The morning of our last day on Skaergaard was cool and foggy. This iceberg in Kangerlussuak Bay is ~600 m long, contrasting with the 66 m length or our ship.

From our landing spot we immediately walked to the western contact of the Skaergaard with the host Archean gneisses. Shown is the contact between Skaergaard gabbro and Archean gneisses. The gabbro is quite fine-grained in this chilled marginal zone, having crystals ~1 mm across. 5 m inward from this contact the gabbro has crystals up to 1 cm across.

Archean gneisses just outside of the contact, showing layering and extensive partial melting of the gneisses and disruption of layering.

The contact between the Skaergaard and the enclosing Archean gneisses. Notice how fine-grained the gabbro is here, and that the contact is smoothly irregular.

View to the west from the pluton interior toward the contact, ~10 m above the shoreline and ~10 m inward from the contact. The main Skaergaard contact is under the left-to-right line of people at intermediate distance. The near man walking away is on a light-colored rock, which is a dike made of a mixture of gneiss and gabbro blocks in a matrix of melted gneiss. This dike back-intruded the dark gabbro on either side of the dike. The most distant rocks are the Archean gneisses. The gneiss-gabbro main contact is easily visible just to the right of the two right-most people.

View of the top of the felsic felsic dike in the photo above, with a granitic matrix enclosing blocks of unmelted gneiss and fine-grained gabbro.

Dismembered gneissic layering in the Archean gneiss, produced by partial melting, deformation, and fracture of the more competent layers.

Pillow-like structures along the contact of the Skaergaard. These pillows (or rounded xenoliths) are encased in mobilized melted gneiss.

Gneiss and gabbro breccia at the Skaergaard margin, just south of the little lake on southeastern Kraemer Island at 59 m elevation.

Looking southwest at deformed amphibolite layers (now pyroxene granulite) in the gneisses ~15 m outside of the contact with the Skaergaard gabbro.

Looking northeast at the same deformed amphibolite layers (now pyroxene granulite) as in the photo above. Competent mafic layers have fractured, faulted, and become displaced.

Fabulous wavy pyroxene rock ~10 m inside the pluton margin at an elevation of ~70 m. Layering of the coarse-grained segregations is horizontal, possibly suggesting an underlying ledge.

An example of the common perpendicular feldspar rock in this area, near where the photo above was taken. The feldspars here are more dendritic and less perpendicular than in some places.

Photo toward the southwest looking across Kangerlussuaq Bay, from the lake at elevation 107 m. An iceberg is peeking through the fog.

Xenolith breccia at ~160 m near the western Skaergaard contact. Most of the smaller, dark xenoliths are ultramafic, similar to the wherlite xenoliths on the Uttental Plateau. The large, light-colored, layered, elongate block slightly below and left of center is metamorphosed Cretaceous sediment, containing spinel, plagioclase, magnetite, ilmenite, and cordierite. Unfortunately, my sample from here contained little more than magnetite and plagioclase.

Closer view of some of the ultramafic xenoliths seen in the photo above, with the large, layered sedimentary xenolith on the far left.

Photo of a nicely weathered outcrop showing the ultramafic xenoliths and a few xenoliths of partially melted sediment.

Kurt Hollocher photographed close to the xenolith breccia in the photos above, with Wager Top (left) and Pukugagryggen (right) in the distance.

Lunch stop at the small lake at 200 m elevation. This is near the lower contact of the MZ, with Wager Top (left) and Pukugagryggen (right) in the background, and Bjørneskinds Glacier in between. The dip of the MZ macrorhythmic layered section and Triple Group is prominent on the distant cliffs.

Lovely modally graded beds in the MZ, with an unusual contorted layer interpreted to be a slump bed. This bed contains autolith fragments farther on, and so these slumps can carry autoliths. The contorted layers always occur in sections with modally graded beds, and always have sharp tops and bottoms.

A different view of the slump bed shown in the photo above.

The next several photos are of the same autolith block. Looking northeast at a medium-size, light-colored, weakly layered anorthositic autolith with deformation in the layering underneath it. Some of the deformed layers are visible on the left underside of the block. Wagers Top is peeking up over the near horizon.

Closeup view of the bottom point of the block shown in the photo above. Strongly deformed and folded layers are visible within 30 cm of the block base, and thin magnetite replacement veins are visible within the block.

Closeup view of the north end of the block seen in the previous photos, showing where mush from the block itself and layers under the block were squished out as the block impacted. Downwardly deformed layers are visible to the lower right, contorted layers in the lower center, and upward lapping layers deposited after block impact to the left.

Contorted layer north of the block in the photos above. It occurs at the level where downwardly bent layers below the block meet upwardly onlapped layers deposited after block impact. This layer is therefore interpreted to be the impact horizon on which some of the poorly consolidated floor material squirted out from under the block at the time of impact. The beds below the contorted layer are not very regular, but this may be due to the fact that this area has a great many blocks.

View of the south end of the block in the photos above, showing the onlapping and thinning of layers on the edge of the block, and a somewhat contorted layer that is sometimes seen on the upper part of block draping sequences.

Very nice graded beds just southwest of and a few meters down section from the block in the photos above.

The next set of photos highlight a couple of different large autolith blocks. This photo shows the lower margin of a large gabbroic autolith. The man is standing on the block. The view is looking downhill to the southeast. Stratigraphic up is to the left, so the rusty layer is interpreted to be an olivine-bearing reaction rim on the bottom of the block. There was quite a bit of argument that the reaction rim might actually be on the top of the underlying block, which is the light gray rock to the lower right (mostly covered with water). The strongly layered area to the right of and beyond the man is trough filling on the block margin.

The same area in the photo above, but looking the opposite direction, uphill and to the northwest. The large gabbro autolith in the photo above occupies the entire visible surface to the upper right. The magnetite-rich trough filling layers, shown in the photo above, are in the center. The olivine-rich reaction rind, possibly on the top of a poorly visible block on the left, extends from the upper left to the bottom center, with some offset along the irregular top of the underlying block. The near woman is standing on the rusty rind, and so is standing on the top of the block to the left or the bottom of the block on the right. There may be yet another block in front of her at the rind offset.

Another view of the large gabbro block of the photos above, better showing the trough infill layers, the rusty reaction rind is under the person with orange pants. The large block is under the two people sitting down and the two in the upper right. Another block lies behind the people in the wet area, and still another is downhill from the people forming the near margin of the trough layering.

Closeup of onlapping magnetite-rich layering on the south side of another block just south of the blocks in the photos above.

This next set of photos were taken within and around a large block seen in the photo to the left; a large autolith block with dikes cutting across it. This view is from the bottom of the block looking toward the top. These zoned gabbroic dikes cut the block but are truncated at the block margin; the dikes were therefore emplaced before block detachment from the roof. The block is quite primitive, from UBZT, whereas the dike mineralogy is that of the more evolved UBZγ.

Lower end of two of the dikes (here in contact with each other) at the base of the block in the photos above where the dikes end against MZ gabbro. The enclosing MZ gabbro is under the pencil, the block is above the pencil, and the pencil point is at the contact.

Closeup view of a zoned dike cutting the large autolith block in the photos above.

Another of one of the pre-detachment dikes crosscutting the block in the photos above. Notice how this dike has irregular layers near the margins and becomes pegmatitic toward the interior, quite different from the dike in the photo immediately above.

Mushroom-shaped anorthositic replacement bodies in the block shown in the photos above. These replacement bodies elsewhere are cut by the dikes, and so predate both the dikes and block detachment. Notice how the anorthositic material has more mafic margins in their lower parts, but not at the caps at the tops.

View to the south showing the underlying layers beneath the block in the photos above. Folded modally graded layers can be seen, with the folding caused by impact of the block.

Photo looking south at the folded and disrupted layering on the underside of the block in the photos above. The block itself is the light colored rock on the right side.

Closer view of the folded beds under the block in the photos above. Notice how the layering becomes diffuse in the sheared region near the block, which is visible as the light-colored rock at the top.

Thinly graded beds below the block in the photos above.

View to the southeast, across Uttental Sund toward the Homestead area and Skaergaard Bay. At the left end of this steep-walled bay (not quite visible) a geologic base camp was left for the winter, only to be destroyed by an avalanche off of the steep valley sides. The steep slopes in the midground show the spectacular macrorhythmic layering of the MZ.

View to the east toward Basistoppen. The foreground is the ridge on the southeast margin of Kramer Island. The light-colored rock on the left is a giant autolith, with onlapping macrorhythmic layering visible on the right side. Despite its size, this autolith is missing from the McBirney (1989) map.

View to the southwest across a little meadow. Reds and yellows are not flowers, but leaves that have turned color on this mid-autumn, early September day.

This and the next two photos below are of the same basaltic xenolith shown here. Farewell gathering at the head of the bay north of Lille Mellemø. This part of the MZ has a belt containing abundant basaltic xenoliths, representing collapse of portion of the Skaergaard roof contact. One block, difficult to see, is the light-colored rock most obvious in the lower center and occupying all of the lower and lower right corner of the photo. The macrorhythmic layering section of the MZ begins immediately above this layer of xenoliths.

Top of the block in the photo above, showing the sharp contact, some magnetite in a reaction rind, and small magnetite-rich gabbro dikelets that were emplaced in fractures during or soon after block impact.

Closeup view of one of the magnetite-rich dikes crosscutting the block in the photos above. These dikes have MZ mineralogy, though they are somewhat richer in magnetite that most of the gabbro that is host to the blocks.

A small rusty, olivine-bearing fine-grained, basalt xenolith. Another rusty xenolith with weathered-out pits is visible on the bottom of the photo.

Outer margin of the rusty, olivine-bearing xenolith in the photo above, showing a prominent magnetite-rich reaction rind. This block has pits weathering out in a pattern that resembles amygdules, but may be weathering out olivines.

Photo of a block bearing layered rocks of the upper border series UBZT, and attached basalt. This block is therefore part of the roof contact. This photo has basalts that look a little like pillow lavas, with the more featureless rock just in front of the people being the UBZT rock.

A different view of the same block as in the photo above. The basalts are the irregularly mottled rock on the left, under the woman in red. The layered UBZT rock is under all the people wearing blue. The contact is just under the man in white pants. The UBG layering in the block dips steeply to the left, at a high angle to the layering in the host rock that dips shallowly down to the right in the background. An en eschelon offset basalt dike occurs in the contact region in the block.

Photo of a large rusty basalt block (top), with MZ gabbro below bearing small chips of rusty, fine-grained basalt mini-xenoliths.

Closeup of the pits on a rusty basalt block. To my eye these pits are not shaped like round amygdules, but rather look like irregular, perhaps radiating, crystals.

The three Zodiacs approaching shore, with small icebergs near the shore. Ivnarmiut is in the distance.

Loading up the Zodiacs to head back to the ship.

View to the southeast from Uttental Sund. Some shacks visible at the occasionally occupied Inuit settlement. Cliff in the center is Kobbernunatak, peak to the right is Tinden, peak on the horizon just left of center is Sydtoppen, and rounded rise on the left horizon is Brødretoppen.

Expanded view of the center of the photo above, showing the green copper stained patch (center) on Kobbernunatak, which is entirely in the Basistoppen sheet.

View of more shacks on Skaergaard Peninsula, including a Quonset-shaped hut, with Pilespidsen (769 m) being the highest (not sharpest) peak in the background.

Shacks and trash on Skaergaard Peninsula, with Tinden on the left.

More shacks on Skaergaard Peninsula, with a better view of all the trash lying about. Empty fuel drums, boat parts, sheet metal, bones, clothing, plastic. A real mess. Brødretoppen (top left) and Sydtoppen (top center) are in the background. The midground cliff is made entirely of the Basistoppen sheet.

A closer view of the Quonset hut, covered in insulation, with lots of trash scattered about. Basistoppen is on the left, Brødretoppen on the right, and the Basis Glacier between. The top of Basistoppen and the lower 3/4 of the dark wall on the right is of the Basistoppen sheet. Some internal layering of the sheet is visible, so the sheet is obviously differentiated.

More huts and trash on Skaergaard Peninsula, with Basistoppen in the back right.

Lifting a Zodiac onto the mid-deck of the ship.

Overhead view of the gangplank and people unloading from the Zodiac.