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Vermilion River Formation) in the Outcrop Area, Northeastern North Dakota Fredrick D University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects 1977 Stratigraphy and paleontology of the upper Cretaceous Morden Member (Vermilion River Formation) in the outcrop area, northeastern North Dakota Fredrick D. Wosick University of North Dakota Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Wosick, Fredrick D., "Stratigraphy and paleontology of the upper Cretaceous Morden Member (Vermilion River Formation) in the outcrop area, northeastern North Dakota" (1977). Theses and Dissertations. 330. https://commons.und.edu/theses/330 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STRATIGRAPHY A~D PALEONTOLOGY OF THE UPPER CRETACEOUS MORDEN MEMBER (VERMILION RIVER FORHATION) IN THE OUTCROP AREA, NORTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA by Frederick D. Wosick Bachelor of Science, University of North Dakota, 1974 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Grand Forks, North Dakota August 1977 GEOLOGY L\BRARY University of North Dakota \ . This thesis submitted by Frederick D. Wosick in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of: Science frmn the University of North Dakota is hereby approved by the · Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work ha~ been done. (Chairman) ~~Dean of the Graduate School 441.s~10 ii Permission STRATIGRAPHY AND PALEONTOLOGY OF THE UPPER CRETACEOUS MORDEN MEMBER (VERMILION RIVER FORMATION) IN THE Title OUTCROP AREA NORTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA Department -----------------~--~-----------Geo lo Degree ------------------------------------Master of Science In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the require­ ments for a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the Library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my thesis work or, in his absence, by the Chairman of the Department or the Dean of the Graduate School. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this thesis or part thereof for fin­ ancial gain shall not be allqwed without my written permission. It is also under~tood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University-of North Dakota in any scholarly use wh~ch may be made of any material in my thesis. Signature ~ D. ~ iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to Dr. Alan M. Cvancara, chairman of my advisory committee, for his helpful suggestions and meticulous supervision in 'organization of my thesis. Dr. Frank R. Karner and Dr. Timothy A. Cross, members of my advisory committee, are also acknowledged for their review of the manuscript. Several other persons were helpful in my thesis. Dr. Lee Gerhard, North Dakota Geological Survey, assisted the advisory committee; Mr. Sidney Anderson, North Dakota Geological Survey, as­ sisted in the subsurface correlation; Mr. Barry B. Bannatyne, De­ partment of Mines and Natural Resources, Mines Branch, Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada, assisted in the correlation of the studied unit with the Morden Member in southern Manitoba; Dr. William E. Fenner and Mr. John W. Hoganson assisted in the identification of the foraminiferids. I am grateful to the North Dakota Geological Survey and the Geology Department of the University of North Dakota for supporting the field work and writing of the thesis. Finally, lam grateful to my wife, Beth, whose encouragement and patience enabled me to complete my master's degree. iv ( TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES . viii LIST OF PLATES ix ABSTRACT X INTRODUCTION 1 General Purpose Area of Study Previous Work Stratigraphy Paleontology METHODS OF STUDY . .. .. 9 Field Methods Laboratory Methods Sample Preparation for Microfossils Sample Preparation for X-Ray Analysis Photographic Method for Macrofossils GEOLOGIC SETTING . .. 13 Regional Local Regional Stratigraphy STRATIGRAPHY . 19 Lithostratigraphy Lithology and Thickness Mineralogy FAUNAL ANALYSIS. 43 1-Ucrofauna Macrofauna CORRELATION AND AGE . .. 52 Correlation Age V ( Page PALEO ECOLOGY 56 ENVIRONMENTS OF DEPOSITION 61 CONCLUSIONS 67 SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY 70 APPENDIX A. Measured Section Descriptions 114 APPENDIX B. Distribution of Foraminiferids 125 APPENDIX C. Well Data 136 APPENDIX D. Principal Outcrop Locations 140 REFERENCES 142 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Chemical Analysis of the Morden Member •.••••..••• 39 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page L Generalized Stratigraphic Column of the Cretaceous Units in Northeastern North Dakota and Southern Manitoba . .. " . 6 2. Morden Member Interval at Well 47 (CB-3), Including Sample Locations • . 21 3. Measured Section A, Including Sample Locations . 23 4. Measured Section B, Including Sample Locations . 25 5. Measured Section C, Including Sample Locations . 27 6. Correlation of Measured Sections A, B and C . 29 7. Diffractograrns of Lithologic Samples from the Morden Member ........•....•• 38 viii LIST OF PLATES Plate Page 1. Outcrop Area of the Morden Member in Northeast North Dakota and Southern Manitoba (In Pocket) 2. Structure Contour and Isopach Map of the Morden Hernber in Northeast North Dakota and Southern Manitoba (In Pocket) 3. Cross Section of the Morden Member in Northeast North Dakota and Southern Manitoba (In Pocket) 4. Macrofossils from the Morden Member ..••••••.•.•. 113 ix ABSTRACT The Late Cretaceous Morden Member is the oldest exposed bedrock unit in North Dakota, cropping out in eastern Cavalier County in the northeastern part of the state. The Morden overlies the Greenhorn Form­ ation and underlies the Niobrara Formation. The Canadian Morden Member of the Vermilion River Formation is used in lieu of the Carlile Forma- tion because of the lithologic similarity and proximity to the Morden type area, and the distance from the Carlile Formation type section in southeastern Colorado. Three principal sections were measured and sampled at 2-meter in­ tervals for microfaunal and lithologic analysis. A single well was used for microfaunal analysis of the cuttings. The Morden Member is a dark gray to black, noncalcareous, organic­ rich shale of uniform lithology. Three calcareous, septarian concretion zones are the basis for surface to subsurface lithologiccorrelation. A zone of ferruginous concretions is associated with the lowest concretion zone. Structure contours decrease in elevation to the southwest, at approximately eight feet per mile, indicating a depocenter toward the center of the Williston Basin. Isopach trends indicate a more localized depocenter to the south­ east, the result of local structural influences. The Morden is more than 225 feet thick in the study area with thinning in northwestern Manitoba and thickening to the southwest, toward the center of the Williston Basin. ~ Illite is the main clay mineral present followed by kaolinite. X Other minera~s include quartz, muscovite, biotite, and feldspars. Secondary minerals include gypsum, jarosite, pyrite, calcite, and minor carbonates and sulfides. X-ray analysis of six samples from a single measured section suggests the mineralogy to be essentially uniform throughout the vertical extent of the Morden Member. Thirty-six species of benthonic foraminiferids and three species of planktonic foraminiferids were collected from 48 outcrop and 17 well cutting samples. The dominant species are rotaliines whereas the dam- inant individuals are textulariines. The foraminiferid fauna occurs throughout the Morden with the well cuttings dominated by calcareous foraminiferids. The upper half of the outcrops is dominated by arenaceous, benthonic foraminiferids with the lower half dominated by calcareous, is the dominant species in the outcrop samples. delrioensis is the dominant species in the Greenhorn and Niobrara well cuttings and its increase in abundance is the basis for determining the Greenhorn­ Morden and ~iobrara-Morden subsurface contacts. J Macrofossils, identified from the lowest calcareous concretion zone, include carlilensis, Inoceramus aff. I. cuverii, and ...;;...c...:...,.....c......:.... ednae. The Morden Member is interpreted as a regressive shale unit, de­ posited under normal salinities during deposition of the lower half and normal to brackish salinities during deposition of the upper half of the member. Depths were sublittoral to littoral, less than 100 to 200 meters. The Morden Member is homotaxially equivalent to the Blue Hill Shale and Breaks Members of the Carlile Formation of the Great Plains. Faunal analysis indicates the Morden is Middle Turonian in Age. xi INTRODUCTION General Purpose.--The primary purpose 9f this study is to describe the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Late Cretaceous Morden Member (Vermilion River Formation), the oldest exposed bedrock unit in · North Dakota, in iti5 outcrop area in the northeastern part of the state. ,_) Secondary purposes are to determine the paleoecology and possible environ- ments of deposition. A proposed Pembilier Dam is to be constructed on the Pembina River approximately two miles southwest of Walhalla, North Dakota. Conservation
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