Geology of the Coal Hill Hartman, and Clarksville Quadrangles, Johnson County and ,Vicinity, Arkansas GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 536-C Prepared in cooperation with the Arkansas Geological Commission Geology of the Coal Hill Hartman, and Clarksville Quadrangles, Johnson cnunty and Vicinity, Arkansas By E. A. MEREWETHER and BOYD R. HALEY GEOLOGY OF THE ARKANSAS VALLEY COAL FIELD GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 536-C Prepared in cooperation with the Arkansas Geological Commission UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1969 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Page Abstract__________________________________________ _ C1 Stratigraphy-Continued Introduction ______________________________________ _ 1 Pennsylvanian System---continued StratigraphY--------------------------------------- 4 Des Moines Series, Krebs Group-Continued Ordovician System_____________________________ _ 4 McAlester Formation __________________ _ C18 Everton Formation and St. Peter Sandstone un- Savanna Formation ____________________ _ 19 divided_________________________________ _ 4 Quaternary System _____________________________ _ 21 Plattin Limestone and Kimmswick Limestone Terrace deposits ___________________________ _ 21 undivided _______________________________ _ 4 Alluvium _________________________________ _ 21 Fernvale Limestone ________________________ _ 4 Structure _________________________________________ _ 21 Cason Shale _______________________________ _ 4 Synclines _____________________________________ _ 21 Silurian System, St. Clair Limestone _____________ _ 12 Anticlines _____________________________________ _ 22 Devonian System, Penters Chert ________________ _ 12 Faul~----------------------------------------- 22 Devonian and Mississippian Systems, Chattanooga Economic geology------ ____________________________ _ 25 Shale_______________________________________ _ 12 Coal _________________________________________ _ 25 Mississippian System___________________________ _ 12 Coal beds in the Atoka Formation ___________ _ 25 Pennsylvanian System__________________________ _ 13 Morrow Series _____________________________ _ Coal beds in the McAlester Formation _______ _ 25 13 Coal beds in the Savanna Formation _________ _ 26 Cane Hill Member of Hale Formation ____ _ 13 Oil and gas ___________________________________ _ 26 Prairie Grove Member of Hale Formation Building stone _________________________________ _ and Bloyd Formation undivided _______ _ 26 14 Road metaL __________________________________ _ Atoka Series, Atoka Formation______________ _ 14 26 Gravel, sand, and clay _________________________ _ Des Moines Series, Krebs Group ____________ _ 17 27 Hartshorne Sandstone__________________ _ 17 References cited ___________________________________ - 27 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in pocket] PLATE 1. Geologic map of Coal Hill, Hartman, and Clarksville quadrangles. 2. Stratigraphic sections. 3. Map showing structure contours, coal beds, and gas fields. 4. Structural sections. Page FIGURE 1. Index map of Arkansas------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C2 2. Chart showing thickness of the Atoka Formation in the Coal Hill, Hartman, and Clarksville quadrangles and vicinitY----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Selected stratigraphic units in or near the Coal Hill, Hartman, and Clarksville quadrangles ____ - ______ -------- C3 2. Description of wells in the Coal Hill, Hartman, and Clarksville quadrangles as of October 1, 1964------------- 5 3. Description of shallow holes drilled by the Gulf Oil Corp. in Coal Hill, Hartman, and Clarksville quadrangles___ 8 4. Clay-mineral, carbon, and selected trace-element contents of shale from the McAlester Formation, Hartman quadrangle-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 5. Estimated original reserves of coal in the Lower Har~horne coal bed, Coal Hill, Hartman, and Clarksville quad- rangles------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 25 III GEOLOGY OF THE ARKANSAS VALLEY COAL FIELD GEOLOGY OF THE COAL HILL, HARTMAN, AND CLARKSVILI.JE QUADRANGLES, JOHNSON COUNTY AND VICINITY, ARKANSAS By E. A. MEREWErrHER and BoYD R. HALEY ABSTRACT by lats 35°22'30" N., and 35°30'00'' N., and longs The Coal Hill, Hartman, and Clarksville quadrangles enclose 93°22'30" W. and 93°45'00" W. The westernmost and an area of approximately 182 square miles in Johnson, Logan, easternmost of the quadrangles are Coal Hill and and Franklin Counties in northwestern Arkansas. Clarksville, respectively. The three quadrangles include Sedimentary rocks penetrated by wells drilled for gas in the area range in age from Middle Ordovician to Middle Pennsyl­ an area of approximately 182 square miles (fig.1). vanian. Rocks of the Atoka and Des Moines Series of Pennsyl­ Clarksville, county seat of Johnson County and the vanian age and terrace deposits and alluvium of Pleistocene largest town in the area, has a population of about and Recent age crop out in the area. The exposed rocks consist 4,000. Other towns in the area and their approximate mainly of dark-gray shale, light- to medium-gray siltstone and populations are Coal Hill, 700; Lamar, 500; Hartman, sandstone, and a few beds of coal. The sedimentary rocks are folded into gently dipping gen­ 300; and Denning, 200. These communities lie along erally east-west-trending anticlines and synclines and are bro­ either U.S. Highway 64 or the Missouri-Pacific Rail­ ken by normal faults striking generally east-west. The struc­ toad, both of which cross the three quadrangles. County tural relief, measured on the base 00: the Hartshorne Sandstone, and private roads provide 'access to most of the area. is about 1,600 feet. The Arkansas River also crosses the three quadrangles, Natural gas, coal, building stone, road metal, gravel, sand, and clay are of commercial importance in the area. The reported and part of Dardanelle Reservoir, which was formed potential production of gas (Oct. 1, 1964) is about 331 million by a dam across the Arkansas River to the east, is in the cubic feet per day. The Lower Hartshorne coal bed in the Clarksville quadrangle. McAlester Formation of the Des Moines Series, which is the The elevation above sea level in the area ranges from only coal bed of economic interest, has approximately 348 mil­ about 310 feet, near the southeast corner along the lion short tons of remaining reserves. Building stone has been quarried from beds of sandstone in the Savanna Formation of Arkansas River, to about 910 feet, near the northwest the Des Moines Series and can probably be obtained from beds corner, in sees. 34 and 35, T. 10 N., R. 26 W., and sec. 3, of sandstone in the other exposed formations. Sources of road T. 9 N., R. 26 W. metal are abundant and include outcropping sandstone, terrace The diverse land forms of the area, both erosional deposits, and alluvium. Gravel and sand are available in the and depositional, have resulted from the erosion of the terrace deposits and alluvium, and clay can be most readily obtained from beds of shale. folded and faulted sedimentary rocks. Mesas, buttes, questas, resequent fault-line scarps, anticlinal ridges, INTRODUCI'ION and synclinal valleys are the most common erosional This report is one of a series being prepared by the forms, and terraces are the prevalent depositional form. U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Arkan­ The drainage patterns are mainly dendritic. The smaller sas Geological Commission. The purpose of these re­ streams are usually either resequent or longitudinal ports is to describe the geology and provide information subsequent; the larger streams, Horsehead and Spadra pertinent to the exploitation of mineral resources. Creeks, may be in part superposed. The Arkansas River This report is also distributed as Arkansas Geological is probably mainly resequent. Commission Informntion Circular 20-H. Reports by Collier (1,907), Croneis (1930), and Haley The Coal Hill quadrangle is in Franklin, Johnson, (1960) contain general descriptions of the geology in and Logan Counties, Ark., and the Hartman and Clarks­ the Coal Hill, Hartman, and Clarksville quadrangles. ville quadrangles are in Johnson and Logan Cotmties. This report was also influenced by the work of Hen­ The three quadrangles are contiguous and are bounded dricks and Read ( 1934), Hendricks, Dane, and Knechtel C1 C2 GEOLOGY OF THE :ARKANSAS VALLEY COAL FIELD I --------1I POINSETT I I ----.--_1_--,-d I t CROSS I ,J 1 CRITTENDE~~ ___ __J__l _~~] _____ _j) -:I ... ~ LEE { .._,.:,.~ ,,)~ ----\'-...-:\ ) ~ I ~ PHILLIPS ) $ -~ ~ .,..~~ ~ EXPLANATION ~ r--'- .... "-C;> (............, "." C;>C;> t"' Area of this report I -..., I ~ HEMPSTEAD I Area of other reports I I in this series I I • s<~\ ~---1 I Boundary of physiographie TEXAS ~ 1:: 7---r----t_ province! MILLER .. E-< I ! ~ r :Boundary of physiographic ASHLEY sectionL >~ ::: I 3__ ~_L l Physiographic divisions from Fenneman and .JuhPson ( 19-H;) LOUISIANA I 0 25 50 MILES \ '--------'---'---'--'---'------·1 FIGURE 1.-Location of report area (H, c) and areas of previ­ quadrangle (Haley, 1966) ; E, Knoxville quadrangle (Mere­ ously published chapters of Arkansas Geological Commission wether, 1967); F and a, Greenwood