Geology and Geological Engineering Considerations for Urban and Economic Planning in the Blue Springs, Mississippi, Area
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GEOLOGY AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING CONSIDERATIONS FOR URBAN AND ECONOMIC PLANNING IN THE BLUE SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI, AREA PONTOTOC, LEE, AND UNION COUNTIES By Charles T. Swann, R.P.G. and Jeremy J. Dew, G.I.T. Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute 111 Brevard Hall University, Mississippi 38677 MISSISSIPPI MINERAL RESOURCES INSTITUTE OPEN-FILE REPORT 11-1S December, 2011 Prepared in cooperation with the Three Rivers Planning and Development District On The Cover This photo is an outcrop of the Ripley Formation northeast of Pontotoc, Mississippi, taken by Charles Swann in February of 2011, after one of several snows. This outcrop (NPQ-190) is a northern exposure of the Troy beds, an equivalent to the Coon Creek Tongue further north. -i- TABLE OF CONTENTS On The Cover................................................................................................................................................i List of Tables...............................................................................................................................................iii List of Figures..............................................................................................................................................iii Abstract.........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................................1 Study Area.....................................................................................................................................................2 Methodology.................................................................................................................................................3 Geological Map................................................................................................................................3 Engineering Geology Map...............................................................................................................4 Mineral Resources Map...................................................................................................................5 GIS Map Construction.....................................................................................................................6 Explanation of the Maps...............................................................................................................................7 Geology Map...................................................................................................................................7 Demopolis Formation.........................................................................................................8 Ripley Formation................................................................................................................9 Owl Creek / Prairie Formation..........................................................................................12 Clayton Formation.............................................................................................................14 Quaternary Alluvium.........................................................................................................14 Summary of Geology Map................................................................................................15 Engineering Geology Map.............................................................................................................17 Flood-prone Areas.............................................................................................................18 Expansive Soils.................................................................................................................19 Excess Excavation Cost Areas..........................................................................................23 Earthquake.........................................................................................................................24 Summary of Engineering Geology Map............................................................................24 Mineral Resources Map..................................................................................................................25 Summary of Mineral Resources Map................................................................................26 Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................................26 References Cited..........................................................................................................................................27 Certifications...............................................................................................................................................30 -ii- LIST OF TABLES Table 1 - Major Publications for the Study Area .........................................................................................8 Table 2 - Summary of Outcrop Belt Characteristics....................................................................................17 Table 3 - Summary of Soil Swell Evaluation Results From the Transitional Clay.....................................20 Table 4 - Summary of Testing Results on Demopolis Residual and Flood Plain Soils...............................22 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1- Location of the study area with major geographic features...........................................................3 Figure 2 - Geological map of the Blue Springs area.......................................................................in pocket Figure 3 -Picture of Mud Creek as it appeared October 15, 2010. The dry chalk channel contains beds of Pycnodonta convexa that alters erosion rates and forms a set of rapids across the channel (just above the pool of water)................................................................................................................................................9 Figure 4 - A photograph of the transitional clay, the basal unit of the Ripley Formation. Note the abundant fossil bivalves, This exposure (SQ-082) is just north of the Sherman city limits on a tributary of Ryan Creek (sec. 22, T8S, R4E)..................................................................................................................10 Figure 5 - This exposure (NAE-079) is approximately midway between Blue Springs and the Toyota plant on the west side of Mississippi Highway 9. The grey sands are the upper portion of the Coon Creek while the red sands are assigned to the middle / upper Ripley sands (sec. 16, T8S, R4E)..........................11 Figure 6 - The Chiwapa can contain well-developed beds of limestone. Here blocks of limestone litter the slope just off of the shoulder of Miss. Highway 178 on the southern valley wall of East Branch. All of these blocks are highly fossiliferous...........................................................................................................12 Figure 7 - A sample of the Owl Creek Formation from New Albany. The dark “spots” are phosphate and the white areas are clam and snail fossils (sec. 4, T7S, R3E; NAE-152)....................................................13 Figure 8 - Typical Clayton Formation being utilized to construct the new Highway 15 improvement over the Tallahatchie River (sec. 4, T7S, R3E; NAE-151)..................................................................................14 Figure 9 - This picture illustrates the flood plain along East Branch (sec. 1, T8S, R3E) west of Blue Springs. Agriculture is a well adapted land use for flood plains................................................................15 Figure 10 - Engineering geology map of the Blue Springs area.......................................................in pocket -iii- Figure 11 - The greyish-brown zone is a thin, residual soil zone above the lighter colored chalk. Thin soils such as this can simply be removed prior to construction (SS-001; EST-016; sec. 27, T7S, R5E).............................................................................................................................................................22 Figure 12 - Mineral resources map of the Blue Springs area............................................................in pocket -iv- GEOLOGY AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING CONSIDERATIONS FOR URBAN AND ECONOMIC PLANNING IN THE BLUE SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI, AREA PONTOTOC, LEE, AND UNION COUNTIES ABSTRACT The Blue Springs Mapping Project was designed to produce a set of basic information that could be used to advantage by regional planners, city planners, geologists, engineers and the general public. These data are oriented toward the area’s geology and engineering geology, although information on infrastructure and guidance regarding economic/urban development are included. The geological map includes the outcrop belts of the Cretaceous Demopolis Formation, Ripley Formation, and the Owl Creek Formation. The early Tertiary Clayton Formation also crops out in the western half of the mapped area at the highest altitudes. Most of the streams in the map area contain flood plains constructed by periodic flooding. The flood plains are mapped as a separate unit based largely on geomorphological relationships. The engineering geology map illustrates the geographical area where design, potential flooding, construction or cost concerns are