The Cold Spring Melange and a possible model for Dunnage–Gander zone interaction in central Newfoundland
Structural relationships at Cold Spring Pond and the recognition of ophiolitic melange bear on the important questions of timing and style of structural superpositioning of Dunnage Zone rocks above Gander Zone rocks in central Newfoundland. The latest models emphasize ductile shear boundaries and orogen-parallel movements. Previous models proposed west-to-east or head-on obduction of Dunnage ophiolitic rocks across the Gander Zone.At the Dunnage (Exploits Subzone) – Gander (Meelpaeg Subzone) boundary at Cold Spring Pond, discrete, outcrop-size ultramafic blocks and smaller quartzite blocks are randomly distributed, and they are surrounded by, or are embedded in, homogeneous black graphitic shale or phyllite. The ultramafic blocks are typical of nearby Early Ordovician Dunnage ophiolite suites, the quartzite blocks are typical of adjacent Early Ordovician or earlier Gander clastic rocks, and the matrix black shales are similar to those of Middle or Early Ordovician age that occur throughout central Newfoun...