Bedrock

Summary

Solid pre-Quaternary bedrock in western Sørkapp Land can be grouped into three very different complexes:

1. 1) the most extensive and oldest rocks, from the Middle Proterozoic to the Silurian, folded in the Caledonian Orogeny, formerly called Hecla Hoek, and Pre-Old Red basement today. This includes different types of dolomites, phyllites, schists, quartzites, limestones, sandstones, breccias and others; between them, Pre-Cambrian rocks are rather high-grade methamorphic rocks and Palaeozoic rocks are mainly low-grade methamorphic rocks;

2. 2) Early Carboniferous clastic sediments in the northwest of the peninsula (protruding between the open Greenland Sea and Hornsund Fjord): sandstones, including quartzitic sandstones, siltstones and shales (see cover photo);

3. 3) Triassic sedimentary rocks that occur discordantly at some locations on the two aforementioned complexes: mainly sandstones and conglomerates.

None of these complexes lies horizontally. The rocks of the Pre-Old Red basement feature the largest dips: up to 90° and more (overturned folds). Dips of the next two complexes' rock strata tend to be much smaller: from 10 do 25°, sometimes more. All the complexes are cut by faults. The most important fault direction is NNW–SSE (Winsnes et al. 1992; Dallmann et al. 1993; Dallmann 1999).

Loose (unconsolidated) Quaternary deposits (marine, glacial, glacifluvial, fluvial, organic, frost-weathering, eolian, slope, including talus and solifluction) are not continuous.