What the H!? Paleozoic Stratigraphy Exposed Regional Stratigraphy and Structure in the Central Appalachians from the Ordovician to the Pennsylvanian as seen in new outcrops along US 48 (“Corridor H”) and other locations Pre-Meeting Field Trip Guide for the 46th Annual Meeting Eastern Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (ESAAPG) Morgantown, West Virginia September 24 and 25, 2017 Field Trip Leaders and Authors Paula J. Hunt1, Ronald R. McDowell1, B. Mitch Blake, Jr.1, Jaime Toro2, Philip A Dinterman1 1 West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, 1 Mont Chateau Rd., Morgantown, WV 26508 2 Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, PO Box 6300, Morgantown, WV 26506 CoverImages Top:Tonolowayroadcutforeground,quarrybackgroundalongUS48 Middle(lefttoright):SenecaRocks,“Dragon’sTongue,”PaleoseismitesinSpechtyKopfFormation (Dintermanforscale) Bottom(lefttoright):US48(“CorridorH”),OldReedsville/MartinsburgquarryonUS33,FieldTrip RouteonGeologicMap PhotosinthisreportweretakenbyWVGESpersonnelunlessnotedotherwise. West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey Mont Chateau Research Center 1 Mont Chateau Road • Morgantown, WV 26508-8079 304.594.2331 • fax: 304.594.2575 www.wvges.org • [email protected] 39q39’30” N, 79q50’57” W Suggested citation: Hunt, P.J., R.R. McDowell, B.M. Blake, Jr., J. Toro, and P.A. Dinterman, 2017, What the H!? Paleozoic Stratigraphy Exposed,Pre-Meeting Field Trip Guide for the 46th Annual Meeting, Eastern Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (ESAAPG), Morgantown, West Virginia, September 24 and 25, 2017: West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, Field Trip Guide FTG-9, 87 p. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................1 PhysiographicProvincesandGeologicStructureOverview...............................................................1 GeneralBedrockGeology...................................................................................................................2 MajorStratigraphicSequencesinthePaleozoicofWestVirginia...................................................11 StratigraphicNomenclature.............................................................................................................11 USRoute48(“CorridorH”)...............................................................................................................11 OilandGasFieldintheFieldTripArea............................................................................................11 AdditionalResources........................................................................................................................16 ReferencesforthisSection...............................................................................................................16 FIELDTRIPSTOPSDAY1.......................................................................................................................18 Stop1(Day1): Dragon’sTongue...................................................................................................18 Stop1.5(RollOver)(Day1): MissPennBoundary(underbridge)...............................................27 Stop2(Day1): AlleghenyFront,MauchChunkQuickLook..........................................................28 Stop3(Day1): Hampshire,SpechtyKopf,andPriceformations(Lunch).....................................34 Stop3.5(RollBy)(Day1): TonolowayQuarryandFolds...............................................................42 Stop4(Day1): MarcellusandMahantangoformations...............................................................45 Stop4.5(Day1): TonolowayandHelderbergFolds,RollBy.........................................................54 Stop5(Day1): HelderbergGroup(complete)andOriskanyContactatTruckStop....................55 Stop6(Day1): Helderberg,Oriskany,andNeedmoreformations...............................................61 Stop6.5(Rollby)(Day1) HampshireStructure............................................................................67 Stop7(Day1): WhipCoveAnticline,GreenlandGapGroup(ForeknobsFm.).............................69 FIELDTRIPSTOPSDAY2.......................................................................................................................75 Stop8(Day2): Oswego,Juniata,TuscaroraalongUS33............................................................75 Stop9a(Day2): GermanyValleyOverlook,WillsMountainAnticlineandReedsvilleShale........79 Stop9b(Day2): OldReedsvilleQuarry,US33..............................................................................84 Stop10(Day2): SenecaRocks(Lunch)..........................................................................................89 Tables Table1.FieldTripStopInformation.......................................................................................................3 Table2.UnitDescriptionsandCharacteristics.....................................................................................13 Figures Figure1.LocationMap(start,end,andallstops).................................................................................4 Figure2.WestVirginiaGeneralizedStratigraphicChart.......................................................................5 Figure3.WestVirginiaPhysiographicProvinceswithGeneralGeology...............................................6 Figure4.RegionalcrosssectionthroughtheAppalachiansnearUS48...............................................7 Figure5.StagesandsealevelchangesfromHaqandShutter(2008)..................................................9 Figure6.OrogenicinterpretationsforeasternWestVirginiaandShenandoahValley,Virginia..........9 Figure7.Stratigraphiccolumnwithdepositionalenvironments........................................................10 Figure8.OilandGasFieldsintheFieldTripArea...............................................................................12 What the H!? Pre-meeting Field Trip, ESAAPG, Morgantown, WV Page i September 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Figure9.TheDragon'sTongue............................................................................................................18 Figure10.LocationofWestVirginiaduringthePennsylvanian(LateCarboniferous)........................19 Figure11.Paleogeography,LatePennsylvanian,300MA..................................................................19 Figure12.ChronostratigraphicchartshowingPennsylvanianstratigraphyatStop1........................20 Figure13.GeologicSettingforStop1(Dragon’sTongue)..................................................................21 Figure14.Partofaseriesofslumpblocks..........................................................................................23 Figure15.Sedimentsabovethecontinuouserosivesurfaceoverlyingtheslumpblockcomplex.....23 Figure16.SlumpblockandrotationsurfaceinterpretationatDragon’sTongue..............................24 Figure17.GeologicSettingforRolloverandStop2............................................................................27 Figure18.MauchChunkoutcropacrossfromscenicoverlook..........................................................28 Figure19.PaleogeographyofStop2...................................................................................................29 Figure20.PaleosolsfromtheMississippianHintonFormationoftheMauchChunkGroup.............29 Figure21.FeaturesoftheMauchChunk............................................................................................31 Figure22.Hampshire,SpechtyKopf,andPriceformations(righttoleft)atStop3...........................34 Figure23.LocationofWestVirginiaduringthelateDevonian...........................................................34 Figure24.Left:LateDevonian(360Ma)Right:EarlyMississippian(345Ma)....................................35 Figure25.FeaturesoftheSpechtyKopfFormation............................................................................38 Figure26.RoadcutalongUS48exposingtheTonolowayFormation................................................42 Figure27.LateSilurian420Ma...........................................................................................................43 Figure28.TheMarcellusFormationatStop4....................................................................................45 Figure29.Stop4paleogeography.......................................................................................................45 Figure30.WestVirginianomenclatureusedforDevonianunits.......................................................46 Figure31.GeologicMapforStops4through6...................................................................................47 Figure32.CharacteristicsoftheMarcellusFormationatStop4........................................................48 Figure33.AdditionalCharacteristicsoftheMarcellusFormationatStop4......................................49 Figure34.Thinsectionphotomicrographfromacarbonateconcretion............................................49 Figure35.RadioactivityintheMarcellus............................................................................................50 Figure36.FossilsintheMahantangoFormation................................................................................51 Figure37.FoldsintheTonolowayandHelderbergalongUS48.........................................................54 Figure38.TheHelderbergGroupoutcropatStop5...........................................................................55 Figure39.FormationsintheHelderbergGroupatStop5..................................................................55