NAGPUR DISTRICT
GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY



Geology

Structural Network

Economic Minerals

Geomorphology


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Geology

The area of Nagpur district is occupied by various assemblages of rock formations ranging in antiquity from Proterozoic to Recent. The geology of the area has been demarcated on the basis of visual recognition elements on the satellite imagery, namely tone / colour texture, shadow, vegetation, landform etc. 

The board geological sequence of the area as per GSI published map is as under

Age

Formation

Lithology

Recent

Alluvium

Consisting of sand, silt and clays

Cretaceo Eocene

Ballistic lava flows

Deccan Trap basaltic lava flows associated with intertrappeans

Permian

Lameta Beds

Calcareous sand stones, sandy lime stones

Carboniferous to lower permian

Gondwana Group

Comprising Kamthi, Barakar and Talchir formation sanstone shales

Plrloterozoic

Sausar Group

Consisting schists, phyllites, granites, quartzites, magmatites, biotite,gneisses, granuluos,marbles, Mn bearing gondites

Plrloterozoic

Sakoli Group

Phyllites, schists, granite, gneisses, quartzites

The south-eastern part of the district exposes Sakoli metasedimentaries comprising series of schists, phyllites and intercalated bands of quartzites.

The rock formations of the Sausar group are exposed in the northern and north-east parts of the district. Just north of Nagpur city between Kamthi and Saoner, west of Nagpur city around Bazargaon and Umrer, south-west of Bhiwapur and east of Narkhed, patches of continental (fluviatile and lacustine ) coal bearing sediments belonging to lower Gondwana group are exposed.

At Bazargaon, east of Narkhed, around Umrer and South west of Bhiwapur, scattered outcrops as inliers of Kamthi formation are seen while between Kamthi and Saoner. both Kamthi and Talchir formations are exposed. The lameta beds comprising of sandstone, limestone and clays are comfortably lying over the meta-sedimentaries around Umrer and near Kelod.

The Deccan trap basaltic lava flows cover a vast stretch of western portion of the district. These flows overlie the intratrappeans, Gondwana sediments, Proterozoic sediments and gneisses and comprise hard, unweathered vesicular and/or weathered basalt. Some patches of basaltic lava flows are seen as outliers north of Parseoni completely, thus representing an exhumed topography.

Structural Network

The lineament fabric as revealed through the satellite data indicates the significance of the lineaments and their pattern to geologic, geomorphic setting and occurrence of groundwater in the district. The analysis of lineaments tending NE-SW, WNW-ESE and E-W are found to be moderate to good groundwater potential.

Three shear zones have been recognized in the district, two to the west of Bhiwapur in Sakoli metamorphites, grazing over the Deccan Trap basalts and the third one exclusively in Deccan trap basalt close to Narkhed. Parallel alignment of the lineaments and the dark tone signature of the moisture zone therein enable delineation of these shear zones. These structures indicate the possibility of developing them into hydraulic troughs subject to field verification.

Seven circular morphostructures have been delineated from satellite imageries, four of which are located in Deccan trap basaltic area in the western and southern parts, two in the metasedimentaries of Sakoli N-E and south of Bhiwapur and one in Kanhan valley in the alluvial area.

Economic Minerals

Coal, manganese, dolomites, clays and copper are important minerals occurring in the district. These mineral locations have been indicated on the geological map with appropriate symbols.

Geomorphology

The various landforms discernible on the satellite imagery can be broadly classified into i) Structural, ii) Denudational and iii) fluvial units, based on the major geomorphic processes and agents involved in their transformation. These units differ from one another in respect of lithology, structure and age of their evolution. In all geomorphic units have been delineated on the basis of visual recognition elements viz., colour/tone, texture and vegetation.

Geomorphologically, the area can be divided into three regions viz.,

i) Units of structural origin like structural hills/structural ridges, mesa, butte and dissected plateaus in the northern, western and southeastern portions which are developed on quartzites and Deccan trap basalts, 

ii) Near plain to undulating topography with denudational units like pediments, pediplains in the central, eastern and south-central portion developed over the metamorphites, Gondwana and Deccan Trap basalts, and 

iii) Units of fluvial origin viz.,the valley hills and the alluvial plains occurring along the rivers of Wainganga, Kanhan and their tributaries.

 


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