Guide to the geology of the Apple River Canyon State Park and surrounding area of northeastern Jo Daviess County, Illinois PDF
Preview Guide to the geology of the Apple River Canyon State Park and surrounding area of northeastern Jo Daviess County, Illinois
iLurX"^^ 557 p— IL6gui 2002-B Giuide to the Geology of the Apple River Canyon State Park and Surrounding Area of Northeastern Jo Daviess County, Illinois Wayne T. Frankie Illinois State Geological Survey Robert S. Nelson Illinois State University FietdTrip Guidebook 2002B October 19, 2002 November 2, 2002 George H. Ryan, Governor t^rt Department of Natural Resources Brent Manning, Director -^mp: ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WilliamW. Shilts, Chief Coverphoto: Apple River Canyon State Park (photo by W. T. Frankie). Geological Science Field Trips The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) conducts four free tours each yearto acquaintthe public with the rocks, mineral resources, and landscapes ofvarious regions ofthe state andthe geological processes that have ledto theirorigin. Eachtrip is an all- dayexcursionthrough one ormore Illinois counties. Frequent stops are madeto explore interesting phenomena, explain the processesthat shape ourenvironment, discuss principles ofearth science, and collect rocks and fossils. People ofall ages and interests are welcome. The trips are espe- cially helpful to teachers who prepare earth science units. We ask, however, that grade school students be accompanied by at least one parent or guardian for each five students. High school science classes should be supervised by at least one adult for each ten students. A listofguidebooksofearlierfieldtripsforplanningclasstours andprivateoutingsmaybe obtainedbycontactingtheGeoscienceOutreachCoordinator, Illinois StateGeological Survey, Natural ResourcesBuilding, 615 EastPeabodyDrive, Champaign, IL61820-6964.Telephone: 217-244-2427or 217-333-4747. This information isonthe ISGS homepage: http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu. SixUSGS 7.5-MinuteQuadranglemaps(Apple River, ElizabethNortheast, ScalesMound East, Scales Mound West, Shullsburg, and Warren) provide coverage forthis fieldtrip area. ;Bride likulic NATURAL IllinoisStateGeologicalSurvey RESOURCES Printed with soybean inkon recycled paper Printed by authorityofthe State ofIllinois 10/02 - 1M Guide to the Geology of the Apple River Canyon State Park and Surrounding Area of Northeastern Jo Daviess County, Illinois Wayne T. Frankie, Illinois State Geological Survey Robert S. Nelson Illinois State University Field Trip Guidebook 2002B October 19, 2002 November 2, 2002 George H. Ryan, Governor Department of Natural Resources Brent Manning, Director ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WilliamW. Shilts, Chief Natural Resources Building 615 E. Peabody Drive Champaign, IL 61820-6964 Home page: http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/guidetogeologyof2002fran 1 CONTENTS Introduction 1 Geologic Framework 1 Precambrian Era 1 Paleozoic Era 2 Depositional History 3 Paleozoic Era 3 Stratigraphic Units and Contacts 3 Mesozoic Era 7 Ancient Environmental History 7 Stratigraphy 12 Bedrock Names 12 Ordovician Period 12 Silurian Period 12 Structural Setting 14 Wisconsin Arch 14 Preglacial History of Northwestern Illinois 14 Erosion Surfaces 15 Glacial History of Illinois 16 Pleistocene Epoch 16 Geomorphology 2 Wisconsin Driftless Section 21 Rock River Hill Country 23 Natural Divisions and Geology 23 Natural Divisions 23 Wisconsin Driftless Division 24 Drainage 24 Relief 24 Natural Resources 25 Mineral Production 25 Groundwater 25 Future of Mineral Industries in Illinois 25 GUIDE TO THE ROUTE 27 STOP DESCRIPTIONS 47 1 Rutherford's Quarry and Dolomite Prairie 54 2 Youngbluth Quarry 56 3 Benton Mound 59 4 Lunch - Apple River Canyon State Park 60 5 Cox Quarry 62 6 Wenzel Mound Quarry 65 REFERENCES 70 RELATED READINGS 71 GLOSSARY 74 SUPPLEMENTARY READING 82 PeriodorSystem Age Era andThickness (yearsago) GeneralTypesofRocks Holocene Recent-alluviuminrivervalleys 10,000 Quaternary Glacialtill,glacialoutwash,gravel,sand,silt, 0-500' lakedepositsofclayandsilt,loessandsand dunes;coversnearlyallofstateexceptnorth- westcornerandsoutherntip m 1.8 Pliocene •-335..37mm-- ChweersttegrrnaveIlll,inopirsesentinnorthern,southernand Tertiary Mostlymicaceoussandwithsomesiltandclay; 0-500' presentlyonlyinsouthernIllinois 54.8 m Paleocene Mostlyclay, littlesand;presentonlyinsouthern 65.0 m Illinois Mostlysand,somethinbedsofclay,and,locally, 144m- gravel,presentonlyinsouthernIllinois 290 m- Pennsylvanian |Sjr 0-3,000' Largelyshaleandsandstonewithbedsofcoal, ^m limestone,andclay ("Coal Measures") 323 m Blackandgrayshaleatbase,middlezoneof Mississippian thicklimestonethatgradestosiltstone 0-3,500' chert,andshale;upperzoneofinterbedded sandstone,shale,andlimestone 354 m Thicklimestone,minorsandstonesandshales; D0e-v1o,n50i0a'n lIlalrignoeilsy;cbhlearctkasnhdalceheatrttyoplimestoneinsouthern Ci2i' :i :.<~; I I I I 417 m / /, Silurian Principallydolomiteandlimestone 0-1,000' / / , 443 m Ordovician Largelydolomiteandlimestonebutcontains 500-2,000' sandstone,shale,andsiltstoneformations 490m Cambrian Chieflysandstoneswithsomedolomiteandshale; 1,500-3,000' exposedonlyinsmallareasinnorth-central Illinois 543 m Precambrian Igneousandmetamorphicrocks;knownin Illinoisonlyfromdeepwells GeneralizedgeologiccolumnshowingsuccessionofrocksinIllinois. INTRODUCTION TheApple River Canyon State Park area is located in the unglaciated area ofnorthwestern Illinois inJoDaviess County inthe northeastern partoftheWisconsin Driftless Section ofIllinois. This naturaldivisionispartofthehighlysignificantNorthAmericangeobiologicalfeature,the"Driftless Area." Firstdescribed in 1823 bygeologistW. H. Keating, itis world renowned for its isolation fromdirectglacial impactsduringthePleistoceneEpoch. Highhills, sharpridges, sweepingslopes, and narrow valleys form some ofthe most picturesque topography in the state. The area's rugged surface was formed mainly bythe differential erosion ofOrdovician and Sil- urian sedimentary strata consisting primarily ofdolomite1 and shale and some limestone (see gen- eralizedgeologic columnon facingpage). Ridges and large mounds are upheld byresistantdolo- mite caps, and sweeping slopes are developed on soft shale. Steep-walled valleys are incised into lower, older, resistantdolomite strata. Thetrails alongthetops ofthetowering bluffsofApple River Canyon State Park offer spectacularviews oftheApple River and the surrounding scenic topographyofthecounty.This geological science fieldtripwill acquaintyouwiththegeology, landscape, and mineral resources forpartofJo Daviess County, Illinois. Stockton,with apopulationof1,926, isthe largestcitywithinthefieldtriparea.AppleRiverCan- yon State Park is 20 miles eastand slightly north ofGalenaand approximately 135 mileswestof Chicago, 190milesnorthofSpringfield,285 milesnorthofEastSt. Louis,and420milesnorthof Cairo. Jo Daviess County was named after Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, a prominent Kentucky lawyer and Indian fighterwho died in 1811 while leading acharge againstNativeAmericans atthe Battle ofTippecanoe in Indiana. Interestingly, an earlyclerical error ledtothe spellingofDaveiss with an "ie" rather than "ei." Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri also have a Daviess County, named afterthe same man, but withoutthe firstname added. Many visitors askaboutthe correctpronunciation. In most parts of the county Daviess is pronounced the same as "Davis" with a short "i." One often hears, how- ever, particularly fromthose who have not grown up in the county, the long"e," as in "Davees." Whenfirstestablished,JoDaviessCountyincludedmostofnorthwesternIllinois, includingallor partsofthefollowingcounties: Carroll, Stephenson, Winnebago,Whiteside,Ogle, Lee,Henry, Bu- reau, and Rock Island. GEOLOGIC FRAMEWORK Precambrian Era (3.8 BY to 543 MY) Through several billionyearsofgeologictime, thearea surroundingtheAppleRiverCanyon State Park, like the restofpresent-day Illinois, has undergone manychangesthroughoutthe hundreds of millions ofyears ofgeologic time. The oldestrocks beneaththe fieldtrip areabelongtothe ancient Precambrian basement complex. We know relatively little about these rocks from direct observa- tions because they are not exposed atthe surface anywhere in Illinois. Only about 35 drill holes have reached deep enough forgeologists to collect samples from Precambrian rocks ofIllinois. 1 Words in italics (except forfossilnames) are defined inthe glossaryatthebackofthe guidebook.Also, pleasenote: althoughallpresent localitieshaveonlyrecentlyappearedwithinthegeologictimeframe,the present names ofplaces and geologic features are usedbecause they provide clearreference points forde- scribing the ancient landscape. The depth to the Precambrian rocks in Jo Daviess Countyrange from 2,000 to 2,500 feet. In southern Illinois, the depth to the Pre- cambrian rocks is greaterthan 20,000 feet in the deepest part ofthe Illinois Basin. From these samples, however, we know that these ancientrocks consistmostlyofgraniticand rhyolitic igneous rocks and possibly meta- morphic, crystalline rocks formed about 1.5 to 1.0billionyearsago. Fromabout 1 billionto about 0.6 billion years ago, these Precambrian rocks were exposed at the surface. During this long period, the rocks were deeply weath- ered and eroded, forming a barren landscape that was probablyquite similartothetopogra- phy ofthe present Missouri Ozarks. There is no rockrecord {sediments) in Illinois that rep- resents the long interval ofweathering and erosion that lasted from the time the Precam- brian rocks were formed until the first Cam- brian age sediments accumulated on the eroded Precambrian rocks. This interval of weathering and erosion is almost as long as thetime fromthe beginningofthe Cambrian Period to the present. Figure 1 Locationofsomeofthemajorstructures in Because geologists cannot see the Precam- theIllinoisregion:(1)LaSalleAnticlinorium,(2)Illi- noisBasin,(3)OzarkDome,(4)PascolaArch,(5) brian basement rocks in Illinois except as cut- NashvilleDome,(6)CincinnatiArch,(7)RoughCreek tings and cores from boreholes, othervarious Graben-ReelfootRift,and(8)WisconsinArch. techniques, such as measurements ofEarth's gravitational, andmagneticfields,and seismic exploration, are used to map the regional characteristics ofthe basement complex. The evidence collected from these variousexploratorytechniques indicatesthatsouthernmostIllinois, nearwhat isnowthehistoricKentucky-IllinoisFluorsparMiningDistrict,consistedofriftvalleyssimilarto those in easternAfrica. These Illinois Basin rift valleys formed as movement ofcrustal plates (plate tectonics) began to rip apart the Precambrian North American continent. These rift valleys have been named the Rough Creek Graben and the Reelfoot Rift (fig. 1). Paleozoic Era (543 MY to 248 MY) Afterthe beginningofthe Paleozoic Era, about 520 millionyears ago in the late Cambrian Period, theriftingstopped, and thehilly Precambrian landscapebeganto sink slowlyon abroad regional scale, allowingthe invasionofa shallow seafrom the south and southwest. Duringthe following 280 millionyears ofthe Paleozoic Era, the areathat is nowcalledthe Illinois Basin continued to accumulate sediments that were deposited in the shallow seas that repeatedly covered this subsid- ing basin. The region continued to sink until at least 20,000 feet ofsedimentary stratawere depos- ited in the deepest part ofthe basin, located in the Rough Creek Graben and Reelfoot Rift areas of southeastern Illinois and western Kentucky. Atvarious times duringthis era, the seas withdrew, and deposits were weathered and eroded. As a result, there are gaps (called a hiatus) in the sedi- mentaryrockrecord in Illinois. These deposited sediments, when compacted and hardened {indurated), constitute the bedrock succession. Bedrock refers tothe indurated or lithified rockunitsthatunderliethe soils orother relatively loose, crumbly, materials nearEarth's surface. Inthe field trip area, bedrock strata range in age from more than 490 million years (the Cambrian Period)to lessthan420millionyearsold(the Silurian Period). JoDaviessCounty isunderlainby as much as 2,500 feet ofPaleozoic sedimentary strata. Figure 2 shows the succession ofrock strata a drill bit would penetrate in this area ifthe rock record were complete and all informa- tions were present. The oldest Paleozoic rocks exposed in the area are Ordovician in age. These rocks formed from sedimentsthataccumulated from about490 upto 443 millionyears ago in an ancient sea. DEPOSITIONAL HISTORY MY Paleozoic Era (543 to 248 MY) As noted previously, the Rough Creek Graben and the Reelfoot Rift (figs. 1 and 3) were formed bytectonic activitythatbegan in the latterpartofthe Precambrian Era and continued until the Late Cambrian. Toward the end ofthe Cambrian, rifting ended, and the whole region began to subside, allowingshallow seastocoverthe land. These inland seas connected with the open ocean to the south during much ofthe Paleozoic, and the areathat is now southern Illinois was an embayment. The southern part ofIllinois and adjacent parts ofIndiana and Kentucky sank more rapidlythan the areas to the north, allowingmore sedi- mentto accumulate. Duringthe Paleozoic and Mesozoic,the Earth'sthin crustwas periodically flexed and warped in places as stresses built up in response to the tectonic forces associated with thecollision ofcontinental and oceanic plates and mountain building. Thesemovementscausedre- peated invasions and withdrawals ofthe seas across the region. The former sea floors were thus periodicallyexposedto erosion, which removed some sediments fromthe rock record. Stratigraphic Units and Contacts Sedimentary rock, such as limestone, sandstone, shale, or combinations ofthese andotherrocktypes, commonlyoccurin units called formations.Aforma- tion is abodyofrockthathas adistinctive lithology, or setofcharacteristics, andeasilyrecogniz- abletop and bottom boundaries. It is alsothickenough to be readilytraceable in the field and suffi- ciently widespread to be represented on a map. Most formation names contain modifiers, such as St. Peter Sandstone or Scales Shale, which are usually derived from geographic names and pre- dominant rock types. In cases where no single rock type is characteristic, the word Formation be- comes a part ofthe name (for example, Dubuque Formation). Agroup, such as the Galena Group orthe MaquoketaGroup, isavertical lumpingtogetherofadjacentformationshavingmanysimi- larities.Amember, orbed, is a subdivision ofa formation that is toothinto be classified as afor- mation orthat has minorcharacteristics setting it apart from the rest ofthe formation. — Manyofthe sedimentaryunits, called formations, haveconformablecontacts thatis, no signifi- cant interruption in deposition occurred as one formation was succeeded by another(figs. 2 and 4). In some instances, even though the composition and appearance ofthe rocks change signifi- cantly at the contact between two formations, thefossils in the rocks and the relationships be- tween therocks atthe contact indicatethatdeposition wasvirtually continuous. In contrast, in some places, the top ofthe lower formation was at least partially eroded before the next formation began to be deposited. In these instances, fossils and otherevidence within oratthe boundary be- tween the two formations indicate a significant age difference between the lower unit and the overlying unit. This type ofcontact is called an unconformity (fig. 4). Ifthe beds above and SYS- SERIES GROUP FORMATION LITH0L0GY DESCRIPTION TEM Thickness, ft zS2 7 T Dolomite, pure, gray, thin-bedded to mas- Z^Z sive; local reef structures; local areas of TF brownish gray, argillaceous dolomite. Racine < 300 ~n l < 7is~/ i I, zzz. < < z±z S t±^ cr Marcus Dolomite, very pure, buff, vesicular, =) 35-45 7Z7 slve; contains Pentamerus in great _i abundance in lower 5-1S ft. T*rf'"<rf-<iJ"*w-N£*-v- CO / T^~^TT ; Dolomite, pure, pinkish gray; inthin wavy Sweeney M/ / beds with green shale partings; corals <z 45-55 S1 z abundant; 3-5 ft cherty zone near middle contains Miarooardinalia and Pentamerus. or o z AAA>AAA'A/AA < gSg Dolomite, pure, brownish gray; contains X Blanding ; a/a,,. many layers ofwhite chert; slliclfled 25-35 PF^f corals abundant; lower 3-5 ft slightly A / A argillaceous. £ A ,A A, TetedesMorts /.A / Dolomite, lightgray, slightlycherty,thick-bedded 15-20 / / mediumtofine-grained, relativelypure. Mosalem / * / Dolomite, gray, cherty; medium-bedded; lowerpart 0-100 isveryargillaceousdolomitegradingtodolomitlc shaleatbase.; Shale, greenish gray, dolomitlc; lnterbedded Brainord with fine- to medium-grained, argilla- ceous dolomite; abundant and diverse z 0-50 < fauna consisting largely of brachlopods < and bryozoans. < Fort 0A-tIk0inson -/— /— Dolaormgiitlel,acyeeolulso,witshhing-rbaeyd,defdi;nel-ngtrearibneeddd,ed > z n. with greenish gray shale. z o a- Shale, gray, dolomitlc; concholdal frac- o o 2a Scales tduarreks;brIoewont,elcuaarbcoonmamcoenouisn,ulpapmeirnapatretd; or o I25 osfhablreoIwnnlaorwgeirll1a5cefotu;sondoeloormittweoabteds o base containing depauperate fauna, pyrite, and phosphatic pebbles. Figure2 GeneralizedstratigraphiccolumnfromthetopoftheNiagaran(middleSilurian)tothe baseoftheChamplainian(middleOrdovician)inthefieldtriparea(modifiedfromKolataand Buschbach 1976). Figurecontinuesonthenextpage.
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