University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects 1979 Lexicon of bedrock stratigraphic names of North Dakota Joanne Van Ornum Groenewold University of North Dakota Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Groenewold, Joanne Van Ornum, "Lexicon of bedrock stratigraphic names of North Dakota" (1979). Theses and Dissertations. 111. https://commons.und.edu/theses/111 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]. , I LEXICON OF BEDROCK STRATIGRAPHIC NAMES OF NORTH DAKOTA by Joanne Van Ornum Groenewold Bachelor of Science, University of North Dakota, 1971 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the I University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of I Master of Science It GEOLOGY LIBRARY j U1i,erslty ,t Nert• B1k1t1 i Grand Forks, North Dakota !: May r' i 1979 This thesis submitted by Joanna Van Ornum Groenewold in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science from the University of North Dakota is hereby approved by the Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work has been done. (Chairman) ) . This thesis meets the st,ndards for appearance and conforms to the style and format requirements of the Graduate School of the Univer­ sity of North Dakota, and is hereby approved. ' ii 458'i80 Permission Title LEXICON OF BEDROCK STRATIGRAPHIC NAMES OF NORTH DAKOTA I l In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of I 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 I thesis work or, in his absence, by the Chairman of the Department or the Dean of the Greduate School, It is under­ stood that any copying or publication or other use of this thesis or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also under­ stood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Date----------------- iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS • . .. .. .. V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .. .. vi ABSTRACT . .. .. vii INTRODUCTION . .. .. l Purpose Methods GEOLOGY OF NORTH DAKOTA . .. .. 5 Pre-Quaternary Geologic History of North Dakota Naming of Geologic Columns in North Dakota Stratigraphic Nomenclature LEXICON . .. .. .. 17 REFERENCES . .. 204 iv ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Williston basin showing two of its major structural features and major oil fields (from Carlson and Anderson, 1966, p. 1834) .•••••••••• 6 2. Geologic column of Cretaceous rocks of Nebraska Territory (from Meek and Hayden, 1862, p. 419) 9 3. First geologic column of North Dakota (from Leonard, 1906, p. 66) ..•........ , .•..••. 10 4. North Dakota stratigraphy in 1954 (from North Dakota Geological Society, 1954, Stratigraphy of the Williston basin, flyleaf) • • • , • • • • • • 11 s. North Dakota stratigraphic column in 1966 (from Carlson and Anderson, 1966, p. 1844) • 12 6. West-east cross-section showing pinching out and truncation of strata in the Williston basin (from Carlson and Anderson, 1~66, p. 1834) , • . .. 14 Plate 1. Geologic Formations in North Dakota (from Laird and Towse, 1949) •••• (in pocket) 2. North Dakota Stratigraphic Column (in pocket) V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Alan Cvancara, the chairman of my committee, for his advice and guidance during this long endeavor. I am also grateful to Dr. Walter Moore and Mr. Neil Price for their comments and suggestions. I am very appreciative of the help given to me by members of the North Dakota Geological Survey staff, especially Dr. Gerald Groenewold, Mr. Sidney Anderson, Mr. Clarence Carlson, and Dr. John Bluemle. I also wish to thank very special friends who helped me along the way. They are Gordon and Jean Prichard, John and Anita Himebaugh, Thomas Heck, and Jeffrey Lerud. And last, but not least, a very spe­ cial thank-you to the one who gave the most of all, Gerd, my son. vi ABSTBACT This lexicon of bedrock stratigraphic names of North Dakota consists of a general definition of each unit as well as the history of stratigraphic nomenclature, An attempt was made to include all units for North Dakota whether form.ally or informally named, or cur­ rently being used in the state. The general definition includes name(s) of the unit, age, area of extent, lithology, relationships to other units, characteristic fossils, economic significance, depo­ sitional environment, type section (1£ one has been proposed), and other remarks that might be significant. The history of strati­ graphic nomenclature includes a chronological listing of the first definition of the unit and any changes that occurred subsequent to the introduction of the unit. The lexicon includes approximately 350 ter!l!S. Of these, 1% is in the Cambrian System, 6% are in the Ordovician, 1% is in the Silurian, 10% are in the Devonian, 12% are in the Mississippian, 3% are in the Pennsylvanian, 3% are in the Permian, 1% is in the Triassic, 7% are in the Jurassic, 24% are in the Cretaceous, and 32% are in the Tertiary System. vii INTRODUCTION Purpose In the past two decades, the geology of North Dakota has been receiving much attention. The economic potential of the Williston basin has motivated this attention, as well as the academic interest by North Dakota's universities, the North Dakota Geological Survey, and the United States Geological Survey. Therefore, a need has devel­ oped for a lexicon of the bedrock stratigraphic units of the state. This lexicon provides an organized list of well-known units and their definition and evolution, as well as less well-known terms and local terms in an attempt to make this lexicon of use to as many people as possible. The academic geologist, economic geologist, and any person interested in stratigraphy should find this lexicon of use. Quaternary units are not included in this lexicon because, only recently, have stratigraphic studies been extended to include this part of the column. Consequently, these units are in a state of confusion because their relationships are not clearly understood. Methods An incomplete preliminary list of stratigraphic units was determined by examining publications, primarily of the North Dskota Geological Survey, that contained sections on stratigraphy. The Lexi­ con of Geologic Names of the United States (Wilmarth, 1938, and Kercher, 1966, 1970) and Changes in Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the U. S. 1 2 Geological Survey (Cohee, Bates, and Wright, 1970a, 1970b; and Cohee and Wright, 1972, 1974, 1975a, 1975b, 1976; and Sohl and Wright, 1977) were consulted for the history of stratigraphic nomenclature of each unit, A Guide to the Stratigraphy of South Dakota (Agnew and Tychsen, 1965), and Catalog of Stratigraphic Names for Montana (Balster, 1971) were reviewed for further references for the history of stratigraphic nomen­ clature and also for any additional stratigraphic terms for North Dakota. The Annotated Bibliography of the Geology of North Dakota, 1806-1959 (Scott, 1972), Bibliography and Index of Geology (Geological Society of America, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977), and Bibliography of North American Geology (U.S. Geological Survey, 1918-1973) were used to determine additional entries for the history of stratigraphic nomencla­ ture. The bibliography of each of these publications was also examined for references that may have been missed. University of North Dakota theses and dissertations were reviewed for unpublished information that may be pertinent. Personnel of the North Dakots Geological Survey also provided local drillers' terms that had not been noted in the literature, The literature determined from the above sources was read for the general definition and history of stratigraphic nomenclature. The general definition includes, where applicable, all names of the strati­ graphic unit, age, areal extent, lithology, thickness, relationships to other units, characteristic fossils, type section, and other more sub­ jective items such as economic potential, depositional environment, and suck other remarks that may be pertinent. All parts of the definition were derived exclusively from the literature with no personal interpre­ tations entered. 3 Nearly all bedrock units occur essentially throughout the Williston basin but a neighboring state or province may not use the same name for the same unit; lithologies also change from one area ta another possibly resulting in a multiplicity of names for a single unit, Crass-references are included to alleviate possible confusion, The thickness of a unit refers to the maximum thickness in North Dakota. The thickness at the type section was also given if it sig­ nificantly differed from the thickness in the state. Relationships of a unit to other units refers to whether the contacts of overlying and underlying units are conformable or unconformable, Lateral equiva­ lents are also given if known, Characteristic fossils are listed for units where they are known. Only the economic significance as given in the literature was included in the general definition. If no eco­ nomic significance is indicated, the unit may still be valuable as a natural resource but its value has not been discussed in publication. Depositional environment, too, is indicated only if it has been dis­ cussed in print, The type section is listed if one has been formally proposed according to the Code of Stratigraphic Nomenclature (American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature, 1972). Otherwise, the infor­ mal type area has been included under the remarks section.