In the present case, however, the origin seems to have
been compound , a true contraction parting, modified by dynamic
action . At one point on the north shore of Southern Harbor, a
few typical pentagonal prisms are to be seen in the low cliff, and
on either side , the transition into the phase already described is
so gradual that no sharp line of limitation for the prismatic part
ing could be drawn.
Columnar parting of this type is very common in effusive
sheets, and might be expected in large masses of amygdaloidal
diabase . The more or less vertical cracks which divide the mass
into prisms are due to contraction after consolidation , under the
influence of surface conditions. The cooling plane is the surface,
approximately horizontal, and the hexagonal prism is the normal
form, resulting from the contraction in two directions chieflyl.
Usually, however, the number of sides of the prisms varies from
three to nine . Such parting is functional upon both quantity of
contraction and rate of cooling subsequent to consolidation; thus,
it is most prominent in comparatively crystalline basic lavas, and
near the surface of the lava mass, preferably when rough and
slaggy. All of these conditions are seen to have existed in these
amygdaloidal diabases. In such a surface flow considerable
1. Iddings: Am . Jour. Sci . Vol. 31 , 1886, p. 321. Other literature on the subject
is, Bonney: Quart Journ . Geol. Soc , 1876 , p . 140,and Reyer : Theoretische Geologie, p.
90 .
irregularity in the form and arrangement of the prisms is to be ex

pected.
Prismatic parting is believed by Walther to be due to cooling
of a lava stream in contact with water, and thus to mark shore
conditions. Such a view might be in harmony with the hypothesis
of a submarine origin for diabase , already cited ; but the hypoth
esis seems hardly necessary .
If aa lava mass, parted into these prismatic blocks, be subjected
subsequently to even a slight amount of differential movement the
prisms would be more or less modified in form. The prismatic
angles would be rounded, and the prisms thus become rude cylin
ders, in a schistose matrix. Such action might be favored by an
ellipsoidal parting subsequent to the prismatic, with the long axis
of the ellipsoid parallel to that of the prism . This position of the
ellipsoid would follow from the fact that in the vertical direction,
the resistance to contraction would be counteracted by the weight
of the superincumbent mass .
This hypothesis of subsequent dynamic action as applied to the
North Haven occurrence is supported not only by the field rela
tions, but by the microscopical features as well . Both the com
pact columns and the interstitial schistose portions are seen to
have suffered dynamic action , but in different degrees. In the
former, the calcite filling the old gas cavities shows a slight
amount of deformation marked by curved cleavage cracks, while
the feldspar laths are always bent. In the schistose matrix, the
calcite amygdules have been shattered, a mosaic replacing the
large calcite units, and the feldspars are broken . The amygdules
are also less sharply defined and the amount of calcite is relatively
greater in the schistose phase. Such dynamic action, then , was
not only subsequent to the formation of the feldspar laths and the
consolidation of the rock , but later than the filling of the amygda
loidal cavities of the porous lava.
In many cases, the structure of the diabase may be ellipsoidal ,
rather than columnar, but the latter is the more characteristic for
the area . The former could result from a similar dynamic modifi
1.
Walther : Jahrbuch. K. K. geol. Reichanstalt vol. 36, 1886, p . 295 .
2. Iddings : op . cit .
cation of a mass of lava parted into shorter prisms or even ellip

soids. At one locality these structures can be compared with the
concentric weathering in a dike , and the contrast is such as to
allow no confusion of the three different structures.
AGE. The age of these diabasic lavas is determined as pre
Niagara from their relations to the conglomerate at the base of
the Niagara sediments. The contact is well exposed on the shore
of Southern Harbor, where the amygdaloidal diabase underlies the
conglomerate which dips to the south at an angle of about 60 °.
The extremely disintegrated character of the diabase at this point
and the apparent enclosing of large lenses of this rock by
clastic material may indicate superficial disintegration before the
deposition of the Niagara. In fact such action would be expected
in the case of these vesicular lavas.
'
NIAGARA SEDIMENTS .
DISTRIBUTION . The area occupied by these sedimentary rocks

is smaller than that of any other series on the Fox Islands. The
principal exposure of the Niagara series is a wedge-like area ex
tending east from the shore of Southern Harbor, where it is less
than a quarter-mile in width , across the Ames Knob peninsula,
with the apex of the wedge east of the mud flat and near the
road from North Haven village to Pulpit Harbor. Its full extent
is thus less than a mile in length, while the greatest width is ex
posed on the shore of Southern Harbor. These fossiliferous sedi
ments are also found in a narrow strip on the western end of
Stimpson's Island . Throughout both areas , the surface is low and
the rocks are mostly concealed, except on the shores.
SOUTHERN HARBOR SECTION. The best section of the Niag
ara sediments is found on the shore of Southern Harbor, just
northwest of Ames Knob . Here the basal member is in immedi
ate contact with the greenstone to the north . The upper
members are about seventy feet from the overlying volcanics, but
this break is in part represented a short distance further east by
red shales with interbedded conglomerate. The section was
measured at low tide, and is much more complete than that exposed
above the high water mark . The section , in descending order, is
as follows :
Sandy shale and quartzite, 65
Concealed , 70
Gray shale, 49
Conglomerate and shale, 12
Red shale , 55
Conglomerate, 1
Red shale , 10
Gray shale, 37
Concealed . 17
20
NIAGARA SEDIMENTS . 21
Gray shale and limestone , 71

Quartz-porphyry, intrusive sheet, 10
Concealed , 16
Gray limestone, weathering brown , and shale ,

Grit, coral fragments , 174
Sandy limestone , 4.
Concealed , 42
Basal conglomerate , 16
5804 feet.
The general strike of the members of the series varies from N.
85° El . near the base to N. 40° E. in the upper members in the
shore section. Higher beds, exposed on the north slope of Ames
Knob, however, give a strike similar to that of the basal mem
bers. The dip is from 50° to 60° to the south and even steeper at a
few points . To the east, on the west shore of the mud flat, the
lower beds of the series have much the same sequence and strike ,
but the upper portions show some slight folding and displacement,
so that the strike and dips vary somewhat from those of the more
regular section, already given, where these minor folds are less
apparent .
FAUNA. The paleontology of this series of sediments has been

carefully studied by Prof. C. E. Beecher of Yale, and the follow
ing full quotation is made from his article already referred to”.
“ The paleontological evidence furnished by the specimens from
North Haven apparently does not admit of a distinct sub - division
of the rock series into recognized periods. A large proportion of
the species clearly points to a correlation with the Niagara of New
York , and to this period they are here referred. The presence of
quite a number of characteristic Clinton species is a disturbing
element in any attempt to draw exact parallelisms with the New
York sub --divisions of the Upper Silurian . From present data ,,
however , it seems justifiable to consider the fossiliferous rocks at
North Haven as representing a faunal equivalent to the Clinton
and Niagara , with a decidedly strong Niagara facies. Therefore,
1.
Referred to the true meridian, as the magnetic variation is over 16 ° W.
2. Am . J. Sc . , vol . 43 , pp . 416-418 . 1892.
the broader term Niagara will more correctly express the chrono
logical relations of these strata .
" The Clinton species are mostly confined to the lower half of
the series. This is of considerable significance , but, at the same
time , nearly all the typical Niagara forms are associated with
them in abundance . Another fact to be noted is the conspicuous
absence of some species from the entire series : as, Caryocrinus
ornatus, Spirifer niugarensis, Rhynchotreta cuneata , and Pentamerus
oblongus. Similar discrepances occur in the Viagira fauna at
Waldron , Indiana, and elsewhere, and merely serve to give dis
tinctive features to such faunas . "
On account of subsequent collection , the list of fossils has been
revised by Prof. Beecher, and through his kindness, the more com
plete fauna is here given .
Monograptus clintonensis Hall.
Conostroma , 2 species.
Streptelasma calyculum Hall.
Cyathophyllum sp.
Chonophyllum niagarense Hall.
Favosites venustus Hall.
Favosites niagarensis Hall.
Favosites favosus Hall.
Cladopora sp.
Canites ramulosus Ilall.
Syringopora sp.
Monticulipora sp .
Halysites catenulatus Linne.
Heliolites spiniporus Hall.
Crinoid fragments.
Ichthyocrinus lævis.
Eucalyptocrinus cælatus.
Cornulites sp.
Tentaculites sp .
Encrinurus punctatus Wahl.
Calymene niagarensis Hall.
Homalonotus delphinacephalus Gr.
Dalınanites limulurus Groen .
Ceraurus niagarensis Hall.

Illanus ioxus Hall.
Proetus Stokesi Hall.
Proetus sp .
Beyrichia, 2 species.
Leperditia sp.
Fenestella sp.
Stictopora sp.
Lingula lamellosa Hall.
Orbiculoidea sp.
Orthis elegantula Dal.
Orthis hybrida Sow .
Orthis, 2 species.
Plectambonites transversalis Wahl.
Plectambonites ( cf. ) sericea Sow.
Leptæna rhomboidalis Wilc .
Stropheodonta profunda Hall.
Orthothetes subplanum Con .
Chonetes cornutus Hall .
Pentamerus occidentalis Hall.
Whitfieldella nitida Hall.
Meristina sp.
Nucleospira pisum Hall.
Atrypina disparilis Hall.
Spirifer crispus His.
Spirifer sulcatus His.
Spirifer radiatus Sow .
Cyrtina pyramidalis Hall.
Atrypa reticularis Linne.
Atrypa nodostriata Hall.
Rhynchonella neglecta Hall.
Rhynchonella obtusiplicata Hall.
Rhynchonella sp.
Rhynchonella ( Wilsonia) sp.
Nucula sp.
Tellinomya sp.
Avicula demissa Con .
? Avicula subplana Hall.
Avicula sp .
Cypricardinia sp.
Platyostoma niagarense Hall.
Loxonema sp.
Pleurotomaria sp .
Bellerophon sp.
Cyrtolites sp.
Murchisonia sp.
Hyolithes sp.
Orthoceras annulatum Sow .
Orthoceras subcancellatum Hall .
Orthoceras virgulatum Hall.
Orthoceras ( annulated ) , 2 species.
Oncoceras sp .
Gomphoceras sp.
Cytoceras subcancellatum Hall.
SUMMARY.
Hydrozoa, 3 species. Bryozoa, 2 species.
66
Actinozoa, 12 Brachiopoda, 27
Crinoidea , 2 Pelecypoda , 6
Annelida , 2 Gastropoda , 6
Trilobita , 8 Pteropoda , 1
66
Ostracoda , 3 Cephalopoda, 8
Total 80 species.
Prof. Beecher states that nearly all the corals are confined to
the lower beds, being found in a conglomerate of coral fragments
together with quartz and hydromica schist pebbles, and in a lime
stone . The greater number of species was found in a shale near
the middle of the series , on the shore northeast of Ames Knob .
He concludes: “ The fauna is evidently a rich one , and several of
the unidentified species are probably new to science . Many of
them show distinctive characters but the majority are too frag
mentary and poorly preserved for accurate description or determi
nation . ”
CONDITIONS OF DEPOSITION. A series of old sediments is of
the greatest value to the geologist, since it affords an expression
of past conditions, both terrestrial and submarine. Land topogra
NIAGARA SEDIMENTS. 25
phy and configuration of the sea - floor have conditioned the

processes of sedimentation, but the determination of these con
ditions, through study of a single section of sedimentary rocks, is
not a simple task. In the series of about six hundred feet of
Niagara sediments, as exposed on North Haven , the general
sequence is that of basal conglomeratic and arenaceous beds, fol
lowed by limestones, which grade upward into shales and coarser
sediments .
The basal member of the series is a conglomerate which includes
in its lower portion larger well-rounded masses of the subjacent
greenstone, but in its upper part, well-rounded pebbles of black and
green slates, quartzite, and vein-quartz, materials unlike the under
lying rock. Such a basal member may be considered to have been
deposited in a sea transgressing over a land surface of rock more
or less disintegrated, thus accounting for the residual boulders of
greenstone . In the later stages of the deposition of the con
glomerate at this point, the processes of sorting became more
efficient and the material was derived from a greater distance.
The limestone - shale series shows changing conditions, which ,
however, were most constant during the deposition of the hundred
feet of limestone with slight amounts of shale, overlying the grit.
This latter bed , from its evenness of grain affords evidence of
perfect sorting, and the presence of coral fragments may be con
sidered to indicate breaker action. These calcareous deposits are
quite fossilferous and the conditions, therefore, were such as were
favorable to the lime secreting organisms. Even within the shaly
bands, nodules of limestone occur and some of the masses are
plainly coralline .
Increasing amounts of silt being contributed to the sea terminat
ed the deposition of limestone, and the upper portions of the section
are essentially argillaceous. In these shales the remains of the
Niagara organisms are even better preserved than in the lime
stone . For the most part, the increased supply of sediments
probably originated in greater efficiency of stream transportation ,
which , in turn, was brought about by uplift of the drainage area ,
tributary to this portion of the Niagara sea. That there were
changes in wave and current action is shown by the presence of
thin conglomerates, resting upon well-washed surfaces of the
shale , but grading upward into the shale . At one locality, traces
of ripple-marks can be detected in the quartzite associated with
the shales .
The red shales which occur as two important members in the
shore section and also higher up in the series exposed a short dis
tance to the east , deserve special mention. They are of interest
both from their relations in the section, being at one point in
direct contact with the superjacent volcanics, and also from their
close resemblance to certain fine-grained tuffs within the volcanic
series. This similarity is primarily one of color, for none of the
tuffs quite approach the fineness of grain that characterizes these
shales .
Two hypotheses may be presented to account for the red color so
noticeable in these shales. One is that proposed by Russell ' as a
general explanation of the red color of certain formations. The
material from which these shales are derived has resulted from
subaerial decay of crystalline rocks, and in the process of deposi
tion has not been subjected to attrition sufficient to separate the
ferric oxide from the silt or fine sand grains. Such an origin in
volves definite land conditions and special shore conditions . Of
these the latter would probably vary most in the deposition of a
series of sediments like the one under consideration ; and the red
shales would indicate the absence of prolonged wave action to
which the associated gray shales and clean quartzites must have
been subjected. The abrupt change to the well-rounded conglomer
ate , which is found interbedded with the red shales in both occur
rences, is difficult to explain by this hypothesis.
The origin suggested by the field relations is that the red color
is due to fine ash from neighboring volcanic explosions. Such
volcanic dust could easily supply the iron to color these sediments ,
and this hypothesis is supported by the resemblance to the true
tuffs in the overlying volcanic series. Prof. Emerson ’, as quoted
by Russell , gives a similar explanation for the red color of some of
the sandstones of the Connecticut Valley.
Thin sections of this shale examined microscopically show the
1. Bull . 52, U. S. Geol . Survey, p . 44.
2.
Gazeteer of Hampshire County, Mass. 1888, p . 18.
rock to be composed of angular fragments of colorless minerals,

.01 to .05 mm. in diameter, enclosed in a matrix nearly opaque
even in the thin section. The mineral fragments seem to be
quartz or feldspar for the most part , with some shreds of musco
vite, and small amounts of chlorite and calcite. The red color is
due to a fine pigment, some oxide of iron, which not only coats the
fragments but constitutes a large part of the rock , the dark red
material appearing to be plentiful in fragments as well as forming
the cement. The thin sections were treated with acids but with
no appreciable bleaching effect.
The similarity to the finer parts of the typical tuffs, occurring
within the volcanic series appears under the microscope as well as
in the field . The evidence, therefore , seems to favor the latter
hypothesis, namely : that the red color is not due to a cement of
residual clay , but to finely comminuted material, ejected from a
volcano and deposited in the shallow water close to the old shore.
Thus the red shales would present the earliest evidences of the
volcanic activity of the region , an activity which later resulted in
the red and gray lavas, which overlie the Niagara sediments.
CALDERWOOD'S NECK SCHISTS .
DESCRIPTION AND DISTRIBUTION . The rocks included in this
series are dark quartzitic slates, often rusty on the weathered
surface, banded schists, quartzose but varying in color and grain,
and quite massive quartzites. These rocks occupy the northern
half of Calderwood's Neck , with the exception of the narrow part
west of Carver's Cove. Felsitic rocks occur in close proximity to
the granite and volcanic rocks and undoubtedly represent contact
phases of members of this Calderwood's Neck series . These are
mottled or variegated, the general color being a light green . In the
thin section , they are seen to be composed of nearly pure epidote
with some zoisite, in the lighter areas, and of green hornblende in
the darker .
Connected with this larger area is a narrow strip of similar
rocks along the western shore of Seal Cove. Here the rocks are
somewhat more massive, being both quartzitic and slightly cal
careous. Epidote is quite prominent along the bedding planes,
giving a banded appearance in many places.
Rocks resembling these in general appearance occur elsewhere
on Vinal Haven , on the shore of Leadbetter's Narrows, and on the
extreme eastern side of the island near Coombs' Hill . In the
latter occurence the schists are actinolitic in appearance, except
where in contact with a granite dike . Here there is a marked
bleaching of the schist similar to that observed at several localities
in the Calderwood's Neck area . There are also indications of small
masses of these schists within the diabase area of Barley Hill , and
the volcanic area on the western side of Vinal Haven , but these
areas are too small to be mapped. On North Haven , the presence
of this series is not indicated at any point.
RELATIONS. The series in its principal development distinctly
shows sedimentary characters. The bedding can be observed even
at some distance and seems quite constant, and the banding of the
schists agrees with it, the strike , for the Calderwood's Neck area
28
CALDERWOOD'S NECK SCHISTS . 29
being usually within a few degrees of north-south , and the dip 30°
to 40° to the west. On the shores of Seal Cove, however, the rocks
dip more to the northwest.
At no point do these schists come in contact with the greenstone
or Niagara sediments already considered . East of Seal Cove and
north of Mill River, the schists are interbedded with quartz
porphyry, with the relations apparently those of intrusive sheets
of porphyry in the sedimentary rocks. Considerable metamor
phism has taken place in the latter series, and epidote is present
along the joint planes. On the opposite shore, south of Perry's
Cove , diabase sheets and dikes mask the contact with the over
lying volcanics.
AGE. The contact relations prove that these schists are older
than the granite and diabase intrusions and the volcanic series.
In their metamorphic condition and in the absence of all traces of
fossils, these old sediments are in marked contrast to the Niagara
shales. Their practically uniform composition for a distance of
nearly a mile across the strike, on Calderwood's Neck, show the
condition of their deposition to be wholly different from those of
Niagara time, since in the Niagara section of six hundred feet , the
sediments show great variety. It seems, probable, therefore , that
these schists may represent an older sedimentary series, and with
the North Haven diabase flows constitute the oldest part of the
Fox Islands.
THOROUGHFARE VOLCANICS .
DISTRIBUTION. Anyone visiting the village of North Haven,
which is one of the many Maine summer resorts, or even sailing
through the Fox Islands Thoroughfare, cannot fail to notice the
red , yellow and purple rocks that form the bold shores. These are
the volcanic rocks, most typically developed on North Haven, but
also extending to the northern shores of the southern island. The
two hills northwest and northeast from the village, mark the
northern limit of this volcanic series in its chief development ; and
throughout, these more resistant rocks determine a bolder topogra
phy than that seen to the north. On the southern side of the
Thoroughfare , the series continues to the smaller portion of Cal
derwood's Neck, while the extreme southwestern limit of the area
is at Brown's Head. This main area , then, is crescent-shaped,
concave southward. Similar volcanics form the peninsula ending
in Indian Point, as well as the five islands that lie to the east and
south .
DESCRIPTION OF Rock-Types. The area just defined has been

termed one of volcanic rocks. However, the determination of the
volcanic nature of these rocks, so different in appearance from the
lavas and other products of recent volcanic action, depends upon a
careful investigation of their many characters. Therefore , a
description of their structure, and composition is necessary, and
this, together with a statement of the field relations, will con
tribute to the determination of the conditions of the volcanic
activity.
The two great classes of volcanic rocks are the lavas and the
pyroclastics, and the usual gradation from the one type to the
other is found among the Thoroughfare volcanics. The lavas of
this series include several distinct types and deserve careful study,
since they furnish what evidence there is as to the nature of the
magma from which these volcanics originated. Among these
lavas are found old andesites, porphyries, and amygdaloids.
30
THOROUGHFARE VOLCANICS . 31
ANDESITES. A rock very prominently exposed on Ames Knob,

the bold hill northwest of North Haven village, is one of a dark
gray color, often with a slight purple tinge . It is porphyritic
with well defined phenocrysts of feldspar, yellow to greenish
white, and at one locality on the north slope of the Knob, the rock
is quite beautiful in appearance. The abundant feldspar pheno
crysts are in striking contrast to the almost black groundmass of
the rock, which much resembles one variety of the " porfido
antico ” . Typically, this Ames Knob rock is compact, but amygda
loidal and even drusy phases also occur.
In the thin section , the phenocrysts and ground -mass appear
well differentiated. The feldspar crystals, with the extinction
angles of labradorite approaching andesine , are tabular and of
good size, with albite -twinning and zonal structure . Although
the feldspar phenocrysts are plentiful , few are unaltered. Aggre
gates of epidote and pennine , with some clear grains of secondary
feldspar, have replaced the original feldspar without affecting the
crystal outlines. The ferro-magnesian constituents have been
completely altered and phenocrysts that appear well defined in
ordinary light, are seen in polarized light to be composed of
chlorite and calcite. The outlines suggest both hornblende and
pyroxene. These latter phenocrysts are older than certain of the
feldspar crystals into which they project.
The ground -mass is composed of feldspar laths, with a notice
able hyalopilitic or felted texture, as well as a fluidal arrangement
near some of the phenocrysts. The light brown base is isotropic
in places and much darker where included between several feld
spar crystals. Magnetite occurs throughout the ground-mass in
small grains and larger masses are associated with the ferro
magnesian phenocrysts.
In addition to the altered crystals of feldspar, there are areas of
epidote , roughly spherulitic, with some zoisite, and areas of
chlorite , both of which by their outlines suggest irregular amyg
dules. However, the laths of the ground -mass show no parallel
ism with the borders of these areas ; and in a few cases, the
secondary minerals surely represent an alteration which has ex
tended beyond the outlines of the original crystals.
This porphyritic rock presents the characters of an andesite,
especially in the texture of its ground-mass. Upon the determina

tion of the darker phenocrysts would depend whether it is to be
considered as originally a hornblende- or pyroxene-andesite. Com
parison, however, with types to be described later favors the de
termination as a pyroxene-andesite '.
The rock well exposed on the southern part of the hill just
north of North Haven village is compact, very dark although of
a purple tone , and quite fresh in appearance . The feldspar
crystals are apparent only by reason of their bright cleavage faces,
and dark green phenocrysts are also noticeable. In the thin sec
tion, this rock proves to be of special interest from the opportuni
ties it affords for the study of the processes of alteration ?.
The feldspar phenocrysts exhibit the albite-lamellation, have
the extinction angles of labradorite, and are beautifully zonal,
being slightly more basic toward the center. Many of the crys
tals have an altered core, but are perfectly idiomorphic, showing
that the clear outer zone is original. ( Plate I,I Fig. 3. ) The
light green pyroxene phenocrysts have the high extinction angle
of augite, and orthopinacoidal twinning is the rule , being often re
peated in the same crystal. The augite, in part, is altered to pen
nine. Both feldspar and augite phenocrysts have a zonal arrange
ment of inclusions, showing changing rates of crystallization in
the later stages. The ground -mass is less andesitic in character
than that of the rock described above and is full of minute mag
netite grains. Some interstitial areas of glass appear within
groups of feldspars, while elsewhere , faint micropoikilitic areas
are common in the ground -mass.
Other andesites are found which are of a dark red color, both
on the weathered surface and the fresh fracture. The bright feld
spar phenocrysts are also often tinged with red , and although this
I. The use of the term andesite for these Paleozoic lavas is not in accord with the
petrographical nomenclature of the German school. Geological facts, however, justify this
disregard of the age element in rock classification , and the usage adopted by the writer is
that of many American as well as English petrographers. vid . Iddings : 12th Ann .
Rep. U. S. G. S. , p. 582 ; and Harker : Petrology for Students, p . 128. Rosenbusch also
favors this reform in petrographical terms. vid. Microskopische Physiographie der
Massigen Gesteime, 1895 , pp . 4-7 .
2. The results gained from the study of the alteration of all the Fox Islands rocks will
be discussed in a subsequent section .
THOROUGHFARE VOLCANICS. 33
rock lacks somewhat of the brilliancy, it suggests the “ porfido

rossa antico " of Egypt. One specimen has a ground-mass charact
erized by minute, irregular particles of red to brown opaque
material . The ground-mass itself now consists of micropoikilitic
areas, but, doubtless, was originally very glassy. The feldspar
phenocrysts are less numerous than in the other andesites and are
badly altered, but from the amount of calcite present, a rather
basic character may be inferred . A few phenocrysts older than
the feldspar, as seen in ordinary light have the characteristics of
olivine . ( Plate I , Fig . 1. ) The association with magnetite, the
dark border of iron oxide, the irregular transverse cracks, and the
badly corroded outlines of the prisms constitute the points of re
semblance . In polarized light it is seen that none of the olivine
remains, but that these phenocrysts consist of fibrous serpentine ,
with fibers normal to the transverse cracks, which are bordered
by the opaque oxide. Small grains of quartz plainly secondary
occur within the serpentine mass. Not only is magnetite included
within these olivine phenocrysts, but also large hexagonal prisms
of apatite , the oldest constituent of the rock.
From the former presence of olivine as an original constituent,
this rock would naturally be considered the most basic of the
North Haven volcanics, and , therefore, a chemical analysis has
been made by Messrs. E. W. Magruder and W. A. Jones.
Si 02 63.25
Ti 02 trace
Al2 O3 14.89
Fe, 03 6.54
Feo none
Mg 0 0.82
Ca o 0.59
K, O 4.78
Na2 0 4.47
P2 05 0.61
H , O (by Pb o)
CO2
) 2.67
0.78
Loss by ignition, not accounted for by
H2O and C 02, and including small
amounts of CI & F of apatite 0.53
99.93
In its mineralogical composition, this rock approaches the

basaltic type, but as the analysis shows is somewhat too acid .
The olivine phenocrysts, moreover, are not very numerous and
there is reason to regard this as simply an olivine-bearing phase of
the andesite .
Another specimen of the red andesite , collected on the same
slope of Ames Knob, has the large feldspar phenocrysts quite un
altered , and with extinction angles indicating basic andesine .
The ferro-magnesian constituent is not present except as well de
fined prismatic areas, now composed of chlorite and calcite. There
is much magnetite and some ilmenite , and a patite is associated
with the magnetite as inclusions in the feldspars, and also as long
prisms in the ground-mass. One crystal of titanite or sphene was
observed , altered at the edges into calcite and an opaque oxide .
The ground-mass contains feldspar laths more acid than the
phenocrysts, usually simple but sometimes twinned, and often
irregularly terminated . There are also present laths and trichitic
masses of a brown color. " The flow structure is well developed
near the phenocrysts ( Plate I, Fig . 2. ) but elsewhere the parallel
ism of the elements of the ground-mass is less apparent. With
crossed nicols, the micropoikilitic structure of the gtound -mass can
be seen , but this seems to be due to secondary crystallization.
Another of the dark gray andesites is of much coarser texture ,
with larger phenocrysts of yellowish white feldspar. In the thin
section , these feldspars are seen to have suffered the usual altera
tion to epidote and zoisite, and the porphyritic darker constituents
are also wholly altered . They have the opaque resorption borders
and , therefore, probably represent either hornblende or mica,
some cross-sections approximating the angles of hornblende .
Magnetite is very abundant and apatite occurs in some of the more
basic areas .
The ground -mass is lighter colored, although containing minute
grains of magnetite. Microlitic laths of feldspar constitute a
thin felt, and the clear base has a very slight effect upon polarized
light, even appearing isotropic in great measure. It is probable
that this rock is essentially a hornblende-andesite, rather more
acid than many of the other lavas here described.
PORPHYRIES . A dark green rock associated with these ande

sites has many of the characters, both megascopic and microscopic,
similar to those described above, but structural differences in the
ground -mass seem to warrant a separation of this type from the
andesitic .The feldspar phenocrysts are almost wholly altered,
but the twinned crystals of monoclinic pyroxene are quite fresh ,
some chlorite being present as a product of the partial alteration.
The pyroxene crystals are nearly colorless in the thin section and
have the optical orientation of augite. The ground-mass is holo
crystalline , but very fine -grained and approaches the ophitic
structure of diabase . The rock, therefore, may be called a di
abase - porphyry !.
At the base of Ames Knob on the south side occurs another
porphyritic rock of a green color. The yellow feldspars are very
numerous, the porphyritic character of the rock becoming some
what masked by their abundance and the presence of black dots of
a secondary mineral . This rock is essentially holocrystalline and
since the feldspar laths of the ground-mass show some fluidal
arrangement around the phenocrysts, this type may be termed an
andesite-porphyry. The feldspar phenocrysts are labradorite, and
augite is represented sparingly, mostly altered to chlorite, but
giving the high extinction angle where unaffected . Chlorite also
forms the matrix of the ground-mass. The black spots seen in the
hand-specimen are found to be areas of very finely divided zoisite
of a light brown color in the thin section. One of these aggre
gates is at the center of an altered feldspar crystal. Epidote and
secondary feldspar are other alteration products in this andesite
porphyry.
Other rocks within this area appear quite holocrystalline. The
darker silicates are replaced by secondary minerals, chlorite and
calcite, and the feldspars are badly altered . Much ilmenite is
present, with associated leucoxene, which , in part, has the char
acters of sphene , and the rhombohedral parting of the ilmenite is
very finely exhibited through this alteration. The ground-mass is
1. Porphyry is used here purely as a term indicative of structure. Its retention in this
sense throughout all the rock families, thus abandoning the term porphyrite, is the usage
favored by Cross , Iddings, and Pirsson .
microgranitic with no evidence of any flow structure, such as

characterizes most of the other rocks described . This rock type
corresponds to the porphyrite of many petrographers and may be
termed either a diabasic or a dioritic porphyry.
In one diabase -porphyry, with labradorite phenocrysts, there are
granuar patches of more acid feldspar. The interlocking grains
are much larger than the laths of the ground -mass and contain
relatively more magnetite and hematite than the rest of the rock.
This striking variation in composition and texture doubtless
represents a primary segregation within the crystallizing lava.
Within this North Haven area , there also occur quartz
porphyries, which from their association with equivalent pyro
clastics are to be considered as belonging to the volcanic series.
The megascopic determination of these yellow porphyries is not
difficult, since the quartz phenocrysts are plainly seen. These
quartzes are prominent in the thin section, and furnish beautiful
examples of well defined phenocrysts, the sharp outlines of the bi
pyramids being interrupted only by the deep embayments. In
some instances, this effect of magmatic corrosion has been in part
remedied by the subsequent addition of quartz, which seems to be
of the same period of crystallization as the ground -mass. The
feldspar phenocrysts have altered to calcite and white mica, and
secondary muscovite also clouds the interlocking grains of the
ground-mass. In a few cases, these grains are of twinned feld
spar, and in others, they have small areas of quartz at the center
surrounded by micropegmatitic intergrowths. Similar intergrowths
constitute a marked feature of another quartz-porphyry , the
volcanic character of which is less certain . Here, however, the
micropegmatitic areas envelop the quartz phenocrysts and are in
crystalline continuity with them , forming wide borders , which
often reach from one crystal to another.
AMYGDALOIDS. Megascopically , one of the most noticeable
rocks on North Haven is an amygdaloid which occurs on the shore
of the Thoroughfare. The ground -mass of the rock is gray, and
the elongated amygdules are very plentiful , being composed of
white and pink quartz. On weathered surfaces , the rock often ap
pears very vesicular.
The ground-mass when studied microscopically resolves itself

into short feldspar laths, badly altered , in what may have been
originally a glassy base , quite dark in color. The feldspar laths
show some parallelism to the edges of the amygdules, and also a
certain amount of flow -structure. The few phenocrysts of feldspar
have characteristic outlines but are now wholly altered to chlorite,
calcite, and quartz - feldspar aggregates.
The amygdules constitute one-fourth of the rock section. The
structure is concentric, quartz grains and chlorite forming the
outer zone, from which quartz grains or perfect hexagonal prisms
project inward . The central portion is filled with calcite or quartz ,
the latter, in a few cases, being in roughly spherulitic plumes .
This rock may be termed an andesitic amygdaloid .
A dense fine-grained red rock occurs with the gray andesites on
Ames Knob, and differs from them in the small number of pheno
chrysts. Examined microscopically, it is found to represent an ex
tremely vesicular lava, the irregular cavities having been filled
with secondary minerals. The base is of a red color but wholly
opaque and thus unlike that of the other lavas studied . One feld
spar crystal was observed , but the degree of alteration prevented
any determination of its composition .
The lavas which have been described above are the andesites,
pyroxene-, hornblende-, and basaltic, the andesite- and diabase
porphyries, and the amygdaloids, comprising a series varying
quite widely in structure and mineralogical composition but pro
bably much less in chemical composition. Associated with these
lavas of intermediate composition is the quartz-porphyry, a much
more acid type.
PYROCLASTICS. Associated with the lavas are the volcanic
fragmental rocks, the pyroclastics. They are igneous in origin,
but clastic in structure and thus connect the compact lavas with
the ordinary sediments . So close , indeed , is the relationship and
the resemblance between these pyroclastics that it often is difficult
to determine to which class some of the members of the North
Haven series belong. On the other hand, it becomes a problem
where to draw the line of separation between the pyroclastics and
the more normal sediments , to which , moreover , the volcanic de
tritus has contributed so much . It is necessary to realize that the

gradation throughout is complete and sharp distinctions are , to a
great degree, artificial.
The most important of the pyroclastics represented on North
Haven is the volcanic conglomerate on the slopes of Ames Knob .
The more or less rounded fragments of the different andesites
vary in size from that of a boulder several feet in diameter to that
of coarse sand. The cementing material is small in amount and
its character difficult of determination ; but , when studied micro
scopically, this matrix is seen to be clastic, consisting of angular
crystal fragments and particles of opaque material similar to that
forming the ground -mass of certain of the lavas. Slight traces of
flowage may indicate that the cementing material was of the
character of a volcanic mud, when it filled the spaces in this mass
of coarser ejectamenta. The large fragments show the andesite
structure in a marked degree , and some closely resemble the dark
vesicular lava last described .
A volcanic conglomerate somewhat finer-grained occurs on Iron
Point, and the fine dark red material which cements the fragments
of andesites again suggests an original volcanic mud. In both oc
currences , the volcanic conglomerate grades into a breccia, which 1
is usually of the character of a lava including blocks of older lavas.

Such a breccia would be a primary or flow -breccia . In other cases,
however, the breccia seems to differ from the volcanic conglom
erate only in the degree of rounding of the fragments and, there
fore, may be termed a tuff -breccia .
The pyroclastics of the North Haven series afford examples of
the gradation in size of grain , from the coarse conglomerate to the
tuff, composed of fine volcanic dust . The coarser tuffs are identi
fied most easily, since the angular andesite fragments can be seen
on the weathered surface of these tuffs, which are usually dark
colored and compact, although often quite resembling a sandy
shale . As in the conglomerates, the included fragments have
been derived from the various andesitic lavas, the more basic , the
vesicular, and those containing the altered hornblende phenocrysts
with resorption rims. Mineral fragments also occur, magnetite
and ilmenite being most abundant, and the former characterized
by apatite inclusions. These mineral grains are extremely angu
39
THOROUGHFARE VOLCANICS .
lar and cannot be considered as having resulted from disintegra

tion of the andesites through atmospheric agencies. The cement
ing material is largely calcite.
A series of tuffs much finer in grain are the compact pink rocks
on Ames Point, which on the weathered surface are lighter
colored and plainly tuffaceous. In the thin section, they show
very few larger fragments of minerals or of lavas, but consist of a
mass of almost colorless angular particles. These minute frag
ments seem to represent glass sherds, with concave triangular out
lines for the most part , often crescent or sickle-shaped. The
structure determined by this material is that described as the
" aschen -structur ” by Muggel , and considered by him to be char
acteristic for deposits of the most finely comminuted glass from a
volcanic explosion. This ash-structure somewhat resembles the
rhyolitic or fluidal structure but may be distinguished, as in the
present case , by the fact that the angular areas are distinct from
the matrix even in polarized light. The fragments although
originally glass, are now cryptocrystalline, with a somewhat zonal
arrangement which suggests that these triangular areas represent
cavities between rounded grains rather than the glass fragments
themselves. However, such zonal crystallization has been ob
served by Arnold-Bemrose in the altered lapilli of Carboniferous
tuffs and Mugge3 shows that it is to be expected in the devitrifi
cation process, since the pseudomorphism would proceed exactly
parallel with the outer boundary in an amorphous glass. Further
· more , a study of the arrangement of the triangular, crescent, and
filament- like areas readily shows that the complexity can hardly
be explained as due to interstices between grains. One section ex
hibits an included fragment of a lava with a quartz phenocryst,
associated with this typical ash-structure. ( Plate I, Fig. 4 ) .
These fine tuffs, therefore , are to be considered as derived from a
rhyolitic lava .
Associated with the quartz-porphyry are tuffs, yellow to light
gray in color, and very felsitic but including fragments of slate
1. Neues Jahrbuch f. Min . etc. Beil-B. 8. , p . 648 .

2. Quart . Journ. Geol . Soc. London, vol. 50., p. 60 .
3. Neues Jahrbuch f. Min. etc. 1896, vol . 1. , p. 79.
and dark hornblendic or chloritic material . Quartz and feldspar

grains can be observed and portions of the surface appear sericitic.
The clastic character is even more evident when the rock is
examined microscopically. Corroded quartzes with embayments,
angular pieces of clear feldspar, both orthoclase and twinned
plagioclase, short prismatic zircons, and shreds of muscovite are
included, but the fragments that constitute the greater part of the
tuff are different in character . These are very angular even
approaching the concave forms of the smaller glass particles de
scribed above, and consist of quartz or feldspar with undulatory or
roughly spherulitic extinction. A marked difference can be ob
served also in ordinary light between these fragments and the
others which are plainly fractured phenocrysts, and secondary
crystallization seems to be indicated . Chlorite and calcite are
prominent constituents of the matrix and the latter mineral occurs
also as an alteration product of some of the feldspars. This rock,
then, may be termed a quartz-porphyry tuff and the angular in
clusions of quartzite and slate , doubtless also represent the ex
plosive action at the volcanic vent.
Certain of the purple tuffs on Iron Point are quartzitic in appear
ance and from their perfect banding suggest sedimentation where
wave-action could sort the material. The sub -angular fragments
are wholly of volcanic origin, as in the other tuffs, but the rock
represents a phase more nearly allied to the more common classes
of sediments. An overlying conglomerate so closely resembles
well -washed conglomerates of common occurrence as not to de
serve to be considered a pyroclastic.
SEQUENCE. As data for the determination of the history of the
vulcanism of this area, observations on the stratigraphical se
quence of the different volcanic products are necessary. A uni
form succession comparable with that of sedimentary rocks in a
limited area is hardly to be expected in a volcanic series, and on
comparing several geologic sections of the North Haven volcanics,
differences in the sequence will be noted. While, however, detail
ed areal study emphasizes these local differences, a general se
quence is observed .
The lowest members of the series, the dark gray pyroxene
andesite and andesite-porphyry, are most prominently exposed on

Ames Knob, and to the south of this hill the sequence can be
traced without difficulty . Above the andesitic lavas, which are
locally very vesicular, occurs the volcanic conglomerate , a well de
fined deposit with a general strike of N. 65 ° E. The included
fragments of the dark gray pyroxene -andesite and porphyry which
constitute the greater part of the volcanic conglomerate afford
proof of the relative age of the members of the series. To the
south and west, this conglomerate grades into breccias, which
show both the tuffaceous and flow characters. The red basaltic
andesites overlie the conglomerate and breccia and are in turn
followed by the more acid hornblende-andesite . At this point in
the series the lavas become less prominent and on the shores of the
Thoroughfare the tuffaceous rocks are exposed , acid and basic tuffs
being interbedded . The best-bedded of these tuffs strike N. 850
W. and dip 62° to the south . A short distance to the east, the
amygdaloidal flows, with amygdules giving a strike of N. 80° W. ,
occur above the hornblende-andesite and are often interbedded
with the tuffs .
Just west of North Haven village, occur the more acid mem
bers, the quartz-porphyry tuffs and small amounts of the quartz
porphyry, while on the shores of the Thoroughfare , at the village ,
the yellow quartz-porphyry is prominently exposed. This more
acid lava is not as widely extended as the andesitic types.
In the eastern part of the main area of the volcanics, on the
shores of Waterman's Cove , much the same succession of red and
gray andesites, andesite -porphyry, and breccia is found, with some
quartz-porphyry , which here is doubtless instrusive. On Iron
Point, portions of the series are exposed which would overlie the
rocks of the Ames Knob district. These are well bedded tuffs,
striking N. 80° E. and dipping 58°-61° S. With these tuffs occurs
the medium-grained conglomerate with well-rounded pebbles. It
is to be noted that throughout the principal area on North Haven ,
the bedding of the pyroclastics is quite constant.
Across the Thoroughfare on the extreme northern portion of
Calderwood's Neck, the same sequence is found, the breccias over
laid by tuffs and the conglomerate, the series striking N. 40° W.
and dipping 82° S. At this locality the section is continued even
higher than on Iron Point, for breccias overlie these bedded rocks,
and at the entrance of Seal Cove , well-bedded tuffs occur above
the breccias with approximately the same strike, and a dip of
about 50° S. This change in strike from that found to the north
west on Iron Point must be accounted for by folding, with possibly
some faulting. To the east on the shore of Carver's Cove the
lower of the bedded tuffs and the conglomerate are found , striking
N. 50-25° E. and dipping about 35° to the west. Again folding and
faulting are necessary structural elements in the explanation of
the distribution of these beds. A short distance to the south , two
parallel faults can be seen in the shore cliff. The strike of these
vertical faults is N. 45° W. and the displacement, which is rela
tively downward on the southern side , amounts to somewhat over
fifty feet in one of the faults, while the amount of throw in the
other cannot be measured , since the lavas and breccias, which
overlie the bedded tuffs, afford no datum -plane. The actual ob
servation of displacement at this point strengthens the probability
of unexposed faults existing to the north .
On the western side of Vinal Haven Island , the upper part of
the series is again exposed, consisting of andesitic lavas, with
tuffs and breccias. The well-bedded tuffs in this part of the area
strike N. 18º-25º E. and dip 62°-67° to the southeast. At Brown's
Head , the upper part of the series is in contact with the Vinal
Haven acid volcanics to be discussed later.
The crescent shape thus expresses the structure of the North
Haven series in its principal development as well as the areal dis
tribution .
In the area of similar volcanics to the east, along the shores of
the Little Thoroughfare , the most prominent rock-type is a flow
breccia, with which occur tuffaceous rocks of varying character.
There is nothing in the sequence , however, to warrant more than
a correlation in general character, with the rocks of the principal
area .
AGE . The age of the North Haven volcanics can be deter

mined only by their relation to the Niagara sediments. In the
Ames Knob locality the volcanic rocks overlie the upper members
of the Niagara series with about the same strike and dip. The
lack of any marked unconformity must be considered as showing

that the volcanic outbreaks followed the deposition of Niagara
sediments, before the tilting of those sediments to their present
position. The red shales of the Niagara series quite probably
represent old muds, which received considerable amounts of vol
canic dust, thus marking the commencement of the intermittent
volcanic activity .
On Stimpson's Island , however, there is geological evidence
which bears more directly upon the age problem. A strip of lime
stones and quartzites less than a hundred feet in width occurs
within the area of volcanic rocks. The strike and dip of these
rocks, N. 60 ° W. and 30 ° to the northeast, and the thinness of the
section prevents exact correlation with the Niagara series on
North Haven , but the rocks very closely resemble the latter sedi
ments and the only fossils found , traces of brachiopod shells and
a crinoid stem , are also similar in appearance to the more plentiful
organic remains of the other series. These sediments, therefore ,
were deposited under similar conditions and , most probably, in the
same period as those which have been proved to be Niagara,
although not necessarily ever closely connected with the other
area .
Volcanic rocks, gray lavas, underlie these quartzites and
limestones, and tuffs and breccia overlie them, so that they must
be regarded as having been deposited during a time of cessation in
volcanic activity, a break not recorded in this manner at any
other locality on the Fox Islands. It seems justifiable, therefore,
to believe that the volcanic activity began in Niagara time.
CONDITIONS OF VOLCANIC Activity. In any attempt to picture
the nature of the vulcanism that characterized this area in Niagara
time, the position of the volcanic center should be determined. It
would be of interest to know the vent through which the lavas of
this series were poured forth and the fragmental material ejected.
However, it is probable that the area of North Haven volcanics de
scribed above is not more than a fragment of the original area and
that through the processes of erosion, many times repeated, the
greater part of the volcano has been cut away. In the study of
this limited area, no definite comparisons of the relative thicknesses
of the volcanic series can be made , such as would point to the posi
The breccias so prominent among the

tion of the volcanic center.
North Haven rocks are somewhat agglomeratic in character, but
their distribution is too general to indicate accumulation within a
crater. Topographically, Ames Knob is suggestive of an old vol
canic plug, but the relations of the rocks at this locality do not
justify such a view. Thus, the evidence obtained in the study of
these old volcanics does not warrant even conjectures as to the site
of the vent .
The rock-characters of these volcanics are somewhat indicative
of the conditions under which these rocks had their origin. The
character of the crystallization in the andesites is expressive of
consolidation at the surface and the flow structure shows that
these lavas consolidated while in motion . The amygdaloidal
character of several of the lava - flows resulted from the expansion
of escaping gases in the molten mass, while the intercalation of
beds of tuffs with the amygdaloids shows that, at times, these
gases became explosive and the eruption of lavas was interrupted
by the ejection of lapilli and volcanic dust , which were deposited
upon the flanks of the volcano . The flow -breccias which have
been described, may be considered as having their origin in the
mingling of two lava-streams of different eruptions. The cooling
crust of a lava - flow becomes broken into angular blocks and these
may be caught up in a later stream of lava, which in its lower
portions may be composed almost wholly of these angular frag
ments . In these flow-breccias, the included blocks and the matrix
may be quite different in character, masses of the gray andesite
being usually embedded in the red andesite, which often shows
flowage around and between these included blocks. In other
cases, the lava blocks have been cemented by tuff material or by
volcanic mud . The volcanic conglomerate is composed of less
angular fragments and more varieties of lava are represented
within a given mass of the conglomerate than in the breccia . These
differences may result from the transportation of the fragments by
running water for limited distances down the slopes of the volcano.
Just as the tuffs furnish the most indubitable criteria for
establishing the volcanic nature of the series, so they also afford
the best evidence with regard to the topographical features of this
part , at least, of the old volcano. Many of the tuffs seem to have
originated simply as sub-aerial deposits upon the gentle slopes of

older lava -flows, but in other cases, the deposition may have been
in a body of water. The sorting of the different sizes of grain
and the banding of successive beds is as perfect as in any thin
bedded shale or sandstone. However, the fragments of minerals
and lavas are as angular as in the sub-aerial deposits, so that they
could not have been subjected to long continued wave -action. On
Iron Point, where the bedding of the tuffs is best exhibited, the
beds of finer tuffs are often eroded on their upper surfaces, the
succeeding beds showing slight local unconformities. Such
erosion-breaks in the beds are only a few feet in extent and have
resulted probably from wave-action along the tide - flats. The con
glomerate which was later deposited has well-rounded pebbles and
is of the character of an ordinary sediment which thus marks an
interlude in volcanic activity, although the conditions do not seem
to have been favorable for marine life , as was the case when the
sediments occurring within the volcanic rocks on Stimpson's Island
were deposited .
The pyroclastics and other sediments show that this volcanic
area was near the sea-level and that oscillations of level were more
or less frequent in the period during which the volcano was in
eruption . The activity did not close with the eruption of the
rocks which have been considered as the North Haven series ; but
in the later phases of the vulcanism , the products were of a some
what different character and will be discussed in the following
section.
VINAL HAVEN ACID VOLCANICS..
DISTRIBUTION . The area of the acid volcanics may be describ
ed as a rough circle fitting into the crescent of more basic vol
canics, the horns of which extend southward , the diameter of thi
nearly circular area being about two miles. Extremely good
sections of the series are afforded by Perry's and Crockett's Coves
which extend well into the center of the area . The topography,
like that of the other volcanics, is quite bold, especially in the south
ern portion, where the elevation of 210 feet, the greatest on the Fox
Islands, is attained .
DESCRIPTION OF Rock-TYPES. The volcanic rocks of this area

exhibit less variety than those of the area to the north . Fewer
types are to be distinguished and described, yet these are of
special petrographic interest. They rank among the most beauti
ful of volcanic rocks and cannot fail to attract attention as exposed
on the weathered ledges and sea-cliffs. Among these acid vol
canics, both lavas and pyroclastics are again represented and four
rock -types will be described : the taxitic and the spherulitic apo
rhyolites, the flow -breccias, and the tuffs.
APORHYOLITES . The acid lavas which form the greater part of
this Vinal Haven series are characterized by flow -structures. No
phenocrysts , other than small magnetite and zircon crystals , ap
pear in any of the specimens examined , and the rock is commonly
very felsitic in appearance. In the thin section , the texture is
found to be cryptocrystalline in part, and elsewhere to exhibit
traces of glassy structures , now more or less obliterated by de
vitrification . In short, the rock is rhyolitic and was originally
somewhat glassy, and , therefore , the term aporhyolite has been
applied to the type. The two characteristic structural types of
these aporhyolites, which may be distinguished megascopically ,
will be considered separately .
The taxitic aporhyolites are those in which the fluxion charact
46
VINAL HAVEN ACID VOLCANICS . 47
er is most marked . Flow-felsite was the field -term employed in de

scribing these rocks, and megascopically as well as microscopical
ly, this lava is striking in appearance . It is very compact and
composed of light flesh -colored and dark gray or purple layers of
varying width . Where this banding is regular, the rock often
shows a parallel parting. There are many cases in which the
flow-structure is very irregular, and on the weathered surface of
the taxtites the structure is most beautifully exhibited, the
flowage -lines being extremely delicate . In the thin section, the
taxitic structure is equally apparent. The darker lines are seen to
owe their color to masses of black cumulitic grains, margarites,
and trichites, minute crystallites, all of which , doubtless, have the
composition of magnetite, being often connected with grains of
that mineral. The detail of the fluctuation as presented by the
arrangement of these crystallites is much more delicate than that
seen megascopically.
The parallelism in the more regularly banded taxites is also
well shown in polarized light , by the varying degree of crystalliza
tion . The bands in which the trichitic flow -lines are so promi
nent often contain chains of minute spherulites, which will be
described later with the other spherulites. More commonly, how
ever, these bands are characterized by a peculiar intergrowth of
fine fibers of what seem to be quartz and feldspar, although the con
stituents are too minute to be determined . This intergrowth may
be described most accurately as a web-structure, the long delicate
threads being more continuous in the direction parallel to the
megascopical banding. In the lighter band and lenses, the crystal
lization is coarser and less definite in structure, although spheru
litic in part. Some areas of quartz and epidote occur, and are
doubtless of secondary origin.
The spherulites and the web-structure seem to represent inter
growths of mineral fibers which crystallized within the lava , later
than the trichites and other crystallites, but before consolidation .
Their parallel arrangement may have been determined by chemi
cal or physical differences along definite planes, while the more
intricate flow -lines traced by the crystallites are the result of
movement in the lava. In certain areas in these rocks, the
crystallization is of a more granular character and these rather in
definite mosaics of quartz and feldspar may have originated

through devitrification of original glassy portions of the rock .
The spherulitic aporhyolites are closely related to the taxitic ,
and gradations are found between the two types. The spherulites
vary in abundance and in size, a few small ones, the size of a pin
head or of a pea, occurring disseminated through the variegated
purple or dark gray rock, or, on the other hand , the spherulites
being in great abundance, often completely covering the exposed
surfaces, and attaining a size of several inches in diameter. Such
a rock is of so unusual an appearance , that it would readily be
noticed by even a casual observer. The spherulites vary greatly
in form , some being perfect spheres, others ellipsoids, and often
several are united to form irregular nodules. They are usually
compact and felsitic , more rarely hollow and lined with quartz.
The hollow forms may owe their condition to subsequent solution ,
and no undoubted lithophysal structures were observed in these
old rocks which have so many characters in common with later
rhyolitic lavas.
Examined microscopically, the spherulitic aporhyolite is found
to be characterized by even more delicate arrangements of the
trichites and other crystallites. The spherulites, which may be
described as complex intergrowths of crystal- fibers, radially ar
ranged, vary in outward form , the sections being circles, segments
of circles, and plumes. The radiate arrangement of the fibers is
the common characteristic and the different outward forms taken
by such intergrowths are equally expressive of the spherulitic
crystallization, as has been shown by Prof. Iddings ' . These
spherulites, especially the smaller, are not always to be seen in
ordinary light, as they are often wholly independent of the flow
structure , the lines of trichites passing through the spherulites
without interruption . In other cases, the spherulites may be
readily seen , through a concentric arrangement of bands rich
and poor in trichites ; or again, the spherulitic forms may be
slightly different in color, the finely divided pigment being of a
brown tint rather than black , a feature noted in some of the
spherulites of Obsidian Cliff ? The micro -spherulites and the
1. Spherulitic Crystallization. Bull . Phil. Soc. of Washington, vol. 11 , p. 459 .
2. Iddings : 7th Ann . Report , U. S. G. S. , p . 277.
chain-spherulites found both in this rock and in the taxitic apo

rhyolite are not apparent except in polarized light. In the chain
spherulites there is an approach to the axiolitic type , and it is
noted that a group of three black crosses, as seen when the axis of
the chain is in parallel position with one of the nicols, resolves
itself into two crosses, rather than three , when the section is re
volved 45°. These micro-spherulites often compose considerable
portions of these aporhyolites, producing an effect similar to that
pictured by Iddings !.
The constitution of these spherulitic intergrowths is a problem
for the solution of which these old rocks do not furnish as satis
factory material as the younger lavas. Yet, some of the charact
eristics of these structural forms can be observed in these apo
rhyolites and deserve description as affording some degree of proof
of the essential similarity of the old lavas to their later equiva
The smaller spherulites are optically negative ; while, in
the large spherulites, the radiate structure can be resolved into
more or less distinct fibers, the optical character of which could
not be determined , owing to the fact that several are usually
superimposed , even in the thin section. In the best examples of
the spherulitic crystallization on the larger scale, these radiating
fibers are seen to be embedded in interlocking grains, relatively
large ; and the radiate structure can be observed even in ordinary
light, owing to the slight difference in refraction and in color be
tween the fibers and the grains. These grains appear to be uni
axial , in part at least, and most probably are quartz , while the
arborescent fibers are feldspar. Such an intergrowth is a form of
the micropegmatitic structure, and is undoubtedly the original
form of these larger spherulites. There are, however, indications
that in some cases , subsequent alteration has replaced the feldspar
fibers with quartz , thus changing the micropegmatitic structure to
a purely granular mosaic. In one spherulite , this change , al
though only partial , seemed more complete in the outer grains ,
where only mere traces of the fibers remained , while nearer the
center, the arborescent growth was continuous. (Plate I , Fig. 6. )
Where the change has been complete , the spherulite is identified
simply from the circular outline of the fine mosaic.
1. 7th. Ann . Report , Plate 17, Fig. 1 .
Different generations of the spherulitic crystallization are in

dicated in some of the sections examined. The spherulitic plumes,
where they occur in connection with the more perfect spherulites,
are of a darker color and appear to be older, being sometimes en
closed in the later spherulitic growth , or conditioning the outward
form of the larger and lighter spherulite. In one section , all of
these plumes are seen to have grown in the same direction, parallel
with the flow, and also to have determined sharp eddy-like curves
in the flow - lines of trichites. One of the most beautiful of these
spherulitic structures is where a long plume suddenly spreads out
into three quadrants of a circle, as seen in section .
The matrix in which these larger spherulites occur is usually
cryptocrystalline, although there are areas of coarser grains of
quartz and feldspar, around which there seems to be some flowage.
These may represent •vesicles in the rock , subsequently filled .
Allied with these are smaller miarolitic areas of quartz into which
project fine laths, optically continuous with the fibers of small
spherulites. That the rock was in part glassy, is proven by the
perlitic cracks which are beautifully shown in some of the sections.
These are outlined as lighter lines in the ground-mass of a light
brown color, and in polarized light are seen to have been filled
with quartz. In these portions of the rock , the very delicate
trichites do not appear to have been affected by the subsequent
devitrification of the glass.
The above description of the structures which are so character
istic of the taxitic and spherulitic aporhyolites of Vinal Haven can
express only imperfectly the fine details which afford to the
observer the most conclusive evidence of the practical identity of
these rocks with recent acid lavas.
An analysis of one of the most typical and seemingly least
altered spherulitic aporhyolites was made by Messrs. E. W. Ma
gruder and W. A. Jones, and it affords the best evidence obtain
able, as to the rhyolitic character of the magma from which these
spherulites crystallized .
Si 02 77.28
Ti O2 . trace
Al2 O3 11.24
Fe2O3 1.74
Fe O none
Mg O 0.21
Ca o trace
K2 O 4.55
Na, O 3.10
P2 Os 0.022
H , O ( by Pb 0) 1.16
CO2 0.17
99.472
Flow-BRECCIAS. Many of the aporhyolites present traces of
brecciation. Megascopically, the rock is similar to the spherulitic
lava, but on examination is found to lack homogeneity. In some
cases, fragments of the older andesitic lavas are included with those
of the acid glass, but the matrix is seen to have been a molten
lava, thus making the type a flow - breccia . Under the microscope ,
the mass of the breccia is observed to be characterized by a flow
structure, much more irregular than in the taxites. One specimen
affords a beautiful example of the structures seen in obsidians,
ribbons and filaments of the trichitic gauze being twisted into com
plex patterns. ( Plate I, Fig. 5. ) Traces of perlitic cracking also
give evidence of the originally glassy state of the rock.
The fragments which are similar to the enclosing material
usually appear to have been brecciated in situ. Spherulitic plumes
are broken across and the parts slightly displaced , and in all cases
the spherulitic crystallization preceded the brecciation . Other
fragments possess a flow-structure sharply contrasted with that of
the enclosing lava, and in one , there has been a marked shearing
without rupture! Devitrification has made these glassy rocks
quite holocrystalline, but in the rock with the delicate obsidian
structures, there has been very slight devitrification .
TUFFS. The tuffs of this series are in the main, much more
1. Figured by Dr. Williams, op. cit . , p. 23 .
compact than those of the North Haven series, but like them vary
in color from dark purple to light pink. In grain, they present
the same variation from a coarse breccia to a rock composed of the
finest particles and showing the ash-structure. The larger frag
ments are mostly of the banded and spherulitic lavas, but in some
instances, andesite fragments are very plentiful . Crystal frag
ments also occur in the finer tuffs .
Epidote occurs in these tuffs, partly in the role of cement, and
partly as an alteration product. This mineral was also found in
the lavas of this series, but in less amount. Chlorite and calcite
also occur as secondary minerals, the latter only in tuffs with
andesite fragments .
SEQUENCE . The structure of the Vinal Haven series is com

paratively simple , the lavas and tuffs forming a basin , which over
lies the tilted andesitic volcanics . Where their bedding can be
determined, these acid volcanics dip at an angle of 45° or over
toward the center of the area, except in the southwestern part
where the dip is more to the southeast. On the northwestern side
of the area , the lower members of the Vinal Haven series are
found in contact with the more basic series , and the relations seem
to be wholly comformable. To the northeast, the contact is hid
den, for the most part, by the dike of diabase.
Tuffs constitute the basal members of the series and the separa
tion of many of these tuffs from those of the underlying series is
difficult. Above these tuffs the general sequence is taxitic apo
rhyolite , overlaid by the spherulitic aporhyolites and flow -breccias,
with the other tuffaceous beds as probably the highest members of
the series represented . In the taxitic lavas, the lamination gives
approximately the same strike and dip as the underlying tuffs.
The spherulitic aporhyolites are best exposed in the central por
tion of the area , on the shores of Perry's and Crockett's Coves, and
especially along the shore south of Brown's Head.
CONDITIONS OF VOLCANIC Activity. The volcanic eruption of
these acid lavas and tuffs immediately succeeded that of the North
Haven series. Indeed , it seems probable that the ejection of the
acid lava began before that of the andesitic closed . Within the
North Haven series, acid members were found , overlaid by more

basic types of lavas and pyroclastics, and again in the upper
tuffaceous beds of what has been termed the North Haven series,
there is aa mixture of material . Thus, at Brown's Head , a coarse
tuff-breccia composed of large fragments of andesites, was found to
contain a few angular pieces of the taxitic and spherulitic apo
rhyolites. These must have been derived from some lava-mass
older than the similar lavas now exposed to the east. As far as a
difference of age is concerned, the separation of the North Haven
and Vinal Haven series is purely arbitrary. However, it seems
probable that the two types of lavas were erupted from separate
although neighboring vents, the rhyolitic eruptions beginning
while the andesitic were in their later stages.
The taxites which directly overlie the deposits of fragmental
volcanic material, are a striking type of lavas. The lamination
which characterizes them is expressive of the conditions of their
eruption and consolidation. These layers differing in color and in
degree of crystallization have resulted from the flow of the viscous
lava, spreading over a surface horizontal or only slightly inclined .
Where this lamination is most regular and the layers quite thin, a
comparatively greater distance from the point of origin may be
inferredl .
Loewenson-Lessing in calling attention to this taxitic type of
lavas has considered them as more closely allied to pyroclastics?.
The fact of the existence of a gradual passage between the lavas
and the pyroclastics may well be emphasized in view of their
common origin , yet the explanation of the taxites as clastic in
character seems unwarranted. A simultaneous disintegration and
cementation within a molten rock-mass may be conceivable, but is
hardly sufficient ground for fixing the clastic character of a
banded lava . Brecciation can take place in an already consolidat
ed rock, but the term does not seem applicable in describing
differentiation of a magma into layers of slightly different chemi
cal composition and physical condition.
1. Iddings: 7th Ann . Report U. S. G. S. , P. 260 .
2. Tschermak's Min . u. Petrog. Mitth . 1888 , p . 528 .
Bull, Soc Belge d. Geol., vol. 5 , p. 103 , 1891 .
The macro-spherulites first appear in the upper part of this

taxitic aporhyolite, where they are confined to the lighter layers.
The conditions determining this kind of crystallization are not
easily understood . The arrangement of the spherulitic growths in
these old rhyolitic lavas point to the fact that whatever agent con
tributed to the crystallization, it was often confined to quite
definite planes, and that, in some cases, the conditions favoring
the process were not limited to a single period in the consolidation
of the lava. Some of the earlier plumes seem to have been formed
before the lava had ceased flowing, while , in other cases, the
delicate trichitic lines of flow maintain the same course within the
perfect spherulites as in the rest of the rock. These arborescent
intergrowths of quartz and feldspar seem to have crystallized very
rapidly in a glassy lava, which had come to rest and become
nearly solid , superheated water and steam , doubtless , being im
portant factors!
The flow -breccias appear to be locally developed within the
central area of spherulitic aporhyolites. In part , these breccias
probably originated as lava flows including fragments of older
lavas, as was the case in the breccia so prominently developed in
the North Haven series. In other cases, the brecciation seems to
have been confined to the lava itself, certain strains to which the
cooling mass was subjected being sufficient to break up those parts
which had consolidated . This process seems to have been of a
different character from the breaking up of lenticles of flow which
would give an ataxitic or rhyolitic structure, since here the breccia
tion took place when the cooling glass was sufficiently stiff to
break into extremely angular fragments. This brecciation also
followed the spherulitic crystallization and affords the best proof
of the original nature of these spherulites. There are cases, how
ever, in which the dislocation may have taken place in the lava
when in a less viscous state , as in the case cited above, where the
flow -structure shows the shearing. A similar brecciation in a
very stiff lava has been observed in the spherulitic rock of Silver
Cliff, Colorado, where the spherulitic crystallization was subse
I. Cross : Constitution and Origin of Spherulites. Bull. Phil. Soc . of Washington,
Aol. II , p. 433 .
quent to the dislocation. Cross' considers the lava to have been

broken by sudden and violent volcanic shocks, the pieces possess
ing sufficient plasticity to perfectly coalesce again . In the Vinal
Haven occurrence , a greater degree of plasticity must be inferred
in many cases , since the separated fragments are cemented by
glassy material , which shows fluidal structures. These flow
breccias are especially indicative of the vicissitudes in the process
of consolidation of a lava -flow, and therefore possess more than
mere petrographical interest. They seem to be a type of volcanic
products, which much more truly occupy the middle ground be
tween lavas and pyroclastics than do the taxites, to which refer
ence was made above .
The tuffs occurring in the upper part of the Vinal Haven series
differ from those in the basal portions in that they contain no frag
ments of the andesitic lavas. Their purely acid composition in
dicates a cessation of the andesitic eruptions, which opened the
Niagara vulcanism . How much more of rhyolitic lavas and ejecta
menta were erupted cannot be determined owing to the granitic in
trusion to the south of this area and to the subsequent erosion of
any higher members of the series, that might have been left to the
north of the granite contact.
1. Op . cit . , p . 433 .
2
DIKES .
DESCRIPTION. As one walks along the shores of North Haven
and of the northern part of Vinal Haven, numerous instrusive
dikes attract attention. These may stand out as walls from the
low cliffs of less resistant rock, or more often, they are marked by
deep cuts extending into the bank.. In the interior, the dikes are
always resistant to weathering processes, and thus form the axes
of the hills and ridges. The relative resistance of country rock
and dike thus varies, but whether on the shore or inland, these
dikes form conspicuous topographic features.
Of these dikes, two types are distinguished, the one dark and
usually finely crystalline , the other light colored and felsitic as a
rule , although in a few cases plainly crystalline. This division
will be seen to be an important one and the two types will be de
scribed separately .
The acid dikes range from microgranites or quartz-porphyries,
in which the porphyritic constituents may be easily distinguished ,
to very fine- grained rocks as felsitic in appearance as the acid
lavas of Vinal Haven . The coarser of the quartz-porphyries
might be mistaken for granites, but on close examination it is
noticed that the quartz and feldspar occur in well defined crystals.
Under the microscope these phenocrysts are seen to be beautifuliy
idiomorphic, the quartz showing fine examples of magmatic cor
rosion . The orthoclase is intergrown with albite, and plagioclase
also occurs both in tabular crystals and in the ground-mass.
Muscovite is the other principal constituent, and the porphyry
seems rather acid , only a few shreds of hornblende being noted.
The ground -mass in the coarser type is microgranitic, but in other
of the quartz -porphyries, it shows a tendency to micropegmatitic
structure, especially as borders to the quartz phenocrysts. Pe
culiar sheaf-like feldspars occurring in the ground-mass also serve
as centers for such intergrowths.
The felsitic rock is of a light green color and is found to have a
56
DIKES . 57
cryptocrystalline ground -mass, containing a few very small pheno

crysts of feldspar, mostly altered to calcite. This rock occurs in
narrow dikes and is probably the equivalent of the coarser por
phyry of the larger dikes. All of these acid dike - rocks are of a
light red or yellow color on the weathered surface.
The basic dike-rocks also show considerable range in grain.
The more common type is plainly diabasic, in one case being very
coarse-grained , but other rocks are found which are of the same
dark gray color and wholly aphanitic. Examined microscopically,
the former type is found to be composed of large plates of augite,
colorless or slightly tinted in the thin section , and of feldspar laths
of an earlier crystallization than the augite. The typical diabase
structure is modified somewhat in a few specimens by a porphy
ritic development of the feldspar. Biotite was observed in some
specimens, but only in small amounts. These diabases all show
more or less alteration, calcite and chlorite being the principal
products.
The finer -grained of these basic rocks are to be grouped with
the diabases from their similarity of mineralogical composition.
The diabase-structure , however, is not as marked , since the augite
occurs in smaller grains while the mass of the rock is a felt of feld
spar laths. A few larger feldspars occur but these are full of in
clusions and badly altered. One characteristic of this type is the
presence of quartz, in rounded grains relatively very large as com
pared with the other constituents, and abundant enough to be
noticed in the hand-specimen. These quartz grains are surround
ed by resorption -rims of augite in short radiating prisms , partially
altered to chlorite . As shown by Diller in his study of the quartz
basalt of California ', the presence of this envelope of pyroxene ex
presses only the composition of the basic magma which corroded
the quartz . That the quartz is indigenous to the diabase which
forms these dikes seems more probable also from the wide and uni
form distribution of the quartz grains.
DISTRIBUTION. Throughout these islands, the basic dikes are

more numerous than those of acid composition , except possibly to
1. Bull. 79 , C. S. G. S. , p . 28 .
the north of Mill River, where the interbedded sheets of quart

porphyry occur. In the southern part of North Haven , small
dikes of the diabasic rocks are especially common , occurring as
single dikes which can be traced for long distances, or as groups
of smaller branching dikes . No system could be traced in these
dikes, but the strike is commonly between northeast and north
west . The acid dikes occurring on North Haven are also usually
small, the widest being twenty feet in width .
On Vinal Haven , the dikes are much larger, those of the
diabasic character being sufficiently wide to be mapped in two
cases . One of these is the dike which extends from near the head
of Seal Cove north to Perry's Cove and thence probably across to
Hopkins' Point and along the southern shore of the Thoroughfare.
The intrusive nature of this mass of diabase is proven by the frag
ments of the overlying acid volcanics included at one locality and
by the numerous apophyses which cut the quartzitic schists to the
east. In its northern and western extension , the relations are not
so plain , since the contacts are concealed, but the manner in which
this rock cuts across the strike of the well -bedded tuffs seems to
indicate a true intrusion . The rock in this dike is in great part
that characterized by the quartz grains, although to the south
near the contact with the granite, it is a typical diabase. It is in
teresting to note that the same quartz -bearing phase occurs in the
smaller dikes which cut the volcanics on the opposite side of the
Thoroughfare.
DIABASIC AND GRANITIC INTRUSIVES.
AREAL DISTIBUTION . In addition to the dikes of igneous rock

which have been injected into the older rocks, there are larger in
trusive masses of granite and other holocrystalline rocks. These
lie to the south of all of the areas discussed thus far, and consti
tute the greater part of the island of Vinal Haven. Of these
rocks the granite is the more important in areal extent, and de
serves special mention also from the fact that it is the basis of
the most of the industry of the southern island .
The northern boundary of the granite area is a line running
from about midway on the eastern shore of Calderwood's Neck due
west to Seal Cove and thence southwest to the northern point of
Leadbetter's Island . To the south of this contact of the granite
with the quartzitic schists and acid volcanics, Vinal Haven is com
posed wholly of granite, with the exception of two quite large
areas of darker rock, the " black granite" of the quarry -men . One
of these areas comprises the southern extremities of the main
island as well as Lane Island and part of Green Island . The
other and the larger of the two is on the eastern side of Vinal
Haven and may be called the Barley Hill area , from the more
prominent hill within its limits. The western boundary of this
area is in the low plain occupying the central portion of the island ,
and thus the contact with the granite is hidden .
Topographically, the area of these holocrystalline intrusives is
characterized by the same rugged shores as the volcanic areas .
The hills are mostly bare and rounded knobs and have gentle
slopes, except on the western side of the island , where hills of light
granite rise from the shore that are quite imposing as one sees
I. In this geological study of the Fox Islands, the time given to the field -work did not
permit a detailed study of the granite area, and other small areas of the diabase or diorite
may remain unmapped. It is believed , however, that such possible omissions will not
affect the geologic relations , as here presented .
59
them from the Bay. The central portion of the area is a large
plain , swampy in part, where the glacial drift is doubtless deeper
than over any other portion of the Fox Islands.
GRANITE. The principal type of the Vinal Haven granite is of
a light gray color, with a slight pink tint, and of a rather coarse
texture , but very uniform both in color and in grain. The con
stituents, which are prominent in the hand-specimen, are the clear
quartz , in good sized areas, the feldspars, white and flesh colored ,
the latter being more abundant, and the black flakes of biotite .
Near its contact with the " black granite" the granite is often
rather porphyritic , the feldspars being larger and more idiomor
phic. Another type of the granite , which is found on the eastern
side of the island ; is fine -grained, although otherwise similar to
the principal type .
In the thin -section , these rocks are found to be typical biotite
granites, with the normal sequence of crystallization of their con
stituents. The orthoclase is more abundant than the plagioclase ,
shows Carlsbad twinning, and is often in perthitic intergrowths
with albite. The quartz usually occurs in large allotriomorphic
plates, except in the porphyritic phase , where the quartz
blebs are rudely idiomorphic , showing an interruption in their
later stages by the crystallization of the ground-mass. Biotite
occurs in large plates in the coarser variety and in small shreds in
the finer- grained. Hornblende is an accessory constituent in vary
ing amounts, although in the porphyritic variety, it is in almost
equal amounts with the biotite and is more idiomorphic, with the
usual twinning Magnetite and apatite are the other constituents.
The feldspar and biotite show slight traces of alteration , but
generally the rock appears very fresh and shows no traces of hav
ing suffered any dynamic action.
The granite is comparatively free from the segregation patches
of dark constituents ; but within the granite mass , there are
numerous aplitic veins, the “ salt -rock ” or “ salt -horse ” of the
quarrymen . The coarser of these rocks much resembles the finer
grained granite in general appearance, and is found to show the
same texture and composition except that hornblende is equally
prominent with the biotite, intergrowths of the minerals occurring
DIABASIC AND GRANITIC INTRUSIVES . 61
with the prism of the former parallel with the basal pinacoid of
the latter. Sphene is an accessory constituent of this rock. The
finest-grained of these granitic veins is a rock, composed of a
mosaic of rounded grains of feldspar and quartz , the plagioclase
in a few cases being somewhat idiomorphic ; and muscovite occurs
as the other principal constituent . These " veins" are of the class
termed “ contemporaneous”, and are to be regarded as belonging to
the same general intrusion as the rest of the granite mass , rep
resenting material injected from the molten portions below into
fissures in the already consolidated granite.
This granite has been quarried for nearly a half-century ; and
within the past few years, the Vinal Haven quarries have been the
most extensive in operation in America. The principal quarry is
the Sands Quarry where the coarse-grained granite occurs. This
granite is also quarried at numerous points on Vinal Haven and

the smaller islands , the most important of which is Hurricane
Island , where the rock is especially well adapted for economical
quarrying . The finer -grained stone is quarried at the East Bos
ton and Roberts Harbor quarries . Paving-blocks can be easily
quarried at almost any point in the granite area, and numerous
smaller quarries have been opened for this purpose .
The value of this granite lies in the easiness with which it is
quarried and worked , the fine polish which it takes, and the
proximity of the quarries to good harbors. Mr. G. P. Merrill,
Curator in the National Museum, illustrates the capabilities of the
Vinal Haven quarries by the statement that on a visit to these
quarries in 1883, " he was shown the remains of a huge block of
granite 300 feet long, 20 feet wide , and varying from 6 to 10 feet
in thickness, that had been loosened from the quarry in a single
piece and afterward broken up. The largest block ever quarried
and dressed was the General Wool monument, now in Troy, New
York, which measured when finished, 60 feet in height by 572 feet
square at the base, or only 6 feet 7 inches shorter than the
Egyptian obelisk now in Central Park ?."
DIABASE AND DIORITE. The “ black granite ” of the first area
mentioned, that forming the southern part of Vinal Haven, is an
I Stones for Building and Decoration, 1891 , p . 189 .
olivine-diabase . In a few localities, the rock is coarse and almost

gabbro -like, the plates of purple augite being equally prominent
with the feldspars. Usually, however, the diabase is fine- grained,
dark gray when fractured, but black on a polished surface. Laths
of feldspar can be distinguished although quite small . Micro
scopically, the rock is seen to have the characteristic diabase-tex
ture . The feldspars are of a tabular habit, with polysynthetic
twinning by the albite law often combined with the pericline , and
the tendency to idiomorphism marked . In composition, the feld
spar is generally an acid labradorite . Augite of a faint pink tint
is the constituent second in importance, occurring in rather large
plates enclosing the feldspars. Olivine is abundant in colorless,
rounded grains, only slightly altered and is the oldest of the es
sential constituents. Magnetite occurs in irregular growth -forms
and aggregates of grains. Small amounts of biotite are found as
sociated with the magnetite and olivine, and also some green horn
blende associated with the augite.
In the Barley Hill area , the rock is of a slightly different char
acter . Megascopically it presents phases not seen in the other
area , and in the thin section, the differences are not less marked .
In short, the Barley Hill rock shows a transition, both in texture
and in mineralogical composition from a diabase to a diorite. The
type nearest the olivine-diabase just described , much resembles it
in the hand -specimen , although somewhat less fresh in appear
ance and slightly finer- grained . Examined microscopically, it
shows the diabasic structure , although less perfectly than the oliv
ine-diabase. Olivine does not occur , while brown hornblende and
biotite are equally prominent with the augite. The hornblende
and augite occur together in complex intergrowths, and also in
separate plates. Biotite is usually associated with the magnetite,
which is more abundant than in the olivine -diabase.
The other rocks of this area which have been examined are
quite different megascopically, being more feldspathic and thus
lighter in color, while the texture is more granular than diabasic.
Biotite becomes a prominent constituent. In the thin section, the
feldspar is seen to be more acid than in the diabasic types, and the
pyroxene has become of less importance as a constituent. It
occurs in intergrowths with the biotite and hornblende and is
DIABASIC AND GRANITIC INTRUSIVES. 63
apparently older. The biotite is the most important of the

ferro-magnesian constituents and often occurs in quite idiomorphic
plates. Its association with the magnetite is again noticeable.
The green hornblende is also often idiomorphic in the prismatic
zone, although irregular shreds also occur. Both hornblende and
biotite show a tendency to alter to chlorite. Quartz occurs in
relatively small amounts, although in large irregular areas, being
the last constituent to crystallize. Apatite is very plentiful in
very long slender needles, which often extend through several
different constituents. Titanite is found associated with the
biotite .
The intergrowths of augite and hornblende in these rocks seem
to be the result of simultaneous crystallization of the two minerals
and not of aa secondary paramorphic change of the pyroxene . The
fact that the biotite is intergrown with the augite in a similar
way shows that the complexity of the intergrowth does not nec
essarily imply the derivation of the hornblende from the augite.
The occurrence of idiomorphic hornblende is sufficient argument
for part, at least, of the hornblende being original . The view
that seems sustained by the microscopic study is that these rocks
represent a series of rock - types, the result of a differentia
tion of one magma. One end-member, which seems to characterize
the more southern area , is an olivine-diabase, while the Barley
Hill rock is principally a quartz -mica -diorite, rich in hornblende
and containing varying amounts of augite. While the two types
were easily distinguished in the field , no relations were observed
other than those of transition from the one type to the other.
Both the diabase and the diorite have been quarried to some ex
tent. The hardness of the olivine- diabase interferes with its gen
eral use , yet this stone is well fitted for monumental purposes,
since it is of uniform color and takes a high polish . Were the de
mand sufficient, it could be economically worked at many points
along the southern shore of Vinal Haven .
RELATIVE AGE. Along the shore north of the Reach , there is
a peculiar mingling of the two types of intrusives. The hills
which form the long peninsula are composed of olivine-diabase,
but anyone standing on the deck of a steamer passing through the
Reach cannot fail to observe that this dark rock is striped and
checked with lighter bands, in a manner almost fantastic . The
diabase is cut by sheets and dikes of granite , in such numbers that
the darker rock almost loses its continuity in this labyrinth . Both
along this shore and at places on the western hill , the old contact
surface of the two rocks seems to have been just reached by
erosion . Some of the larger dikes of granite can be traced for a
considerable distance into the diabase area , and at the contact, the
granite is of a porphyritic character, but becomes more granular
away from the contact. These relations afford most conclusive
evidence as to the granite being a later intrusive than the diabase.
At other localities, in this area, as well as in the Barley Hill area,
the relations are similar, and there can be no doubt but that the
granite is younger than the diabase and diorite .
RELATIONS TO DIKES. The general mineralogical similarity
of these intrusives to the two types of dikes is suggestive . In
both acid and basic types of dikes there are phases which approach
structurally as well as mineralogically the granites and diabases to
the south . The field relations also fail to justify a sharp distinc
tion between the two occurrences. In the case of the acid dikes at
the head of Seal Cove and of Long Cove, the connection with the
granite mass can be traced , and a similar relation with the quartz
porphyries north of Mill River is most probable . Wherever the
two types of dikes are observed in contact , the acid is the later ;
and the occurrence west of the mouth of Long Cove , where the
granite cuts the large diabase dike, also confirms the hypothesis
that the dikes and other intrusives are connected genetically, the
more basic type preceding in time the granitic intrusion, with its
accompanying acid dikes.
TIME AND CONDITIONS OF INTRUSION. The evidence afforded
by the apophyses from the granite mass cutting the quartzitic
schists and the acid volcanics has already been mentioned. The
younger age of granite has also been shown by an angular frag
ment of the characteristic acid tuff being included in the granite
near the contact. The determination of the age of the diabase
and diorite forming the large areas to the south depends upon the
correlation of these with the basic dikes. According to this view,
DIABASIC AND GRANITIC INTRUSIVES . 65
the diabasic and dioritic intrusives are younger than the rocks
which lie to the north of the granite contact .
Although there is no doubt of the intrusive character of the
granite, yet a definite determination of the age of the intrusion is
somewhat conjectural. The holocrystalline character of the
granite is usually believed to express slow crystallization under
conditions essentially plutonic. This hypothesis of a covering at
the time of the intrusion of the granite magma necessitates the
presence of thousands of feet of sediments or volcanic deposits of
later age than those now represented on these islands . The
probability of the tilting of the older series to their present posi
tion before the granite intrusion is also to be considered. The
Calderwood's Neck schists and their supposed equivalents to the
west show no constant relation of strike and dip to the granite
contact, and the geologic structure of the mass of acid volcanics,
so far as it is evident, does not seem to have been determined by
the granitic intrusion but rather to antedate it. Furthermore , it
is probable that time must be allowed for the diabasic intrusions
between the eruptions of the acid lavas and the intrusion of the
granite, and the former intrusives doubtless also consolidated
beneath a considerable thickness of rock. Therefore , if the sedi
mentary and volcanic rocks described on the preceeding pages are
of Niagara and pre-Niagara age, a considerable interval of post
Niagara time must have elapsed before the intrusion of the
granite .
ALTERATION .
CHARACTER OF ALTERATION . The Fox Island volcanics have

suffered changes since their consolidation as lavas and deposition
as tuffs , and to explain this subseqent history is one of the phases
of the geologic problem . In the long periods of time since their
eruption, these volcanic rocks have had a varied history. They
have been buried by later sediments, cut by igneous rocks at least
two distinct times, uplifted by mountain -making forces, and exposed
to atinospheric agencies. All the changes which express the effect
of these varying conditions may be considered under the term al
teration , which thus comprises the work of processes acting under
surface conditions and those of greater depth and less superficial
character; that is, alteration includes weathering and metamor
phism . Both processes have contributed to the final result , and a
sharp line of separation between the two cannot be drawn, and
indeed would be unnatural, since , in nature, there is perfect transi
tion from the one set of conditions to the other .
STRUCTURAL AND MINERALOGICAL. The changes which the
rocks of the Fox Islands have suffered are of two kinds, structural
and mineralogical. The former is of a metamorphic character and
referable to dynamic action which caused a crushing of the rock .
Dynamic metamorphism has been important only in the case of
the old diabase flows which have been converted into the green
stone schists of North Haven .Here the effects are the production
of a schistose matrix around columns of compact rock , and the
fracture of the mineral constituents. The absence of any similar
dynamic metamorphism in the case of the younger rocks is known
through a very delicate test. The quartz phenocrysts in the
quartz -porphyries, which occur both in the volcanic series and as
later intrusives, show not the least trace of peripheral granulation
I. This use of terms is as given by Dr. Williams in his lectures upon metamorphism , in
1894 at this University. See also Bull. 62, L. S. Geol. Survey, P. 36, 1890 .
66
ALTERATION . 67
or even of undulatory extinction. So brittle is this mineral that it

is not possible to believe that these quartz -porphyries have been
subjected to the same strains as the greenstones to the north .
The mineralogical changes in both the older diabase flows and
the later volcanic series are much more important than the structur
al changes just mentioned. In many of the rocks examined , these
changes in mineral composition have been so complete that none of
the constituents have escaped destruction . In general , these
changes have been of the character of pseudomorphism , so that al
though the mineralogical composition of the rock has been much
modified , its structure or texture remains. These molecular re
arrangements, by which certain minerals are replaced by others ,
are , in great part, such as are believed to result from processes
that are of the nature of weathering rather than of metamorphism .
Even in the greenstone it is seen that the degree of mineralogical
change is not dependent upon dynamic action , while no cases are
known of purely contact metamorphism , except in the Calder
wood's Neck series, as mentioned on page 29.
For convenience in treatment, the mineralogical changes may
be discussed as they are exhibited in the alteration of the feld
spathic and of the ferro -magnesian constituents.
The mineralogical alteration of the feldspars of the green
stone has been of the character of saussuritization . In this
process, aggregates of clear zoisite and secondary feldspar grains
have replaced the original feldspar laths. In a few cases, epidote
is present , but as shown by Cathrein ', the epidotization of feld
spar differs from the more common type of saussuritization only in
the greater amount of iron required .
In the andesitic lavas, epidotization has been quite as im
portant as the production of zoisite . Large areas of the latter
mineral were observed , however, and the relations seem to in
dicate its derivation from the feldspar. Calcite also occurs as one
of the alteration -products of the feldspar, being usually found
within the altered crystai. In the green schists, on the other
hand, although the calcite undoubtedly was derived from the feld
spar in great measure, it usually filled amygdules or occurred in
I Zeitschr . f. Kryst . , vol . 7, p . 234. 1883 .
irregular areas. The most striking case of the alteration of feld

spar is in the andesite described on page 32. In this rock, the
labradorite phenocrysts often show altered cores, the alteration
being to an aggregate of muscovite, chlorite and calcite, and the
boundary between this core and the unaltered border is a sharp
line . ( Plate I , Fig. 3. ) Such a zonal relation can be explained
as resulting from a difference, either physical or chemical,
between the core and the rim. The alteration would be favored in
the former case by the presence of inclusions in the core , and in
the latter, by the more basic character of the core. Comparison
with other feldspar phenocrysts in this rock shows that they are
more basic in the interior, and while inclusions are present, they
occur only near the outer rim. Therefore , this zonal alteration is
believed to have originated from differences in chemical composi
tion , the more basic core being more easily attacked by solutions?.
The ferro -magnesian constituents of these rocks show one
principal kind of alteration, that of chloritization. Some small
amounts of what appeared to be actinolitic fibers were observed in
the tuffaceous greenstone ; but the absence of any considerable
amount of secondary hornblende in these pyroxene-bearing rocks is
a remarkable feature . Such uralitization has been considered a
truly metamorphic process, while the hydrous chlorite minerals
are rather the products of weathering ? The chlorite has the
optical characteristics of pennine and shows different modes of de
rivation from the augite . In the older green schists, the former
presence of the pyroxene is only implied from the shape of the
triangular areas of chlorite between the feldspar laths; but in the
andesites and diabase-porphyries of the later series, the chlorite
forms pseudomorphs after the pyroxene phenocrysts or occurs in
association with the partially altered augite . In the latter case ,
the progress of the mineralogical change is seen to be along de
finite planes in the augite , especially the orthopinacoid ( 100 ) ,
which is the normal solution plane3. It may be added that a
I. Similar cases have been described by various writers ; vid. Grooser : Tsch . Min .
u Petrog . Mitth ., vol. 13, p. 13 ; and Matthew : Trans. N. Y. Acad. Sci . , vol. 14, p . 212 .
2. Williams : Bull. 62 , U. S. Geol. Survey, pp . 52-56.
3. Judd : Min . Mag ., vol . 9, p. 192. 1890 .
ALTERATION . 69
similar relation to definite crystallographic planes was noted in the

arrangement of some pegs of epidote in an altered feldspar crystal ' .
The alteration of the ores is most apparent in the large amounts
of leucoxene present in many of these rocks. To a great extent, this
leucoxene appears to be titanite and its origin from ilmenite is
shown most beautifully in some of the diabase-porphyries. The
titanite and rutile found in the greenstones are probably derived
from ilmenite .
Certain apparent irregularities in the processes of alteration de
serve mention . In the greenstones, the mineralogical changes
were less marked in the rocks which had suffered most structural
metamorphism ; the feldspars have been crushed, but yet are clear
and show no development of zoisite . In the North Haven vol
canics, specimens which had their feldspars completly altered ,
often contained augite crystals barely affected , and vice versa.
These facts prove that the mineralogical changes are not
necessarily of the nature of reactions between the components of
the different constituents.
DEVITRIFICATION . In the glassy lavas, the process of devit
rification is the pre-eminent mode of alteration . The presence of
granular aggregates of crystalline material in portions of the rock,
that also show structures believed to be characteristic of glass,
points to some change having taken place. Devitrification is the
process that will account for this change of amorphous glass to de
finite crystallized minerals, and it is recognized, therefore , as of
chief importance in the explanation of the differences between the
old rhyolites and their recent equivalents. The fact that these
glassy lavas contain spherulites and other crystalline structures
that are undoubtedly original , makes it a difficult problem to de
cide to just what extent devitrification has contributed to the pre
sent rock-structure . The absence of any subsequent dynamic
action in these lavas, however, favors the separation of primary
and secondary crystallization. This feature also shows that
dynamic action is not needed to initiate the processes of devitri
fication .
1. Gentil believes that the alteration of nepheline proceeds in a similar way along di
rections of feeble cohesion . Bull . Soc. Franc . d . Min. , vol . 17, p . 108 .
NOMENCLATURE OF ALTERED IGNEOUS Rocks. In view of the

changes which these volcanic rocks have undergone since their
consolidation , questions of classification and terminology naturally
arise. The usage in the nomenclature of altered igneous rocks
has been varied and in the case of the volcanic rocks, it has been
such as to cause the true nature of the older rocks to be misin
terpreted. Present and acquired differences have been so magni
fied as to be regarded as genetic and inherent. Thus “ older " and
" younger" volcanic rocks have been separated as fundamentally
distinct.
In the present study, the usage adopted has been that of re
taining the name of the equivalent recent volcanic rock for the
Paleozoic lava . Genetic identity has been recognized in this
manner , and the geologic relations interpreted accordingly. How
ever , it is realized fully that these old andesites and rhyolites are
not at present exactly similar to the Tertiary andesites and
rhyolites. It is doubtful if these differences are of classificatory
value, yet, an ideal nomenclature should give recognition to
secondary changes which have contributed so much to the present
character of the rock . In the study of similar old volcanics in the
South Mountain area , Miss Bascom ' suggested a terminology for
the acid volcanic rocks, in which devitrification had been the
process of alteration , and her term , aporhyolite, has been used in
the preceeding pages to signify a devitrified rhyolite.
In the case of the North Haven andesites and porphyries, there
seems to be a need of some terms, which will express the altera
tion of these rocks, without affecting their position in a genetic
classification . In the present instance, the alteration has been not
structural, but mineralogical or pseudomorphic. Thus, the origi
nal nature of the rock can be determined and deserves full recogni
tion. Refinement in such a terminology is to be avoided , since it
has been observed in these volcanics that the degree of alteration
may vary greatly within a small area , and the recognition of these
different degrees of alteration would be impracticable. Moreover ,
secondary differences are not to be emphasized , since they are not
always essential to the interpretation of geologic history. How
1. Op. cit . , p . 828 .
71
ALTERATION .
ever, it seems certain that the ideal nomenclature of altered ig

neous rocks has not been secured ; and it is with the hope of calling
attention to this feature in the study of ancient volcanics that
these pages have been devoted to the subject of alteration .
GEOLOGIC HISTORY .
ACADIAN TROUGH . The correlation and interpretation of any

rock series involves a consideration of the broader topographical
features during the period in which these rocks may have been
formed. Such a view must comprise the whole geologic province
of which the special area is a part; and thus it becomes necessary
to consider briefly the Paleozoic features of what is now the coast
region of Maine. In his papers on the Archæan axes of North
America , Prof. Dana outlined the features of this area , at the be
ginning of the Paleozoic !. The Mount Desert Range with a south
western trend marked the old coast-line, which, thus, approximate
ly coincides with that of to -day. To the southeast lay a great
basin of sedimentation , the Acadian trough, which extended from
Northern Newfoundland to the present Bay of Fundy and thence
to Massachusetts and Rhode Island . This was probably not an
open sea , but one protected by barriers, now represented by Nova
Scotia and the more shallow parts of the present sea - floor, which
mark the southern boundary of the Gulf of Maine. In this trough ,
sediments were deposited throughout Paleozoic time and in its
various portions great thicknesses of sedimentary rocks are ex
posed to -day.
PRE - NIAGARA VOLCANIC ACTIVITY. Along the border of such

an area of great sedimentation , volcanic outbreaks might naturally
be expected . In Southern New Brunswick , the pre -Cambrian
rocks have been found to be made up, in large part, of surface
volcanics, lavas, breccias, and tuffs, petrographical description of
which has been published by Dr. W. D. Matthew ”. Throughout
I. Bull. Geol. Soc . Am ., vol. 7 , p . 36 .
Am . Jour. Sci . ( 3rd series ), vol. 39 , p . 378 .
2. Trans. N. Y. Acad . Sci . , vol. 14 , p . 187. 1895 .
Bull. Nat . Hist. Soc. New Brunswick , No. 13. 1895 .
72
GEOLOGIC HISTORY . 73
all of the maritime districts, the presence of such volcanics has

been recognized by the Canadian geologists '. On the Maine
coast, the volcanic deposits described by Professors Shaler and
Davis are considered to be younger, of Silurian and Devonian age.
Pre -Niagara volcanic activity was a factor also in the geologic
history of the Fox Islands. The greenstones forming the north
ern portion of North Haven originated as amygdaloidal flows of
diabase and accompanying deposits of coarse and fine ejectamenta.
The lava - flows were characterized by contraction phenomena
similar to those observed in the lavas of Vesuvius and other mod
ern volcanoes. These old lavas and tuffs are metamorphosed to
such an extent that their original characters are greatly obscured .
This relatively greater degree of metamorphism seems to indicate
dynamic action during the time- interval between the eruption of
these lavas and the post-Niagara volcanics, which do not show any
structural metamorphism . It seems probable that further geologi
cal study will reveal the presence of other areas of these older
volcanic rocks on the Maine coast.
NIAGARA SEDIMENTATION . Throughout these periods of
vulcanism , sedimentation doubtless continued in adjoining por
tions of the Acadian trough . Indeed , on account of the loose
nature of many of their products, the volcanoes would furnish
abundant material to be easily eroded and transported to the
Acadian Sea. In the area under discussion , the Calderwood's
Neck schists represent a thick series of arenaceous and argillaceous
sediments, which were deposited , doubtless, in early Paleozoic
time, but their exact age has not been determined through lack of
fossils . Similar old sediments have been described by Shaler as
occurring on Mount Desert ?.
Sediments of Niagara age occur on North Haven and their
varied character and rich fauna doubtless point to their being
younger than the metamorphosed schists on Calderwood's Neck .
The basal members of this Niagara series were deposited upon the
diabase flows, which were evidently considerably disintegrated on
their surface, before this transgression of the sea in Niagara time .
I. For review of literature : Williams: op. cit . , pp. 14-21 .
2. Op. cit . , p. 1037 .
Post-NIAGARA VOLCANIC ACTIVITY. While the six hundred

feet of Niagara sediments represent an interlude in the volcanic
activity at this point on the border of the Acadian trough , the
break was not one of long duration. Even within the Niagara
series, there are indications that abundant fine volcanic dust fell
into the quiet waters and were deposited forming the red shale
which occurs at several horizons in the series . Such deposits
simply mark the commencement of a period of vulcanism which has
left a full record of its nature .
Flows and streams of andesites, andesite-porphyries, and
diabase - porphyries; beds of volcanic blocks, more or less rounded
and cemented with fine dust or volcanic mud or even molten lava
of later eruption ; deposits of the fine volcanic sand and dust that
fell on the slopes of the volcano or in the shallow waters of the ad
joining sea ; such are the elements that constitute the record of the
earlier part of the volcanic outbreak .
Later, the volcanic vent or vents, from which these lavas,
breccias, and tuffs of the North Haven series had been erupted ,
became less important. Already in the upper portions of the
series, there were indications of an interinittent character in the
eruptions, since several beds of sediments, not purely pyroclastic,
occur between the purely volcanic members. Other volcanic pro
ducts of a decidedly more acid composition were next erupted , pro
bably from different centers . These acid volcanics had their fore
runners , the quartz - porphyries occurring within the North Haven
series . Now , however , the acid rock -types became more import
ant, and rhyolitic lavas, taxitic and spherulitic, were erupted and
spread over the surface. Fragmental material was also ejected
and deposited in well -defined beds.
In both its phases, this volcanic activity, that directly followed
the deposition of Niagara sediments , was essentially similar to the
vulcanism of today. In view of the vicissitudes of their sub
sequent history, it is indeed remarkable that these old volcanics so
well express the conditions of the volcanic activity during Paleo
zoic time.
What was the extent of the volcanic area, it is difficult to state.
Study of the Fox Islands rocks points to the fact that only a small
part of the volcano or group of volcanoes is represented in these
GEOLOGIC HISTORY . 75
islands. Correlation with the volcanic series of Mount Desert

would be highly conjectural, but careful geologic study of the whole
Penobscot Bay area may afford data for a more complete determin
ation of the limits of this volcanic group. It has been the purpose
of the present study to contribute to such a history of the Paleo
zoic vulcanism of this portion of Maine coast. ·
DEVONIAN INTRUSIONS . At some time after the close of the
volcanic activity represented in the rocks exposed on the Fox
Islands , there was a tilting of the series, with some folding and
faulting. There is no evidence that the Niagara rocks were tilted
before the eruption of the overlying volcanics, but there are indi
cations in the relations of the acid volcanics to the granite, that
this movement antedated the granite intrusion . There is no
further evidence bearing directly upon the time of the intrusions
of the granite, diabase, and diorite . In other parts of the
Acadian province, however, the great granite intrusions of Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick belong to the close of the Devonian '.
Such an age for the Vinal Haven granite -mass would afford au
interval for the deposition of a cover of sediments, sufficiently
thick to assure granular crystallization of the granitic and the
more basic magmas; and therefore, these intrusions are considered ,
provisionally, as of Devonian age.
The character of these intrusions seems to have been of the
nature of a displacement of the older rocks on one side of a definite
line of fracture. Absorption or fusion of the country -rock by the
granite is not at all probable, since at the contact, the granite
shows no endomorphic effects other than a slight change in tex
ture . Study of the granite contact with the quartzitic schists and
acid volcanics suggests that the intrusion was accomplished by the
movement of the rock that lay to the south of the fracture line , a
displacement which may have been horizontal, or in part vertical,
and thus of the nature of a laccolitic intrusion , the unsymmetrical
side being to the north . Although the exact nature of this in
trusion is a matter of conjecture, the true intrusive character of
the granite and other holocrystalline rocks seems well established .
1. J. W. Dawson : Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc ., vol. 44 , p . 814 .

Thus, following the eruption of the volcanics of basic and acid

composition, there was a similar sequence of basic and acid plu
tonics.
The geologic history of the Fox Islands, so far as rock -making
is concerned, closed with the intrusion of the granite. The later
history has been that of destruction and degradation of the differ
ent rocks, and the carving of the rock -masses to their present re
lief, by atmospheric processes .
‫رگ‬
PLATE I.
· Fig . 1. Olivine -bearing andesite. North Haven .

Olivine phenocrysts, older than the feldspar, and now
altered to serpentine . Magnetite and apatite inclusions
in the olivine .
FIG . 2. Andesite . North Haven .

Flow structure developed by feldspar laths of ground
mass .
Fig . 3. Augite -andesite. North Haven .

Feldspar phenocrysts with altered core, and other
crystals of labradorite zonal.
FIG . 4. Rhyolitic tuff. North Haven .

Ash -structure developed by glass sherds, now devitri
fied . Fragment of lava with quartz phenocryst.
Fig . 5. Aporhyolitic flow -breccia . Vinal Haven .

Glass fragment with obsidian structure.
FIG . 6. Spherulitic aporhyolite. Vinal Haven .

Spherulitic intergrowth partially altered to a granular
mosaic. Nicols crossed .
PLATE 1 .
X 22 FIG.1 . X 134 FIG. 2 .
X 22 FIG . 3 . X 44 FIG . 4 .
X 220 FIG . 5 .
x 44 FIG. 6 .
.
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FOX ISLANDS, MAINE.

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF

THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY,

GEORGE OTIS SMITH .

FOX ISLANDS, MAINE.

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF

UNIVERSITY STUDIES OF THE Johns HOPKINS UNIVERSITY FOR

GEORGE OTIS SMITH .

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR .

J. O. SMITH & Co. ,

CALDERWood's NECK SCHISTS :

Nomenclature of Altered Igneous Rocks, 70

The following geological study of the Fox Islands is presented

In its broader geologic relations, this group of islands is to be

AREAL DISTRIBUTION OF Rock - TYPES. In their whole extent ,

stones, shales, conglomerates, and limestones, a fossiliferous series

The northwestern part of Vinal Haven , with the exception of

DISTRIBUTION . The greenstone area, as already defined, includes

DIABASES. The compact aphanitic rock found just west of the

fragments separated by quite wide intervals. The light green

TUFFS. The best development of the tuffaceous type is at the

ingl considers diabases to have been submarine effusives at consid

ever, the structure is usually ellipsoidal rather than cylindrical ;

irregularity in the form and arrangement of the prisms is to be ex

cation of a mass of lava parted into shorter prisms or even ellip

DISTRIBUTION . The area occupied by these sedimentary rocks

Gray shale and limestone , 71

Gray limestone, weathering brown , and shale ,

FAUNA. The paleontology of this series of sediments has been

Ceraurus niagarensis Hall.

phy and configuration of the sea - floor have conditioned the

rock to be composed of angular fragments of colorless minerals,

DESCRIPTION OF Rock-Types. The area just defined has been

ANDESITES. A rock very prominently exposed on Ames Knob,

especially in the texture of its ground-mass. Upon the determina

rock lacks somewhat of the brilliancy, it suggests the “ porfido

In its mineralogical composition, this rock approaches the

PORPHYRIES . A dark green rock associated with these ande

microgranitic with no evidence of any flow structure, such as

The ground-mass when studied microscopically resolves itself

tritus has contributed so much . It is necessary to realize that the

is usually of the character of a lava including blocks of older lavas.

lar and cannot be considered as having resulted from disintegra

1. Neues Jahrbuch f. Min . etc. Beil-B. 8. , p . 648 .

and dark hornblendic or chloritic material . Quartz and feldspar

andesite and andesite-porphyry, are most prominently exposed on

AGE . The age of the North Haven volcanics can be deter

lack of any marked unconformity must be considered as showing

The breccias so prominent among the

originated simply as sub-aerial deposits upon the gentle slopes of

DESCRIPTION OF Rock-TYPES. The volcanic rocks of this area

er is most marked . Flow-felsite was the field -term employed in de

definite mosaics of quartz and feldspar may have originated

chain-spherulites found both in this rock and in the taxitic apo

Different generations of the spherulitic crystallization are in

SEQUENCE . The structure of the Vinal Haven series is com

North Haven series, acid members were found , overlaid by more

The macro-spherulites first appear in the upper part of this