DOCSLIB.ORG

Bedrocks of the Newark Basin--Sediments and Volcanics”

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bedrocks of the Newark Basin--Sediments and Volcanics” “Bedrock of the Newark Basin” Our region is underlain by reddish sandstones and shales deposited in shallow freshwater lakes about 200 million years ago during the Triassic- Jurassic Periods. The solid bedrock beneath our region consists of sandstones and shales deposited about 200 million years ago during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic Periods. At that time, the ancient continent of Pangaea began to break apart into modern North America and Africa. A series of basins formed along eastern North America from New Brunswick, Canada, to Alabama. The largest of these is the Newark Basin (Fig. 1). This zone extends from Rockland County, NY, across NJ into the area around Gettysburg, PA. Rains eroded the sediments from high peaks to the west, remnants of which are the Ramapo Mountains. Hematite is an iron mineral which cemented quartz and other fragments together and gives these rocks their reddish-brown color. Evidence of Life in this region during that time indicate the sediments were deposited in shallow, freshwater lakes. Fossilized worm burrows were left when the soft mud hardened into shale (Fig. 2). Many fish fossils and a rare reptile (Fig. 3) were recovered in the Granton Quarry in North Bergen, not far south of Englewood. In Roseland and elsewhere, collectors have found footprints of early dinosaurs (Fig. 4.) The American Museum of Natural History in NYC displays the bones of one of these, Rutiodon manhattenesis (Fig. 5), discovered in 1910 at the base of the Palisades by a geology class from Columbia University. In what is now the eastern edge of Englewood and vicinity, igneous rocks were forced between layers of these sedimentary rocks during upheavals 200 million years ago as the ancient continent of Pangaea broke up. This formed the Palisades Sill (Fig 6). The “upper contact” between the igneous and sedimentary rocks is exposed in a road cut on Interstate 80/95 just west of the Jones Road Bridge (Fig. 7). The more resistant igneous rocks form the Palisades cliffs along the Hudson River and the sloping surfaces of Englewood’s East Hill section. The less-resistant sandstones and shales form the bedrock beneath Englewood west of Grand Ave. and Engle St. The solid bedrock in much of Englewood is covered by loose soil materials left by the glaciers during the last Ice Age and the deposits at the bottom of Glacial Lake Hackensack. These explain why people who garden find so many pebbles and other rock fragments. Two excellent descriptions of the geologic history of Englewood and vicinity are available in: John K. Lattimer (1990) This Was Early Englewood” Englewood Historical Society. Chapters 1 – 4. Palisades Interstate Park Commission NJ “Ice, on the Rocks” Additional general and technical resources are suggested at the end. Fig. 1. Generalized geology of the Newark Basin Credit: https://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/nyc/mesozoic/newarkbasin.htm Fig. 2 Worm burrows in shale, Flat Rock Brook Nature Center Fig. 3A. Fossil fish collected in the Granton Quarry, North Bergen – same age as Englewood’s rocks http://earthphysicsteaching.homestead.com/Triassic_Fossil_Fish.html Fig. 3B “Tany” (nickname for Tanytrachelos) fossil found in Granton Quarry http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/7183729/article-NB-fossil-has-NJ-homecoming-Former- resident-remembers-Granton-Quarry-?instance=lead_story_left_column Fig. 4 Early Triassic Dinosaur Footprints http://www.digsfossils.com/fossils/pics/Grallator_nj_yale_boonton_0002.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riker_Hill_Fossil_SiteFig. 5 Fig. 5. Fossilized bones of Rutiodon manhattenesis discovered in 1910 by a Columbia Geology Class http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/master.html?http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsit e/editors_pick/1922_09-10_pick_b.html Current sign in the American Museum of Natural History Fig. 6 Cross-section of the Palisades Sill and adjacent sedimentary rocks. Credit: http://stevekluge.com/geoscience/images/palisades/default.html Fig. 7 The “Upper Contact” between the Palisades Sill and overlying sedimentary rocks More information General Lattimer, J.K. (1990) This Was Early Englewood. Englewood Historical Society, ch. 1 – 4. Palisades Interstate Park Commission NJ “Ice, on the Rocks” “Bedrocks of the Newark Basin--Sediments and Volcanics” USGS “Geology of the Newark Basin” Chester A. Reeds “Geology of New York City and Its Vicinity” Technical Paul Olsen “Triassic and Jurassic Formations of the Newark Basin” Paul Olsen “Fossil Great Lakes of the Newark Supergroup in New Jersey” “Newark Basin and Connecticut River Basin” http://www.digsfossils.com/fossils/footprints_main.html .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Igneous Processes During the Assembly and Breakup of Pangaea: Northern New Jersey and New York City
    IGNEOUS PROCESSES DURING THE ASSEMBLY AND BREAKUP OF PANGAEA: NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK CITY CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS AND FIELD GUIDE EDITED BY Alan I. Benimoff GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY XXX ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND FIELDTRIP OCTOBER 11 – 12, 2013 At the College of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY IGNEOUS PROCESSES DURING THE ASSEMBLY AND BREAKUP OF PANGAEA: NORTHERN NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK CITY CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS AND FIELD GUIDE EDITED BY Alan I. Benimoff GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY XXX ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND FIELDTRIP OCTOBER 11 – 12, 2013 COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND, STATEN ISLAND, NY i GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY 2012/2013 EXECUTIVE BOARD President .................................................. Alan I. Benimoff, PhD., College of Staten Island/CUNY Past President ............................................... Jane Alexander PhD., College of Staten Island/CUNY President Elect ............................... Nurdan S. Duzgoren-Aydin, PhD., New Jersey City University Recording Secretary ..................... Stephen J Urbanik, NJ Department of Environmental Protection Membership Secretary ..............................................Suzanne Macaoay Ferguson, Sadat Associates Treasurer ............................................... Emma C Rainforth, PhD., Ramapo College of New Jersey Councilor at Large………………………………..Alan Uminski Environmental Restoration, LLC Councilor at Large ............................................................ Pierre Lacombe, U.S. Geological Survey Councilor at Large .................................
    [Show full text]
  • Potential On-Shore and Off-Shore Reservoirs for CO2 Sequestration in Central Atlantic Magmatic Province Basalts
    Potential on-shore and off-shore reservoirs for CO2 sequestration in Central Atlantic magmatic province basalts David S. Goldberga, Dennis V. Kenta,b,1, and Paul E. Olsena aLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964; and bEarth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Contributed by Dennis V. Kent, November 30, 2009 (sent for review October 16, 2009) Identifying locations for secure sequestration of CO2 in geological seafloor (16) may offer potential solutions to these additional formations is one of our most pressing global scientific problems. issues that are more problematic on land. Deep-sea aquifers Injection into basalt formations provides unique and significant are fully saturated with seawater and typically capped by imper- advantages over other potential geological storage options, includ- meable sediments. The likelihood of postinjection leakage of ing large potential storage volumes and permanent fixation of car- CO2 to the seafloor is therefore low, reducing the potential bon by mineralization. The Central Atlantic Magmatic Prov- impact on natural and human ecosystems (8). Long after CO2 ince basalt flows along the eastern seaboard of the United States injection, the consequences of laterally displaced formation water may provide large and secure storage reservoirs both onshore and to distant locations and ultimately into the ocean, whether by offshore. Sites in the South Georgia basin, the New York Bight engineered or natural outflow systems, are benign. For more than basin, and the Sandy Hook basin offer promising basalt-hosted a decade, subseabed CO2 sequestration has been successfully reservoirs with considerable potential for CO2 sequestration due conducted at >600 m depth in the Utsira Formation as part of to their proximity to major metropolitan centers, and thus to large the Norweigan Sleipner project (17).
    [Show full text]
  • Bedrock Geologic Map of the Monmouth Junction Quadrangle, Water Resources Management U.S
    DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Prepared in cooperation with the BEDROCK GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE MONMOUTH JUNCTION QUADRANGLE, WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SOMERSET, MIDDLESEX, AND MERCER COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY NEW JERSEY GEOLOGICAL AND WATER SURVEY NATIONAL GEOLOGIC MAPPING PROGRAM GEOLOGICAL MAP SERIES GMS 18-4 Cedar EXPLANATION OF MAP SYMBOLS cycle; lake level rises creating a stable deep lake environment followed by a fall in water level leading to complete Cardozo, N., and Allmendinger, R. W., 2013, Spherical projections with OSXStereonet: Computers & Geosciences, v. 51, p. 193 - 205, doi: 74°37'30" 35' Hill Cem 32'30" 74°30' 5 000m 5 5 desiccation of the lake. Within the Passaic Formation, organic-rick black and gray beds mark the deep lake 10.1016/j.cageo.2012.07.021. 32 E 33 34 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 490 000 FEET 542 40°30' 40°30' period, purple beds mark a shallower, slightly less organic-rich lake, and red beds mark a shallow oxygenated 6 Contacts 100 M Mettler lake in which most organic matter was oxidized. Olsen and others (1996) described the next longer cycle as the Christopher, R. A., 1979, Normapolles and triporate pollen assemblages from the Raritan and Magothy formations (Upper Cretaceous) of New 6 A 100 I 10 N Identity and existance certain, location accurate short modulating cycle, which is made up of five Van Houten cycles. The still longer in duration McLaughlin cycles Jersey: Palynology, v. 3, p. 73-121. S T 44 000m MWEL L RD 0 contain four short modulating cycles or 20 Van Houten cycles (figure 1).
    [Show full text]
  • THE JOURNAL of GEOLOGY March 1990
    VOLUME 98 NUMBER 2 THE JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY March 1990 QUANTITATIVE FILLING MODEL FOR CONTINENTAL EXTENSIONAL BASINS WITH APPLICATIONS TO EARLY MESOZOIC RIFTS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA' ROY W. SCHLISCHE AND PAUL E. OLSEN Department of Geological Sciences and Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964 ABSTRACT In many half-graben, strata progressively onlap the hanging wall block of the basins, indicating that both the basins and their depositional surface areas were growing in size through time. Based on these con- straints, we have constructed a quantitative model for the stratigraphic evolution of extensional basins with the simplifying assumptions of constant volume input of sediments and water per unit time, as well as a uniform subsidence rate and a fixed outlet level. The model predicts (1) a transition from fluvial to lacustrine deposition, (2) systematically decreasing accumulation rates in lacustrine strata, and (3) a rapid increase in lake depth after the onset of lacustrine deposition, followed by a systematic decrease. When parameterized for the early Mesozoic basins of eastern North America, the model's predictions match trends observed in late Triassic-age rocks. Significant deviations from the model's predictions occur in Early Jurassic-age strata, in which markedly higher accumulation rates and greater lake depths point to an increased extension rate that led to increased asymmetry in these half-graben. The model makes it possible to extract from the sedimentary record those events in the history of an extensional basin that are due solely to the filling of a basin growing in size through time and those that are due to changes in tectonics, climate, or sediment and water budgets.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020 Natural Resources Inventory
    2020 NATURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY TOWNSHIP OF MONTGOMERY SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY Prepared By: Tara Kenyon, AICP/PP Principal NJ License #33L100631400 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................... 5 AGRICULTURE ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY IN AND AROUND MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP ...................................................... 7 REGULATIONS AND PROGRAMS RELATED TO AGRICULTURE ...................................................................... 11 HEALTH IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURAL AVAILABILITY AND LOSS TO HUMANS, PLANTS AND ANIMALS .... 14 HOW IS MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP WORKING TO SUSTAIN AND ENHANCE AGRICULTURE? ................... 16 RECOMMENDATIONS AND POTENTIAL PROJECTS .......................................................................................... 18 CITATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................. 19 AIR QUALITY .............................................................................................................................................................. 21 CHARACTERISTICS OF AIR .................................................................................................................................. 21
    [Show full text]
  • Flat Rock Brook” This Stream Flows Downhill Over the Eroded Flat Surfaces of the Diabase Basalt Forming the Palisades
    “Flat Rock Brook” This stream flows downhill over the eroded flat surfaces of the diabase basalt forming the Palisades. It drains into Crystal Lake and Overpeck Creek as part of the Hackensack River watershed. Flat Rock Brook flows down from the top of the Palisades beginning in Englewood Cliffs The brook empties into Crystal Lake and now continues in culverts beneath Interstate 80/95 to Overpeck Creek, a tributary of the Hackensack River watershed. The “flat rocks” are diabase basalts at the top of an igneous intrusion, the Palisades Sill. (See “The Seven Sisters” for more information.) They formed underground about 200 million years ago. The diabase was more resistant to erosion than the overlying sedimentary rocks. Over time, the overlying rocks were removed by erosion, exposing the flat diabase surface. Earthquakes tilted the region, producing the westward slope characterizing the East Hill section of Englewood down to Grand Ave. and Engle St. On the eastern side of the sill, erosion and rock falls created the cliffs of the Palisades along the Hudson River. This 1880s map shows part of Flat Rock Brook. The pond labelled “Vanderbeck’s Mill Pond” was created by damming the brook in 1876. It was later known as Macfadden’s Pond. https://www.flatrockbrook.org/about-us/history In the 1970s, the Englewood Nature Association (now the Flat Rock Brook Nature Association) was established to preserve the area, resulting in establishment of the Flat Rock Brook Nature Center. Green Acres funding from the State of New Jersey was important in beginning this project. In the 1980s, it was merged with Allison Park, creating the 150-acre preserve in existence today.
    [Show full text]
  • Hofstra University 014F Field Guidebook Geology of the Palisades and Newark Basin, Nj
    HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY 014F FIELD GUIDEBOOK GEOLOGY OF THE PALISADES AND NEWARK BASIN, NJ 18 October 2008 Figure 1 – Physiographic diagram of NY Metropolitan area with cutaway slice showing structure. (From E. Raisz.) Field Trip Notes by: Charles Merguerian © 2008 2 CONTENTS CONTENTS..................................................................................................................................... i INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 GEOLOGIC BACKGROUND....................................................................................................... 4 PHYSIOGRAPHIC SETTING................................................................................................... 4 BEDROCK UNITS..................................................................................................................... 7 Layers I and II: Pre-Newark Complex of Paleozoic- and Older Rocks.................................. 8 Layer V: Newark Strata and the Palisades Intrusive Sheet.................................................. 12 General Geologic Relationships ....................................................................................... 12 Stratigraphic Relationships ............................................................................................... 13 Paleogeographic Relationships ......................................................................................... 16 Some Relationships Between Water and Sediment.........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Observations and Tectonic Setting of Historic and Instrumentally Located Earthquakes in the Greater New York City–Philadelphia Area by Lynn R
    Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 98, No. 4, pp. 1696–1719, August 2008, doi: 10.1785/0120070167 Ⓔ Observations and Tectonic Setting of Historic and Instrumentally Located Earthquakes in the Greater New York City–Philadelphia Area by Lynn R. Sykes, John G. Armbruster, Won-Young Kim, and Leonardo Seeber Abstract A catalog of 383 earthquakes in southeastern New York, southwestern Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania, including metropolitan New York City and Philadelphia, is compiled from historical and instrumental data from 1677 through 2006. A magnitude-felt area relationship is used to calculate the equivalent magnitude mbLg prior to the advent of abundant instrumental data in 1974. Revised locations are computed for a number of historic earthquakes. Most hypo- centers are concentrated in older terranes bordering the Mesozoic Newark basin in the Reading, Manhattan, and Trenton prongs and in similar rocks found at a shallow depth beneath the coastal plain from south of New York City across central New Jersey. Historic shocks of mbLg 3 and larger were most numerous in the latter zone. The largest known event, mbLg 5.25, occurred just offshore of New York City in 1884. Many earthquakes have occurred beneath the 12-km wide Ramapo seismic zone (RSZ) in the eastern part of the Reading prong, where station coverage was the most ex- tensive since 1974. The southeastern boundary of the RSZ, which is nearly vertical, extends from near the surface trace of the Mesozoic Ramapo fault to depths of 12–15 km. Because the Mesozoic border fault dips about 50°–60° southeast, earth- quakes of the RSZ are occurring within middle Proterozoic through early Paleozoic rocks.
    [Show full text]
  • 40Th NYSGA Annual Meeting 1968
    NEW YORK STATE GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION GUIDEBOOK TO FIELD EXCURSIONS 40TH ANNUAL MEETING 1968 AT QUEENS COLLEGE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YO_RK FLUSHING, NEW YORK GUIDEBOOK to Field Excursions at the 40th Annual Meeting of the New York State Geological Association May 1968 Robert M. Finks, Editor Host: Department of Geology Queens College of The City University of New York Copies of this guidebook may be purchased from the Permanent Secretary, New York State Geological Association. Address Prof. Philip Hewitt, Department of Geology, State University College at Brockport, N. Y. 2 The organizer of the field trips described in this volume, and of the meeting at which they were given, is Professor Walter S. Newman President, NYSGA, 1968 3 CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS Eugene A. Alexandrov, Queens College G. D. Bennett, U. S. Geological Survey Robert M. Finks, Queens College Leo M. Hall, University of Massachusetts David H. Krinsley, Queens College David J. Leveson, Brooklyn College James P. Minard, U. S. Geological Survey Walter S. Newman, Queens College James P. Owens, U. S. Geological Survey F. J. Pearson, U. S. Geological Survey N. M. Perlmutter, U. S. Geological Survey Nicholas M. Ratcliffe, City College E. Lynn Savage, Brooklyn College Carl K. Seyfert, Buffalo State University College Leslie A. Sirkin, Adelphi University Norman F. Sohl, U. S. Geological Survey David L. Thurber, Queens College Franklyn B. Van Houten, Princeton University 4 PREFACE The papers brought together in this Guidebook merit comparative reading at leisure, for they often bring to bear upon problems of the local geology many independent lines of evidence. Some matters that come immediately to mind out of personal interest are: (1) The relation of the New York City Group to the unmetamorphosed Cambro­ Ordovician sequence (Trips A, C, E, H).
    [Show full text]
  • Early Residents Gave the Nickname “The Seven Sisters” to the Slopes and Flat Areas Between Them, Especially on Palisade Ave
    “The Seven Sisters” Palisades Diabase bedrock These slopes and flatter areas underlain by diabase bedrock on the west side of the Palisades were nicknamed “The Seven Sisters” by early residents. Early residents gave the nickname “The Seven Sisters” to the slopes and flat areas between them, especially on Palisade Ave. The solid bedrock that forms the Palisades cliffs along the Hudson River and the sloping hills on the eastern side of Englewood and vicinity are composed of diabase basalt. This dark-colored igneous rock (Fig. 1) was created about 200 million years ago as part of the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic Newark Basin. (See “Bedrock Geology.”) Magma rose from a deep source of molten material but was forced to flow horizontally underground between layers of the older sedimentary rocks, rather than reach the surface. Later, regional earthquake activity tilted the layers downward to the west, and erosion removed most of the overlying softer sedimentary rocks to expose the harder diabase basalt (Fig. 2). Fig. 1. Diabase (credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabase) Fig. 2. The “Seven Sisters” formed on the sloping upper surface of the Palisades Sill (TRps). It originally formed beneath the overlying sedimentary rocks (TRn), but was exposed as these were eroded. The whole region was tilted downward to the west. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Sill) Credit: http://stevekluge.com/geoscience/images/palisades/default.html What is now Palisade Avenue was originally constructed as a logging road to bring cut timber down the hill to where the Northern Railroad was being constructed. It was a dirt road that ran directly from the top of the Palisades to Overpeck Creek.
    [Show full text]
  • A Walk Back in Time the Ruth Canstein Yablonsky Self-Guided Geology Trail
    The cross section below shows the rocks of the Watchung Reservation and surrounding area, revealing the relative positions of the lava flows that erupted in this region and the sedimentary rock layers between them. A Walk Back in Time The Ruth Canstein Yablonsky Self-Guided Geology Trail click here to view on a smart phone NOTES Trailside Nature & Science Center 452 New Providence Road, Mountainside, NJ A SERVICE OF THE UNION COUNTY BOARD OF UNION COUNTY (908) 789-3670 CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS We’re Connected to You! The Ruth Canstein Yablonsky Glossary basalt a fine-grained, dark-colored Mesozoic a span of geologic time from Self-Guided Geology Trail igneous rock. approximately 225 million years ago to 71 million years This booklet will act as a guide for a short hike to interpret the geological history bedrock solid rock found in the same area as it was formed. ago, and divided into of the Watchung Reservation. The trail is about one mile long, and all the stops smaller units called Triassic, described in this booklet are marked with corresponding numbers on the trail. beds layers of sedimentary rock. Jurassic and Cretaceous. conglomerate sedimentary rock made of oxidation a chemical reaction “Watchung” is a Lenape word meaning “high hill”. The Watchung Mountains have an rounded pebbles cemented combining with oxygen. elevation of about 600 feet above sea level. As you travel southeast, these high hills are the together by a mineral last rise before the gently rolling lowland that extends from Rt. 22 through appropriately substance (matrix) . Pangaea supercontinent that broke named towns like Westfield and Plainfield to the Jersey shore.
    [Show full text]
  • Geologic Characterization of the Triassic Newark Basin of Southeastern New York and Northern New Jersey
    (ARRA Site Characterization) – Geologic Characterization of the Triassic Newark Basin of Southeastern New York and Northern New Jersey (DE-FE0002352) Daniel J. Collins, PG, RG Sandia Technologies, LLC U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory Carbon Storage R&D Project Review Meeting Developing the Technologies and Infrastructure for CCS August 20-22, 2013 • Acknowledgment: This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy [National Energy Technology Laboratory] under Award Number DE- FE0002352, Contract No. 18131 from the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority [NYSERDA], and “In Kind” Cost Share from Schlumberger Carbon Services, Weatherford Laboratories, National Oilwell Varco, New York State Museum, and Rutgers University. Carbon Services • Key Project Team Members: Sandia Technologies, LLC; Conrad Geoscience/PVE-Scheffler, New York State Museum, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Rutgers University, Schlumberger, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory • Disclaimer: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
    [Show full text]