History of the Redwall Limestone of Northern Arizona

The Geological Society of America, Inc. Memoir 114

EDWIN D. MCKEE U.S. Geological Survey

RAYMOND C. GUTSCHICK University of Notre Dame

Chapters on paleontology of the Redwall Limestone by Betty Skipp, William J. Sando, Helen Duncan, Ellis L. Yochelson, W. M. Furnish, Donald B. Macurda, Jr., and James C. Brower

1969

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Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/chapter-pdf/953841/mem114-fm.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 The printing of this volume is made possible through generous contributions to the Memoir Fund of The Geological Society of America, and is partially supported by a grant from The National Science Foundation.

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The Grand Canyon of Arizona has long been recognized as an ideal place in which to see and understand many of the basic principles of geology — especially those dealing with stratigraphy and sedimentology. The generally horizontal attitude of the rocks, the clean, undisturbed exposures that extend for miles, and the opportunities to determine relationships — both lateral and vertical — among rock types and among faunal assemblages probably are unexcelled. More than three decades ago on the rim of Grand Canyon, a plan was set up by the author and several colleagues to take advantage of the exceptional opportunities to make detailed studies of the principal sedimentary rocks in the Grand Canyon. As a result, monographic treatment was given each of several formations throughout the course of years. These studies included the Kaibab and Toroweap Formations, published in 1938, the Cambrian history in 1945, and the Moenkopi in 1954. This present memoir on the Redwall Limestone may be considered another in the series. A special feature of this study of the Redwall Limestone is the inclusion of much significant information on its extensive and varied fauna. This contribution is the result of cooperative studies by a group of paleontologists, each reporting on investigations in his or her field of specialization. Although each investigator conducted his studies independently of the others, all specimens were collected systematically and their sites were accurately recorded with respect to time and space. Thus, the relationship of one form of fossil to another and of each fauna to the rock in which it was preserved has been given consideration. A major result has been the demonstration that some fossil groups have proven to be distributed in zones and to furnish data on age but that others are significant only as indicators of environmental conditions. As this and the other memoirs in the Grand Canyon series have shown, an understanding of important geological concepts such as transgression and regression, facies relations, and diastems can be obtained only by careful tracing of stratification, by detailed documentation of faunal distribution with respect to the over-all lithologic framework, and by systematic collecting and plotting of data on composition, texture, and structure. Because each formation in Grand Canyon studied thus far has contributed results new and different from the others, it is hoped that additional studies of Grand Canyon strata can be carried on through the years, adding to our understanding of contrasts in environment and changes with age.

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The Redwall Limestone study was begun in 1941 as a project of the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, and all early phases of the work were sponsored by that institution. Additional aid, consisting of the use of equipment and facilities and the loan of collections, was continued throughout the duration of the study. After 1953, the Redwall studies by McK.ee were formally made a project of the U.S. Geological Survey and work was financed by that organization. The part of the program within Grand Canyon National Park, by McKee, was greatly assisted by the National Park Service, which permitted use of collections and furnished many types of aid; the studies of Gutschick during the summers of 1954 and 1955 were financed by a research grant from the National Science Foundation. Field work on which the investigation of the Redwall Limestone is based has been distributed over two decades; during that time many people have contributed to the work. The first detailed studies, made by R. C. Gutschick during the summer of 1941 in the Black Mesa-Sycamore Canyon-Jerome area, were with the assistance of his brother, Kenneth A. Gutschick. In 1949, R. C. Gutschick spent a second summer on this work, covering almost all of the Mogollon Rim, and during this time R. T. Throckmorton and H. V. Anthony served as field assistants. Gutschick did additional work in this area in 1954 and 1955 with the assistance of Patrick Haley and J. F. Treckman, respectively. The Grand Canyon sections were studied by E. D. McKee mostly between 1954 and 1960, and during this period assistance was furnished by numerous geologists. For help during one or more field seasons each, much credit is due Dolf Seilacher, David Neev, James Mytton, and Thomas Sterrett. Laboratory work included numerous types of analyses and special investigations for which acknowledgment is gladly made. These projects included determinations of calcium-magnesium content and of ferrous-iron content by James Thomas of the U.S. Geological Survey's Petroleum Laboratory, chemical analyses by P. D. Blackmon, electron microscope examinations by John Hathaway, X-ray diffraction analyses by James Gude, and manganese-content determinations by D. L. Skinner, all of the Sedimentary Petrology Laboratory of the U.S. Geological Survey. Photomicrographs are by Mrs. C. Teichert. Lithologic logs that include the Redwall were made available through the courtesy of James Mitchell of the American Stratigraphic Company. Discussions on the stratigraphy of the subsurface in the Four Corners area with James Mitchell and Jack Strobell, U.S. Geological Survey, were very helpful. Unpublished measured sections from southern Nevada, furnished by R. L. Langenheim of the University of Illinois, are also appreciated. vii