University of Kentucky UKnowledge Kentucky Geological Survey Map and Chart Kentucky Geological Survey 2002 Carboniferous Stratigraphy in the Vicinity of the Daniel Boone National Forest Donald R. Chesnut Jr. University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits oy u. Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kgs_mc Part of the Geology Commons Repository Citation Chesnut, Donald R. Jr., "Carboniferous Stratigraphy in the Vicinity of the Daniel Boone National Forest" (2002). Kentucky Geological Survey Map and Chart. 27. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kgs_mc/27 This Map and Chart is brought to you for free and open access by the Kentucky Geological Survey at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kentucky Geological Survey Map and Chart by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. https://doi.org/10.13023/kgs.mc29.12 KENTUCKY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MAP AND CHART 29 James C. Cobb, State Geologist and Director Series XII, 2002 UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, LEXINGTON Hill Top, Ky. ft ft 1,300 Day Ridge at 1,200 Ridge WE Sandstone ft Big Cutoff Dutch sandstone Corbin Branch Carboniferous Stratigraphy in the Vicinity of the Daniel Boone 1,300 Barren ft WE sandstone Fork Pine Creek Sandstone overlook ft quarry at coal coal Natural Sandstone 1,200 1,100 { Arch Ky. 1193 Pine Creek Day Ridge Barren Fork coal 1,400 Tennessee Marshes Branch National Forest Highway Sandstone Sandstone Dupont 297 1,100 Tongue of Corbin Lodge 1,200 Rockcastle le 1,300 t sandstone Rockcastle Sandstone Rockcastle branch Rockcastle 1,100 Sandstone 1,000 Ss. South Fork Sandstone of Donald R. Chesnut Jr. of Spruce sandstone Rockcas Cumberland 1,200 ? ? Creek 1,000 Cumberland ? River River Beaver Creek coal 1,100 Beaver Creek coal © 2002 by Kentucky Geological Survey, cutoff 1,000 University of Kentucky branch 1,100 900 Elevation South Fork of of Stearns No. 2 coal Gulf Fork Pine Creek Sandstone Barren Cumberland Elevation Fork Yamacraw Barren Fork coal 1,000 River 900 1,000 coal Bridge 900 Stearns coal zone Alvy parking Wilder (Stearns No.1½) coal zone Fentress Fm. parking lot Creek lot 800 (=Alvy Creek Fm.) parking lot parking 900 Stearns No. 1½ coal zone Formation Mid-Carboniferous unconformity Alvy Creek Formation Introduction may be present at the top of the Borden and at the base of the Slade Formation BridgeBridge at Leatherwood at Leatherwood FordFord Rockcastle Sandstone 900 Lake Cumberland 800 Alvy Creek Formation (in the Renfro Member). Sable and Dever (1990) and Meyer and others (1997) 800 800 Middle Carboniferous strata on the western margin of the Eastern Kentucky 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Paragon Formation Thousands of feet Mid-Carboniferous unconformity Mid-Carboniferous unconformity Falls water level 700 Coal Field crop out along a northnortheast-trending belt sometimes referred described the Fort Payne in more detail. below falls 0 1,000 Paragon Formation Cumberland Outcrop 1. Leatherwood Ford. Big South Fork of the 800 Alvy Creek Formation ft to as the western belt of outcrop of the central Appalachian Basin. This belt Paragon Formation 700 Slade Formation Cumberland National Recreational Area, Tennessee 700 0 1,000 also coincides with the Daniel Boone National Forest. These rocks are important 0 1,000 Outcrop 5. London Boat Dock section. Transect The Upper Mississippian Slade Formation is composed largely of limestone 297, Honey Creek 7.5-minute quadrangle, Scott 0 1,000 ft because they contain coal, oil, and groundwater, and helped create the ruggedly County, Tenn. This outcrop is not on the cross section. ft along Kentucky 1193, Sawyer 7.5-minute with a few interbeds of thin shales or dolostones. The Slade Formation, made ft quadrangle, Laurel County, Ky. This outcrop is beautiful canyons, rapids, falls, and arches in the national forest and nearby Outcrop 3. Day Ridge. Natural Arch Scenic Area, Nevelsville 7.5-minute quadrangle, McCreary County, Ky. formal by Ettensohn and others (1984), comprises several members, but only Outcrop 2. Yamacraw Bridge to Hill Top, This outcrop is not on the cross section. Outcrop 4. Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. Cumberland Falls 7.5-minute quadrangle, McCreary and Whitley Counties, Ky. not on the cross section. state parks. This report describes the general stratigraphy of these Carboniferous the Mt. Vernon member and the Poppin Rock Member are shown at this scale. Kentucky. Kentucky 92, Barthell 7.5-minute rocks, and is designed to assist stratigraphers, coal geologists, forest managers, quadrangle, McCreary County, Ky. The Mt. Vernon (of Chesnut, 1992b) is an informal unit that conveniently groups science educators, and geology students. the thick limestones in the Slade that occur below the Poppin Rock Member. Two cross sections were constructed using two different types of information. The Mt. Vernon is equivalent to the limestones collectively referred to as the Information for the western cross section (AA´) came from outcrop descriptions Big Lime by drillers. The Poppin Rock is a blue-gray limestone darker in color (measured sections) and geologic maps, and was supplemented with sparse than the limestones of the Mt. Vernon. It is equivalent to the Bangor Limestone elevation of E Bernstadt Livingston Mount Vernon quadrangle quadrangle quadrangle overlook at 5 subsurface data (borehole descriptions and drillers logs and geophysical logs of southern Kentucky. The Slade thins to the north, where it was erosionally ft W Bee Rock E 6 F Pulaski County Laurel County Laurel Rockcastle 5 ft OVERPASS 8 from oil and gas wells). The eastern cross section (BB´) was designed to truncated during the middle Carboniferous. In the northernmost part of the 1,100 W E County County 5 5 Corbin 5 1400 4 Sand Hill 7 5 Sandstone make the best use of subsurface data such as the numerous records from oil study area, it is absent in places. sandstone and gas wells that penetrated the middle Carboniferous rocks at depth; few EXIT 59 The Slade carbonates were formed in a range of environments from shallow 1300 outcrop data were available for the eastern section. Sea level was the datum 1,000 Corbin Ss. open-marine to supratidal, in settings similar to those of the present-day h coal bed 5 9 for both cross sections. 4 EXIT 49 Halsey Roug Rockcastle 9 Bahamian Platform. Sandstone Corbin Sandstone, Lee Formation Rockcastle River 1200 Because of the rugged topography and the forest cover, much of the study 4 900 8 5 Hazel Patch sandstone 3 Livingston The Slade is the largest source of industrial and agricultural limestone and 5 New Wood Creek Lake, Dam Wood ed area is difficult to access. Cross sections of some important outcrops in state 0 Breathitt Formation coal b lime in eastern Kentucky. In the subsurface, the Slade (Big Lime) is an important 1100 Hazel Patch sandstone parks and other scenic areas are shown in insets. The locations of these 5 Stearns coal zone unconformity reservoir for oil. The largest cave systems in Kentucky (for example, Mammoth Alvy Creek 1 5 outcrops are shown on the cross sections and on the location map. 800 sandstone and shale 2 Formation A Cave, Sloans Valley Cave, Great Saltpeter Cave, Carter Caves) are also in Mid-Carboniferous Rockcastle Ss. reference datum unconformity 1000 0 Rockcastle River Stratigraphy the Slade Formation or equivalent units. y. 8 K ne ) Rockcastle Sandstone rmation esto Stratigraphic nomenclature for the Carboniferous and Upper Devonian strata Fo ation ) an Lim ocline Paragon Form ewm 700 tion (N Paragon Formation 900 ( Pennington orma Paragon Fm lade F follows that formalized by Chesnut (1992b). For more detailed descriptions, mber, S k Me Mount Vernon Mon The Paragon Formation, made formal by Ettensohn and others (1984), is Roc consult 7.5-minute geologic quadrangle maps published jointly by the U.S. Breathitt Formation Poppin composed of Upper Mississippian shales, siltstones, sandstones, thin limestones, 60 ft Ramey Creek Tygarts Creek Mill Knob Members, 800 Slade Formation ( Newman Limestone ) Geological Survey and the Kentucky Geological Survey. The particular quadrangle 600 1 mi bell Members ) Borden Formation and dolostones. Many of the shales are red and green. The Paragon was 0 cy, Cow that covers a particular segment of each cross section is indicated at the top 0 1 2 3 mi Ste. Genevieve Limestone, Slade FormationRenfro Member, Slade Formation an previously mapped in the study area as the Pennington Formation. Chesnut St. Louis Limestone, Slade Formation Gap, N of the section. County names are shown below quadrangle names. Geologic 700 ildie, Halls (1992b) formally placed the Paragon Formation in the Pennington Group, which ( W quadrangle maps may be purchased at the Kentucky Geological Survey. Outcrop 7. The Narrows of the Rockcastle River. Bee is recognized in other states in the central Appalachian Basin. The Paragon Outcrop 6. Laurel River Lake Dam site. Sawyer 7.5-minute quadrangle, Laurel and Whitley Counties, Ky. For more detailed descriptions, see Greb and Chesnut (1989a). Rock Recreational Area, Ano 7.5-minute quadrangle, Outcrop 8. Billows area. Cross section along Ky. 80, Billows 7.5-minute quadrangle, Laurel and Laurel and Pulaski Counties, Ky. Pulaski Counties, Ky. For more detailed descriptions, see Greb and Chesnut (1989a, b) and Dever Chattanooga and Ohio Shales is erosionally truncated throughout the western belt of outcrop (see Chesnut, and others (1990). Outcrop 9. Series of roadcuts along Interstate 75. Bernstadt, Livingston, and Mount Vernon 7.5-minute quadrangles, Laurel and Rockcastle Counties, Ky. From The Chattanooga and Ohio Shales consist largely of Upper Devonian and 1988). It is locally absent in the northern part of the study area.