Field, mineralogical, and structural observations on some basement rocks, South-East Choiseul, Solomon Islands

Abstract

In eastern Choiseul, Solomon Islands, the mineralogy and structure of basement lavas, grading from pillowed, massive, cleaved to hornblende schist, show siniilarities with parts of the basement of Guadalcanal and Malaita, especially in their Early Tertiary developmental history. These similarities throw doubt on the frequently proposed idea that Malaita and NE Santa Isabel (as parts of the Ontong Java Plateau) arose in a distant region far removed from the other Solomon lslands.