Quaternary Valley Fill of the Abandoned Teays Drainage System in Southern Ohio
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77-2417 HOYER, Marcus Conrad, 1943- QUATERNARY VALLEY FILL OF THE ABANDONED TEAYS DRAINAGE SYSTEM IN SOUTHERN OHIO. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1976 Geology Xerox University A/llcrofllms fAnn Arbor, Michigan 48106 QUATERNARY VALLEY FILL OF THE ABANDONED TEAYS DRAINAGE SYSTEM IN SOUTHERN OHIO DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Marcus Conrad Hoyer, B.A., M.S. ***** The Ohio State University 1976 Reading Committee: Approved By Dr. Richard P. Goldthwait Dr. Kaye R. Everett Dr. Hallan C. Noltimier QL j -(PdatJr Advisor Department of Geology and Mineralogy ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my appreciation to all those who have had a part in the completion of this study. First to Professor Richard P. Goldthwait who suggested the problem of the. "Minford Silt" and who has been patient in his discussions, text clarification, field visits, and suggestions regarding laboratory operations. A special acknowledgment is due to the late Dr. David K. Webb, Jr., former Assistant State Geologist of Ohio, whose interest in the "Minford Silt" was instrumental in allowing the field work to be done, and whose interest brought him to the field assisting in the drilling and description of the units on many days. In addition, since his death, the data which he had compiled prior to the initiation of the present study has been made available to me; some of this data has been inserted into this dissertation at several points and credit has been given to Dr. Webb for it. Thanks and appreciation are expressed to Mr. Horace R. Collins, State Geologist, Ohio Division of Geological Survey, for his efforts in supporting the field work and allowing use of Dr. Webb's data. Otto and Ethel Remy of Beaver, Ohio, provided shelter and many contacts during the field work. Mr. M. Mitchell, Mr. R. Jernigan and Mr. J. Bapst provided assistance with the drilling of the auger holes and collection of core segments. Appreciation is expressed here to all those persons who allowed access to their land and allowed me to drill holes. Without that permission portions of the work would have been impossible to complete. Mr. Heber Lessig, formerly of the Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided his views and showed me some sites at an early stage in this study. Mr. R. Drees, Dr. G. Faure, Dr. J. Foster, Ms. D. Larson, Dr. B. McMahon, Dr. H. Noltimier, Ms. E. Schofield and many others assisted in the laboratory phase of this work. Professor Hallan C. Noltimier generously provided time both on the spinner magnetometer and OSU IRRC computer which have been most helpful to the paleomagnetic portion of this dissertation. Thanks are due Dr. Kaye R. Everett for his interest in this project and his time in spending several days in the field and office discussing some of the problems which have come up during the course of the study. Financial support for the field work came from the Ohio Division of Geological Survey; the Department of Geology and Mineralogy provided a Jeep-mounted auger; the Quaternary Laboratory, Department of Geology and Mineralogy made available laboratory supplies and thin-wall samplers and adaptors. The Friends of Orton provided financial assistance for preparation of some figures and maps. Without all of the above support and encouragement the project could neither have gotten off the ground or have been completed. In addition, without the support of my wife Mia and the encouragement iii given by our children Kristin and Matthew this project would be on the shelf. iv VITA 18 July 1943.............. Born - Chicago, Illinois 196 5 ....................... B.A., Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois 1965-196 6 ................. Teaching Assistant, Department of Geology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 2 April 1966.............. Married, Mari-Ann Lundell, Tempe, Arizona 1966 (summer)............ Field Investigator, USAROD Grant, Depart ment of Geology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (Prince William Sound area, Alaska) 1966-196 7 ................. Faculty Associate, Department of Geology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 1967-196 9 ................. N.D.E.A. Fellow, Department of Geology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 196 8 ....................... M.S., Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 1969 & 1970 (summers) Geological Consultant, Southern Ohio 1969-197 0 ................. Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Geology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1970-197 1 ................. Graduate Research Associate, Department of Geology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1 9 7 1 ....................... Boxmocker Fellow, Department of Geology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1971-197 2 ................. University Dissertation Year Fellow, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio v 1972-1973 Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota 1973 Geological Consultant, Illinois 1975-present Instructor, Department of Chemistry and Geology, Murray State University, Murray Kentucky PUBLICATIONS Hoyer, M.C., 1970, Puget Peak Avalanche, Alaska: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 82, p. 1267-1284. , 1972, The Puget Peak Avalanche (abstract): p. 285 in The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964: Geology. Washington, Nat. Acad. Sci., 834 p. ______, 1972, Remanent magnetism of Minford Silt, southern Ohio (abstract): Geol. Soc. America Abstracts with Programs, v. 4, p. 544. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Geology Studies in Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology. Professors Richard P. Goldthwait, Sidney E. White, and Kaye R. Everett Studies in Paleomagnetism. Professors Hallan C. Noltimier and John H. Foster vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................... ii VITA .................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES ...................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................... x LIST OF MAPS . .................................................... xiv ABSTRACT ............................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................ .... 3 Regional Setting .................... 4 Primary Study Area ............................................. 8 Previous Investigations ......................................... 8 This S t u d y ...................................................... 13 STRATIGRAPHY ......................................................... 15 Original Definitions ........................................... 15 Proposed U s a g e ........................... 19 Teays Formation .................................................. 20 Gallia Sand M e m b e r ............................................. 22 Minford Clay Member ............................................. 38 Colluvium, Alluvium and Loess .................................. 53 D i s c u s s i o n ...................................................... 56 PALEOMAGNETIC STUDY OF THE MINFORD C L A Y ........................... 61 M e t h o d s .................. 64 R e s u l t s ........................................................... 67 D i s c u s s i o n ...................... 77 Suggested Paleomagnetic Studies . ........................... 85 SUGGESTED HISTORY .................................................... 87 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................... 91 LIST OF REFERENCES .................................................. 95 vii Page APPENDICES ............................................... 100 A ............. 100 B .................................. 137 C ............................................................... 147 D .................................... 151 E .................... 156 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Stratigraphic nomenclature which has been applied to and proposed for the sediments of the Teays Drainage Lines of Ohio and West Virginia ................ 16 2. Relative percentages of clay minerals and quartz in the <2y fraction as determined by x-ray diffraction methods ......... 47 3. Clay mineral types reported in studies of the Minford Clay and similar deposits in Ohio and West Virginia. Clay types listed from most abundant to least a b u n d a n t ......................................... 48 4. Summary of grouped paleomagnetic data from the Minford Clay. Figure 35 illustrates the sample groups; Appendix E lists individual sample results . 79 5. Grain-size distribution of some sandy samples of Teays Formation .............................................. 147 6. Grain-size distribution and moisture content of some samples of the Teays Formation and overlying m a t e r i a l s ..................................................... 148 7. Relative percent of clay minerals and quartz in the less than 2 micron fraction of the Teays Formation and overlying materials ....................... 153 8. Paleomagnetic data summary ................................... 157 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Map of southern Ohio region indicating the study area and the limits of Illinoian and Wisconsinan glacial deposits ....................................... 5 2. Teays Drainage System of southern Ohio (after Stout and others, 1943) 6 3. Generalized geologic and preglacial drainage map of the east-central United States. Limit of the Wisconsinan glaciation and location of Teays Valley are indicated (from King and Beikman, 1974, p.