UMass Sesquicentennial

Field Investigation of the Geology and Possible Pisolitic Bauxite Occurrence at Menemsha Hills Reservation, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

TitleField Investigation of the Geology and Possible Pisolitic Bauxite Occurrence at Menemsha Hills Reservation, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
Publication TypeReport
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsMabee, SB, Panish, P
PublisherOffice of the Massachusetts State Geologist
CityAmherst, MA
Type4/2008
Keywords#MGSPub, #MGSPubs, #Minerals, #Reports, aluminum, bauxite, ferricrete, glacial, hematite, Holocene, Martha's Vineyard, Menemsha Hills, minerals, ore, oxides, pisolite, pisolitic, precipitation, reservation, thrust faults, Trustees, Vineyard
Abstract

The Office of the Massachusetts State Geologist was asked by The Trustees of Reservations to make an assessment of an unusual deposit of what appears to be pisolitic bauxite or iron hardpan exposed on the beach at Menemsha Hills Reservation in Chilmark, Massachusetts. The formation occurs as thin 10-20 cm wide lenses extending from 0.5 to 6 meters in length. They are found most commonly along a 200 to 250 meter section of the shore in the intertidal zone. The intact lenses trend northeast at about 25° to 35° and dip at 61° to 75°. The material occurs in a variety of forms. These include hematite and clay rich botyoidal (grape-like) surfaces, as iron hardpan cementing together gravel and pebble-sized stones, and as 1-2 cm wide pisolites (concentrically layered round structures).

Prepared for the Trustees of Reservations

URLhttp://www.geo.umass.edu/stategeologist/Products/reports/FinalReport.pdf
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University of Massachusetts
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Amherst, MA 01003-9297

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