Rajgad GPB: A megaporphyritic flow field, Western Deccan Volcanic Province, India

Abstract

We describe the distribution and characters of a megaporphyritic basalt flow field that was arguably the earliest described ‘giant phenocryst basalt’ (GPB) from the Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP). It is a marker horizon exposed in a >30,000 km2 area below the Mahabaleshwar Formation in the western DVP. Its presence, distribution and stratigraphic importance as a regional marker horizon are enumerated. Available geochronological and paleomagnetic data suggest that the stratigraphic position of the Rajgad GPB coincides with polarity reversal in Chron 29 recorded from the basaltic lava sequence of the Western DVP.