The precambrian of north-western Queensland, Australia
Precambrian rocks, ranging in age from probable Archaean to Upper Proterozoic, crop out over an area of 25,000 square miles in north-western Queensland. They fall into four large divisions, separated by major unconformities. Little is known of the history of the Archaean rocks, which are believed to include altered acid lavas, schists, gneisses and migmatite. The Lower Proterozoic strata form part of an orogenic belt. The Lower Proterozoic lower sequence is rich in altered acid and basic lavas. It has a maximum thickness of not less than 40,000 feet and was strongly deformed by east-west pressure and probably intruded by granite before the Lower Proterozoic upper sequence was deposited. Sediments form the bulk of the Lower Proterozoic upper sequence; these accumulated most thickly to the west and north-west of the core of lower sequence belt, but overlie lower sequence strata. The greatest thickness of sediments is at least 40,000 feet. The sequence was deformed by a renewal of east-west compressive stresses, accompanied by granite emplacement. Folding is strong to moderate, but lacks well-defined linearity in the west of the outcrop area.Upper Proterozoic sediments and lavas accumulated mainly in the west and north-west of the region. They are gently to moderately folded on west to north-west axes.The Precambrian in north-western Queensland, excluding the Camooweal Dolomite, crops out over about 25,000 square miles. Systematic field work was started by joint teams of the Commonwealth Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Geological Survey of Queensland in 1950.Reconnaissance mapping of the region was completed in 1954 but check work and more detailed mapping of areas of economic interest are still in progress. Maps are being prepared at a scale of 1 inch to 4 miles (1: 253,440) and a report on the area is being written (Carter andBrooks, in preparation). The Camooweal Dolomite, of Upper Proterozoic or Lower Cambrian age, is not included. Its stratigraphic and palaeographic position is discussed byNoakes (1956).The reconstruction of the geological history of the region presented below is an interpretation of the data obtained. The evidence is not sufficiently complete to enable a unique interpretation to be made of all aspects of the region's history. In particular the history of granite intrusion has not yet been completely unravelled.