Top End basins excursion guide. Central Australian Basins Symposium IV (CABS IV), Darwin, August 27-28, 2022

Abstract

This excursion guide has been created by the Northern Territory Geological Survey to accompany the Central Australian Basin Symposium overnight excursion across the Top End of the Northern Territory from Darwin to Katherine. This excursion aims to highlight some of the outcropping geology between Darwin and Katherine. The Top End rocks outcropping along the route and at the various stops range in age from Palaeoproterozoic to Cretaceous. They are assigned to sedimentary and igneous rocks of the Palaeoproterozoic Pine Creek Orogen, and are overlain by stacked sedimentary basins, including the Palaeoproterozoic McArthur Basin, Palaeozoic Daly Basin and Mesozoic-Cenozoic Money Shoal Basin. The sites include road cuttings, lookouts, a river gorge, scenic waterholes, and an underground cavern.

This guide also includes important safety information, a short summary on the regional geology of the Top End, and a brief synopsis of each of the various stops and localities.