The Stratigraphy and Geologic Structure of the Great Limestone Series in South Korea

남한(南韓) 대석회암통(大石灰岩統)의 층서(層序)와 지질구조(地質構造)

The purpose of the present study is to clarify the stratigraphy and geologic structure of the Great Limestone Series by means of study on fossil conodonts and detail investigation of geologic structure. In recent years very few geologists in Korea argue without confident evidences against the age and stratigraphy of the Great Limestone Series which have been rather well established previously in most parts of the regions although it is ambiguous and has not been studied in other areas. Five type localities in the Kangweon basin where the Great Limestone Series is well cropped out were chosen for the study. Total 26 genus and 66 species of conodont were identified from 290 samples collected and treated. From the study on conodonts the age of each formations of the Great Limestone Series has been determined as follows: The Great Limestone Series of Duwibong type Duwibong limestone: Caradocian (mid-Ord.) Jikunsan shale: Landeilian (mid-Ord.) Maggol limestone: Llanvirn-Llandeilian (mid-Ord.) Dumugol: Arenigian (Ord.) Hwajeol: Upper Cambrian The Great Limestone Series of Yeongweol type Mungok (Samtaesan) : Ordovician Machari: upper Cambrian The Great Limestone Series of Jeongseon type Erstwhile Jeongseon limestone: mid-Ord. The erstwhile Jongseon Limestone formation in Jeongseon district is separated into Hwajeol, Dongjeom, Dumudong, and Maggol formations which were cropped out repeatedly by folding and faulting, but Maggol is predominant in areal distribution. Yemi Limestone Breccia bed is not a single bed but distributed in several horizons so that it bears no stratigraphic significance. The limestone bed above Yemi Limestone Breccia, which was believed by some geologists to be much younger than Ordovician, is identified to be Maggol and its age is determined to be mid-Ordovician. Sambangsan formation in Yeongweol district was believed to be Cambrian age and lower horizon than Machari formation by Kobayashi, but C. M. Son believed that it might belong to later than Ordovician and lies above the Great Limestone Series of Yeongweol type. It was identified to be upper Cambrian and lies beneath the Machari formation and above the Daeki formation, the lower most horizon of the Great Limestone Series. The age of Yeongweol type Choseon system is contemporaneous with that of Duwibong type Choseon system. The difference in lithofacies is not due to lateral facies change, but due to the difference in its depositional environment. The Yeongweol type Choseon system is believed to be deposited in the small Yeongweol basin which was separated from the main Kangweon sedimentary basin. Judging from these facts it is definitely concluded that there exists no Gotlandian formation in the regions studied. Structurally the Kangweon basin comprises five basins and two uplifted areas. These structures were originated by at least two crustal movements, that is, Songrim disturbance of Triassic and Daebo orogeny of Jurasic age.