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Home , Arbuckle Mountains, Boston Mountains, Central Oklahoma, Cuesta, Geologic province, Guadalupian

EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION 9: 2008 Geologic History, Page 3 GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF Compiled by Kenneth S. Johnson, Oklahoma

Due to forces within the , parts of Oklahoma in the and Igneous and Metamorphic X geologic past were alternately below or above level. Thick Activity X X X X X X X layers of accumulated in shallow that covered Oklahoma’s oldest rocks are Precambrian igneous and X X X X X X large areas. The sediments were later buried and lithified (hard- metamorphic rocks that formed about 1.4 billion ago. X X X X ened to ) into marine , , and Then in another episode of igneous activity, during the Early X over geologic time. In areas near the ancient seas, and and Middle Cambrian, , , , and ba- clays accumulated as alluvial and deltaic deposits that sub- formed in southwestern and south-. sequently were lithified to sandstones and shales. When the Heat and fluids of Cambrian changed older sedimen- Figure 4. Principal rock types of Late Cambrian and Early Ordovi- Figure 5. Principal rock types of Middle and Late age in cian age in Oklahoma (explanation of map symbols, below, applies Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). areas were later elevated above the seas, rocks and sediments tary rocks into metamorphic rocks. to Figures 4-18). that had been deposited earlier were exposed and eroded. Up- Precambrian and Cambrian igneous and metamorphic such as , , and bryozoans. lift was accomplished by the gentle arching of broad areas, rocks underlie all of Oklahoma and are the floor or EXPLANATION or by building where rocks were intensely folded, on which younger rocks rest. The top of the basement rocks and Periods faulted, and thrust upward. typically is ~1,000 ft below the Earth’s surface in the Ozark Silurian and Devonian sedimentary rocks in Oklahoma The principal mountain belts, the Ouachita, Arbuckle, and Uplift in northeastern Oklahoma, except where crops (except for deposits in the Ouachita Basin) are and Wichita , are in the southern third of Oklahoma out at Spavinaw, in Mayes County. To the south and southwest, overlain by black (Fig. 6). The Hunton (Fig. 2). These were the sites of folding, faulting, and uplifting the depth to basement increases to 30,000–40,000 ft beneath (latest Ordovician, Silurian, and Early Devonian) is com- during the Period. The mountain belts exposed deep sedimentary basins (Fig. 3). Adjacent to the basins, base- monly 100–500 ft thick (maximum, 1,000 ft) and was eroded a great variety of geologic structures and brought igneous ment rocks were uplifted above sea level in two major from northern shelf areas. marine , such rocks and thick sequences of sedimentary strata to blocks and are exposed in the Wichita and Arbuckle Moun- as brachiopods, trilobites, and , are abundant in the the surface. The uplifts provide sites where one can observe tains. Igneous rocks and hydrothermal- veins crop out Hunton in the and in equivalent strata in and collect a great number of fossils, rocks, and (see locally in these mountains. the Ozark Uplift. Table 1 and Figure 35). After a period of widespread uplift and , the Late Devonian to earliest Woodford Shale was de- posited in essentially the same areas as the Hunton, and north- ward into . The pre-Woodford erosional surface is a conspicuous un- conformity: 500–1,000 ft of strata were eroded over broad X X X X X X areas, and the Woodford or younger Mississippian units rest on Ordovician and Silurian rocks. The Woodford typically is 50–200 ft thick, but it is as thick as 600 ft in the Arbuckle Mountains. The Devonian–Mississippian boundary is placed at the top of the Woodford because only the uppermost few feet of Woodford is earliest Mississippian. Figure 3. Generalized contours showing elevation (in thousands of In the Ouachita Basin, and shale of the Blaylock feet below sea level) of the eroded top of Precambrian and Cam- Figure 2. Major geologic provinces of Oklahoma (generalized from Group marine sediments increase in thickness southward page 1, Fig. 1). brian basement rocks in Oklahoma and parts of adjacent states. and Mountain Formations are Silurian. The Arkan- from 1,000–2,000 ft in northern shelf areas (Anadarko Shelf sas () is Silurian, Devonian, and Early Mis- The principal sites of were elongate basins Late Cambrian and Ordovician Periods and ) to about 7,000 ft in the Anadarko and sissippian. These three formations are 500–1,500 ft in total that subsided more rapidly than adjacent areas, and received Following a brief period when newly formed Cambrian Ardmore Basins, and in the Arbuckle Mountains. Thick de- thickness. 10,000–40,000 ft of . Major sedimentary basins were igneous rocks and ancient Precambrian rocks were partly posits of black shale, sandstone, and some limestone are pres- confined to the southern half of Oklahoma and include Anadar- eroded, shallow seas covered Oklahoma during the early Pa- ent in the Ouachita province in the southeast. Shallow-marine ko, Arkoma, Ardmore, Marietta, Hollis, and Ouachita Basins; leozoic . This began a long period of geologic time (515 limestones, sandstones, and shales characterize Middle and the Ouachita Basin is the site of today’s , million years) when parts of Oklahoma were alternately inun- Late Ordovician rocks throughout most of Oklahoma (Fig. and was active from Late Cambrian to Early Pennsylvanian. A dated by shallow seas and then raised above sea level. Many 5). Some of the most widespread rock units include Simpson smaller basin, the Dalhart Basin, is in the western Panhandle. rocks that formed in the various sedimentary environments Group sandstones, Viola Group limestones, and the Sylvan The following discussion is modified from Johnson (1971), contain fossils and diverse mineral deposits. Shale. These strata are up to 2,500 ft thick in the deep Anadar- XX X Johnson and others (1989), and Johnson (1996). (Note that The sea first invaded Oklahoma in the Late Cambrian and ko and Ardmore Basins and in the Arbuckle Mountains. Thick X X many geologic terms are defined in the Glossary of Selected moved across the State from the east or southeast. The Reagan layers of black shale, along with some chert and sandstone X Terms on pages 20 and 21. The stratigraphic column on page Sandstone, consisting of and eroded from exposed beds, occur in the Ouachita Mountains region to the south- 21 illustrates principal Oklahoma rock formations and their and weathered basement, was deposited in southern and east- east. ern parts of Oklahoma. Thick limestones and dolomites of the Limestone and other Late Cambrian and Ordovician rocks ages). Figure 6. Principal rock types of Silurian and Devonian age in overlying Arbuckle Group (Late Cambrian and Early Ordovi- exposed in the Arbuckle Mountains and on the flanks of the Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). cian) covered almost the entire State (Fig. 4). The Arbuckle contain abundant fossils of early marine Page 4, Geologic History EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION 9: 2008 rowan and early Atokan), resulting in 10,000–15,000 ft of up- deformation ceased after folding and faulting of the Arkoma Ba- lift in the Wichita Mountains and in the Criner Hills south of sin. Of special importance in the Arkoma Basin and northeastern GEOLOGIC (continued) Ardmore (Fig. 8). Conglomerate and eroded granite fragments Oklahoma are Desmoinesian beds formed from (locally called granite wash) commonly are present near ma- matter that had accumulated in swamps. At widely scattered jor uplifts, and the coarse-grained rocks grade into sandstone locations throughout , Desmoinesian strata Mississippian Period Pennsylvanian Period and shale toward the basin centers. are well known for trees, , and . Shallow seas covered most of Oklahoma during most of The Pennsylvanian Period was a time of crustal unrest in A broad, north-trending arch rose above sea level across The last major Pennsylvanian , the Arbuckle orog- the first half of the Mississippian Period (Fig. 7). Limestone Oklahoma: both orogeny and basin in the south; central Oklahoma during this time; along its axis, a narrow eny, was a strong compression and uplift during the Virgilian. and chert are the dominant sedimentary rocks in most areas, gentle raising and lowering of broad areas in the north. Uplifts belt of fault-block mountains, the Nemaha Uplift, extended The orogeny affected many mountain areas in southern Okla- and the Novaculite occurs in the Ouachita Basin. in and New gave rise to the north from into Kansas. A broad uplift also homa and caused prominent folding in the Ardmore, Marietta, Important units are Keokuk and Reeds Formations in referred to as the Ancestral Rockies. Sediments deposited ear- and Anadarko Basins (Fig. 10). Much of the folding, faulting, the , Sycamore Limestone in southern Oklahoma, and lier in the Wichita, Arbuckle, and Ouachita Uplifts were lith- and uplift in the Arbuckle Mountains likely occurred in the “ ” (a term for thick Mississippian limestones) ified, deformed, and uplifted to form major mountains, while late Virgilian. By the end of the Pennsylvanian, Oklahoma’s in the subsurface across most of northern Oklahoma. Early nearby basins subsided rapidly and received sediments eroded mountain systems were essentially as they are today, although Mississippian limestones, which are the youngest of the thick from the highlands. Pennsylvanian rocks are dominantly ma- subsequent gentle uplift and associated erosion deeper sequences in Oklahoma, provide evidence for early rine shale, but beds of sandstone, limestone, conglomerate, into underlying rocks and greatly reduced the original height of the mountains. and middle Paleozoic crustal stability. and coal also occur. Pennsylvanian strata, commonly 2,000– X X X 5,000 ft thick in shelf areas in the north, are up to 16,000 ft in X X X X X X X X X X Period the , 15,000 ft in the Ardmore Basin, 13,000 ft X X X Following Pennsylvanian mountain building, an Early in the Marietta Basin, and 18,000 ft in the Arkoma Basin. X X Permian (Wolfcampian) shallow inland sea covered most of Pennsylvanian rocks contain reservoirs that X yield more oil and gas than any other rocks in Oklahoma, and XX XX they also have large coal reserves in eastern Oklahoma. The XX Figure 9. Principal rock types of Middle Pennsylvanian (Desmoines- X X Pennsylvanian interests collectors for two reasons. (1) Penn- XX XXXX ian) age in Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). XX X sylvanian sediments contain abundant invertebrate and plant X X X X X X fossils in eastern and south-central Oklahoma. Invertebrates occurred at this time in the Ozark region of northeastern Okla- X include various brachiopods, crinoids, bryozoans, gastropods, homa. The Morrowan and Atokan uplift resulted in erosion X that removed all or part of the pre-Pennsylvanian rocks from Figure 7. Principal rock types of Mississippian age in Oklahoma the Wichita Mountains, Criner Hills, and central Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). Arch. Less erosion occurred in other areas. The most pro- found Paleozoic in Oklahoma occurs at the base Basins in southern Oklahoma in the last half of the Mis- of Pennsylvanian rocks, and is recognized everywhere but in X X sissippian rapidly subsided, resulting in thick sedimentary X X X the deeper parts of major basins. Figure 11. Principal rock types of Early Permian (Wolfcampian) age X X X deposits that consist predominantly of shale, with layers of X X X X X X Principal pulses of deformation in the Ouachita Mountains in Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). X X X limestone and sandstone (Fig. 7). Principal Mississippian X X and the Panhandle, extending north from formations in southern Oklahoma (excluding the Ouachi- X west to and the Dakotas. Shallow-marine tas) are the Caney Shale, Goddard Formation, and Springer limestones and gray shales are found in the center of the an- Formation (which is partly Early Pennsylvanian): these and cient seaway (Fig. 11), grading laterally to the east and west the underlying Sycamore Limestone are 1,500–6,000 ft thick Figure 8. Principal rock types of Early Pennsylvanian (Morrowan in the Ardmore and eastern Anadarko Basins and nearby ar- and Atokan) age in Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of sym- bols). X X eas. The greatest thickness of Mississippian strata is 10,000 X X ft of interbedded sandstone and shale of the Stanley Group and bivalves. Plant remains include , fossil X X in the Ouachita Basin. Most Mississippian strata in central leaves, and extensive coal strata. The primary fossils X X and north-central Oklahoma were eroded during the Early are teeth. (2) Pennsylvanian mountain-building caused X X X X X Pennsylvanian. In the western Anadarko Basin, Mississippian the uplift of deeply buried Precambrian through Mississippian X X strata consist of cherty limestones and shales 3,000 ft thick, rocks in the Wichita, Arbuckle, Ouachita, and Ozark Uplifts. Figure 10. Principal rock types of Late Pennsylvanian (Missouri- thinning to 200–400 ft east of the Nemaha Uplift. The older, fossiliferous and mineral-bearing rocks now are an and Virgilian) age in Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of Mississippian rocks host various fossils and minerals. Ma- exposed after the erosion of younger, overlying strata. symbols). rine limestones and shales in the Arbuckle Mountains and The Pennsylvanian Period, subdivided into five epochs of area probably started in the Mississippian, and the and Ozark Uplift contain abundant invertebrate marine fossils, time, includes (from oldest to youngest): Morrowan (Early), thrust belt progressed northward. The pulses, known as the such as crinoids, bryozoans, , and brachiopods. The Atokan, Desmoinesian (Middle), Missourian, and Virgilian Figure 12. Principal rock types of Early Permian (Leonardian) age , stopped by the end of the Desmoinesian in Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). Tri-State district in northeastern Oklahoma (Miami- (Late). occurred in all five epochs, but each pulse (Fig. 9); the pulses included the northward thrusting of rocks Picher area) yielded beautiful of , sphalerite, of mountain building affected different areas by varying de- (perhaps up to 50 mi of thrusting). Uplifting the Ouachita Moun- into limestones, red shales, and red sandstones (Permian ). During the later Leonardian (Early Permian; Fig. 12), and . grees. tains above sea level probably occurred during the Desmoine- Folding and uplift of pre-Morrowan rocks characterize evaporating sea deposited thick beds of and sian; the Ouachitas remained high into the Permian Period. (or anhydrite), such as the Wellington and Cimarron evapo- a major Pennsylvanian orogeny, the Wichita orogeny (Mor- Downwarping of the Ouachita Basin shifted northward into rites. Throughout the Early Permian, the Wichita, Arbuckle, the Arkoma Basin during Atokan and Desmoinesian times, and Ouachita, and Ozark Mountains were still high, supplying EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION 9: 2008 Geologic History, Page 5 eroded sand and to central and western Oklahoma. Al- and Periods strata rest on rocks from the Precambrian through systems originated during the . The riv- luvial, deltaic, and nearshore-marine red sandstone and shale Triassic and Jurassic rocks are restricted to the Panhandle the Permian. Uplift of the in the Late Cre- ers’ shifting positions are marked by alluvial deposits left as characterize the Early Permian sea margin, interfingering (Fig. 15); most of Oklahoma probably was above sea level taceous and Early caused a broad uplift of Oklahoma, terraces, now tens to hundreds of feet above present-day flood with gray marine shale, anhydrite, limestone, dolomite, and at this time. Sandstones, shales, and conglomerates formed imparting an eastward tilt that resulted in the final withdrawal plains. salt that typically were deposited toward the center of the sea. in central and western Oklahoma from sediments deposited of the sea. The is characterized as a time when rocks and Most Early Permian are red shales, although thin mainly in and lakes that drained hills and lowlands of Cretaceous marine rocks in southeastern and western loose sediment at the surface are being weathered to soil, and limestones and dolomites occur in north-central Oklahoma, Permian sedimentary strata. Hills in central Colorado and Oklahoma contain shark teeth and various invertebrate fos- the soil particles then are carried away to streams and riv- sils, such as oysters, echinoids, and giant ammonites. Non- ers. In this manner, hills and mountains are eroded, and sedi- marine Cretaceous strata contain bones. ments are transported to the sea, or are temporarily deposited Cretaceous strata have been eroded from almost all parts in beds and banks and in lake bottoms. , silt, sand, X X of western Oklahoma (Fig. 16), except where blocks of Cre- X taceous rock (several acres to several square miles wide) have dropped down several hundred feet into formed by dissolution of underlying Permian salts. X X X X Tertiary Period X X The ancestral extended almost to the south- X east corner of Oklahoma in the Early Tertiary, and the - line gradually retreated southward through the remainder of X X X Figure 15. Principal rock types of Triassic and Jurassic age in the period. Oklahoma supplied some sediments deposited to Figure 13. Principal rock types of Late Permian () age Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). the southeast, including , sands, and clays (Fig. 17). in Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). northern also supplied some sediments. Triassic and crossbedded sandstones are common in central and south- and Jurassic strata in the Panhandle are mostly red and gray, central areas. The red color, common in Permian rocks, results from oxides (chiefly ) that coat the grains in the and are typically 200–700 ft thick. sandstones and shales. Southeastern Oklahoma probably was an area of low mountains and hills and was the source of sediment eroded Figure 18. Major rivers of Oklahoma and principal deposits of Qua- By the Late Permian, the Wichitas were mostly buried by ternary age (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols) sediment and the mountains to the east were largely eroded from the Ouachita Mountains. The Gulf of Mexico almost ex- (Figs. 13-14). Red shale and sandstone typify Guadalu- tended into Oklahoma during the Jurassic. Triassic and Juras- and gravel from Pleistocene and rivers and lakes are pian rocks, although thick, gypsum and thin dolomite sic fossils in Oklahoma include some invertebrates, petrified typically unconsolidated and 25–100 ft thick. Finding Pleisto- beds of the Blaine and Cloud Chief Formations also occur. wood, and such as , , , cene terraces more than 100–300 ft above modern flood plains Thick salt units occur in the subsurface (Fig. 13). The Rush and . In the Panhandle, the Jurassic is attests to the great amount of erosion and down cutting per- Springs Sandstone forms in much of western Okla- noteworthy because of its abundant dinosaur bones. formed by major rivers in the last 1.6 million years. Modern flood plains consist mainly of alluvium deposited during the homa. Latest Permian (Ochoan) rocks are mostly red- Figure 17. Principal rock types of Tertiary age in Oklahoma (see sandstones and shales, but they contain some gypsum and Cretaceous Period Holocene. Cretaceous seas covered all but northeastern and east- Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). Quaternary river-borne sediments decrease in central Oklahoma (Fig. 16). The ancestral Gulf of Mexico In the Late Tertiary, a thick blanket of sand, silt, clay, from west to east across Oklahoma; gravel, commonly mixed extended across southeastern Oklahoma in the Early Creta- and gravel eroded from the Rocky Mountains was deposited with river sands in the west, is abraded so much during trans- ceous, and shallow seas extended north in the last great inun- across the High Plains and farther east by a of co- port that it is almost absent in the east. Eolian sediments char- dation of the western interior of the United States (including alescing rivers and lakes. Some middle and upper parts of acterize Quaternary deposits in parts of western Oklahoma: Oklahoma) during the . Shale, sandstone, and the Tertiary deposits consist of eolian sediment, and some sand dunes, mainly on the north sides of major rivers, and limestone are about 200 ft thick in the Panhandle and as thick fresh-water lakes had limestone deposits. Deposits in western some of the Ogallala (Tertiary) sands and silts, were reworked as 2,000–3,000 ft in the (Fig. 16). A ma- Oklahoma, the , are 200–600 ft thick; they by Quaternary . jor unconformity is exposed throughout the southeast, where may have extended across central Oklahoma, thinning east- Quaternary sediments locally contain fossil wood, snail ward. The nonmarine Ogallala contains fossil wood, snails, shells, and bones and teeth of land vertebrates (e.g., horses, clams, and vertebrates such as horses, , , camels, , , ). Some fossils were X X X and mastodons. eroded from the Ogallala and redeposited in the Quaternary. In the northwest corner of the Panhandle, a prominent Horses, camels, mastodons, mammoths and other large - Figure 14. Principal rock types of Late Permian (Ochoan) age in layer of Tertiary basaltic that flowed from a volcano in mals lived in Oklahoma during the Pleistocene, but they died Oklahoma (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). southeastern Colorado caps Black . out at the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Ho- locene. dolomite in the west (Fig. 14). The entire Permian sequence is Quaternary Period commonly 1,000–5,000 ft thick, but can be 6,000–6,500 ft in The Quaternary Period, the last 1.6 million years of Earth deeper parts of the Anadarko Basin. history, is divided into the Pleistocene (the “Great Permian sedimentary rocks in central and western Okla- Age”) and the Holocene or Recent Epoch that we live in to- homa contain various fossils and minerals. Fossils, though day. The boundary between the epochs is about 11,500 years rare, include vertebrates (e.g., fish, , and ), ago, at the end of the last continental glaciation. During that , and a few . Minerals are more Figure 16. Principal rock types of Cretaceous age in Oklahoma time the extended south only as far as northeastern (see Fig. 4 for explanation of symbols). Kansas. Major rivers fed by meltwater from Rocky Moun- common and include gypsum (selenite and satin spar), halite (in subsurface and on salt plains), and rose rocks (barite rose, tain glaciers and the increased precipitation associated with the official state rock of Oklahoma). glaciation sculpted Oklahoma’s land (Fig. 18). Today’s major Page 6, EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION 9: 2008

EXPLANATION Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks

Quaternary—Sand, silt, clay, and Mississippian—Mostly cherty marine gravel in flood plain and terrace de- limestone, 200–3,000 ft thick in the north. posits of major rivers. Includes sand Rocks are mostly marine shale and sand- dunes in some terraces and local - stone elsewhere; commonly 1,000–6,000 blown sands on Tertiary rocks; gener- ft thick, but up to 10,000 ft thick in the Oua- ally 25–100 ft thick. chita Mountains. Tertiary—River and windblown depos- Marine limestone its of sand, clay, gravel, and caliche are Silurian–Devonian— and dolomite, 100–1,000 ft thick, are over- deposited from ancient rivers draining lain by black shale, 50–600 ft thick. In the the Rocky Mountains; generally 200– Ouachita Mountains, the units, 500–1,500 600 ft thick. ft thick, are chert, shale, and sandstone. Cretaceous—Nonmarine sand and clay, and marine limestone and clay are up to 3,000 ft thick in the southeast. Marine Ordovician—Marine limestone and do- sandstone, limestone, and shale are about lomite, with some sandstone and shale, 200 ft thick in the Panhandle. Scattered thicken from 500–1,500 ft in the north to collapsed blocks of marine limestone, about 8,000 ft in the south. In the Ouachita sandstone, and shale are in the Anadarko Mountains, the units are shale, sandstone, basin. Cretaceous is divided into Lower and cherty limestone. (K ) and Upper (K ) units. 1 2 Cambrian—Rocks are marine lime- Jurassic—Nonmarine, red and gray stone and dolomite, with a basal sand- shale, sandstone, and conglomerate are stone; generally 500–2,000 ft thick. in the Panhandle; generally 100–300 ft Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks thick.

Triassic—Nonmarine, red and gray Tertiary—Basaltic lava flow, 50–85 shale and sandstone in the Panhandle ft thick, in the northwest corner of the are commonly 200–500 ft thick. Panhandle; caps .

Permian—Shallow-marine, deltaic, and Cambrian—Outcrops of granite, , alluvial deposits of red sandstone and and occur in the Wichita Moun- shale predominate. Outcrops of white tains; rhyolite occurs in the Arbuckle gypsum are conspicuous, and thick salt Mountains. Igneous rocks formed from deposits are widespread in the subsurface about 525 million years ago; nearly 20,000 ft thick. GEOLOGIC MAP OF OKLAHOMA in the west; generally 1,000–6,500 ft thick. Kenneth S. Johnson, Oklahoma Geological Survey Permian is divided into Lower (P1) and Up- Precambrian—Granite and (a per (P2, P3, and P4) units; lower part of P1 metamorphosed ) crop out is marine red sandstone and shale, with in the Arbuckle Mountains, and gran- deposits overlying older rocks in Oklahoma. some thin beds of limestone. The geologic map of Oklahoma shows rock units (2) metamorphic rocks in the eastern Arbuckles, and ite crops out in a small area in Mayes geology on this map is derived from Mi- County. Formed about 1.4 billion years that crop out or are mantled by a thin soil veneer. Qua- (3) mildly metamorphosed rocks in the core of the Mostly marine shale, Pennsylvanian— ago, these are the oldest rock outcrops ternary sediments laid down by streams and rivers lo- Ouachita Mountains. ser (1954). Quaternary alluvium and terrace deposits with interbedded sandstone, limestone, in Oklahoma. cally overly Precambrian through Tertiary bedrock. Rocks formed during every geologic period crop are derived from nine hydrologic atlases of Oklaho- and coal. Thickness is commonly 2,000– The geologic map helps one understand the age and out in Oklahoma. About 46% of Oklahoma has Perm- ma prepared jointly by the Oklahoma Geological Sur- 5,000 ft, but much greater in the Anadarko Symbols Basin (16,000 ft thick), Ardmore Basin character of Oklahoma’s rocks in assessing petroleum ian rocks exposed at the surface. Other extensive out- vey and the U.S. Geological Survey (Marcher, 1969; (15,000 ft), Marietta Basin (13,000 ft), Geologic contact reservoirs, mineral deposits, construction sites, engi- crops are Pennsylvanian (about 25%), Tertiary (11%), Marcher and Bingham, 1971; Hart, 1974; Bingham Ouachita Mountains (15,000 ft), and Ar- neering properties, ground-water- characteris- Cretaceous (7%), Mississippian (6%), Ordovician and Moore, 1975; Carr and Bergman, 1976; Havens, koma Basin (18,000 ft). Thick conglomer- Fault; dotted where concealed by Qua- 1977; Bingham and Bergman, 1980; Morton, 1981; ates occur near the Wichita and Arbuckle ternary sediments tics, and to remedy environmental problems. (1%), and Cambrian (1%); Precambrian, Silurian, Mountains. Units are divided into Lower About 99% of all outcrops in Oklahoma are sedi- Devonian, Triassic, and Jurassic rocks each are ex- Marcher and Bergman, 1983). Line of cross section (see p. 7) ( 1), Middle ( 2,), and Upper ( 3) Penn- mentary rocks. Remaining outcrops are (1) igneous posed in less than 1% of Oklahoma. These outcrops sylvanian. rocks, mainly in the Wichita and Arbuckle Mountains, do not include the Quaternary river, terrace, and lake EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION 9: 2008 Geologic Cross Sections, Page 7

EXPLANATION Mississippian, Devonian, Tertiary and Silurian Ordovician and Cambrian Cretaceous (sedimentary rocks) Vertical exaggeration 10x Cretaceous, Jurassic, Cambrian (igneous and and Triassic metamorphic rocks) Permian Precambrian Fault; arrow shows Pennsylvanian relative movement

GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTIONS OF OKLAHOMA Kenneth S. Johnson, Oklahoma Geological Survey

These cross sections show the subsurface configu- data with geologic mapping and geophysical studies, prone areas, sinkholes, landslides, and expanding ration of rock units in Oklahoma, depicting the roots can determine thickness, depth, and char- soils, and man-induced conditions such as ground- of mountain systems and the great depths of major acter of subsurface rock formations in most of Okla- water contamination, waste disposal, and mine-land sedimentary basins (Fig. 19). Data from the many homa. With these data, geologists then can do the subsidence. petroleum wells drilled deep below the land surface following: (1) more precisely unravel the complex Figure 19 (to the left) and the Geologic map of (Oklahoma has more than 460,000 petroleum test and exciting geologic history of Oklahoma; (2) more Oklahoma on page 6 show the lines of cross section. Figure 19. Geologic cross sections across the major map of holes) helped to create the cross sections. accurately assess location, quality, and quantity of The horizontal scales of the cross sections are the Oklahoma (generalized from fig.1) : A-A’, B-B’, C-C’, D-D’ and E-E’. By collecting and studying the drill cuttings, cores, Oklahoma’s petroleum, mineral, and water ; same as for the Geologic Map on page 6: vertical ex- and logs from petroleum tests, water wells, and min- and (3) more effectively identify and attempt to rem- aggeration is 10x. eral-exploration tests, and then integrating all these edy natural geohazards, such as earthquakes, flood- Page 8, Geomorphic Provinces EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION 9: 2008

EXPLANATION

Arbuckle Mountains Province Cimarron River —Deeply dissected Arbuckle Hills—Low to moderate hills are valleys in Cimarron County expose flat-ly- chiefly Cambrian to Mississippian lime- ing, multicolored sandstones and stones. Steeply dipping strata are complexly shales. folded and faulted. Scattered sinkholes and Claremore Plains—Resistant occur. Pennsylvanian sandstones and limestones Arbuckle Plains—Gently rolling hills and dip gently westward to form be- plains developed mainly on Precambrian tween broad shale plains. granites and gently dipping Ordovician lime- Dissected Coastal Plain—Mostly unlith- stones. Scattered sinkholes and caves oc- ified, south-dipping Cretaceous sands, cur. gravels, clays and some limestones form Ouachita Mountains Province the Gulf Coastal Plain; slightly dissected by Beavers Bend Hills—Moderate to high hills streams. and are formed by tightly folded Or- Eastern Sandstone-Cuesta Plains—West- dovician through Mississippian sedimentary dipping Pennsylvanian sandstones form rocks. cuestas that overlook broad shale plains. and Valley Belt—Long, sinuous High Plains—Mostly a flat upland surface mountain ridges of broadly folded Missis- on Tertiary and Pleistocene alluvial and sippian and Pennsylvanian sandstones rise windblown sands. Contains some sand 400–1,200 ft above sub-parallel shale val- dunes and playas; deeply dissected along leys. rivers and major streams. Frontal Belt—Thrust blocks of Mangum Gypsum Hills—Gently rolling steeply dipping Pennsylvanian sandstones hills, steep bluffs, and badlands developed and limestones in hogback ridges rise 500– on Permian and shales. Locally 1,500 ft above adjacent shale valleys. abundant sinkholes and caves occur. Wichita Mountains Province McAlester Marginal Hills Belt—Resistant Granite Mountains Region—Peaks of Pennsylvanian sandstones cap broad hills Cambrian granite and related igneous rocks and mountains rising 300–2,000 ft above rise 400–1,100 ft above surrounding red- wide, hilly plains consisting mostly of shale. bed plains. Neosho Lowland—Gently rolling shale low- Limestone Hills—Also called Slick Hills, lands, with few low and low to moderate hills of steeply dipping capped by Pennsylvanian sandstones and Mis- Cambrian and Ordovician limestones rise sissippian limestones. above red-bed plains. Scattered sinkholes Northern Limestone-Cuesta Plains—Thin and caves occur. Permian limestones cap west-dipping cues- Other Provinces (alphabetically) tas rising above broad shale plains. Ardmore Basin—Lowland of folded Mis- Ozark Plateau—Deeply dissected plateau GEOMORPHIC PROVINCES sissippian and Pennsylvanian shales and formed in gently dipping Mississippian lime- sandstones. stones and . Locally abundant sinkholes OF OKLAHOMA Arkansas Hill and Valley Belt—Broad, and caves occur. gently rolling plains and valleys with scat- Weatherford Gypsum Hills—Gently roll- Neville M. Curtis, Jr., William E. Ham, and tered hills, 100–300 ft high, are capped by ing hills occur in massive Permian gypsum Pennsylvanian sandstones. beds, 100 ft thick. Locally abundant sinkholes Kenneth S. Johnson, Oklahoma Geological Survey Black Mesa—Flat-topped erosional rem- and caves occur. nant of Tertiary basaltic lava flow that was Western Red-Bed Plains—Gently rolling A geomorphic province is part of the Earth’s Some sandstones (mainly in eastern Oklahoma) are Oklahoma, well-indurated rocks were folded, faulted, extruded from a volcano in Colorado; the hills of nearly flat-lying Permian red -sand well indurated (cemented), but in most other parts of and uplifted forming the Wichita, Arbuckle, and Oua- highest point in Oklahoma (elevation, 4,973 surface where a suite of rocks with similar geologic stones and shales. ft). character and structure underwent a similar geolog- Oklahoma they are not so well indurated and erode chita Mountains. The mountains and high hills, the Hummocky —Deeply dissected pla- Western Sand-Dune Belts— easily; therefore, much of Oklahoma is gently rolling resistant rock units, and the complex geology of these fields of grass-covered, stabilized sand ic history, and where the present-day character and teau is capped by gently dipping Pennsylva- hills and broad, flat plains. Elsewhere, erosion-resis- three provinces contrast sharply with Oklahoma’s nian sandstones. dunes and some active dunes, occur mainly landforms differ significantly from adjacent provinc- on north sides of major rivers. Sand is from Central Red-Bed Plains—Permian red es. The term used here is the same as “physiographic tant layers of sandstone, limestone, or gypsum form typical rolling hills and broad plains. In hilly, wooded Quaternary alluvium and terrace deposits. shales and sandstones form gently rolling province.” protective caps on buttes, cuestas, escarpments, and areas of the Ozark Plateau and Boston Mountains in hills and broad, flat plains. Western Sandstone Hills—Slightly lithified, Cimarron Gypsum Hills—Escarpments nearly flat-lying Permian red sandstones Most outcrops in Oklahoma consist of horizon- high hills. northeastern Oklahoma, streams and rivers created and badlands developed on Permian gyp- form gently rolling hills cut by steep-walled tal or gently dipping sandstones, sands, and shales Among the more impressive geomorphic provinc- sharp relief locally by cutting down into resistant sums and shales. Locally abundant sink- canyons. es are several mountain belts and uplifts in southern limestones and sandstones. holes and caves occur. of Pennsylvanian, Permian, Cretaceous, and Tertiary ages (see Geologic Map of Oklahoma on page 6). and northeastern Oklahoma. In the southern third of