A Middle Miocene laccolith around the Saruodaki Falls in the San'in Kaigan Geopark, northern Hyogo, SW Japan

Abstract

Saruodaki Falls, which is about 60 m high, is one of the highlights of the San'in Kaigan Geopark, northern Hyogo Prefecture, SW Japan. The quartz diorite exposed at the falls has previously been thought to represent a wide dike. However, we found that it is a laccolith with a horizontal diameter of <4 km and a thickness of >100 m. The base of the laccolith is not exposed. The host of the intrusive body consists of a lower Middle Miocene shaley formation, which is subhorizontal in this region. However, the formation makes a culmination centered by the body. In addition, the interface between the shaley formation and the diorite is concordant with the domal structure of the surrounding shale. Fracture patterns observed at the falls suggest that the laccolith is a composite sill made up of at least four sheets. Fission-track and U-Pb dating of zircon from the lower part of the laccolith yields ages of 15.7±1.2 Ma and 16.1±1.4 Ma, respectively. These ages are concordant with fossil data from the host rocks.