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Geologic History and Stratigraphy of the Triassic-Jurassic Culpeper Basin, Virginia

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Geologic History and Stratigraphy of the Triassic-Jurassic Culpeper Basin, Virginia Geologic history and stratigraphy of the Triassic-Jurassic Culpeper Basin, Virginia 'R. C. LINDHOLM Department of Geology, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052 Geological Society of America Bulletin. Part II. v. 90, p. 1702-1736,9 figs., 1 table, November 1979, Doc. no. M91102. 9 ,The Culpeper Basin is one of the many RJTRODUCT ION basins in North America in which sedimen- The Culpeper Basin in northern Virginia tation extended from Late Triassic to extends from just south of the Albemarle- . Early Jurassic time (Cornet, 1977). County--Orange County line northeastward to Other such basins include the Newark in the Potomac River, a distance of more than New Jersey, the Gettysburg in Pennsyl- 148 km (90 mi).. The basin continues north- vania, the Hartford in Connecticut, the ward across the Potomac and terminates just Deekfield in Mas%achusetts, and the Fundy southwest of Frederick, Maryland. It occu- in Nova Scotia. The southernmost basins pies the western part of the Piedmont contain only Upper Ttiassic rocks. They, province. On the west it is bounded by an include the Durham, Sanford, Wadesboro, * east-dipping normal fault; the sedimentary and Dan River Basins in North Carolina and volcanic strata dip westward into the and the Danville &d Richmond Basins in faultr (Fig. 1). The rocks fn this area southern Virginia (Cornet. 1977). traditionally have been considered part of Red beds deposited on broad alluvial the Newark Group and referred to as Trias- plains dominate in most of these basins. I lr sic, but Cornet's (1977) palynological Lacustrine black shale and limestone rep- study indicates that they range from Up$er resent a facies common to most of the t. Triassic to Lower Jurassic. basins, but these bgds generally make up 1702 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/90/11_Part_II/1702/3433846/i0016-7606-90-11-1702.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 1703 \ / Figure 1. Locality map of study area. li = Washington, D.C., B = Baltimore, PR = Potomac River, A = AppalachianMountains, SV = Shenandoah Valley (Great Valley in Maryland), BR = Blue Ridge, I P = Piedmont, CP = Coastal Plain. Block diagram is highly schematic. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/90/11_Part_II/1702/3433846/i0016-7606-90-11-1702.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 19 ondy a small part of the total sequence surrounded by extensive contact metamorphic (Hubert and others, 1978; Wheeler and aureoles composed of bblack, gray, and Textoris, 1978; Olsen 'and others, 1978). green hornfels (Pig. 2). Unique among these lacktrine deposits are There are several reasons for current the analcime-*d beds of the Lockatong interest in Triassic-Jurassic rocks in Formation in the Newark Basin (Van Houten, eastern North Amer,ica. These rocks were 1964). Coal swamps were restricted to some 'deposited during the early phase of con- of the basins in North Carolina and tinental break-up leading to formation southern Virginia. Basalt flows are com- of the7-proto-Atlantic. As such, they mon features in the northern basins, but play a role in the continuing development not in those to the south. Diabase in- of plate-tectonics theory. In addition, L trusions are present in most of the basins. Triassic-Jurassic deposits north of the The sequence in the Culpeper Basin be- CulpepCr Basin contain traces of uranium gins with coarse clastic rocks at.the base, (McCauley, 1961; Klemic, 1962). Iaterest passing upward into fine-grained clastic of local jurisdictions in ground water rocks. On the west side of the basin the has prompted the need for a better kder lutites are overlain by a younger sequence standing of rocks in the northern part Y of coarse clastic rocks, including exten- of the Culpeper Basin, an area,which is sive conglomerates deposited as alluvial undergoing rapid urbanization. For these fans that spread eastward- from the high- reasons a clearer understanding of Cul- l lands to the west (Lindholm, 1978a).* The peper stratigraphy is required. conglomerates are in turn overlain by My study of'this area began in 1974 ioultiple basalt flows and interbedded and has been concentrated on the sedi- I sedimentary units. A conglomeratic unit, nentology and structural geologyT within with intercalated black shale, caps the the basin (Lindholm, 1977a, 1977b, 1978a, sequence. Diabase intrusions are abundant , 1978b). Durixig the early part of this throughout-the basin. These plutons are project I used soil maps as a framework \/ Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/90/11_Part_II/1702/3433846/i0016-7606-90-11-1702.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 1705 Figure 2. Map showing distribution of igneous and metamorphic rocks in Culpeper Basin. C = Culpeper, L = Leesburg, I4 = Manassas, T = Thoroughfare Gap. Stratigraphic units on index map: M = Pianassas Sandstone, CR = Bull Run Formation, B<= Buckland Formation, bJ = Waterfall Formation. Figure 2 appears on the folloving frame. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/90/11_Part_II/1702/3433846/i0016-7606-90-11-1702.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 1706 0ASALT - Ilows DIABASE - intrusives HORNFELS-contact zone GREEN and GRAY SHALE-Iacustrine BLACK SHALE with FOSSIL FISH lacustrine Figure 2. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/90/11_Part_II/1702/3433846/i0016-7606-90-11-1702.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 37 for making a geologic map of the basin. .stratigraphic designations outside the Figure 3 is a simplified version of this Culpeper Basin. I map. In this paper I present a strati- Roberts (1928) interpreted the sequence graphic framework consistent with my as having accumulated as a "valley" fill present knowledge of these'rocks: with conglomerate at the base, passing upward into sandstone and finally shale PREVIOUS WORK at the top. This interpretation was 1883 to 1928 based on the ptesence along the basin Early work on the lower Mesozoic rocks margins of conglomerate that .grades later- in Virginia was concentrated in the Rich- ally into sandstone toward the center of mond Basin in the southern part of the the basin and shale in the medial area. state (Rogers, 1884; Fontaine, 1883).,. Such an interpretation would make the The first comprehensive study of the Cul- conglomerates on the eastern edge of the peper Basin (called the "Potomac area" by basin the same age as those on the west- Roberts) was by Roberts (1922, 1923, 1928), ern edge. as part of his general study of "Triassic" The persistent westward dip of the rocks in Virginia. He recognized three beds clearly indicates that rocks to the major lithologic units: the "Border Con- west, in the downdip direction, are pro- glomerate formation, the Manassas sandstone gressively younger than those in the east. and. the Bull Run shales." He applied This puts the conglomeratic sequence on these names to all of the Triassic basins the western margin at the top of the c in Virginia. To that extent these terms section and that on the eastern margin at were overextended, but when applied to the bottom of the section. This inter- 1 the sequence expoded within the Culpeper pretation was rejected by Roberts. but was Basin they still have limited value. Cer- accepted by some of his contemporaries tainly they should not be used as formal (for example, Stose, 1927) and virtually Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/90/11_Part_II/1702/3433846/i0016-7606-90-11-1702.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 1708 EXPLANATION Conglomerate Members of the BULL RUN FM. Waterfall Fm. Leesburg Buckland Fm. Goose .Creek Bull Run Fm. Cedar M t n. Manassas S&t. Barboursvi Ile Reston Fm. Figure 3. M&I showing stratigraphic units in Culpeper Basin. (A) Northern area between Potomac River and Rappahannock River. (B) Southern area south of Rappahannock Rik. * Conglomerate lembers of Bull Run Formation are arranged in legend by .geographic location (that is, tcff td\ north and bottom to south)'; see Figure 6 for approximate stratigraphic position of these units. Intrusive igneous rocks and faults (other than western border fault) are not shwon. B = Buckland, Ba = Barboursville, C = Culpeper, L = Leesburg, M = Manassas, Rf = Raccoon Ford, W = Waterfall. Figure 3 is continued on the following frame . Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/90/11_Part_II/1702/3433846/i0016-7606-90-11-1702.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 1709 Figure 3. (Continued) 3- 15 .- .. la Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/90/11_Part_II/1702/3433846/i0016-7606-90-11-1702.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 1 0 , all others since, insludiqg Cornet (1977), erate formation" codfains a variety of whose palynological study has provided lithologic types. the first comprehensive biostratigraphic 1950 to Present framework for thes.e rocks. The sandstones lying near the eastern , Except for Roberts' work in the 1920s, edge of the basin were named by Roberts the *rockg itthe Culpeper Basin were ' (1928, p. 25) as the "Manassas sandstone." largely ignored by geologists untii the ' He considered the basal conglomerates that 1950s. Mapping by Bennison,and Milton underlie the sandstones to be part of the . (19541, Lindskold (1961), Toewe (1966), and I1 Border Conglomerate formation." The ex- Eggleton (1975) added details of local tensive shale sequence lying west of (and geology, but these studies were too restric- stratigraphically above) the "Manassas ted geographically to add significantly to. sandstone" was designated by Roberts (1928, a more complete understanding of the stra- p. 39) the "Bull Run shales." In the tigraphy of 'these rocks. Culpeper Basin the main body of the The absence of a detailed description ,) ,) "Border Conglomerate format ion" lies west of the basalt flows exposed in the western I.
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