Coring at Site 1206 began in volcanic basement rock beneath a thin, 57-m-thick sedimentary sequence. Only an RCB wash core (Core 197-1206A-1W) of firm sedimentary debris was recovered from the sedimentary section. This core consisted of two sections (197-1206A-1W-1 and 1W-2), containing a mixture of Quaternary- to Eocene-age material (see "Biostratigraphy") that entered the core barrel during the wash down. Only black carbonate-rich lapilli breccia and a few centimeters of dark gray to black fine-grained sediment were recovered. Below 57 mbsf, red sedimentary interbeds and thick, red-brown weathered flow tops were recovered in the basement section of lava flows and volcaniclastic units (Cores 197-1206A-2R to 45R [57.0-335.2 mbsf]). These sedimentary units are described elsewhere (i.e., "Site 1206 Visual Core Descriptions"; Table T2).
Section 197-1206A-1W-1 contained pieces of very disturbed, mottled brown (4/3 10YR) clayey silt with angular to subangular gravel dispersed within them. The remainder is silt-sized, nonvesicular volcanic fragments. Section 197-1206A-1W-2 consists entirely of disturbed fine- to coarse-grained scoriaceous volcaniclastic breccia with rare ~1-mm-sized bioclasts throughout. The core catcher contained early Eocene (Zone NP14 or NP15) nannofossil-bearing siltstone (see "Biostratigraphy").