11 General Discipline Posters
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
THE ALKALI OLIVINE GABBRO AND ALKALI SYENITE ON US HIGHWAY 50, WESTERNMOST GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO
Paper number: 11-12
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Authors
Abstract
Sparse alkali syenite seams and dikes (1 mm to a few m thick) comprised of tabular orthoclase crystals (Or 97 Ab 3), minor biotite (Mg* 0.48), augite (Wo 45 Fs 27 En 28), and sodic plagioclase cut the gabbro. These plot in the chemical field of phonolites [57.3 SiO2; 6.8 K2O; 5.0 Na2O; 92 ppm La; 18 (La/Lu)n; strong Eu anomaly]. Albite (Ab 97 An 3) has exsolved to form coarse film and patch perthites. Angular spaces between feldspar crystals are filled with analcime. Biotite from the alkali syenite gave a conventional K-Ar age of 77 Ma. The alkali gabbro is also probably early Laramide in age; both rocks are distinctly different from other Laramide intrusive rocks of the Colorado Mineral Belt.