Franklin Marble

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The Franklin Marble is a geologic deposit located in the Highlands region of New Jersey. The Franklin Marble dates back to the Precambrian geologic era. An early marine environment provided the proper conditions for algae and stromatolites to thrive. The resulting calcium and carbon deposits, as well as other chemical processes, provided the limestone and dolomite that would later be metamorphosed into Franklin Marble.

Approximately six thousand feet of limestone was buried to a depth of nine miles and a temperature of nearly 750 degrees Celsius during the Grenville orogeny. The marble was faulted and altered further during the Appalachian and Taconic orogenies as well. The formations that are visible today were exposed during the Triassic.

One of the unique features of Franklin Marble are the graphite inclusions. This material further supports the idea that there was early life in the Precambrian oceans.

[edit] References

• The Geology & Geography of New Jersey. Widmer, Kemble. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc. Princeton, NJ 1964