Cyclic Volcanism and Sedimentation in the Mahakoshal Greenstone Belt, District Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh

Several ordered cycles of volcanism and sedimentation have been recorded from the Mahakoshal greenstone belt in the eastern part of the Sidhi district, Madhya Pradesh. Each cycle is characterised by pillow lava-pahoehoe toes, bomb agglomerate. volcanic breccia and tuff, culminating with the deposition of massive chert under quiescent conditions. The volcanics and the sediments exhibit linear distribution and were deposited as a result of eruptions along ENE-WSW trending fissures, parallel to the margins of the belt. The deposition of volcanics and sediments took place over thin Archaean sialic crust where tholeiitic magma differentiated at a depth of less than 15 km.