Silurian Rugose Corals of the Klamath Mountains Region, California
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Silurian Rugose Corals of the Klamath Mountains Region, California GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 738 Silurian Rugose Corals of the Klamath Mountains Region, California By CHARLES W. MERRIAM GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 738 A descriptive, taxonomic, and stratigraphic study of Klamath Mountains Silurian Rugosa UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1972 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. E. McKelvey, Director Library of Congress catalog-card No. 72-600033 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $1 (paper cover) Stock Number 2401-2077 CONTENTS Page Geologic correlation, etc. Continued page Abstract. _ --_-_--_----_--_______-__________________ 1 Correlation with Silurian rocks in the Great Basin __ 20 Introduction. ______________________________________ 1 Correlation with eastern North America, Europe, Objectives and scope. ___________________________ 2 and Australia._________----__________--___-__ 20 History of investigation. ________________________ 2 Eastern North America____________________ 20 Methods of study______ _________________________ 3 Europe ____________________________________ 21 Acknowledgments. __ _ ___________________________ 4 Australia-___----------------_----------__ 22 Distribution of Paleozoic rocks in the Klamath Moun Geologic age of Paleozoic rocks in the northeastern Kla tains region. _____________________________________ 4 math subregion___--______________________________ 22 Paleozoic strata of the northeastern Klamath subregion_ 6 Gazelle Formation of Silurian age, Willow Creek Depositional environment and origin of the northeastern Klamath subregion coral-bearing deposits.___________ 24 6 Coral-bearing limestone conglomerate.____________ 25 Bonnet Rock section- _--___-___-_-___-______ 10 Origin of coralline limestones in the Gazelle For Chastain Ridge section- _____________________ 11 mation- -_-_--_-_________-____-___------_____ 26 Mallethead Ridge section. ___________________ 12 Gazelle Formation at Parker Rock____ ____________ 12 Classification of Klamath Mountains Silurian Rugosa___ 26 Silurian or Early Devonian limestones of the Gregg Systematic and descriptive paleontology-----_________ 27 Ranch area_ _________________________________ 13 Family Laccophyllidae__________________________ 27 Silurian or Early Devonian strata of the Grouse Syringaxon-- __ ____________________________ 27 Creek area. __________________________________ 13 Family Streptelasmatidae___-____________--_-_-__ 28 Early Silurian and Ordovician(?) deposits of the Dalmanophyllum,- ___________________________ 28 Horseshoe Gulch area. ________________________ 13 Family Stauriidae--___-__------_-__---_---_---_- 28 Rugose corals and associated fossils of the northeastern Palaeophyllum. _____________________________ 29 Klamath subregion__ _ _____________________________ 13 Wintunast raea______________________________ 29 Atrypella fauna of the Willow Creek area_ _________ 14 Family Pycnostylidae___________________________ 30 Fossils of unit 1 of the Gazelle Formation, Pycnostylid sp. H_________________________ 31 Willow Creek area_ ___---__----___________ 14 Family Tryplasmatidae_-__----__--_-------_---_- 31 Silurian fossils of unit 3 of the Gazelle Forma Zelophyllum- _______________________________ 31 tion, Willow Creek area_ __________________ 14 Family Kodonophyllidae_____--------------.__-_- 32 Silurian rugose corals and associated fossils of the Subfamily Kodonophyllinae._________________ 32 Parker Rock area__ ___-------_-______-________ 14 Kodonophyllum,- ________________________ 32 Faunas of the Gregg Ranch area_ ________________ 15 Subfamily Mycophyllinae____________________ 32 Rugose corals and associated fossils of the Grouse Mucophyllum_ __________________________ 32 Creek area. __________________________________ 16 Family Lykophyllidae __--____-__------------__- 33 Rugose corals and associated fossils of the Horse Cyathactis- ___________--_-___---_-------_-__ 33 shoe Gulch area_ ________-__---__-_____-______ 16 Family Cystiphyllidae_________________________ 35 Geologic correlation of the northeastern Klamath sub- Cystiphyllum,- ______________________________ 35 region Paleozoic rocks_ _______________________ i____ 17 Family Kyphophyllidae._________-__------_----_ 36 Correlation with Silurian rocks of the Douglas City Kyphophyllum. ___________-____--_----_--__- 36 area___ _________ _____________________________ 17 Petrozium- ___________________---__---___-__ 37 Correlation with older Paleozoic rocks of the Tay- Shastaphyllum. _____________________________ 38 lorsville area, California. ______________________ 17 Family Endophyllidae___________--_-_-------___- 39 Correlation with southeastern Alaska Silurian and Klamathastraea. ___-__-______-_---_---_----- 40 Early Devonian sequences- ____________________ 18 Heceta-Tuxekan Island area__ ________ ________ 18 Locality register.________________-__--___-_---_-_--- 41 Kuiu Island. _______________________________ 19 References cited-_____-________-_--_--_--__-_---_-i- 42 Kasaan Bay area, Alaska_ ___________________ 19 Index._________---_---------_---_-----_----------- 47 ni IV CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates follow index] PLATE 1. Zelophyllum, pycnostylid, Dalmanophyllum, and Cystiphyllum. 2. Shastaphyllum, pycnostylid, and Palaeophyllumt 3. Wintunastraea, Shastaphyllum, and Cystiphyllum. 4. Australophyllum, Wintunastraea, Shastaphyllum, fOrthophyllum, Syringaxon, Kodonophyllum, and coralline rubbly lime stone of the Gazelle Formation. 5. Klamathastraea and Australophyllum. 6. Cyathactis and Mucophyllum. 7. Petrozium and Kyphophyllum. 8. Kyphophyllum. Page FIGURE 1. Map of Klamath Mountains region, California, showing rock belts and locations of fossiliferous exposures-... __ 5 2. Map of the northeastern Klamath subregion, showing the five separate areas wherein coral-bearing Paleozoic rocks occur._______-.-______________--_-_--_-_-_-__-_------_-____________________________________ 7 3. Geologic map and section of the type area of the Gazelle Formation.______________________________________ 9 4. Photograph of Bonnet Rock and Chastain Ridge, showing bold outcrops of the caprock limestone of Gazelle unit 3____________---__-_-_---_-_--___--------_---_-----------__________________________________ 10 5. Photograph of argillaceous limestone breccia-conglomerate of Gazelle unit 2_________________________________ 11 6. Photograph of Chastain Ridge, showing limestone caprock of Gazelle unit 3 in fault contact with unit 1______ 12 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Fauna of the Atrypella zone, Gazelle Formation, Willow Creek area.__-_-_--__-___-___-_-_-_-_-_________-_- 14 2. Silurian fossils from the Gazelle Formation, Parker Rock area____-----_-___---_-_-_-_-___-______________ 15 3. Identification of fossils in the Gazelle Formation by previous workers______________________________________ 23 SILURIAN RUGOSE CORALS OF THE KLAMATH MOUNTAINS REGION, CALIFORNIA By CHARLES W. MERRIAM ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION The graywacke-iargillite sequence of the northeastern Klamath Coral-bearing limestones of Silurian age form a geo- subregion, Siskiyou County, Calif., includes limestone and lime stone conglomerate containing distinctive Silurian rugose corals morphically conspicuous but otherwise minor part of associated with Atrypella, Gonchidium, and Encrinurus. structurally and stratigraphically complex rock se Part of this sequence has been designated the Gazelle Forma quences in the northeastern part of the Klamath Moun tion; the type section is on Willow Creek near Gazelle, where tains region. Pre-Silurian strata, doubtless present here, it comprises lithologic units 1 through 3 in ascending order. Most remain to be identified paleontologically with assurance. of the corals come from unit 2, an argillaceous limestone con glomerate underlying the massive limestone of unit 3. To the Devonian beds have not been conclusively dated; all west in the Scott River drainage, different coral-brachiopod- rocks in this vicinity previously assigned to the De molluscan faunas occur in lenticular limestones of the gray- vonian System on tenuous fossil evidence are now be wacke belt; Halysites, absent from the type area of the Gazelle, lieved to be older. The Devonian is much better known occurs in the more westerly Silurian facies. in the southeastern part of the Klamath Mountains The graywacke-argillite sequence with its localized coralline limestone lenses was deposited in the Pacific Border graywacke region (fig. 1). belt, which includes the Silurian strata of southeastern Alaska. In the northwestern states generally, Paleozoic his In Alaska this succession includes volcanic rocks, some of which tory is obscured by deformation, metamorphism, and are pillow lavas. No diagenetic dolomite is known in the Pacific cover of younger rocks, especially volcanic rocks. To Border Silurian, in sharp contrast to the Great Basin shelf sea this the northeastern Klamath subregion is no excep strata of this system. Of 33 rugose coral families identified in the Great Basin tion, situated as it is adjacent to the Cascade belt. Here, Silurian, 10 occur also in the northeastern Klamath faunas. as on the east side of the Cascades scattered f ossilif erous Wintunastraea, Shastaphyllum, and Klamathastraea are new exposures suggest that earlier in geologic history the genera of colonial Rugosa, thus far known only in the Gazelle Paleozoic systems were possibly continuous and fairly