Stratigraphy and Fusulinids of Naco Group in Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas Mountains, Arizona Sabins, Floyd F., Jr
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New Mexico Geological Society Downloaded from: http://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/16 Stratigraphy and fusulinids of Naco Group in Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas mountains, Arizona Sabins, Floyd F., Jr. and Charles A. Ross, 1965, pp. 148-157 in: Southwestern New Mexico II, Fitzsimmons, J. P.; Balk, C. L.; [eds.], New Mexico Geological Society 16th Annual Fall Field Conference Guidebook, 244 p. This is one of many related papers that were included in the 1965 NMGS Fall Field Conference Guidebook. Annual NMGS Fall Field Conference Guidebooks Every fall since 1950, the New Mexico Geological Society (NMGS) has held an annual Fall Field Conference that explores some region of New Mexico (or surrounding states). Always well attended, these conferences provide a guidebook to participants. Besides detailed road logs, the guidebooks contain many well written, edited, and peer-reviewed geoscience papers. 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Ross Chevron Research Company, La Habra, California and Western Washington State College, Bellingham, Washington INTRODUCTION route are on the crest and north face of AVA Ridge at Portal (Locality 9 of fig. 2) where the complete The final day of the field conference will encounter section is about 1,600 feet. outcrops of the Naco Group which is widespread in Most of the limestones are crinoidal or oolitic, but southeast Arizona and adjacent New Mexico. The some are black and aphanitic with a petroliferous Naco Group in the Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas odor when broken. Fusulinids are abundant in many Mountains was originally studied as part of a Yale of the limestones, but were not found in the shales dissertation and subsequently published by Sabins and siltstones. Brachiopods are abundant, particularly (1957 a,b). Fusulind faunas of the upper part of the in the lower part where silicified shells are conspicuous Naco Group in this area were described by Sabins and on weathered surfaces. Several beds of medium thick- Ross (1963); the fauna of the lower part was described ness are composed almost wholly of colonies of the by Ross and Sabins (1965) . The present paper is a coral Chaetetes embedded in a calcareous shale matrix. summary of these earlier studies. A regional summary Other colonial and horn corals are also present in the of the Pennsylvanian is given by Kottlowski (1960). Horquilla. In the eastern sections, two marker beds are separated by about 100 feet of strata, are locally persistent near the middle of the formation (fig. 3) . STRATIGRAPHY The lower marker bed is formed by an abundance of GENERAL the algae, Komia. The upper one contains an abund- The name "Naco Limestone" was introduced by ance of Staffella. Bryozoans are locally abundant and Ransome (1904, p. 44) in the Bisbee area. In their several thin beds with Prismopora appear to be wide- work in the Dragoon and Little Dragoon Mountains, spread. Gilluly and others (1954, p. 16) elevated the Naco to At Blue Mountain there are at least five cyclic se- group status and subdivided it into the following six quences in the lower Horquilla, each about 13 feet formations in ascending order: Horquilla Limestone, thick and consisting of the following units in ascend- Earp Formation, Colina Limestone, Epitaph Dolo- ing order: limestone, limestone with bedded chert, mite, Scherrer Formation, and Concha Limestone. shaly limestone, limestone conglomerate, and shale. These units are widely recognizable in southeast Ari- Superimposed on these cycles there seems to have been zona and all save the Epitaph Dolomite occur in the a progressive deepening of the depositional basin dur- Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas Mountains, as shown ing early and middle Desmoinesian time. This is in- on the composite stratigraphic section of fig. 1. The dicated by the relatively few beds having fusulinids total thickness is approximately 5,500 feet. The Naco and by the dominance of dark gray, fine-grained lime- Group ranges in age from Lower Pennsylvanian ( Mor- stone in the middle part of the formation. rowan Series) to Middle Permian (Guadalupian Se- At Blue Mountain (Locality 8) and Portal (Local- ries) . In this area there is a disconformity representing ity 9) the Horquilla overlies the Paradise Formation the Missourian and upper part of Desmoinesian Series. of Late Mississippian age. The Paradise Formation is absent in the northern part of the range where the HORQUILLA LIMESTONE Horquilla disconformably overlies the Escabrosa Lime- The Horquilla consists of massive, thick-bedded, stone of Early Mississippian age. The top of the Hor- cherty, gray limestone with shale and siltstone inter- quilla Limestone is a conformable gradational contact beds in the lower part. The lower part forms ledge- with the Earp Formation marked by the change to and-slope topography, but the upper part is more re- interbedded limestone, shale, and siltstone. sistant and forms cliffs. The field conference will ex- The Horquilla ranges in age from Morrowan to amine Horquilla outcrops at Blue Mountain (Local- Virgilian, but there is a disconformity in the upper ity 8 of fig. 2) which are about 1,200 feet thick with part which represents the upper Desmoinesian and the top concealed. Other good exposures along the much or all of the Missourian. The disconformity is NEW MEXICO GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY—SIXTEENTH FIELD CONFERENCE 1 49 LOWER .. CRETACEOUS am, ... I —I CONCHA I I .I ..I LIMESTONE Dictyoclostus bassi .01 0.8.1 , , 1,1 1b50 feet) .61 .....1 I ...DI I I /SCHERRER : ., —=-------•••-_• FORMATION •••■• I—. 1.... :--.....,,,,-,..,....I I COLINA I . I y 1 LIMESTONE Perrinites hilli 1.... I 1 1 (550 feet) I I _ ... ? Z ______ 4 —77.----.7.-- i Upper part of 1 2 I I 7 Range Zone of ,1 , Pseudoschwagerina II I W I r L EARP (1. i I I 1 I I FORMATION 0_ ,1 , 1 , 12700 feet) D -I.- 141. lo 0 .1...•.:.; Cr 11-1 I Assemblage Zone ( 9 I - I I .-- , I -I of o === Pseudoschwagerina 0 =- -=--L---i7 . ,4 E=-=-- _= -7, and 1-- 1•••■• I Z 14.1.1•1 Triticites i I I ---.---7,- — ---, Assemblage Zone -c, i i T _ c of Schwagerina ._c ._c I .:- ,.. ,L, - - c, i I I - _c - . - 0-, and Triticites , CD - CO RI C 17 0.1 - ..- - C - Z g.. I I., 1„,,.. -= = •c E = Lower part of RangeRange__ 0 ro ,-)— v, 0.7 u c _ (A - I I 0 Zone of Triticites I-A-1 a, = -o a, ,_ I n , Z -0 Z I_ _I - ,OL.,.. o - _ I_ - ,7, _ , 0., 0- cc c,-, 4 I hiatus c . c --, _ `g - c- - - I ,, .-.! -al nr, n_ > 1 I I HORQU I LLA . - J Range Zone of -= = - Q., ,.., = ,:e >- I 1 LIMESTONE . _._ ,,. Fusulina ,,, c - c N o_ = (/) .... 1 1 _11600 feet) ,,, L = I- ro Z I I -0 Z —I— I- Lower part of a_ W -I-1— a_ T..._ Range Zone of Fusulinella I I I I , i Lower part of Range 1 / Zone of Profusulinella I : Mississippian Part of Range I Zone of 1 I Millerella FIGURE 1 Composite stratigraphic column of Naco Group, showing fusulinid zones and other guide fossils. NEW MEXICO GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY—SIXTEENTH FIELD CONFERENCE 150 R.31 E. R.30 E EXPLANATION CENOZOIC ALLUVIUM CENOZOIC EXTRUSIVE B INTRUSIVE ROCKS LOWER CRETACEOUS PENNSYLVANIAN a PERMIAN DEVONIAN a MISSISSIPPIAN cr, CAMBRIAN a I- ORDOVICIAN PRECAMBRIAN BASEMENT ROCKS MAJOR FAULTS (ALL TYPES) NATIONAL MONUMENT FIGURE 2 Geologic sketch map of northeastern Chiricahua Mountains showing localities mentioned in text. 8 8 8 z TIVDS 0 z oa 1111,1; X 111 i 71– .11,11,1 bh 1-= %.0 os • ca c./) cc!C f:4 0 • •-•I • f-.1 C) FT) (4 C i,j0 r g/ 011 0 ow / 00 C.) I H I C 0) 1.1 C4 C cc! 0) CO 0.) CO ca GA C 0 0) 0C Ca C C 0 (1.) O c,1 ,513 2 0.) 47: 1—■ ‘).> C .Q Nr,4 ,0 n dot ,) .Q C.) I II th 1 1 LL ct 6t)_ (r) cc) ■INIIMMENIMMIL Lk; us c`L`) co 152 NEW MEXICO GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY-SIXTEENTH FIELD CONFERENCE recognized on the basis of fusulinids (see fig. 3), and the Scherrer Formation (fig. 1 ). Fusulinids are absent is not apparent on the outcrop.