Aspects of Contact Metamorphism Produced by the New England Batholith, New South Wales

Abstract

Forcefully emplaced plutons in the southern part of the New England Batholith, northern New South Wales, have produced extensive contact aureoles in Palaeozoic sediments and volcanics. This thesis describes the contact effects observed in pelitic, psammitic and impure calcareous sediments. Four metamorphic zones are recognised within pelitic sediments around the Walcha Road Adamellite (with distances from the contact in brackets): I) biotite zone (4 km - 1500 m); II) cordierite zone (1500 m - 500 m); III) cordierite + K-feldspar zone (500 m - 100 m); IV) cordierite + K-feldspar ± garnet zone (100 m - contact).