Geology of the Prater and Vansant Quadrangles, Virginia Commonwealth of Virgin Ia

VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 52 GEOLOGY OF THE PRATER AND VANSANT QUADRANGLES, VIRGINIA Jack E. Nolde and Martin L. Mitchell with sections on subsurface stratigraphy and gas resources by Joan K. Polzin COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGIN IA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES Robert c. Milici, commissioner of Mineral Resources and state Geologist CHARLOTTESVI LLE, VI RGINIA 1984 VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 52 GEOLOGY OF THE PRATER AND VANSANT QUADRANGLES, VI RGINIA Jack E. Nolde and Martin L. Mitchell with sections on subsurface stratigraphy and gas resources by Joan K. Polzin COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES Robert c. Milici, commissioner of Mineral Resources and state Geologist CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGI NIA 1984 COVER PHOTO: Jewell Coal and Coke Company coking operation on Dismal Creek in northeast Vansant quadrangle (photo by J.H. Grantham). VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES PUBLICATION 52 GEOLOGY OF THE PRATER AND VANSANT QUADRANGLES, VIRG I NIA Jack E. Nolde and Martin L. Mitchell with sections on subsurface stratigraphy and gas resources by Joan K. Polzin COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES Robert C. Milici, Commissioner of Mineral Resources and State Geologist CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA 1984 DEPARTM ENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Richmond, Virginia FRED W. WALKER, Director JERALD F. MOORE, Deputy Director BOARD HENRY T. N. GRAVES, Chairman, Luray ADOLF U. HONKALA, Vice Chairman, Midlothian FRANK ARMSTRONG. III. Winchester RICK E. BURNELL, Virginia Beach GWENDOLYN JO M. CARLBERG, Alexandria WILBUR S. DOYLE, Martinsville BRUCE B. GRAY, Waverly MILDRED LAYNE, Williamsburg JOHN E. MUNSEY, Grundy JAMES RONCAGLIONE, Vienna CLINTON V. TURNER, Richmond JEANNE B. WHITMAN, Pulaski COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENTOF PURCHASE AND SUPPLY RICHMOND 1 984 Portions of this publication may be quoted if credit is given to the Virginia Division of Mineral Resources. It is recommended that reference to this report be made in the following form: Nolde,J. E. and Mitchell, M. L., 1984, Geology of the Prater and Vansant quadrangles, Virginia: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Publication 52,28 p. CONTENTS Page Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian rocks........... """"""2 Alluvium i .'... ..r. ...... ' ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, -$iffff$ ', ,i ' ,, ,,, .,... .li Appendixes I. Active underground coal mines in Prater and Vansant quadrangles................ 17 II. Sample numbers, bed names, thickness, and ranks of coal samples in Prater and Vansant 19 I[|. Proximate and ultimate analyses, heat content, forms of sulfur, free-swelling index, and ash fusion temperature determinations for 33 coal samples in Prater and Vansant quadrangles....... 2l IV. Summary of gas wells drilled in the Prater and Vansant quadrangles.............. .. 25 ILLUSTRATIONS Figures Page 1. Index map showing location of Prater and Vansant quadrangles................ 1 2. Columnar section of subsurface rocks, Prater and Vansant quadrangles................ 2 3. Columnar seetion of surface rocks, Prater and Vansant quadrang1es................. 4 4. Marine shale zone of the Norton Formation. 4 5. Trough cross-beds in Council Sandstone Member..... 5 6. Typical feldspathic sandstone unit of the Norton Formation. .. 6 7. Siructure ma-p, base of Kennedy coal bed..... 7 8. Joint orientations in the Prater and Vansant quadrangl€s......,.......... 8 9. Folded and sheared strata associated with the Russell Fork fault. 8 10. Exposure of Little Pawpaw fault, Pawpaw Creek... 9 11. Exposure of Little Pawpaw fault, near Cannady.... I 12. Folding associated with Little Pawpaw fau1t............ 9 15. Synthetic-antithetic faults in the Splash Dam coal bed.............. 10 Plate Geologic map of Prater and Vansant quadrangles................ ..........In pocket GEOLOGY OF THE PRATER AND VANSANT QUADRANGLES, VIRGINIA Jack E. Nolde and Martin L. Mitchell with sections on subsurface stratigraphy and gas resources by Joan K. Polzin ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Prater and Vansant quadrangles comprise an The Prater and Vansant quadrangles (Plate) are area of 116 square miles in Buehanan and located in south-central Buchanan and a portion Dickenson counties, Virginia. The quadrangles are of north-central Dickenson counties and have a located within the Appalachian Plateau provinee eombined area of 116.5 square miles. They are and are underlaiir by strata of Pennsylvanian age bounded by 37"07'30" and 37"15'N latitude and 82o that have a gentle, northwest regional dip. and 82o15'W longitude (Figure 1). The quadrangles The surfaee rocks, of Iower to Middle Pennsyl- lie entirely within the Appalachian Plateaus vanian age, are represented by the Norton For- physiographic province. Topographically the area mation, Gladeville Sandstone, and Wise.Formation. is characterized by steeply-sloping ridges and V- These formations, for the most part, are relatively shaped valleys. The maximum and minimum persistent beds of sandstone with interbedded elevations are 2583 feet and 1070 feet respectively. siltstones, elaystones, coal, and thin limestones. The earliest detailed geological work published Important named units of the Norton Formation for this area, Hinds (1916, 1918) and Giles (1921), include the Council and the McClure sandstones. described the general stratigraphy, structure, arrd Strata beneath the Norton Formation include. coal resources of the study area. Miller (1974) in descending order: Lee, Pocahontas, Bluestone, diseussed the Upper Mississippian and Lower Hinton, Bluefield, Greenbrier, Maccrady, Price, Pennsylvanian stratigraphy in southwest Virginia. and Chattanooga firrmations. These formations, Field work on this project began in the summer which range in age from Iower Pennsylvanian to of 1981 and was completed in 1982. Mapping was Lower Mississippian-Upper Devonian, consist of done on U. S. Geologieal Survey topographic maps sandstones and siltstones with some coal beds, at a scale of 1:24,000. Detailed mapping of Prater limestones, and shales. quadrangle is by M. L. Mitchell and M. S. Morris; The Pennsylvanian strata at the surface are Vansant quadrangle is by J. H. Grantham and J. locally covered by alluvium and colluvium of E. Nolde. The sections on subsurface stratigraphy Quaternary(?) age. In addition, mine waste and gas resources are by J. K. Polzin. This study material commonly eovers some valley slopes was performed by the Virginia Division of Mineral adjacent to surface-mined areas, underground Resources under Contract 14-08-001-40045 of the mines, and preparation plants. U. S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division. The Prater and Vansant quadrangles are characterized by a gentle northwestward regional dip. Principal structural features include the Russell Fork fault and Little Pawpaw fault, located in southwest and western Prater quadrangle. Dip anomalies reflect local structures. Surface joints show northwest-northeast orthogonal sets. Coal is the dominant mineral resource. Twenty D I CK ENSON named coal beds crop out in Prater and Vansant COUNTY quadrangles and seven of these beds, the Raven no. l, Kennedy, Lower Banner, Splash Dam, Hagy, Blair, and Eagle, have been exploited commercially on a large scale. Natural gas is produced from sandstone, limes- tone, and siltstone at various stratigraphic inter- vals. Current production is mainly from the "Berea" Figure 1. Index map showing the location of the horizon in both quadrangles. Prater and Vansant 7.5 minute quadrangles. VIRGINIA DIVISION OF MINERAL RESOURCES SUBSURFACE STRATIGRAPHY (Kepferle, 1981; Miller, 1973). The Big Stone Gap Member (Stose, 1924) of the Chattanooga Shale The subsurface rocks examined for this study are (Hayes, 1891") consists of dark gray to black, in ascending order: Chattanooga Shale, Price commonly carbonaceous, shale and siltstone with Formation, Maccrady Shale, Greenbrier Lime- a small amount of light to medium gray sandy stone, Bluefield, Hinton, Bluestone, Pocahontas, siltstone and a smaller amount of sandstone. In the and Lee formations (Figure 2). Well samples and Prater quadrangle the Big Stone Gap is predom- related information are in the Repository at the inantly blaek shale, and in the Vansant quadrangle Virginia Division of Mineral Resources in it is predominantly siltstone and sandy siltstone. Charlottesville. In some places the lower member of the Chatta- nooga is greatly thickened by folding and faulting associated with the Pine Mountain overthrust Uppen DnvoHrlN To Lownn MrssrssrppreN (Miller, 1973). The "Berea" horizon of informal Svsrnu drillerfs usage, may be correlated with the Bedford Shale unit (Kepferle et a\.,1981; Roen, 1981) within Chattanooga Shale the upper one-third to one-half of the Big Stone Gap Member of the Chattanooga Shale (Figure 2). The Chattanooga Shale ranges from 1,900 to This "Berea" horizon ranges from a medium gray 2,200 feet in thickness, compared to 900 feet at its to grayish brown sandy siltstone to a soft, carbo- type location at Big Stone Gap in Wise County naceous black shale. It is the major gas producing horizon of these quadrangles and in Buchanan FORMATION THI CK- or NESS County (DeWitt, 1981). MEM BER '(feet) LOWNN MISSISSIPPIAN SYSTEM Solf sonds Pocoh on ios Price Formation For m ol ion (Campbell, 1893) eonfor- Blueslone The Price Formation For motion mably overlies the Big Stone Gap and consists of medium dark gray,

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