Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1953 Correlation of the Miocene of the Florida Panhandle With the Western and Central Gulf States. Harbans Singh Puri Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Part of the Earth Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Puri, Harbans Singh, "Correlation of the Miocene of the Florida Panhandle With the Western and Central Gulf States." (1953). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 8043. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/8043 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CORRELATION OP THE MIOCENE OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE WITH THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL GULF STATES A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The School of Geology by Harbans Singh Purl B. S ., Lucknow U n iv e rsity , 19^5 Ju n e, 1953 UMI Number: DP69421 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. IJMI Dissertation Publishing UMI DP69421 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. 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LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY A a s | I I 3 ii %*ill ^ I I r4 11 i *«© i *i 0* i* 11 4* H * S i 9 i * s' ? 111 *it O jiJw ^ « H 1 3 JS 1 3 f4* t I 0 a 8 $a t ■ 4* •3f *© I 1 !I CD £ &o 1 s « v t CO ** 1 <k I a 1 ti CD Si 2 Sf a |O 1 %o i a a A* | i 1 I S . * i -i £ s I 1 S 2 I a s O w *n * | f 4» - I a M f| ?1 *E i a 1 it® 1 * 8 ! H A 3 1 s!!i I I i i» . * .I l! 9 1• I § it 1 4* g * a t* > M II" I I h %4 1 5 * I II 1 S a O & * It5 1& 0 ft H 8 I 4 * 6 S fls I| 1 * I S I I * ill 5u 1 I V: Sever*! auger hole* trsre d* rills* in WashingtonI County to | ] M g * solely responsible for the conclusions reache* in this i I I 1 n w riter tabus or coraorrs Page i m m x m m ........................................ «... x n m m sitopi «*«««**»«***«•»*«.»»»•*•«%»«»»«**»*.•.««*•«•3 TAMPA STAGS .................................*............ 3 Taapa f o r m a tio n * .......................... 3 him surr s iitra ............................... 6 Alta Bluff group .............. 6 Chlpola foraation ........... 9 Shoal River formation IS Oak Grove maker .................. Is* CHOCTAWSATOTB STAGE ................ .............. ......... .. 16 Choctaafcatchae formation ................ l6 toUia facies ...................... 10 Area facies ... m m ................. 19 Senhora faciea ................... S3 HISTORY OF DEPOSITION, ........ 2 6 PACKS.................... ♦.............. .............. S3 Taiqpa Stage ......... ............... m m * 29 Alua Bluff Stage ........................................... 31 Hawthorn fac iea ........................ 31 Chipola facies . 32 Qafc Grove faciea ............. 3s iv Shoal HIzer facies ♦.......... .. ..........*• *♦ 3& Choetavhatchee Stage .........* ............ • 33 Yoldia faciea .......................... 33 Area faciea *•.....*..... *......... 33 Kcphora faciea .. ♦ • *......................................................... 33 Cancellaria facias ........ ......... 33 cossmmm h o t thk ckhthal ma w m m gulp siatks 35 L0H8R MIOCSNS ............ .................................. 33 Chicassuhay limestone ............................. ♦................. 35 Fejrnes Hammock sand 33 mmsc fm wnos............................... * ........... 3T Uiecorbia, Heteroato^lna> and Marglnulina z o n e s ................... .............. 37 Marglnulina zone species * • 39 Heterosteglna sons species 39 gjgcortola zone species ............... 39 m uses warns xxocsse zcans ................................. ko Urlgcrina llrettensic zone ............. 40 HARASG FAUHA ............ 40 StACKXSH MXDfll MXOCBSE 20RK3................... k l Fotsaddes aatsoai zone ............. k l JPoraalnifera ......... k l O stracoda k l smtoocsx .......... k2 Baogla jQhn*otti-4a.orangia alcroiolmaonl zone ... k£ Forminlfera ............... k® Ostracoda ........... 42 ▼ WCJtfJTEBS BIBLIOGRAPHY tA zm a Table X Correlation of the Miocene Section of the Florida Panhandle with the Section need in this Article .........,... .................................. ...... h XX Fauniz^nes In the Subsurface Equivalent of the Catahoula (Frio and Anabatic) 3^ in Correlation of Miocene Section of the Florida Panhandle vith the Veetern and Central Gulf States .. H r l l TiMwWnuiiAfliis V * TIOtfTO IlflT A V C Page Text Figure 1 Biagrsmatlc Sferatigraphic Section Along A A 1 Shoving Suggested Facies Terminology . * <, 30 P la te X L o c a lity Nap o f P o rtio n o f th e F lo rid a Panhandle together vith Lines of Sections — In pocket XX Stratigraphic Section B B* —in pocket m BtratigpspMc Section A Av —In pocket XT Stratigraphic Section C C' —In pocket C h a rt X Distribution of Poraminifera In the Miocene of the Florida Panhandle — In pocket n Distribution of Ostracoda In the Miocene of the Florida Panhandle — In pocket m i ABSTRACT In the standard Motion of the Miocene of western Florida* there has boon considerable doubt no to the sequence of tho various formations* This doubt may be attributed to tho scattered nature of outcrops* end the homogeneity of the sediments* leek of date on the strike* dip* thickness and structure of these beds* Stratigraphy van based entirely on supposed fauna! evolutions* disregarding biofacies* lithotepes and biotopes* The p re s e n t stu d y embraces Okaloosa* Walton* Holmes* Washington* Bay* Jackson* Calhoun* Gulf* Liberty* Franklin* Gadsden* Leon* and Wakulla counties* Samples from 58 outcrops* twenty auger holes and two water wells were studied* S trati- graphic sections and faunas of the Miocene of the Florida panhandle indicate the presence of a number of llthofacles and blofaeies* which are a measure of recurrence of similar conditions and are reflected in both the lithology and fauna* Such similar depositlonal types are considered as stages while the dissim ilar components within the stages are designated as facies* These lithologlc and biologic patterns resulting from shifts in time and space distribution of environments coincide with the formatlonal boundaries* Three stages a re reco g n ised (Tampa* Alum B lu ff and Choctawhatchee)* 12 The Tampa S tage in c lu d e s in p a rt th e "low er" Miocene se d i­ ments In the Florida panhandle and it* equivalents in the central and western Gulf State** the type area 1 b near Tampa Bay, th e famous Ballast ft>int locality la now largely covered and on Slxmlle Creek at Orient, Hillsborough County# Florida* the stage Includes all sediments deposited between post-fleksburg and pre-Alua Bluff Agee* la the Florida panhandle# two lithofaeies are recognised! a cal­ careous St* Harks facies and a silty Chattahoochee facies* the Alum Bluff Stage embraces a ll sediment* of post-Tampa sad pre-Cboetawhatchee Age ("middle* Miocene) in the Florida pan­ handle and their equivalents in the central and western Gulf States* The type locality is Alum Bluff# liberty County# Florida* In the Florida panhandle# four lithofaeies# Ghipola# Oak Grove# Shoal Elver and Hawthorn are recognised within the Alum Bluff Stage* The Choetawhatchee Stage includes a ll Miocene sediments of post-A lu Bluff Age in the Florida panhandle and their equivalents in the central and western Gulf States. The type locality is in the vicinity of Bed Bay# Walton County# Florida* In the Florida pan* handle# four faunel facies# Yoldla, Area* Bcphora and CanceHaria are recognized within the Stage* The lithofaeies recognized here are considered to be formations while the faunal facies are considered to be zones* In both instances# however# faunas basically determine age equivalence of the sediments* The detailed stratigraphy and paleontology of these deposits w ill be presented in a forthcoming bulletin of the Florida Geological Survey* z CORRELATION OF THE MIOCENE Of THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE with thb western m > central atm* states INTRODUCTION The Miocene rocks of Florida have been studied by several noted geologists. Earlier work of aost pioneer geologists was exploratory; seme of then considered these rocks to be of upper Eocene1*® or Ollgoeene age.3 Their age determinations sere based on erroneously Identified fossils* Very little vas known in regard to stratigraphy vhleh was almost entirely based on paleontology* This was due partly because of the rarity end scattered nature of outcrops of the Miocene and partly because of the homogeneous nature A. Conrad* "Obserrations on the geology of a part of Bast Florida; with a catalogue of Recent Shells of the Coast," American Journal of Science, End Ser., Vol. X (I 8b 6 ) , p p . 36 A 8 . , "Description of new species of organic remains from the tapper Eocene limestone of Tanpa Bay," American Journal of Science» End Ser., Vol.