PRECAMBRAIN

STRATIGRAPHY
Each craton has undergone progressive stabilization
of the block, suffered post-stabilization intrusive
events like mafic dyke swarms and development of
Proterozoic sedimentary basins within the cratons.
 Mafic dyke swarms are indicators of crustal
extension and can represent supercontinent assembly
and/or dispersal, subduction, large igneous province
emplacement, and crust/mantle interaction.
Typically a craton begins with a few hundred
million years of accumulation of gneisses and
greenstone belts and then becomes stable within a
few tens of millions of years.
Stabilization is demonstrated by the closure of whole-rock
isotopic systems, intrusion of undeformed plutons, and
deposition of platform sediments on the newly created
basement. After formation, cratons move about the earth but
are not subjected to pervasive compressional deformation.
 Dharwar Craton
The Dharwar Craton is split into Eastern and Western Cratons, with
major differences in lithology and ages of rock units.
The western boundary of the Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) is
poorly defined and closely approximates with the Closepet Granite.
The EDC is bounded to the north by the Deccan Traps and the
Bastar Craton, to the east by the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt, and to
the south by the Southern Granulite Terrane.
The craton is composed of the Dharwar Batholith (dominantly
granitic), greenstone belts, intrusive volcanics, and middle
Proterozoic to more recent sedimentary basins.
The Western Dharwar Craton (WDC) is located in southwest
India , where it is bounded to the east by the Eastern Dharwar
Craton, to the west by the Arabian Sea, and to the south by
Southern Granulite Terrane.
The remaining boundary to the north is buried under
younger sediments and the Cretaceous Deccan Traps. The
division between the Western and Eastern Dharwar
Cratons is based on the nature and abundance of
greenstones, as well as the age of surrounding basement
and degree of regional metamorphism.
 The Archaean Tonalitic–Trondhjemitic–Granodioritic
(TTG) Gneisses are found throughout the Western
Dharwar Craton, dated at 3.3 to 3.4 Ga .
Three generations of volcanic-sedimentary greenstone
granite sequences are present in the WDC: the 3.1– 3.3 Ga
Sargur Group, the 2.6–2.9 Ga Dharwar Supergroup and
2.5–2.6 Ga calc-alkaline to high potassic granitoids, the
largest of which is the Closepet Granite.
The Dharwar supracrustal rocks uncomformably overlie
widespread gneiss-migmatite of the Peninsular Gneissic
Complex (3.0–3.3 Ga) that encloses the Sargur schist
belts .
The WDC shows an increase in regional metamorphic
grade from greenschist to amphibolite facies in the north
and granulite facies in the south.
 The metamorphic grade increase corresponds to a
paleopressure increase from 3 to 4 kbar in the
amphibolite facies to as much as 9–10 kbar (35 km
paleodepth) in the highest grade granulite-transition zone
along the southern margin of the craton.
Six main lithotectonic units are recognizable in the Dharwar
Craton: Gorur Gneiss (3300-3400 My), Sargur Group,
Peninsular Gneiss (3000 My), Dharwar Supergroup,
Greenstone Belt, Dharwar Batholith.
 Greenstone Belts
Concentrated in the western half of the craton and are stretched into
linear arrays.Belts continue to the east where they are covered by the
Proterozoic Cuddapah Basin.General trend of the belts is N–S.
Metamorphism of the belts is limited to greenschist to amphibolite
facies. -Pb/Pb dates the age of the Kolar Schist Belt between 2900
and 2600 Ma. -SHRIMP U–Pb zircon methods ages of 2725–2550
Ma in the Kolar Belt.
Age trends in the belts generally infer a younging trend from west to
east. These schist belts are all intruded by syn- and post tectonic
felsic rocks.
Some important greenstone schist belts and supergroups are: the
Sandur schist belt, the Kolar Schist Belt -The Sandur schist belt is
characterized by dominant green schist facies metamorphism with
higher, amphibolite grade rocks occurring at the margins.
 Dharwar Batholith
A series of parallel plutonic belts, located to the east of
Closepet Granite. Age- 2750 to 2710 My old.
Gneisses of granitic to granodioritic composition .Differ
from Peninsular Gneisses in terms of being more granitic
than gneissic and age (Peninsular Gneisses is Early
Archaean, whereas the granitic gneisses of the Dharwar
Batholith are of Late Archaean age).
The belts are mostly mixtures of granites and diorites,
and are wedge-shaped with steep granitic dyke intrusions.
Plutonic bodies of the Dharwar Batholith include the
Bangalore Granite, granite of the Hosekote area in the
Kolar Schist Belt, etc.
It has been hypothesized that the characteristics of the
late Archaean magmatic and tectonic events in the
Dharwar craton are best explained by a rising mantle
plume under a mature Archaean crust in a compressive
context. The plume provides heat that can soften the
crust, causes inverse diapirism and induces
metamorphism. Melting of the plume is also assumed to
produce the huge amounts of juvenile magmas that
emplaced in the craton around 2500Ma.
 Closepet Granite
Located on the western margin of the EDC, a 400 km long
and approximately 20-30 km wide linear hill range
trending N–S and shows no substantial effects of
deformation and there are no signs of metamorphism.
 The similar convexity of adjacent schist belts and granitic
plutons may indicate that the Closepet Granite is a
‘stitching pluton’ formed during the suturing of the
Eastern and Western Dharwar Cratons. -The exposed rock
is divided into northern and southern components by a part
of the Sandur Schist Belt.
The Closepet Granite is a composite body of predominant
potash-rich adamellite, quart-monzonite and granite.
The occurrence of ductile mylonites and augen gneisses
along the margins of the granite plutons and loaclly well
in side the main body indicates shearing during the
emplacement of the granite.
SHRIMP U/Pb dating gives age of 2513 ± 5 Ma and
appears to be part of a widespread Neo-Archaean phase
of plutonism in both the Eastern and Western Dharwar
Cratons.
Closepet Granite was emplaced towards close of
Archean and the beginning of Proterozoic Era, thus
marking transition between two eras.
 Sargur Group
Identified as independent and oldest lithostratigraphic unit
of the Dharwar Craton .Represented by minor linear belts
and enclaves of basic-ultrabasic magmatic rocks and
pelitic-siliceous carbonate-rich carbonaceous
metasediments.
Spread mainly over the southern parts of
Karnataka.Principal igneous components are peridotites,
pyroxenites and komatiitic amphibolite, with localized
occurrence of anorthosite, gabbro and norite interlayered
with spinifex-textures komatiite pillow lavas.
The Sargur Group greenstone belts display well-
preserved volcano-sedimentary sequences.
Rocks of Sargur complex have undergone upper
amphibolite-grade metamorphism at 700±30oC and
8.6±0.8 kBar and its basic –ultrabasic components
converted to a schistose assemblage comprising
antigorite± chlorite± magnetite± siderite.
The associated volcano-sedimentary rocks were
metamorphosed to an assemblage of kyanite-
staurolitequartz-plagioclase± fuchsite± graphite±
corundum± sillimanite.
SHRIMP U/Pb dating of detrital zircon has given age
3309±5 Ma.
 Peninsular gniess
West of the Chitradurga Boundary Fault, the larger part
of the WDC is made up of gneisses of TTG
composition.It is the largest lithological unit of southern
Indian Shield.
The diversity of composition and degree of deformation
suggest that the complex assemblage of granitic rocks
possibly formed as a result of more than one process-
intrusion, migmatization and granitization.
SHRIMP U/Pb dating of zircon from Peninsular Gneiss
dates to 2963±4 Ma. -Characterized by elongate belts
and island-like enclaves of schistose rocks.
 Dharwar Supergroup
The Dharwar Supergroup is exposed in two large schist belts that
have been divided into two sub-sections, the Bababudan Group
and the Chitradurga Group.
 Bababudan Group
Spread over a 300 km long and 100–150 km wide area, and
is made up of the Babadudan schist belt, Western Ghats
Belt, and the Shimoga schist belt. The Bababudan schist
belt covers an area of approximately 2500 km2 .
The base of this unit is represented by the Kartikere
conglomerate that discontinuously extends along the
southern margin of the belt for 40 km. This unit grades into
a quartzite.
The overlying formations typically consist of metabasalts
with intercalated meta-sedimentary units, with occasional
gabbroic sills, minor BIF, and phyllites. These are thought
to represent a variety of terrestrial environments, ranging
from braided fluvial systems to sub-aerial lava flows.
The Western Ghats Belt is a large schist belt about 2200
km2 in extent, and about 150 km by 15 km in dimension.
The stratigraphy closely resembles the Babaudan belt;
however, a major group of basalts, felsic volcanics, and
pyroclastic units is also seen in the upper levels.
The Shimoga schist belt is a large (25,000 km2 ) NW
trending belt separated from the previous two by
outcropping TTG basement gneiss. The contact between
these basement gneisses and the schist belt is observed as a
zone of high-grade metamorphism, often with kyanite and
garnet phases present.
Granitioid intrusions are also present in the north of the
belt.Sm-Nd wholerock isochron age ranges from 2911±49
Ma to 2848±70 Ma, with average age of 2700 Ma.
 Chitradurga Group
Made up of more than 1000 m thick succession of polymictic
conglomerate at the base; limestones and dolomites and BIF
with Mn-ore formation in the middle; and greywackes
carbonaceous phyllite and rhythmic alteration of chert and
ferrugenous silica in the upper part of the sequence.
Later stage of Chitradurga sedimentation suffered subsidence
of the basin floor and debris-flow deposits resulted.
Associated with predominant volcanics with some
ultrabasics, Chitradurga succession represents deposits of a
deep-water basin unlike the Bababudan , where the clastics
represent shallow-water platform deposits.Sm-Nd age of
Chitradurga volcanics is 2748±15 Ma.