|
The Korean Peninsula lies within the Korea-China Heterogen. Generally speaking, the Precambrian basement of the peninsula is tectonically related to that of Manchuria and China. The Pyeongbuk-Gaema Massif forms the southern part of Liao-Gaema Massif of southern Manchuria, and the Gyeonggi and Mt. Sobaeksan massifs of the peninsula can be correlated with the Shandong and Fujian Massifs of China.
The Paleozoic sediments, lying on the Precambrian Massifs in the Pyeongan and Okcheon basins, can be correlated with those in the Yellow River and Yangtze basins. On the other hand, the Mesozoic rocks of the Gyeongsang Basin in the southeastern part of the peninsula can be said to extend toward the Kwanmon Basin in the southwestern tip of Japan across the Korea Strait. The Pohang Tertiary sedimentary rocks, distributed mainly in the southeastern corner of the land, lie on Mesozoic rocks.
Precambrian Geology
The Precambrian geology of Korea is yet to be fully explored. The 1:250,000 scale geological maps published in 1974 offer a more detailed Precambrian stratigraphy of South Korea.
In general, the Gyeonggi and Yeongnam Massifs belong to a low-pressure facies series, and the Okcheon Metamorphic Belt to an intermediate pressure series.
Yeoncheon System
This system, belonging to the Gyeonggi Massif, is distributed around Seoul extending to Yeoncheon-gun in a northeasterly direction. The system i s divided into upper and lower parts. The lower part is composed of biotite-quartz-feldspar schist, marble, lime-silicate, quartzite, and graphite schist, and the upper part is of mica-quartz-feldspar schist, mica schist, quartzite, augen gneiss, and garnet-bearing granitic gneiss.
Precambrian Granite Gneiss
This gneiss is also known as grey granite gneiss or Goguryeo granite. Outcrops of it cover one-third of the surface of Korea, and are especially prevalent in Pyeongan-do and Hamgyeongnam-do provinces. Intrusions of Goguryeo granite are also found in the Yeoncheon System in the Gyeonggi Massif.
Sangwon System
This system was first observed in the northern part of Korea, Sangwon, Pyeongannam-do province, and Hwanghae-do province in central Korea, the main area of its distribution. Collenia fossils have been found in the limestone interbedded in the system. The presence of Collenia suggests that the system belongs to the Proterozoic.
Paleozoic Erathem
Paleozoic sediments in Korea are represented by the lower Paleozoic Joseon Supergroup and the upper Paleozoic Pyeongan Supergroup. The Joseon System comprises the Cambrian to Middle Ordovician sedimentary rocks, the Pyeongan System, the Middle Carboniferous to Permian, and the Unidentified Triassic sedimentary rocks. Lower Silurian limestone was discovered from conodont fossils in 1980.
The Upper Ordovician, Devonian and Lower Carboniferous systems are not known to exist.
Cambro-Ordovician Strata
The Cambro-Ordovician Joseon Supergroup is widely distributed in the limestone plateau in northwest Korea. There are many other localities with scattered patches of the Joseon Supergroup. The Joseon Supergroup has been divided into two parts according to lithology, the Samcheok Group and the Sangdong Group. These groups are conformable to each other. The Samcheok Group overlies the Precambrian rocks unconformably.
Samcheok Group
The Samcheok Group is divided into the Jangsan, Myobong, Pungcheon and Hwajeol formations in Gangwon-do province. The Jangsan Formation consists mainly of white quartzite that is pebbly throughout, but it starts with thin basal conglomerates. The overlying Myobong Formation, which is predominated by greenish grey slates, follows the Jangsan with alternating zones of quartzite and slate at its base. The average thickness of each of these two formations is about 200 meters.
Sangdong Group
The Sangdong Group, distributed in Gangwon-do province, which is located in the east central part of Korea, is a sequence of thick limestone-rich sediments, as is the case with the strata in northern Korea. The strata have been divided into four formations. The lowest stratigraphic unit of the Sangdong Group is the Dongjeom Quartzite which also overlies the Hwajeol Formation. The Dumugol Limestone is of a lesser worm-eaten appearance. The Maggol and Duwibong limestones consist of gray limestones. A bed of fossiliferous shale, known as the Jigunsan Shale, is intercalated between the two limestones. Trilobite, cephalopod, graptolite and other fossils are found in the limestones of the Sangdong Group. Recently, a number of conodonts have been identified in these strata.
Middle Paleozoic Strata
Middle Paleozoic strata from the Upper Ordovician to the Lower Carboniferous are not known to exist. However, the existence of the Lower Silurian Hoedong-ri Formation has been established by the finding of Silurian conodont fauna. Some formations in the Okcheon Supergroup are thought to be middle Paleozoic in age by some geologists, although no conclusive evidence has been found to substantiate this claim.
Carboniferous-Triassic Strata
Carboniferous-Triassic Strata of the Pyeongan Supergroup, distributed exclusively overlying the Middle Ordovician disconformably, are found roughly in four locations in North Korea, as well as three areas in Gangwon-do and Chungcheongbuk-do provinces in South Korea.
Gomok Group
The main rocks of this group are slightly metamorphosed green, red, gray or mottled sandstones and shales with some light-colored limestone beds. Most shales are characterized by dark fine ottrelite. The limestone beds are fossiliferous with primitive fusulinids and other foraminifers, corals, brachiopods and others. The presence of fusulinids indicates the age of the group to be Moscovian of Middle Carboniferous. The Gomok Group is about 220 meters thick on the average.
Cheoram Group
The Cheoram Group is characterized by somewhat metamorphosed gray to dark-gray sandstones, shales, coaly shales, coal beds, and dark grey limestone beds. Three or more coal beds are intercalated in the upper part of the series, and are an important source of anthracite. Upper Moscovian fusulinids are found in the Samcheok and Danyang coalfields, while Sakilometersarian fusulinids are found in the Yeongwol coalfield. The thickness of the Cheoram Group averages 150 meters.
Hwangji Group
The group locally overlies the Cheo lam Group conformably, and is composed mainly of white quartzites intercalating some black shales. The age of the group is Middle to Late Permian, possibly even extending to Triassic. The thickness of the Dosagok and Gohan Formations is about 880 meters. The upper part of the group (Donggo Formation) is composed mainly of green arkose sandstones with some conglomerate beds. The age of the Donggo Formation has not been clarified by fossils, though it has been thought to be Triassic because of its thickness. This formation is 400 - 2,000 meters thick.
Mesozoic Erathem
The lower Mesozoic is represented by the Donggo Formation of the upper part of the Pyeongan Supergroup. The rest of the Mesozoic sediments in Korea are represented by the middle Mesozoic Daedong System and the upper Mesozoic Gyeongsang System.
The Daedong System represents the Jurassic, and the Gyeongsang the Cretaceous. In the Jurassic Period, a deformation known as Daebo Orogeny took place. This mountain forming process was the most intensive on the Korean Peninsula, which caused all earlier formations to fold, thrust and fault drastically.
Daedong System
The Daedong System is not widely distributed in Korea. Long, narrow, and patchy, it is scattered with or without distributional relationship with the Pyeongan Supergroup, though showing deformations as does the latter. It is subdivided into the Lower Nampo, Upper Nampo and Bansong groups in South Korea, which consist mainly of conglomerates, milky white pebble-bearing arkosic quartzose sandstones, black sandy shales, coaly shales, and coals. The Daedong System near Pyeongyang in North Korea is subdivided into the Seonyeon and Yugyeong series, which consist of conglomerates, sandstones, and shales ranging up to 1,300 meters in thickness.
Plutonism in the Jurassic Period Most of the granite bodies, except the Cretaceous ones, intruded during the Jurassic Period. In South Korea, granite batholiths show a characteristic distribution trend north northeast-south southwest (the so-called Sinian). Most of these granite bodies are biotite granites, and some are hornblende granites.
Gyeongsang System
The Gyeongsang Supergroup is distributed across a wide area within Gyeongsang-do province in the southeastern part of Korea. Animal fossils indicate that sediments were deposited in shallow water environments. They are of fresh to brackish water genera. No marine fossils have been found. The Gyeongsang Basin was formed subsequent to the Daebo Orogeny and can be divided into three minor basins: the Yeongyang, Uiseong, and Miryang basins. The Gyeongsang Supergroup is composed of the Sindong and Hayang groups and the Bulguksa Intrusives.
Plutonism in Cretaceous Period
The biotite granite intruded in the Gyeongsang Supergroup is called Bulguksa Granite. The radiometris ages of intrusions are dated to be Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary. A remarkable characteristic of the Plutonism of this period is that the granites are not of an orogenic production.
Sindong Group
This group is distributed in the western part of Gyeongsang-do province. It consists mainly of shales, sandstones, conglomerates, and one or two thin coal seams. The formations of the group have gentle monotonous eastward dip in contrast to the marked deformation of the Jurassic and Pre-Jurassic rocks. Ripple marks and sun cracks are found in many localities of the group, indicating that the group was formed in shallow-water environment. Animal fossils indicative of the Early Cretaceous age are prevalent. They include Viviparus, Hydrovia, Bulimus, Itometamia, Brotiopsis, Anisus, Trigonioides, Plicatounio, Nakamuranaia, Schistodesmus, and Estherites. Plant fossils include: Group 1, Cladophlebis browniana, Onychiopsis mantelli, Ruffordia goepperti, and Nilssonia schaumbur gensis; Group 2, Cladophlebis lobifolia, Coniopteris hymenophylloides, Dictyozamites falcatus, Ptilophyllum pecten, and Nilssonia compta. Group 1 indicates Early Cretaceous and Group 2 Middle Jurassic. Because the Sangdong Group overlies granite gneiss unconformably, its relationship to the Daedong System cannot be determined.
Hayang Group
This group, widely distributed throughout Gyeongsang-do province, consists of conglomerates, sandstones, shales, and volcanic rocks such as andesites, basalts, rhyolites, and tuffs, especially in the upper part of the group. The thick basal conglomerates form the boundary dividing the groups from the underlying Sindong Group. The Jeokgak-ri Formation in South Korea and the Daebo Series near Pyeongyang in North Korea are correlated to the Hayang Group. The former overlies the Pyeongyang Supergroup, and the latter Daedong System unconformably. The Hayang Group has more ripple marks and sun cracks than the Sindong Group, but the latter is more fossiliferous. Plant fossils found in this group indicating the whole range of the Cretaceous period are Filicales, Cycadales, Coniferales, and Angiospermae. Bones, eggs and tracks of dinosaurs have also been found in the Hayang sediments.
Cenozoic Geology
Neogene Tertiary Strata are distributed across small areas along the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula. They are, from north to south, the Gilju-Myeongcheon Basin in North Korea, and the Bukpyeong, Yeonghae, Pohang and Ulsan basins in South Korea. The rocks are poorly lithified sandstones, shales, conglomerates, lavas, and sills. An alternation of land and marine deposits is characteristic of the strata.
Bongsan Series
This series is distributed throughout Hwanghae-do and Pyeongannam-do provinces of North Korea, and consists of an alternation of shales and sandstones, conglomerates, and coal beds. Fossils indicating the late Eocene include Colodon, Caenolophus, Desmatotherium and Portianotherium (animal fossils), and Populus, Platanus and Vipurunus (plant fossils). The series is about 350 meters thick.
Yongdong Series
This series is distributed in Hamgyeongbuk-do province, North Korea, and consists of sandstones, shales, interbedded coal beds, and alkali-basalts in the lower part of the series. Plant fossils indicating Middle to Late Oligocene include Pinus, Glyptostrobus, Sequoia and Juglans. The series is 80 meters thick.
Yangbuk Group
This group is distributed in Gyeongsangnam-do province, South Korea, and consists of conglomerates, volcanic rocks, sandstones, shales, and coal beds alternating with tuffs. Plant fossils indicating the early to middle Miocene include Sequoia, Salix, Carpinus, Alnus, Populus, Betula, Fagus, Fagophyllum, Castanea, Colylus, Zenthoxyl-on, Planea, Ficus, Uities, Acer and Juglans. The series is approximately 1,400 meters thick.
Yeonil Group
This is distributed throughout Yeonil, South Korea, and consists of conglomerates (200 meters thick) and thick shales (400 meters thick). Fossils indicating the Miocene include Turborotaria, Globigerina and Globigerinoides, which are all foraminifers; Caridium, Solen, Lucina, and Potamides, which are all marine mollusks, from the sandstones; Leda, Cardium, Dosinia, Ostrea and Pecten which are from the shales; and Salix, Quercus, Cinnamomum, Sapindus and Aagus, which are all plant fossils, from the upper part of the shales.
Seogwipo Formation
This formation is distributed in Jejudo island off southwestern Korea. The formation consists of sandstones and mudstones. Fossils indicating the late Pliocene include marine mollusks and foraminifers. |