Geologic Quadrangle Map No. 19: Fall Prong Quadrangle, Kimble
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BUREAU OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AUSTIN 12, TEXAS John T.Lonsdale,Director GEOLOGeologic Quadrangle Map No. 19 FallProng Quadrangle Kimble,Gillespie, andMason Counties, Texas By Virgil E. Barnes May 1956 Geology of the Fall Prong Quadrangle, Kimble, Gillespie, and Mason Counties VIRGIL E. BARNES GeneralSetting Granuleintraformationalconglomerate Angular granules are common in the Fredericksburg Group proximatedby following the black band scribed in the text of the Wendel quad- and Barnes,1944; Barnes, Romberg,and common near the base of the Edwards composed of one-fourth-inch aphanitic lower part of the Hensell sand; upward Included within the Fredericksburg mentioned above. rangle. Anderson,1954a, 1954b, 1955).The area limestone, butnone weremapped within Fall Prong quadrangle is in the mar- granules in a fine-grained matrix is the Hensell is finer grained, containing group of the Fall Prong quadrangle is The Comanche Peak limestone is No fossil collectionswere madewithin of lowgravity valuesin thenortheastern the Fall Prong quadrangle. ginal portion Plateau of the Edwards common. Glauconite is mostly rather much silt and clay. In the western part about 300 feet of Edwards limestone, describedbelow in the sections measured the quadrangle, and no attempt was part of the quadrangle is associatedwith Sandstones in the Cambrian probably near thesoutheasterncorner of theLlano Peak scarce but ina few beds is rather abun- of the quadrangle the upper part of the about 32 feet of Comanche lime- along Little Devils River just west of made to find silicified fossils, although a minimum whichincludes the northern are present beneathmuch of the quad- region. Almost three-quarters of the stone, clay. dant. The beds are mostly thin with a Hensell is very calcareous. The Hensell and about 2 feet of Walnut the quadrangle and along Fall Prong. some probably exist. Some of the lime- part of the Threadgill and Squaw Creek rangle butmostly at considerabledepth. quadrangle is Edwards Plateauand the grada- few as much as 6 inches thick. sand varies widely incolor with redsand The boundaries of the units are The Comanche Peak limestone is fossi- stonebedsof theEdwardsare essentially quadrangles. Town Mountain granite The Hickory sandstone contains water rest is valleys of the Llano basin cutting quadrangle Thomp- No fossils were collectedfromthe San grays predominant. The red material tional, and in this liferous especially in its basal portion, a cemented foraminiferal sand, and crops out north of the Squaw Creek in many places in central Texas and back into theplateau. Sabamember withinthe quadrangle,but tends to be more abundantin the lower son's (1935) observationthat theseunits and indications of fossils are common in fragmental fossil material is abundant quadrangle. probably is water bearing within the The geology of the Fall Prong quad- several collections have been made from part of theHensell, but even here there should have about the rank of members some of theupper beds.Fossils fromone throughout the Edwards limestone. Diorite was encounteredin the Rown- Fall Prongquadrangle.The depth to the However, rangle is shown on a planimetric map; it in the James River section a short is considerablematerialof gray, yellow- seems logical. insteadof intro- collection, locality 19— 17A, a little more tree No. 1Kott well in the Spring Creek portion of the Hickory sandstone that is Quarternary Deposits the only topographicmap availableis the distance to thenorth. ish-gray, and greenish-gray color. ducing a new name, Fredericksburg than a mile southeast of the Gillespie quadrangle.Itis unlikely that the maxi- water bearing is about1,200 feet in the reconnaissance 30-minuteKerrvillequad- The Hensell is solittleinduratedthat could easily be dropped from group to County corner, have been identified by High gravel The areas mapped as mum is caused entirely by diorite;since northwestern part of the quadrangle; rangle. between Ellenburger Group rank, especially since a poorly superimposedmaximum Elevationsranging 1,723 Tanyard Formation it readily breaks down and forms gentle formational the Dr. Ralph Imlay as follows: high gravel are mostly in the western defined southward the Hickory sandstone is Geological Survey the and 2,245 feet were determined during Threadgill member -About 40 to 50 slopes except immediately beneath the U. S. excludes and northern parts of the quadrangle. exists to the west of the well,itis likely deeperif thedip seenat thesurface con- traversing for control, but the lowest feetof white-weathering,mostly aphanit- Glen Rose and Comanche Peak lime- Kiamichi clay from the Fredericksburg Monopleura pinguiscula White The deposits are chiefly colluvial and that a large diorite mass has intruded tinues. However, the structure of the (Wilmarth, 1938, p. 776) texana (Roemer) ? elevation was not reached. However, it ic belonging stones. Some is group r Toucasia appear to remnants a more the Packsaddle schist. is complicated, and it limestone to the lower part of the Hensell cultivated Arctica sp. be of much Paleozoic rocks is estimated that the relief within the of the Threadgill member crops out near but not as much asis cultivated farther Walnut clay The Walnut clay is Pecten (Neithea) duplicicostaRoemer extensivedepositthat once coveredmuch is impossible to predict their depth or quadrangleis about 545 feet,ranging be- the northwestern corner of the quad- east. about 2 feet thick in the section along of the surface beneath the Comanche MineralResources even their presence beneath areas of tween about 1,700 2,245 and feet. rangle. The limestone is light gray in A section along the west side of Little Fall Prong, and in the western part of Edwards limestone The Edwards Peak scarp. In the vicinity of streams Cretaceous outcrop. The known resources of the The quadrangle is entirely within the part mottled by darker shades of gray Devils River about 2,000 feet west of the quadrangle in the vicinity of Little limestone is estimated to be about 345 some of the high gravel deposits are mineral The quality of the rest of the sands River it is representedby an ac- probably mostly quadrangle are limited to nonmetallic Llano River drainagebasin andis mostly andyellowish gray. Thebeds are mostly the western edge of the Fall Prong Devils feetthickbetweenthefalls on FallProng streamdeposits and are in theCambrian as aquifers is unknown, tributary to James River via LittleDevils between 2 and 10 inches in thickness. quadrangle and about 9,500 feet south- cumulationof Exogyra at thebase of the and Herman triangulation station. The reworkedfrom the colluvium. Nolineof substances and water. Outside of the but the Welge sandstone and possibly soil, is mostly for range River, important branches of which are Some fine- to very fine-grained beds southwest of the mouth of Fall Prong is Comanche Peak limestone. In thenorth- lower boundary, as explained above, is demarcation exists in border-line cases which used some of thesands in theSan Saba lime- quadrangle it land, the most important nonmetallic Fall Prong and White Oak Creek. Salt especially in thelower part contain pin- described below. The section is ex- eastern part of the rests gradational and is chosen at the baseof betweendepositsthat are truly colluvium stone probably contain some water. The sand, in resources are construction materials. Branch in the northwesterncorner flows point specks of glauconite.One dolomite ceptionally well exposedin a bluff but directly on the Hensell and the a thin-bedded zone which is thought to and those that are depositedby stream Lion Mountain and Welge sandstones rest quadrangle it rests Glen deposits are directly to James River,anda small area bed in the lower part is about 2 feet in part is inaccessible. of the on correlate with a similar zone in central action. For this reason the ConstructionMaterials are about 600 feet above the Hickory in the part thick, Rose beds. The Walnut clay is shown on Gillespie mapped under onedesignation. southeastern of the quad- fine grained,paleyellowish brown, Glen Rose limestone member-The County. Building stone Some limestone beds sandstone,andthe sandstonesin theSan rangle into Threadgill the map by a solid colorline. drains Creek and and weathers to light brown. GlenRose limestone is 33 feet thick in The Edwards limestone in the Fall The high gravel is composed chiefly in theEdwardslimestone, the San Saba Saba limestone are another 400 to 600 reaches Llano River via Beaver Creek. Gastropods such as Ophileta, Gascon- the Little Devils River section, 23 feet The Walnut clay, described in the Prong quadrangle is composed of a of pebbles, cobbles,and finer materials limestone, and the Threadgill member feetnearerthe surface. The Fall Prong quadrangle is wellup adia, and Lytospira are numerous on thick in the northwesternmost outcrop sections given below, is composed of variety of rock types including lime- including some caliche.Much ofthe ma- are of suitable thickness to be used for on thesouthwesternsideof theLlanoup- bedding surfaces,butno fossilcollections in the quadrangle, 15 feet thick a mile clay grading upwardinto an impurenod- stone, dolomite, and chert. The lime- terial is limestone, chert, and dolomite ledge-stone in building. The limestone SelectedReferences lift and is covered by Cretaceous rocks were made. east, disappears ular limestone. The clay is very cal- stone and dolomite varyin composition, from the Edwards, limestone from the in is in general Barnes, V. E. (1944) Gypsum in the to the and