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Is the Tinaquillo, Venezuela, "Pseudogabbro" metamorphic or magmatic?

December 31, 1961

The "pseudogabbro" associated with peridotite at Tinaquillo, Venezuela, is believed to be of magmatic rather than metamorphic origin principally because: (1) there are major mineralogic and compositional differences between the "pseudogabbro" and the most highly metamorphosed country rock; (2) rocks intermediate in compositional between peridotite and "pseudogabbro" are present; (3) augen of lamellar pyroxene which occur in the "pseudogabbro" but not in the country rock are of a kind found elsewhere rarely except in igneous rocks; (4) gabbroic rocks are associated with peridotite elsewhere in Venezuela and in the Carribbean region; (5) textural and structural features of the kind found in the Tinaquillo rocks are characteristic of alpine-type peridotite-gabbro complexes. 

Publication Year 1961
Title Is the Tinaquillo, Venezuela, "Pseudogabbro" metamorphic or magmatic?
DOI 10.1130/0016-7606(1961)72[1565:ITTVPM]2.0.CO;2
Authors T. P. Thayer, C. Brown
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Geological Society of America Bulletin
Index ID 70220637
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse