Sumatra:

Geology, Resources and Tectonic Evolution

6 CHAPTER 1

106<'30 ,

r./i/o: d o
[/Banda Aceh ~ ........,, ,. ......" /". Lhokseumawe
VZZZEZA
i~".._o4. 2o U./;
<b
/Sidikafang,
" ~'(///"/~
"rebingt!pggi' I
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." ./c-~/./'//./'
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Padang-
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NE Muarasiberut
Sungaipenuh'
and
Ketuan
., 0913 / ..."

6'-~ " ' " t " ~ ~ ~" -~,.%.f~

t3 1 O0 200 300 ................. 400 500kin %'7 /

Fig. 1.5. Coverage, sheet numbers and names of the 1:250 000 Geological Maps
published by the Indonesian Geological Survey, the Geological Research and

Development Centre, Indonesian Ministry of Mines and Energy.

programmes with funding from UK ODA Technical Cooporation

budget. This programme was completed in 1995 with the publi-
cation by GRDC of the last of the forty three Geological Map
Sheets at 1:250000 scale, covering the whole of Sumatra
(Fig. 1.5) and 18 1:250000 scale Bouguer gravity anomaly
maps of southern Sumatra, including Bangka and Billiton
islands, but excluding the coastal swamps and the Barisan
Mountains. The collaborative geochemical survey was completed
in 1994 with the publication by DMR of 14 quadrangle boxed sets
of 1:250 000 single element proportional symbol geochemical
maps (up to 15 elements) with accompanying reports on the
geochemistry, geology and mineral occurrences. Subsequently
the Sumatra geochemical data was made available on CD-ROM

(Version 2 in 1999). In 1995 following a one-year 'Sustainability

Phase' of the SSGMEP a Geochemical Atlas of Southern
Sumatra was issued in digital form on CD-ROM (Machali et al.

1995). Publication in book form followed in 1997, with text in

both Bahasa Indonesia and English (Machali et al. 1997). An
evaluation of tectonic models for the Pre-Tertiary history of
Sumatra based on BGS/DMR/GRDC and University of London
research programmes has been published by Barber & Crow
(2003).With the completion of this major phase of UK
involvement in the study of the geology of the Sumatra, the
time is ripe to review the vast increase in our knowledge of
the geology of Sumatra since van Bemmelen's (1949, 1970)
synthesis.
Chapter 4

Pre-Tertiary stratigraphy

A. J. BARBER & M. J. CROW

In the early days of mineral exploration on behalf of the
Netherlands East Indies Bureau of Mines and of petroleum
exploration by the oil companies it was recognized that Pre-
Tertiary rocks were extensively exposed in the Barisan Mountains
in the western part of Sumatra (Fig. 1.4). These rocks are variably
metamorphosed and were termed the 'Barisan-Schiefer' and the
'Old-Slates Formation' (Veerbeek 1883) in Central Sumatra, and
the 'Crystalline Schists' in the Lampung area (Westerveld
1941). Locally these rocks contain fossils, and it was recognized
that Carboniferous and Permian rocks occur within this Pre-
Tertiary basement. Some basement units were defined during the
mapping of Sumatra by the Netherlands Indies Geological
Survey between 1927 and 1931, but the definition of units accord-
ing to modern stratigraphic principles began in the early 1970s,
with the commencement of systematic mapping by the Indonesian
Geological Survey in collaboration with the United States
Geological Survey, in the Padang area of West Sumatra
(Kastowo & Leo 1973--Padang; Silitonga & Kastowo 1975--
Solok; Rosidi et al. 1976--Painan and Muarasiberut).

Mapping and the definition of further units was continued in

northern Sumatra by the Indonesian Directorate of Mineral
Resources/British Geological Survey (DMR/BGS) between

1975 and 1980 as part of the Northern Sumatra Project and

was extended into southern Sumatra in the 1980s and 1990s by
the Indonesian Geological Research and Development Centre
(GRDC), DMR amd BGS. The results of these surveys, which
established the distribution of the basement units, are published
by GRDC as 1:250000 Geological Map Sheets coveting the
whole of Sumatra and adjacent islands (Fig.l.5). The lithologies
of each stratigraphic unit are briefly described in the keys to the
maps, and the units are described more fully in the accompanying
Explanatory Notes.

During these surveys the faunas from known fossil localities

were re-examined and new localities were found. Following the
survey the palaeontological evidence for the ages of stratigraphic
units in Sumatra has been reviewed by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989).
It has now been established that fossiliferous rock units in the Pre-
Tertiary basement of Sumatra range in age from Early Carbonifer-
ous through to mid-Cretaceous.

From the occurrence of tin granites in the eastern part of

Sumatra, extending into the 'Tin Islands' of Bangka and Billiton,
it is supposed that the whole of Sumatra is underlain by a highly
differentiated Pre-Carboniferous crystalline continental crust
with ages extending back into the Precambrian. Direct evidence
for a Pre-Carboniferous basement has been obtained by isotopic
dating of Silurian and Lower Carboniferous granitic rocks
encountered in boreholes beneath the Tertiary Basins towards
the northeastern side of the island (Eubank & Makki 1981).
The oldest rocks identified by their fossil content were also
encountered in boreholes in eastern Sumatra. These rocks
contain palynomorphs from near the Devonian-Carboniferous
boundary (Eubank & Makki 1981). Older rocks, possibly
ranging down into the Devonian, were reported by Adinegoro &
Hartoyo (1974) from a borehole in the Malacca Strait, but no
details are given in their report and a Devonian age for sediments
elsewhere in Sumatra has not been confirmed during subsequent
drilling or by field studies, although rocks of this age, and older
ages back to the Proterozoic, occur in the Langkawi Island off
NW Malaya, 300 km to the NE of Sumatra (Jones 1961).

It has proved very difficult to establish with certainty the strati-

graphic relationships between the various rock units which
make up the exposed Pre-Tertiary basement of Sumatra. This is
due to the generally fault-bounded contacts between rock units
and the poor biostratigraphic control on their ages; over large
areas the rocks are apparently devoid of fossils. The varying
metamorphic grade of the basement units makes even lithological
correlations difficult. As a result, formations have generally been
defined locally. When these local units have been extrapolated
over broader areas they are found to include a wide variety of
lithological types, so that correlation with the original units
becomes more and more uncertain.

The spate of new data on the geology of Sumatra generated

by the systematic geological survey of the whole island has stimu-
lated attempts at regional synthesis, e.g. Cameron et al. (1980) and
Pulunggono & Cameron (1984) in northern Sumatra and McCourt
et al. (1993) in southern Sumatra. These authors proposed a
stratigraphic scheme which distinguished a Carboniferous-
Permian Tapanuli Group, a Permo-Triassic Peusangan Group
and a Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group (Fig. 4.1 ). This terminol-
ogy is used in the present account, although it is strictly applicable
only to northern Sumatra where the units were defined.

In this account the basement rocks of Sumatra are described

from northern, central and southern Sumatra, as far as possible
in terms of their stratigraphic age, although difficulties in
establishing these ages will be fully discussed. Five age units
are recognized: Pre-Carboniferous basement, Carboniferous-
?Early Permian, Mid-Late Permian, Mid-Late Triassic and
Jurassic -Mid-Cretaceous.

Pre-Carboniferous basement

Eubank & Makki (1981 ) record shales interbedded with quartzites

from the boreholes, Pusaka-l, 85 km NE of Pekanbaru, and
Rupat Island, in the Malacca Strait, which yielded palynomorphs
lu the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary, and used this
evidence to define an Upper Palaeozoic 'Quartzite Terrain' in
eastern Sumatra (Fig. 4.2). Some of these borehole records may
relate to quartz sandstones in the Triassic Kualu Formation and
its correlative Tembeling Sandstone of Bangka (Ko 1986).
However, Eubank & Makki (1981) also obtained Rb-Sr ages of
426 + 41.5 Ma (Silurian) and 335 + 43 Ma (Early Carboniferous)
from granites from boreholes put down into the basement beneath
the Central Sumatra Basin. Turner (1983) reports gneissose
rocks included as xenoliths in dykes intruding Carboniferous
slates near Rao, Central Sumatra. These xenoliths were presum-
ably derived from an underlying crystalline basement. A granitic
clast from pebbly mudstone encountered in a borehole, Cucut
No.l, gave an Rb-Sr age of 348 ___10 Ma, of Vis~an, Early
Carboniferous age (Koning & Darmono 1984).

The occurrence of intrusive granites, possibly as old as Silurian,

indicates that an older basement into which these granites were
intruded underlies eastern Sumatra. This is highly probable, as
Proterozoic and Lower Palaeozoic rocks occur in the Malaysian
Langkawi Islands only some 300 km to the NE of Sumatra
along the strike (Jones 1961). Indeed, Hutchison (1994) has
asserted that the buried Kluang Limestone south of Palembang,
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

I I I I

97 ~ 98 ~

96 ~ 99~

" ' A'-CEH

BANDA

Major Faults

Recent Volcanoes

Unit

@ Permo-Triassic Intrusions

,E~::~Ujeuen
tion

Sormation

LATE PERMIAN - LATE TRIASSIC |N

(Peusangan Group)
Uneun Unit, Tawar Lst Fro,
Situtup Lst Fm, Sembuang Lst Fm,
Ujeuen Lst Fm, Kaloi Lst Fm,
Batumilmil Lst Fm (mainly limestones)

Kualu Formation (cherts & clastics)

CARBONIFEROUS - ?EARLY PERMIAN

,U.:0 XkJ'~i

,:-,,C.e-.-.<-
9-.,....,_
=_ i i lU... =.
(Tapanuli Group) ~.

Bohorok Formation
(pebbly mudstones)

Atas Formation (Vis6an)

limestone member

Alas Formation - clastic sediments

('m'- metamorphosed)
Kluet Formation

(turbidites with limestone %')

Ktuet Formation o

(metamorphosed)

96 < ,

Tawar "~
Formation

Gnei

\
TA PAKTUAN

lOOk~

97 ~

I
9 LANGSA
Simpang Kiri

Kaloi
Formation

Bohorok

N alvvampu Toba

tumilmil Tufts

--.. (._~ Kualu

Formation

Toba
Tufts ~-~ I~j

Fig. 4.3. The distribution of Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic stratigraphic

units in northern Sumatra, showing rock types and critical fossil localities,
together with
Late Permian to Early Triassic intrusions (after Stephenson & Aspden 1982, with
additions from GRDC map sheets, Cameron et al. 1982a, b, 1983). Areas left blank
are

occupied by Late Mesozoic to Quaternary sediments and volcanics.

Alas Formation. The Alas Formation was defined by Cameron

et al. (1982a) in the valley of the lower Alas River on the
Medan Sheet (Fig. 4.3). It is distinguished by its geographical
location, occupying a graben within the Sumatran Fault System,
between the outcrops of the Bohorok and Kluet formations,
and by a preponderance of limestones and meta-limestones.
Otherwise, in the remainder of the outcrop, shales, siltstones, sand-
stones, sometimes calcareous, quartz wackes and conglomerates,
are identical to those of the Bohorok Formation, without the
pebbly mudstones, and to the Kluet Formation as well. Cameron
et al. (1982a) also report the occurrence of possible green tufts.
The outcrop is much dissected by faults and the rocks are intensely

folded locally, intruded by granites and migmatised.

Limestones in the Alas Formation are sometimes oolitic, may

show cross-bedding and are locally fossiliferous with abundant
productid and spiriferid brachiopods and some corals. However,
the limestone is frequently metamorphosed to massive, coarsely
crystalline and sometimes graphitic marble with phlogopite,
and deformed to form calcareous schist. The marbles and calc-
schists are associated with slate, phyllite, mica schist, locally
containing garnets, biotite hornfels with cordierite and/or chiasto-
lite, quartzite and more rarely gneiss, migmatites, mylonites and
cataclasites (Cameron et al. 1980). Much of this metamorphism
may be attributable to the contact effects of intrusive granites,
affected synchronously or subsequently by shearing, but not all

areas of metamorphic rocks are closely associated with igneous

intrusions and some, particularly where the rocks are garneti-
ferous, may be of regional metamorphic origin and may even
represent an earlier, Pre-Carboniferous, basement. The occurrence
of mylonites and cataclasites suggests that some of the rocks
included in the Alas Formation have undergone major shearing.

A fossiliferous limestone locality within the Alas Formation at

the junction of the Lau Pakam and the Sungai Alas north of
Laubaleng has yielded a rich fauna (Fig. 4.4). Cameron et al.
(11980) reported the coral Allotriophyllum chinense, known from
the Lower Permian Chiksa Limestone of southern China, but
this coral has been re-identified by Fontaine (1989) as the solitary
horn-shaped rugose coral Zaphrentites, indicative of a Carboniferous
age. Brachiopods, which include Cleiothyridina (?) and Margina-
tia, indicate a Vis6an age and Metcalfe (1983) obtained a conodont
fauna from this same locality which included Gnathodus girtyi
rhodesi Higgins, Gnathodus sp., Hindeodella sp., Spathognathodus
campbelli Rexroad and Spathognathodus scitulus (Hinde), con-
firming the Vis6an age of the limestones. The form Gnathodus
girtyi rhodesi, in particular, is restricted to the Bollandian Stage
of the Late Vis6an, defining the age of this outcrop of the Alas
Formation even more precisely (Metcalfe 1983).

Kluet Formation. The Kluet Formation was defined by Cameron

et al. (1982b) from outcrops along the Krueng Kluet in the
CHAPTER 4

IoL%~'~

:'~.

98 ~~%,1,

\A as..~ ...........

I -LAke,,--
9
9 I- ~..TobaTuffs........( I
I

Formation Toba,~: : : u9
10~ 101 ~,

L\-'.b.b,~.'~'-,_"IP"SlO/KAL~NG-'~'~}4~.". ~L...".". ". ". ". ? lc-~ '~ ~ Ma'or

Faults
9 .'.'.'. ". ozoaBed. . ".'." '.'.',"
9 ~ Recent Volcanoes
/..,~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _ _ ~ "
9
9 ~ Pangunjungan ~N, (".,~ Permo-Triassic
-,,-',,...z ~ ",'~\'N~N"~E.~%8. i" i'-".N~ki~,Sibagandidg ~"" "~--dq:~.~li~_Member-
t" Pal~ka ." ".'-Limestone MemlSer'.
-k,~ ~ Imrusions
"~~"~%~aF~ir'.'.\:.'.'.-.#/~i!~~IRANTAUPRAPAT~ue~-.'."~"A \\'.'. "%%"-'."-~~~;?" Z~

~ 4
-~'~'~ ~'~
-2'>N ~
e~aru
-Formation_C~"~ \%-v--:7 "~k
9
9 .'~i~q./'-,~./~/ ~Y.?N.
9 ." .., .'.
9 ". ". ".
N\~ "~
2 ~

0 50 100km "~ ~'k~--~?~-~ \ ~

Bohorok Fm

........ ...' "':", _ encountered in

~'k ~'~%'L~,~DANG S[ DEN P UA a borehole

LATE PERMIAN-LATE TRIASSIC ~ ~-~'~~

(Peusangan Group) \ ~'~Mbr ~ ........

........
\ ~, ~'#~.~'~a-'~ PAffARSIBUHAN

__ rkualu r-m, bllungKang ~-m, 'i ~ _ ~. .

I'%Ui::lltli:l.ll

Telukkido Fro, Cubadak Fm ~, kFg~,~t~_,~..n.~:~ Lst~. 1 ~

Zuhur Formation \ ~ ~'~N~. LS~r~"-,~_ I PASIRPENGARAYAN

CARBONIFEROUS-?EARLY PERMIAN L, \ ~',~.'~'Q"~ "~,~,"'~ _

(Tapanuli Group) ......... "% ~ "~,,."~~ Pawan
, , [ ~4"2\\ ~ . ~ \ \ ~. "% Member
L~.~:~;~:;~I BohorokFormation ~'~asil~ongi~"~ \
[~i:~,~:~1 (Pebblymudstones) a ~ -o ~ . ~ ' -~~ ",,>,..%,.x,,~,

~7,~.~
Alas Formation
(limestones)
Kluet/Kuantan Formati

Formation

Limestone Member (L

_ 98 o uhur
Equator I I ~---~ ~t~-~ . . ~\~.~.'~'~'~/'~0rma!!..~ r

Fig. 4.4. Distribution of Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic stratigraphic units

in north central Sumatra from GRDC map sheets, showing rock types and critical
fossil
localities, as well as Late Permian to Triassic intrusives. Areas left blank are
covered by Late Mesozoic to Quaternary sediments and volcanics.

Barisan Mountains to the north of Tapaktuan. Outcrops of the

Kluet Formation on the 1:250 000 map sheets are shown lying
to the southwest of the outcrops of the Bohorok and Alas
formations and extend from Lake Tawar near Takengon in the
north to Sibolga in the south (Figs 4.2 & 4.3).

The formation consists predominantly of black slates, with

phyllites, quartzose arenites and conglomeratic metagreywackes,
the latter containing lithic clasts up to 40 cm in diameter. Poorly
sorted volcaniclastic wackes occur along the Sibolga to Tarutung
road. The size and proportion of clasts in the conglomerates
decreases across the outcrop from NE to SW. Locally there are
calcareous horizons and detrital limestones. More massive
meta-limestones occur at Rerebe, south of Takengon (Fig. 4.3).
The sandstones are generally massive and commonly devoid of
sedimentary structures, although in the type area of the Krueng
Kluet (Cameron et al. 1982b) and on the Sidikalang Sheet
(Aldiss et al. 1983), graded beds, mud clasts, slumped units,
load casts and dewatering structures, typical of deposition as
turbidites are reported. Rocks of the Kluet Formation have yet
to yield age-diagnostic fossils.

The rocks are metamorphosed, predominantly in the slate grade,

but show varying degrees of metamorphism. An extensive area of
highly metamorphosed rocks of the Kluet Formation is shown
occupying the southwestern side of the outcrop on the Tapaktuan
Sheet, including the type area of Krueng Kluet (Cameron et al.
1982b) (Fig. 4.3). The rocks are described as coarse muscovite-
biotite schists, sometimes garnetiferous, quartzo-feldspathic
gneisses and calc-silicate schists. In the Blangkejeren area in

the central part of northern Sumatra metamorphic rocks include

biotite-garnet-sillimanite schists, staurolite schists and biotite-
andalusite hornfels, chiastolite slate, quartzite, scapolite-bearing
calc-silicates, marbles and amphibolites. Some of these rocks,
where they are associated with meta-limestones, are shown on
the Takengon Quadrangle Sheet as part of the Alas Formation
(Cameron et al. 1983a) (Fig. 4.3).

The surveyors attribute the metamorphism in the Kluet For-

mation to contact metamorphic effects (Cameron et al. 1982a).
This is clearly the case for the hornfelses and chiastolite slates,
but is less certain for garnet- and staurolite-bearing schists. An
obvious metamorphic aureole is developed around the Serbajadi
Granite on the Langsa Sheet (Bennett et al. 1981c) where the
rocks are altered to musovite-biotite hornfels and wollastonite,
diopside and phlogopite marbles and skarns. As the metamorphic
rocks in the Krueng Kluet are closely associated with concordant
granitoids, and at Blangkejeren enclose concordant bodies of
garnetiferous gneiss, interpreted as intrusions, these were also
attributed to contact metamorphism.

Pangururan Bryozoan Bed. On the western shore of Lake Toba

at Pangururan in the Sidikalang Quadrangle, fossiliferous, calcar-
eous, silty mudstones and limestones, with a rich shallow water
fauna are distinguished as the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed (Aldiss
et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.4). The limestones contain abundant shelly
debris, including brachiopods, fenestellid bryozoa and crinoid frag-
ments and some pelecypods. Decalcified, fan-shaped fenestellids up
to 10 cm long are conspicuous on weathered bedding surfaces. The
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

limestones have undergone deformation with the development of

alternating zones of high and low strain and the formation of press-
ure-solution cleavage, as illustrated by distortion of the bryozoan
networks. The limestones are interbedded with sandstones and
associated with slates of the Kluet Formation. Unfortunately,
when they were examined at the Natural History Museum the
bryozoa were found to be too decalcified, and the other fossils too
fragmentary, to provide a precise age determination for this unit.
The age range suggested for the fossil assemblage is from Late Car-
boniferous to Early Permian with the balance of opinion favouring
an Early Permian age (Aldiss et al. 1983). The collection of further
fossil and limestone samples from this unit are required for a more
precise age determination.

Kuantan Formation. As the Kluet Formation was mapped south-

wards towards the equator it became obvious that it was the
same unit as the Kuantan Formation, previously defined on the
Solok Quadrangle Sheet in West Sumatra, from outcrops along
the Batang Kuantan by Silitonga & Kastowo (1975) (Fig. 4.5).
On the Padangsidempuan Quadrangle Sheet to the north, the
change from Kluet to Kuantan Formation was set arbitrarily
where there is a break in the outcrop at 99~ longitude (Aldiss
et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.4).

The outcrop of the Kuantan Formation extends along the core

of the Barisan Mountains from Padangsidempuan to the latitude
of Padang (Figs 4.4 & 4.5). Silitonga & Kastowo (1975) distin-
guished a Lower Member dominated by quartzites and quartz
sandstones, rarely conglomeratic, with interbedded shales,
usually metamorphosed to slates or phyllites. Finer-grained sand-
stone units may show graded beds, small-scale cross lamination,
ripples and slump structures. Subordinate components include
brown chert, chloritized tufts and volcanic rocks. The lower unit
was distinguished from an upper Phyllite and Shale Member in

which the argillaceous red brown shale and phyllite component

is dominant, with intercalations of quartzite, siltstone, dark grey
chert and andesitic to basaltic lava flows.

No systematic sedimentological study has been carried out on

the Kuantan Formation and outcrop details are not given in the
Explanatory Notes for the GRDC Quadrangle sheets. Descriptions
of the lithological features of the Kuantan Formation by Peter
Turner (Turner 1983) from three outcrops near Rao (Fig. 4.4)
are therefore particularly valuable. The first is on the Auk
Mangkais to the west of the Batang Sumpur, where massive
grey quartzite beds, 1-6 m are interbedded with blue-grey and
black phyllites and fine siltstones 10-80 cm thick. The quartzites
show both sharp tops and bases and the siltstones may show
cross-lamination. Tight folds of the slaty cleavage are seen in
loose blocks in the stream bed.

Steeply dipping (100~176 black slates outcrop in the

Sungai Nior to the east of the Batang Sumpur, showing isoclinal
folds to which the cleavage has an axial plane relationship
(Turner 1983). The slates are interbedded with rippled, laminated
siltstones containing ribbed plant stems of Calamites type. The silt-
stones are sometimes deformed by slump folds. A section in the
fiver bank shows several lenses of matrix-supported conglomerate,
up to 1 m thick, with bases eroded into the underlying slate. Angular
to rounded clasts in the conglomerate include vein quartz, microgra-
nite, phyllite, greywacke, quartzite and chert. Siltstone clasts show
both cleavage and crenulation cleavage, indicating two earlier
phases of deformation These conglomerates are interpreted as
debris flows (Turner 1983). Further upstream, greywacke sandstone
beds 30 cm thick are folded into upright folds, 2-3 m in amplitude.
These rocks have been identified as distal turbidites and are distin-
guished by Turner (1983) as the Nior Member.

Black, micaceous mudstones and slates in a small tributary

of the Auk Lajang to the NE of Ciranting contain ellipsoidal

' ~ "< 1 ~t .':<-"-~Tuh ur 1[~2~

EquatorJ ~" -i-~~~ Formation

100{~Ex_,r~ ~, ~

BUKIT
PAYAKUMBUH~
O RENGAT ~~~--~~
~_~rigapuluh
raO,c,
2 o
Tabir Formation -- "~ '"*" ~ ii
PERMO-TRIASSIC \ %~ "'-~::!i!::iii!i:::
Triassic
Permian with \ )_~k ~
,. ~ volcanics ~ k
CARBONIFEROUS -?EARLY PERMIAN
J 2
Mentulu Fm etc.with pebbly mudst
Kuantan Formation
Limestone Units L
Certain
9 MUARABUNGO ~
Patepat
Formation
Formation
Duabelas
Mountains
0
t '
Major Faults
Recent
Volcanoes
Permo-Triassic
Intrusions
S Serpentinite
2,"
50 100km
III ....

100~'E 101 ~ (~ 103 ~

Fig. 4.5. Distribution of Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic stratigraphic units

in central Sumatra from GRDC map sheets, showing lithologies and critical
localities as
well as Late Permian to Early Triassic intrusives. Areas left blank are covered by
Late Mesozoic to Quaternary sediments and volcanics.
CHAPTER 4

calcareous nodules up to 40 cm in size, around which the slaty

cleavage diverges as the result of compaction. Indeterminate
foraminifers were recognized in one nodule, and an insoluble
residue from another yielded abundant sponge spicules.
The associated mudstones contain leaf and fungal fragments.
These outcrops were distinguished by Turner (1983) as the Tua
Member. These records of plant fragments, foraminifers and
siliceous spicules indicate that the less deformed sediments
in the Kuantan Formation are very likely to yield age-diagnostic
fossils to a systematic search.

On the Pakanbaru Quadrangle Sheet, to the north of Solok,

Clarke et al. (1982b) distinguish the Pawan and Tanjung Puah
members of the Kuantan Formation (Figs 4.2 & 4.4). The
Pawan Member cropping out to the east of Lubuksikaping is
composed of intensely folded muscovite, tremolite, chlorite
and carbonate schist. The very similar Tanjung Puah Member to
the SW, also includes quartz schist. Both units show an early
phase of tight isoclinal folding on vertical or steep SW-dipping
axial planes and east-west or NW-SE axes, and are refolded
by later upright folds on NW-SE axes. The latter are probably
represented by the large-scale folds seen on aerial photographs
and indicated on the Pakanbaru Quandrangle Sheet (Clarke et al.

1982b). Again, these more highly metamorphosed rocks may

represent fragments of an earlier metamorphic basement, or,
where rock types include tremolite and chlorite schists, may
represent a hitherto unrecognized suture zone.

On the Solok Sheet Silitonga & Kastowo (1975) recognized

a Limestone Member within the Kuantan Formation (Fig. 4.5),
composed of massive, black, white, grey or reddish limestone,
locally containing irregularly-shaped chert nodules, with interbeds
of quartzite and siliceous shale. Detailed petrographic studies
of samples of limestone have been made by Vachard (1989a, b).
He recognized algal structures, including algal mats, oolites and
possible pisolites, and concluded that the limestones were depos-
ited in an intratidal to supratidal environment. From the fossils
collected during the mapping survey Silitonga & Kastowo
(1975) established that the limestones in the Kuantan Formation
range in age from Lower Carboniferous to Mid-Permian, although
the younger limestones are better considered as a separate
formation.

Subsequently the fossiliferous localities were re-examined

by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989). New collections were made and
macro-and microfossils studied to establish the ages of these
limestone occurrences more precisely. Important localities
containing Carboniferous fossils occur in the Again River and
the Batang Kuantan Gorge (Fig. 4.5). The limestone outcrops
to the east of Lake Singkarak (Guguk Bulat) which yielded
Permian fossils are considered by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989)
to be best classified with the Mid-Permian Silungkang
Formation, rather than, as shown on the map of the Solok
Quadrangle, with the Kuantan Formation (Silitonga & Kastowo
1975).

Limestone outcrops in the Again River near the bridge on the

road from Bukit Tinggi to Pakanbaru yielded the alga Konincko-
pora and the foraminifers Palaeotextularia, Eoendothyranopsis
and Archaediscus, indicating a Mid-Vis6an age. With additional
samples the age range was extended from the late Early or
early Mid-Vis6an to Late Vis6an (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). A
Mid-Late Vis6an age was confirmed by the discovery of cono-
donts, including Gnathodus girO, i rhodesi Higgins, from
this locality (cf. the Alas Formation above) (Metcalfe 1983).
Limestones exposed in a scenic gorge along the Kuantan River
contain large colonies of the tabulate coral Syringopora, the fasci-
culate Tetracorallia Siphenodendron and the alga Koninckopora
inflata, indicating a Late Vis~an age (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989;
Vachard 1989a, b). These limestones containing the colonial
coral Syringopora and intratidal algal mats, were evidently
deposited in a sub-tropical to tropical, shallow, warm water
environment.

Tigapuluh Group

Pre-Tertiary rocks form the Tigapuluh Mountains, isolated as

an inlier 70 km long and 40 km wide among the surrounding
Tertiary sediments, east of the Barisan Mountains to the south
of Rengat (Fig. 4.5). Three formations have been identified: the
Mentulu, Pengabuhan and the Gangsal formations, interpreted as
different facies of the Tigapuluh Group. The distribution of
these units are shown on the Rengat and Muarabungo Quadrangle
Sheets (Suwarna et al. 1991; Simandjuntak et al. 1991) (Fig. 4.6).
Deformation increases in intensity from NE to SW and in the
aureoles of Triassic-Jurassic granitic intrusions the sediments
are converted to spotted slates or hornfels.

Mentulu Formation. The Mentulu Formation, defined from out-

crops in the upper part of the Mentulu River, occupies large
areas in the northern and eastern parts of the Tigapuluh Mountains
(Fig. 4.6). The formation is characterized by pebbly mudstones,
similar to those of the Bohorok Formation of northern Sumatra.
The mudstones are interbedded with greywacke sandstones
and shales, the latter generally occurring as slates, or as hornfels
adjacent to granite contacts. The mudstone matrix contains irregu-
larly distributed angular to rounded clasts of granite, silicified
basalt, vein quartz, slate, quartzite and feldspar. The clasts are
generally of pebble size, up to a few centimetres, but may reach
30 cm in diameter. The pebbly mudstone is usually deformed,
with the matrix altered to slate, and the clasts flattened and
elongated within the cleavage planes. Cordierite is commonly
developed where the pebbly mudstones have been converted to
spotted slates or hornfels within metamorphic aureoles.

The interbedded greywacke sandstones are massive, dense, grey

sandstones, sometimes conglomeratic, containing folded quartz
veins. The sandstones are poorly sorted and also contain irregu-
larly distributed clasts, of the same rock types as those found in
the mudstones. The conglomerates are polymict and are composed
of sub-angular to rounded clasts. Finer sandstone units show
parallel lamination and may be poorly graded. Shale or claystone
units are well bedded and parallel laminated and contain scattered
matrix-supported fragments of quartz and feldspar. Some of
the sandstone units are tuffaceous and andesitic and basaltic
tuf~ distinguish the Condong Member in Bukit Condong and
Gunung Endalang (Fig. 4.6).

The pebbly mudstones of the Mentulu Formation, like those

in the Bohorok Formation in northern Sumatra are considered to
be of glacio-marine origin, and the lithology of the clasts indicates
a continental provenance.

Pengabuhan Formation. The Pengabuhan Formation occurs in the

central part of the Tigapuluh Mountains where it is defined from
outcrops in the upper part of the Pengabuhan River (Simandjuntak
et al. 1991) (Fig. 4.6). The formation is composed principally
of lithic greywackes or sandstones, quartzites and siltstones.
These lithologies contain irregularly distributed clasts of granite,
vein quartz and quartzite, similar to those seen in the Mentulu
Formation. The quartzites are often feldspathic and are well-
sorted, being composed of well rounded grains of quartz and
feldspar. The siltstones also contain clasts of feldspar, quartz
and lithic fragments. The outcrop patterns in the northern part of
the Tigapuluh Mountains, as delineated by Suwarna et al.
(1991) (Fig. 4.6), show the Mentulu and Pengabuhan formations
interdigitating, suggesting that they are facies variants, distin-
guished only by the presence or absence of pebbly mudstone.
Alternatively the two units may have been imbricated by thrusting.

Gangsal Formation. The Gangsal Formation crops out in the

western part of the Tigapuluh Mountains, and was defined from
the upper part of the Gangsal River. The formation is also
shown occupying a small area between the Mentulu and
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY 3 !

I I I

102~ 30' 45' 103*00'

Formation;
45'
--I ,"Ut/l l 1
Inliers of
Gangsal
Formation
in Limau I-
1 ooo's : Gangsal
:Formation

TIGAPULUH
MOUNTAINS 45'

Triassic-Jurassic
Granites
TIGAPULUH GROUP

Condong (volcanic) Member

~'~ Mentulu Formation
ld~:':~?:4 (pebbly mudstones)

[:~i::i::iiiii::i!t Pengabuhan Formation

~.,x,%..~

[~}x...'..s ] Gangsal Formation

.'.-.-\'.-.--.-.-...N~...2I~Mentulu
.~.N[," [ "15engabuhan ~ ~

~,'-.'.:,~ .... _.,-, %;

~\... :. :...........-7. ---.

0 5 10 15 20kin

to Jambi

15' L
15' 30' lO3~OO'

Fig. 4.6. Distribution of stratigraphic units in the Tigapuluh Hills (alter Suwama
et al. 1991" Simandjuntak et al. 1991 ). Areas left blank are covered by Tertiary
to Recent
sediments.

Pengabuhan formations in the southern part of the mountains

(Fig. 4.6). It is distinguished from the other Pre-Tertiary units in
this area by the predominance of argillacous material, usually as
dark grey or black slate, grey, white or green phyllite, by a
higher degree of deformation, and in the neighbourhood of intru-
sions, dark hornfels. The argillacous rocks are interbedded with
grey-green sandstones, composed of subangular to rounded
grains of quartz with lithic fragments, dark grey quartzites and
massive grey argillaceous limestones. All lithologies are exten-
sively veined by quartz.

Correlated formations in southern Sumatra

An isolated outcrop of low-grade metamorphic rocks in the

Duabelas Mountains to the SE of Muarabungo (Figs 4.2 & 4.5)
consisting of quartzite, siltstone, claystone, marble and rare mica
schist, distinguished as the Tarantam Formation, has been
correlated with the Kuantan Formation (Simandjuntak et al. 1991).

The Garba Mountains form an inlier of Pre-Tertiary rocks to

the south of Baturaja (Fig. 4.7). Here the oldest unit, composed
of low grade metamorphic rocks, is distinguished as the Tarap
Formation from a type locality in the Tarap River (Gafoer et al.
1994). These metamorphic rocks crop out on both the eastern
and western sides of the inlier where they are in thrust contact
and imbricated with the unmetamorphosed Lower Cretaceous
Garba Formation. The metamorphic rocks, which include phyllite,

schist, slate, minor quartzite and marble metamorphosed in

the greenshist facies, are interpreted as the metamorphosed
Palaeozoic basement of Sumatra, and are correlated lithologically
with the Tarantam and Kuantan formations of Central Sumatra
(Gafoer et al. 1994) and with the Gunungkasih Complex to the
south near Bandarlampung (Amin et al. 1994b).

Metamorphic rocks of the Gunungkasih Complex, named

from a hill to the SE of Tanjungkarang, form scattered outcrops
among Cretaceous granites and Quaternary volcanics in South
Sumatra (Fig. 4.8). Rock types include graphitic, micaceous,
sericitic, chloritic, quartzose and calcareous schist, sericitic quart-
zite and marble of low-to medium-grade greenschist facies,
associated with migmatites, amphibolites and granitic gneisses
and intruded by granites. Amin et al. (1994b) and Andi Mangga
et al. (1994a) suggest that these metamorphic rocks may be
correlated with the Kuantan and Kluet formations of central and
northern Sumatra. The boundaries of lithological units and the
foliation strike in a NW-SE direction, parallel to the Sumatran
trend. Schistosity strikes in the same direction, is folded about
east-west axes and is refolded by NW-SE trending upright
folds and by variably oriented kink bands. K-Ar ages of

125 +5 and 115 __ 6 Ma (mid-Cretaceous) obtained from rocks

of the complex are taken to indicate the age of granite intrusion
and metamorphism of the metasediments. In outcrops to the NE of
Kotaagung, and SW of Tanjungkarang, rocks of the Gunungkasih
Complex are thrust southwestwards over unmetamorphosed
sediments of the Early Cretaceous Menanga Formation.
CHAPTER 4

104'~00 '

Qv
9, ...F .,
o., ,,,.
Qv ,J-'-: ~ ...............
,%
% % %, % %` %, % % % %, % % "-" .~ .., ..~ ,,,, ,,.. ,,.,. .,
% % "% % % % % % '% % "%"-."'%"'%~" " t'~ ...... F
,/,'...'Garba Pluton,",",,'%.'~ ,, ~,, ~ ~x@~.
% % % % % "% % "% "% % % % ~. -,,,,,..w, '~ "." "-" "-"~.O.O,Or
.Y ." ,' ," ,' ." ,' ,' ,' ,' -" ,' .rdununq A
4o30 ,
i:~ }~";"-"-"-"-"-~','.~-"::: :: ~" - "'," -'," -',",,.'~
Qs
.... Mm
9

Qs

Qs

Quaternary Sediments
QuaternaryVolcanics
Ptiocene
Late Miocene
Middle Miocene

Oligo-Miocene
Eocene

MARTAPURA~/-

Qs

,_~ F Faults

Late Cretaceous Granites

Mesozoic Units
(correlated with the Woyla Group)

~ Melange

Situlanglang (chert) Member

Garba (volcanic) Formation

0 5 10 t5 20km QS ~-""----__~J~Ev'/ Tarap Formation

' ~ (metamorphosed ?Palaeozoics)
I I

Fig. 4.7. The distribution of the Pre-Tertiary units in the Garba Mountains, South
Sumatra, after GRDC geological map of Baturaja (Gafoer et al. 1994). The
Metamorphosed Palaeozoics are correlated with the Tapanuli Group and the Garba and
Situlanglang Formations are correlated with the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group

of northern Sumatra (see below).

Pemali Group, Bangka Island

Carboniferous-Permian rocks of the Pemali Group occur

on Bangka Island where they are imbricated with the Triassic
Tempilang Sandstones (Ko 1986) (Fig. 4.2). The Pemali Group
occurs in east-west trending, fault-bounded outcrops throughout
the island. Rock types include isoclinally folded pyritic shales
and limestones, the latter containing Permian fusulinids
(De Roever 1951), volcanics and bedded cherts, with radiolaria,
laminated mudstones and pebbly mudstones. According to the
description by Ko (1986) the pebbly mudstones from the
Toboali District in the southern part of the island resemble very
closely those already described from the Bohorok and Mentulu
formations, above, and contain clasts with a similar range of
sizes and lithologies, although previously these same outcrops
were described by De Roever (1951) as arkosic conglomerate.

Persing Complex, Singkep and the 'Quartzite Terrain'

The Persing Complex of the island of Singkep consists of

phyllite, slate, graphitic schists with quartz veins and bands of quart-
zite (Sutisna et al. 1994). The quartzites are compared lithologically
with those of the Tarantam Formation in the Duablas Mountains. The
Persing Complex lies along strike from the 'Quartzite Terrain' ident-
ified in oil company boreholes in the Pekanbaru area (Fig. 4.2).

Interpretation

Stratigraphy. Because of poor exposure, scattered outcrops and

the large numbers of faults which disrupt the sequence, it has

not yet proved possible to determine the stratigraphic relationships

of the units which make up the Tapanuli Group. The Vis~an
Alas Formation and Limestone Member of the Kuantan Formation
are the only units for which there is direct palaeontological
evidence of age. The Bohorok and Kluet/Kuantan formations
have also been regarded as of Carboniferous age because of their
close association with the Alas and Kuantan limestones in the
field, and because all three formations contain similar lithologies,
and in general show the same degree of deformation. The presence
of fossils indicating an age near the Devonian-Carboniferous
boundary in a borehole in the Malacca Strait (Eubank & Makki

1981), the identification of Late Carboniferous-Early Permian

fossils in the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed (AIdiss et al. 1983)
suggests that the Tapanuli Group may cover an age range from
Late Devonian to Early Permian.

The BGS/DMR surveyors, who mapped the Tapanuli Group

as part of the North Sumatra Project, considered that all three
units were broadly contemporaneous. They observed that pebbly
mudstones, characteristic of the Bohorok Formation, are inter-
bedded with quartz sandstones and pelitic sediments of turbidite
facies. These turbiditic sediments, with variations in the pro-
portions of the components, are the dominant lithoiogies in the
Kluet and Kuantan formations and also in the Tigapuluh Group
of Central Sumatra. Cameron et al. (1982a) report that, apart
from the presence or absence of pebbly mudstones, the lithologies
of the Bohorok and Kluet formations are so similar that the bound-
ary between them on the Medan Sheet was drawn arbitrarily
because of the difficulty in distinguishing between the two units.

The outcrop of the Alas Formation is interposed between the

Bohorok and Kluet formations (Figs 4.2 & 4.3). As reported
above a Vis6an (Lower Carboniferous) age has been established
for the Alas Formation (Fontaine 1989; Metcalfe 1983). A
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

104~

~45' 105~ ~

~.~-~.~%,--~. mpung ~,~

. ~"..." ~'<-'~ Rive r ~--~'~_~ ~-,~

" <z;~ ~ ~

-5o15 ,
%

"\\ ~o /~'~. -"--~,

\ %,~% ~ KOTAAGUNG

~s

atk

-5~ ' \
"~'~. Strike-slip Faults

"~ Thrust Faults 0

Recent'Volcanoes

Late Cretaceous Granites

Menanga Formation

(mid-Cretaceous)

Gunungkasih Complex_
(Palaeozoic)

BANDARLAMPUNG

Fig. 4.8. The distribution of the Pre-

Tertiary units of the Bandar Lampung area,
southern Sumatra after GRDC geological
map sheets of Kotaagung and
Tanjungkarang (Amin et al. 1994b; Andi

5~45 '-

Mangga et al. 1994a). The Gunungkasih

Complex is correlated with the Palaeozoic

Tapanuli Group and the Menanga

Formation with the Jurassic-Cretaceous

50km Woyla Group of northern Sumatra (see

................... ......................

104~ ' 104~ ' 105~ '

I ........................ l ................................ l

Vis~an age has also been established for the Limestone Member of
the Kuantan Formation (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989; Metcalfe 1983;
Vachard 1989a, b). The record by Turner (1983) of plant remains
in the Nior member of the Kuantan Formation is compatible with
this age attribution. Turbiditic sandstones and pelites, similar to
those of the Kluet and Bohorok formations, occur interbedded
with limestones characteristic of the Alas Formation, suggesting
to the surveyors that the Alas is part of the same sedimentary
sequence as the other units (Cameron et al. 1980). They therefore
considered that the Bohorok, Alas and Kluet/Kuantan formations
are lateral facies variants of a coherent sedimentary assemblage.

Clasts in the pebbly mudstones of the Bohorok, and conglomer-

ates in the Bohorok, Kluet and Kuantan formations and also in
the Tigapuluh Group of Central Sumatra, include the same range
of lithologies. Analysis of the composition of the clasts shows
that all these units were derived from a low-grade metamorphic
terrane composed of slates, phyllites, calc-silicate schists,
marbles and quartzites which were intruded by granitic rocks. A
K/Ar age of 1029 Ma from a trondjemite clast from pebbly
mudstones in the Langkawi Islands (Hutchison 1989, p. 16) indi-
cates that the source area included rocks of Proterozoic age. Some
argillaceous clasts show evidence from slaty cleavage and crenu-
lation cleavages that they had already undergone multiple defor-
mation. Locally the metamorphic grade in the source region was
higher, indicated by clasts of mica schist and granitic gneiss.
The granitic gneisses may have been formed by synkinematic
deformation of granites intruded into an active shear zones. Rare
chert clasts, may indicate the presence of oceanic rocks incorpor-
ated in a collisional suture and rhyolite clasts indicate acid volcan-
ism. In fact, the palaeogeology of the area from which the
sediments of the Tapanuli and Tigapuluh groups were derived
resembles very closely the present-day geology of northern
Sumatra.

Cameron et al. (1980) report that, within the Bohorok

Formation, pebbly mudstones die out in a southwesterly direction.
With the loss of pebbly mudstones the Bohorok Formation

below). In areas left blank the older rocks

are covered by Tertiary and Quaternary

....................... I

sediments and volcanics.

interdigitates with, and passes into the Kluet Formation; they
regarded the latter as the lateral equivalent of the Bohorok
Formation, representing a more distal turbidite facies. Similar
relationships are described from Central Sumatra between the for-
mations in the Tigapuluh Group (Fig. 4.6). Cameron et al. (1980)
also observed a systematic reduction in the size and proportion of
clasts towards the SW in the pebbly mudstones and in conglomer-
ates throughout the Bohorok and Kluet formations. The inference
from these observations is that the sedimentary provenance of
the Tapanuli/Tigapuluh Group lay to the NE of Sumatra
and that deposition occurred on a continental margin extending
out into an ocean lying to the SW, in present day coordinates.

As reported above, Cameron et al. (1980) suggested that the

Kluet and the Bohorok formations were related facies of
the same age. The erroneous identification of a fossil coral
from the Alas Formation led Cameron et al. (1980) to suppose
that the Alas Formation was of Early Permian age and was there-
fore preserved in a syncline, overlying the older Kluet and
Bohorok formations. Cameron et al. (1980) proposed a strati-
graphic scheme for the Tapanuli Group of northern Sumatra
based on an analogy with stratigraphic relationships seen near
Phuket in Peninsular Thailand (Garson et al. 1975) (Fig. 4.2). At
Phuket, pebbly mudstones of the Phuket Group, similar to those
of the Bohorok Formation of Sumatra, are underlain and inter-
bedded with a thick and extensive series of turbiditic sediments.
Fossils in the turbidites include the trilobite Cyrtosymbole (wari-
bole) perlisensis Kobayashi and Hamada (Mitchell et al. 1970)
of Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous age. The same fossil
occurs near the base of the pebbly mudstones and sandstones
forming the Sings Group, in Langkawi, a group of islands offshore
Peninsular Malaysia (Jones et al. 1966) (Fig. 4.2). In Phuket, the
pebbly mudstones are overlain by thin-bedded sandstones contain-
ing a fauna of bryozoa and brachiopods and then by a 'Bryozoan
Bed' considered to be of Early Permian age (Mitchell et al. 1970;
Garson et al. 1975). Cameron et al. (1980) drew an analogy
between the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed of northern Sumatra and
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

mudstones of the Bohorok Formation represent deposits from a

melting floating ice-shelf or icebergs, which are interbedded
with turbiditic sands and shales, passing into distal turbidites
and deep water shales further offshore in the Kluet Formation.
The limestones of the Alas Formation, with oolites and current
bedding, as described in the foregoing account, represent
shallow water carbonates deposited on a 'high' in the continental
shelf environment.

Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) relate the fauna and algal flora of
the Visdan Alas limestones to those found elsewhere in the
Sibumasu Block, in western Peninsular Malaya, Thailand and
Burma. On the other hand, they relate the fauna and algal flora
of the limestones in the Visdan Kuantan Formation to those
of the eastern Peninsular Malaya and the Indochina Block in
Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

While the Alas limestones could have been deposited in a

cool environment, the fauna and flora of the Kuantan limestones
clearly indicate a tropical environment of deposition. Since the
Alas and Kuantan formations are contemporaneous, they must
have been deposited in different environments on separate
plates, and were only been brought together in Sumatra by post-
Carboniferous movements. This relationship is indicated on the
Fontaine & Gafoer's (1989) Carboniferous palaeogeographic
reconstruction of Sumatra (Fig. 4.9) by an arbitrary WNW-ESE
boundary, separating the Kuantan Formation from the outcrops
of the Kluet, Alas and Bohorok formations to the north. This
line has no present structural expression.

Peusangan Group (Permo-Triassic)

During the North Sumatra Survey, Pre-Tertiary rock units lying to

the NW of the Sumatran Fault System, which were apparently
less deformed than the Tapanuli Group, were classified in the
Peusangan Group, named from the Peusangan River which flows
northwards from Lake Tawar to the Andaman Sea. Fossil evidence
showed that some of these units are of Permian and Triassic age
(Cameron et al. 1980). This terminology was subsequently
extended to all Permo-Triassic units throughout Sumatra
(McCourt et al. 1993). Because the outcrops of the Permo-Triassic
units are so scattered and correlations uncertain, each occurrence
has been given a separate formation name (Fig. 4.10). Many of
the units include limestones, some of which are fossiliferous
so that the age may be precisely determined, but others are so
recrystallized that fossils are unrecognizable. These units, with
discussion of the evidence for their ages, will be described in
order from north to south.

Uneun Unit (Fig. 4.3). The Uneun Unit composed of slates,

metamorphosed limestones and epidotized basic volcanics is
named from the Kreung Uneun in the Takengon Quadrangle
(Cameron et al. 1983), and extends northwards onto the adjacent
Lhokseumawe Quadrangle (Keats et al. 1981). No fossils have
been found in this unit. The Unuen Unit probably incorporates
rock units which should more appropriately have been included
in the Carboniferous Kluet Formation (slates) or the Jurassic-
Cretaceous Woyla Group (epidotized basalts).

Situtup Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.3). Bedded or massive fossili-

ferous limestones and intermediate volcanics cropping out in
Gle Situtup, a mountain 40 km to the NW of Takengon, have
been designated the Situtup Limestone Formation ('Sitotop
Limestone Formation' on the Takengon Quadrangle Sheet)
(Cameron et al. 1983). Other limestone outcrops are shown
resting on thrust planes above Tertiary sediments, or on units of
the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group, which crops out exten-
sively to the west. On the map the volcanic rocks are shown
cropping out within the main limestone, and are described as

epidotized basaltic breccia and agglomerate, schistose locally

where they have been involved in thrust zones. From this descrip-
tion it is possible that these volcanics belong to the Woyla Group
and have been intercalated with the limestones by thrusting.

Fossils have been recovered from the limestones of the

Situtup Formation. They include the foraminifers, Agathammina/
Agathaminoides sp., Planinvolutina cf. mesotriassica, Involutina
sp. ?sinuosa, Parafusulina sp., Pseudodoliolina sp., Neoschwa-
gerina sp. and a coral Thecosmilia sp. (Cameron et al. 1983).
Some of these fossils are of mid-Permian age (Parafusulina, Pseu-
dodoliolina and Neoschwagerina), while others are of Mid-Late
Triassic age (lnvolutina, Planinvolutina cf. mesotriassica and
Thecosmilia) (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). From this fossil evidence
it is possible that the limestone constitutes a continuous deposi-
tional sequence extending from the mid-Permian to Late Triassic,
and that the absence of Late Permian and Early Triassic fossils
is due to the accident of collection. More probably, as elsewhere
in Sumatra, there is an important unconformity within the
outcrop, in which Upper Permian and Lower Triassic rocks
are absent. Unfortunately the relationship between Permian and
Triassic components of these outcrop are unknown. These
relationships should be the subject of future investigation.

Ujeuen Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.3). The Ujeuen Limestone

Formation outcrops as massive limestones to the south of
Lhokseumawe where they are relatively innaccessible and
poorly known. No fossils have been reported from these outcrops
(Cameron et al. 1983).

Tawar Formation (Fig. 4.3). Bedded to massive limestones with

minor phyllites cropping out on either side of Lake Tawar near
Takengon are designated the Tawar Formation (Cameron et al.
1983). Massive limestones, identified on the Takengon Quadran-
gle Sheet as a Reefal Member, occur along the northern side of
the lake. Phyllites and massive volcanics to the south of the lake
are identified as the Toweren Member. No fossils have been
found in any of these units. On the map they occur as thrust
slices imbricated with the slates and phyllites of the Carbonifer-
ous-Permian Kluet Formation, the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla
Group and Tertiary sediments. Again, it is possible that the
phyllites and volcanies of the Toweren Member belong to the
Woyla Group.

Sembuang Formation (Fig. 4.3). Fifty kilometres to the east of Lake

Tawar is the outcrop of the Sembuang Formation composed of
massive recrystallized limestones overlying metamorphosed
quartz sandstones (Cameron et al. 1983). No fossils have been
reported.

Kaloi Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.3). The Kaloi Limestone

Formation crops out 40 km to the SSW of Langsa, where it is
described as massive reddish tuffaceous limestone and dolomite,
pock-marked by sink holes and flanked by fossiliferous shales,
limestones and sandstones (Bennett et al. 1981c). The massive
limestones have yielded the trilobite Phillipsia aft. sumatraensis
of Permian age (Tesch 1916). Forltaine (in Fontaine & Gafoer
1989) reports Halobia, and the shales have yielded Neoproetus
indicus and Fenestella retiformis indicating a Late Triassic age.
in confirmation of the age, Metcalfe (1989a) obtained a specimen
of a Triassic conodont, Epigondondolella postera Kozer and
Mostler, from limestones and mudstones of the Kaloi Formation
in the Sungai Kaloi, 5 km upstream from Kaloi. The relationship
between the Permian and Triassic components of this unit is
unknown.

Batumilmil Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.3). Fossiliferous 'reefal'

limestones and grey calcilutites with chert lenses of the
Batumilmil Limestone Formation outcrop in the eastern foothills
of the Barisan Mountains to the SW of Medan. Fossils include
CHAPTER 4

t0 9~o 918~ 1~)0~ 14 Ch.uping. 1~2 o ~ 1~)4o 1~6 o 1~)8o

;,I['BAN DA ACEH _^~ .-, o g~ Limestone

l'~ ~Uneuen LHOKSUMAWE PENANGF,_)[~ ~ ~ l~l--l")l~,/llAIkl ,,.,.,-,,.,I -r'DIAOOIf

"~

~. ~ L[nit(NF) .'O~.. ~)~.~ r~-nlvll~l,~ etuu/n~t-~oo~u

... " e ~ Ujeuen (Lst) .~k..~ i

Situtup(Lst) ~ #9 Formation (NF) (~rj~~176

Formation Sembuan {,st Peusan g an Grou p

(M P, M=LT) ~,Tawa~r st)~ Formation (N F)

Formation e Kaloi Formation(Lst)(P LT)

9
9

-4~ '~ ~'~ ~O LANGSA , r)~-" I~:....:....:iiii::l Tr,asslc chert & sandstone
(Ch,CI)_
"k~" ~N~" Bat~umilmil(Lst) ~ Kodiang 1"~..~ Permian and Triassic

"N k ~ ~ ~Formation (MP, T) k,,Llmestone ~ llm,-,efnntae //e{~

"~ ~\ k~ ~ Kualu(Cl)Formation (M-L~ ~-, .... ~,~,~,,~ ~L--,a,/

' Permian (Volc)volcanic units

~, Pangururan~\'h '~ -K~al~(Ch.Ssl

"'o Bryo~nBed'~ ~.~Form~on~_LT~_ r ~ ~ Permian sedimentary units (CI)

_ 2~ v -',~..~ \ ~ .......... ~.:.:.:....:.:.= 2 o_

~ \ ,~-%~ c-----. ~ , ~ (Ch= chert; CI= clastics)

~[ Silungk.ang.(C~.~D\ Telukkido "~1~ KUNDUR "

t-ormat on (M~') . apan Formation

__Cubadak(Ci)~%Formahon (LT-J) ,~Lrp~ (M-LT) ,-

Format o6
9 LUBUK~IKAPING ] %~% LINGGA 0 ~

-0 ~ o ~ (M-LTI " \ %Tuhur Formation(CI) j.f )\,~

,~ " '~, \ (M-LT) ~ .,/q~"~ ( M - LT)
s Silun g kan g (CI, Lst) Palepat(Volc). '~/

Formation (M~St)~,Palr~natlon (EP) -~

PADANG ~ ,~\"~:.~,~. Barisan(CI)
(' \ Tuhur(CI)""~..'r Formation

~. ~ F~ ~B~inOMUAR.ABUNG~JAMBI~. ~BtmNGKA~sandstone

-,,..,_r ' ' ~ \ /~'%-. ~a~epa~(vo~c) - ) ~-:.:.:.:-:-.~ p u

_ 2 ~ ,.~ ~ N,.,aoltCl~']~Formati0n (EP) ~ C::~r---::::::::::~ (M-LT) 2 ~ _

~ ~ Pemali Group(Ch Ss)

I:,~ s ~ Mengkarang(cI) J,.u....~v'"~:---:.i~ (MP~ ~',,,, TnN

" ~,~ M LP )~, Formation (EP) " -Ir ! ~ ' ........

'~L ~?MP)

"~ ~'~'~k . PALEMBANG "":. o 'O

Buklt 'ALEMBAI~G%Q)

(LT-J) Late Triassic to Jurassic nendo~o(Lst) /)

(M-LT) Middle to Late Triassic BENGKULU'~'~ ~. (MP) )L

-4~ (MP) Middle Permian ~ ~. { 4~

(EP) Early Permian ~.~

(NF) No age-diagnostic fossils found "-~~

_60o 100 6 20o 300 4oo OOOkm

98 ~ 100~ 102~

Fig. 4.10. Distribution of Permo-Triassic rocks in Sumatra.

fenestellids, echinoids, ?cephelapods and corals (Cameron et al. Kualu Formation

(Figs 4.3 & 4.4). The Kualu Formation crops out
1982a). Fontaine & Vachard (1984) report a fauna collected as small isolated
exposures among Toba Tufts to the south of
from the Batumilmil Limestone at Laubuluh, a village 13 km to Medan (Cameron et al.
1982a) (Fig. 4.3) and over a much larger
the north of Tigabinanda with crinoids, bryozoa, productid area to the NW of
Rantauprapat and to the south of Lake Toba
bracbiopods and rare foraminifers Nodasaria(?), Pachiploia (Clarke et al. 1982a;
Aldiss et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.4). Lithologies
cukurkoyi and Multidiscus padangensis. This fauna indicates a typical of the Kualu
Formation have also been encountered in
Murghabian to Dzhulfian (mid-Late Permian) age for the oil company boreholes to the
SE of Rantauprapat, below Tertiary
Batumilmil Formation (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). Triassic cono-sediments, and have
been described under the name of the 'Mutus
donts (Hindeodella triassica Muller) were found by Metcalfe Assemblage' (Eubank &
Makki 1981). Similar rocks also occur in
(1986) in limestones of the Batumilmil Limestone Formation at the island of Kundur
off the coast of east Sumatra where they are
Sungai Wampu (Fig 4.3). This form ranges throughout the Triassic. called the Papan
Formation (Cameron et al. 1982c) (Fig. 4.10).

At the type locality in the Sungai Kualu, the lithologies are thin-

bedded sandstones, wackes, siltstones and mudstones. The

Pangururan Bryozoan Bed (Fig. 4.4). The Pangururan Bryozoan mudstones are often
carbonaceous and contain wood and plant
Bed on Lake Toba has already been discussed in the review of fragments. The upper
part of the succession is more arenaceous,
the Carboniferous formations in Sumatra. The fauna was con-with cross-beds, load
and flute casts and slump structures in the
sidered to range from Late Carboniferous to Early Permian, with sandstone units.
The Papan Formation on Kundur is more
the balance of opinion favouring an Early Permian age (Aldiss conglomeratic.
et al. 1983). No other occurrences of rocks of either of these The characteristic
Mid-Late Triassic bivalve Halobia sp.
ages have yet been found elsewhere in Sumatra. Unfortunately, occurs at many
localities, including H. tobensis and H. kwaluana.
this fauna was not re-examined during the review of fossil of Mid-late Carnian and
H. simaimaiensis of Norian age
localities in Sumatra by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989). (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

A Pangunjungan Member is distinguished in the river section of

the same name and is traced along the southwestern side of the
main outcrop (Fig. 4.4). This unit shows the same lithological
assemblage as described above, but the rocks are finer grained
and include thin bedded limestones and grey to pale brown
radiolarian cherts. The radiolaria from these rocks have not been
identified. Irregular disharmonic folds are interpreted as sedimen-
tary slumps (Clarke et al. 1982a).

To the east and south of Lake Toba a Sibaganding Limestone

Member has been distinguished (Fig. 4.4). The limestones are
pale to dark grey biocalcilutites and have yielded an ammonite
Alloclionites aft. timorensis (Early Norian--Ishibashi 1975),
corals, brachiopods, gastropods and conodonts; the latter include
the zonal form Metapolygnathus polygnatoformis (Late
Carnian). At the type locality in the road section along the
eastern side of Lake Toba 3 km to the north of Prapat, limestones
of the Sibaganding Member with Daonella and Halobia overlie
shales of the Kualu Formation (Metcalfe et al. 1979; Fontaine &
Gafoer, 1989, Fig. 22). The microfauna and flora from the
limestone outcrop has been identified and illustrated by Vachard
(1989c) and the microfacies have described by Beauvais et al.
(1989). Although the fossils include corals, calcisponges and
encrusting bryozoa, and other reef-building organisms, these are
scattered in a micritic matrix and do not form reef structures.
The environment of deposition is interpreted as a mud mound.
The rocks are moderately to tightly folded about NW-SE trending
sub-horizontal axes with easterly dipping axial planes (Aldiss
et al. 1983).

Cubadak Formation (Fig. 4.4). The Cubadak Formation is named

from the Air Cubadak on the western side of the Rao Graben to
the north of Lubuksikaping (Rock et al. 1983). It is composed of
dark grey, well-bedded mudstones with interbedded siltstone
laminae and volcaniclastic sandstones, frequently yielding the
pelecypod Halobia flattened on bedding surfaces. A section of
the Cubadak Formation in the Aek (Air) Cubadak to the south
of Limau Manis was described by Turner (1983). This section
contains limestones which were not mentioned in the description
of the formation given by Rock et al. (1983). About 100 m of
blue-grey calcareous mudstones are interbedded with cm thick
tuffaceous limestones, sometimes containing ooliths nucleated
around mineral grains. The oolitic limestones show cross lami-
nation. The sequence yielded Halobia sp. and several ammonites:
Trachyceras sp. ind. and ?Ceratites sp. This faunal assemblage
indicates that the sequence is of Ladinian age (Late Triassic).

Limau Manis Formation. Turner (1983) also defined the Limau

Manis Formation from outcrops in the Air Cubadak to the north
of Limau Manis. These outcrops were mapped as part of the
(Permian) Silungkang Formation by Rock et al. (1983). The lithol-
ogies include breccio-conglomerates with clasts of limestone and
acid and basic igneous material, followed by tuffaceous mud-
stones, cross-bedded volcaniclastic sandstones, the cross beds
indicating derivation from the NW, and bioclastic turbidites.
These calciturbidites are rich in reworked fusulinids and corals
of mid-Late Permian age. The mudstones contain abundant
ammonites Acanthinites sp., Helictites sp., ?Tibetites sp. ind. indi-
cating a Ladinian, Carnian to Norian age (Mid-Late Triassic)
(Turner 1983).

Telukkido Formation (Fig. 4.4). Rock et al. (1983) defined the

Telukkido Formation cropping out between Pasirpengarayan and
Lubuksikaping from a stream of the same name. The rocks are
dark grey quartzose sandstones and shales with minor limestones
and thin coals. A Limestone Member composed of recrystallized
or argillaceous limestones is also recognized. In the type locality
these rocks yielded plant remains from pyritic quartzite, with
leaf impressions identified as Otozamites sp. (possibly Pterophyl-
lum) and Ptilophyllum sp. The flora is identified as of Late Triassic

to Early Jurassic age, most probably Jurassic. Although this unit is

included in the Permo-Triassic Peusangan Group by Rock et al.
(1983) they suggest that it might better be classified with the
Jurassic Rawas Formation of Central Sumatra which will be
discussed later.

Tuhur Formation (Figs 4.4 & 4.5). Silitonga & Kastowo (1975)
defined the Tuhur Formation forming extensive outcrops to the
SE of Lake Singkarak in the Solok Quadrangle. This outcrop
was later extended southwards into the Painan-Timurlaut
Muarasiberut Quadrangle to the east of Lakes Dibawah and
Diatas (Rosidi et al. 1976). A further outcrop was mapped to the
NE of Payakumbuh and this outcrop was traced northwards,
using aerial photographic interpretation, across the equator into
the Pekanbaru Quadrangle (Clarke et al. 1982b). Silitonga &
Kastowo (1975) distinguished a Slate and Shale Member,
forming the greater part of the outcrop, composed of grey to
dark grey slate, black shales, and brown cherts with thin grey-
wacke sandstones, and a Limestone Member composed of
poorly bedded sandy limestone and massive fossiliferous
conglomeratic limestone, with thin intercalated shale and slate.
Limestone pebbles in the conglomerates contain fusulinid forami-
nifera of Permian age. Musper (1930) suggested that this
formation is of Triassic age. The Tuhur Formation may be
correlated with the Kualu Formation, described above.

Silungkang Formation (Figs 4.4 & 4.5). The type locality for the
Silungkang Formation (Klomp6 et al. 1961) is the road and river
sections around the village of Silungkang, between Solok and
Sawahlunto to the SE of Lake Singkarak. The formation also
crops out discontinuously along Lake Singkarak and northwest-
wards across the equator towards Muarasipongi. A lower Volcanic
Member is composed of hornblende and augite andesites with
intercalated tufts, limestones, shale and sandstone. An upper
Limestone Member is also recognized, composed of massive
grey limestone interbedded with shales, sandstones and tufts
(Silitonga & Kastowo 1975). The rocks are commonly highly
fossiliferous with large foraminifers: Doliolina lepida Schwager,
Pseudofusulina padangensis, Neoschwagerina multiseptata
Deprat and Fusulinella lantenoisi Deprat, at Silungkang (Katili

1969). Large fusulinacean foraminifers, Nankinella, Parafusulina

and Pseudodoliolina and the porcellaneous foraminifer Hemogor-
dius were also collected from an outcrop in the Aek Cubadak
near Rao (Rock et al. 1983); these fossils indicate an Artinskian
to Kazanian age for this outcrop. Waagenophyllid corals
(Pavastehphyllum sp.) occur in limestones intercalated with volca-
nics and shales at Silungkang and in limestones at Guguk Bulat
(Ipciphyllum and Wentzzelloides) where the Ombilin River flows
out of Lake Singkarak; the latter indicating a Murghabian age
(Fontaine 1982). The Guguk Bulat locality was classified with
the Kuantan Formation by Silitonga & Kastowo (1975) but
is more reasonably correlated with the Silungkang Formation
(Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).

Barisan Formation (Fig. 4.5). Rosidi et al. (1976) defined the

Barisan Formation from outcrops of phyllite, slate, arkosic sand-
stone, limestone and cherts south of Solok and NE of the Sumatran
Fault. The foliation in the phyllites and slates trends NNW-SSE,
parallel to the fault. Rosidi et al. (1976) also defined a Limestone
Member which forms linear outcrops trending in the same
direction. The limestones cropping out at Bukit Cermin have
yielded fusulinid foraminifers including Schwagerina sp. of
Early Permian age. In the eastern part of its outcrop the Barisan
Formation is equivalent to the Silungkang Formation, and
Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) recommend that its designation as a
separate formation should be discontinued.

Palepat Formation (Fig. 4.5). Rosidi et al. (1976) defined the

Palepat Formation composed of andesitic, basaltic and rhyolitic
CHAPTER 4

lavas and tufts interbedded with siltstones and crystalline

limestones, which they considered to be a volcanic member of
the Barisan Formation. It is also equivalent to the volcanic unit
forming lower part of the Silungkang Formation, described
above. The interbedded limestones are sometimes fossiliferous,
and fragmental brachiopods and crinoids occur in the tufts. The
foraminifer Fusulina sp. was identified from limestones in
the Sungai Tabir. A rich brachiopod fauna and the fusulinids
Veerbeekina and Sumatrina described by Meyer (1920) and
Tobler (1923) from the Sugai Selajau indicates a Lower Permian
age (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).

Ngaol Formation (Fig. 4.5). The Ngaol Formation, defined

by Rosidi et al. (1976) in the southeastern part of the Painan
Quadrangle Sheet, includes a Limestone Member with Fusuli-
nella, Sumatrina and Siphoneae (Tobler 1922). High-grade meta-
morphic gneiss, schist and marble cropping out in the same area
were also inappropriately included in this unit (Rosidi et al.
1976). Fontaine & Gafoer (1989) report that limestones in the
Sungai Tabir downstream of Ngaol village are rich in Middle
Permian fossils, while upstream the rocks are of Jurassic age,
and recommend that the recognition of the Ngaol Formation as a
separate unit should be abandoned. Again, the Permian rocks in
this unit may be regarded as part of the Silungkang Formation.

Mengkarang Formation (Fig. 4.5). The Mengkarang Formation,

famous internationally for its 'Jambi Flora', was defined by
Suwarna et al. (1994) from outcrops in the Mengkarang River
and adjacent river sections to the SW of Bangko. In earlier descrip-
tions this formation was divided into the Air Kuning, Salamuku
and Karing Beds (Zwierzijcki 1935), but these terms are now
considered to be obsolete (Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). Rock types
in the Mengkarang Formation include conglomerate, sandstone,
siltstone, claystone, sometimes carbonaceous, limestone and thin
coals. The sandstones are poorly sorted and clasts in conglomer-
ates and sandstones include volcanics, quartzite and vein quartz
(Simandjuntak et al. 1991). Outcrops in the banks of the Batang
Tembesi at Pulau Bayer are composed of sandstone and polymict
conglomerates with wood fragments and with a siliceous cement.
The sandstones are folded into an anticline on an east-west axis,
overturned towards the north. Thin intervening shales have not
developed a slaty cleavage. These outcrops show imbrication of
thin sandstone beds, indicating westward-directed thrust move-
ments, prior to the folding. On the opposite side of the river,
vertically bedded grey limestones show algae, bryozoa and gaster-
opods weathering out on the surface. Numerous fossil localities in
the Mengkarang Formation which have yielded algae, fusulinid
foraminifera, brachiopods, gastropods, crinoids and corals are
indicated on maps by Fontaine & Gafoer (1989, Figs. 13 & 14).

The 'Jambi Flora' was originally described by Zwierzijcki

(1935), Jongmans (1937) and Marks (1956). The flora and fauna
have more recently been reviewed by Asama et al. (1975),
Vozenin-Serra (1989) and Fontaine & Gafoer (1989). Asama
et al. (1975) concluded that the flora, which is rich in lycophytes,
pteridophytes, pteridosperms, cordaites, and gymnosperms, is
composed entirely of Euramerican and north Cathaysian species
and includes no Gondwanan species. It is older than the typical
Cathaysian Gigantopteris flora and may represent an earlier
stage in its development (Asama 1976, 1984). Vozenin-Serra
(1989) reported the occurrence of Cordaites and coniferous
wood fragments collected by Fontaine. These wood fragments
do not show annual rings, which is taken to indicate that they
grew in a tropical or semi-tropical environment. After reviewing
the flora, Vozenin-Serra (1989) concluded that it corresponds
with the oldest horizon of the Cathaysian flora of northern China
and represents the southernmost record of this flora.

The plant-bearing horizons containing the Jambi Flora are inter-

bedded with limestones containing fusulinids, tabulate and
rugose corals, brachiopods and a rich tropical algal microflora

(Vachard 1989a, b). The fauna has affinities with the fauna of
the Lower Permian of China and Central Europe (Fontaine &
Gafoer 1989). Fusulinids indicate that the plant beds are of
Upper Asselian age, possibly extending into the Sakmarian (Fon-
taine & Gafoer 1989, footnote on p. 55).

Bukit Pendopo (Fig. 4.10). Limestone cropping out in Bukit

Pendopo in the core of a faulted anticline on the Lahat Quadrangle
Sheet (Gafoer et al. 1986b) has yielded abundant Permian fossils
including fusulinids, small foraminifera and algae. The fusulinids
include Arminina asiatica, Cancellina praeneoschwagerinoides
and Neoschwagerina simplex. These fossils indicate an Early
Murghabian age for this limestone outcrop (Tien 1989).

Pemali Group (?Carboniferous-Early Permian) (Fig. 4.10)

As mentioned above, rocks of Carboniferous-Permian age on the

islands of Bangka and Billiton have been termed the Pemali
Group. The Pemali Group in the Taboali District on the southern
tip of Billiton includes 'pebbly mudstones', identical to those of
the Bohorok and Mentulu formations of mainland Sumatra.
Permian fusulinids were found at Air Durin on the island of
Bangka by De Roever, in limestones forming part of the Pemali
Group (De Neve & De Roever 1947; De Roever 1951; Ko

1986). Early Permian fusulinids have also been found offshore

the north coast of the adjacent island of Billiton (Belitung)
(van Overeem 1960; Strimple & Yancey 1976). Other Permian
fossils recorded from Billiton include the ammonoid Agathiceras
sundaicum of latest Artinskian or earliest Kungurian age, found as
float in a tin placer (Archbold 1983). Archbold (1983) relates
this form, and also a Permian nautiloid Neorthoceras to the
Permian Bitauni fauna of Timor (Charlton et al. 2002). Strimple
& Yancey (1976) report the occurrence of the crinoid Moscovi-
crinus from Selumar of probable Early Permian, Sakmarian age
(Archbold 1983), and undescribed plant fragments of general
Permian age have been ascribed to the Cathaysian floral province
(van Overeem 1960).

Tempilang Sandstone (Mid-Late Triassic) (Fig. 4.10)

The Middle to Upper Triassic Tempilang Sandstone crops out

extensively in Bangka Island (Ko 1986). A limestone intercalated
with sandstones and shales in the Lumut Tin Mine yielded
Entrochus, Encrinus, Montlivaltia molukkana and Perodinella
which were attributed a Norian age (De Neve & De Roever

1947). The characteristic Late Triassic thin-shelled bivalve

Daonella has been reported from the island of Lingga to the
north of Bangka (Bothe 1925b).

Conclusions

As presently defined (Cameron et al. 1980; McCourt et al. 1993),

the Peusangan Group includes units of both Permian and Triassic
age. Permian rocks occur throughout the island of Sumatra from
Aceh in the north to Bukit Pendopo in the south as well as in
Bangka and Billiton. Triassic rocks are known only from the
northern part of the main island of Sumatra, to the north of the
equator, but also occur extensively in Bangka and Billiton
(Fig. 4.10). The palaeontological evidence for the age of the
Permo-Triassic units in Sumatra as determined by Fontaine &
Gafoer (1989) is illustrated in Figure 4.11.

The only possible representative of the Lower Permian in north-

ern Sumatra is the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed whose age, on
the basis of its fauna, has not been definitively established. In
southern Sumatra on the other hand Lower Permian rocks
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

TETHYAN
STAGES

STAGES

RHAETIAN
NORIAN

CARNIAN

LADINIAN

ANISIAN

SCYTHIAN

TATARIAN
KAZANIAN
UFIMIAN

KUNGURIA

ARTINSKIA

SAKMARI3

ASSELIAN

DORASHAMIAN
DZULFIAN

MIDIAN

MURGHABIAN
KUBEGANDIAN
BOLORIAN

YAHTASHIAN

SAKMARIAN
ASSELIAN

Fig. 4.11. Palaeontological evidencc for the ages of Permo-Triassic stratigraphic

units in Sumatra (data from Fontaine & Gafoer 1989).

outcrop extensively in the Barisan Mountains southwards from

Muarasipongi and are also found in Bangka and Billiton.

Lower Permian formations in southern Sumatra include the

andesitic, basaltic and rhyolitic volcanics of the Palepat Formation
and the lower part of the Silungkang Formation. These volcanics
are frequently interbedded with limestones and clastic sediments,
and the limestones in particular, frequently contain large fusulinid
foraminifera and other fossils which have allowed precise age
determinations. Early Permian, Asselian to Kungurian ages,
have been established for the Barisan and Palepat formations,
and also for the Mengkarang Formation with its 'Jambi Flora'
(Fontaine & Gafoer 1989). Cameron et al. (1980) interpreted
these Lower Permian volcanics and the associated rocks as pro-
ducts of a Permian volcanic arc with its volcaniclastic sedimentary
apron and carbonate reefs.

Pulunggono & Cameron (1984) extended this interpretation into

northern Sumatra on the basis of the occurrence of volcanic rocks
in the Situtup Formation and volcanics of the Toweren Member
of the Tawar Formation. However, no fossils have yet been
found in the Tawar Formation so that its age is unknown, and fusu-
linids in the Situtup Formation have not been dated more precisely
than mid-Permian. As noted above, it is possible that the
epidotized basaltic rocks of the Situtup Formation and the
Toweren Member of the Tawar Formation, should more properly
be classified with the Jurassic-Cretaceous Woyla Group, cropping
out in the same area, which includes similar lithologies. On the
basis of the available evidence the case for the extension of the
Early Permian volcanic arc into northern Sumatra is unproven.
Geochemical studies and isotopic dating of the volcanic rocks
are required to resolve this problem.

Ages of deformation and metamorphism. During the Northern

Sumatra Survey a distinction was made between the

Carboniferous-Permian Tapanuli Group, which is invariably

affected by greenschist metamorphism, with the development of
slates and phyllites, and the Permo-Triassic Peusangan Group,
which is relatively undeformed and unmetamorphosed, except
where it occurs in metamorphic aureoles (Cameron et al. 1980;
Pulunggono & Cameron 1984). It was therefore proposed that
the major phase of deformation occurred between the deposition
of these two units. In order to establish the age of deformation
and metamorphism affecting the older unit, it is essential to deter-
mine the ages of the units in the Tapanuli and Peusangan groups
more precisely. The age of the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed is
critical in this respect. The Bryozoan Bed is interbedded with tur-
biditic rocks identified as part of the Kluet (Bohorok?) Formation
and is deformed with a slaty cleavage in exactly the same way as
the surrounding rocks (Aldiss et al. 1983). Deformation of the
Kluet/Kuantan, Alas and Bohorok formations therefore occurred
after the deposition of this unit. As has been reported above, the
fragmentary fauna obtained from the Pangururan Bryozoan Bed
indicates a Late Carboniferous to Early Permian age, although
the palaeontologists from the British Museum who made the deter-
minations favoured the later age. If this age determination is
accepted, the major deformation of the Tapanuli Group occurred
after the deposition of the Bryozoan Bed, while the mid-Permian
Situtup Limestone and Batumilmil Limestone formations of the
Peusangan Group are undeformed. The main deformation in north-
ern Sumatra therefore occurred in the late Early Permian or Early
Middle Permian as Cameron et al. (1980) proposed. Certainly the
main deformation of the Tapanuli Group in northern Sumatra
occurred before the Triassic, as the Sibaganding Member of the
Mid-Late Triassic Kualu Formation, cropping out along the
shores of Lake Toba near the outcrop of the Bryozoan Bed,
shows open folding, but the associated argillaceous units do not

show a penetrative slaty cleavage.

CHAPTER 4

This conclusion can be extended throughout eastern Sumatra

where the Tapanuli Group, the Malarco or Malang Formation on
Kundur Island, the Persing Complex of Singkep Island and
the Pemali Group of northern Bangka were all deformed prior to
the mid-Triassic. However, it cannot be extended to central
Sumatra. Although the Kuantan Formation in central Sumatra
shows the same slaty cleavage with multiple deformation as the
Kluet Formation in the same area, the Permian Barisan, the
Triassic Tuhur and the Jurassic Rawas and Asai formations also
show slaty cleavage and multiple deformation. Evidently in
central Sumatra the major deformation event occurred after the
deposition of the Jurassic sediments.

Late Upper Permian and the earliest Lower Triassic deposits

have not yet been recognized anywhere in Sumatra (Fig. 4.11).
However, Mid-Late Triassic rocks are extensively developed in
the northern part of Sumatra, from Aceh to West Sumatra and in
the islands of Bangka and Billiton. The period between Late
Permian and Middle Triassic was a period of regression and
erosion, as reworked mid-Late Permian fusulinids are found
abundantly in clasts in the mid-Late Triassic sediments of the
Tuhur and Limau Manis formations (Silitonga & Kastowo 1975;
Turner 1983). Therefore, the concept that the scattered outcrops
of Permo-Triassic formations throughout Sumatra constitute a
stratigraphic 'Group' is not valid. In future studies it would be sen-
sible to divide these formations into Permian and Triassic groups.

Triassic Correlation with West Peninsular Malaysia. A close corre-

lation can be made between the Triassic rocks of northern
Sumatra and those of Peninsular Malaysia. The Mid-Late
Triassic age of part of the limestones of the Situtup Formation
has been established by foraminifers (Cameron et al. 1983); the
age of the Kaloi Formation, part of the Batumilmil Formation,
the Sibaganding Limestone Member of the Kualu Formation by
conodonts, and the Kualu Formation, the Cubadak and Limau
Manis formations by ammonites and the presence of abundant
Halobia. This whole assemblage of Triassic rocks in northern
Sumatra can be correlated directly with the Upper Triassic
Semanggol and Kodiang Limestone formations which crop out
in Kedah and Perak in NW Malaya, some 200-250 km to the
east across the Malacca Strait (Metcalfe 2000).

The Semanggol Formation of Malaya has been divided into

three members: a lower Chert Member, a Rhythmite Member
and an upper Conglomerate Member (Burton 1973). The Chert
Member, as its name implies, contains chert beds interbedded
with shales and sandstones, the sandstones commonly showing
disharmonic folding as convolutions and slumps. The Chert
Member may be correlated directly with the Pangunjungan
Member of the Kualu Formation of northern Sumatra. The
Rhythmite Member, interpreted as a turbidite sequence with
graded bedding, cross lamination slump folds and sole marks
in the sandstones, and its fauna of thin-shelled bivalves, may be
correlated with the thin-bedded sandstones, siltstones and mud-
stones of the type section of the Kualu Formation in the Sungai
Kualu. The Conglomerate Member of the Semanggol Formation
has not been recognized in northern Sumatra, although sandstone
units become more common in the upper part of the Kualu
Formation. The Conglomerate Member may be represented by
the conglomeratic sandstones of the Papan Formation on Kudur
Island to the south of Singapore and the Tempilang Sandstone
of Bangka Island (Cameron et al. 1982c; Ko 1986).

The massive Kodiang Limestone in northern Kedah, Malaya,

has been identified as of Mid-Late Triassic age from the presence
of conodonts (Ishii & Nogami 1966), and may be correlated
directly with the massive limestone units in northern Sumatra
described as Situtup, Kaloi, Batumilmil formations and the
Sibaganding Limestone Member of the Kualu formation, which
have all yielded Mid-Late Triassic conodonts (Metcalfe 1989a).

Burton (1973) suggested that the lower part of the Semanggol

Formation, with black carbonaceous shales and mudstones and

an abundant necktonic-planktonic fauna, was deposited in a

basin of restricted circulation with anaerobic bottom conditions.
He suggests that the chert beds may have resulted from the
dissolution of volcanic glass in ash falls from volcanic activity
at some distance from the site of deposition, as no beds of ash
or pyroclastic deposits have been recognized in Malaya.
However, volcaniclastic sediments and tuffs are recorded in the
Cubadak and Tuhur formations of west central Sumatra (Rock
et al. 1983; Turner 1983).

In Malaya and in Bangka Island the increase in grain size and

frequency of the sandstone units towards the east, suggest that
the source area for the Semanggol sediments lay in this direction.
However, there are also indications in current directions within the
sandstones for derivation of sediments from local sources within
the basin. The pebbles in the Conglomerate Member are composed
mainly of vein quartz, quartzite and dark-coloured chert, which
could have been derived from Palaeozoic rocks in the central
part of the Malay Peninsula, which was evidently being uplifted
in latest Triassic times. The Conglomerate Member may pass
upwards into the Tembeling Formation of presumed Jurassic age
(Burton 1973), which corresponds in age with the Tabir, Asai,
Peneta and Rawas formations of central Sumatra (Rosidi et al.

1976; Kusnama et al. 1993b; Suwarna et al. 1994) to be described

later.

Mid-Late Triassic sediments in the western Malay Peninsula

and northern Sumatra represent deposition on a broad continental
shelf which was undergoing extension, with the formation of
localized deep rift basins in which black shales and chert were
deposited and into which, from time to time, turbidity cun'ents
carried coarse clastic sediments. Carbonate was deposited on shal-
lower parts of the shelf to form the massive limestone units in both
northern Sumatra and western Malaya. In the basin, sandstone
units increase in thickness upwards through the sequence and
are replaced in Malaya by conglomerates, indicating uplift of
the eastern source area. According to Metcalfe (2000) this uplift
resulted from the collision between the Sibumasu (Sumatra) and
Indochina blocks (East Malaya) which was taking place at this
time. In his recent publications Metcalfe (2000) interprets the
tectonic environment in which the Semanggol Formation was
deposited as a foredeep basin, related to the collision.

Woyla Group (Jurassic-Cretaceous)

Woyla Group in Aceh

The Woyla Group was defined in Aceh, northern Sumatra, where

the rocks are extensively exposed, but Jurassic-Cretaceous units
correlated with the Woyla Group have been identified in the
Barisan Mountains throughout western Sumatra (Fig. 4.12).
In Aceh, areas of outcrop of the Woyla Group are shown on
the GRDC Banda Aceh, Calang, Tapaktuan and Takengon

1:250 000 Quadrangle Sheets (Bennett et al. 1981a, b; Cameron

et al. 1982b, 1983). The Woyla River, from which the Woyla
Group was named, is on the Takengon Sheet (Fig. 4.13).
The descriptions given below, except where specified, are taken
largely from the reports which accompany these maps. An
account of the lithological units which make up the Woyla
Group and a detailed discussion of their interpretation is given
by Barber (2000).
During the DMR/BGS survey 13 lithostratigraphic units were
distinguished in the Woyla Group in Aceh, as well as a unit of
'undifferentiated Woyla'. Many of the mapping units distin-
guished in the Woyla Group of Aceh during the DMR/BGS
survey are made up of the same rock types, but in varying
proportions. It is clear that they represent geographical, rather
than genuine lithostratigraphical units. A different name was
given to each distinguishable unit on each map sheet. The outcrops
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

9;~
~;
.
.~k~, : >,
9;~ 1'00o
A
, !
Active Volcanoes
Quaternary-Recent Volcanics
Tertiary sediments and volcanics
Woyla Group and correlatives
Palaeozoic Basement
22~ ~ '7:.
9
9 v v .... "",--... j__~ 2 ~
k '\.~ NataI]~I~)~i i i i i i .O2 ."~-3" (7.
-"o~,
" ~ ~ .
i ~,.,,~ X;~. Rawas-
9 .......
":..:'\,; ~'~,~'~l~,A~a~: : : : : : : :
7)
: .--. 7":.-,.
~
nUN A NI ~,,~,_.L,t"~� ~
~
/ /
O X %.,.o k .,o.,,~5\ .~',,~
-"X
\;~~ \~.[ L:~ ~.'-:-Gumai ........... .)-"._~ ?'~b ~A,~ " .........
-X~. -~.~\:jv,~ ........... /~ '~,~ .'~'.~. >: ............ :~
"'~%. ..... Garba ..... ',
o?o
7cm/yr /
o?~
X
,oo0
" >%~O~n!ma;ung
"~.~ ~.: ~
,o,,0
6 ~
,ooo
Fig. 4.12. Simplified geological map of
Sumatra, showing the distribution of the
Woyla Group and correlated units, with
localities mentioned in the text.

of the actual lithologies within each formation are, on the whole,

too small to be represented on the scale of the map.

The stratigraphic units can be classified into three lithological

assemblages: an oceanic assemblage; a basaltic-andesitic arc
assemblage; and a limestone assemblage (Cameron et al.
1980). All of the units generally occur as fault-bounded lenses,
distributed on both the northeastern and southwestern sides of
the Sumatran Fault, and are elongated in a NW-SE direction,
parallel to the Sumatran trend. The oceanic assemblage in par-
ticular is broken by a large number of minor faults and thrusts
and has been interpreted as imbricated in an accretionary
complex formed above a subduction zone (Barber 2000). The
arc assemblage and the associated limestones are interpreted as
a volcanic arc with fringing reefs (Cameron et al. 1980). The
Woyla Group is affected by several large scale thrusts;
the Geumpang, Takengon and Kla lines, which also affect the
Miocene rocks in the area and are attributed to movements on
the Sumatran Fault System. The distribution of these units and
their relationships to the faults and thrusts are shown on
Figure 4.13.

Oceanic assemblage. The oceanic assemblage includes serpenti-

nites, gabbros, either massive or layered, and often altered
to amphibolite, basalts, often as pillows, hyaloclastic breccias,
volcaniclastic sandstones and siltstones, bedded cherts, black or
purple shales and minor bedded or massive limestones.

Serpentinite units occur as lenses along the Sumatran Fault and

along the Geumpang Line (Fig. 4.13). Several serpentinite bodies
are shown on the Takengon Sheet (Cameron et al. 1983), including
the largest of these lenses, the Tangse Serpentinite, which extends
discontinuously for 27 km to the NW of Tangse, the Cahop
Serpentinite and the Beatang Ultramafic Complex. These units
are composed of massive serpentinite, representing altered
harzburgite. Here and elsewhere, serpentinite is locally sheared,
schistose, twisted and contorted. Sheared serpentinite may also
form the matrix to m61ange, i.e. the Indrapuri Complex on the
Banda Aceh Sheet (Bennett et al. 1981a). The m61ange encloses
blocks of cumulate gabbro, basalt, red chert and limestones,
derived from other units in the Woyla Group. Fossils collected
from limestone blocks within the m61ange include: corals--

Latoceandra ramosa, Stylina girodi; foraminifers--Pseudocycla-

mmina sp.; stromatoporoid--Stromatopora japonica, indicating a
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age. In the Takengon
Quadrangle large blocks of limestone enclosed in sheared serpen-
tinite along the Geumpang Line, contain Late Miocene fossils
(Cameron et al. 1983).

Other units of the oceanic assemblage include the Penarum

Formation, which outcrops to the northeast of the Sumatran
Fault south of Takengon (Cameron et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.13), and
consists of serpentinites, basalts, red cherts with radiolaria and
slates. Volcanic rocks in this unit are commonly altered to greens-
chists. The Geumpang Formation (Banda Aceh Sheet--Bennett
et al. 1981a; Tapaktuan Sheet--Cameron et al. 1982c) crops out
CHAPTER 4

BANDA
6~
Cretaceous granites
WOYLA GROUP
Lamno
Bentaro
Volcanic~
5 ~ N
Geumpang
~. Larn Minet
~ Oceanic assemblage
Arc assemblage
Meukuk Gneiss
Undifferentiated
Peridotite/serpentinite 5~
Teunom~ , Batholith
CALANG Lke
Penarum
r undifferentiated
MEULABOH
4 ~ N
~.
SFZ
KL
GL
0
Faults
Thrusts
Sumatran Fault System
Kla Line
Geumpang Line
50 100km
9
96 ~
I
Babahrot
Meukuek
'~
TAPAKTUAN
97 ~
I
Fig. 4.13. The distribution of the Woyla
Group in Aceh. Modified from Stephenson
& Aspden (1982), with data from Bennett
et al. (1981a, b) and Cameron el aI.
(1982, 1983).

to the SE of Banda Aceh on both sides of the Sumatran Fault. Rock

types include massive or schistose basic volcanics, pillow basalts,
volcaniclastic sandstones and tufts, commonly epidotized and
altered to greenschists or phyllites, and thin grey or black lime-
stones. The phyllites are usually lineated and crenulated,
indicating multiple delbrmation. The rocks of the Geumpang
Formation are considered to constitute the typical lithological
and structural assemblage of the Woyla Group. The Geumpang
Formation also includes a massive limestone member, frequently
occurring as marble. The very similar Babahrot Formation
cropping out to the NW of the Anu-Batee Fault towards
Tapaktuan (Cameron et al. 1982c) (Fig. 4.13)includes serpenti-
nites and talc schists, as well as metagabbroic bodies metamor-
phosed in the greenschist facies and highly disrupted and
sheared into lenses.

The Lain Minet Formation (Banda Aceh Sheet--Bennett et al.

1981a) and the similar Gume Formation (Takengon Sheet--
Cameron et al. 1983) are composed of basaltic lavas, commonly
epidotized, basaltic conglomerates and breccias, with volcanic
and limestone clasts, but only rarely chert, graded volcaniclastic
wackes, radiolarian cherts with manganese oxide veining, rhodo-
nite, and calcareous, manganiferous and carbonaceous slates. A
clast of radiolarian chert, embedded in a volcanic conglomerate
with flattened clasts, was collected by Nick Cameron (pers.
comm. 1999) in the Kreung Baro, Aceh, from a landslip within
the outcrop of this formation. This occurrence indicates that volca-
nic rocks were erupted through ocean floor sediments, perhaps
during the formation of a seamount. The formation also includes
a recrystallized limestone member. The Jaleuem Formation crop-
ping out 100 km to the SE of Banda Aceh on both sides of the
Sumatran Fault, is composed largely of slates, but red cherts
occur in float and the unit also includes a limestone member. The

Bale Formation, composed of coloured slates, with minor wackes

and cherts, limestones and limestone breccias, is shown outcropping
to the NW of the Sumatran Fault, and SE of Takengon.

Arc assemblage. The basaltic-andesitic volcanics are interpreted

as an island arc assemblage (Cameron et al. 1980) (Fig. 4.27),
which is represented on the Banda Aceh Sheet (Bennett et al.
1981a) by the Bentaro Volcanic Formation, and on the Tapaktuan
Sheet (Cameron et al. 1982b) by the Tapaktuan Volcanic
Formation. The Bentaro Volcanic Formation is composed of
porphyritic basalts and andesitic basalts with agglomerates,
which are intruded by basic dykes. Basaltic vents, surrounded by
breccias, tufts and volcaniclastic sediments, have been identified

near Lain No and north of the Bentaro River on the Banda Aceh
Sheet. A chemical analysis of a xenolithic, porphyritic basalt
with pyroxene phenocrysts from this formation is given in Rock
et al. (1982). The Tapaktuan Volcanic Formation occurs in
fault-bounded lenses, within strands of the Anu-Batee Fault
Zone, parallel to the west coast of Aceh north of Tapaktuan
(Fig. 4.13). It consists of massive epidotized andesites and
basalts, commonly porphyritic, and intrusive dykes of a similar
composition. An analysis of hornblende microdiorite from this
formation is given in Rock et al. (1982). The formation also
includes agglomerates, breccias, tufts, red and purple volcaniclas-
tic sandstones and shales, the latter often as slates, and a limestone
member, composed of sparite and calcilutite, all as lenses and
much disrupted by faults.

Scattered outcrops of gneiss (Meukek Gneiss Complex) occur

within the Tapaktuan Volcanic Formation in the Barisan
Mountains to the north of Tapaktuan, between strands of the
Anu-Batee Fault (Fig. 4.13). They consist of concordant leuco-
granodioritic gneiss, with garnet-biotite amphibolite containing
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

garnets up to 8 cm in diameter, and biotite-hornblende-andesine

schist (Cameron et al. 1982b). The occurrence of high-grade
metamorphic rocks with garnets suggests that some of the units
of the Woyla Group were deeply buried and were subsequently
exhumed. These rocks warrant investigation to determine the
origin of the protolith and the environment of metamorphism.

Units containing a high proportion of volcaniclastic material are

associated with the island arc assemblage. These include the
Lho'nga Formation, which outcrops to the west of Banda Aceh,
composed of grey and coloured slates and phyllites, with inter-
bedded volcaniclastic sandstones, thin limestones and (?)radio-
larian-bearing siltstones and the Lhoong Formation, which forms
a large outcrop to the SW of the Sumatran Fault, and also occurs
as roof pendants in the Sikuleh Batholith (Bennett et al. 1981b).
The formation consists of basaltic lavas with cherts in the lower
part of the sequence, followed by conglomeratic wackes with
volcanic and limestone clasts, and subordinate sandstones,
siltstones and limestones.

Limestone units. Massive limestones, o/ten recrystallized, are also

associated with the island arc assemblage and are interpreted
as fringing reefs to volcanic islands. These units include the
Lho'nga and Raba Limestone formations which crop out along
the coast and in the Barisan Mountains to the south and west of
Banda Aceh (Bennett et al. 1981a) (Fig. 4.13) and consist of
massive calcarenite and calcilutite and dark thin-bedded cherty
limestones and shales. The massive limestone is designated a

'Reef Member' which is closely associated in the field with the

Bentaro Volcanic Formation. The Lamno Limestone Formation
also crops out along the west coast of Aceh, south of Banda
Aceh, and is also associated with outcrops of the Bentaro Volcanic
Formation. It consists of dark limestone, with a reef-like facies,
and contains volcanic clasts near the base. The limestone is com-
monly fossiliferous, with: corals--Actiastraea minima, S(vlosmi-
lia corallina; algae--Clypeina sp., Permocalculus ampullacea,
Lithocodium, Bacinella sp., Boueina sp., Thaumatoporella porvo-
siculifera; foraminifers--Pseudocyclammina lituus, indicating a
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age (Bennett et al. 1981a).
The Teunom Limestone Formation crops out along the southwes-
tern margin of the Sikuleh Batholith. It is composed of massive
dark limestones, which are metamorphosed and recrystallized
along the contact with the granite. The Sise Limestone Formation
(Fig. 4.13) resembles the limestone units to the south of Banda
Aceh, but anomalously crops out to the NE of the Sumatran
Fault. Its present position may be due to some 200 km of dextral
displacement along the fault. The unit consists of massive or
bedded limestones, biocalcarenites and calcilutites with fossils:
corals--Montlivaltia sp., Myriopora sp.; foraminifers--Pseudocy-
clammina sp. indicating a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age
(Cameron et al. 1983).

'Undifferentiated' Woyla (Fig. 4.13). On the geological map of the

Takengon Quadrangle a large area of 'Undifferentiated' Woyla
Group rocks is shown between the main strand of the Sumatran
Fault and the Anu Batee Fault. This area is poorly known, but
these rocks are described in the Explanatory Note as intermediate
to mafic metavolcanics, slates and chert. 'Undifferentiated' Woyla
is also shown in the Calang Quadrangle in the area to the south of
the Sikuleh Batholith in Gunung Paling and as roof pendants
within the outcrop of the batholith (Bennett et al. 1981b). These
rocks are said to resemble the Kluet Formation, which crops out
extensively to the NE of the Sumatran Fault, and should not be
considered as part of the Woyla Group.

Sikuleh Batholith. The Woyla Group in Aceh is intruded by grani-

toids. The largest of these is the Sikuleh Batholith shown on the
Banda Aceh and Calang sheets (Bennett et al. 1981a, b). It is an
elliptical body (c. 55 x 35 kin) elongated in a NW-SE direction
(Fig. 4.13). Around the margins of the batholith limestones of

the Teunom Formation and 'undifferentiated Woyla Group rocks

are altered by contact metamorphism. Lithologies resembling
those of the Lhoong Formation occur as roof pendants within
the batholith.

The Sikuleh Batholith is a complex intrusion composed of an

'older complex' of migmatised gabbros and diorites locally gneis-
sose and sheared and intensely veined. A 'younger complex' is
more homogeneous coarser grained and unfoliated biotite-
hornblende granodiorite. The younger complex has been dated,
from the mean of K-Ar analyses of two biotites and one horn-
blende, as 97.7 _+ 0.7 Ma (early Late Cretaceous).

Age of theWoyla Group in Aceh. Fossils from the Lamno Limestone

and Sise Formations indicate that the fringing reefs around the
volcanic arc were being formed during Late Jurassic to Early
Cretaceous times. The K-Ar ages of c. 97 Ma from the Sikuleh
Batholith which intrudes the limestones and the oceanic assem-
blage show that the lithological units which make up the Woyla
Group were in their present positions and had their present
structural relationships by the early Late Cretaceous.

Woyla Group in Natal

Lithological units correlated with the Woyla Group of Aceh

were mapped over an extensive area inland from Natal in North
Sumatra during the Integrated Geological Survey of Northern
Sumatra as part of the Lubuksikaping 1:250 000 Quadrangle
Sheet (Rock et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.14). The outcrop is limited to
the NE by the Sumatran Fault System and is much dissected
internally by faults with a similar trend. The Woyla Group is
intruded by Late Cretaceous granites and overlain unconformably
by the Miocene Barus Group, by Miocene volcanic rocks, and by
the products of Quaternary volcanism from the volcanoes of Sorik
Merapi, Malintang and Talamau, as well as by recent alluvium.
Units within the Woyla Group strike NW-SE and are very well
exposed in the valley of the Batang Natal, both in the river
section and in the parallel road section, which both cut across
the strike (Fig. 4.15). The main outcrop of the Woyla Group is
separated from a smaller outcrop in the Pasaman inlier to the
south by Malintang Volcano (Fig. 4.14).

In the DMR/BGS report of the Lubuksikaping Quadrangle

(Rock et al. 1983) lithological units in the Batang Natal
section were classified, from NE-SW, into three formations: the
Muarasoma, Belok Gadang and the Sikubu formations (Fig. 4.14).

Muarasoma Formation. The Muarasoma Formation outcrops in the

upstream part of the Batang Natal section and in its tributary, the
Aik Soma. Thicknesses of the rock units in this section were
measured perpendicular to the strike for a distance of 5.5 km
(Rock et al. 1983). The rock types in the measured section
include cleaved argillaceous units, shale or slate, which may
include calcareous concretions, laminated siltstones, and gritty
sandstones showing sedimentary structures, indicating younging
in a downstream direction, massive limestones, sometimes
forming karstic limestone pinnacles, epidotic volcanic breccias
and volcaniclastic sandstones, chloritic greenschists and musco-
vite-chlorite quartz schists. A 10 m 'conglomerate' (?m61ange)
at the upstream end of the section, with elongated clasts of greens-
chist in a chloritic matrix, is probably of tectonic origin, formed in
a fault or a shear zone (Rock et al. 1983).

Belok Gadang Formation. The Belok Gadang Formation crops out

in the central part of the Batang Natal section and is composed of
sandstones, sometimes calcareous, and argillaceous rocks, often
cleaved and containing bands and lenses of chert. The chert is
radiolarian, but no identifiable radiolaria have so far been recov-
ered which could be used to date the sequence. Outcrops in the
CHAPTER 4

00oe \

Recent Volcanoes
Langsat Volcanics I~

,
0\

Palaeogene granites

-,-
9 -..
-...-.-.-

Late Cretaceous granites

Vlanunggal

Batholith
'Sorik WOYLA GROUP

Batang Natal
9Merapi
River Section,

~ Limestones

QKOTANOPAN I~ ~' ~ M~langes

i ii!ii Muarasoma Formation

NATAL
Belok Gadang Formatior
~ Sikubu Formation
Kanaikan Peridotite/serpentinite

Pasaman Ultramafic
9 V L.~'~_ Complex
Air Bangi,~ "~)~~(.Talam~--~ ~l ~'~ au ~O X LUBUKSIKAPING

-
O~ uator 0 50km ~176
99~ 100~
I
I

Fig. 4.14. The distribution of the Woyla Group in the Natal area, North Sumatra.
Modified from Rock et al. (1983). KFZ, Kanaikan Fault Zone; SGF, Simpang Gambir
Fault.

type locality of Belok Gadang, a tributary of the Batang Natal,

show basaltic pillow lavas, with white clay interbeds and manga-
nese-rich horizons with braunite, resembling the 'umbers',
described from the Troodos Ophiolite of Cyprus (Robertson
1975). Analysis shows that the pillow basalts are spilites (Rock
et al. 1982, 1983). In the type locality basalts are overlain by
red, bedded cherts, but again no identifiable radiolaria have been
recovered.

Sikubu Formation. The Sikubu Formation, cropping out in the

lower part of the Batang Natal section, is composed of massive
volcaniclastic metagreywackes, with thin shale interbeds. The
sandstones show very well-developed sedimentary structures,
including graded bedding, flame structures and convolutions,
typical of turbidites. Massive porphyritic andesitic dykes and
lava flows, with distinctive pyroxene phenocrysts, are intruded
into, or interbedded with, the sediments in the lower part of the
section. Fragments of porphyritic andesite, identical in compo-
sition to the dykes and lavas, occur as clasts in the sandstones
9

Woyla Group rocks in the Pasaman area include m~langes and

massive and foliated peridotites (Rock et al. 1983) (Fig. 4.14).
Peridotites are well exposed in the Pasaman River where they
are composed mainly of harzburgite with minor dunite pods,
pyroxenite dykes, disseminated chromite and rare chromite
pods. Some of the peridotite is foliated, containing orthopyroxenes
enclosed in augen. Coarse plagioclase-hornblende rocks, found as
boulders in the float, represent metasomatised gabbro pegmatite
which formed dykes in the peridotite. The peridotite is variably
serpentinized, and in shear zones may be completely altered to
serpentine and talc. Smaller bodies of serpentinite, with chromite
pods, outcrop at the upper end of the Batang Natal section near
Muarasoma (Figs 4.14 & 4.15) where they form spectacular
serpentinite breccias faulted against slates and limestones of the
Muarasoma Formation. Serpentinite also occurs as xenoliths in
granite in the Aik Soma.

Intrusions and volcanics in the Natal area. Several large granite

bodies are intruded into the rocks of the Woyla Group in the
Natal area. The largest of these is the Manunggal Batholith at
the northeastern end of the Batang Natal Section (Rock et al.

1983) (Fig. 4.14). This batholith is a composite body, some

230km 2 in extent, composed of leocogranite, granodiorite,
granite and pyroxene-quartz diorite, with contaminated syenitic
and monzonitic varieties, and appinites. The granitoid rocks are
intruded by vogesite lamprophyre dykes. The granitoid rocks
have been dated by the K-Ar method at 87 Ma (Late Cretaceous)
(Kanao et al. 1971, reported in Rock et al. 1983). In the Aik Soma,
near Muarasoma, large granitic boulders in the river bed enclose
serpentinite xenoliths, surrounded by reaction zones of amphibo-
lite. Limestones in the same area are converted to skarns near
the contact with the granite.

A second granitoid, the Kanaikan is intrude into the Woyla

Group in the Pasaman area (Fig. 4.14). This body is composed
of coarse granodiorite and leucogranite cut by microgranitic and
granophyric dykes. This intrusion lies within the Kanaikan Fault
Zone, a strand of the main Sumatran Fault, and is much dissected
by faults and deformed to form cataclasites along shear zones.

Granitic rocks outcrop in headlands near Air Bangis along the

coast to the south of Natal (Fig. 4.14). Rock et al. (1983)
speculated that these rocks might be of Late Cretaceous age and
analogous to the Sikuleh Batholith which intrudes the Woyla
Group in Aceh. Later age dating showed that these granites
were of Eocene-Oligocene age (Wajzer et al. 1991).

Age constraints for the Woyla Group in the Natal area are provided
by a limestone sample from the Batang Kanaikan in the Pasaman
inlier which yielded a colonial organism, closely resembling the
samples of Lovfenipora described and illustrated by Yancey &
Arif (1977) from the Indarung area, near Padang, and considered
to be of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age (IGS/British
Museum Sample No. TC/J1/Rll01B--Rock et al. 1983).
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

TH E BATA N G NATAL -.soma

BNL BNM

Jambor Baru :.~ �"'"'�---

RIVER SECTION Formation ... Batu Nabontar

~, Limestone (BNL)
d~OMA

0 1 2 3km

. .,~: : :'.

I I l I

........

BNL

Si Gala Gala

Schists

Parlampungan

Volcanics (PV)

Panglong

Melange
Nabana Volcanics .~
~,, BNL .,<,,^,,

Rantobi

Sandstone
... :. :. :. :::

,~,~::: : :: : : :: : ::~ PV
:i:"'" ;fi : i : ~~~;~ Batang

!~ "" ~'m :.N." Natal

~.'...... .~:.~ Megabreccia

.:::::::::: . (BNM)
,'5"iiiiiiiii:: ~ : STF
' 'i:i:i:i:!:

~q:iiii ! Simarobu

Turbidite
~~i Formation
9 (STF) 44.8
Siltstone

.:::::::GAMBIR~
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

.................. lfi

Tambak Baru

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

%,- -,,e %g %,- %,- v

;4::::::~!:i:Turbidites::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: SIMPANG GAMBIR

v, Langsat ,#,-

v, Volcanics v v

"e" %'* %" %" -,,e '~.#" %," %,,

vv v.+ : "S"vv: : iiii!i!i!i , .

....... ,,,, v, i

~ Ranto Sore

Formation
9 . .

...,..

~!! Betok Gadang

..:\ ....
9.:.:..
Muarasoma Turbidite
Formation (MTF)
..:.:.
""
:.:..
:" :" :" :

",,',~',, 87.0Ma ,z,

MUARASOMA"

NATAL

v v v v ,r "r -, ".:::~ -... -,,~

%,* %~ %g %g %', %g %~- %,'%,, ~ ~ ' "

vvvv,~,vvvv"H"" "-:-:

%a %', ",~ o~*%p %e %'* %', %,, %', V

}~Langjsat Volcanic' "~ ~

~ ,.,~^r~ .........

%*~ ",P ".P %" -r -r o %" %," ",d' V %" %P V

to" "o,r %." "v" %" "v" v "-,," ",~ %" %" %'* ~ %'. %'.

"~' "o,P %" %," %" ~g' ",/ %~ ",d' %," %-" Nr ",r
~& Location of limestone block ~}~ ' %" ~" %" ",-" %" 'N e %*" V %" %" ~'r %"
with Late Triassic foraminifera %" %" %" %," %" ",e" %r %4 %y %p %r %r

_,~,O Locations for K/Ar dates %'29.7Ma-" v v v v ",r v v v v

0 10 20km
I I I I

Fig. 4.15. Geological map of the Batang Natal river section, North Sumatra. Inset
shows isotopic dates, from Wajzer et al. (1991). S is serpentinite.

A minimum age for the Woyla Group is provided by the

Manunggal Batholith, dated at 87.0Ma (Late Cretaceous)
(Kanao et al. 1971, quoted in Rock et al. 1983), which intrudes
limestones and serpentinites at the NW end of the Batang Natal
section.

Study by Wajzer et al. (1991). The Batang Natal section was

mapped in detail by Marek Wajzer from the University of
London, in a follow-up study to the Northern Sumatra Survey,
in collaboration with BGS and with the assistance of Syarif
Hidayat and Suharsono of GRDC (Wajzer et al. 1991). The
mapping was supported by petrographic, geochemical and radio-
metric studies. Wajzer et al. (1991) found that each of the units
recognized by Rock et al. (1983) in the Woyla Group, was com-
posite, with the same lithologies repeated many times throughout
the section, apparently in a random fashion (Fig. 4.15). Wajzer
et al. (1991) distinguished 16 lithostratigraphical units in the
Natal section. Correlation of these units with the mapping with
those recognized by Rock et al. (1983) is shown in Table 4.1.
Detailed accounts of these lithological units are given in
Table 4.2. Many of the lithologies are similar to rock types
described from the Woyla Group in Aceh, and by Rock et al.

(1983), with the addition of several outcrops of m61ange,

composed of blocks in a fine grained matrix, decribed as
'megabreccia' in Table 4.2 and Figure 4.15. One important

feature of the clastic units in the Woyla Group of the Natal

area is that they are ahnost completely devoid of quartz,
suggesting that they have an entirely oceanic, rather than a conti-
nental origin (Wajzer et al. 1991).

The study established several additional age constraints for the

Woyla Group, using fossil evidence and radiometric dating. A
further specimen of Lovfenipora was obtained from a limestone
block in the Simpang Gambir Megabreccia near the southwestern
end of the Batang Natal section, and a Late Triassic foraminifer
was found in a limestone clast in the Batang Natal Megabreccia
in the central part of the section. Diorite intruded into the
Jambor Baru and Batang Natal Megabreccia Formations at Batu
Madingding gave a K-At age of 84.7 4- 3.6 Ma and an andesite
in the Tambak Baru Volcanic unit, interpreted as a fragment of
a volcanic arc, gave 78.4 4-2.5 Ma. Both these lavas and the
intrusions are of Late Cretaceous age. Andesite dykes intruded
into the Si Kumbu Turbidite Formation (i.e. Sikubu Formation
of Rock et al. 1983), and regarded as contemporaneous with sedi-
mentation of this unit, gave K-Ar ages of 40.1 4- 4.6 Ma and

37.6 _+ 1.3 Ma (Late Eocene) (Wajzer et al. 1991). Samples

collected from the Air Bangis granites and analysed by
Wajzer gave K-Ar ages of 29.7_ 1.6 and 28.2 4-1.2Ma
(Late Oligocene) (Wajzer et al. 1991) showing that the Cretaceous
age for these granites suggested by Rock et al. (1983) was
incorrect.
CHAPTER 4

Table 4.1. Correlation of formations in the Woyla Group in the Natal area from
Rock et al. (1983) with the lithotectonic units defined by Wajzer et al. (1991)

Rocket et al. (1983) Wajer et al. (1991)*

1. Langsat Volcanic Formation 1. Langsat Volcanic Formation
2. Sikubu Formation 2. Si Kumbu Turbidite Formation
3. Tambak Baru Volcanic Unit
4. Simpang Gambir Megabreccia Formation
3. Belok Gadang Formation 5. Nabana Volcanic Unit
6. Belok Gadang Siltstone Formation
7. Panglong M61ange Formation
8. Ranto Sore Formation
Volcanics in both the Belok 9. Parlampungan Volcanic Unit
Gadang and Maurasoma
Formations
4. Maurasoma Formation 10. Si Gala Gala Schist Formation
Schistose Member
11. Simarobu Turbidite Formation
12. Batang Natal Megabreccia Unit
13. Rantobi Sandstone Formation
14. Jambor Baru Formation
15. Maurasoma Turbidite Formation
Massive limestones in both the 16. Batu Nabontar Limestone Unit
Belok Gadang and
Maurasoma Formations

*units are listed in approximate order upstream from Langsat with no age
relationship implied.

Units in central Sumatra correlated with the Woyla Group

Outcrops of rock units with similar lithologies to those of the

Woyla Group or which were formed within the same Jurassic-
Cretaceous age range have been mapped throughout western
Sumatra (Fig. 4. ! 2). Many of these outcrops have been correlated
by previous authors with units of the Woyla Group described from
northern Sumatra.

lndarung Formation. Small outcrops of the Mesozoic Indarung

Formation occur near Padang in West Sumatra. These rocks were
mapped and described by Yancey & Alif (1977) and were corre-
lated with the Woyla Group of Aceh by Cameron et al. (1980).
Outcrops occur 15 km east of Padang in road, river and quarry
sections near Indarung, where they are surrounded and overlain
by Neogene and Quaternary volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks
(Fig. 4.16). The area of outcrop is included on the Padang,
Solok and Painan Quadrangle Sheets (Kastowo & Leo 1973;
Silitonga & Kastowo 1975; Rosidi et al. 1976). These rocks
have been mapped more recently by McCarthy et al. (2001).

Yancey & Alif (1977) described rocks exposed in the Lubuk

Peraku River, the Ngalau Quarry, the Karang Putib Quarry and
adjacent river sections near lndarung. Rock types in these outcrops
are basic volcanics, which may include pillow lavas, volcanic
breccia, tuff, volcaniclastic sediments, radiolarian chert and
massive or bedded limestones. The basic rocks are sometimes
deformed and metamorphosed to form greenschists. On the
other hand, the limestones and cherts are essentially undeformed,
although disharmonic folding and small-scale thrusts in the chert
and gentle folds in the limestone are seen in the quarries, and
the limestones may be recrystallized (McCarthy et al. 2001).

A well-exposed section of limestone and tuff occurs in the

river section of the Lubuk Peraku and in the road above the
river (Yancey & Alif 1977; McCarthy et al. 2001). A measured
columnar section of these outcrops from McCarthy et al. (2001)
is given as Figure 4.17. The lower part of the section, described
as the Lubuk Peraku Limestone, is a limestone breccia, which
includes volcanic clasts near the base and is interbedded with
thin tuff bands near the top. The breccia is overlain by a few
metres of thin-bedded limestones and shelly marls and then by

thicker bedded and more massive limestones, some oolitic. Near

the top of the section a limestone conglomerate, eroded into the
underlying limestone with basal scours, provides clear evidence
of way-up. Above the limestone there is a break in outcrop, until
further downstream and in the road section above, the Golok
Tuff, a calcareous vitreous crystal tuff is exposed. Although
the contact between the breccia and the tuff is not seen, this
section is regarded as an essentially continuous stratigraphic
sequence McCarthy et al, (2001).

In the Ngalau Quarry, near Indarung, McCarthy et al. (2001)

collected samples from a 15 m section of bedded chert for radi-
olarian determination. In the Karang Putih Quarry, one kilometre
to the south of lndarung, lenses of chert are associated with
massive limestone. McCarthy et al. (2001) report that the lime-
stone in this quarry is completely recrystallized, possibly due to
the effects of a granitic intrusion which occurs a short distance
to the south (Fig. 4.16). An interpretative cross section shows
the cherts and limestones imbricated together along low angle
thrusts (McCarthy et al. 2001).

Rock units in the Indarung area are well dated from fossil
and radiometric age determinations. Radiolaria from chert in the
Ngalau Quarry belong to the Transhsuum hisuikoyense Zone,
of Aalenian, early Mid-Jurassic age (McCarthy et al. 2001).
Lithologies and fbssil content of the limestones in the Lubuk
Peraku section and in the Ngalau and Karang Putih quarries
were described by Yancey & Alif (1977). The limestones are
biosparites, with abundant bioclasts, oolitic calcarenites and
micrites. Molluscan shell fragments, pellets, calcareous algae,
stromatoporoids and scleractinian corals are common components
of the limestones. Among the fossils identified were the (?)
stromatoporoids Actostroma and Lovfenipora. The former is
considered to be restricted to the Late Jurassic, while the latter
is diagnostic of the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. A K-Ar
age date of 105 _+ 3 Ma (Albian, mid-Cretaceous) is reported
from the Golok Tuff in the Lubuk Peraku by Koning & Aulia
(1985) from a Caltex Pacific Indonesia internal report.

Pillow lavas and cherts of the Indarung Formation have been

equated with the oceanic assemblage of the Woyla Group of
Aceh and with the Belok Gadang Formation of the Natal area
(Cameron et al. 1980; Rock et al. 1983). Where these rocks are
imbricated, deformed and altered to greenschists they may be
interpreted, as is the case in Aceh and Natal, as materials accreted
from a subducted ocean floor. The recent recognition of Middle
Jurassic radiolaria in the cherts (McCarthy et al. 2001) shows
that part of this ocean floor was of Jurassic age. The volcanic brec-
cias tufts and volcaniclastic sandstones of the Indarung Formation
are interpreted as the products of seamount volcanism, and the
massive limestone with its Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous fossil
fauna is interpreted as part of a fringing reef formed around
the seamount (McCarthy et al. 2001). During subduction the
seamount with its carbonate cap collided with already accreted
ocean floor materials, and the whole assemblage was imbricated
to form the present complex.

Siguntur Formation. Mesozoic rocks of the Siguntur Formation are

exposed in the Sungai Siguntur, 15 km to the south of Indarung
(Fig. 4.16). The area of outcrop is shown on the Painan
Quadrangle Sheet and the lithology is described in the Explanatory
Note (Rosidi et al. 1976). Rock types are quartzites, siltstones
and shales, the latter sometimes altered to slates, and compact
limestones. The map shows that the strike of the beds is east-
west, transverse to the general Sumatran trend. In the report
the rocks are described as not intensely deformed or folded, but
quartzites interbedded with slates showing bedding-parallel clea-
vage, suggest that the rocks are more highly deformed than at
first appears. The limestones are reported to contain Lovfenipora,
and are therefore of a similar age to the limestones at Indarung.
The 'quartzites' reported from Siguntur were taken to indicate
that these rocks had a continental origin (Barber 2000) but it
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

Table 4.2. Lithology, environmental setting, structure, metamorphic grade and age
constraints for units in the Batang Natal section (in order upstream from west to
east,

see Fig. 4.4), from Wajzer et al. (1991

Unit* Lithology Environment Structure Metamorphism Age constraints

Langsat Volcanic Porphyritic basic Arc volcanics No ductile deformation Prehnite-

Possibly intruded by Air
Unit volcanics pumpellyite Bangis Granites. K-Ar
28.2 Ma, 29.7 Ma
Si Kumbu Volcaniclastic debris Submarine fan--apron D2 large scale folds (F2)
Prehnite-Intruded by andesite dykes
Turbidite flows, proximal and to volcanic arc on WNW-ESE axes pumpellyite K-Ar 40.1
� 4.6 Ma
Formation distal turbidites (NR45), 37.6 � 1.3 Ma
(NRI20)
Tambak Baru Andesitic volcanics Fragments of volcanic Di weak foliation (Si); D,
Prehnite-Andesitic lava. K-Ar
Volcanic Unit arc and proximal pumpellyite/ 78.4 _+ 2.5 Ma (BN 133)
volcaniclastics greenschist
Simpang Gambit Volcanic breccia with Proximal sediments D i strong foliations ($1);
Prehnite-?Lovfenipora sp. In limestone
Megabreccia limestone megaclasts and derived from volcanic D? open folds and
pumpellyite/ block (Late Jurassic-Early
Formation greywacke sandstones arc, with olistostromes crenulations (F:)
greenschist Cretaceous)
Nabana Volcanic Basic volcanics (sometimes Ocean-floor basalts, No ductile
deformation Prehnite-
Unit pillowed) amygdaloidal seamount pumpellyite/
to east keratophyres, greenschist
dolerite dykes
Panglong Breccias with chert, Mn M61ange D~ tight to isoclinal folds (F~); Slate
grade Older than Belok Gadang
M61ange sedim, limestones and (olistostrome) D2 open to close folds (F2) siltstone
Formation volcanic clasts in chert of ocean-floor fold F~ on NW-SE axes
siltstone matrix materials and
pelagic sediments
Belok Gadang Volcaniclastic siltstones Unconformable on Dipping beds with no
ductile Prehnite-Younger than Panglong
Siltstone with few fine sandstones Panglong M61ange; deformation pumpellyite
M~lange Formation
Formation and rare conglomerates ?lower trench slope
basin fill
Ranto Sore Volcaniclastic Fluviatile intra-arc D2 open to close folds
Unmetamorphosed ?Younger than adjacent units
Formation cross-bedded and deposits (F2) on NNW-SSE
channelled sandstones axes
and unsorted
conglomerates (lahars)
Parlumpangan Porphyritic andesites Fragments of No ductile deformation Prehnite-
Volcanic volcanic arc pumpellyite/
Unit greenschist
Si Gala Gala Banded quartz, Metasediments D~ schistosity (S~) and Greenschist
Schist Unit muscovite, derived from rodding (LI); D2 open
chlorite schists acid-intermediate to close folds (F2) on
volcanic arc NW-SE axes
province
Simarobu Volcaniclastic turbidites Ocean-floor or Foliation (S~); D2 open to
Greenschist Cut by undeformed
Turbidite with minor calcareous trench deposit closed folds (F2); D I tight
microdiorite dyke. K-At
Formation siltstones to isoclinal folds (F]) axial 49.5 +_ 2 Ma (NR 7)
plane on NNE-SSE axes
Batang Natal Large clasts of limestone, Melange formed as D~ tight to isoclinal
folds (Fl); Slate grade Included limestone clasts
Megabreccia rare clastic sediments olistostrome or as D 2 open to closed folds
contain Late Triassic
Formation and igneous rocks in mud diapirs in deform S i about foraminifer.
Intruded by
slaty matrix accretionary NNE-SSW axes; D~ Batu Madingding Diorite.
complex tight to isoclinal folds (Fi) K-Ar 84.7 ___3.6 Ma
with axial plane foliation
(S j); D2 open to closed
folds (F2) detbrm Si on
NNW-SSE axes
Rantobi Thin bedded volcaniclastic Forearc basin Axial plane cleavage (S~); D~
Slate grade
Sandstone sandstones and deposits isoclinal folds (F~) with D2
Formation siltstone closed asymmetric folds
(F2) NW-SE axes
Jambor Baru Volcaniclastic conglomerate, Shallow marine and D I foliation (S~);
Prehnite-Intruded by Batu
Formation sandstone, siltstone, deeper water D2 closed folds (F2) on pumpellyite/
Mandingding Diorite.
limestone and tuff forearc basin deposits NW-SE axes greenschist K-Ar 84.7 + 3.6 Ma

Muarasoma Thin bedded volcaniclastic Upper trench slope Di foliation (S0; D2 folds
Prehnite-
Turbidite turbidites with a basin sediments (F2) on NW-SE axes pumpellyite/
Formation coarser-grained member greenschist
Batu Nabontar Massive recrystallized Open marine shelf Dl tight folds in
Recrystallized Intruded by Batu Manunggal
Limestone limestone, rare fossils limestone interbedded tufts (F1), Batholith. K-Ar
87.0 Ma
Unit fossils show strain

*All units are cut by numerous faults and thrusts. Vertical faults often show
horizontal slickensides indicating wrench fault movements. *K-At age of Manunggal
Batholith from Kanao et al. (1971). All other K-Ar ages from Wajzer et al. (1991).
CHAPTER 4

100~ f ~~00~

~.i .~q~-~ J ~ ~ . ~ ~
9 ~.

::::::::::::::::::::::::

PADANG

l~

C? ::::::::::::::::::::: ~

........... :.::

::::

4 ~l _((" ! iF 1 U"~ .~. "~ ~ " " ~"

~/~. ~ "

--lO15 ' ~~nn/~'/~/'-'~'~.,~,~ ~ ~

o 5
~~/D '~ 1'oJ3o' 0~,,,-,. ~ ~~ ~

may be that they are recrystallized cherts, analogous to those at

Indarung.

Siulak Formation. Further outcrops of Mesozoic sedimentary and

volcanic rocks occur at Siulak 150 km to the SE of Padang
(Fig. 4.12), in a fault block caught between strands of the Suma-
tran Fault (Rosidi et al. 1976). These sediments are calcareous silt-
stones, calcareous shales and limestones. The shales and siltstones
are carbonaceous and contain angular quartz clasts. The limestones
contain Loftulisa and Hydrocorallinae of Cretaceous age (Tobler
1922, reported in Rosidi et al. 1976). The volcanic rocks are
altered andesites, dacites and bedded tufts with clasts of augite,
hornblende, chlorite and glass. These rocks are the product of
Andean arc volcanism on the margin of Sundaland.

Tabir Formation. Sixty kilometres to the east of Siulak and to the

NE of the Sumatran Fault Zone, in the Batang Tabir, are
outcrops of red conglomerates, sandstones and tufts of the Tabir
Formation (Fig. 4.5). Clasts in the conglomerates include
quartzite, and andesitic fragments derived from the adjacent
Palaeozoic rocks. The presence of Ostrea is taken to indicate a
Mesozoic, possibly Jurassic age (Tobler 1922, reported in Rosidi
et al. 1976).

Asai, Peneta and Rawas Formations. Continuous with the outcrop

of the Tabir Formation and extending southeastwards to the
south of Bangko, and also lying to the NE of the Sumatran Fault
shown on the GRDC Sungaipenuh and Sarolangan map sheets,
are large outcrops of Mesozoic rocks of the Asai, Peneta and
Rawas formations (Kusnama et al. 1993b; Suwarna et al. 1994),
(Fig. 4.12). Rock types include quartz sandstones, siltstones,
shales and limestones tufts. The Rawas Formation also includes
andesite-basalt lava flows, tufts and volcaniclastic sandstones.
Clasts in conglomeratic units in these sediments are derived

TALANG
~A, 2579~

Dibawah

Volcano

Te rtia r~ i~st~cs

Indarung Formation

Fig. 4.16. Distribution of outcrops of the

Indarung and Siguntur Formations in the

SigunturFormation -

Padang area, West Sumatra. Based on GRDC

Permo-Carboniferous maps (Kastowo & Leo 1973; Silitonga &
Kastowo 1975; Rosidi et al. 1976).

from the local Palaeozoic basement. Sandstone units show turbi-

ditic characteristics. Argillaceous units have a slaty cleavage
striking NW-SE. Fossils, including corals and ammonites,
especially from the limestone members, show that these sediments
range in age from Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Suwarna
et al. 1994).

From the presence of locally-derived clasts all these sediments,

although subject to later deformation, were evidently deposited
in situ on the Sundaland continental basement. Pulunggono &
Cameron (1984) suggested that these units were deposited in a
foreland basin, but a forearc basin, related to an Andean volcanic
arc represented by the volcanics lava flows and tufts in the Rawas
and Tabir Formation, is a more probable environment of depo-
sition. The presence of basaits, dolerites and sepentinites in the
Rawas and southern parts of the Peneta Formation suggests that
these sediments extended out onto oceanic crust.

Units in southern Sumatra correlated with the Woyla Group

The Pre-Tertiary basement rocks are very poorly exposed

in southern Sumatra, as the greater part of the area is covered by
Tertiary and Quaternary sediments and volcanics. The distribution
of Pre-Tertiary units correlated with the Woyla Group of northern
Sumatra has been determined from the occurrence of a few scat-
tered inliers in the Gumai Mountains, the Garba Mountains
and the Gunungkasih Complex and associated sedimentary units
around Bandar Lampung and from boreholes put down in the
search for oil in the Central and South Sumatra Basins
(Fig. 4.18). In the Gumai Mountains they are described as the
Saling, Lingsing and Sepingtiang formations (Fig. 4.19), in
the Garba Mountains as the Garba Formation (Fig. 4.7) and in
the Bandar Lampung area as the Menanga Formation (Fig. 4.8).
PRE-TERTlARY STRATIGRAPHY

Golok Tuff
Formation
(schematic)
C~slal luffs with sedimentary structures
(water lain) and occasional fine to medium
interbeds
Massive limestone (biosparite) with shell
III
I
I~I~I~
i i i I
I
i i and algae
Pc+~r162 + ~+';
iul i i i i I I Pale coloured volcanics overlain by massive
limestone
+++~:+:C~++:~+o<)+:++~:+,+ Conglomerate with I(X)% carbonate clasts in
sandy shelly carbonate matrix
No exposure
Limestone conglomerate with basal scours
Massive limestone
IllI i i i i i i i i i,,, I
Thinly-bedded limestone with dykes
i i i i i i'
i I i i I ! i
i I i i i i i Shelly oolite -heavily veined
Thinly interbedded with limestones and shelly
marls - boudinage~ marl flowage, veining
Thin pale tuff band in limestone conglomerate
Lubuk Peraku
Formation g Dark marls containing blocks of dark volcanics
and limestone conglomerate (?tectonic)
Nearly t00% carbonate clasts
Conglomerate ? breccia. Poorly sorted, sub-
rounded to sub-angular clasts fi'om mm to
several m in size. Carbonate clasts include
bedded sandy limestone with bivalves, algal
fragments and solotary scleractinian corals
Minor, but significant volcanic clast component Fig. 4.17. Colunmar section through
the Lubuk Peraku
Limestone and the Golok Tuff, measured in the Lubuk Peraku
river section, from McCarthy et al. (2001).

Saling Formation. The Saling Formation, which forms the northern

part of the Gumai inlier, is composed of amygdaloidal and
porphyritic andesitic and basaltic lavas, breccias and tufts, associ-
ated in the field with serpentinites and cherts. On the basis of
chemical analyses and discriminant plots the lavas have been
interpreted as tholeiites of oceanic affinity and have therefore
been interpreted as ocean floor basalts (Gafoer et al. 1992c).
However, the presence of andesites, the amygdaloidal and
porphyritic textures, suggests that the Saling Formation includes
fragments of a volcanic arc. The lavas are cut by diorite
dykes, regarded as contemporaneous with the lavas, and dated
by K-Ar analysis at 116 + 3 Ma (Early Cretaceous) (Gafoer
et al. 1992c). The description of the Saling Formation closely
resembles that of the Bentaro Volcanic Formation of Aceh
(Bennett et al. 198 la) and the Nabana Volcanic and Parlumpangan
units of the Batang Natal (Wajzer et al. 1991). The Early
Cretaceous age shows that the Saling Volcanic Arc was active
contemporaneously with the Bentaro Arc of Aceh.

Lingsing Formation. The Lingsing Formation in the southern part

of the Gumai inlier (Fig. 4.19), contains igneous rocks similar
to those of the Saling Formation, interbedded with claystone, silt-
stone, sandstone, calcilutite and chert. The Saling and Lingsing
formations are therefore considered to be contemporaneous.
Since tholeiitic basalts are associated with serpentinized ultrabasic
pyroxenites and cherts, this assemblage is regarded as an ophiolitic

sequence of ocean floor origin, together with fragments of a

volcanic arc. Although the rocks are highly deformed and
folded it is not clear from the descriptions whether they are imbri-
cated to form an accretionary complex (Gafoer et al. 1992c). The
strike of bedding and cleavage in the sediments is said to be
north-south. The mapped east-west contact between the Saling
and the Lingsing formations is therefore presumably tectonic
(Fig. 4.19).

The Lingsing Formation has been interpreted as deposited in a

bathyal environment (van Bemmelen 1949; Gafoer et al. 1992c).
The presence of lavas interbedded with clastic deposits, suggests
that the Lingsing Formation represents more distal flows, volcani-
clastic sediments and clastic carbonates derived from a volcanic
arc, extending out into the ocean floor environment, represented
by the bedded cherts. These rocks resemble clastic units in
the Lho'nga Formation of Aceh (Bennett et al. 1981a) and the
Belok Gadang Siltstone and Rantobi Sandstone formations of
Natal (Wajzer et al. 1991).

Sepintiang Limestone Formation. In the Gumai inlier the Saling and

Lingsing formations are overlain discordantly by the Sepingtiang
Limestone Formation (Fig. 4.19). This is composed of massive,
brecciated and bedded limestones, containing the coral Calamo-
phylliopsis crassa (Late Jurassic), the foraminifers Pseudotextur-
ariella, small Cuneolina (Early Cretaceous) and Orbitolina sp.
(mid-Cretaceous). The contact between the Sepingtiang
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

103o00'

Qv

to Bengkulu 60km
9 ,
9 , .

--3o45'
, ,

Q v Quaternary Volcanics
PI Pliocene
Lm Late Miocene
9 , , Middle Miocene
Tom Oligo-Miocene
Eocene

Qv

Late Cretaceous Granites

Sepingtiang Limestone Formation
Lingsing (sedimentary) Formation
Saling (volcanic) Formation

103~ '

Lm
Qv

Qv

Qv

Qv
9 ,
9 . . . . . . .

._.,_____-.-F

. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
9,, .,, .,, ,., ,,.
-..,, ::

-'-F~~ ............ .%<..:..

~iiilil

. . . . .

Qv ~ .J

-------Faults 0 5 10 15 20km

Pyroxenite I

103o00' 103o15'

I I

Fig. 4.19. The distribution of the Saling, Lingsing and Sepintiang Formations,
correlatives of the Woyla Group, in the Gumai Mountains, South Sumatra, after GRDC

map of Bengkulu (Gafoer et al. 1992c).

(Gafoer et al. 1994). Neither the cherts nor the limestones have so
far yielded age-diagnostic fossils.

The Garba Formation has been compared to the Woyla Group

of Natal (Gafoer et al. 1994) and certainly lithological descrip-
tions of this formation and its Insu and Situlanglang members,
correspond very well with those from Aceh and the Batang
Natal section. The basaltic and andesitic lavas of the Garba
Formation correspond with those of the Bentaro Arc, and may
similarly be interpreted as part of a volcanic arc sequence.
Limestone blocks within the m61ange may represent fragments
of fringing reefs or the collapsed carbonate cappings of seamounts,
the latter now represented by volcanics in the Garba Formation, as
has been suggested for the Natal and Indarung areas (Wajzer et al.

1991; McCarthy et al. 2001).

Descriptions of the m61anges of the Insu Member of the Garba

Formation (Gafoer et al. 1994) are identical to those from Natal
(Wajzer et al. 1991). The interlayering of the Insu Member with
lavas, chert and m61ange (Gafoer et al. 1994) suggests that these
rocks are deformed and imbricated in the same way as the
Woyla Group in the Batang Natal section, and similarly represent
an accretionary complex formed by subduction of an ocean floor.
It may be that some of the low-grade metamorphic schists mapped
within the Insu Member as Tarap Formation, are part of this accre-
tionary complex, as metamorphic rocks, up to greenschist facies,
are incorporated in the accretionary complex at Natal
9 Rock
units within the Garba inlier are cut and bounded by NW-SE-
trending faults. Although these faults are parallel to the Sumatran
Fault System they do not appear to affect significantly the Tertiary
rocks and must be largely of Pre-Tertiary age.

Intrusions in the Garba lnlier. Both the metamorphic Tarap and the
Garba formations are intruded by the Garba Pluton (Fig. 4.7), a
composite body in which an older component has been dated
by the K-At method at 115 � and 102_3Ma (mid-
Cretaceous) and a younger component at 79 � 1.3 Ma and

89.3 + 1.7 Ma (Late Cretaceous) (Gafoer et al. 1994). Since the

Garba Pluton (115-79 Ma) intrudes both the Tarap and the
Garba formations, the accretion of the Garba Formation to
the margin of Sundaland took place before the mid-Cretaceous.
The age of the younger component of the Garba Pluton is com-
parable to that of the Sikuleh Batholith in Aceh (98 Ma) and the
Manunggal Batholith (87 Ma) in Natal.
Menanga Formation. The Menanga Formation occurs in scattered
outcrops between Bandar Lampung and Kotaagung to the SW of
the schists and gneisses of the Gunungkasih Complex (Fig. 4.8).
The Menanga Formation consists of tuffaceous and calcareous
claystones, sandstones and shales with intercalated radiolarian-
bearing cherts, manganese nodules and coral limestones and rare
porphyritic basalt. The sandstones contain clasts of glassy andesite
and lithic fragments of andesite, quartz-diorite and quartzite. The
cherts have not so far yielded diagnostic radiolaria, but Zwierzijcki
(1932, confirmed in Andi Mangga et al. 1994a), reports the occur-
rence of Orbitolina sp. of Aptian-Albian (mid-Cretaceous) age
fi'om limestones in the Menanga river section. The bedding
strikes NW-SE with dips of 35o-60 ~ to the NE. The rocks
are folded and cut by faults, with slickensides indicating reverse
movement.
CHAPTER 4

The contact between the Gunungkasih Complex and the

Menanga Formation in Gunung Kasih itself is obscured, due to
rice cultivation, and in Teluk Ratai is at present inaccessible
as it lies within a Naval Base (Fig. 4.8). However, the latter
contact in the Menanga River was described by Zwierzijcki
(1932) as occupied by a 'friction breccia'. On the GRDC maps
Amin et al. (1994b) and Andi Mangga et al. (1994a) show both
these contacts as thrusts (Fig. 4.8).

The Menanga Formation is interpreted by Amin et al. (1994b)

as a deep-water marine sequence with interbedded basalt lavas
and andesitic clastic fragments, derived from a volcanic arc, and
deposited in a trench or forearc environment. These sediments
were deformed during accretion to the Sumatran margin,
represented by the Gunungkasih Complex. K-Ar radiometric
ages, ranging from 125 to 108 Ma (mid-Cretaceous) from horn-
blende in an amphibolitic schist in the Menanga Formation, is
taken as the age of accretion (Andi Mangga et al. 1994a).
However, the presence of quartzite and quartz-diorite clasts
suggests that the Menanga Formation was, like the Rawas and
associated formations in central Sumatra, derived from an
Andean arc built on a continental basement, and was deposited
in a forearc environment. The Menanga Formation was overthrust
by the basement at a later stage.

Intrusions in the Bandarlampung area. Near Bandarlampung

the Gunungkasih Complex is intruded by the Sulan Pluton
(Fig. 4.8). The pluton is a composite body which includes
gabbro, dated by K-Ar radiometric analysis at 151 + 4Ma
(Late Jurassic), hornblende and biotite granites and granodiorite
intruded by late aplogranite dykes. Granite from the Sulan
Pluton gave an age of 113 ___ 3 Ma (mid-Cretaceous) (McCourt
et al. 1996).

To the north of Bandarlampung, spectacular exposures below

an irrigation dam on the Sekampung River show extensive
outcrops of granodioritic and dioritic gneiss, containing basic
xenoliths, and cut by concordant and discordant granitic and
pegmatitic veins. The granitic and granodioritic gneisses are cut
by basaltic dykes, several metres thick, which contain xenoliths
of gneiss. The gneiss xenoliths show evidence of melting, and
towards the margins of the dykes are drawn out into streaks,
which are sometimes isoclinally folded, parallel to the dyke
margins. The dykes and the foliation in the gneisses both trend
in a NW-SE direction. Fold structures in the dykes and the
curvature of foliation in the gneisses indicate that the dyke
margins have acted as strike-slip shear zones, with a sinistral
sense of movement. Sub-horizontal slickensides on foliation
surfaces within the gneiss indicate the same sense of movement.
Diorite from the Sekumpang exposure has been dated by the
K-Ar method at 89 _+ 3 Ma (late mid-Cretaceous) (McCourt
et al. 1996).

In the same area, in the Wai Triplek, greenschist facies white

mica-quartz schists are intruded by metadolerite dykes. The
margins of the dykes show compositional banding which is iso-
clinally folded, in a similar fashion to the dykes in the Sekampung
River. Further upstream the bed of the Wai Triplek exposes
streaky acid and basic gneisses cut by more homogeneous basic
dykes. Acid gneiss shows evidence of having been melted and
recrystallized along the dyke contacts, and quartz-feldspar veins
fill fractures in brecciated basic dyke material, in a process of
back injection.

Relics of dyke rocks occurring as basic xenoliths in gneiss, and

gneiss xenoliths enclosed in basalt dykes, indicate that
the intrusion of basaltic dykes and granitic bodies alternated
during the development of the gneiss complex at Sekampung.
Exposures in the Wai Triplek form part of the same gneiss
complex, but also contain fragments of the schistose continental
basement into which the igneous rocks were intruded. During
or shortly after intrusion, both granitic and basic rocks were
affected by sinistral shearing, which converted the granitic and

dioritic rocks into gneisses and deformed the basic dykes. The
alternation of acid and basic intrusion, with contemporaneous
deformation, are characteristic features of the basal parts of a
magmatic arc, where acid and basic magmas are intruded into
an active strike-slip fault zone. This situation is similar to that
which exists beneath Sumatra at the present day where the
modern volcanic arc is built on the active Sumatran Fault Zone.
However, the sense of movement along the present arc is
dextral, in the opposite sense to the sinistral movement along
the Cretaceous arc.

Interpretations of the Woyla Group

On completion of the Integrated Geological Survey of Northern

Sumatra the DMR/BGS mapping team published an interpretion
of the Woyla Group in Aceh (Cameron et al. 1980). It was
suggested than the oceanic assemblage represented an ocean
floor and its overlying pelagic sediments. The arc assemblage
was interpreted as a volcanic arc, and the associated limestones
as the surrounding carbonate reefs. It was suggested that the
volcanic arc had developed on a fragment of continental crust
which had separated from the margin of the Sundaland continent
along a transtensional transcurrent fault, similar to the present
Sumatran Fault System. Extension led to the formation of a
narrow short-lived marginal basin in a process similar to that
which is forming the Andaman Sea or the Gulf of California at
the present time (Cameron et al. 1980, Fig. 4a).

There is no direct evidence to support the suggestion that the arc

assemblage was constructed on continental crust, but a number
of circumstantial arguments have been put forward in support of
this interpretation: the arc assemblage is intruded by the Sikuleh
Batholith, which it is suggested was derived from the underlying
continental crust; quartz-rich rocks associated with the batholith
and shown as 'undifferentiated Woyla Group' rocks on the
Calang map sheet (Bennett et al. 1981a) are interpreted as roof
pendants, uplifted from the underlying basement; and tin, recorded
in stream sediment samples along the northern margin of the
batholith, is normally restricted to continental crust (Stephenson
et al. 1982). All of these arguments are open to objection and to
alternative explanation.
Unfortunately no detailed chemical analyses of the Sikuleh
Batholith are available. However, it is a composite body, compris-
ing an 'Older Complex' of variably deformed and contaminated
gabbroic and dioritic rocks, into which is intruded a 'Younger
Complex' of homogeneous, largely unfoliated, biotite-hornblende
granodiorite, with a K-Ar age of 97.7 _+ 7 Ma (Bennett et al.
1981b). The low values of stream sediment tin are associated
with the outcrop of the Younger Complex, which is likely to be
a mantle-derived I-type granitoid body. There is no detailed
field or geochemical evidence in favour of the suggestion that
roof pendants have been uplifted from an underlying basement;
they could equally well have subsided from an overlying thrust
sheet. It is possible that the tin in stream sediments in Aceh
were derived directly by erosion and transport from the area to
the east of the Sumatran Fault, or secondarily through Tertiary
sediments.

Although there is no direct palaeontological or isotopic

evidence for the age of the Woyla oceanic crust, and the age of
the volcanic arc is inferred only from the palaeontological
age of the fringing reefs, in the model proposed by Cameron
et al. (1980), the marginal sea is considered to have formed by
extension and rifting in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.
In the Late Cretaceous, compression, related to subduction on
the outboard side of the Sikuleh microcontinental sliver, led to
the collapse of the marginal sea to form the imbricated oceanic
assemblage and the accretion of the microcontinental fragment,
with its overlying volcanic arc, against the continental margin of
Sundaland.
PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY

As the DMR/BGS Survey extended southwards, the model

developed in Aceh was used to interpret the Jurassic-Cretaceous
rocks correlated with the Woyla Group in the Natal area (Rock
et al. 1983). The Muarasoma Formation at the northeastern
end of the Batang Natal section, with its turbidites and massive
limestones was interpreted as shelf sediments formed on the
continental margin of Sundaland. The Belok Gadang Formation,
with pillow lavas manganiferous sediments and cherts, was inter-
preted as the imbricated floor of the marginal basin, and the
Langsat Volcanics at the southwestern end of the section were
interpreted as the volcanic arc overlying a continental basement.
The underlying basement was inferred from the Air Bangis
granites which intrude the volcanics, analogous to the situation
at Sikuleh (Rock et al. 1983, Fig. 8). In the 'Tectonic Map of
Northern Sumatra' prepared by Aspden et al. (1982a) the conti-
nental fragments in Aceh and Natal were identified as the
Sikuleh and Natal Microcontinental Blocks. A further block, the
Bengkulu Microcontinental Block was subsequently proposed in
southern Sumatra. The concept of microcontinents was taken up
by Metcalfe (1996, Fig. 15) who suggested that these microconti-
nental fragments separated from the northern margin of Gondwana
in the Late Jurassic and were accreted to the Sumatran margin in
the mid-Late Cretaceous.

The study by Wajzer et al. (1991) necessitated the re-interpret-

ation of the Batang Natal section and the reassessment of the mar-
ginal sea model. It was found that the turbidites of the Muarasoma
Formation were volcaniclastics, with no significant proportion
of quartz, and that the massive limestones did not contain
any material of continental derivation. The sediments of the

Muarasoma Formation are evidently of oceanic rather than of

continental margin origin. The bedded cherts and manganiferous
sediments in the Belok Gadang Formation were interpreted as
representing the floor of an extensive ocean, rather than the floor
of a restricted marginal sea. A limestone block in m61ange, inter-
preted as a collapsed carbonate capping to a sea mount, was found
to contain a foraminifer of late Triassic age. Evidently the ocean
floor accreted into the Woyla accretionary complex was already
in existence in the early Mesozoic. An earlier date for the origin
of the Woyla ocean floor has been confirmed by the discovery
of early Middle Jurassic radiolaria from cherts in the Indarung
Formation (correlated with the Woyla Group) near Padang
(McCarthy et al. 2001). At the southwestern end of the Batang
Natal section the Langsat Volcanics and the associated
volcanoclastics were dated isotopically as of Late Eocene to
Early Oligocene age (Wajzer et al. 1991). They are not, therefore,
a Late Jurassic-mid-Cretaceous arc analogous to the Bentaro
Volcanic arc of Aceh.

The concept of microcontinental blocks accreted to the margin

of Sundaland in the mid-Late Cretaceous has not been proven.
The arc volcanics of the Bentaro Formation and the granitoids
of the Sikuleh Batholith require detailed geochemical study to
determine whether they represent arc volcanics extruded through
a continental basement. There is no evidence either at Natal or
Bengkulu for a microcontinental block, the Langsat Volcanics
and the Air Bangis granites have been shown to be part of an
Eocene to Early Oligocene volcanic arc emplaced against the
Natal section by late (Neogene or Quaternary?) strike-slip faulting
(Barber 2000).