< 557 IL6b (^ ^>^ no. 97 GEOLOGY OF THE GOREVILLE QUADRANGLE Johnson and Williamson Counties, Illinois Russell J. Jacobson Department of Energy and Natural Resources ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 97 1992 ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 'II llll II II, III I I I I I II 3 3051 00000 0079 GEOLOGY OF THE GOREVILLE QUADRANGLE Johnson and Williamson Counties, Illinois Russell J. Jacobson Contributions by Steven P. Esling and Thomas A. Leonard, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and Leon R. Follmer, Illinois State Geological Survey *.* BULLETIN 97 1992 ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Morris W. Leighton, Chief 615 East Peabody Drive Champaign, Illinois 61820 Cover photo Pounds Sandstone Member, Caseyville Formation, in Feme Clyffe State Park. Printed by authority of the State of Illinois /1992/ 1200 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv ABSTRACT 1 INTRODUCTION 3 Location 3 Climate and Land Use 3 Topography 4 Geologic Setting 4 Previous Studies 4 STRATIGRAPHY 7 Mississippian System 7 Kinkaid Limestone 7 Mississippian-Pennsylvanian Contact 7 Pennsylvanian System 7 Caseyville Formation 7 Wayside Member 8 Battery Rock Sandstone Member 9 Drury Member 10 Pounds Sandstone Member 11 Tradewater Formation 11 Lower Tradewater Formation 12 Feme Clyffe shales and sandstones 12 Cedar Creek sandstone lentil 13 Lake of Egypt shales and sandstones 14 Murray Bluff Sandstone Member 15 Upper Tradewater Formation 16 Bethlehem sandstone lentil 17 Quaternary System 17 Surficial Geology 17 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY AND MINERALS 20 Minerals 20 Coal 20 Oil and Gas 20 Limestone 20 Sand and Gravel 20 REFERENCES 21 APPENDIXES 23 Appendix A Description of Rock Strata 23 Description of Measured Sections 23 Graphic Columns of Cores 29 Appendix B Oil Test Holes in Study Area 30 Summary of Formation Tops from ISGS Sample Study 30 Interpretation of Formation Tops from Geophysical Logs 31 Appendix C Analytical Data on Coal 32 Figures 1 Cooperative Geological Mapping Program, March 1992 3 2 Map showing the Goreville and surrounding 4 quadrangles 3 Geologic setting 5 4 Stratigraphic column of strata exposed in the Goreville 6 Quadrangle 5 Typical quartz pebbles in Battery Rock Sandstone in 8 Happy Hollow 6 Typical exposure of the Omar sandstone lentil of the 9 Wayside Member showing crossbedding 7 Battery Rock Sandstone bluff in Feme Clyffe State Park 9 in Happy Hollow 8 Typical exposure of the Dutchman Creek sandstone 10 lentil 9 Cliff of Pounds Sandstone in Feme Clyffe State Park 11 10 Pounds Sandstone along an Interstate 24 roadcut 11 11 Typical exposure of the Cedar Creek sandstone lentil 13 12 Example of abundant trace fossils in the Cedar Creek 14 sandstone 13 Shale at the base of the Cedar Creek sandstone 14 14 Good trace fossils (Zoophycos) in the Cedar Creek 15 sandstone 15 Shale (Lake of Egypt member) below Murray Bluff 15 Sandstone 16 Correlation chart of named coals found in the lower 16 Pennsylvanian of the Illinois Basin 17 Old adit in unnamed coal in Lower Tradewater 17 Formation 18 Exposure of Murray Bluff Sandstone in spillway of Lake 17 of Egypt 19 Typical exposure of the Bethlehem sandstone lentil 17 20 Quaternary stratigraphy of the Goreville Quadrangle 18 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The U.S. Geological Survey, under the Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (COGEOMAP), provided significant support for the research re- ported in this publication. Annual grants from 1985 through 1991 provided partial funding for the project, Geologic Mapping Along the Southern Clo- sure of the Illinois Basin. The geologic mapping of sixteen 7.5-minute quadrangles and the publi- cation of quadrangle maps (1:24,000 scale) and accompanying reports were the objectives of this project. The bedrock geology was mapped by geolo- gists of the Illinois State Geological Survey; the Quaternary geology was mapped by graduate students of Stephen P. Esling, Department of Geol- ogy, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. ABSTRACT The Goreville Quadrangle is in stone. Shale and siltstones increase south-central Williamson and north- upward; the sandstones become central to northwestern Johnson more lithic, feldspathic, and mica- Counties, Illinois. The quadrangle ceous. Coal beds are rare, lenticular, is also near the southern edge of and associated with claystones. the Illinois Basin, and the bedrock Glacial till of Illinoian age (Glas- strata dip gently 1° to 5° north- ford Formation) covers parts of the northeast. Part of the Little Cache uplands in the northern quarter of Creek Fault Zone crosses the south- the quadrangle. Residuum (Oak east corner of the quadrangle. Formation), colluvium (Peyton For- Sedimentary rocks ranging from mation), and loess (Loveland Silt- Upper Mississippian (Chestei ian) Illinoian, Roxana Silt-Altonian, and to Middle Pennsylvanian (lower Peoria Silt-Woodfordian) mantle the Desmoinesian) age are exposed in uplands throughout the Goreville the quadrangle. The Mississippian Quadrangle. The Holocene Cahokia strata are restricted to the south- Alluvium occupies portions of the western corner of the quadrangle stream valleys. where up to 110 feet of the Kinkaid Coal was extracted from the Limestone is exposed. The Kinkaid study area in small slope and drift consists of limestone, shale, and mines during the early part of the claystone. The contact with the century. The coals (found in the Pennsylvanian rocks is marked by lower Tradewater) are discontinu- a significant unconformity. Penn- ous and lenticular and do not offer sylvanian strata are found through- much prospect for mining, except out the remainder of the Goreville perhaps to small local operators. Quadrangle and are subdivided Exploration has produced neither into two formations, the Caseyville oil nor gas; finding any significant and Tradewater. These strata (rang- oil and gas resources in the area is ing from 540 to 620 feet thick) con- unlikely. Substantial resources of sist primarily of sandstone, silt- limestone are present in the south- stone, shale, and minor amounts western part of the quadrangle in of coal and limestone. The basal the Mississippian Kinkaid Lime- portion of the Caseyville and lower stone. Active quarries are immedi- Tradewater Formations are primar- ately south of the Goreville quad- ily quartzose sandstones interbed- rangle. ded locally with gray shale and silt- Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/geologyofgorevil97jaco INTRODUCTION Exploration for and development of and cottages around Lake of Egypt. averages 14 inches per year (Fehren- petroleum, coal, and other mineral Other roads are surfaced largely bacher and Walker 1964). resources benefit from detailed geo- with gravel and are generally pass- Forests cover approximately one- logic mapping. For example, much able in all weather. third of the Goreville Quadrangle. of the oil production in the Illinois Native trees are mainly oak, hick- Basin comes from lower Pennsylva- Climate and Land Use ory, and other hardwoods. Logging nian strata (Howard and Whitaker The climate of southern Illinois is is conducted on private land and in 1988) exposed along the southern warm and temperate. Average tem- the Shawnee National Forest. Many closure of the Illinois Basin. Knowl- peratures at New Burnside, Johnson farms (particularly those in the gen- edge of the coal resources of the County (6 miles east of the Goreville tly rolling uplands) cleared by set- lower Pennsylvanian is being ex- Quadrangle) are 35° F in January to tlers are abandoned and returning to panded significantly as a result of 79° F in July. Average rainfall is 45 forest. Cattle raising is the principal the ongoing Cooperative Geologic inches per year; late summer to farm activity today. Corn, soybeans, Mapping Program (COGEOMAP) early fall is the driest, and spring is winter wheat, sorghum, and hay are between the Illinois State Geological the wettest part of the year. Snowfall cultivated on rolling uplands in the Survey (ISGS) and the U.S. Geologi- cal Survey (USGS). The program in- cludes 15 quadrangles (fig. 1) and has been partially funded by the USGS since early 1985. The drought of summer 1988 highlighted the necessity for new water resources to be developed in southern Illinois. The new geologic quadrangle maps, including the Goreville 7.5-Minute Quadrangle map, should provide information on the occurrence of lower Pennsyl- vanian sandstones, which may be >^5£l!i? important aquifers. This descrip- tive report is a supplement to the ' Altenberg bedrock geology map of the Gore- A Bloomfield ville Quadrangle. B Much of the mapping in the Gore- CB Cobden Creal Springs ville Quadrangle has been at a scale \ CS Eddyville of 1:62,500, and the data presented \ ED are no longer adequate. These ear- / EQ Equality lier maps are based on limited infor- / GL Glendale mation and use nomenclature that is GV Goreville now obsolete. GR Gorham JB Jonesboro Location LC Lick Creek |-:-:-:-:-| Published before 1968 The Goreville Quadrangle is in M Makanda south-central Williamson County J Published in 1986, 1990, and 1991 MC Mill Creek and north-central to northwestern R Rudement |H Production in progress, to be published in 1992 Johnson County (figs. 1 and 2). This S Shawneetown compilation rural area includes only one town, Mapping and completed, ST Stonefort under review Goreville (population, 978). T Tamms Two U.S. Interstate Highways (I- Mapping completed, compilation in progress TH Thebes 57 and 1-24) traverse portions of the W Waltersburg Mapping in progress quadrangle. Other paved highways WL Wolf Lake Limit of and roads include Illinois Route 37, Pennsylvanian System Illinois Route 148, several east-west -""*— Major fault county roads, and numerous roads that connect the residences, cabins, Figure 1 Cooperative Geological Mapping Program (COGEOMAP), March 1992. northern part and on bottom lands along streams throughout the quad- rangle. A swath of the Shawnee National Forest crosses the Goreville Quad- rangle east to west, but the majority of land is in private hands. The U.S. Forest Service holds much of the for- ested land.