0000169 GEQL 615 PASSERO 2 hr. Res. 2 KOUR RESERVE
OF THE AMERICAN ASKJCIATrO* OF PETROLEUM dCOLOOlCTB VOU »L NO. 4 (APRIL. 1W»). W. •!*-•»«. FIG*, l-tl
docs . and MISSISSIPPIAX MARSHALL FORMATION OF MICHIGAN1 rally V. BROWN MO.VXETT* .and, Stillwater, Oklahoma nity, ABSTRACT The stratigraphy of the Marshall formation should n»t be studied as in independent unit. Tte con- un.!crl>ing Colduater shale can Sc divided inld an caaicrn sandy facies and a western dolomitic i.icir» The sandy iac<« i; n*enarable irom the Mr.rthal! formation at most place*. Rfdbed* occur rap. i« (-oth '.he Ma,-:-h;!! lormanon and the upper Co!ii«atcr sediments in ea<:er« Michigan, They are 'arra unreliable a? itr*itifraphic markers except in local areas. Neither color nor grain sue provides a suitable basi* /or .1
Fig, 5), Uclls The marine sedimentation basin in ^hich ihe Cyldwatcr scdirrcnts were -1,240 feet of deposited appears to have occupied a large area comparable with the size of the drilled. Less basins in which older Paleozoic sediments in Michigan were deposited. The basin interval ap- contained topographic irregularities of varying size,s due to the expression of > thickness in folding in the older rocks on the sea floor. Sediments entering the basin from the ussion of the east consisted of sands, silts, and muds. Variations in the volume of these sedi- ter than 160 ments and in the current and wave action within the eastern part of the deposi- -Ard thicken- tional basin caused an interfingering of these elastics as they were deposited. Toward the close of Coldwater time some of the streams entering the basin apparently flowed from an area in which red ferruginous sediments had origi- nated. These red sediments were carried into the basin and were deposited in an e Coldwater interfingering sequence similar to that of the other Coldwater deposits. =. we st- Fine muds were settling out of the more open sea on the west beyond the area ir .mites where the coarser elastics were being deposited. The precipitation of carbonate t are strong deposits occurred at intermittent times in the quieter and deeper waters. They :ning of the became more common stillfarther west where less mud was transported by the iv counties water. The influence of a western land mass on the present Coldwater deposits if sediments appears to have been negligible.
afforded by MARSHALL FORILATION i the north, OUTCROPS north-south General ares.—The Marshall formation is covered with glacial drift in most of beyond the the outcrop area and only few natural exposures of the sandstones are found. All AH fine-tex- of the larger exposures in the southern part of the state are in old quarries, most .1 sediments of which were abandoned long ago. Surface appearances of the Marshall occur ^posited an in Hillsdale, Jackson, and Calhoun counties in southern Michigan, Ottawa County -posits. in southwest Michigan, and in eastern Tuscola, western Sanilac, and northern t -als a Huron counties comprising the "Thumb" area of eastern Michigan. The outcrops b. This in Huron County are discussed separately from the other Marshall outcrops tf , , corn- because they present a separate problem. County is Hittsdale County,—The most southern exposure of Marshall strata in the state -f«r on the where more than 10 feet of section is exposed is about i mile northeast 01 Osseo, ; t to dtfter- in the northwest corner of Sec. 4, T. 7 S.f R. a \V., in ?r:'V-> County. The out- -< is, how. crop consists of 20 feet of thin-bedded, very rine-grained argillaceous sandstone. , Thinning The sandstone is buff to greenish buff in color in the upper part of the exposure .i western and rust brown in the lower part. Numerous fossils arc in the talus. :-ie that it North and west of Osseo, old quarries at Hillsdale and Jonesville provide '."lines and outcrops of Marshall strata. The quarry at Hillsdale is within the city limits, in ; antedate the S\V, | of Sec. 22, T. 6 S-, R. 3 W. Although more than 25 feet of strata was communi- exposed in this quarry m.my years ago, it has been filled in to sucli an extent the basal that now less than 8 feet of bedrock is available for examination. The rock is an olive-green to buff, thin-bedded, very fine-grained sandstone. 658 v. AffSSISSIPf The quarry at Jonesville is at »!?* southern edge of the city limits on the east bank of an old mill r.tcc aU>ut soofcet north of the mill pond. Thirty feet of tan lo greenish gray, thin-bedded, very tine-grained sandstone is exposed. Fossils are present in the talus although they are not abundant. A petrographic study was made of a sample of the sandstone exposed at Jones\i!Ic. More than 90 per cent of ihc sandstone is quartz. Other constituents, in order of their abundance, include chert, muscovite, biotite, and plagioclase
j,„*.*•{ •:**•?
FIG. 9.—Quarry ir
considered to belor fossiliferous sandstc 13 miles northeast, Jackson County southern Jackson C west of Hanover in : fifl. S.—Abandoned quarr>- in Marshall sandstone at Stony Point, Jactson County, Michjgis. Photograph by C. M. Ehlers. SECTION or MAR*
Sandstone, fine-grained. feldspar. The sandstone contains minor amounts of chlorue, ilnier.lte, rutile, and Sandstone, fine- to me^ zircoQ. "mud lumps" Sandiione, fine-drained. Several small and isolated exposures of Marshall strata are in the northern coa;ed »ith hmooite tier of '.
Tits on the cast iy foot of tan to •ed. Fossils are me exposed at :r constituents, ind plagioclase
Fie. o.—Quarry in upper Maishall sandstone at Napoleon, Jackson County, Michigan.
considered to belong in the lower Marshal! strata. The medium-grained, non- fossiliferous sandstone near Jerome is more similar to the sandstone at Napoleon, 13 miles northeast, than to any of the other sandstones in Hillsdale County. Jackson County.—The largest exposure of Marshall deposits in the state is in southern Jackson County at the abandoned Stony Point quarry (Fig. 8) south- west of Hanover in Sec. 31, T. 4 S., R. 2 \V. The section is as follows. SECTION or MARSHALL STUATA EXPOSED AT STONY PO&T w SEC. jt, T. 4 S., R. a \V, Fftt Inchtt , rutile, and Sa.-.: ---tie, fine-grained, tan, very friable 16 Sir.dst'ine, fine- to medium-grained, buff; contains some small, grty, lenticular "mini lumps" :o S.-ruIstone, fine-grained, buff to brown; contains molds of pelecjpods and goniatitei the northern coated with limonite 6 a road cut 3 Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, buff to brown, friable, micaceous 9 6 j in road cuts Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, buiT, massive; contains a few poorly preserved fossils 13 t these locali- i is very simi- 49 i. However, 6 The mineral composition was determined of a sample of the sandstone taken Jerome in the 5 feet above the base 'of the c-xposure. About 95 per cent of the rock is quartz, ery different. feldspar, and mica. The feldspar .'OT'ent of the sandstone varies from 5 ?,? ;o per light bur? and cent and is greater than thai o! the sandstone at Joncsvil!e. The Stony Point exposure probably belcngs in the central part of the Marshall are generally formation. Beds in the upper part of the Marshall crop out at Napolcun northeast 654 V. BROWN MQXNETT AflSSISSt of this locality and sandstones in the lower part of the formation are in Hillsdale than it di'd in \V: County on the south. Lithologically, the sandslone at Stony Point possesses now only 9 feet i characteristics common to both the coarser sandstones at Napoleon and the finer of it is covered. I sandstones on the south. The rock is a fint Another good exposure of Marshall sandstone in Jackson County is in the the base and thi quarries at the east edge of Napoleon, Michigan (Fig. 9). This is the type vile are in the s; locality of the Napoleon sandstone described by \Vinchell (1861, p. 89). Winchell 9 feet, an abunc (cet above the b measured 75 feet of sandstone in the area of the quarries. Twenty-five years 1 later, Rominper uo;6, p- 8oj recorded 50 feet of sandstone at the same locality. on fresh surface At the present time less than ao feet of bedrock is exposed. It consists of medium- hard after it ha grained, friable, non-fossjliferous sandstone. The strata are very light buff on is more difficult. fresh surface but weather to medium-gray. The sandstone appears massive from The mineral a distance but on closer examination, particularly of the weathered surfaces, a base of the qu. series of thin beds are seen. This thin bedding makes it possible to quarry l*rge minerals, compr flat blocks of sandstone 1-4 inches thick. ments of mica s< There is no noticeable change in the sandstone from the bottom to the top of chlorite, apatite the quarrj-. The sand grains are subangular to subrounded ind do not have frosted Larger expo? surfaces. Quartz and chert are the chief constituents of the sandstone. Biotite and Ceresco and Ba chlorite are common and minor amounts of tourmaline, ilmenke, and zircon are of Ceresco in t! present. The feldspar content of the sandstone is very small. following sectio: Outcrops of Marshal] beds elsewhere in Jackson County are rare. The forma- SECTION c- tion is very close to the surface at several localities in the southern part of the Sandstone, fine-gra country but no bedrock was observed. Sandslone, Cne-gra Cat>i0nn County,—The Marshall sandstone is very near the surface at many molds of o-straeoc Sandslone, fine- to - places along the Kalamazoo River Valley between Homer and Battle Creek In Calhoun County. The presence of several quarries along the river make this area of mica the best in the state in which to study the Marshall strata. Down the river from Homer, an abandoned quarry on the west river bank in The entire sect: the NE. } of Sec. 20, T. 3 S-, R. 4 W., reveals 23 feet of non-fossiliferous sand- stone. The rock is the most coarsely grained Marshall sandstone exposed in The argi'laceou' southern Michigan- It is a porous, friable rock composed of medium to coarse the sandstone re in the sandstone sand grains and ranges in color from buff to grayish white. The sandstone is more massive than that at Napoleon. Two miles f. The next outcrop west, near Morengo, is one of the few- natural exposures of 3 S., R. 7 W., River between more than 5 fi"*t of Marshall sandstone in southern Michigan. The outtfop is on the so-.th brtru. o: KaUmaioo River near ihe center of Sec. 30, T. 2 S., R. 4 W. sandstone, but ': the Clark quar: Approximately 14 feet of small- to medium-grained, light tan to grayish Marshal] quarr white sandstone rises above the river flat. The lower 5 feet is mostly covered, but sandstone with the remaining 9 feet is very friable, porous, massive sandstone showing some feet coarser sar. cross-bedding. A few feet of tbi* .wr.-Stone is exposed in a road cut i mile south- east in Sec. 32 of fh* sum* township. olive-green to gr A The quarry ;.t MArsluiU, Mk*"i.;.in, from wMcii Winchell (iS6i. p. 84"! adopted of t! c c.\ the r.-inie of the Marshall formation, now furnishes much less section to examine MfSSlSSlPPUX MARS BALL FORMATION OF MICHIGAN 655
; in IJillsdalc it did in WincheU's time. Winchell described 25 feet of rock in 1861, whereas nt possesses now only 9 feet is exposed. Undoubtedly 75 fee*, of sandstone is present, but most and the finer of it is covered. It is only due to recent quarry operations that the 9 feet is exposed The rock is a fine-grained, olive-green to tan sandstone which is rather massive at Uy is in the the base and thin-bedded and platy toward the top. A few large flakes of musco- is the type vite are in the sandstone. Although a few pelecypods are present throughout the •9). Wine-hell 9 feet, an abundance of fossils occurs in a bed of shaly. ferruginous sandstone 3 :y-five years feet above the base of the exposed section. The extremely fossilifcrous bed is soft ime locality. on fresh surfaces and complete fossils can be obtained, but the bed becomes very • of medium- hard after it has weathered a short time, and the collection of unbroken fossils ight buff on is more difficult. ia »from The mineral content of a sample of the sandstone taken one foot above the :es, » base of the quarry was determined. Quartz and chert are the most common ./ large minerals, comprising about oo per cent of the sample. Biotite, feldspar, and frag- ments of mica schist are the other chief constituents. Minor amounts of ilmenite, o the top of chlorite, apatite, tourmaline, and calcite are likewise present in the sandstone. have frosted Larger exposures of Marshall strata are along the ECalamazoo River between Btotite and Ceresco and Battle Creek. A quarry on the north side of the river i mile west d zircon are of Ceresco in the southwest corner of Sec. 24, T. 2 S., R. 7 \V., provides the following section. The forma- SCCTION or MARSSAU SnuTA EXPOSED IN QUARRY IK SEC. 14, T. a S., R. 7 part of the Fttt fnchu Sandstone, fine-pruned, thin-bedded, »r|ritl»ceous and bard 8 S Sandstone, fine-grained, thin-bedded, argillaceous; com ami thin bonds of limonite ce at many molds of ostracod* 10 le Creek in Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, thick -bedded, Un; contains some Urge flake* ke this area of mica c
»e .k in :r ..and- The entire section is argillaceous as compared with the sandstone at Marshall. i xposed in The argillaceous content makes it harder and better cemented. When crushed, i to coarse the sandstone resembles light brown silt. Ostracods were the only fossils observed one is more in the sandstone. . Two miles farther downstream, on the north side of the river in Sec. 15, T. tposures of 2 S., R. 7 \V., is the abandoned Clark quarry. The north bank of Kalamazoo tcrop is on River between these two quarries seems to be composed largely of Marshall 5., R, 4 W. sandstone, but bedrock is seen in few places. The 22 feet of sandstone exposed in to grayish the Clark quarry is generally more coarse-grained than that at the Ceresco or •vered, but Marshall quarries. The lower and more massive 12 feet consists of fine-grained wing some sandstone with a feu- disseminated grains of medium size, but in the upper xo nile south- feet coarser sand grains are more abundant. The sandstone ranges in color from olive-green to grayish tan. 4} adopted -... A petrographic examination of ft sample of this sandstone 13 feet above the o examine base of the exposure shows a feldspar content much greater than that of other 656 V. BROWN MOXNETT MISSISSIPPI* Marshal! sandstones in Michigan, Orthoclase, microcline, and varieties of plagio- northwest corner of S< clase feldspar constitute at least ao per cent of the grains in the sandstone. Ap- Sec. 19, T. 13 X,, R. i, proximately 75 per cent of the minerals are quartz and chert. Biotite, muscovite, Sec. x, T. u X., R. Jj fragments of mica schist, rutile, and zircon are the remaining constituents. surface was sectioned Marshall strata underlie a thin soil covering at several places in Battle Creek of t!.e sand grains. T} and are commonly crp-osed in excavations in the city. The bed of Kalamazoo lite, muscovite, and aj River has been reported to Le fossiliferous Marshall sandstone in the vicinity of Some clues regard! the Kendall Street and ihe Emmet Street b/idpes. Although the fossiliferous beds lying the Xapoleon rm were not seen, the foMoff-'inj: section was measured on the west bank of the river in Sanilac County in t' about 100 feet upstream from the Emmet Street bridge. dredged out and dum; SECTION or MAMBAII Six*™ EXPOSED Ken* EKKIT SmtiT BJUPOE, sist of blue-gray shale BATTLE CKU&, MICVOAH rocks some fragments Ft* Intiw "peanut conglomerate Sandstone, fine- to medium -grained, tan to gray, very friable, with some indJcationi Of croM-beddinj 7 definitely recognized, Clay, fray, soft 6 Rominger (1876, p. 7 Sanditone, finf- to medium-grained, greenish gray to tan; bedi art 1-6 inches thick J Sanditone, fi/ie-grained, greenish gray j 6 bluffs along the side o
Ottawa County.—-No exposures of the Marshall were observed between Battle A division of the Creek and Holland, Michigan. A quarry in Sec. ai, T. 5 X., R. 15 W.( east of difficult in most partf Holland and southeast of Waverly, marks the most northern and western based on the presem surface occurrence of the Marshall formation in this part of the state. The Marshall and the ab? quarry, which is as much as 40 feet deep in some parts, is now nearly filled with stone. These criteria ; water. On the east side of the quarry 2 /f-t o: gray to buff, fine-grained sandstone work and are not app. stands above the water level, TT.e tc-wer 6 inches is very /ossiliferous, brown, of fine-grained sandst ferruginous, fine-grained sandstone. The high content of iron oxide makes the ingly scarce. A few rock very hard. I'oint in Jackson Cou Slabs of sandstone taken from the lower parts of the quarry for building pur- common. poses were examined in the town of Holland. The sandstone is greenish tan, fine- The use of grain si grained, silty, and micaceous. A thin section of the rock was made and the mineral parts of the Marshall content determined. The constituents are essentially the same as in other fine- entirely restricted to grained Marshall sandstones in sou thern Michigan, Feldspars comprise more than part of the formation 10 per cent of the sample. Flakes of biotite and muscovite and fragments of mic* grained sandstones ar schist also are present. interbedded with the Tuscola andSaniliiffonntics.—Several exposures of upper Marshall (Xapoleon/ Marshall, especially i sandstone occur in northeastern Tuscola and northwestern Sanilac counties in the The variations in vicinity of the- North Branch of Cass River- Gordon fiooo, p. ia) estimated that a complete Marshall about three-fifths of Sanilac County is underlain by Marshall sandstones. Rom- section CG' (Fig. io) i inger (1876, p. 78) reported outcrops of coarse-grained sandstone in the towns of in subsurface adjacer Elkland and Xovesta in Tuscola County and in the towns of Greenleaf and Jackson County nort Arjryle in Sanilac County. Me§t of She rcr'* i? thinly bedded, l>ut in some places t;irt in llm area is m I.i'i!> up io : feet in t!iie!;;us5 occur l-ctuoon the- thin-l/oclilul dept'Mi?. C'«ood ex- r,im.« tAtilyiny the « posures in Sanilac County are along the north bank of a small stream in the and medium-grained, MlSSTSS/PPfAX MARSHALL FORM.-IT/OX OF Jtf/Cff/C.-I.V 657 arietiesof plagio- northwest corner of Sec. 13, T, 14 N.. R. 12 E., and in the northeast corner of >e sandstone. Ap- Sec. 19, T. 13 X., R. 13 E. A sample of the sandstone from the village of Tyre in [otite, muscovite, Sec. i, T. 14 N., R. 13 E., Sanilac County, where upper Marshall beds reach the wituents. surface was sectioned for peirographic study. Quartz and chert comprise most * in Battle Creek of the sand grains. There are minor amounts of feldspar, zircon, ilmenite, bio- d of Kalamazoo tite, muscovite, and apatite. In the vicinity of Some clues regarding the Hthologic character of the beds immediately under- fossiliferous beds lying the Napoleon medium- to coarse-grained sandstone were found near A r gyle !»nk of the river in Sanilac County in the northeast corner of Sec. :S, T. 13 N., R. 13 E. The rocks dredged out and dumped along the banks of a small stream at this locality con- »r sist of blue-gray shale and fine-grained, greenish brown sandstone. Among these rocks some fragments of conglomerate were found which are very similar to the */ fnthtt •mt "peanut conglomerate" of northern Huron County. Although no bedrock was 7 definitely recognized, parts of the stream bed appeared to be blue-gray shale. 6 krk a Rominger (1876, p. 78) described beds of shale and fine-grained sandstone in J 6 bluffs along the side of Cass River in Sec. 7, T. 13 X., R. i: £., Sanilac County.
•UfOrvISION IN SOUTKERN kUCHlGAH between Battle A division of the Marshall formation into two distinct members is very • 15 W., east of difficult in most parts of the state. The division in the area of outcrops has been n and western based on the presence ol fossils in the lower, fine-grained sandstones of lower the state. The Marshall and the absence of fossils in the upper, coarser-grained Napoleon sand- •rly filled with stone. These criteria are of little aid in the division of the Marshall in subsurface >ined sandstone work and are not applicable everywhere in the outcrop area. There are many feet tferous, brown, of fine-grained sandstone exposed in Calhoun County in which fossils are exceed- ide makes the ingly scarce. A few fossils are found in coarser-grained sandstones at Stony Point in Jackson County, although their occurrence in rocks of this type is not r ing pur- common. mar, tan, fine- The use of grain sue to determine whether an outcrop is in the upper or lower the mineral parts of the Marshall is very questionable. Medium-grained sandstones are not ; in other fine- entirely restricted to the upper part of the Marshall but may occur in the lower rise more than p.u-t of the formation tnterbedded with fine-grained sandstone. Conversely, fine- ments o/ mica grained sandstones are not confined to the lower part of the formation, but occur interbedded with the more coarse-grained sandstones in the upper part of the •ill (Napoleon) Marshall, especially in the southwestern part of the state. :ounties in the The variations in grain size are even more evident in the wells that penetrate stimatcd that a complete Marshall section a few miles basinward from the outcrop area. Cross Istones. Rom- section CO' (Fig. 10) illustrates the Hthologic character of the Marshall formation i the towns of in subsurface adjacent to the outcrop area in southern Michigan extending from •reenleaf and Jackson County northwest into Ottawa County. The Cold water-Marshall con- i some places tact in this area is marked by a distinct change in litbology. The Marshall sedi- lit!.,Good ex- ments overlying the Coldwtter gray shale consist of fine-grained, tan sandstone tream in the and medium-grained, tan to white sandstone. Thin discontinuous lenses of gray MARS BALL FORMATION OF MICBIGAX 659
>;..iV o-.'v'.ir a i varinu* str.itii.'.'V.;*:!^ pisitiu::? «ii:i;;i the Mars!:a!J formation i:i h.tii ui '.:;e weiia illusirateJ in cross section £t/". The lowermost Marshall beds are fine-grained and commonly calcareous or dokrmic. A well in north-central Calhoun County (nell 9, cross section CC', Fig. 10) contains a Marshall sequence very similar to that described by \Vinchcll (iS6r, p. 139) f.-o:n his examination of outcrops. The well penetrated 130 feet of me- dium-grained, white to tan, porous sandstone overlying 135 icet of grained, calcareous «and>tone. This is an itloal «ccn>in lor dividing ihc formation into two members. The upper 130 feet cloitiy coincides with the original descrip- tion o; the Napoleon sandstone and the lower 135 sect represents the lower Mar- shall sandi'.rve. I'afcriunaieiy, however, the section is not typical of the Marshall formation, The wells in Eaton, Barry, Kent, and Ottawa counties shown on cross section GG' do not demonsirate a singular marked lithologic change near the center of the formation. Generally, the coarser sandstones arc in the upper half of the for ma lion hut the western \\ci:> sho\vn in section GG' (Fig. TO) are exceptions. A well ir. north-central Harry County (well 5, Fig. 10) penetrated 275 feet of Marshall sandstone of which all but 40 feet in the center of the formation is fine- grained. If a few feet of the upr»er part of this sandstone should appear in outcrop, h would probably te noted as lower Marshall strata. It is concluded from a study of the surface and subsurface character of the Marshall formation in southern Michigan that a division of the Marshall into upper and lower members if not advisable when the division must be based on lithology a'one, A division of outcrops based on the presence or absence of foi=iis may be possible in localities where the medium-grained sands are restricted to the upper part of the formation and the fine-grained sands are restricted to the lower part. Even under these conditions the value of a division of the formation is questionable, because the division could not Ic extended laterally more than a few miles owing to the lack o/ outcrops and to the lateral changes of iithotogy.
SL'BSlTlf ACE IN WESTERN1 ANT) CENTRAL iflCHICA-V QiC'.trroict yfrfd sediments. — The Marshall formation exhibits several marked litho!oyic charges basinward from the outcrop area. Although red sediments are absent in the outcrops and appear only in the most western well of section GG' (Fig. to), they arc common in the Marshall near the center of the Michigan basin, especially in the lower beds of the forrrntion. The area! distribution of rcdbeds in the Marshall formation, where the for- mation is clearly ^t fined, is shown in Figure ri. Their extent is nearly as great as that of the Marshal! itself. They arc entirely absent in a relatively narrow area adjacent to the drift-covered outcrop in sou: hern and eastern Michigan. The southern boundary of Marshall rcdbeds conforms in general with the strike of the strata in southern Michigan. The eastern limit of red sediments in ide Marshall formation shown on Figure u may be questioned. In Tuscola, Bay, Arcnac, and Ogemau* counties there are