Marble Bar Rock Formation

Marble is a metamorphic rock formed when limestone is subjected to high pressure or heat.

Marble bar rock formation.

Marble bar is a town and rock formation in the pilbara region of north western western australia. The town was officially gazetted in 1893 following. Imagining the age of the pilbara around 3 5 billion years is hard to grasp. Marble is a metamorphic rock that forms when limestone is subjected to the heat and pressure of metamorphism.

This is a transcript of a quicktime movie 22 0 mb recorded in the pilbara in 2005. Originally the rock formation was thought to be marble hence the name but was later proven to be jasper. It is well known for its extremely hot weather. Founded in 1893 marble bar has earned a reputation as australia s hottest town owing to the consistently high temperatures experienced during the summer months when the mercury climbs over 38 degrees for days on end.

The marble bar paleoplacer gold at marble bar novo is exploring for gold bearing conglomerates at the base of the fortescue group a thick sequence of ancient sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Historic mines along the eastern margin of the marble bar sub basin exploited pyritic gold bearing reefs as early as the late 1800 s. Dr martin van kranendonk a geologist with the geological survey of western australia discusses the formation of the marble bar chert. Time is measured by geologists in terms of millions and billions of years.

One full round of crust from formation until. The rock record and the appearance of life. Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals most commonly calcite or dolomite marble is typically not foliated although there are exceptions in geology the term marble refers to metamorphosed limestone but its use in stonemasonry more broadly encompasses unmetamorphosed limestone. The hottest town in australia.

It is well known for its extremely hot weather with a mean maximum temperature second only to wyndham western australia. Geological survey of western australia scientist dr kath grey explains it. In its pure form marble is a white stone with a crystalline and sugary appearance consisting of calcium carbonate caco 3 usually marble contains other minerals including quartz graphite pyrite and iron oxides these minerals can give marble a pink brown gray green or variegated coloration. There are a small number of towns in australia whose names have such a potency and such a power of association that they automatically conjure up images.

A pool in a 3 5 billion year old landscape near marble bar. Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material. It is composed primarily of the mineral calcite caco 3 and usually contains other minerals such as clay minerals micas quartz pyrite iron oxides and graphite under the conditions of metamorphism the calcite in the limestone recrystallizes to form a rock that is.