Lithologic Character of the St. Peter Sandstone and the Everton Formation in the Buffalo River Valley, Newton County, Arkansas
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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 249 LITHOLOGIC CHARACTER OF THE ST. PETER SANDSTONE AND THE EVERTON FORMATION IN THE BUFFALO RIVER VALLEY, NEWTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Douglas McKay, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. E. Wrather, Director GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 249 LITHOLOGIC CHARACTER OF THE ST. PETER SANDSTONE AND THE EVERTON FORMATION IN THE BUFFALO RIVER VALLEY NEWTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS By Ernest E. Glick and Sherwood E. Prezon Washington, D. C., 1953 Free on application to the Geological Survey, Washington 25, D. C. CONTENTS Page Page Introduction .............................. 1 Detailed sections of the St. Peter sandstone Everton formation ........................ 4 and Everton formation along the Beds below the Newton sandstone Buffalo River, Newton County, member........................... 4 Ark. Continued Newton sandstone member ............ 4 Section C ............................. 11 Beds between the Newton sandstone Section D ............................. 14 and Jasper members.............. 6 Section E ............................. 16 Jasper member....................... 6 Section F ............................. 18 St. Peter sandstone ..................... 6 Section G ............................... 21 Detailed sections of the St. Peter sandstone Section H .............................. 25 and Everton formation along the Buffalo Section I .............................. 32 River, Newton County, Ark. ............ 7 Section J ............................. 33 Section A............................. 7 Literature cited............................. 39 Section B ............................ 9 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. Map showing location of sections of the St. Peter sandstone and Everton formation measured along the Buffalo River, Newton County, Ark. ............................................. 2 2. Cross section showing the lithologic character of the St. Peter sandstone and Everton formation along the Buffalo River, Newton County .................................. 3 iii UTHOLOGIC CHARACTER OF THE ST. PETER SANDSTONE AND THE EVERTON FORMATION IN THE BUFFALO RIVER VALLEY NEWTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS By Ernest E. Click and Sherwood E. Frezon INTRODUCTION Fine-grained sandstone, 0.125 to 0. 25 mm in diameter. Since 1949, the U. S. Geological Survey, with Medium-grained sandstone, 0. 25 the informal cooperation of the Division of Geology, to 0. 50 mm in diameter. Arkansas Resources and Development Commission, Coarse-grained sandstone, 0. 50 has been engaged in stratigraphic investigations in to I. 00 mm in diameter. northern Arkansas to aid in the search for oil and gas Very coarse grained sandstone, in the Arkansas Valley. These investigations include 1. 00 to 2. 00 mm in diameter. surface and subsurface studies, some of which have been completed and published (Lantz, 1950; Maher Because the sand in the carbonate rocks and Lantz, 1952, 1953). i Work currently in progress and the sandstones is composed dominantly of includes the preparation of subsurface cross sections frosted subrounded to rounded quartz grains, these of the pre-Atoka rocks in the Arkansas valley, and characteristics are not included in the detailed areal mapping in the Mount Judea and Snowball descriptions. The approximate size of the sand quadrangles of Searcy and Newton Counties. This grains is given for the sandstones but not for the report presents and discusses the detailed strati- carbonate rocks. In general, both fine- and medium- graphic sections used in correlating and mapping sized grains are present in the sandy carbonate rocks. the St. Peter sandstone and Everton formation in the Mount Judea and Snowball quadrangles,. The bedding is described as follows: The detailed descriptions of surface sections in Fissile, less than 1/16 inch thick. this report are based on rock samples collected in Platy, 1/16 to 1/2 inch thick. the Buffalo River valley in Newton County, Ark., at Very thin bedded, 1/2 to 2 inches 'thick. the localities shown in figure 1. The sections were Thin-bedded, 2 to 4 inches thick. measured in the field by tape and hand level; all units Medium-bedded, 4 to 12 inches thick. were measured perpendicular to the bedding. Field Thick-bedded, 12,to 36 inches thick. descriptions were made with special emphasis on Massive, more than 36 inches thick. bedding and weathering, and representative samples were taken of each lithologic unit for laboratory The term "cryptozoon structure" refers to any examination and lithologic description. The samples structure which suggests that a unit is in part algal were crushed, washed, and examined in the office in origin. This includes a distinctive type of wavy with a binocular microscope. -Field and laboratory banding in limestone and dolomite beds as well as data were then combined into the detailed sections preserved colonies of calcareous algae in limestone included in this report. beds. In the past these algal colonies have been The terminology used in the descriptions of the sam referred to Cryptozoon sp. ples is essentially that used by most geologists in the mid- continent region, making microscopic examinations of The National Research Council rock-color chart well samples. A limestone or dolomite is called "crystalline" was used for color names in the descriptions. Colors if the texture is rough and crystal faces can be seen, obviously due to weathering were not described. "granular" if the texture is rough and crystal faces can not be seen, and "dense "if the texture is smooth. A Colored log strips on the scale of 10 feet to the carbonate rock that leaves a large residue of silt after inch were prepared from the detailed lithologic digestion in acid is called "silty"; one containing indeter descriptions of this report. A detailed cross section minate, round or ovate, particles about the size of oolites was constructed from information on these log strips is termed "oolitoid. " Sandstone with siliceous cement and was generalized in the form of figure 2. This is called "quartzitic " if it breaks across the sand grains. figure shows the lithologic character of the St. Peter The terms given below are used in accordance with the sandstone and members of the Everton formation in Wentworth Grade Scale: ten sections along the Buffalo River designated A to_Jin figure 1. The datum used in alining these Silt, 0.0039 to 0.062 mm in diameter. sections is the top of the basal sandstone Very fine grained sandstone, 0.062 to 0.125 mm of the Jasper member of the Everton formation in diameter. except in section A, where this unit is absent. Section A is alined on the top of the Newton sandstone 1 See page 39 for literature cited. member. R.2IW. R.20W. 93" OO1 R.I9W. R.I8W. Line of cross section shown in figure 2 R.2IW. R.20W. 93-001 R.|9 W. R.I8W. Figure 1. Map showing location of sections of the St. Peter sandstone and Everton formation measured along the Buffalo River, Newton County, Ark. FERNVALE LIMESTONE (ORDOVICIAN) Limestone and thin sandstone beds Sandstone and thin limestone beds Member boundary Facies boundary 50- Datum is top of basal sandstone of the Josper member of the Everton formation in sections B to J. Section A is alined on the top of the Newton sandstone member of the Everton for 3 Miles mation . Letters above sections refer to loca tions in figure I Figure 2. Cross section showing the lithologic character of the St. Peter sandstone and Everton formation along the Buffalo River, Newton County, Ark. The authors wish to thank H. D. Miser, of the member of the Boone formation along the line of these U. S. Geological Survey, for giving generously of sections. The -St. Peter sandstone overlies the his time and experience in discussing some of the Jasper member of the Everton formation in sections D problems encountered, and N. F. Williams, through J. At each of these localities the St. Peter director, Division of Geology, Arkansas Resources rests upon an irregular wavy surface. This irregularity and Development Commission, who provided base is most striking in section J where 4 feet of relief is maps and extended many courtesies. Section E of this present on the top of the limestone beds in a lateral report is a part of a previously published section at distance of 25 feet. The basal sandstone member of Carver, Ark. (Maher and Lantz, 1952, p. 10-12). the Boone formation overlies the Everton formation in sections A, B, and C. It rests on beds older than Jasper in section A , on a nearly complete thickness EVERTON FORMATION (MIDDLE ORDOVICIAN) of Jasper in section B , and on a thin remnant of Jasper in section C.~ These irregularities are A Middle Ordovician sequence of limestone, attributable mostly to truncation of local structures sandstone, and dolomite beds,about 405 feet thick, before deposition of the Boone formation. separates the Powell dolomite (Lower Ordovician) and the St. Peter sandstone (Middle Ordovician) near Mount Hersey in the Yellville quadrangle (section _J, Beds below the Newton sandstone member figs. 1 and 2).. McKnight (1935,. pi. 3) mapped this sequence as the Everton formation and noted that the Beds of the Everton formation below the upper limestone beds are lithologically identical with Newton sandstone member are partially exposed in the Jasper limestone mapped in the adjacent Harrison sections A , C , F , G, H, and J. The exposure of quadrangle by Purdue and Miser (1916, p. 8) as a separate this sequence in section J is 245~feet thick. These formation. He also suggested that detailed stratigraphic beds exhibit a limy facies in section A which grades work in the Buffalo River valley south of the Harrison eastward into a dolomitic facies in section G to J . and Yellville quadrangles would show that the (See fig. 2.) The limy facies consists of light olive- Jasper limestone should be considered as a member gray oolitic ostracodal dense limestone interbedded of the'Everton. The writers, who have assisted in the with limy sandstone; the dolomitic facies is composed mapping of the Buffalo River valley immediately south of brownish-gray finely to medium-crystalline dolomite of the Harrison and Yellville quadrangles (fig. 1), find interbedded with dolomitic sandstone.