Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Duval County, Texas

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Duval County, Texas UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L. Ickes, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. C. Mendenhall, Director Water-Supply Paper 776 GEOLOGY AND GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF DUVAL COUNTY, TEXAS BY ALB^VfgNELSON SAYRE *r^r Qo, 3,-^ \\ o0bpetation with the TEXAS STATE-JBO^IVOF\WATER ENGINEERS UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1937 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. ..- -« Price 25 cents CONTENTS Page Abstract _________________________________________________________ 1 Introduction_ ___________________________________________________ 3 Location and general features of the area_______________________ 3 Scope and purpose of the investigation_________________________ 4 Previous investigations.________________________________________ 6 Acknowledgments.-.--__--____________________________________ & Climate.- _ _--_-_-_-____-____-____________________.--_-_____-_-____ T Geomorphology_ _ _________________________________________________ 8: General features of the Coastal Plain_-__-__---___---------__--_- 8"- Coastal terraces_____________________________________________ 9' Reynosa Plateau._____________________________________________ 1O Cuesta near Benavides_______________________________________ 11 Bordas escarpment-_-----------___--_--_-_----_-_-----__------ 11 Gueydan Plain, Gueydan Hills belt, and Frio Plain- -.----------- 11 Drainage_ _-_-_--____-_--______-___-_-_--____________-__-_____-_ 12 Economic developments______.______--____--_______-___---_____-_ 13 General geology_________________________________________________ 14 Structure._______________________________________________________ 16 Doming and folding_____-____________________________________. 16 Faulting.__________________________________________________ 18 General principles of the occurrence of ground water_________________ 20 Porosity of rocks_____________________________________________ 20 Permeability of rocks________________________________________ 21 Zone of saturation and zone of aeration__-___-_-__---_----__----_ 21 Artesian conditions.___________________________________________ 22 Chemical character of ground water__________-___-____--_-___-__-___ 23 Geologic formations and their water-bearing properties.______________ 28 Tertiary system.______________________________________________ 28 Eocene series.____________________________________________ 28 Jackson formation.._________________________________ 28 Name.______________________________________ 28 Character._______________________________________ 28 Distribution._____________________________________ 28 Occurrence of ground water._______________________ 29 Oligocene (?) series______________-_-_____________-_________ 29 Frio clay___________________________________________ 29 Name.__-_----_-___.-___-__________-__-____.__ 29 Character and distribution.____--___---__-----____- 29 Age_ ____________________________-_.-_--__ 30 Occurrence of ground water._______________________ 31 Miocene (?) series_-___-_____________________________-__.__ 31 Catahoula tuff________________________________________ 31 Name and correlation____________________________ 31 Character and distribution____-_______-__--________ 33; Fant tuff member_-_--_-_-_----_--_--_-_____ 33 Soledad volcanic conglomerate member._________ 35 Chusa tuff member..__________________________ 37 in IV CONTENTS Geologic formations and their water-bearing properties Continued. Tertiary system Continued. Miocene (?) series Continued. Catahoula tuff Continued. Page Thickness and dip_-_-_----__.:----_--------__------ 39 Origin.__________________________________________ 39 Occurrence of ground water._______________________ 40 Qu'ality of water__________________________________ 41 Miocene series----____-__-_____--__-_-----__-_-_--_----__- 42 Oakville sandstone_________-_-_--__----i-___-____-_-_- 42 Name and distribution.--._________________________ 42 Character. _______________________________________ 43 Thickness and dip_______________________________ 44 Occurrence of ground water._______________________ 44 Quality of water._________________________________ 45 Miocene (?) series._______________-____--_-_--___-__-_____- 45 Lagarto clay (restricted)_______________________________ 45 Name.____---___------_---------__---_--_---_--- 45 Character _ _______________________________________ 46 Distribution. _____________________________________ 46 Occurrence of ground water._______________________ 47 Pliocene series____________-______-___---_-_--___-__-----_- 47 Goliad sand___________________-__--_-_--__--_-------- 47 Name and correlation___________-_-_---__-_-------_ 47 Fossils. ___________________-_____-__---_-__----__- 50 Character and distribution.________________________ 50 Occurrence of ground water._______________________ 54 Quality of water__--_---_----_-------_------------ 55 Water levels in relation to recharge and chloride content. 60 Quaternary system_____________________-_____-__-_---_--_-__-- 64 Pleistocene series---_--__------_-__--___-_-----_----------- 64 Lissie formation_______________-___-_________-_---_-- 64 Name. _-----_----_----_-__.-__--_-__________ 64 Character and general relations_---____-____-----_-- 64 Occurrence of ground water____,___________________ 64 Terrace deposits______-____---__----_--__---____------ 64 Recent series___-____-_________________-___-_-__-__------- 65 Wind-blown sand_________________--__-____--___-_---- 65 Caliche,_---_----___-_-______-----_--_----------_---_---- 65 Name and general character___-__--_-_______-____-_--_- 65 Origin. ____________________-_____.___________ 67 Distribution.____________________-_---______-_---_--.- 70 Age__----------__-_- ------ --- - ~ 71 Chalcedony knobs______-________-_-__---_____--__-___-_- 72 Los Picachos Hills__________________________________ 72 Sarnosa Hills_____________-_---_-_--_---_-_--_--_----- 73 Cedro HiU_____ _____ _____ _-__._ ______ _ 74 Las ParUlas HiUs___________._________-- 74 Present development of water supplies from wells-_____-___-___--__-__ 75 Extreme northwestern part of Duval County_____--______--_____- 75 Area adjacent to the Bordas escarpment----------------------- 75 Xa Gloria ranch and vicinity_______-___-____--_--___-___--__- 76 Bess and vicinity____________________________________________ 76 JRosita ranch and vicinity. __________________------_--__---_-_-- 77 CONTENTS V Present development of water supplies from wells Continued. Page San Diego and vicinity._______________________________________ 77 Benavides and vicinity_______________________________________ 77 Realitos and vicinity______--__-_____-__-____-_-_____--___-___. 78 Crestonio and vicinity.________________________________________ 78 Extreme southwestern part of Duval County.____________________ 78 Sejita and vicinity.___________________________________________ 79 Concepcion, Santa Cruz, La Copita, and vicinity________________ 79 Possibilities of developing water supplies from wells for irrigation.______ 80 Welllogs-____-___-_-_-___-_-__-__-___-__.__________-___________-_ 82 Well tables_____________________________________.... 94 Index__ ________________________________________________________ 115 ILLUSTRATIONS Page PLATE 1. Map of Duval County, Tex., showing geologic boundaries and location of wells___________-______-_--_-_---___-___-_In pocket 2. Sketch map of part of southwestern Texas showing present course of the Nueces River and its relation to other streams __ 18 3. Generalized geologic sections of Duval County _______________ 18 4. A, Irregular masses of silicified Chusa tuff; B, Close view of massive clayey Goliad sand in San Diego Creek near San Diego_____________________________________________ 42 5. A, B, Goliad sand exposed in Palo Creek____________________ 58 6. A, Goliad-Catahoula contact on the hill half a mile east of Atravesada Hill; B, Ledge of Goliad conglomerate overlying Chusa tuff a quarter of a mile southeast of Sutherland ranch house. ________________________-____-______----___----_ 59 7. A, View along the San Diego-Hebbronville road about 4 miles southwest of Realitos; B, Caliche and Goliad sand in Finskey's quarry, near Realitos-______________---__--------__--_-- 74 8. A,. Northern knob of Los Picachos Hills, showing resistant chalcedony; B, View looking south across part of the supposed ancient valley of the Nueces River.______________________ 75 FiGtrKE 1. Map of Texas showing location of Duval County, areas on which water-supply papers have been published, and areas on which ground-water reports are in preparation ____________ 4 2. Profile from Mustang Island to Aguilares.__________________ 9 3. Sketch map of Cedro Hill showing relation of veins-_________ 74 VI GEOLOGY AND GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF DUVAL COUNTY, TEXAS By ALBERT NELSON SAYRE ABSTRACT Duval County is situated in southern Texas, 100 to 150 miles south of San Antonio and about midway between Corpus Christi, on the Gulf of Mexico, and Laredo, on the Rio Grande. The county lies on the Coastal Plain, which for the most part is low and relatively featureless. Between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande in this part of Texas the plain is interrupted by an erosion remnant, the Reynosa Plateau, which reaches a maximum altitude of nearly 1,000 feet above sea level and stands well above the areas to the east and west. The Reynosa Plateau includes most of Duval County and parts of Webb, Zapata, Starr, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, McMullen, and Live Oak Counties. In Duval County the plateau is bounded on the west by the westward-facing Bordas escarpment, 75 to 150 feet high, which crosses
Recommended publications
  • QUATERNARY GEOLOGIC MAP of AUSTIN 4° X 6° QUADRANGLE, UNITED STATES
    QUATERNARY GEOLOGIC MAP OF AUSTIN 4° x 6° QUADRANGLE, UNITED STATES QUATERNARY GEOLOGIC ATLAS OF THE UNITED STATES MAP I-1420 (NH-14) State compilations by David W. Moore and E.G. Wermund, Jr. Edited and integrated by David W. Moore, Gerald M. Richmond and Ann Coe Christiansen 1993 NOTE: This map is the product of collaboration of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology and the U.S. Geological Survey, and is designed for both scientific and practical purposes. It was prepared in two stages. First, the map and map explanations were prepared by the State compiler. Second, information on the map was integrated with that of adjacent maps, locally supplemented, and related to a uniform map symbol classification by the editors. Map unit descriptions were edited, supplemented, and coordinated with those of other maps of this series so that individual unit descriptions are applicable throughout both this map and all other maps of the series. Problems of mapping or interpretation in different areas were resolved by correspondence to the extent possible; most simply reflect differences in available information or differences in philosophies of mapping and serve to encourage further investigation. Less than forty percent of the surficial deposits of the United States have been mapped and described. Traditionally, mapping of surficial deposits has focused on glacial, alluvial, eolian, lacustrine, marine, and landslide deposits. Slope and upland deposits have been mapped in detail only in restricted areas. However, an enormous amount of engineering construction and many important problems of land use and land management are associated with regions that have extensive slope and upland deposits (colluvium and residuum, for example).
    [Show full text]
  • EMD Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) Committee
    EMD Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) Committee EMD Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) Committee Annual Report - 2011 Michael D. Campbell, P.G., P.H., Chair Vice-Chairs: Robert Odell, P.G., (Vice-Chair: Industry), Consultant, Casper, WY (Vice-Chair Report: page 19) Steven N. Sibray, P.G., (Vice-Chair: University), U. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NB (Vice-Chair Report: page 36) Robert W. Gregory, P.G., (Vice-Chair: Government), WY State Geol. Survey, Laramie, WY (Vice-Chair Report: page 38) Michael Jacobs, P.G., (Vice-Chair: Representative of DEG) Dan Tearpock, P.G., (Vice-Chair: Representative of DPA) Advisory Committee: Henry M. Wise, P.G., Eagle-SWS, La Porte, TX Bruce Handley, P.G., Environmental & Mining Consultant, Houston, TX James Conca, Ph.D., P.G., Director, Carlsbad Research Center, New Mexico State U., Carlsbad, NM Fares M Howari, Ph.D., University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Odessa, TX Hal Moore, Moore Petroleum Corporation, Norman, OK Douglas C. Peters, P.G., Consultant, Golden, CO Arthur R. Renfro, P.G., Senior Geological Consultant, Cheyenne, WY Karl S. Osvald, P.G., Senior Geologist, U.S. BLM, Casper WY Jerry Spetseris, P.G., Consultant, Austin, TX Observing Committee: http://emd.aapg.org/members_only/uranium/index.cfmlbobservers Introduction This Annual Report for 2011 serves to update the 2010 Mid-Year Report of the Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) Committee. The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) provides updates regarding uranium activities in the U.S. This information provides the basis for the first section of our report. The UN‗s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Nuclear Institute (WNI) have provided much of the data and information for our report on international activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Stratigraphic Studies of a Late Quaternary Barrier-Type Coastal Complex, Mustang Island-Corpus Christi Bay Area, South Texas Gulf Coast
    Stratigraphic Studies of a Late Quaternary Barrier-Type Coastal Complex, Mustang Island-Corpus Christi Bay Area, South Texas Gulf Coast U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1328 COVER: Landsat image showing a regional view of the South Texas coastal zone. IUR~AtJ Of ... lt~f<ARY I. liBRARY tPotC Af•a .VAStf. , . ' U. S. BUREAU eF MINES Western Field Operation Center FEB 1919S7 East 360 3rd Ave. IJ.tA~t tETUI~· Spokane, Washington .99~02. m UIIM» S.tratigraphic Studies of a Late Quaternary Barrier-Type Coastal Complex, Mustang Island­ Corpus Christi Bay Area, South Texas Gulf Coast Edited by GERALD L. SHIDELER A. Stratigraphic Studies of a Late Quaternary Coastal Complex, South Texas-Introduction and Geologic Framework, by Gerald L. Shideler B. Seismic and Physical Stratigraphy of Late Quaternary Deposits, South Texas Coastal Complex, by Gerald L. Shideler · C. Ostracodes from Late Quaternary Deposits, South Texas Coastal Complex, by Thomas M. Cronin D. Petrology and Diagenesis of Late Quaternary Sands, South Texas Coastal Complex, by Romeo M. Flores and C. William Keighin E. Geochemistry and Mineralogy of Late Quaternary Fine-grained Sediments, South Texas Coastal Complex, by Romeo M. Flores and Gerald L. Shideler U.S. G E 0 L 0 G I CAL SURVEY P R 0 FE S S I 0 N A L p·A PER I 3 2 8 UNrfED S~fA~fES GOVERNMENT PRINTING ·OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1986 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR DONALD PAUL HODEL, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Main entry under title: Stratigraphic studies of a late Quaternary barrier-type coastal complex, Mustang Island-Corpus Christi Bay area, South Texas Gulf Coast.
    [Show full text]
  • Tulane Studies Tn Geology and Paleontology Pliocene
    TULANE STUDIES TN GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY Volu me 22, Number 2 Sepl<'mber 20. l!J8~) PLIOCENE THREE-TOED HORSES FROM LOUISIANA. WITH COMMENTS ON THE CITRONELLE FORMATION EAHL M. MANNING MUSP.UM OF'GEOSCIF:NCE. LOUISJJ\NA STATE UNIVF:RSlTY. JJATO.\I ROI.JG/<. LOL'/S//\;\':1 and llRUCE J. MACFADDlrn DEJ>ARTM/<:NTOF NATUH/\LSCIENCES. F'LORJD/\ MUSf:UM Of<'NJ\TUIV\/, lllSTOUY UNIVERSITY OF FLOH!IJJ\. GJ\/NESVlU.E. Fl.OH/DA CONTENTS Page T. ABSTRACT 3.5 II INTRODUCTION :l5 Ill. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS :rn TV . ABBREVIATIONS :l7 V. SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY ;37 VI. AGE OF THE TUNICA HILLS HIPPARIONINES 38 VIL STRATIGRAPHIC PROVENIENCE 38 Vlll. PLIOCENE TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES OF THE GULF AND ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN .JO IX. COMMENTS ON THE CITRONELLE FORMATION .JI X. AGE OF THE CITRONELLE 42 XL TH E CITRONELLE FORMATION IN nm TUNICA HILLS .t:1 XII. LITERATURE CITED l.J January of 1985, the senior author was L ABSTRACT shown a large collection of late Pleistocene Teeth and metacarpals of early Pliocene (Rancholabrean land-mammal agel ver­ (latest Hemphillian land-mammal age) tebrate fossils from the Tunica Hills of three-toed (hipparionine) horses are de­ Louisiana (Fig. I) by Dr. A. Bradley scribed from the Tunica Hills of West McPherson of Centenary College, Feliciana Parish in east-central Louisiana. Shreveport. McPherson and Mr. Bill Lee An upper molar perta ins to Nannippus of Balon Rouge had collected fossils from minor, known from the Hcmphillian of that area since about 1981. Among the Central and North America, and two teeth standard assemblage of Rancholabrean and two distal metacarpals pertain to a re­ taxa (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Illustrated Flora of East Texas Illustrated Flora of East Texas
    ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF EAST TEXAS ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF EAST TEXAS IS PUBLISHED WITH THE SUPPORT OF: MAJOR BENEFACTORS: DAVID GIBSON AND WILL CRENSHAW DISCOVERY FUND U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, USDA FOREST SERVICE) TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT SCOTT AND STUART GENTLING BENEFACTORS: NEW DOROTHEA L. LEONHARDT FOUNDATION (ANDREA C. HARKINS) TEMPLE-INLAND FOUNDATION SUMMERLEE FOUNDATION AMON G. CARTER FOUNDATION ROBERT J. O’KENNON PEG & BEN KEITH DORA & GORDON SYLVESTER DAVID & SUE NIVENS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OF TEXAS DAVID & MARGARET BAMBERGER GORDON MAY & KAREN WILLIAMSON JACOB & TERESE HERSHEY FOUNDATION INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT: AUSTIN COLLEGE BOTANICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF TEXAS SID RICHARDSON CAREER DEVELOPMENT FUND OF AUSTIN COLLEGE II OTHER CONTRIBUTORS: ALLDREDGE, LINDA & JACK HOLLEMAN, W.B. PETRUS, ELAINE J. BATTERBAE, SUSAN ROBERTS HOLT, JEAN & DUNCAN PRITCHETT, MARY H. BECK, NELL HUBER, MARY MAUD PRICE, DIANE BECKELMAN, SARA HUDSON, JIM & YONIE PRUESS, WARREN W. BENDER, LYNNE HULTMARK, GORDON & SARAH ROACH, ELIZABETH M. & ALLEN BIBB, NATHAN & BETTIE HUSTON, MELIA ROEBUCK, RICK & VICKI BOSWORTH, TONY JACOBS, BONNIE & LOUIS ROGNLIE, GLORIA & ERIC BOTTONE, LAURA BURKS JAMES, ROI & DEANNA ROUSH, LUCY BROWN, LARRY E. JEFFORDS, RUSSELL M. ROWE, BRIAN BRUSER, III, MR. & MRS. HENRY JOHN, SUE & PHIL ROZELL, JIMMY BURT, HELEN W. JONES, MARY LOU SANDLIN, MIKE CAMPBELL, KATHERINE & CHARLES KAHLE, GAIL SANDLIN, MR. & MRS. WILLIAM CARR, WILLIAM R. KARGES, JOANN SATTERWHITE, BEN CLARY, KAREN KEITH, ELIZABETH & ERIC SCHOENFELD, CARL COCHRAN, JOYCE LANEY, ELEANOR W. SCHULTZE, BETTY DAHLBERG, WALTER G. LAUGHLIN, DR. JAMES E. SCHULZE, PETER & HELEN DALLAS CHAPTER-NPSOT LECHE, BEVERLY SENNHAUSER, KELLY S. DAMEWOOD, LOGAN & ELEANOR LEWIS, PATRICIA SERLING, STEVEN DAMUTH, STEVEN LIGGIO, JOE SHANNON, LEILA HOUSEMAN DAVIS, ELLEN D.
    [Show full text]
  • Synoptic Taxonomy of Major Fossil Groups
    APPENDIX Synoptic Taxonomy of Major Fossil Groups Important fossil taxa are listed down to the lowest practical taxonomic level; in most cases, this will be the ordinal or subordinallevel. Abbreviated stratigraphic units in parentheses (e.g., UCamb-Ree) indicate maximum range known for the group; units followed by question marks are isolated occurrences followed generally by an interval with no known representatives. Taxa with ranges to "Ree" are extant. Data are extracted principally from Harland et al. (1967), Moore et al. (1956 et seq.), Sepkoski (1982), Romer (1966), Colbert (1980), Moy-Thomas and Miles (1971), Taylor (1981), and Brasier (1980). KINGDOM MONERA Class Ciliata (cont.) Order Spirotrichia (Tintinnida) (UOrd-Rec) DIVISION CYANOPHYTA ?Class [mertae sedis Order Chitinozoa (Proterozoic?, LOrd-UDev) Class Cyanophyceae Class Actinopoda Order Chroococcales (Archean-Rec) Subclass Radiolaria Order Nostocales (Archean-Ree) Order Polycystina Order Spongiostromales (Archean-Ree) Suborder Spumellaria (MCamb-Rec) Order Stigonematales (LDev-Rec) Suborder Nasselaria (Dev-Ree) Three minor orders KINGDOM ANIMALIA KINGDOM PROTISTA PHYLUM PORIFERA PHYLUM PROTOZOA Class Hexactinellida Order Amphidiscophora (Miss-Ree) Class Rhizopodea Order Hexactinosida (MTrias-Rec) Order Foraminiferida* Order Lyssacinosida (LCamb-Rec) Suborder Allogromiina (UCamb-Ree) Order Lychniscosida (UTrias-Rec) Suborder Textulariina (LCamb-Ree) Class Demospongia Suborder Fusulinina (Ord-Perm) Order Monaxonida (MCamb-Ree) Suborder Miliolina (Sil-Ree) Order Lithistida
    [Show full text]
  • ARCHAEO + MALACOLOGY GROUP NEWSLETTER Issue 35, February 2021
    ARCHAEO + MALACOLOGY GROUP NEWSLETTER Issue 35, February 2021 About the Newsletter ISSN: 2055-7604 Welcome to Issue 35 of the A+M Newsletter! My thanks to all have contributed. This issue. I would like to remind the AMWG community that we welcome any contributions related to archaeomalacology and are especially interested in member photos/images, news and updates. About the Newsletter The Archaeo + Malacology Newsletter warmly invites contributions related to archaeomalacology in its widest sense. Please email submissions and questions to the editor. Annual deadlines are 31st January for circulation in February and 31st July for circulation in August. Current and previous issues of the newsletter are available at archaeomalacology.wordpress.com Archaeomalacology Working Group @archaeomalacol Editor: M att Law The content of this newsletter does not reflect the official opinion of the editor or online host. Responsibility for the information and views expressed herein lies entirely with the author(s). In This Issue NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS - Free ICAZ Membership Offer - News about our next conference, 14th-16th September 2021 in Pune, India RESEARCH PAPERS - Building and maintaining an archaeomalacological reference collection by Fleur Dijkstra, Youri van den Hurk and Canan Çakırlar - New Research At The Buckner Ranch Site (South Texas, Usa) Reveals Hydroclimate At The Transition To The Holocene by Kenneth M. Brown ABSTRACTS BOOK REVIEW García-Escárzaga, Asier, 2020. Paleoclima y aprovechamiento de recursos costeros durante el Mesolítico en la región cantábrica (N de Iberia). BAR International Series 2977. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports. Reviewed by Matt Law RECENT PUBLICATIONS 1 Archaeo+Malacology Newsletter, 35 (2021) News & Announcements Free ICAZ Membership for New Members “I am writing on behalf of the International Committee of the International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ) to extend to you an offer of a free one-year ICAZ membership.
    [Show full text]
  • Florida State Museum
    BULLETIN OF THE FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Volume 14 Number 2 MIOCENE AND PLIOCENE ARTIODACTYLS, TEXAS GULF COSTAL PLAIN Thomas Hudson Patton /853 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA Gainesville 1969 Numbers of the BULLETIN OF THE FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM are pub- lished at irregular intervals. Volumes contain about 300 pages and are not necessarily completed in any one calendar year. W,WrER AuFFENBERG, Managing Editor OLIVER L. AUSTIN, Jn., Editor Consultant for this issue: DONALD E. SAVAGE Communications concerning purchase or exchange of the publication and all manuscripts should be addressed to the Managing Editor of the Bulletin, Florida State Museum, Seagle Building, Gainesville, Florida 32601. Published June 17, 1969 Price for this issue $1.50 MIOCENE AND PLIOCENE ARTIODACTYLS, TEXAS GULF COASTAL PLAIN THOMAS HUDSON PATTON1 SYNOPSIS: Describes 27 species of fossil artiodactyls from a series of vertically successive mammalian. assemblages in Miocene and Pliocene deposits of the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain and discusses their systematic positions. Among the new forms represented are two camel genera: Australocametus, the probable Aep!/cameZus ancestor, and Nothott/lopus, a very unusual member of the Proto- labis-Pliauchenia lineage. The Floridagulinae are now seen to have had a trans-Coastal Plain distribution extending in time from the middle Heming- fordian Garvin Gully Fauna through the Barstovian Cold Spring Fauna. The Gulf Coast species of the Synthetoceratinae are discussed and the phylogeny of the subfamily outlined. Evidence from this study indicates that the Gulf Coastal Plain constituted a distinct faunal province throughout most of the Tertiary. Whereas many striking similarities exist between the faunas of the Texas Coastal Plain and those of the Great Plains, several groups are true Gulf Coast autochthons.
    [Show full text]
  • Report 365 Chapter 2
    Chapter 2 Geology of the Gulf Coast Aquifer, Texas Ali H. Chowdhury, Ph.D., P.G.1 and Mike J. Turco2 Introduction The Gulf Coast aquifer in Texas extends over 430 miles from the Texas-Louisiana border in the northeast to the Texas-Mexico border in the south (Figure 2-1). Over 1.1 million acre-feet of groundwater are annually pumped from this aquifer in Texas. A large portion of this water supply is used for irrigation and drinking water purposes by the fast growing communities along the Texas Gulf Coast. The geology of the Gulf Coast aquifer in Texas is complex due to cyclic deposition of sedimentary facies. Sediments of the Gulf Coast aquifer were mainly deposited in the coastal plains of the Gulf of Mexico Basin. These sediments were deposited under a fluvial-deltaic to shallow-marine environments during the Miocene to the Pleistocene periods. Repeated sea-level changes and natural basin subsidence produced discontinuous beds of sand, silt, clay, and gravel. Six major sediment dispersal systems that sourced large deltas distributed sediments from erosion of the Laramide Uplift along the Central and southern Rockies and Sierra Madre Oriental (Galloway and others, 2000; Galloway, 2005). Geographic locations of the various fluvial systems remained relatively persistent, but the locations of the depocenters where the thickest sediment accumulations occurred shifted at different times (Solis, 1981). Stratigraphic classification of the Gulf Coast aquifer in Texas is complex and controversial, with more than seven classifications proposed. However, Baker’s (1979) classification based on fauna, electric logs, facies associations, and hydraulic properties of the sediments has received widespread acceptance.
    [Show full text]
  • Texas Water Development Board P.O
    Final Hydrostratigraphy of the Gulf Coast Aquifer from the Brazos River to the Rio Grande Report ### by Steven C. Young, Ph.D., P.E., P.G. Paul R. Knox, P.G Ernie Baker, P.G. Trevor Budge, Ph.D. Scott Hamlin. Ph.D, P.G. Bill Galloway, Ph.D., P.G. Rob Kalbouss Neil Deeds, Ph.D, P.E. Texas Water Development Board P.O. Box 13231, Capitol Station, Austin, TX 78711-3231 February 2010 Texas Water Development Board Report ### Final Hydrostratigraphy of the Gulf Coast Aquifer from the Brazos River to the Rio Grande by Steven C Young, Ph.D., P.E., P.G. Trevor Budge, Ph.D URS Corporation Paul R. Knox, P.G. Robert Kalbouss Baer Engineering and Environmental Consulting, Incorporated Ernie Baker, P. G. Scott Hamlin, Ph.D., P.G. Bill Galloway, Ph.D., P.G., Neil Deeds, Ph.D, P.E. INTERA, Incorporated February 2010 TWDB Report ## Final – Hydrostratigraphy of the Gulf Coast Aquifer from the Brazos River to the Rio Grande Table of Contents 1 Executive summary................................................................................................................... 1 2 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Approach for defining stratigraphy .................................................................................. 3 2.2 Approach for defining lithology and generating sand maps ............................................ 4 3 Gulf Coast Aquifer geologic setting ........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Geologic Structures & Maps
    GEOLOGIC MAPS AND GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES A TEXAS EXAMPLE Roger Steinberg Assistant Professor of Geology Del Mar College 101 Baldwin Corpus Christi, TX 78404 361-698-1665 [email protected] For the maps accompanying this lab exercise, I scanned in black and white the 8 1/2 by 11 color Geology of Texas map that students use with this exercise, and modified it in Photoshop, simplifying and highlighting. Name GEOLOGIC MAPS AND GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES A TEXAS EXAMPLE A geologic map is a map on which is recorded geologic information about the rocks at or near the earth's surface directly beneath the soil cover. (Rocks at the surface without any soil cover are called exposures or outcrops.) Information typically portrayed includes: 1.) Distribution of rocks by age (Periods or Epochs) or distribution of rocks by rock type and other physical features (Formations). Formations and the age of rocks are both generally shown by different colors and symbols on the map. 2.) Occurrence of structural features like folds and faults. A good geologic map (with cross sections) is essential to any additional work, such as petroleum and mineral exploration, groundwater studies, or the interpretation of the geologic history of an area. Answer the following questions using your lab notes, the 8 1/2 by 11 Geology of Texas map, the cross section (p. 5), the stratigraphic section for South Texas (also p. 5) and the colored pencils provided: 1.) What Formation (by name) is found around Corpus Christi, in fact, around most of the Texas coastal zone? ____________________________ 2.) What is its age? (Give the geologic Epoch.) ________________________ 3.) On the Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • Geological and Geographical Attributes of the South Texas Uranium Province
    April 2010 Geological and Geographical Attributes of the South Texas Uranium Province Prepared for: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality by Jean-Philippe Nicot, Bridget R. Scanlon, Changbing Yang, and John B. Gates Assisted by Caroline L. Breton, Kuldeep Chaudhary, and Nathan A. Sheffer Bureau of Economic Geology Scott W. Tinker Director John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas 78713-8924 Cover photo: Aerial view of abandoned/reclaimed open pits following surface uranium mining a few miles west of Karnes City, Karnes County, Texas. Courtesy of Google Earth. Initial Release Geological and Geographical Attributes of the South Texas Uranium Province Prepared for: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under Umbrella Contract No. 582-4-69718 Jean-Philippe Nicot, Bridget R. Scanlon, Changbing Yang, and John B. Gates Assisted by Caroline L. Breton, Kuldeep Chaudhary, and Nathan A. Sheffer April 2010 Bureau of Economic Geology Scott W. Tinker Director John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas 78713-8924 Abstract The South Texas Uranium Province, which includes about 20 counties, mostly wraps around a formation known as the Catahoula Formation, from the Mexican border to south of San Antonio. Approximately 100 open-pit mines operated in the second half of the 20th century, but, after a hiatus of several decades, the industry is now investing in in situ recovery operations of additional uranium deposits. Important volcanic episodes, centered around Catahoula deposition times more than 20 million years ago, are credited, through ash-fall and related sediments, as being the source of uranium deposits, as well as associated elements such as arsenic and selenium.
    [Show full text]