Geology of the Chandler River Region, Alaska By ROBERT' L. DETTERMAN, ROBERT S. BICKEL, and GEORGE GRYC EXPLORATION OF NAVAL PETROLEUM RESERVE NO. 4 AND ADJACENT AREAS, NORTHERN ALASKA, 1944-53 PART' 3, AREAL GEOLOGY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 303-E This report is based on fieldwork by Robert L. Detterman, Robert S. Bickel, George Gryc, Edward J. Webber, Donald E. Mathewson, William W. Patton, Jr., Karl Stefansson, Robert E. Fellows, Robert M. Chapman, Calder T. Bressler, Lawrence A. Warner, and Charles E. Kirschner Prepared and published at the request of and LCll~lR<~~~ in cooperation with the U.S. Department of BUREAU OF MINt~i the Navy, Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil L..tBRAR't SPOi\ANt1. ~ASH. Shale Reserves JUN 2 i971 ~ifASf ttfTURN 10 liBRARY UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1963 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C., 20402 CONTENTS Page Stratigraphy-Continued Page Abstract------------------------------------~------ 223 Quaternary system-Continued Introduction_______________________________________ 223 Glacial deposits_____________________________ 301 J... oclttion and size of area________________________ 223 Killik River _________ ~ __________ ~_______ 302 Previous work__________________________________ 224 Anaktuvuk, Kanayut, and Nanushuk Riv- Present investigations___________________________ 224 ers__________________________________ 303 Expioration _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ 226 Itkillik River___________________________ 303 Accessibility and trn.nsportaqtion _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ 226 Fluviatile deposits__________________________ 303 Geologic methods___________________________ 226 High-level terraces ____ ..:_________________ 303 Climate___________________________________ 227 Alluvium______________________________ 304 Population ____ -----________________________ 228 Loess deposits______________________________ 304 Acknowledgments_______________________________ 228 Vertebrate remains__________________________ 305 Geologic history_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ 306 Phy~ographY------~------------------------------- 228 Structure__________________________________________ 307 Arctic Foothills province_________________________ 228 Chandler River structural high___________________ 307 Arctic Coastal Plain province____________________ 228 Chandler synclinorium__________________________ 307 Stratigraphy,_ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 229 Hawk anticline _____________ ..,_______________ 308 Lower Cretaceous rocks_________________________ 231 Grandstand anticline________________________ 309 Big Bend anticline__________________________ 309 Fortress Mountain formation_________________ 231 Torok formation____________________________ 233 Fossil Creek, Umiat, and Gubik anticlines_____ 310 Nanushuk group____________________________ 236 Seismic reflection profiles________________________ 311 Gubik anticline_____________________________ 311 Tuktu formation________________________ 237 Umiat anticline_____________________________ 311 Chandler formation_____________________ 243 Killik tongue _________________'______ 243 Fossil Creek anticli~e_______________________ 311 Grandstand formation___________________ 254 Grandstand anticline area____________________ 312 Ayiyak anticlinorium________________________ 312 Upper Cretn.ceous rocks ____________ -. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ 25 7 Economic geology________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 312 Nanushuk group____________________________ 257 Petroleum_____________________________________ 312 Chandler formation ________ :...____________ 257 Gubik gas field ________________ ""____________ 3'13 Niakogon tongue___________________ 257 Umiat anticline_____________________________ 313 Ninuluk formation______________________ 261 Fossil Creek anticline_______________________ :313 Colville group_----_________________________ 268 Big Bend anticline__________________________ 314 Seabee formation_______________________ 269 Grandstand anticline________________________ 314 Shale Wall member_________________ 269 Hawk anticline_____________________________ 314 Ayiyak member____________________ 275 Ayiyak anticlinorium________________________ 315 Prince Creek formation__________________ 278 Coal__________________________________________ ~15 Tuluvak tongue____________________ 279 Killik River________________________________ 317 Schrader Bluff formation_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ 284 Colville River______________________________ 317 Rogers Creek member_______________ 284 Chandler River_____________________________ 318 Barrow Trail member_______________ 287 l(anayut River_____________________________ 318 Sentinel Hill member________________ 293 Anaktuvuk River___________________________ 319 Prince Creek formation__________________ 298 Benton~e______________________________________ 319 Kogosukruk tongue_________________ 298 Source of place names_______________________________ 319 Quaternary system______________________________ 300 References cited_ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 320 Gubik formation____________________________ 300 Index_____________________________________________ 321 III IV CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in separate volume] PLA~E 27. Geologic map and sections of the Chandler River region, ~Iaska. 28. Type section of Torok formation. 29. Columnar sections of Tuktu formation. 30. Microfossil chart of Nanushuk and Co~ville groups. 31. Fence diagra·m of Tuktu, Chandler, and Grandstand formations. 32. Columnar sections of Grandstand formation and Killik tongue of Chandler formation. 33. Columnar sections of Ninuluk formation and Niakogon tongue. 34. Fence diagram of Upper Cretaceous. 35. Columnar sections of Seabee formation. 36. Columnar sections of Prince Creek and Schrader Bluff formations. 37. Structure-contour map and section of Hawk and Grandstand anticlines and east end of Big Bend anticline. 38. Structure-contour map of parts of Gubik, Umiat, and Fossil Creek anticlines. 39. Seismic profiles of Gubik .anticline. 40. Seismic profiles of east end of Umiat anticline. 41. Seismic profiles of part of Fossil Creek anticline. p 42. Seismic profiles of Ayiyak anticlinorium and Grandstand anticline. Page FIGURE 33. Index map of Chandler River region ___ :--------------------------------------------------------------- 224 34. Index map showing relation of field mapping to photogeologic mapping____________________________________ 225 35. Diagrammatic section for Chandler River region ________ -----_------------_--___________________________ 230 36. Index map of localities of measured sections in the Chandler River region ________________________________ ..:. 231 37. Columnar sections of Fortress. Mountain formation_____________________________________________________ 232 38. Part of type locality, Torok formation_________________________________________________________________ 234 39. Tuktu Bluff, showing type locality of Tuktu formations_________________________________________________ 237 40. Type locality, Killik tongue _________________ ,__---_-_-----------------------_- _____________________ _,__ 248 41. Part of type locality, Grandstand formation ____________ -----------------_-____________________________ 254 42. Part of type locality, Niakogon tongue __ -- ______ ---------------------------------- ________ --__________ 258 43. Type locality, Ninuluk formation ________________ -------------------------____________________________ 261 44. Part of type locality, Shale Wall member_ _____ ----------------------------------_- _______________ ---__ 270 45. Shale "boils" ________________________________ ---------------------------------_-_-__________________ 270 46. Limestone concretions_______________________________________________________________________________ 271 47. Part of type locality, Ayiyak member_ ________ --------------------------------------_-_--_____________ 275 48. Schrader Bluff______________________________________________________________________________________ 279 49. Basal conglomerate of Tuluvak tongue---------------------------------------------------------------- 280 50. Periglacial stream channels and ground moraine ___ -_-_-----------------------_- _____ - ___ -______________ 302 51. Thermokarst lakes and loess ______________ - _- ----_--------------- -------------------- __ ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 305 52. Basal conglomerate of Ninuluk formation ____ --------------------------------------------_-____________ 308 53. Map of the Chandler River region showing occurrence of coaL-----_- __ --________________________________ 316 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Weather data for Arctic Foothills province for periods May 1 to September 1, 1948 to 1953 _________________ _ 227 2. Gradients of rivers in the Chandler River region _______________________________________________________ _ 229 .... 3. Megafossils of the Tuktu formation __________________________________________________________________ _ 244 4. Plant fossils of the Killik tongue _____________________________________________________________________ _ 254 5. Megafossils of the Grandstand formation _____________________________________________________________ _ 257 6. Plant fossils of the Niakogon tongue _________________________________________________________________