Log In
Liuyuan ophiolite complex, Guazhou Co., Jiuquan, Gansu, Chinai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Liuyuan ophiolite complex | Complex |
| Guazhou Co. | County |
| Jiuquan | Prefecture-level City |
| Gansu | Province |
| China | Country |
This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to sponsor this page.
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
40° 39' 55'' North , 95° 44' 9'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
The Liuyuan volcanic belt is located on the corner of the NE extension of the Tarim Block. To the south, the Liuyuan area is adjacent to the Dunhuang–Alxa Block. It lies within a large tectonic wedge bounded by the Altyn Tagh and Xingxingxia strike-slip faults, and its tectonic affinity remains controversial.
The Liuyuan area lies along the east-northeast extension of the Early Paleozoic Huitongshan Ophiolite (450–460 Ma). South of Huitongshan, Permian volcanic rocks are well developed (notably in the Gubaoquan area on the map). On both the northern and southern sides of this zone, symmetrically distributed Ordovician–Silurian granites and metamorphic rocks are present, formed between 450 and 440 Ma. These are dominated by metagranite, granodiorite, foliated granite, and greenschist-facies metamorphic rocks, with protoliths mainly comprising basalt and volcaniclastic rocks. These rocks have reported K–Ar and Rb–Sr ages of around 230 Ma; therefore, some studies consider them to represent Triassic arc magmatic rocks. Within these metamorphic and granitic rocks, later intrusions of granitic dikes or small plutons formed between 280 and 272 Ma. These rocks were interpreted as products of delamination or rifting; however, subsequent work proposed that they represent adakitic rocks formed under subduction-related settings. These units are unconformably overlain by Permian strata, which are centered on pillow basalt lava with symmetrically distributed sediments on both sides, forming a nearly continuous sequence. Detrital zircon age populations from these clastic rocks cluster at two main intervals: 460–450 Ma and 290–287 Ma, while later data extend this to as young as 264 Ma. The stratigraphic age distribution also exhibits clear symmetry. The aforementioned volcanic and sedimentary sequences are intruded by 227 Ma lamprophyres and unconformably overlain by Triassic sedimentary rocks—mainly conglomerates and other coarse clastics—with detrital zircon ages of 227–223 Ma.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
4 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Augite Formula: (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| ⓘ 'Calcium Amphibole Subgroup' Formula: AnCa2(C2+5-mC3+m)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))W2 |
| ⓘ 'Calcium Amphibole Subgroup var. Hornblende' Formula: AnCa2(Z2+5-mZ3+m)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| ⓘ 'Feldspar Group' |
| ⓘ 'Feldspar Group var. Perthite' |
| ⓘ 'K Feldspar' |
| ⓘ Microcline Formula: K(AlSi3O8) |
| ⓘ 'Microlite Group' Formula: A2-mTa2X6-wZ1-n |
| ⓘ 'Plagioclase' Formula: (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| ⓘ 'Pyroxene Group' Formula: ADSi2O6 |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Zircon Formula: Zr(SiO4) |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | 'Microlite Group' | 4.00. | A2-mTa2X6-wZ1-n |
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Zircon | 9.AD.30 | Zr(SiO4) |
| ⓘ | Augite | 9.DA.15 | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| ⓘ | Microcline | 9.FA.30 | K(AlSi3O8) |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Feldspar Group' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Calcium Amphibole Subgroup var. Hornblende' | - | AnCa2(Z2+5-mZ3+m)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| ⓘ | 'Feldspar Group var. Perthite' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Plagioclase' | - | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| ⓘ | 'K Feldspar' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Pyroxene Group' | - | ADSi2O6 |
| ⓘ | 'Calcium Amphibole Subgroup' | - | AnCa2(C2+5-mC3+m)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))W2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup var. Hornblende | AnCa2(Z2+5-mZm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| O | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup var. Hornblende | AnCa2(Z2+5-mZm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| O | ⓘ Microcline | K(AlSi3O8) |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Zircon | Zr(SiO4) |
| O | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| O | ⓘ Pyroxene Group | ADSi2O6 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup var. Hornblende | AnCa2(Z2+5-mZm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup var. Hornblende | AnCa2(Z2+5-mZm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| Al | ⓘ Microcline | K(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Al | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup | AnCa2(C2+5-mCm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))W2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| Si | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup var. Hornblende | AnCa2(Z2+5-mZm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Microcline | K(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Zircon | Zr(SiO4) |
| Si | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Si | ⓘ Pyroxene Group | ADSi2O6 |
| Si | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup | AnCa2(C2+5-mCm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))W2 |
| Cl | Chlorine | |
| Cl | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup var. Hornblende | AnCa2(Z2+5-mZm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Microcline | K(AlSi3O8) |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup var. Hornblende | AnCa2(Z2+5-mZm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| Ca | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcium Amphibole Subgroup | AnCa2(C2+5-mCm3+)(Si8-(n+m)Al(n+m))W2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| Zr | Zirconium | |
| Zr | ⓘ Zircon | Zr(SiO4) |
| Ta | Tantalum | |
| Ta | ⓘ Microlite Group | A2-mTa2X6-wZ1-n |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders
for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
