Montchanin Metagabbro

OFR54 Bedrock Geologic Map of the Delaware Piedmont

The Piedmont rock units in Delaware, and bedrock geologic map of Schenck et al. (2000) are revised in this report based on new rock geochemistry, geochronometric data, petrography, and recent detailed mapping. Major revisions include:

OFR55 Delaware Geological Survey Petrographic Data Viewer

Petrography is a branch of geoscience focused on the description and classification of rocks, primarily by microscopic study of optical properties of minerals. A thin sliver of rock is cut from a sample, mounted on a glass slide, ground to approximately 30 microns (0.03mm), and viewed under a microscope that uses polarized light. By observing the colors produced as plain polarized light and crossed (90 degrees) polarized light shines through the minerals, petrologists can determine the minerals that comprise the sampled rock.

Outcrop Bd21-a: Boulder Field at Brandywine Creek State Park

In the patch of woods north of the upper parking lot in Brandywine Creek State Park, there are large outcrops of amphibolite. The outcrops are rounded from exfoliation, and are black with few structural features. The mafic hornblende grains are elongated parallel to a few thin felsic bands. This lineation strikes east-west and dips to the north. These boulders are located on the northwest facing slope of the valley and are probably a paraglacial feature left over from a colder period in Delaware's geologic past.

Montchanin Metagabbro

Coarse-grained gabbroic and metagabbroic rocks, variably metamorphosed and deformed. Primary igneous minerals include olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and plagioclase.

RI59 Bedrock Geology of the Piedmont of Delaware and Adjacent Pennsylvania

This report accompanies a new map that revises the original bedrock geologic maps of the Delaware Piedmont compiled by Woodruff and Thompson and published by the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) in 1972 and 1975. Combined detailed mapping, petrography, geochemistry, and U-Pb geochronology have allowed us to redefine two rock units and formally recognize eleven new units. A section of the Pennsylvania Piedmont is included on the new map to show the entire extent of the Mill Creek Nappe and the Arden Plutonic Supersuite.