Guide to the geology of the Hennepin area, Putnam, Bureau, and Marshall counties, Illinois

120 Pages·2002·8.8 MB·English

by  Illinois State Geological Survey

557
IL6gui
2002-A
Luiuc TO THE GEOLOGY OF THE
HENNEPIN AREA, PUTNAM, BUREAU,
AND MARSHALL
COUNTIES, ILLINOIS
^ A
Wayne T. Frankie, Russell J. Jacobson, Ardith K. Hansel, and Myrna M. Killey ^«^
ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY <^X <j±
Robert S. Nelson, Dave H. Malone, William E. Shields, and Robert G. Corbett ^ ^<£"
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
Field Trip Guidebook 2002A April 27, 2002
May 25, 2002
George H. Ryan, Governor
Department of Natural Resources
Brent Manning, Director
ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
William W. Shilts, Chief

GUIDE TO THE GEOLOGY OF THE
HENNEPIN AREA, PUTNAM, BUREAU,
AND MARSHALL COUNTIES, ILLINOIS
Wayne T. Frankie, Russell J. Jacobson, Ardith K. Hansel, and Myrna M. Killey
LLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Robert S. Nelson, Dave H. Malone, William E. Shields, and Robert G. Corbett
LLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
rieldTrip Guidebook 2002A April 27, 2002
May 25, 2002
3eorge H. Ryan, Governor
Department of Natural Resources
3rent Manning, Director
LLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
WilliamW. Shilts, Chief
statural Resources Building
315 E. Peabody Drive
Dhampaign, 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/guidetogeologyof2002illi
Coverphoto: Hennepin Canal, LockNo. 11 (photo by W. T. Frankie).
Geological Science Field Trips The Geoscience Education and Outreach Unit ofthe Illinois
State Geological Survey (ISGS) conducts four free tours each yearto acquaint the public with the
rocks, mineral resources, and landscapes ofvarious regions ofthe state and the geological pro-
cesses thathave led to theirorigin. Eachtrip is an all-day excursion throughone ormore Illinois
counties. Frequent stops are made to explore interesting phenomena, explain the processes that
shape ourenvironment, discuss principles ofearth science, and collect rocks and fossils. People of
all ages and interests are welcome. The trips are especially helpful to teachers who prepare earth
science units. Grade school students are welcome, but each must be accompanied by a parent or
guardian. High school science classes should be supervised by at least one adult for each ten
students.
A listofguidebooksofearlierfieldtrips forplanningclasstours andprivateoutingsmaybe
obtainedbycontactingtheIllinois StateGeological Survey,NaturalResourcesBuilding, 615 East
PeabodyDrive,Champaign, IL61820-6964. Telephone: [phone]or217-333-4747. This
information isonthe ISGS homepage: http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu.
EightUSGS 7.5-MinuteQuadranglemaps(Buda, Depue, Florid, Henry, Manlius, PrincetonSouth,
SpringValley, Wyanet) provide coverage forthis fieldtrip area.
This fieldguide is divided into foursections. The first section serves as an introduction to the
geologyofIllinois and inparticularthe area surrounding Hennepin. The second section is aroad
log forthe trip, andthethird sectionprovides detailed stop descriptions. The final section is an
appendix that includes supplementary materials that are importantto the fieldtrip area.
EditorialBoard
Jonathan H. Goodwin, Chair
Michael L. Barnhardt David R. Larson
B. Brandon Curry John H. McBride
Anne L. Erdmann DonaldG.Mikulic
WilliamR. Roy
%JBS
RESOURCES IllinoisStateGeologaicalSurvey
©
Printed with soybean ink on recycled paper
Printedby authorityofthe State ofIllinois 3/02 - 1M

CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Geologic Framework ^<4^ j&, 2
^^
Precambrian Era r.% 2
^ %
Paleozoic Era <&' 2
^ <
Depositional History 3
<$"
Paleozoic Era ^<§* 3
Mesozoic Era 6
Structural Setting 6
Preglacial History 8
Geologic History of the Illinois River 8
Development of the Upper Illinois River Valley 13
Glacial History of Illinois 13
Pleistocene Epoch 13
Geomorphology 19
Bloomington Ridged Plain 19
Natural Divisions and Geology 19
Natural Divisions 21
Grand Prairie Division 21
Upper Mississippi River and Illinois River Bottomlands Division 22
Illinois River and Mississippi River Sand Areas Division 22
Drainage 22
Relief 22
Natural Resources 23
Mineral Production 23
Groundwater 23
GUIDE TO THE ROUTE 25
STOP DESCRIPTIONS 69
1 Borrow Pit in the Tiskilwa Formation of the Wedron Group
and Lock No. 1 1 of the Hennepin Canal 69
2 Kettle Lakes and Eskers 73
3 Lunch at Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park 78
4 Gravel Hill Kame 81
5 Providence Moraine 83
6 Mark Mine Dump Gob Pile 84
7A Bonucci Sand and Gravel Pit - Pearl Formation 87
7B Pennsylvanian Outcrop 89
8 Alternate Stop - Sand and Gravel Pit - Henry Formation 91
REFERENCES
96
RELATED READINGS 97
GLOSSARY
99
JOHN WESLEY POWELL IN ILLINOIS 107
COMMON PENNSYLVANIAN FOSSILS 110
Period orSystem Age
Era andThickness (yearsago) GeneralTypesofRocks
Holocene Recent-alluviuminrivervalleys
10,000
Quaternary Glacialtill,glacialoutwash,gravel,sand,silt,
0-500' lakedepositsofclayandsilt,loessandsand
<2 o dunes;coversnearlyallofstateexceptnorth-
'(D_ro westcornerandsoutherntip
m
Pliocene -r 51..36m-i Chertgravel,presentinnorthern,southern,and
"35" L36.6mJ westernIllinois
Tertiary Mostlymicaceoussandwithsomesiltandclay;
0-500' presentlyonlyinsouthern Illinois
57.8 m
Paleocene Mostlyclay,littlesand; presentonlyinsouthern
66.4 m Illinois '
Mostlysand,somethinbedsofclay,and,locally,
144 m- gravel,presentonlyinsouthernIllinois
286m-
m
Pennsylvanian
0-3,000' Largelyshaleandsandstonewithbedsofcoal,
limestone,andclay
("Coal Measures")
320m
Blackandgrayshaleatbase,middlezoneof
Mississippian thicklimestonethatgradestosiltstone
0-3,500' chert,andshale;upperzoneofinterbedded
sandstone,shale,andlimestone
360m
Thicklimestone,minorsandstonesandshales;
D0e-v1o,n50i0a'n lIlalrignoeilsy;cbhlearctkasnhdalceheartttyoplimestoneinsouthern I , I J,—iI—' ",3-n
I I I I
r_r
408m
Silurian Principallydolomiteandlimestone
0-1,000'
438m
O5r0d0o-v2i,c0i00a'n Lasragnedlsytdoonleo,misthealaen,danldimseislttosnteonebuftorcmoanttiaoinnss /V///v/// ')
505m
Cambrian Chieflysandstoneswithsomedolomiteandshale;
1,500-3,000' exposedonlyinsmallareasinnorth-central
Illinois
570m
Precambrian Igneousandmetamorphicrocks;knownin
Illinoisonlyfromdeepwells
GeneralizedgeologiccolumnshowingsuccessionofrocksinIllinois.
INTRODUCTION
The Hennepin field trip is located alongthe eastern bank ofthe Illinois River in an area known as
the Big Bend ofthe Illinois River. Thisgeological sciencefield tripwill acquaintyou with thegeol-
ogy? landscape, and mineral resources for part ofPutnam, Bureau, and Marshall Counties, Illi-
nois. The startingpoint forthis excursion will be in Hennepin atthe Walter Durley Boyle Commu-
nity Park, located across from the CountyCourtHouse. Hennepin is approximately 115 miles
southwest ofChicago, 125 miles northeastofSpringfield, 220 miles northeastofEast St. Louis,
and 327 miles north ofCairo. The Putnam County courthouse in Hennepin isthe oldestcourthouse
currently in use in Illinoisthathasbeen maintained in itsoriginal form. Thecourthousewasbuilt in
1839 ata cost of$14,000.
Hennepin, population 669, was founded in 1817 and named forthe famed French explorer, Father
Louis Hennepin. LaSalleand HennepinexploredboththeIllinoisand Mississipi RiverValleys in
the 1680s. Father Hennepin wasthe second person to discovercoal in Illinois; in 1682 he found
several places of"pitcoal" alongthe Illinois River. Illinois isthe first placecoal was discovered on
theNorth American continent. On a map drawn by Hennepin in 1687, he located a lead (galena)
mine in the Galena area. These early discoveries ofcoal and galena would become the develop-
ment ofvital economic resources hundreds ofyears later. One could argue that Father Hennepin
wasoneofthe firstgeologiststoexplore Illinois.
One ofHennepin's most famous citizens was John Wesley Powell. The following is from a monu-
ment at the Ernest Bass Municipal Park in front ofthe village hall at the corner ofEast High and
South Sixth Street.
MajorJohn Wesley Powell, aGeologist, was ateacherandprincipal ofthe Hennepin Schools on
—
thissite 1858to 1861. Helosthisrightarminthe BattleofShiloh. HewasthefamedExplorerof
the Colorado River, one ofthe foundersoftheNationalGeographic Societyand DirectoroftheU.S.
Geological Survey
Ashortbiography ofJohn Wesley Powell is included in the supplemental readingatthe end ofthis
guidebook.
Putnam County,the smallestcounty inthe stateofIllinois, encompassingonly 166 squaremiles,
was formed on January 13, 1825. It was named for General Israel Putnam (1718-1790), who
served in the French and Indian Warand Pontiac's War, priorto being a major general in the Con-
tinentalArmy during the Revolutionary War. Western Putnam County was also home to the
Pottawtomi Tribe until theearly 1830s. ChiefSenachwine is buried in Putnam County.
The original Putnam Countyboundaries were expansive, reachingfromthe Illinois Rivertothe
Wisconsin border, includingall ofthe areasnorth oftheIllinois Riverandthe south forkofthe
Kankakee River. Once including all ofpresent-day Bureau and eastern Stark Counties and most
ofMarshall County, a series ofchanges reduced Putnam County to its present-day boundaries.
Bureau County, originallypartofPutnam County, was established on February 28, 1837, and was
named for Pierre de Beuro (7-1790), a French Creole, de Buero established a trading post on the
Illinois River, nearthe present-daycommunity ofBureau, de Beuro was killed in an Indian attack
1 Words in italics are defined inthe glossary atthe back ofthe guidebook. Also please note: although all
present localities have only recently appearedwithin the geologictime frame, weusethepresentnames of
places and geologic features because they provide clearreference points for describingthe ancient land-
scape.
in 1790. The southern part ofBureau Countywas part ofthe Military Tract. The Military Tract
consisted ofland that was granted to veterans ofthe War of 1812.
Marshall County was established on January 19, 1839, and was named forJohn Marshall, famous
as Chiefjustice ofthe U.S. Supreme Court.
GEOLOGIC FRAMEWORK
Precambrian Era
Through several billionyearsofgeologictime,theareasurroundingHennepin underwentmany
changes (see the rock succession column, nearthe beginning ofthis guidebook). The oldest rocks
beneath the field trip area belong to the ancient Precambrian basement complex. We know rela-
tively little about these rocks from direct observations because they are not exposed at the surface
anywhere in Illinois. Onlyabout35 drill holes havereacheddeepenough forgeologiststocollect
samples from Precambrian rocks ofIllinois. From these samples, however, we knowthat these
ancient rocks consist mostly ofgranitic and rhyolitic igneous, and possibly metamorphic, crystal-
line rocks formed about 1.5 to 1.0 billionyearsago. From about 1 billion toabout0.6billionyears
ago, these Precambrian rocks were exposed at the surface. During this long period, the rocks
were deeply weathered and eroded and formed a barren landscape that was probably quite similar
to the topography ofthe present Missouri Ozarks. We have no rock record in Illinois forthe long
interval ofweathering and erosion that lasted
from the time the Precambrian rocks were
formed until the first Cambrian age sediments
accumulated, butthat interval is almostas
longas thetime from the beginningofthe
Cambrian Periodto the present.
Because geologists cannot see the Precam-
brian basement rocks in Illinois except as cut-
tings and cores from boreholes, they must use
various other techniques, such as measure-
ments ofEarth's gravitational and magnetic
fieldsand seismic exploration,to mapoutthe
regional characteristics ofthe basement com-
plex. The evidence collected from these vari-
oustechniques indicatesthat in southernmost
Illinois, nearwhat is nowthe historic Ken-
tucky-IllinoisFluorsparMiningDistrict,rift
valleys, such as those in eastern Africa,
formed as movement ofcrustal plates (plate
tectonics) began to rip apart the Precambrian
NorthAmerican continent. These rift valleys
in the midcontinent region are referred to as
the Rough Creek Graben and the Reelfoot
Rift(fig. 1).
Paleozoic Era Figure 1 Locationofsomeofthemajorstructures in
theIllinoisregion:(1)LaSalleAnticlinorium,(2)Illi-
After the beginning ofthe Paleozoic Era, noisBasin,(3)OzarkDome,(4)PascolaArch,(5)
about 520 million years ago in the late Cam- NashvilleDome,(6)CincinnatiArch,(7)RoughCreek
brian Period,theriftingstopped,andthehilly Graben-ReelfootRift,and(8)WisconsinArch.