Surficial Geology of the Romeoville Quadrangle Part of Cook, Du Page, Will Counties, Illinois, United States Midwest Institute of T36N, T37N and T38N, R10E and R11E Geosciences and Engineering 2013

Steven D.J. Baumann, Alexandra B. Cory Page 1 of 2 Publication Number: M-112013-3A

GOLOGIC MAP

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TRUE NORTH Topographic base map was produced by the

United States Geologic Survey. MAGNETIC NORTH 2 -3.4o Interstate Route US Route State Route Map Area = 56.62 miles 2013

Topographic Base Map

ILLINOIS GEOLOGIC MAP SYMBOLS REFERENCES

Buschbach, T.C., 1964, Cambrian and Ordovician Strata of Northeastern Illinois, Illinois State Geological Sur- Anticline vey, Report of Investigation 218

Approxmate Emrich, G.H., 1966, Ironton and Galesville (Cambrian) Sandstones in Illinois and Adjacent Areas, Illinois Map Area State Geological Survey, Circular 403 A Cross Section Line Frye, J.C., 1973, Rock Stratigraphy of the Silurian System in Northeastern and Northwestern Illinois, Illinois State Geological Survey, Circular 479 A’

Hansel, A.K., 1996, Wedron and Mason Groups: Lithostratigraphic Reclassification of Deposits of the Wiscon- Geologic Contact sin Episode, Lake Michigan Lobe Area, Illinois State Geological Survey, Bulletin 104

Kolata, D.R., 1983, Lithostratigraphy and Depositional Environments of the Maquoketa Group (Ordovician) in Northern Illinois, Illinois State Geological Survey, Circular 528 Approximate End Moraine Contact

Mikulic, D.G., 1985, Silurian Geology of the Des Plaines River Valley, Northeastern Illinois, Illinois State Geo- logical Survey, Guidebook 17

Visocky, A.P., 1985, Geology, Hydrology, and Water Quality of the Cambrian and Ordovician Systems in Unconformity Northeastern Illinois, Illinois State Geological Survey and the Illinois State Water Survey, Cooperative Groundwater Report 10

Willman, H.B., 1978, The Platteville and Galena Groups in Northern Illinois, Illinois State Geological Survey, Circular 502 Surficial Geology of the Romeoville Quadrangle Part of Cook, Du Page, Will Counties, Illinois, United States Midwest Institute of T36N, T37N and T38N, R10E and R11E Geosciences and Engineering 2013

Steven D.J. Baumann, Alexandra B. Cory Page 2 of 2 Publication Number: M-112013-3A CROSS SECTION A - A’ (Shallow)

A Feet above Long Mean Sea Run I-355 Level I-55

Lily Cache Railroad Railroad 750 35th Creek A’ Des Plaines River 700 Qh-p Qc Qw Qh-v Qh-v Qw Qw 650 Qh-p Sr Qly Qh-f Hm Qly Qh Qh Qh Ss DESCRIPTION OF GEOLOGIC UNITS 600 Sr Qe Sr Ss QUATERNARY Sj 550 Sj Hml: Human made landfill: Greene Valley Landfill (closed 1996), contents are trash (0-140 feet thick) Sj Sk 500 Sk Hm: Human made land: Mostly construction debris and local natural materials derived from quarries and canal excavations that have been assembled into mounds (0-30 feet thick) 450 Se Sk Om Om Om Se Qc: Cahokia Formation: Light brown to black, SAND, SILT, laminated CLAY; deposited in modern streams 400 (0-20 feet thick) Vertical Exaggeration = 20x

Qg: Grayslake Peat: Dark brown to black, ORGANIC CLAY and PEAT, deposited in post glacial lakes and bogs; (0-25 feet thick)

Qh-f: Henry Formation, alluvial fan facies: Orange brown to brown, SAND and GRAVEL with silt and CROSS SECTION A - A’ (Deep) cobbles, deposited as alluvial fans near cliffs (0-70 feet thick)

Qh-p: Henry Formation, outwash plain facies: Yellow brown to brown, SAND with gravel and plastic silt, deposited at the front of melting glaciers (0-30 feet thick) A

Feet above A’ Qh-v: Henry Formation, valley facies: Orange brown to brown, clayey SAND and rounded GRAVEL, de- Mean Sea Level posited in stream and river valleys in glacial outwash channels (0-120 feet thick)

750 Qw: Wadsworth Formation: Gray to dark gray, DIAMCTON with glacial erratics (0-150 feet thick), com- Qu Qu posed of several end moraines of similar composition 550 Su Su Om Qly: Lemont Formation, Yorkville Member: Light gray to bluish gray, gravelly to boulder DIAMICTON Om 150 (0-80 feet thick) Ogp Oa -350 Qh: Henry Formation, undivided: Light brown, yellow brown, to brown, SAND, GRAVEL, and SILT, with COk Cf clay and cobbles, subglacial outwash which may correlate with other facies of the Henry Formation (0-60 -750 feet) Cgi

Ce -950 Qu: Quaternary, undivided in cross section Vertical Exaggeration = 5x

SILURIAN

Sr: Racine Formation: Gray, silty micritic DOLOSTONE with white chert (0-30 feet thick)

Ss: Sugar Sun Formation: Light gray to very pale greenish gray, argillaceous DOLOSTONE (0-27 feet thick) DISCUSSION Sj: Joliet Formation: White to light gray mottled red and green, micritic to coarse crystalline DOLOSTONE with beds of gray and red shale in the bottom third (70-85 feet thick) The Romeoville Quadrangle encompasses the all or part of Naperville, Romeoville, and Lemont. It is an area of hills and plains with two Cambrian major tributaries running through it. The Du Page River (north) and the Des Plaines River (south) have been the scene of active quarries The Cambrian consists of very productive sandstones. Most deep municipal wells are set into the Ironton and Galesville For- Sk: Kankakee Formation: Pale yellow brown to light brown, fine to coarse crystalline DOLOSTONE with since the early 19th Century. Both Rivers have been extensively altered by humans activity. mations in the quadrangle. The Ironton-Galesville is separated from the Knox by the Franconia Formation. The Franconia some chert (20-40 feet thick) Formation contains glauconite. Glauconite makes the sand very green and the Franconia is often referred to as “green sand” Quaternary by drillers. The Ironton and Galesville are lumped together because of the difficulty in separating the two in driller’s logs. Se: Elwood Formation: Light gray, argillaceous DOLOSTYONE with some to abundant white chert (0-20 The modern landscape has been mostly influenced by the Wisconsin Episode glaciers. They formed four named end moraines (see map) feet thick) in the area, and coarse outwash deposits cover large portions of the map area. The glaciers both advanced from the northeast and re- Below the Ironton-Galesville is the Eau Clair Formation. The Eau Claire is as much as 400 feet thick outside of the quadran- treated to the northeast. The Yorkville Member of the Lemont Formation is a unique glacial diamicton in the area. It tends to be very gle. However, the deepest well drilled within the quadrangle only penetrates a few dozen feet into the formation. The Eau Su: Silurian: undivided on map and cross section hard, commonly contains boulders, and serves as an aquitard. It was referred to as “the Lemont drift” in publications prior to the 1990s. Claire is an aquitard and isn’t a productive source of groundwater. Coarse outwash deposits are common in valleys, on till plains, and in the subsurface. In the subsurface, they contain enough groundwa- ORDOVICIAN ter to be used for small private wells. The deep cross section ends in the Eau Claire because no deeper formation has been penetrated. However, the Layne- Western Co. Well #11, several miles north of the quadrangle, penetrated 374 feet of the Eau Claire Formation and entered Om: Maquoketa Group: Pale greenish gray, gray, dark brown to black, SHALE and DOLOSTONE (120-220 Silurian 161 feet into the underlying Cambrian Mount Simon Sandstone. The Mount Simon is estimated to be about 2,600 to 2,800 feet thick) The Silurian underlies the glacial deposits and is present as the upper most bedrock unit throughout the quadrangle. The Racine and feet thick, based on regional well data. The Precambrian underlies the Mount Simon in Illinois and consist mostly of granite Sugar Run Formations are the top two Silurian units present, where not eroded. The Racine is thin in the area. The Sugar Run was ex- and rhyolite. Ogp: Galena-Platteville Group: Pale brown to yellowish brown, micritic to coarse crystalline DOLOSTONE tensively quarried for building stone in the 19th Century and was called the “Athens Marble”. (300-330 feet thick) Structure The Joliet Formation (below the Sugar Run) is the most common Silurian unit used for well water in the area. It is composed of three The only know geologic structure in the map area is the Kankakee Arch. The arch is a very broad and subtle structure but it Oa: Ancell Group: White to light gray, fine to medium, well rounded QUARTZ ARENITE with dolostone and members. They are the top Romeo Member, the Markgraf Member, and the basal Brandon Bridge Member. All three members are com- extends from Wisconsin to Indiana. Due to how subtle it is, the axis is hard to pinpoint. The axis is definitely within the map shale in the upper and lower parts (95-150 feet thick) pletely exposed at Barbers Quarry (see Figure 1). The Romeo Member is the most productive for mining and groundwater. It tends to area. The Ancell Group is known to all but peter out on the axis. There are no other known structures in the quadrangle. be very porous and coarse grained. It is overall gray to pinkish gray in color but is also mottled pale green and white. This color has ORDOVICIAN and CAMBRIAN earned it the nick name “holiday stone”. The Markgraf Member is similar to the Sugar Run Formation in texture. The basal Brandon Bridge unit is mostly an impure dolostone. Unlike the Sugar Run and Markgraf, which have the fine clastic particles spread out within the COk: Knox Supergroup: Gray to brown, mostly DOLOSTONE with some shale, sandstone and chert, an dolostone, the Brandon Bridge tends to be pure dolostone beds separated by shale partings. The top of the member contains two to assemblage of several formations that are difficult to differentiate in the subsurface (220-410 feet thick) three feet of a dark gray dolomitic shale. The dolostone tennis deep red mottled light gray (see Figure 2). The Joliet Formation tends not to be differentiated into members in well logs. As a result it isn’t divided on the map or in the shallow cross section. The Joliet is CAMBRIAN typically only about 40 to 50 feet thick. However, in the map area, it is at its thickest in the state, near 90 feet in places.

Cf: Franconia Formation: Gray to green, somewhat glauconitic, fine to medium QUARTZ ARENITE to Below the Joliet Formation is the Kankakee Formation. It is also divided into several members. Only the upper two (the Plaines and QUARTZ WACKE, with shale and dolostone (110-130 feet thick) Troutman) are exposed in the quadrangle. The Kankakee Formation sits directly on top of the Ordovician Maquoketa Group throughout most of the quadrangle. The Elwood Formation lies beneath the Kankakee Formation only where the Maquoketa is less than 200 feet Cgi: Galesville-Ironton Sandstone: Pale yellow to gray, dolomitic to pure QUARTZ WACKE to QUARTZ thick. Both the Kankakee and Elwood are moderately productive aquifers. ARENITE (170-190 feet thick) Ordovician Ce: Eau Claire Formation: Brownish gray, QUARTZ WACKE with silt and minor shale (>30 feet thick) The upper most Ordovician unit in the quadrangle is the Maquoketa Group. It is comprised of three formations in the map area but is mapped as a single unit in cross section. It is mostly shale with a middle dolostone formation, and forms a regional aquitard in northern Illinois. In Du Page County, t is also thicker than in other places in Illinois. The Maquoketa was eroded at the end of the Ordovician. As a result, it varies greatly in thickness throughout the state. The Maquoketa does not outcrop anywhere in the quadrangle but all deep wells in the area have penetrated it. Significant Water Wells Used in Generating Units older than the Maquoketa are known only from deep borings in the Romeoville and surrounding quadrangles. The Galena and the Map and Cross Section Platteville Groups have been lumped together in cross section. Both groups are divided into several formations that cannot be practically divided out in cross section. The Galena-Platteville is also a moderately productive aquifer. API #s for Deep Wells API #s for Shallow Wells

(>800 feet deep) (<800 feet deep) The sands of the Ancell Group are below the Galena-Platteville. The thickest formation within the Ancell is the Saint Peter Formation,

FIGURE 1: Barbers Quarry Section which makes up over 90% of the Formation. The main part of the Saint Peter is a very pure, well sorted, quartz sandstone (also called a 121970127500 121970151900 quartz arenite). The Saint Peter Formation is capped by the impure sandstones of Glenwood Formation, which are as much as 50 feet 121970133600 121973081900 thick in the quadrangle. The Kress Member of the Saint Peter Formation lies below the pure quartz sandstone of the main part. The 120310048900 121973063000 Feet above Kress fills paleo-valleys on top of the unconformity above the Knox Supergroup. The Ancell is one of the most productive aquifers in Illi- Mean Sea 120313305300 121972927200 Lithology nois. However, in the Romeoville Quadrangle, it is about half to one third as thick as it is in other parts of Illinois. Water yields are high, Level 121970148600 121972941100 but not as high as in other parts of the state. 121032412900 121973811200 610 Sugar Run Formation 121973552900 The Knox Supergroup crosses the Cambrian-Ordovician line. There is an unconformity between the Cambrian and Ordovician in Illinois, 121974286800 but local driller logs do not differentiate the formations within the Knox. As a result, the Knox is combined into a single unit in the deep cross section. It is also a moderately productive aquifer. 590 Romeo Member

A total of 61 wells were referenced. 570

Markgraf 550 Joliet Formation Member

530 Brandon FIGURE 2: Brandon Bridge Member Bridge Member

Plaines Member 510 Troutman Member

Quarry floor (1985) Kankakee Formation

Legend

Dolostone

Shale

Wavy bedding

Argillaceous / shale partings Chert Coarse crystalline

Adapted from Mikulic 1985, pp. 36-40 Red boulder is from the Brandon Bridge Member at Barbers Quarry. 18” hammer for scale. Photo was taken in 2005.