U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1839-G, H
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Stratigraphic Framework of Cambrian and Ordovician Rocks in the Central Appalachian Basin from Morrow County, Ohio, to Pendleton County, West Virginia Depositional Environment of the Fincastle Conglomerate near Roanoke, Virginia U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1839-G, H i i i I ' i ' i ' X- »-v l^,:^ Stratigraphic Framework of Cambrian and Ordovician Rocks in the Central Appalachian Basin from Morrow County, Ohio, to Pendleton County, West Virginia By ROBERT T. RYDER Depositional Environment of the Fincastle Conglomerate near Roanoke, Virginia By CHRYSA M. CULLATHER Chapters G and H are issued as a single volume and are not available separately U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1839-G, H EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS-APPALACHIAN BASIN U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MANUEL LUJAN, Jr., Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DALLAS L. PECK, Director Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1992 For sale by Book and Open-File Report Sales U.S. Geological Survey Federal Center, Box 25425 Denver, CO 80225 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data (revised for vol. G-H) Evoluation of sedimentary basins Appalachian basin. (U.S. Geological Survey bulletin ; 1839 A-D, G-H) Includes bibliographies. Supt. of Docs. no.:19.3:1839-G Contents: Horses in fensters of the Pulaski thrust sheet, southwestern Virginia / by Arthur P. Schultz [etc.] Stratigraphic framework of Cam brian and Ordovician rocks in central Appalachian basin from Morrow County, Ohio, to Pendleton County, West Virginia / by Robert T. Ryder Depositional environment of the Fincastle Conglomerate near Roanoke, Virginia / by Chrysa M. Cullather. 1. Geology Appalachian Basin. 2. Sedimentary basins Appalachian Basin. I. Series. QE75.B9 no. 1839 A-D 557.3 s 88-600224 [QE78.3] [557.4] Chapter G Stratigraphic Framework of Cambrian and Ordovician Rocks in the Central Appalachian Basin from Morrow County, Ohio, to Pendleton County, West Virginia By ROBERT T. RYDER Stratigraphic framework of the Cambrian and Ordovician sequence in part of the central Appalachian basin and the structure of underlying block-faulted basement rocks U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1839 EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS-APPALACHIAN BASIN CONTENTS Abstract Gl Introduction Gl Drill-Hole Control for Section G2 Basement Structure G5 Thickness Changes in Cambrian and Ordovician Sequence G6 Stratigraphic Framework G6 Basal Sandstone Unit and Shady Dolomite (Lower Cambrian) G6 Rome Formation (Lower and Middle Cambrian) G7 Conasauga Group and Elbrook Dolomite (Middle and Upper Cambrian) G9 Gatesburg Formation (Upper Cambrian) Gil Beekmantown Group (Lower and Lower Middle Ordovician) G12 Knox Unconformity G14 St. Paul and Black River Groups (Middle Ordovician) G15 Trenton Group (Middle and Upper Ordovician) G17 Reedsville Shale and Oswego Sandstone (Upper Ordovician) G18 Juniata Formation and Queenston Shale (Upper Ordovician) G19 Tuscarora Sandstone and "Clinton" Sandstone and Shale (Lower Silurian) G19 Summary and Conclusions G19 References Cited G21 PLATE 1. Restored Stratigraphic section E-E' from Morrow County, Ohio, to Pendleton County, West Virginia, showing Cambrian and Ordovician sequence In pocket FIGURES 1. Map of the tectonics of Ohio, West Virginia, and adjoining States, showing the Appalachian basin, section E-E' , selected drill holes, and selected counties G3 2. Chart showing correlation of Middle Proterozoic, Cambrian, and Ordovician rocks along section E-E' and in adjoining northern Virginia G8 TABLE 1. Drill holes used in section E-E' G4 Contents III EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS-APPALACHIAN BASIN Stratigraphic Framework of Cambrian and Ordovician Rocks in the Central Appalachian Basin from Morrow County, Ohio, to Pendleton County, West Virginia By Robert T. Ryder Abstract The sandstone, shale, limestone, and dolomite unit, which is closely associated with the highly block faulted A 310-mi-long restored Stratigraphic cross section Proterozoic basement terrane, is composed, in ascending between Morrow County, Ohio, and Pendleton County, order, of the Chilhowee Group, a basal sandstone unit, West Virginia, provides new details of Cambrian and the Shady Dolomite, the Rome Formation, and the Cona- Ordovician stratigraphy in the central Appalachian basin. sauga Group (part). This part of the sequence is Early and The cross section shows abrupt eastward thickening of the Middle Cambrian in age. The dolomite and sandstone unit Cambrian and Ordovician sequence across a northeast- forms the core of the Cambrian and Ordovician sequence. trending fault-controlled hinge zone, which runs along In the eastern part of the section, this unit consists, in the western margin of the Rome trough and coincides ascending order, of the Middle and Upper Cambrian with the Ohio-West Virginia State line. The restored cross Elbrook Dolomite, the Upper Cambrian Gatesburg Forma section shows that about 5,000 ft of pre-Middle Ordovi tion, and the Lower to lower Middle Ordovician Beekman- cian structural relief separates Precambrian basement town Group. In the Rome trough and the adjoining rocks west of the hinge zone from those in the adjoining Ohio-West Virginia hinge zone, the dolomite and sand Rome trough. stone unit consists, in ascending order, of the Upper West of the Ohio-West Virginia hinge zone, the Cambrian part of the Conasauga Group, the Upper Cam thickness of the Cambrian and Ordovician sequence is brian Gatesburg Formation, and the Lower to lower Mid 2,700 to 5,000 ft, whereas, east of the hinge zone in the dle Ordovician Beekmantown Group. The well-known Rome trough, the thickness of the sequence is 10,500 to Knox unconformity is located at or near the top of the 11,300 ft. Sparse subsurface data combined with outcrop Beekmantown Group. data suggest that the Cambrian and Ordovician sequence The limestone and shale unit is the thinnest of the thins across the eastern margin of the Rome trough before four lithofacies. In ascending order, this unit consists of it thickens to about 14,100 ft across a second hinge zone the Middle Ordovician St. Paul Group, the Middle Ordo near the Allegheny structural front in Pendleton County, vician Black River Group, and the Middle and Upper West Virginia. Ordovician Trenton Group. The sandstone and shale unit In general, the Cambrian and Ordovician sequence consists of (1) a lower gray shale unit, the Upper Ordovi along this section consists of four major lithofacies that cian Reedsville Shale; (2) a middle argillaceous sandstone are predominantly shallow marine to peritidal in origin. In at the eastern end of the section, the Upper Ordovician ascending Stratigraphic order, the lithofacies are identi Oswego Sandstone; and (3) an upper red shale, siltstone, fied by the following descriptive names: (1) sandstone, and sandstone unit, the Upper Ordovician Juniata Forma shale, limestone, and dolomite unit, (2) dolomite and tion and its equivalent Queenston Shale. sandstone unit, (3) limestone and shale unit, and (4) shale and sandstone unit. Each of these units and most associ ated subunits thicken from west to east across the section. INTRODUCTION The central Appalachian basin in Ohio, West Vir Manuscript approved for publication July 30, 1990. ginia, and Virginia extends eastward from the Cincinnati Stratigraphic Framework of Cambrian and Ordovician Rocks, Central Appalachian Basin G1 and Findlay arches on the northwest, across the Rome formal terms Lower, Middle, and Upper to the Ordovician, trough and the Allegheny structural front, to the allochtho- I identify them on the time-stratigraphic chart shown in nous Blue Ridge terrane on the southeast (fig. 1). A figure 2. Following many Ordovician specialists in North concealed part of the basin continues eastward for a America (for example, Repetski, 1985; Sweet and Berg- minimum of 30 mi beneath the Blue Ridge (Harris and strom, 1986; Shaw and others, 1990), this paper equates the others, 1982; de Witt and Milici, in press). Ibexian (Canadian) Series with the Lower Ordovician, the Oil and gas exploration in the Ohio and West Virginia Whiterockian and Mohawkian Series combined with the parts of the basin in the 1960's and 1970's resulted in the Middle Ordovician, and the Cincinnatian Series with the drilling of a modest number of holes into or near Precam- Upper Ordovician. brian basement rocks (Calvert, 1964, 1965; Perry, 1964; Kornfeld, 1974; Oil and Gas Journal, 1967, 1975, 1976). DRILL-HOLE CONTROL FOR SECTION On the basis of geophysical- and lithologic-log data from these drill holes, I have drawn a 310-mi-long restored Section E-E' (pi. 1), the subject of this paper, is one stratigraphic cross section through the Cambrian and Ordo- of 12 sections that I have drawn (Ryder, 1987, 1988, 1989) vician sequence between Morrow County, Ohio, and Pend- to show the stratigraphic framework of Cambrian and leton County, West Virginia (section E-E', fig. 1). The Ordovician rocks across the Appalachian basin from Penn stratigraphic framework of the Cambrian and Ordovician sylvania to Tennessee. The section in this paper is identified sequence along this cross section and, to a lesser extent, the as E-E' in order to maintain continuity with my previous structure of the underlying block-faulted basement rocks are presentations of Cambrian and Ordovician stratigraphy of the main topics of this paper. the basin. Twelve drill holes ranging from 5 to 60 mi apart The stratigraphic