THE AGE OF THE VINEGAR HILL SILICA SAND DEPOSIT OF SOUTHERN NEW BRUNSWICK

A small outcrop of silica (quartz) sand at Vinegar Hill near Campbell Settlement, south of Sussex, New Brunswick, has been recognized and mined since the 1980s. The deposit overlies Carboniferous rocks and underlies glacial sediments. The age of the Vinegar Hill deposit, the sedimentology of which indicates a fluvial origin, was previously unconfirmed, although a Cretaceous date was suspected because of similarity of its setting and lithology to confirmed Cretaceous deposits in Nova Scotia. In this study, rare palynomorphs (e.g. Rugubivesiculites reductus, Cicatricosisporites sp. and Zlivisporis sp.) suggest a late Early Cretaceous age. A Cretaceous age is also supported by the identity of a fossil wood specimen within the sand. The absence of true growth rings in the wood implies a humid subtropical climate characterized by high temperatures: such climatic conditions are predicted for the Maritimes in the Cretaceous by global computer climate models. The Vinegar Hill deposit represents the only known outcrop of Cretaceous strata in New Brunswick: given its economic and scientific interest, a search for similar basins in the province would be worthwhile.