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Depositional Cycles and Coral Distribution, Mission Canyon and Charles Formations, Madison Group (Mississippian), Williston Basin, North Dakota Douglas L

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Depositional Cycles and Coral Distribution, Mission Canyon and Charles Formations, Madison Group (Mississippian), Williston Basin, North Dakota Douglas L University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects 1984 Depositional cycles and coral distribution, Mission Canyon and Charles Formations, Madison Group (Mississippian), Williston Basin, North Dakota Douglas L. Waters University of North Dakota Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Waters, Douglas L., "Depositional cycles and coral distribution, Mission Canyon and Charles Formations, Madison Group (Mississippian), Williston Basin, North Dakota" (1984). Theses and Dissertations. 316. https://commons.und.edu/theses/316 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 - DEPOSITIONAL CYCLES AND CORAL DISTRIBUTION, MISSION CANYON AND CHARLES FORMATIONS, MADISON GROUP (MISSISSIPPIAN), WILLISTON BASIN, NORTH DAKOTA by Douglas L. Waters Bachelor of Science, St. Lawrence University, 19 79 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 1984 L This thesis submitted by Douglas L. Waters in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science from the Univer­ sity of North Dakota is hereby approved by the Faculty Advisory Commit­ tee under whom the work has been done. This thesis meets the standards for appearance and conforms to the style and format requirements of the Graduate School of the University of North Dakota, and is hereby approved. Dean of the Graduate School .. ii l Permission Title~___ ....;I)~e=p..:::.o-=-s-=-it::...:i:..;:;o..:.;n:c::a:..:l_C;:::;...<.y...a::c;.:.le~s....:a:::.:n..:::.d;:;.....;C:;...o:::.:r:...::a:..:l:....=I):...:i.=.s..:.:tr:..:ic::::b:..:u=-=-t.:.:io::..:n~,-=Mc:..:..:.i.:.s.::.s.:.:io:::.:n~-- Canyon and Charles Formations, Madison Group (Mississippian), Williston Ba sin, North I)akota I)epartment Geolo ----'"--'--..........----------------------- I)egree___ ....;M~a:..::sc.:ct..:::.ec:...r ....:o:.::fc...=S.:::.c=..:ie::...:nc;:.,;c=-e=-------------------- In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of North I)akota, 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 I)ean of the Graduate 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 understood that due recognition shall be given to me and the University of North I)akota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. i .· iii •. ;,•,<'le TABLE OF CONTENTS 'i t LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix ABSTRACT .... xi INTRODUCTION . 1 Mississippian Tectonic Setting of the Williston Basin Previous Work Lithostrat igraphy Depositional Environments Mississippian Coral Zoogeography and Biostratigraphy Purpose Methods and Material Studied LITHOLOGY AND DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS • 40 Grouping of Associated Rock Types into Suites and Subsuites Description of Lithologic Suites and Subsuites Depositional Environments and Subenvironments Depositional Cycles CORAL FAUNA ..... 73 Analysis of Coral Fauna Coral Zonules Age Determinations of Madison Intervals Evaluation of Time Parallelism of Madison Marker-Defined Intervals Coral Provinces Use of Coral Zonules for Subsurface Exploration Suggestions for Future Work ; ~· iv ' L' CONCLUSIONS . 113 SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY . 119 r APPENDIX . 157 ~ f REFERENCES CITED 162 ; V < ·."'' '. '":~ ' ' '~i:t>-,.·'G~r~.··'':~.":·;, __ , :· ,· ' LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Plate 1. Cross-section A-A' in the Madison Group of North Dakota ............... In Pocket 2. Cross-section B-B' in the Madison Group of North Dakota . In Pocket 3. Cross-section C-C' in the Madison Group of North Dakota ............... In Pocket 4. Rock Types from the Madison Group of North Dakota. 45 5. Rock Types from the Madison Group of North Dakota. 4 7 6. Rock Types from the Madison Group of North Dakota. 49 7. Rock Types from the Madison Group of North Dakota. 51 8. Corals from the Madison Group of North Dakota 148 9. Corals from the Madison Group of North Dakota . 150 10. Corals from the Madison Group of North Dakota 152 11. Corals from the Madison Group of North Dakota 154 12. Corals from the Madison Group of North Dakota 156 Figure 1. Plate Tectonic Model for the Western United States during Middle Mississippian Time . 3 2. Paleogeographic and Lithofacies Map of the United States during Middle Mississippian Time . , .... , .. 6 vi . 1. 3. Major Structures in the Williston Basin 8 4. Paleogeographic Map of Western United States and Canada during Madison Time .......... 12 5. Age Relationships of Madison and Madison Equivalent Strata ........................ 14 6. Typical Gamma-Ray Response for Strata of the Madison Group in West-Central North Dakota . 23 7. Coral Provinces and Subprovinces of North America during Meramecian Time . 31 8. Location of Well Cores Used in this Study. 37 9. Lithologic Suites and Subsuites of Madison Strata . 43 10. Depositional Environments and Subenvironments of the Mission Canyon and Lower Charles. ..... 59 11. Depositional Model for the Mission Canyon and Lower Charles . ...... 61 12. Depositional Cycles of the Mission Canyon and Lower Charles ....................... 71 13. Occurrence and Abundance of Coral Taxa in NDGS Well No. 7207 . 77 14. Occurrence and Abundance of Coral Taxa in NDGS Well No. 6230 . 79 15. Occurrence and Abundance of Coral Taxa in NDGS Well No. sos . 81 16. Occurrence and Abundance of Coral Taxa in NDGS Well No. 511 . 83 17. Occurrence and Abundance of Coral Taxa in NDGS Well No. 480. 85 18. Occurrence and Abundance of Coral Taxa in NDGS Well No. 1350 . ' . 87 ; vii J 19. Occurrence and Abundance of Coral Taxa in NDGS Well No. 527 ....................... 89 20. Occurrence and Abundance of Coral Taxa in NDGS Well No . 60 7 • . • . • • • • • . • . • . • • • . • . • . 91 21. Occurrence and Abundance of Coral Taxa in NDGS Well No. 38 ..........•............ 93 22. Composite Ranges of Coral Taxa and Proposed Coral Zonules for the Mission Canyon and Lower Charles Formations . 97 • Viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. F. D. Holland, Jr. for suggesting the problem and serving as chairman of my committee. Discussions with him concerning the subject matter were invaluable for the preparation of this thesis. Dr. Alan M. Cvancara and Dr. John R. Reid, who served as committee members, are to be thanked for their many helpful ideas and suggestions concerning the study. Mr. Sidney B. Anderson of the North Dakota Geological Survey contributed much of his time and expertise with well log correlations. I am deeply indebted to Dr. William J. Sando and his assistant, Mr. Keith R. Moore, of the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. , for preparation of coral thin sections and the photographs of them. I also appreciate the many hours that Dr. Sando spent with me discussing coral morphology and bio stratigraphy during my visit to the U.S. National Museum in Washington, D.C. He has been an unending source of encouragement throughout this study. Mr. Robert F. Lindsay of Gulf Oil Exploration and Production Company helped in the initial phase of this study with rock descriptions and environmental inteq:~retations. Mr. James C. Pol and Mr. Paul K. • Mescher of ARCO Exploration Company are acknowledged for their keen ix ,• interest in the study and their many helpful suggestions. Mr. David M. Petty of Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production Company is to be thanked for discussing many thought-provoking questions about Mississippian stratigraphy with me. Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production Company and ARCO Explora­ tion Company are gratefully acknowledged for providing two separate grants to aid in the research presented here. The funds provided supplies and services for the preparation of the thesis. The North Dakota Geological Survey is acknowledged for providing the use of its facilities and equipment during examination of the core. Finally, I wish to express my appreciation to my wife, Susan, for her support and encouragement during my academic endeavors at the University of North Dakota. ., X .• ABSTRACT The distribution of corals, other fossils, and rock types of the Madison Group in the Williston Basin were studied in 29 cores (involving over 6,200 feet of core) from the Bottineau, Tilston, Frobisher-Alida, and Ratcliffe intervals in the western half of North Dakota. Occurrence of rock types, corals, and other fossils (brachiopods, bryozoans, red algae, and gastropods) of the Mission Canyon and lower Charles Formations were plotted in three cross-sections against the informal marker-defined intervals (Tilston, Frobisher-Alida, and Ratcliffe), as identified from well logs. Distribution and abundance of corals in nine of the more extensive cores were related to interpreted depositional environments. Three regressive carbonate cycles, corresponding to the Tilston, Frobisher-Alida,
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