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Sedimentology of the Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte Formations (Paleocene) in a Part of Southern Mckenzie County, North Dakota Brian P

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Sedimentology of the Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte Formations (Paleocene) in a Part of Southern Mckenzie County, North Dakota Brian P University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects 1984 Sedimentology of the Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte formations (Paleocene) in a part of southern McKenzie County, North Dakota Brian P. Wallick University of North Dakota Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Wallick, Brian P., "Sedimentology of the Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte formations (Paleocene) in a part of southern McKenzie County, North Dakota" (1984). Theses and Dissertations. 311. https://commons.und.edu/theses/311 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEDIMENTOLOGY OF 'TIIE BULLION CREEK AND SENTINEL BOTrE FORMATIONS (PALEOCENE) IN A PART OF SOUTHERN McKENZIE COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA by Brian P. Wallick Bachelor of Science Indiana University A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Grand Forks, North Dakota August 1984 f I This thesis submitted by Brian P. Wallick in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science from the University of North Dakota is hereby approved by the Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work has been done. (Chairman) I This thesis meets the standards for appearance and_.conforms to the style and format requirements of the Graduate School of the University of North Dakota, and is hereby approved. Dean of the Graduate School ii 6D1513 Permission Title Sedimentology of the Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte Formations (Paleocene) in a part of Southern McKenzie County, North Dakota Department Geology Degree Master of Science In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the Library of this Univer­ I sity shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for ext.ensive copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my thesis work or, in his absence, by the Chair­ man of the Department or the Dean of the Graduate School. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this thesis or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. .vi LIST OF TABLES. • X ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. .xi ABSTRACT •. xiv INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose of Study 1 Study Area 1 Methods .. 7 Previous Works . .15 Stratigraphic Nomenclature Sedimentology LITHOLOGY. .28 Sands tone. • 28 Clays tone. .41 Limestone. .46 Lignite. • .56 Int erbeds • . 63 OCCURRENCE OF LITHOTYPES .64 Paleochannel Deposits. .64 Channel Systems Al and A2 Channel System B Channel System C Non-channel Deposits ...•......•••....... 92 General Sandstone·Deposits Claystone Deposits Limestone Deposits Deformation Features PALEONTOLOGY ....... 120 Invertebrates and Vertebrates. 120 Flora. 121 Lebensspurren. 128 DISCUSSION .•.. 143 Environment of Deposition. 143 Bullion Creek Formation Sentinel Butte Formation Provenance .•... 171 Depositional History 175 CONCLUSIONS ... 186 iv APPENDICES . • . 188 Appendix A: Point-Count Data 189 Appendix B: Measured Section Data. 193 REFERENCES CITED •... 239 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Generalized location of study area 4 2. Topographic map of study area. 6 3. Configuration of panel diagram of Bullion Creek Formation showing locations of measured sections ..•.. 12 4. Configuration of panel diagram of Sentinel Butte Formation showing locations of measured sections ..... 14 5. Chart showing major changes in nomenclature of uppermost Cretaceous and Paleocene stratigraphic units in western North Dakota. • . .•.. 17 6. Photomicrographs of carbonate grains from the Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte Formations. ... 33 7. Photomicrographs of detrital plagioclase from the Sentinel Butte Formation. • . ... 36 8. Photomicrographs of detrital sedimentary rock fragments from the Bullion Creek end Sentinel Butte Formations . • . 38 9. Photomicrograph of volcanic rock fragment, Sentinel Butte Formation .....•..• . ...40 10. Photomicrograph of microcrystalline chert cement, Sentinel Butte Formation . 43 11. Photomicrograph of coarsely crystalline calcite cement, Bullion Creek Formation. ....45 12. Photomicrograph of lignite grain acting as nucleation center for growth of secondary calcite crystals, Bullion Creek ..... 45 13. Sections of X-ray diffractograms of clay samples from the Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte Formations .48 14. Sandy limestone deposit, Sentinel Butte Formation. .50 15. Outcrop of lower micrite layer, Bullion Creek Formation .. 53 16. Photomicrographs illustrating structure and composition of lower micrite, Bullion Creek Formation ... 55 vi Figure 17. Photomicrograph of gastropod, bivalve,fish-scale biomicrite, Bullion Creek Formation. • . • . ....58 18. Photomicrographs illustrating structure and composition of gastropod bivalve fish-scale biomicrite, Bullion Creek Formation ••.. .60 19. Lignite deposit, Sentinel Butte Formation. .62 20. Plan-view pattern of channel system A2, Bullion Creek Formation. • . • . 68 21. Flow-structures from channel systems Al and A2, Bullion Creek Formation ... 71 22. Planar lamination in fine-grained sandstone, channel system A2, Bullion Creek Formation. •. 74 23. Subrounded claystone lag-gravel from channel A2, Bullion Creek Formation. • . • . • . 76 24. Interlaminated siltstone-claystone "island" in channel system A2, Bullion Creek Formation . , . 79 25. Exposure of .channel system B, Sentinel Butte Formation .82 26. Trough cross-stratification in medium-grained sand- stone, channel system B, Sentinel Butte Formation. .. 84 27. Detail of cross strata, system B, Sentinel Butte Formation. • . • . • • . • . 84 28. Organization of primary sedimentary structures, system B, Sentinel Butte Formation. • . • . .86 29. Abandoned channel, system B, Sentinel Butte Formation. .89 30. Map-view pattern of channel system B, Sentinel Butte Formation. • . • • . • . • . 91 31. Abandoned channel and fill from system C, Sentinel Butte Formation. 94 32. Continuous appearance of strata as seen in view of Bullion Creek Formation. 96 33. View of the Sentinel Butte strata. .99 34. Bidirectional cross-stratification in sandstone layer, Bullion Creek Formation •.•.............. 101 vii Figure 35. Top and side views of desiccation cracks in calcareous sandstone, Bullion Creek Formation ..••.....•. 103 36. Climbing-ripple cross-lamination merging with parallel inclined-lamination, Sentinel Butte Formation ..•... 106 37. Symmetric, straight-crested ripples from the Sentinel Butte Formation in plan and cross sectional views. 108 38. Bubble-sand structure, Sentinel Butte Formation. 110 39. Iron-oxide stained, marcasite concretionary objects, Bullion Creek Formation. • . • . 112 40. Outcrop of lower micrite, Bullion Creek Formation. 115 41. Preserved, rotational slump-block at the margin of channel system Al, Bullion Creek Formation. 118 42. Bank failure in the Sentinel Butte Formation showing numerous concave-upward slipfaces. 118 43. Vertebrate assemblage from the base of channel fill (system C) Sentinel Butte Formation. 123 44. Twig•like structures composed of marcasite and hematite. 125 45. Preserved seed coats of Cercidiphyllum sp. found as part of channel lag gravel, system A2, Bullion Creek Formation ........................ 125 46. Leaf mold from unidentified deciduous tree, found in calcareous sandstone, Bullion Creek Formation ..•. 127 47. Silicified stump of unidentified tree, Sentinel Butte Formation. 130 48. Mold of leaf from an unknown deciduous tree found on bedding plane of claystone, Sentinel Butte Formation 130 49. Algal structure, Sentinel Butte Formation. 132 50. Lebensspurren on fine-grained calcareous sandstone, Bullion Creek Formation ............ 135 51. Sketch of trace fossil seen in Fig. 36, Sentinel Butte Formation ..... 137 52. Trace fossils from two localities in the Sentinel Butte Formation: 146·102·32DBC and 145·102·5DAA ...•.•.. 140 viii Figure 53. Trace fossils showing length-parallel striae and arcuate path, Sentinel Butte Formation . 142 54. Generalized block diagram illustrating the elements of the anastamosed fluvial system .· . • • . 150 55. Rose diagrams with plots of mean and standard deviation from the Bullion Creek Formation paleocurrent measure~ents ....... 163 56. Lake succession illustrating successive stages of lake fill and associated stratification. • . 170 57. Generalized block diagrams illustrating major events in deposition of Bullion Creek strata. 179 57. (continued) •.• 181 58. Generalized block diagrams illustrating major events in deposition of Sentinel Butte strata .....•... 185 Plate I. Geologic map of the Cinnamon Creek area, McKenzie County, North Dakota. (in pocket) II. Panel diagram of the Bullion Creek Formation (in pocket) III. Panel diagram of the Sentinel Butte Formation. (in pocket) ix LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Average mineralogic compositions of sandstones from Bullion Creek and Sentinel Butte Formations. • . ,30 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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