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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1968 Heavy Minerals of the Citronelle Formation of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Norman Charles Rosen Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Rosen, Norman Charles, "Heavy Minerals of the Citronelle Formation of the Gulf Coastal Plain." (1968). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 1416. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/1416 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received. 68—10,758 ROSEN, Norman Charles, 1941- HEAVY MINERALS OF THE CITRONELLE FORMATION OF THE GULF COASTAL PLAIN. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, PluD., 1968 Geology University Microfilms, Inc.. Ann Arbor, Michigan (c) NORMAN CHARLES ROSEN 1968 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HEAVY MINERALS OF THE CIÎRCNELLS FOBIATION OF THE GULF COASTAL PLAIN A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of uhe Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geology by Norman C. Rosen B.S., The Ohio State University, 1963 M.S., The Ohio State University, 19o4 January, 1968 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOmEDŒŒTS The vnriter -wishes to thank Dr. C. 0. Durham, Jr., director of the School of Geology, Louisiana State Uni­ versity, who suggested the problem, served as chairman of the writer’s graduate committee, and provided construc­ tive criticisms of the manuscript. The writer also is indebted to the members of his graduate committee for their criticisms of the manuscript; to Mr. Victor Gaveroc, graduate colleague, for his help and suggestions in the statistical treatment of the data; to Mrs. Ada Ke-wton who drafted the maps and some of the other figures; and most of all, to my wife and colleague, Rashel, who assisted the writer in the field, in the laboratory, in typing the Appendix data tables, and for providing much encouragement during the course of the study. 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKNO^TLEDŒ^ENT................................... ii LIST OF TABLES................................... v LIST OF FIGURES............ vi ABSTRACT.................... vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION......... 1 General Statement............................ 1 Description of Citronelle Formation.......... 6 Previous Work................................ 10 Summary of the Term Citronelle............ 10 Age and Origin............................ 11 Correlation Problems of Younger Terraces...16 Heavy Mineral Studies in Gulf Coast Province................. iS Application of Heavy Mineral Analysis........ 23 II FIELD PROCEDURE....... 2? III TECHNIQUES OF LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS.......... 28 Mechanical Analysis of Citronelle Samples 28 Heavy Mineral Analysis Procedures............ 30 IV PRESENTATION OF DATA............................. 32 Textural Data Analysis................. 32 Description of Heavy Minerals Present...’..... 37 Citronelle Formation and Older Terraces....37 Younger Louisiana Terrace Deposits........ 40 Heavy Mineral Data Analysis.................. 44 Introduction.............................. 44 Numerical Ratio Tests..................... 46 V INTERPRETATION................. 55 VI CONCLUSIONS..................................... 58 REFERENCES CITED........................................ 60 APPENDIX 1- Location of Localities........................... 66 11- Sieve Analysis Summary Sheets.................... 86 111- Cummulative Curve Summary Sheets................ 147 IV- Textural Parameter Summary!- Sheets............... l60 V- Heavy Minerals Present Summary Sheets...........16? iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PAGE APPENDIX (CONT.). VI- K/K+3 Summary Sheets........................... 174 VII- Summary of Analysis of Variance Procedures.....1S5 VITA................................................. ..ISS IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES PAGE Table 1 Revised correlation chart of Doering (after Doering. 195^)........................17 Table 2 Formulas for statistical parameters used in this study.......................... 33 Table 3 ANOV summary table for k/k+s for all localities with 2 or more units (2.0- 2.50)- 300 counts per slide except where noted................................. 47 Table 4 ANOV summary table for k/k+s for all localities with 2 or more units (2.3- 3.00). 300 counts per slide................ 4& Table 5 Summary ANOV table for k/k+s for local­ ities within states within size splits 50 Table 6 Summary AÎIOV table for fluviatile vs coastwise terrace (area) deposits (2.0-2.50).................................. 52 Table 7 Summary ANOV table for Louisiana vs Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida (2.0-2.50).................................. 53 Table S Mean, confidence limits, and standard deviation of ratio k/k+s.................... 54 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES PAGE Figure 1 Index map of area studied................ ...'3 Figure 2 Geology of Eastern Gulf Coastal Plain....... 4 Figure 3 Distribution of Pleistocene terrace deposits and sample locations in Louisiana.. 5 Figure 4a Distribution of Citronelle and sample locations in Mississippi................... 7 Figure 4b Distribution of Citronelle and sample locations in Ala. and Fla.................. S Figure 5 Contrasting concepts of terrace relation­ ships demonstrated by cross-sections from near Natchez southward to south Louisiana (after Durham, Moore, and Parsons, 1967, Figure 3).................................. 13 Figure 6 Contrasting source area heavy mineral suites......... I............................ 19 Figure 7 Scatterplot of SKj versus j ............... 34 Figure 8 Scatterplot of versus SOg................ 35 Figure 9 Nonopaque heavy minerals in 3 size classes in the Citronelle Formation................ 3# Figure 10 Citronelle and Louisiana terrace heavy mineral suites............................. 41 VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT The heavy minerals of the Citronelle Formation and fluviatile terraces of Louisiana were examined' to determine the source area of these sediments. Examination of samples indicates that an East Gulf Province heavy mineral suite (kyanite, staurolite, zircon, tourmaline), typical of the Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments of the Gulf Coastal Prov­ ince, is present throughout the Citronelle and older Louisi­ ana terrace deposits. A Mississippi River Province suite (epidote, amphibole-pyroxene, garnet), presumably derived from the glacial sediments of the northern United States, is present in the Recent Mississippi River sediments (Rus­ sell, 1937), and in the younger terraces: the Holloway Prairie, Port Hickey, and Irene. Based on data determined in this study and previous work, the Citronelle Formation appears to represent an allu­ vial apron formed by coalescing, braiding streams, in res­ ponse to epeirogenic uplift of the continental interior during Late Pliocene to preglacial Pleistocene time. Encisement of the Mississippi River and other streams into Citronelle sediments has resulted in entrenched valleys containing fluviatile terraces which are mineralogically and lithologically similar to the Citronelle but are at a lower elevation. Younger terrace deposits bearing a Mis­ sissippi River Province heavy mineral suite are believed to have formed in response to fluctuating sea level during Pleistocene glacial times. vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 - INTRODUCTION General Statement Along the southern margin of the Gulf Coastal Plain, coarse sands and gravels cap stream interfluves, forming much of the highlands. These deposits were described by many early workers and were the subject of comprehensive mapping and discussion by Matson (1916), who named them the Citronelle Formation. The age and origin of these deposits have been the center of much debate. At the present time, there are two main divergent hypotheses. The one elaborated by Fisk (1939b) states that Coastal Plain stream valleys were entrenched during Pleistocene glacial stages and that sands and gravels were deposited during Pleistocene inter­ glacial stages as fluviatile deposits in the entrenched valleys and as deltaic plains along the coast; the source of the sediments was thought to be the glacial outwash deposits in the northern United States. The hypothesis of Clendenin (lS96) and Doering (1956) suggested that the Cit­ ronelle represents a Late Pliocene to preglacial Pleisto­ cene blanket fluviatile deposit, derived from the Creta­ ceous and Tertiary

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