Professional Documents
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1-28;
02003 International Association for Gondwana Research, Japan.
ISSN: 1342-937X
GREY
Abstract
Over the past two decades models have been developed which suggest that the Asian continent has been formed
since the Late Palaeozoicby the accretion of continental blocks derived from the northern margin of Gondwana. Sumatra,
forming the southwestern margin of the Southeast Asian promontory (Sundaland), is considered to be composed of
fragments of continental plates and magmatic arcs which were derived from Gondwana during the Late Palaeozoic and
Mesozoic. The Indochina Block forms the core of Sundaland, extending into the eastern part of the Malay Peninsula. The
greater part of Sumatra is considered to form part of the Sibumasu Block which accreted to the Indochina Block along
the Bentong-Raub Suture in the Triassic. A model has been proposed in which the southern part of the Sibumasu Block
in the western part of the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra, is divided into Malacca and Mergui Microplates by the Mutus
Assemblage which represents another Triassic suture. A review of the Permo-Triassic stratigraphy of Malaya and Sumatra
provides no support for this model.
Comparison of the Permo-Carboniferous stratigraphy and palaeontology of northern Sumatra with that of the Malay
Peninsula and Peninsular Thailand, and in particular the occurrence of tilloids, links Sumatra fimdy to the rest of the
Sibumasu Block to the north. Comparison with the Permo-carboniferousstratigraphyof Bonaparte Gulf region of northwest
Australia shows a mirror image relationship,suggestingthat the Sibumasu Block separated from thispart of the Gondwanan
margin in the mid-Permian. On the other hand Permo-Carboniferous rocks in Central Sumatra contain a Cathaysian
fauna and flora, which relates this area to the Indochina Block rather than to Sibumasu. This anomaly was recognised
early in the study of the geology of Sumatra and led to the proposal of the Djambi Nappe, thrust over Sumatra from the
east. The Cathaysian fauna and flora is associated with an Early Permian Volcanic arc. It has been suggested that this was
an independent island arc accreted to the western margin of Sibumasu, but from the relationships of the volcanic rocks
to Permian sediments and the underlying basement, it is most probable that this arc was developed on the margin of
the Cathaysian Block and was emplaced in its present position outboard of Sibumasu by strike-slip faulting. The most
recently accreted pre-Tertiary tectonic unit on Sumatra is the Woyla Group, a Jurassic-Early Cretaceous oceanic
volcanic arc which, together with its associated accretionary complex of oceanic crustal material, was thrust over the
western margin of Sumatra in the mid-Cretaceous. Earlier plate models for the development of Sumatra are reviewed,
and a revised model is proposed. However there are still many difficulties in interpreting the stratigraphy and the
tectonic development of Sumatra which will require further detailed study, aimed at resolving the many outstanding
problems.
Introduction
Geological mapping of Sumatra by the Indonesian
Directorate of Mineral Resources and the Geological
Research and Development Centre (GRDC), Bandung, in
collaboration with the United States Geological Survey
(USGS) and the British Geological Survey (BGS),
culminated in the publication of a set of 1:250,000
Stratigraphy of Sumatra
96'
96"
98"
96"
100"
100"
1020
104"
106"
Fig. 1. Simplified geological map of Sumatra. Inset: the position of Sumatra in Southeast Asia.
CENOZOIC
CRETACEOUS
Volcanics -Bentaro
Reef limestones - Lamno
Serpentinites, pillow lavas:
cherts, greywackes Geumpang, Lam Minet
Sandstones and shales,
cherts - Kualu, Tuhur
Limestones - Situtup,
Batumilmil
Volcanics, sandstones,
limestones, shales - Palepat,
Silungkang , Mengkarang
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - I
TRIASSIC
I
PERMIAN
f
i
Tillites - Bohorok, Mentuli
CARBONIFEROUS
DEVONIAN
and
LOWER
PALAEOZOIC
PRECAMBRIAN
BASEMENT
1
Intrusive tin granites imply
an underlying continental
basement
Fig. 2. Pre-Tertiary stratigraphic units in Sumatra as given by Cameron et al. (1980) and on GRDC Map Sheets.
Northern Sumatra
Tapanuli Group
In northern Sumatra the area to the northeast of the
Sumatran Fault is underlain by the Tapanuli Group. From
northeast to southwest, outcrops of this group have
been classified as the Bohorok, Alas and Kluet Formations
(Fig. 3).
The Bohorok Formation to the northeast near Medan
is composed mainly of sandstones and shales, but also
contains pebbly mudstones, poorly-sorted breccioconglomerates, composed of subangular to rounded clasts
of a variety of rock types, scattered in a fine grained clay
or silt matrix. The pebbly mudstones have been
interpreted, by comparison with the similar deposits of
the Singa Formation in the Langkawi Islands, offshore
West Malaya, as diamictites of glacio-marine origin. No
macrofossils which could be used to determine the age
have yet been found in the Bohorok Formation, although
Fig. 3. Dismbution of Pre-Tertiary stratigraphic units in northern Sumatra (based on GRDC Map Sheets).
SIBUMASU
GONDWANA
WEST
NORTHERN
MALAY
S1A
SUMATRA Cameron et al(1980) THAILAND
NORTHWEST
AUSTRALIA
Metcalfe 2000
GRDC Map\
Roberts
~
~and Veever5
~
~(1973)
~
'
Mount Godwin
Semanggol
(Part)
Ratburi Lst
Chuping Lst
Upper Formation
Bryozoan Bed
Pangururan BryozoanI
Bed ( 7 L Permian)
Phuket
Singa
Bohorok
(tilloids)
F
,!
ooc)oc)
.D
Hyland Bay
SugarIoaf
Kulshill (with coals)
Tillites
(tilloids)
. .
-_-I
. I
. . . . . . .
. . . . . .L . . .. . . .
c--------l
. .
g. 4.
Lower
Formation
.
. . . .
-~(?TO
urnaisian)FC*Td
. ?.. . .
I
1
r
Bonaparte Beds
Comparison of the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic sequences in the Sibumasu Terranes of northern Sumatra (after Cameron et al.,
1980; and GRDC Map Sheets), West Malaysia and Thailand (after Metcalfe, 2000) and the Gondwana Terrane in northwest Australia (after
Roberts and Veevers, 1973).
Peusangan Group
During the mapping of northern Sumatra pre-Tertiary
rocks, mainly limestones, lying to the northeast of the
Sumatran Fault, but apparently less deformed than the
Tapanuli Group, were distinguished as the Peusangan
Group (Fig. 3). Outcrops of these rock units are isolated,
so that during the survey each occurrence was given a
Central Sumatra
The Pre-Tertiary rocks of central Sumatra have been
correlated with the stratigraphic units defined in northern
Sumatra, with stratigraphic units corresponding to the
Permo-CarboniferousTapanuli Group, the Permo-Triassic
Peusangan Group and the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla
Group (McCourt et al., 1993) (Fig. 6).
Tapanuli Group
Quartzites and shales, identified in oil company
boreholes along the Malacca Straits have been used to
define a Quartzite Terrain (Eubank and Makki, 1981).
Similar quartz-rich rocks of Carboniferous age in Malaya,
on the northeastern side of the strait in the Kubang Pasu
and Kenny Hill formations, are considered t o be
stratigraphically equivalent to the Tapanuli Group of
Sumatra. In the Malay Peninsula these quartz-rich
sediments are described as having an easterly provenance
(Fontaine and Gafoer, 1989).
Rock units which have been correlated with the
Bohorok Formation of northern Sumatra outcrop in the
Tigapuluh Mountains on the northeastern side of the
Barisan Mountains (Suwarna et al., 1991; Simandjuntak
et al., 1991) (Fig. 6). The Mentulu Formation, in the
northeastern part of the outcrop, consists of pebbly
mudstones, identical to those in the Bohorok Formation,
interbedded with quartz sandstones and shales, the latter
Gondwana Research, V. 6, No. 1,2003
Fig. 6. Dismbution of Pre-Tertiarystratigraphic units in Cental Sumatra (based on GRDC Map Sheets). N.B. The Jurassic-CretaceousRawas Formation
outcrops with the Peneta and Asai Formations about 25 km south of the southern edge of the map.
10
Peusangan Group
In Central Sumatra, Permian and Triassic rocks outcrop
in a broad belt extending NW-SE between the Sumatran
Fault Zone and the outcrop of the Kuantan Formation
(Fig. 6). There are no descriptions of the contacts between
the Carboniferous rocks of the Kuantan Formation and
the overlying Permian or Triassic rocks, but the
relationships are presumed to be unconformable.
The Menkarang Formation, famous for its JambiFlora,
outcrops in the Menkarang River and adjacent river
sections to the southwest of Bangko (Fig. 6). The
formation consists of conglomerates, sandstones,
siltstones, claystones, often carbonaceous, and some
limestones (Suwarna and Suharsono, 1994). Fossils,
including algae, fusulinid foraminifera, corals and
brachiopods, from calcareous beds underlying or
interbedded with the plant-bearing horizons, show that
the Mengkarang Formation is of Early Permian, Late
INDOCHINATERRANE
SI BUMASU
NORTHERN
SUMATRA
CENTRAL
SUMATRA
GRDC Maps
EASTERN MALAY
PENINSULA
Hutchison (1994)
Metcalfe (2000)
Linggiu
Sumalayang
Dohol
Sagor
Redang Beds
(continental red beds)
Panching
Limestone
Charu
Fig. 7. Comparison of the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic sequences of the northern Sumatra Sibumasu Terrane (after Cameron et al., 1980 and
GRDC Map Sheets) and the Indochina (Cathaysian) Terranes of Central Sumatra (after GRDC Map Sheets) and the eastern Malay Peninsula
(after Hutchison, 1994 and Metcalfe, 2000).
11
12
Southern Sumatra
In southern Sumatra pre-Tertiary rocks occur only as
isolated inliers surrounded by Tertiary to Recent sediments
and volcanics. This has meant that it has not been possible
to trace with certainty the units recognised in the northern
and central parts of the island southeastwards into
southern Sumatra. The general absence of age-diagnostic
fossils from many outcrops and the varying degrees of
metamorphism has meant that correlations have often
been made on the doubtful basis of lithological similarity.
In compiling the tectonostratigraphic map of central
and southern Sumatra in figure 8 extensive use has been
made of data from boreholes put down in the search for
oil through the Tertiary sediments of the South Sumatra
Basin which penetrated the underlying pre-Tertiary
basement (de Coster, 1974).
13
14
15
INDONESIA
(after Pulunggono & Cameron, 1984)
JURASSICCRETACEOUS
Arc Association
Mutus Assemblage
CARBON[FEROUS
Pebbly Mudstone
Fig. 9. Microplates in western Indonesia from Pulonggono (198S), after Pulunggono and Cameron (1984).
16
17
sw
Merangin
LEMATANG
LINE
NE
Permo-Carboniferous
JAMB1 NAPPE
Vorbarisan
sw
I3
JAMB1 THRUST
(LEMATANG LINE)
L
50km
OO
Fig. 11. The Jambi Nappe and the Lematang Line (from Pulunggono and Cameron, 1984, after Zwierzycki, 1930 and Katili, 1970).
18
100"
I9b-
VEST SUMATRAm
1b2"
SINOBURMALAYA
106"
104"
1064
EAST MALAYA
8"
6"
49
2"
0"
2"
0
I
EAST MALAYA
n
....
iINOBURMALAYA
40
400km
a
.
IIIIII]
>>
NEST SUMATRA
1uL-
Carboniferous-Permian without
Diamictite (sand dominant)
Carboniferous-Permianwith
Diamictite (Pebbly mudstone)
m
(Mutus(
Kluang Limestone
(age unknown)
Mutus Assemblage
(of unknown age)
19
20
21
Fig. 14. Pre-Tertiarytectonic blocks in Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, modified from Hutchison (1994). The Situtup klippenin northern Sumatra
are regarded as tectonic outliers of the West Sumatra Block. P and Tp: the location of the Pawan and Tanjungpuah members of the Kuantan
Formation (Clarke et al., 1982), along the Medial Sumatra Tectonic Zone. No allowance has been made for post-Cretaceous movements
along the Sumatran Fault System. These amount to a maximum movement of only 200 lan in northern Sumatra.
22
A. EARLY PERMIAN
Palaeo-Tethys subducting beneath the margin of Cathaysia
Gondwana
I &I
I I 1
Continental block
including Indochina and
Site of future
strike-slip fault
(Median Sumatra Tectonic Zone)
MESO-TETHYS
Volcanics
Tectonic Zone
Meso-Tethys
Fig. 15. Cartoons illustrating the plate tectonic evolution of Sumatra according to the model presented in this account. For justification see text.
23
24
25
emplaced on the outboard side of Sibumasu by postPermian strike-slip faulting. The details of the movement
of the West Sumatra Block have yet to be resolved. The
original relationships may have been significantly
modified by movements along faults related to the
Sumatran Fault Zone during the Cenozoic.
Arguments have been presented in the foregoing
account for the separate development of the eastern part
of Sumatra, as part of the Sibumasu Terrane, and the West
Sumatra Terrane during the Carboniferous, and that this
separation continued until at least the Middle Permian.
It has previously been suggested (Wajzer et al., 1991;
McCourt et al., 1996) that the Lower Permian volcanic
rocks and the associated Mengkarang Formation with its
Cathaysian flora were formed as a Permian volcanic arc
which collided with the southwestern margin of
Sundaland, but it is clear that this volcanic arc was formed
on continental basement, as the Kuantan Formation with
its tropical Visean fauna formed a microcontinental
fragment which formed the basement to the volcanic arc.
As explained earlier it is likely that the juxtaposition of
the West Sumatra and the Sibumasu Blocks took place as
a result of strike-slip fault movements along the Medial
Tectonic Zone of Hutchison (1994) (Fig. 13). Unfortunately
this zone is covered by Tertiary and younger sediments
and is exceedingly poorly exposed. The only part of this
zone which can be studied easily is in the area near
Pekanbaru where it is represented by outcrops of highly
deformed chlorite and tremolite schists of the Pawan and
Tanjung Puah members, attributed to the Kuantan
Formation. These magnesium-rich rocks could have been
formed by the metasomatism of volcanic rocks, or be
derived from basic and ultrabasic rocks of oceanic
derivation, and could represent the trace of a collision
suture. The geochemistry of these rocks warrants
investigation and they should also be studied for evidence
of major strike-slip displacement.
As has already been pointed out, Hutchison (1994),
following Pulunggono and Cameron (1984), suggested
that the Situtup Formation near Takengon in northern
Sumatra, composed mainly of limestones, but also
including volcanic rocks, could be correlated with the
Palepat and Mengkarang Formations of Central Sumatra.
It is suggested that these outcrops are a detached fragment
of the West Sumatra Terrane, forming a Mippe on top of
the deformed rocks of the Tapanuli Group (Figs. 13, 14).
This interpretation suggests that the West Sumatra Block
collided with and was thrust over the Sibumasu Block.
However, this interpretation makes no sense in the context
of a strike-slip model for the juxtaposition of the West
Sumatra and Sibumasu Blocks. If the Situtup Formation
can be proven to be a detached tectonic outlier it provides
26
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the support of the Directors
of the British Geological Survey and the Indonesian
Directorate of Mineral Resources, the Geological Research
and Development Centre and the Research and
Development Centre for Oil and Gas Technology
(LEMIGAS) and for the cooperation of our Indonesian
colleagues in the field in Sumatra over many years. We
are grateful for the advice of Katsumi Ueno (Fukuoka
University) on the significance of the fusulinid faunas of
Sumatra. Critical reviews of the paper by Katsumi Ueno,
Ian Metcalfe and Charles Hutchison have led us to correct
several misunderstandings, remove ambiguities and to
modify some of the details of our original interpretation.
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