On the Snowy Mountains granites

Where tectonics is not a factor, the landscapes of granite batholiths show variations in average pluton elevation that follow each pluton’s composition very closely. The granitoids of the Kosciusko and Maragle batholiths in the Highlands of southeastern New South Wales have clearly been influenced by tectonics. Examination of the relation between composition and mean pluton elevation reveals that the plutons of these batholiths lie in two groups, a Highlands group between the Jindabyne-Barney’s Range Thrusts and the Tumut Ponds Fault Zone and a Western group west of the Tumut Ponds Fault Zone. Composition and mean pluton elevation are strongly correlated within each group, indicating they have been uplifted as two coherent blocks along those two fault systems. The plutons of the Berridale Batholith east of the Highlands form a contrasting low-relief group. Pluton mineralogy determines elevation across a granite batholith. Kosciusko Highlands were uplifted as one block along the Jindabyne Thrust and Tumut Pond Fault Zone.