A petrographical and structural study of the rocks around the Peridotite at Engenbræ, Holandsfjord, Northern Norway. Bjergartene omkring peridotiten ved Engenbræen, Holandsfjord.

Abstract

This study is a continuation of the work carried out by S. Skjeseth and the writer in 1952. The present paper only deals with an extremely well-exposed surface 1 km square in front of the retreating Engenbræ glacier. This surface is built up of a series of para-sediments metamorphosed under amphibolite facies conditions. The main components are: amphibolites (often with diopside and garnet), sillimanite-mica schists, lime-silicate gneisses, skarn, and crystalline limestone. The folding is intense with narrow and deep folds. A mass of peridotite is situated in a banded series lying between an upper series of mica schists (granite) and a lower series of calcareous rocks. It is shown that the peridotite was emplaced in an early stage of the folding in a zone of strong deformation and that this mass has much disturbed the surroundings during sebsequent phases of folding because of its greater rigidity.