From the Cincinnati Arch to the Illinois Basin: geological field excursions along the Ohio River Valley (GSA Field Guide 12)

187 Pages·2008·50.31 MB·English

by  Anton H. Maria

the Cincinnati Arch
Illinois Basin:
Anton H, Maria) editor
Ronald C, Counts) editor
co~
From the Cincinnati Arch to the Illinois Basin:
Geological Field Excursions along the Ohio River Valley
Edited by
Anton H. Maria
Geology and Physics Department
University of Southern Indiana
8600 University Boulevard
Evansville, Indiana 47712
USA
co-editor:
Ronald C. Counts
Kentucky Geological Survey
Western Kentucky Office
1401 Corporate Court
Henderson, Kentucky 42420
USA
Field Guide 12
3300 Penrose Place, P.O. Box 9140 Boulder, Colorado 80301-9140 USA
2008
Copyright © 2008, The Geological Society of America, Inc. (GSA). All rights reserved. GSA grants
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Published by The Geological Society of America, Inc.
3300 Penrose Place, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, Colorado 80301-9140, USA
www.geosociety.org
Printed in U.S.A.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
From the Cincinnati Arch to the Illinois Basin : geological field excursions along the Ohio River Valley /
edited by Anton H. Maria, Ronald C. Counts.
p. cm. -- (Field guide ; 12)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8137-0012-0 (pbk.)
1. Geology, Stratigraphic--Pennsylvanian. 2. Geology--Ohio River Valley Region.
3. Sediments (Geology)--Ohio River Valley Region. 4. Conodonts. I. Maria, Anton H.,
1962- II. Counts, Ronald C., 1970-
QE673.F76 2008
557.7--dc22
2008011160
Cover: David Dale Owen’s fourth and last laboratory, located in New Harmony, Indiana. Weathervane
depicts (from bottom to top) a blastoid, the cork screw–like bryozoan Archimedes, and a fossil fish.
(See Stop 7, Chapter 3, S.F. Thomas and J.T. Hannibal, “Revisiting New Harmony in the footsteps of
Maximilian, the Prince of Wied; David Dale Owen; Charles Lesueur; and other early naturalists.”) Photo
by Joseph T. Hannibal.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ii
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v
1. Aspects of Pennsylvanian stratigraphy, sedimentation, and conodonts in southwestern Indiana . . .1
Carl B. Rexroad, W. John Nelson, and Penny L. Meighen
2. The Illinois-Kentucky Fluorite District, Hicks Dome, and Garden of the Gods in
southeastern Illinois and northwestern Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
F. Brett Denny, Alan Goldstein, Joseph A. Devera, David A. Williams, Zakaria Lasemi,
and W. John Nelson
3. Revisiting New Harmony in the footsteps of Maximilian, the Prince of Wied; David Dale Owen;
Charles Lesueur; and other early naturalists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Sabina F. Thomas and Joseph T. Hannibal
4. Hydrogeology of an abandoned mine-land site for management of coal-combustion products . . .47
Paul K. Doss, Ron Yost, and Don Fuller
5. Seismic ground-failure features in the vicinity of the Lower Wabash and Ohio River valleys . . . . .57
Ronald C. Counts, James M. Durbin, and Stephen F. Obermeier
6. Building stones and cultural geology of Evansville, Indiana, USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Joseph T. Hannibal, Sabina F. Thomas, and W. Thomas Straw
7. David Dale Owen and the geological enterprise of New Harmony, Indiana, with a companion
roadside geology of Vanderburgh and Posey Counties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
W. Thomas Straw and Paul K. Doss
8. Silurian high-resolution stratigraphy on the Cincinnati Arch: Progress on recalibrating
the layer-cake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Patrick I. McLaughlin, Bradley D. Cramer, Carlton E. Brett, and Mark A. Kleffner
iii

Preface
This guidebook complements the fi eld trips offered during the 42nd Annual Meeting of the North-
Central Section of the Geological Society of America, held in Evansville, Indiana. Two premeeting, one
concurrent, and six postmeeting trips focus on a variety of topics in southern Indiana, southern Illinois,
western Kentucky, and west-central Ohio. With chapters to accompany eight of these trips, this guidebook
includes both peer-reviewed articles and detailed road logs which will prove valuable to geologists, teachers,
and students for years to come.
The fi eld excursions described in this guidebook represent only a sampling of the geology of the Illinois
Basin and surrounding region, yet offer a sense of the diversity that characterizes this area, with respect to
both bedrock and surfi cial geology. Topics of discussion include analysis and correlation of Silurian depo-
sitional sequences across the Cincinnati Arch in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana; conodonts and Pennsylva-
nian stratigraphy in southwestern Indiana; relationships between tectonism, igneous activity, and fl uorite
mineralization within the Illinois-Kentucky Fluorite District; characteristics and origin of the highly eroded
Pennsylvanian sandstones at the Garden of the Gods in Illinois; use of fi lled-fracture features as indicators of
seismicity within the lower Wabash and Ohio River valleys; and hydrogeology of an abandoned mine site in
Indiana, with applications to planning for disposal of coal-combustion products.
A prominent theme in this guidebook is the history of geology. Two chapters focus on the history of New
Harmony, Indiana, which served as headquarters for pioneering naturalists such as David Dale Owen; Maxi-
milian, Prince of Wied; Thomas Say; Charles Alexandre Lesueur; and others who worked to characterize
and map this country’s interior. Another chapter relates the history of Evansville, Indiana, to the availability
and use of geologic materials and includes discussions on the characteristics and origins of building stones,
building techniques, and architectural styles. Additional references to mining history, with respect to building
stone, coal, and fl uorite, are made throughout the book.
The organization and preparation of this guidebook and fi eld-trip program were carried out with the help
of many people. We thank the fi eld-trip guides and chapter authors for the many hours that were dedicated to
this task. We also thank those who served as manuscript reviewers, as they played a crucial role in the guide-
book’s development. Finally, we are grateful to GSA headquarters staff for their essential support.
Tony Maria
v
The Geological Society of America
Field Guide 12
2008
Aspects of Pennsylvanian stratigraphy, sedimentation, and conodonts
in southwestern Indiana
Carl B. Rexroad*
Indiana Geological Survey, 611 North Walnut Grove, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
W. John Nelson*
Illinois State Geological Survey, Coal Section, 615 Peabody Drive, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA
Penny L. Meighen*
Marshall Miller & Associates, 125 N. Weinbach Ave., Suite 230, Evansville, Indiana 47708, USA
Cosponsored by the Pander Society
ABSTRACT
The purposes of this trip are to assist in interpreting the complexities of Penn-
sylvanian stratigraphy and sedimentation and to collect representative conodonts.
The fi rst stop is the West Franklin Limestone Member of the Shelburn Formation,
which represents the Desmoinesian-Missourian boundary and the second is the Ato-
kan Lead Creek Limestone Member of the Mansfi eld Formation. To help provide a
general overview of the somewhat repetitive Pennsylvanian rock sequences in south-
western Indiana, we will visit two coal mines, each displaying several hundred feet of
Desmoinesian rocks. We will be able to collect conodonts at all stops except Stop 3.
Keywords: conodonts, Pennsylvanian, stratigraphy, sedimentation, Indiana.
INTRODUCTION der Society. Although a few units are widespread and nearly
continuous in Indiana, most are of limited extent or lack conti-
Pennsylvanian strata are particularly important in the Illi- nuity throughout their area of distribution. For example, lime-
nois Basin because of their commercial coal beds. In addition, stones may grade laterally into shale, siltstone, or sandstone or
Pennsylvanian clays and shales have contributed to the brick, may be absent in places because of either nondeposition or ero-
tile, and pottery industries. There are some 25 named coals in sion. Pennsylvanian stratigraphic nomenclature differs some-
Indiana (Fig. 1), but clastic rocks, ranging from shale to con- what among the three states in the Illinois Basin. Mostly Indiana
glomerate and in large part nonmarine, dominate the Pennsyl- Geological Survey terminology will be used in this guidebook;
vanian. It is the thin limestones, black shales, and other thin however, some coal company nomenclature and names from
marine shales that are of special interest to members of the Pan- Illinois and Kentucky are included.
*[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Rexroad, C.B., Nelson, W.J., and Meighen, P.L., 2008, Aspects of Pennsylvanian stratigraphy, sedimentation, and conodonts in southwestern Indiana, in Maria,
A.H., and Counts, R.C., eds., From the Cincinnati Arch to the Illinois Basin: Geological Field Excursions along the Ohio River Valley: Geological Society
of America Field Guide 12, p. 1–9, doi: 10.1130/2008.fl d012(01). For permission to copy, contact [email protected]. ©2008 The Geological Society of
America. All rights reserved.
1
2 Rexroad et al.
At the fi rst two stops (Fig. 2), samples may be collected
from two limestone units. At Stop 1 we visit the type locality
of the West Franklin Limestone Member (Shelburn Formation),
which contains the Desmoinesian-Missourian Series boundary.
At Stop 2 the oldest widespread Pennsylvanian carbonate of
the Illinois Basin, the Atokan Lead Creek Limestone Member
(Mansfi eld Formation), can be sampled. Desmoinesian rocks at
Stops 3 and 4 in two Black Beauty coal mines help to provide
a general picture of the Pennsylvanian in Indiana. We will be
able to collect conodonts from several units at the second mine.
Because the Pennsylvanian is so variable, these specifi c rocks
can serve only as a guide for understanding the complexities of
Pennsylvanian stratigraphy and sedimentation.
A detailed road log is in the Appendix.
THE STOPS
Stop 1: West Franklin Limestone Member, Shelburn
Formation, Ohio River bluff, West Franklin, NW 1/4, SE
1/4, Sec. 24, T. 7 S., R. 12 W., Posey County
Here we view the stratotype of the West Franklin Lime-
stone Member, a unit fi rst mentioned by David Dale Owen in
his second report on the geology of Indiana in 1839. The West
Franklin, ranging in thickness from a feather edge to ~60 ft,
consists of up to three benches of limestone separated mostly
by shale or claystone. Locally it includes coal and sandstone.
Within its region of extent, the West Franklin is locally absent
in some areas in Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana. Gray (2008)
states that the West Franklin is absent in some places in Posey
County because of nondeposition, localized erosion, or lateral
gradation into sandstone or shale. Thickness data convey only
a partial concept of the stratigraphic complexity of the member.
Further complicating interpretation of the West Franklin are the
presence of localized stray limestones below the West Franklin
proper and the effects of penecontemporaneous structural defor-
mation, particularly in Kentucky.
One of the earlier descriptions in the fi les of the Indiana
Geological Survey of the section in West Franklin was by G.G.
Bartle ca. 1922 (Gray, 2008).
West Franklin
Posey County
Glacial till–alluvium 10 ft
Sandstone [Inglefi eld] 20 ft
Shale, blue 8 ft
Limestone, massive 7–8 ft
Shale 3 in
Coal 4 in–380 ft [alt.]
Black sandy ganister 4 ft
Figure 1. Chart showing Indiana Geological Survey rock-unit names
for the fi eld trip area. Intervals and the stop number for each stop are Gray limestone, fi ssile, irregularly bedded 6 ft
shown on the right. Covered to river [~40 ft]
Pennsylvanian stratigraphy, sedimentation, and conodonts 3
s.
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4 Rexroad et al.
The section appears to be generally accurate, although Stop 2: Ferdinand Bed, Lead Creek Limestone Member,
the term “ganister” is not correct, and only about a foot of Mansfi eld Formation, northern side of Indiana State
yellowish-tan shale is present at the base of the Inglefi eld Road 66, SE 1/4, SW 1/4, SW 1/4, Sec. 27, T. 6 S., R. 5 W.,
Sandstone Member (Patoka Formation) as opposed to the Spencer County
8 ft of blue shale shown above. According to Gray (2008),
in Posey County where both the Inglefi eld sandstone and the Near the Ohio River in southwestern Indiana and Kentucky,
West Franklin limestone are present, the interval between the Lead Creek Limestone Member consists of three lithologic
them ranges in thickness from 0 to 68 ft and commonly is units: two limestones and an intervening shaly, silty clastic unit
~16 ft. The Inglefi eld commonly fi lls channels or incised val- that in some places includes thin coal, clay, and paleosols. The
leys eroded into or entirely through the West Franklin. lower limestone, the Fulda Bed, is dark-colored and argillaceous
The top of the West Franklin marks the top of the Shelburn or shaly, whereas the upper unit, the Ferdinand Bed, is light-gray
Formation, but the Desmoinesian-Missourian boundary has been and fi ne-grained and generally contains chert. Indeed, in some
variously placed in relation to unit boundaries. Peppers (1996) sections it is dominantly chert caused generally by silicifi cation
showed that the thin coal a few inches below the top bench of of the limestone. We interpret the two limestones as shallow
the West Franklin at West Franklin contains Missourian spores, open-sea deposits and the middle unit as shoal to continental.
whereas the spores from the Pirtle Coal Member of the Shel- To the north, the Lead Creek, where present, is represented by
burn Formation below the West Franklin are of Desmoinesian a single bed of limestone, and the formation is only question-
age. Similarly, in Illinois the boundary lies between the Rock ably present in the northern half of the Indiana Pennsylvanian
Branch Coal below and the Pond Creek Coal, both members of outcrop belt. At our locality the Ferdinand, of which a little less
the Shelburn Formation (Peppers, 1996). The conodont genus than 1 m is exposed, displays its typical lithology including some
Neognathodus becomes extinct at the end of Desmoinesian time. chert near the top.
It is present below the top bench but is absent from the young- The conodont fauna is of low diversity and is dominated
est bench of the West Franklin, thus supporting placement of the by Idiognathodus and Idiognathoides. Hindeodus, Neognatho-
series boundary below the top bench. dus, and Diplognathodus are minor elements. The presence of
The stratigraphic relationships of the West Franklin in Illi- Idiognathoides and Neognathodus atokaensis Grayson (Rexroad
nois are complex and have not been completely deciphered. A et al., 1999) distinguishes the fauna from that of the next named
cross section in southern Illinois (Fig. 3) illustrates dramatic limestone above, the Desmoinesian Perth Limestone Member of
changes across a distance of only 26 miles. At the east end of the Staunton Formation, which lacks both (Rexroad et al., 1998).
the section, the West Franklin is 20–25 ft thick and consists of Prior to the 2001 publication of the Illinois Basin Consortium
two limestone benches separated by several feet of claystone. (Tri-State Commission on Correlation of the Pennsylvanian Sys-
Traced westward, the limestone benches thin and diverge, the tem in the Illinois Basin, 2001), the Indiana Geological Survey
upper bench pinching out and the lower persisting (at least in placed the base of the Atokan Series at the Mansfi eld/Brazil for-
part) as the Piasa Limestone Member (Shelburn Formation). mational boundary above the Lead Creek, but the consortium
Between upper and lower limestone benches appear three dep- moved the boundary below the Lead Creek. With the presence of
ositional sequences, each comprising underclay (paleosol), thin N. atokaensis this fi ts well with the conodonts; however, earlier,
coal, thin marine limestone or shale, and coarsening-upward Shaver and Smith (1974) assigned the Lead Creek to the Mor-
deltaic strata. In concert with these changes the Farmington rowan Series on the basis of ostracodes.
Shale (Shelburn Formation), which separates the West Frank-
lin from the Danville Coal Member (Dugger Formation), thins Stop 3: Somerville Central Mine, Black Beauty Coal
from 220 ft on the east to 10 ft on the west. Notice that the top Company, Sec. 1, T. 3 S., R. 6 W., Gibson County
of the Danville Coal, used as a datum, is at the bottom of the
cross section in Figure 3. This stop will be primarily an observational drive with
We interpret West Franklin sedimentation patterns as being stops to view the high wall. The coals being mined here include,
infl uenced by differential tectonism with greater subsidence to upward, the Springfi eld (5) Coal Member (Petersburg Forma-
the west during West Franklin time, by deltaic and nearshore tion), the informal Lower Millersburg Coal (Dugger Forma-
processes, minor eustatic changes, and by topographic irregu- tion), and the Danville (7) Coal Member (Figs. 1 and 4). The
larities refl ecting the infl uence of differential compaction and Bucktown and Herrin Coal Members of the Dugger Formation,
isostatic adjustment on a coastal plain of low relief. This is commonly present between the Springfi eld and the Hymera Coal
similar to other Desmoinesian limestones in the Illinois Basin Member (Dugger Formation), are absent here, although at Stop
(Merrill, 1975; Trask and Palmer, 1986; Nelson et al., 1990; 4 the Bucktown Coal is represented by a few inches of coal and
Brown et al., 1991, Rexroad et al., 2001). These studies sug- the Herrin by a gamma-ray-log kick and a highly organic streak.
gest to Rexroad that deepwater deposits, such as proposed by The Herrin is regionally extensive; it is the leading economic coal
Heckel (e.g., 1986) for the Midcontinent, are not present in the seam in Illinois, is commercially important in western Kentucky,
Illinois Basin. but in Indiana is mined in only a few places.