Witts Springs Formation of Morrow Age in the Snowball Quadrangle North-Central Arkansas
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Witts Springs Formation of Morrow Age in the Snowball Quadrangle North-Central Arkansas By ERNEST E. CLICK, SHERWOOD E. FREZON, and MACKENZIE GORDON, JR. CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1194-D Definition, description, stratigraphy, and paleontology of a new formation UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director The U.S. Geological Survey Library has cataloged this publication as follows: Glick, Ernest Earwood, 1922- Witts Springs Formation of Morrow age in the Snowball quadrangle, north-central Arkansas, by Ernest E. Glick, Sherwood E. Frezon, and Mackenzie Gordon, Jr. Washing ton, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1964. iii, 16 p. maps, diagr. 24 cm. (U.S. Geological Survey. Bulletin 1194-D) Contributions to stratigraphy. Bibliography: p. 16. 1. Geology Arkansas Searcy Co. 2. Geology, Stratigraphic Pennsylvanian. I. Frezon, Sherwood Earl, 1921- joint author. II. Gordon, Mackenzie, 1913- joint author. III. Title. (Series) For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing OfiBce Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 10 cents (paper cover) CONTENTS Page Abstract__--_---____-_-------_-__----_-------------__--_---_--- Dl Introduction. ___---____-_-___-_____-._----___-_----________-____--_ 1 Type section._____________________________________________________ 5 Reference section._________________________________________________ 9 General features and stratigraphic relations.__________________________ 11 Fossils and age_----_______-_--______--_----__---_-_-_--_-____----- 13 References.. _ _______-_______-_____-___--------_-__--_-_-_----___-_ 16 ILLUSTRATIONS Page FIGURE 1. Index map showing areas discussed-_______________________ D2 2. Generalized topographic map of Snowball quadrangle.-.----. 3 3. Generalized geologic map of Snowball quadrangle__________ 4 4. Planimetric map showing location of sections_--______-____. 5 5. Graphic illustration of type section and reference section of Witts Springs Formation__-----______-__-______________ 6 6. Isopach map of Cane Hill and Witts Springs Formations, Snow ball quadrangle..____________________________________ 13 m CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY WITTS SPRINGS FORMATION OF MORROW AGE IN THE SNOWBALL QUADRANGLE, NORTH-CENTRAL ARKANSAS By ERNEST E. GLICK, SHERWOOD E. FKEZON, and MACKENZIE GORDON, JR. ABSTRACT The Witts Springs Formation is named for the village of Witts Springs in the Snowball quadrangle, north-central Arkansas. Its thickness ranges from less than 300 feet to nearly 600 feet in the quadrangle, where it rests unconformably in the Cane Hill Formation and is overlain unconformably by the Atoka Forma tion. At one locality in the southwestern part of the quadrangle, a post-Cane Hill channel cuts through the Cane Hill Formation; and the channel-fill fades of the Witts Springs rests on the Pitkin Limestone. The Witts Springs Formation is stratigraphically equivalent to the Prairie Grove Member of the Hale Formation and to the overlying Bloyd Shale, both of which have their type localities in northwestern Arkansas. The entire faunal assemblage of the Witts Springs is distinctly and typically Morrow. INTRODUCTION The rocks that overlie the Pitkin Limestone of Late Mississippian age hi the Snowball quadrangle, Newton and Searcy Counties, Ark. (figs. 1,2, 3), constitute three mappable units. The lowermost unit is as much as 320 feet thick in the quadrangle and contains fossils of lat est Mississippian age hi its lower 100 feet. Because of its mappability in the Snowball quadrangle (fig. 3), this unit is herein designated as the Cane Hill Formation (Pennsylvanian and Mississippian in age) rather than as the Cane Hill Member of the Hale Formation (Early Pennsylvanian in age in northwestern Arkansas), with which it is homotaxial. Gordon (1964* p. 34) gave a new name, Imo Formation, Dl D2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY i I Harrisbn Fayetteville o i o x Gaither Mountain I x Bloyd Mounta I x Hale Mountain ^Snowball w nuadranele I ! Fort Smith ,v' t3 . 1 1 J i LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS S" x 20 0 20 40 60 MILES FIGURE 1. The location of the Snowball quadrangle and other localities in northern Arkansas discussed in this report. to this unit in a report which was transmitted to the printer just prior to the decision to use the name Cane Hill Formation for this unit. Thus, Imo Formation is abandoned. The middle unit of the post-Pitkin sequence in the Snowball quad rangle, the subject of this report, is here designated the Witts Springs Formation. It is stratigraphically equivalent to the Prairie Grove Member of the Hale Formation and to the overlying Bloyd Shale of northwestern Arkansas. The new name is applied in the Snowball quadrangle because the Prairie Grove and Bloyd were not found to be individually mappable throughout the quadrangle. The Witts Springs is underlain by the Cane Hill Formation and overlain by the uppermost unit, the Atoka Formation. WITTS SPRINGS FORMATION, NORTH-CENTRAL ARKANSAS D3 93°00' R 19 w 92°45' >r\A' ____" l3 vv R.18 W. R.17 W, T.16 N. T.15 N. T. 14 N. T.13 N 35°45 5 10 MILES I i i i I SCALE 1:250000 FIGURE 2. Generalized topography of the Snowball quadrangle, Arkansas. D4 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY 36-'"93°00' R.19W. R.18W. R 17 W 92°45' T. 16 N T. 15 N 10 MILES I SCALE 1:250000 EXPLANATION Atoka Formation Witts Springs Cane Hill Rocks of Mississip- Pennaylvanian Formation Formation pian, Silurian, and Pennsylvanian Pennsylvania.!* and Ordovician age Mississipvian Contact Normal fault D,downthrown side FIGURE 3. Generalized geology of the Snowball quadrangle, Arkansas, showing the location of the type section (1) and the reference section (2) of the Witts Spring Formation. WITTS SPRINGS FORMATION, "NORTH-CENTRAL ARKANSAS D5 TYPE SECTION The Witts Springs Formation is named for the village of Witts Springs in the south-central part of the Snowball quadrangle, Searcy County, Ark., near which it is exposed. Its type section is here designated as the section in the western head water branch of Calf Creek, which is 2 miles northeast of Witts 'Springs (figs. 4, 5). The base of the section is in the valley bottom in the Ny2NW%NE%NEV4 sec. 12, T. 13 N., R 18 W. The section ex tends westward 150 feet up the main valley and then northwestward up the valley of a small southward-flowing tributary and crosses into sec. 1, T. 13 N., K. 18 W., near the middle of the south edge of the sec. 1. .No access road is closer than half a mile. TO MAGIC SPRINGS EXPLANATION State highway Improved dirt road Unimproved dirt road Intermittent drainage near measured sections Measured section 1 MILE R.18 W. FIGURE 4. The location of the type section (1) and the reference section (2) of the Witts Springs Formation In the Snowball quadrangle, Arkansas. 743-028 64- D6 CONTRIBUTIONS TO STRATIGRAPHY REFERENCE TYPE SECTION SECTION Sees. 1 and 12 Sec. 11 T. 13 N., R. 18 W. T. 13 N., R. 18 W. Searcy Co., Ark. EXPLANATION Searcy Co.. Ark. Atoka Formation Sandstone Circles indicate quartz granules and pebbles; G, glauconite; dots used to show sandy limestone or siltstone Part of pattern used to show silly shale Shale Heavy lines indicate clay ironstone beds; part of pattern used to show shaly sandstone Witts 15787-PC Springs 15305-PCl/i Formation 15790-PC] Parts of this pattern used to show limy Covered interval -0 FEET 15305-PC Fossil locality number Cane Hill Formation FIGURE 5. Graphic illustration of the type section and reference section of the Witts Springs Formation, Snowball quadrangle, Arkansas. WITTS SPRINGS FORMATION, NORTH-CENTRAL ARKANSAS D7 Type section [Measured and sampled by S. K. Frezon and W. A. Chisholm ; samples examined under binocular microscope by W. A. Chisholm] Pennsylvanian: Thickness Atoka Formation: . (feet) About 65 ft of massive coarse-grained sandstone is exposed in cliffs along the sides of the valley. Witts Springs Formation: 43. Covered interval (estimated to be pre-Atoka)_ _ 36.0 42. Sandstone, massive, silty, fine-grained; weathered brownish gray. Top of resistant unit over which there is an inter mittent waterfall_________________________ 12.3 41. Sandstone, massive, cross-laminated, medium-light-gray, limy, silty, very fine to fine-grained.___ ___ 5. 5 40. Sandstone, massive, medium-light-gray, limy, silty, very fine to fine-grained; contains shale pebbles. Poorly exposed at foot of cliff____________________________ 6.0 39. Covered interval__________________________ 26. 0 38. Siltstone, thin-bedded, light-olive-gray; dark-gray shale beds as much as 3 in. thick__ _____'. _____ _____ 4. 7 37. Shale, dark-gray; interbedded with very thin to. thin beds of medium-gray siltstone__ _____ ___ ___ 5. 0 36. Covered interval. Topography and nearby outcrops indicate that silty shale occupies this interval_______^___ 21. 0 35. Sandstone, very thin to thin-bedded, limy, silty, fine- to medium-grained; weathered brownish gray; upper foot contains fissile to platy gray silty shale laminae and beds as much as 2 in. thick______________________ 5.4 34. Covered interval__________________.________ 8. 8 33. Sandstone, massive, medium-grained, weathered brownish gray; very limy where not leached; crinoid and gastropod remains and casts of brachiopods in upper 2 ft _ 11.0 32. Sandstone, medium-bedded to massive, iron-stained, leached, fine- to medium-grained _____ ___________ 9. 0 31. Sandstone, medium- to thick-bedded, iron-stained, fine- to medium-grained; shale pebbles- ___ ______ 5. 5 30. Sandstone, platy to thin-bedded, light-olive-gray, iron-stained, silty, very fine grained ___ ___ _ 5. 0 29. Sandstone, very thin to medium-bedded, medium-light-gray, glauconitic, very fine to fine-grained; contains beds of dark- . gray shale and platy medium-gray micaceous siltstone 5. 5 28. Shale, dark-gray___________________________ 1. 0 27. Shale, dark-gray; interbedded with platy beds of medium- light-gray to medium-gray siltstone and medium-light-gray to olive-gray silty glauconitic very fine to fine-grained sandstone ___ ___ _________ _ 6.3 26.