Carboniferous Geology of

the Eastent United States

St. Louis, Missouri to Washington, D.C.
June 28-July 8, 1989

Field Trip Guidebook T143

Editors:
C. Blaine Cecil and Cortland Eble

Leaders:
C. Blaine Cecil, James C. Cobb, Donald R. Chestnut, Jr.,
Heinz Damberger, and Kenneth J. Englund

American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C.

 Copyright 1989 American Geophysical Union

2000 Florida Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009

ISBN: 0-87590-647-8

Printed in the United States of America

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ~ •••••••••••••••••• ix
Overview the Mississippian in the Illinois basin ••••••••••••••••••••• 1
Stop 1 - Warsaw Shale, Ullin Limestone and Salem Limestone
of the Va1meyeran Series •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9
Stop 2 - Salem Limestone of the Va1meyeran Series •••••••••••••••• 11
Stop 3 - Ste Genevieve Limestone and Aux Vases Sandstone ••••••••• 13
Stop 4 - Haney, Hardinsburg and Glen Dean Formations of the
Chester Series •••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••.•••••••• 14
Stop 5 - Glen Dean Limestone, Tar Springs Sandstone and
Vienna Limestone of Middle Chesterian ••••••••••••••••••• 14
The Pennsylvanian of the southern Illinois basin ••••••••••••••••••••• 17
The Nature of the sub-Pennsylvanian unconformity •••••••.••••••••••••• 17
Overview of the Pennsylvanian in the Illinois basin •••••••••••••••••• 20
Stop 6 - A marine sandstone within the Abbott Formation of
Atokan age •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 26
Stop 7 - Mississippian - Pennsylvanian unconformity •••••••••••••• 28
Stop 8 - Walshville channel deposits and Herrin Illinois
No.6 coal bed •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 30
Stop 9 - Tidally-influenced deposits of Early Pennsylvanian
age •••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 30
Stop 10 - Deltaic deposits of Early Pennsylvanian age,
Caseyville Formation •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 33
Pennsylvanian age, Caseyville Formation •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 33
Carboniferous rocks of Kentucky •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 38
Stop 11 - Alternating Upper Mississippian terrestrial and
marine sequences •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 39
Stop 12 - Economically important Springfield (Kentucky
No.9) coal bed and distributary sandstone •••••.••••••.• 43
Stop 13 - Pa1eos1ump along the upland unconformity surface •••••••• 44
Stop 14 - Channel-fill at regional unconformity surface ••••••.•••• 47
Mammoth Cave ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 50
Stop 15 - Bioclastic biostrome in starved basin ••••••••••••••••••• 51
Stop 16 - Borden Delta and platform carbonate transition ••••••••.• 52
Stop 17 - Platform carbonate environments •••••••••••••••••••••••.• 54
Pennsylvanian rocks of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field ••••••••••••••• 57
Stop 18 - Unconformity and Lower Pennsylvanian depositional
features •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 60
Resource perspectives of coal in Eastern Kentucky ••••••.••••••••••••• 64
Stop 19 - Magoffin Member and channel facies •••••••••••••••••••••• 66
Stop 20 - Pennsylvanian fluvial environments •••••••••••••••••••••• 68
Stop 21 - erevas se splay • • • • •• • • •• •• ••••• •• •• • • • • • • • • •• • • • • ••• •• • •'71
Stop 22 - Distributary mouth bar •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 73
Stop 23 - Compaction ratios, tonstein and channel erosion ••••••••• 75
Stop 24 - IIModel Cityll river diversion cut •••••••••••••••••••••••• 78
Stop 25 - Lee Formation and Pine Mountain thrust fault •••••••••••• so
Origin of coal deposits and associated rocks in the
Carboniferous of the Appalachian basin ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 84
Stop 26 - Mississippian - Pennsylvanian transitional strata ••••••• 89
Stop 27 - Pocahontas exhibition mine •••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••• 89
Stop 28 - Stony Gap Sandstone Member •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 90
Stop 29 - Little Stone Gap Member ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 90
Stop 30 - Upper Mississippian Princetone Sandstone, Pride
Shale Member and Glady Fork Sandstone •••..•••••••••••••• 91
Stop 31 - Change in Mississippian - Pennsylvanian strata;
change in paleoclimate across the boundary •.•••••••••••• 93
Stop 32 - Middle Pennsylvanian Kanawha Formation •••••••••••••••••• 95
Stop 33 - Back-barrier facies of the Lower Pennsylvanian •••••••••• 97
Stop 34 - New River gorge bridge overlook .......•...•.....•.....•• 97

v
Contents (continued)
Stop 35 - Lower Pennsylvanian New River Formation ••••••••••••••••• 97
Stop 36 - Middle Pennsylvanian Charleston Sandstone and
Kanawha Formations •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 100
Stop 37 - Upper Pennsylvanian Monongahela Group strata •••••••••••• 101
Stop 38 - Upper Pennsylvanian Conemaugh Group strata •••••••••••••• 103
Stop 39 - Monongahela Group strata; Redstone coal bed
shale/coal transition ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 105
Stop 40 - Conemaugh Group strata; fossiliferous Ames
Limestone/shale, Harlem and Elk Lick coal beds •••••••••• 107
Stop 41A- Allegheny Formation - Conemaugh Group boundary,
Upper Freeport and Mahoning coal beds ••••••••••••••••••• 108
Stop 418- Unnamed marine zone/coal bed in Middle
Pennsylvanian Pottsville Group •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 109
Stop 41C- Mississippian - Pennsylvanian boundary •••••••••••••••••• 110
Stratigraphic variation in bulk sample mineralogy of
Pennsylvanian underclays from the central Appalachian basin •••••••• 112
Plants, coal and climate in the Pennsylvanian of the central
Appalachians ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 118
A petrographic evaluation of environments of accumulation of
the Pocahontas No.3 coal bed in southern West Virginia •••••••••••• 127
Palynology, petrography and paleoecology of the Hernshaw-Fire Clay
coal bed in the central Appalachian basin •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 133
References ••••••••••••• ~ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 142

vii
 PREFACE
This guidebook was prepared for a
field trip to be conducted prior to the
commencement of the 28th International
Geological Congress, convened in
Washington, DC, July 1989. The purpose
of this field trip is to examine the
geologic factors that controlled the
deposition of Carboniferous rocks in the
Illinois and Appalachian basins, with
emphasis being placed on basinal
tectonic evolution, sedimentation, and
paleoclimate. Throughout the trip,
lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic
correlations between the Illinois and
Appalachian basins will be stressed in
order to provide continuity between the
two areas. In addition to this,
geochemical conditions of sedimentation
and peat formation will be illustrated
and discussed on the basis of the
stratigraphic and regional distribution
of chemical sediments, including coal
beds. The important Mississippian/
Pennsylvanian (mid-Carboniferous)
boundary, and the sedimentological,
paleobotanical and paleoclimatic changes
associated with it, will also be
emphasized.
Part 1 of the trip will visit
outcrops in the Illinois basin (Illinois
and western Kentucky). Part 2 will
focus on the evolution of the
Appalachian basin in eastern Kentucky.
The economically important eastern
Kentucky coal field, a major producer of
low-ash, low-sulfur, high-rank coal,
will be on display during this part of
the trip. Part 3 will extend into
southwestern Virginia and southern West
Virginia to examine the most complete
section of Carboniferous strata in the
eastern United States, an area which has
facilitated the establishment of a
IIPennsylvanian System stratotype ll
section. Stratigraphic and
sedimentological patterns in the
stratotype area will be shown and
compared with the areas previously
visited. Part 3 will also extend into
northern West Virginia, where
sedimentological, paleobotanical,
paleoclimatic and stratigraphic
interrelationships between the Dunkard
(northern West Virginia) and central
Appalachian (southern West Virginia and
eastern Kentucky) sub-basins will be
examined.
This trip is the result of, and was
made possible through the efforts of
many organizations and individuals. We
ix
wish to thank the authors affiliated
with the Illinois State Geological
Survey, Champaign-Urbana, and the
Indiana Geological Survey, Bloomington
and Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale, who provided the overview
articles and stop descriptions for the
Illinois portion of the trip. They are,
in alphabetical order: Allen Archer,
James Baxter, Heinz Damberger, Joseph
Devera, George Fraunfelter, Richard
Howard, Russel Jacobson, Erik Kvale,
John Nelson, Rodney Norbey, Beverly
Seyler, and John Utgaard.
From the Kentucky Geological Survey,
Lexington, we wish to recognize the
efforts of the following people who
contributed to the Kentucky portion of
the trip. They are: Donald Chesnut,
Jr., James Cobb, Garland Dever, Jr., and
Stephen Greb.
For arranging stops 32 and 36 through
41 for the West Virginia portion of this
trip, we would like to thank Bascombe
(Mitch) Blake, William Grady, and Alan
Keiser of the West Virginia Geological
and Economic Survey, Morgantown, and
Alan Donaldson and William Gillespie,
West Virginia University, Morgantown.
In addition, Richard Winston of the
Alabama Geological Survey is to be
thanked for a contributing article.
From the United States Geological
Survey, Reston, Virginia, we wish to
thank Frank Dulong, Cortland Eble, and
Ronald Stanton, who contributed articles
and stop discussions.
C.B. Cecil
J.C. Cobb
D.R. Chesnut, Jr.
H. Damberger
K.J. Englund
 28th INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL CONGRESS FIELD TRIP T143
JUNE 28-JULY 8, 1989
CARBONIFEROUS GEOLOGY OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

Edited by:

C. Blaine Cecil and Cortland Eble

U.S. Geological Survey
Reston, Virginia

Field Trip Leaders:

C. Blaine ceC~ll
James C. Cobb jnd Donald R. Chesnut, Jr. 2
Heinz Damberger
Kenneth J. Englund l

IU.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

2Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, Kentucky
3Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois
 OVERVIEW OF THE MISSISSIPPIAN IN THE ILLINOIS BASIN
J. Treworgy and R. Norby
Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, Illinois
At the end of the Middle Devonian, an
increase in orogenic activity to the
east of the Illinois basin resulted in
deposition of siliciclastic mud (New
Albany Group) from Late Devonian (Upper
Devonian Series) into Early
Mississippian time (Kinderhookian
Series). Overlying the Kinderhookian
Series are the Valmeyeran and Chesterian
Series, representive parts of which will
be shown at our stops.
The Mississippian System (fig. 1)
includes carbonate and siliciclastic
rocks that were deposited over an period
of about 35 million years. These rocks
underlie most of central and southern
Illinois and the western portions of
Indiana and Kentucky. These strata are
thickest, over 975 m (3200 ft), in
southernmost Illinois (fig. 2). Uplift
further south of the east-west trending
Pascola arch during Mesozoic time
(Marcher and Stearns, 1962) closed the
basin, giving it its present
configuration. Prior to this event, the
basin was a broad cratonic embayment
with open ocean to the south.
Mississippian strata thin northward to
less than 425 m (1400 ft) before being
truncated by erosion that preceded the
deposition of Pennsylvanian and younger
strata. ' (700 ft) towards the northeastern source
The Mississippian is by far the
greatest hydrocarbon-producing system in
the Illinois basin. Most of the
production is from sandstones in the
Upper Mississippian Chesterian Series.
The major source rock is shale of the
Devonian-Mississippian New Albany
Group. No coal beds of economic
importance are known.
Valmeyeran Series
The Valmeyeran Series (Swann, 1963)
is named after the town of Valmeyer,
Monroe County, southwest Illinois, an
area where much of the series is exposed
(fig. 1). It is the middle series of
the Mississippian System (fig. 2) and
underlies most of central and southern
Illinois. The Valmeyeran series is
thickest, over 540 m (1800 ft), in
southeastern Illinois, and thins
T143: 1
northward to 180 m (600 ft) or less
before being truncated by erosion in
northern Illinois. Originally, it may
have covered all of northern Illinois,
as 60 m (200 ft) of Valmeyeran strata
are preserved in fault blocks in the Des
Plaines Disturbance near Chicago.
By early Valmeyeran time the
south-central part of the Illinois Basin
area was relatively deep (300 m [1000
ftl) and sediment-starved (Lineback,
1969, 1981), while a prograding
carbonate bank developed on the western
and northwestern shallow shelf (fig.
3). The carbonate bank is thought to
have been 60 to 90 m (200 to 300 ft)
above the basin floor. During
Burlington Limestone and Keokuk
Limestone deposition, a major river
system, which built the Borden delta
(Ausich and others, 1979; Shaver and
others, 1986), spread sediment south in
Indiana and southwest along the foot of
the carbonate bank in Illinois. Some
sediment spread west across the shallow-
water shelf in western Illinois forming
the Warsaw Shale (STOP 1), effectively
ending carbonate deposition there (fig.
3b, c). The Borden delta consists of
predominantly and clay-rich siltstone;
it reaches a maximum thickness of 210 m
area in Indiana.
Deposition of the Borden delta
expanded the area of shallow-water
shelf, but did not fill the entire basin
(fig. 3b) (Cluff and Lineback, 1981).
Fine-grained carbonate sediment and,
later, coarser-grained carbonate
sediment, was carried from the shelf
into the deeper portions of the basin in
southeast Illinois and westernmost
Kentucky (Fort Payne Formation and Ullin
Limestone) (fig. 3b, c).
As carbonate production and
downslope transport proceeded, the shelf
area continued to expand until a
shallow-water carbonate environment was
reestablished across the southern part
of the Illinois basin toward the end of
Ullin Limestone deposition (fig. 3b,
c). This environment prevailed during
deposition of a few hundred meters of
the overlying Salem, St. Louis, and Ste.
Genevieve Limestones (STOPS 1 and 2).
 The Salem and St. Louis Limestones
are more persistent across the basin
than are underlying units, and facies
indicate varying water depths. The
Salem varies from grainstone-packstone
and wackestone-mudstone in the southern
part of the basin to predominantly
grainstone-packstone in a shoreward
direction. It eventually grades
laterally shoreward, and upward into
fine-grained evaporite-bearing
carbonates (mudstone and wackestone) of
the St. Louis Limestone (Linehack,
1972). The upper contact of the St.
Louis with the overlying Ste. Genevieve
Limestone is stepped up and down in
response to local lithologic changes.
The Ste. Genevieve is characterized by
diverse carbonate facies with limited
T143: 2
lateral extent. Facies range from
coarse-grained oolitic-skeletal
grainstone and packstone to dense
skeletal wackestone and carbonate
mudstone. Depositional environments
include shallow, high-energy carbonate
sand shoals with low-energy lagoonal and
open marine areas of lime mud deposition
and are similar to those found in the
Salem Limestone. The oolitic grainstone
in the Ste. Genevieve is a major oil pay
zone in the basin; coarser facies in the
Salem also produce in some areas. The
fine-grained limestone and dolomite beds
of the St. Louis have been interpreted
to represent deposition in shallow
subtidal to supratidal, highly
restricted environments (Cluff and
Lineback, 1981).
 The macrofaunas of the Va1meyeran
series are distinctive. Large
spiriferids and productids are
characteristic. Syringothyris is common
along with the Spirifer rimesi
(Bur1ington)-Spirifer 10gani Keokuk)
lineage. Marginirugus magnus marks the
highest part of the Keokuk and the lower
parts of the Warsaw Shale. Several
bryozoans are characteristic of the
Warsaw; Lioc1ema punctatum and
Archimedes wortheni are common index
fossils. Spirifer bifurcatus, ~.
washingtonensis, and ~ 1ittoni are
characteristic of the Salem Limestone.
The St. Louis faunas are somewhat
restricted. The corals, Acrocyathus
pro1iferum and B. f1oriformis
f1oriformis, are common in some
facies. The main brachiopods are
Spirifer 1ittoni and Dictyoclostus
tenuicostatus. Linoproductus ovatus is
common in some uppermost beds.
The Ste. Genevieve Limestone has two
main index species, the crinoid
Platycrinites penicillus and the
distinctive brachiopod Pugnoides
ottumwa. In addition, Orthotetes
kaskaskiensis, which is common, first
appears in the formation and continues
into the Chesterian. Diaphragmus
cestriensis appears in the upper part.
Spirifer pellaensis is relatively
common. Additional macrofauna are
listed in Collinson and others (1981).
Six conodont zones have been
proposed for the middle Mississippian
(Valmeyeran) rocks in the upper
Mississippi River Valley (Collinson and
others, 1971). Although some
differences exist between these zones
and zones proposed for other parts of
the world, they are very useful for
inter- continental correlation of
strata.
A provisional foraminifera zonation
for the Illinois basin (Baxter and
others, 1979), consists of six zones for
the middle Mississippian. Four of these
zones occur in the upper Warsaw through
St. Louis Formations. These zones are
very useful for age determination and
correlation because these formations
have abrupt facies shifts. The
foraminifers show direct correlation
with Visean rocks in western Europe.
Chesterian Series (fig. 1)
Chesterian Series rocks (fig. 1) in
the Illinois basin are limited in their
T143: 3
extent to the southern half of Illinois
(fig. 2), southwestern Indiana, and.
western Kentucky. They reach amaXlmum
thickness of about 430 m (1400 ft) in
southernmost Illinois, near the
erosional margin of the sequence. The
series thins northward because of
depositional slope and pre- to Early
Pennsylvanian erosion. Excellent
descriptions of the Chesterian
stratigraphy are presented in Swann
(1963) and Willman and others (1975).
Marine conditions that prevailed in
the Illinois basin during Valmeyeran
time were interrupted periodically by
deltaic progradations from the Canadian
Shield, located to the northeast during
Chesterian time. A few of these
transgressive-regressive cycles have
been correlated with eustatic sea-level
changes on the basis of fossils
collected in the Mississippi River
Valley area (Ross and Ross, 1985). The
Chesterian Series consists of cyclically
alternating shallow marine carbonate and
siliciclastic rocks, and deltaic
siliciclastic rocks (fig. 1).
Lithofacies change vertically and
laterally; yet certain lithosomes, such
as the interbedded shale and carbonates
typical of the Haney Formation in the
eastern part of the basin (STOP 4),
commonly persist laterally across the
basin with only gradual changes in
thickness (fig. 4). Sandstones of the
Chesterian generally occur as lenticular
tidal bars, fluvial-deltaic bodies or
submarine channel-fill bodies, all
commonly reworked, even though in
regional cross sections they may appear
to be blanket sandstones (fig. 4). No
major unconformities are known within
the Chesterian.
The Illinois basin was within 50
latitude south of the paleoequator
during Chesterian time (Raymond,
1985). The basin was occuppied by a
shallow epeiric sea with a low-angle
paleos10pe « 10) and low-relief sea
floor. It is further interpreted to
have been a ramp during mid-Chesterian
time and probably throughout the
Chesterian (Treworgy, 1985, 1988).
Regional thickness, facies distribution,
and crossbedding data (Swann and
Atherton, 1948; Swann and Bell, 1958;
Potter and others, 1958) indicate that
the Illinois basin had a regional slope
to the southwest and a northwest
trending shoreline (Swann, 1963,
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~ lli

FIGURE 1 Columnar section of the Kinderhookian, Valmeyeran and Chesterian Series of

Mississippian System (after Collinson, 1979; Willman and others, 1975), with key to
stratigraphic intervals exposed at Stops 1 through 5.

1964). The Chesterian shoreline as much as 320 km (200 mi), according to

probably oscillated from southwest to Swann (figs. 5 and 6).
northeast by as much as 960 to 1600 km Synsedimentary tectonism along
(600 to 1000 mi) as base level changed certain structural features (Du Quoin
(fig. 5). Siliciclastics, presumably monocline, La Salle anticlinal -belt, and
derived from the eastern Canadian Rough Creek lineament) influenced
Shield, entered the basin area from the sedimentation noticeably, separating the
northeast via a major river system, the Illinois basin into upper, middle, and
Michigan River (Swann, 1963). The lower ramp settings (fig. 7). The
Michigan River delta(s) shifted southern shelf, south of the Rough Creek
positions from northwest to southeast by lineament (fig. 7), functioned as a
T143: 4
FIGURE 2 Areal extent of the Mississippian System in Illinois. Thickness is shown
where upper Chesterian strata are present (modified from Collinson and others,
1988).

T143: 5
 a b ft
o - sea level - - - - -

300 100

Valmeyeran absent 600

- - - - - , 200

crinoidal 0--------- o
limestone
..................
. .. . . . . ... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . .

100

600
---.1....200

o --------------- 0

100

600
~-""'::..:..:.::.!:I 200

-------------- 0

300 100

600 200

ft m

200150

o 0 Springville Shale

FIGURE 3 Areal distribution (a) and stages (b) of sedimentation in early

Valmelyeran time resulting in observable rock stratigraphic relationships (c) (after
Lineback, 1966, 1968, and 1969).

shallow submarine sill partially drained to the south and southwest

separating the Illinois basin ramp from
the epicontinental sea to the south.
Chesterian deposition ended with a
major retreat of the sea, thus
concluding deposition during the
Mississippian. The upper surface of the
Mississippian throughout much of the
basin was exposed and deeply eroded by
an anastomosing fluvial system that
T143:
(Howard and Whitaker, 1988). Sediments
of the Pennsylvanian System were
deposited on this erosional surface. It
has been suggested, on the basis of
conodont work (Rexroad and Merrill,
1979, 1985; Merrill and Rexroad, 1981),
that this unconformity may have been
short-lived or was non-existent locally
in southern Illinois.
6
 A NW
.., -- _ - ~.......
~ _.. ~ ..:::!!I!!!o....
SE

Haney
~~-
.....
A.

~ ;..."",..
'~ /f T _.,..
"""'"
.
'lIlii~~

~~
~ ~"""
_. ..... ~r::::
--
~
".......:::~
.....1".. ~ ~-. ...... ~!--...
-~
8;l ,
- ~ ~.
/
~ Haney
~'-
~
~

l\ v ~~~ ~ t?-~ ~ :::'?---v~~~ ~~ ~ ~~

'-. ~ Fraileys
~~~ ~ ............
~
-~ "'~" ~?--
Fraileys ;...""" ~ ~~ :::::~
..... ~::II ~ ~-- ~: .. I~ ---~i--'"~ ~ Beech Creek
Beech Creek :~2::= /
.. .. ~ ~~k~ '" ~~ ~.

/~~ ~
.--= ~.

Cypress ~ ~. ~~~ Cypress

k< ~~ ~ D
~~
£~ rr:- ./~

,.
~ =--~ ~ .~~
oor:;..=.
~ ...--:: ~-
~~ =:;r-~ ~~~V~f'--' :;;~ ~ >=-~
Ridenhower
Paint Creek ~
- G~
... - -
::::::=: >-'---'-- ~
-
F=-
0·:--:::: ~~ ~ ==::::::=
~ Bethel
-- - - Downeys Bluff

- _ -- - ... ,.--.....
Yankeetown ::..::::= ~r- ;-""" .~
-
-
'---"-~ ~
.. ~ Yankeetown
Renault ~ .- ~
Renault
~r-::.
~~
>------.c~ ~ ..... ..... ~- "--<' ~
lo;;;,J.S::::~~·
.;=::>'--'-..
.. ~
Aux Vases
Aux Vases .,..".. - Ste. Genevieve

Ste. Genevieve
5
)

B s

Haney Haney
Fraileys/Big Clifty
Fraileys/Big Clifty
Beech Creek
Cypress Beech Creek
Cypress

o
Reelsville
Sample
Ridenhower shale
Beaver Bend
Bethel Bethel
Downeys Bluff ~_~~_=~~!ift~!!!iji!!!.~iia~==ii~==­
Downeys Bluff _limestone

Yan ~:~~~~ ~ii1~::;_~~==liiiilii;;;:;;;;Iji

Yankeetown
Renau It
ft
100
m
o sandstone
Aux Vases Aux Vases
300
r 1d siltstone
Ste. Genevieve Ste. Genevieve 200
75

50
m dolomite

17.:.~-:t·1 calcareous
100 . sandstone
25
c SW 0 10 15 mi
0 0 I I
I
I
I

Lower Kinkaid 0 10 20 km
Degonia
Clore

Palest i ne Pennsylvanian

Menard NE
Palestine
Waltersburg
Vienna--

Tar Sp ri ngs ~iilW.~.ii~J~

Glen Dean j

Hardinsburg '!3~!~~t~§~:~~~~i~~;;I~i~d~tC!~~
~ GlenSprings
Tar Dean

HaneY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11
F ra i leys Ha~iniliu~
Haney
Big Clifty Big Clifty
Beech Creek - - Beech Creek
Cypress -Cypress
Reelsville ~Reelsville
Sample ~Sample
Beaver Bend"'" Beaver Bend
Bethel Bethel
Paoli Paoli
Au>.: Vases Ste. Genevieve
Ste. Genevieve

FIGURE 4 Cross sections of Chesterian strata illustrating typical thickness and

facies changes (modified from Swann and Atherton, 1948).

T143: 7
 9~*~&~O(\.).......-- • • • • --•• • • • • • . .
::IOWA .. : /
~. ILlINcm:i
) .. OHIO

" \,J('"

~ \
\

MISSOURI
" \
I
~

(
"

:Ozark
Dome
KENTUCKY

I
. ~ ~o~ ----------------'
-- -
~~\~
---;"u00 I)
?
--~~~0G
~~~0~
~ NashvV.i:I:I
Dome
. e.. . . . . • TENNESSEE

c:) SO -/ G

o
l-.---J
50 mi E::J land areas ~ offshore tidal bars
(generalized)
c=J shallow marine
DEGONIA
YANKEETOWN
FIGURE 5 Paleogeography of the Illinois AUX VASES

Basin area during deposition of the mid-

Chesterian Fraileys/Big Clifty FIGURE 6 Diagrammatic location and
Formation. The Michigan River typically trends of Upper Mississipian sandstones
shifted its course throughout the in Illinois basin. Names in capitals
Chesterian. It had shifted as far represent principal sandstones in each
southeast during the time slice shown region. Size of arrows indicates
here as it probably ever did (Treworgy, relative sand input into basin (modified
1988; modified from Swann, 1963). from Potter, 1962).

The lower Chesterian boundary has lateral facies equivalent of the Levias
been the subject of much debate over the and perhaps part of the Shetlerville
years (Worthen, 1860, 1866; Ulrich, Members, the lower part is a facies of
1905, 1911, 1917, 1922; Weller, 1907, the Ste. Genevieve. Therefore, the
1913, 1920; Swann and Atherton, 1948; basal Chesterian boundary is much higher
Swann, 1963; Maples and Waters, 1987; stratigraphically to the east than in
Brenckle and others, 1988). Whereas the the west. Because of this, Swann (1963)
faunas of the Ste. Genevieve Limestone placed the Aux Vases in the Valmeyeran
more closely resemble faunas of the Series. There are three stages (fig. 1)
Chesterian than those of the underlying in the Chesterian (Swann, 1963) that
St. Louis Limestone, the Ste. Genevieve include these fossils: Talarocrinus,
Limestone lithologically is better Amplexus geniculatus and Pentremites
included with the Valmeyeran godoni in the lower stage (Gasperian);
carbonates. Weller (1926) places the Prismopora serratula and several species
lower Chesterian contact between the of Pterotocrinus in the middle stage
ranges of Platycrinites penicillus and (Hombergian); and Pentremites fohsi,
Talarocrinus (i.e., between the Levias Pterotocrinus menardensis, Composita
and Shetlerville Members of the Renault sUbguadrata and Eumetria costata in the
Formation). In areas where these index upper stage (Elviran). Six conodont
fossils could not be recognized, the zones proposed by Collinson and others
boundary was placed at the base of the (1971) are important for international
Aux Vases Sandstone. However, detailed correlation of Chesterian strata as are
subsurface correlation work (Swann and five foraminiferal zones for the lower
Atherton, 1948) has shown that, although and middle parts of the Chesterian.
the upper part of the Aux Vases is a
T143: 8
 ,
"P
~ IL IN
,,
{1'\

erosional limit of Haney

middle
to \
1
upper I
ramp "-v--'

gra instone-packstone,
,...--- boundary between lithofacies packstone, grainstone

a 30 60 mi
I 'I
a 50 100 km

FIGURE 7 Lithofacies and depositional environments of the Haney Limestone and their
relation to structural features in the Illinois Basin. Lithofacies are listed in
order of abundance in each area (from Treworgy, 1988).

STOP DESCRIPTIONS and carbonate mudstones and blue-gray

STOP 1 - Columbia Road Cut (fig. 8):
Warsaw Shale, Ullin Limestone and Salem
Limestone of the Valmeyeran Series
Stop Leaders: Rodney Norby, James
Baxter, and Janis Treworgy.
The middle Mississippian
(Valmeyeran) rocks exposed in this
roadcut are transitional between
sections to the north (northwestern
Illinois southeastern Iowa) that contain
Warsaw Shale and Sonora Sandstone and
Illinois basin equivalents to the east
that contain Borden Siltstone, Fort
Payne Formation, and Ullin Limestone.
At this location the Warsaw Shale
consists of alternating thin-bedded,
gray, fine- to coarse-grained
fossiliferous, argillaceous wackestones
shale. The Warsaw is laterally
equivalent to the Borden Siltstone (fig.
3c). Less than 50 km (30 mi) east of
this point, the Burlington and Keokuk
Limestones that underlie the Warsaw
pinch out basinward along a carbonate
bank front, and the Warsaw- Borden unit
thickens from 18 m (60 ft) on the
carbonate bank to more than 180 m (600
ft) in the basin. The Warsaw grades
westward from this roadcut into more
argillaceous carbonates.
The Ullin Limestone is also greater
than 180 m (600 ft) thick in places in
southern Illinois, but thins westward
across the Borden delta and the
Burlington-Keokuk carbonate bank (fig.
3c). There, the Ullin contains fine-
grained, argillaceous, skeletal
wackestone and carbonate mudstone in the
lowermost part and is transitional with

T143: 9
 SALEM LIMESTONE

5m Grainstone, as below; solution pits at top.

10 ft Grainstone, brownish gray, massive, medium grained, argillaceous; fossiliferous at

base; crossbedded stylolitic; scattered chert nodules.

Grainstone/packstone, brownish gray, fine grained, thin bedded, cherty.

o 0 Grainstone/packstone, brownish gray, fine to coarse grained, massive, shaly streaks

at top.
Grainstone/packstone, brown, very cherty.
Grainstone/packstone, brown, fin~ to medium grained, massive; very dolomitic,
weathers soft; small white calcite pockets; many small corals, bryozoans, and
brachiopods weather loose on outcrop surface.

Grainstone, brown, medium to coarse grained, medium to thick bedded; dolomitic,

vuggy at base.

Grainstone/packstone, light brown, medium to coarse grained; thin irregular beds;

cherty in upper part.

Grainstone, brownish gray, coarse grained, massive, fossiliferous; crossbedded, shaly

at base.
ULLIN LIMESTONE
\ Packstone/wackestone, brownish gray, fine grained, very argillaceous, dolomitic,
;;::;~::;'''~=':::~-=:-;;::;;'~:;d L weathers shaly; numerous pink dolomite crystal vugs.
Packstone/grainstone, gray, fine grained, argillaceous; massive beds alternate with
shaly zones; very fossiliferous with large spiriferid brachiopods; thin shell breccias.
~~±a~32S:::f;~ ~ Packstone/wackestone, gray, fine grained, argillaceous; weathers shaly; fills channels
~~;.......J,.-..."",:"""""",, ~ in unit below; pink dolomite crystal vugs.
Packstone/grainstone, gray, massive, fine to coarse grained, very fossiliferous;
weathers tan and medium to thick bedded; shaly at base; fenestrellinid bryozoans
parallel to bedding give rock a laminated appearance.

>-=:,.......L-=r~..J-r-==--....L.,..=~~ ~ Wackestone/lime mudstone, grayish buff, fine grained, very argillaceous.

WARSAW SHALE
~ Shale, gray, very calcareous, blocky.
~~:::::::I~Si:=~~~=:1

X
Wackestone, grayish buff, fine grained, very argillaceous, massive, weathers shaly,
~ with pink crystal vugs.

1
~iiilli~!i~1
)::=9===~;:::::=~~~?=~?=~ "\~
't L
Shale, gray transitional to above; vertical burrows, sand and current bedding.

Wackestone, packstone, gray, bryozoan-crinoid coquina interbedded with shale;

sandy in places with gray chert.
~~~~=;:::=iiii!i;;;;;;;;iiiiil=i~;;;;;:::~'i=i=I Wackestone, gray with thin shale interbeds.
~=-==-===-=-:::==-==-=-==~,t::Sc:~:!:.d"\ Wackstone/packstone, gray bryozoan-crinoid coquina with shale and chert, abundant
>--r=~.,.=-~=-..&.~-""'.....-""-r--'--...,.....--t " \" - brachiopods.
\. Shale, gray, calcareous blocky, thin limestone.
Packstone/grai'nstone, gray, bryozoan-crinoid coquina with some oolite, crossbedded,
gray shale interbeds, gray chert.

FIGURE 8 STOP 1 - Columnar section of part of middle Mississippian (Valmeyeran

Series) at Columbia roadcut on Rt. 3 south of Columbia, Columbia Quadrangle, Monroe
County, Illinois. SE 1/4 NE 1/4 SE 1/4 and NE 1/4 SE 1/4 SE 1/4 of Sec. 22 and SW
1/4 NW 1/4 SW 1/4 and SW 1/4 SW 1/4 SW 1/4 of Sec. 23, TWP 1 S. RNG 10 W. (after
Collinson and others, 1981).

T143: 10
 the underlying Warsaw Shale. In the
middle and upper parts the Ullin
consists of gray, fine- to
coarse-grained, somewhat argillaceous,
skeletal packstone, grainstone, and
wackestone containing abundant
echinoderm, bryozoan, and brachiopod
remains in the middle and upper parts.
In areas of thicker accumulations, the
Ullin is more dominantly a crinoid-
bryozoan grainstone (fig. 3a).
The lower part of the Salem
Limestone is exposed in this roadcut.
It consists of brownish-gray, fine-to
coarse-grained skeletal grainstone.
Cross bedding is apparent and is
especially conspicuous near the top at
the east end of the cut. Parts of the
Salem are also argillaceous and
dolomitic. The Salem has a greater
variety of fossils than the Ullin and
fossil fragments in the Salem commonly
have oolite-like overgrowths. The Salem
also exhibits other facies elsewhere in
the Illinois basin and grades northward
into the St. Louis Limestone.
This exposure is of special interest
because it exhibits the Warsaw-Ullin
contact (Warsaw-Salem of most authors)
which, until 1956, had been the official
Illinois State Geological Survey
Osagean-Meramecian boundary for more
than 30 years. Rexroad and Collinson
(1965) studied Warsaw-Salem conodonts in
this area and reported faunas from the
entire section. Gnathodus texanus and
Taphrognathus varians dominate the
faunal assemblages. Both occur
throughout the section, but G. texanus
is most abundant in the very-
argillaceous sediments whereas T.
varians is abundant in the limestones.
There is no sharp differentiation
between the Warsaw and Salem conodont
faunas here.
Foraminifera are present at several
places in the section. The Warsaw has a
distinctive fauna throughout. It
contains Endothyra obsoleta, ;. prisca,
Archaediscus sp. and Tetraxis sp. The
Ullin Limestone contains few
foraminifera, but the Salem has abundant
Globoendothyra baileyi in the lowermost,
uppermost, and middle beds, where they
generally are accompanied by the algae
Aoujgalia and Stacheia.
Brachiopods are common to abundant
in the limestone beds at this
location. Syringothyris sUbcuspidata,
Brachythyris subcardiformis and Spirifer
T143: 11
washingtonensis are common species. In
addition, fossil bryozoans are also
common. Snyder (1984) has made an
exhaustive study of the bryozoans in the
Warsaw Shale in this area.
STOP 2 - Ouarry of Ouality Stone Co.
south of Waterloo (fig. 9): Salem
Limestone of the Valmeyeran Series
Stop leaders: Rodney Norby and James
Baxter
A section of the middle
Mississippian (Valmeyeran) Salem
Limestone is well- exposed in this
quarrry. Although the type section of
the Salem occurs on the eastern side of
the Illinois basin, the dominantly
fossiliferous grainstone lithology
generally can be traced around the
basin. Unfortunately, neither an upper
nor a lower contact is present in this
section, but a comparison of thickness
and lithology with outcrop sections a
few miles to the southwest suggests that
this is a nearly complete section. The
base of this section may overlap with
the Salem exposed in the roadcut at STOP
1, but it has not been possible to
correlate individual beds due to facies
changes.
In this area, the Salem Limestone
consists primarily of fine- to medium-
grained fossiliferous grainstone;
dolomite, dolomitic limestone, oolitic
grainstone, and chert are common and
occassional sandstone, evaporites, and
siliciclastic mudshale also occur. Beds
of carbonate mudstone, typical of the
overlying St. Louis Limestone, appear
sporadically through the upper part of
the section. These beds illustrate the
lateral gradation of the upper part of
the Salem with the lower part of the St.
Louis Limestone in this general area
(Lineback, 1972; Cluff, 1984). Thus,
beds that are believed to be of the same
age (based on electric log marker beds
and conodont micro-fossils) that may be
assigned to the Salem in this area, may
be assigned to the lower part or even to
the upper part of the St. Louis in the
Alton, Illinois area, approximately 75
km (45 mil to the north. In the Alton
area, the Salem and lower part of the
St. Louis are represented by the same
conodont zone--the Taphrognathus
varians-Apatognathus Zone. This zone
 5 m-
I I SALEM LIMESTONE
I I
Grainstone/packstone, light brownish gray, very fine grained to coarse grained,
bioclastic, minor lime mudstone, beds 15-50 cm thick; partial recrystallization; fossils
10 ft
J I I
include bryozoans, brachiopods, pelmatozoan columnals, branching corals (? Syrin-
gopora).
I I I
/ Covered
,(11 I
I
I
I
Packstone/grainstone, light brownish gray, fine grained, beds 10-30 cm thick; partial
recrystallization, fossils present.
0- 0
/ Limestone, crystalline, light greenish gray, very fine grained, dolomitic, glauconitic,

I I
/ / / /
I I
1!/;r
~ r porous, beds 10-30 cm thick.
I I Dolomite, crystalline, light olive gray, weathers to darker gray band, fine to very fine
grained, porous, 65-cm thick bed.
Grainstone/packstone, light brownish gray, weathers tan and contrasts with gray band
above, fine to very fine grained, 80-cm thick bed; partial recrystallization .
.....J/ Mud shale, siliciclastic, greenish gray, predominantly silt sized, slightly calcareous,
y ~ laminated, 5-cm unit.
~ Mudstone, lime, light brownish gray, laminated (algal?), 18-cm bed; partial recrystalli-

~
I I I I zation; minor fossil debris.
1c=:> I 1 Packstone/grainstone/lime mudstone, light brownish gray, lithographic to medium
I I~l J grained, 10-cm bed.
I~ 1 1 Grainstone/packstone, light brownish gray, fine to coarse grained, bioclastic, stylolitic,
1'-1 IDI

~
some grain size variation in alternating laminations, ·some lime mudstone bands,
minor amounts of chert, faint crossbedding, beds 30-80 cm thick; fossils include
I I I I bryozoans, corals and brachiopods.
I I I I
Mudstone, lime, light brownish gray, sublithographic to lithographic, a few fine
c:=::. c::::::»
\ bioclasts, 40-cm bed.
Grainstone/packstone/?wackestone, greenish gray, fine to coarse grained, some very
I I I fine-grained to silt-sized siliciclasts, 3-cm bed; partial recrystallization.
I I I I Grainstone/packstone, light brownish gray, very fine to medium grained, occasional
dolomitic lime mudstone beds, minor chert beds near top, beds 5-45 cm thick, some
_ _ _ beds recrystallized; fossils include productoid brachiopods and bryozoans.
I I I r I
I I I I

I 1 1 Grainstone/packstone, light olive gray to light brownish gray, very fine to medium
grained, dolomitic" glauonitic, pyritic, stylolitic, occasional wackestone layers, beds
1 I I I 15-cm to 2-m thick, many beds recrystallized; fossils include brachiopods, bryozoans,
and pelmatozoan columnals.

I I
I I
/ /
I I
I I~ Limestone, crystalline, light olive gray, very fine grained to silty, dolomitic, finely
_ _ disseminated pyrite grains, porous, beds 15-cm thick.
I
/ / / Limestone/dolomite, crystalline, light brownish gray, very fine grained, laminated
I ~ (algal?), some fine bioclasts, beds 25-cm thick.

III I
I II Grainstone, light brownish gray, fine to coarse grained, bioclastic, oolitic, stylolitic,
I I I I some fossiliferous lime mudstone in upper part, beds 30-cm to 1.2-m thick; fossils
include brachiopods and calcareous foraminifers.
I I I
I I I I / Grainstone to lime mudstone, brownish gray, medium grained to sublithographic
bioclastic, stylolitic, some siliciclastic mud shale partings, one 5-cm siliciclastic mud
shale bed at top, beds generally 15- to 30-cm thick; partial recrystallization.
~ Limestone, crystalline, greenish gray, very fine grained to silty, dolomitic, finely
~ disseminated pyrite, one 10- to 20-cm bed.
I I I I I I Grainstone, brownish gray, fine grained, bioclastic? stylolitic, some glauconite and
T 1 1 1 1 ~ pyrite, faint cross bedding, beds 20- to 80-cm thick.
I 1 I 1 1 1
I~I I I
~ 0;;;;

1c::::>1 ~I Grainstone/packstone, light brownish gray, fine to very fine grained, bioclastic
I glauconitic, stylolitic, cherty, beds 5- to 15-cm thick; partial recrystallization.
J
./
~

FIGURE 9 STOP 2 - Columnar section of the Salem Limestone (middle Mississippian

Valmeyeran Series) at Quality Stone Company Quarry. An operating quarry in the
Salem Limestone about three miles southeast of Waterloo, NW 1/4 and NE 1/4 of Sec.
8, TWP 3 S., RNG 9 W., Monroe County, Illinois (R.D. Norby and J.W. Baxter, based on
field work in 1988).

T143: 12
occurs throughout most of the section
here except for the uppermost part which
contains the Apatognathus scalenus-
Cavusgnathus Zone. This latter zone
only occurs in the upper part of the St.
Louis Limestone in the Alton area.
The Salem grainstone is comprised
predominantly of fine fossil hash;
larger fossil fragments include
brachiopods, bryozoans, corals,
pelmatozoan stems, vertebrates, and
plants. Microfossils include abundant
foraminifers, conodonts and algae.
This quarry represents a typical
moderate-sized operation for the area.
Various grades of aggregate are produced
"-".:'.
~. -.: ...~~.;
:.-.
and some units meet top highway
specifications for road material.
STOP 3 - Barbeau Hollow (fig. 10): Ste.
Genevieve Limestone and Aux Vases
Sandstone
Stop leaders: Beverly Seyler, James
Baxter, and Rodney Norby
At this stop, an erosional
unconformity exists between the Ste.
Genevieve Limestone, below, and the Aux
Vases Sandstone above. The Ste.
Genevieve is a fine-grained,
thin-bedded, cherty packstone-wackestone
on the north side of Barbeau Hollow, in
. ;:.
contrast to exposures on the south side
of the hollow (.25 km (0.15 mil away at
:>: .~.:,:
the Modoc Rock Shelter) where the Ste.

~:
Genevieve is a chert-free oolitic
::;'
f ~
grainstone.
"

'.:::
AUX VASES
SANDSTONE
Sandstone, yellowish brown,
fine grained, medium to thick
crossbedded units; truncates
some upper thin beds of the
Ste. Genevieve Limestone.
f~~~X~
:\z:.,:.:.~;:.,: .B<" 5m
"':
\/ :<
10 ft
o 0
STE. GENEVIEVE
LIMESTONE
T
Packstone-wackestone, light
gray to gray, fine grained,
darker colored chert nodules
present, particularly near top.
FIGURE 10 STOP 3 - Columnar section of
the upper part of the middle
Mississippian (Valmeyeran Series) at
Barbeau Hollow. NW 1/4 SE 1/4 SW 1/4 of
Sec. 26 (extended), TWP 5 S., RNG 9 W.,
Randolph County, Illinois (after
Collinson and others, 1981).
T143: 13
The Aux Vases Sandstone at this
location is a yellowish-brown, fine-
grained, well-sorted, massive,
crossbedded sandstone, which attains a
maximum thickness of almost 30 m (100
ft) in this general vicinity. Most
sedimentation units of the Aux Vases are'
crossbedded, with only a few ripple
marks occurring. Crossbedding dip
directions are remarkably uniform in
this area suggesting deposition by a
unidirectional current flowing toward
the southeast (Potter, 1962a). These
characteristics indicate that the Aux
Vases is an elongate type sand body in
this area. Over a larger area, the
character of the Aux Vases changes
markedly and crossbedding gives way to
ripple marks as the dominant sedimentary
structure. The bedding becomes more
horizontal and the Aux Vases thins to
only a few feet of sandstone, or
locally, to grades into shale. Load
casts, well-oriented groove casts and
other sole marks are abundant.
Although this'outcrop is not
representative of the Aux Vases
elsewhere in the basin, the Aux Vases
Sandstone marks the beginning of
siliciclastic influx into the Illinois
basin, an influx that ended middle
Mississippian (Valmeyeran) carbonate
accumulation. The Aux Vases has
produced more than 1/2 billion (10 9 )
barrels of oil and is still a major
exploration target. Production is from
discrete lenticular sand bodies
interpreted as tidal channels or
offshore sand bars oriented by tidal
currents.
Three general facies are observed
across Illinois and Indiana in the Aux
Vases and have been mapped in the
subsurface. Near the Indiana-Illinois
border, the Aux Vases is predominantly a
shallow marine carbonate. West of the
Indiana-Illinois border, in a productive
band approximately 100 km (60 mi) wide,
the Aux Vases consists of siliciclastics
deposited in an offshore tidally
dominated environment. There
thicknesses of offshore sandstone bars
and tidal sandstone channels rarely
exceeds 11 meters (35 ft). In western
Illinois the Aux Vases Sandstone
thickens dramatically and can exceed 45
m (150 ft). Well data are sparse in
this area; therefore, this facies and
its relation to overlying Chesterian
sandstones is not well understood.
STOP 4 - Abandoned Quarry of Randolph
Stone Co. near Roots (fig. 11): Haney,
Hardinsburg and Glen Dean Formations of
Chesterian Series
Stop leaders: Janis Treworgy, James
Baxter and Rodney Norby
This stop is located on the western
shelf of the Illinois basin, a tectonic
feature that is separated from the
relatively deeper part of the basin to
the east by the Du Quoin monocline (fig.
7). The western shelf appears to have
been somewhat higher during Haney
deposition and has been interpreted as
an upper ramp depositional setting
(Treworgy 1985, 1988) (fig. 7).
The Haney Limestone in this quarry
consists primarily of light gray
oolitic, skeletal grainstone and
packstone with two large dolomitic
packstone lenses. The lower one-third
of the section is composed of muddier,
skeletal wackestone and packstone that
is variably oolitic. The general
decrease upward in mud content and
corresponding increase in oolites
indicate a shallowing trend during Haney
deposition, a trend that has been
observed in the Haney basin-wide
(Treworgy 1985, 1988). The dolomitic
lenses probably represent the muddier
back-bar areas that were preferentially
dolomitized. Similar features are
present in outcrops of the Haney in
southwestern Indiana on the east side of
T143: 14
the basin in a middle to upper ramp
setting (fig. 7). Weathered surfaces
reveal crossbedding.
In the middle and lower ramp
depositional settings located to the
east, limestone in the Haney typically
is interbedded with, and grades
laterally into fossiliferous shale.
The Haney Limestone also has a
gradational contact with the underlying
calcareous Fraileys Shale.
Good macrofossils can be collected
from the large blocks of Haney Limestone
on the quarry floor. The Haney has been
sampled at this location for conodonts
by Rexroad and Jarrell (1961). They
showed that most beds within the Haney
contain 11 to more than 30 specimens per
kilogram. The fauna is dominated by
Cavusgnathus unicornis with uncommon
occurrences of Gnathodus bilineatus, G.
girtyi and Lochriea commutata. -
The overlying Hardinsburg Formation
consists of dark-gray shale and one
prominent argillaceous packstone-
grainstone unit with dark chert nodules
in the upper part. The Hardinsburg
rests conformably on the Haney here. In
other areas within the basin this unit
cuts down into the Haney.
The Glen Dean Limestone conformably
overlies the Hardinsburg and is a
medfum- to coarse-grained, slightly
crossbedded grainstone. Grain size in
some of the beds varies in a rhythmic
fashion which gives the rock a laminated
appearance upon weathering.
STOP 5 - Coles Mill road cut, Il Rt. 3
south of Chester (fig. 12): Glen Dean
Limestone, Tar Springs Sandstone and
Vienna Limestone of the middle part of
the Chesterian Series.
Stop leaders: John Utgaard, Beverly
Seyler, Rodney Norby, James Baxter and
Janis Treworgy
This section stratigraphically
follows the section of the previous
stop. The Tar Springs Sandstone is
well-developed at this outcrop, being a
mature, well-sorted quartz arenite. In
other places, however, the formation
consists entirely of siltstone and
shale. Many of the features
characteristic of the Chesterian and
Pennsylvanian sand bodies can be
observed here. Load casts, ripple
marks, crossbedding, animal burrows and
tracks, parting lineations, and shale
 5m
GLEN DEAN LIMESTONE
Grainstone, light brownish gray, medium to coarse grained, massive,
10 ft slightly crossbedded, fossil debris; base partly covered.

Covered interval

o
HARDINSBURG FORMATION
_....L---~
_-------.L--
---L ---..l....
__ -------.L----
_ ---.L.- __ -- -
_ _ _ _ L-- Shale, light brownish gray, calcareous, shaly limestone in places; blocky
-------L -----.L - - ~
_ ---L- _ _ -- to thin bedded downward, fossiliferous.
~­
-----L _ ~ __

Grainstone-packstone, dark gray to brownish gray, medium to coarse

grained, argillaceous in lower parts; chert, black with white silicified fossil
fragments.

Shale, dark gray to olive gray, calcareous, bryozoans and brachiopods

common; lower part covered.

HANEY LIMESTONE

asp (detailed lithologies determined from thin sections; G = grainstone, P =

~-----'-------.-----'_____r---'------,------"---.-----'--,-----l packstone, W = wackestone, a = oolitic, S = skeletal)
OSG
)---.L---,-------I..----,-----'---r-----L-,---'--,-------'-----i Grainstone-packstone, light gray to light brownish gray, fine to medium
SOG,OSP grained, some coarse beds, oolitic and crossbedded; fossiliferous in upper
~---L._____.-----'-------..----'---.------'---,---------'------r-----1
part.
OSG
~-----r------l_____.-----.l_--,----'---r---L----,------'-__/

}----,-------L--,~-----,----L----,--------L---.--------'---,-----\
OSG
SP
(Wedge) Packstone, brownish gray, weathers orange, dolomitic, fine grained.
~.-----'-.-----""----,------'-----,------'---r-------'---,-----t OG
>------""-----T-..J-----.---l.-----,-----l..--,---------'-----,---------'--I OG Grainstone-packstone, light gray to light brownish gray, mostly medium
>---,-----'-_,-----J.----,--'------,------'-----,------'---r__/ OSG grained, oolitic, small fossil fragments.
>-----L-----.---~---,------'----..--------J-----,--'------.-----___'______l asp
(Wedge) Packstone-wackestone, brownish gray, weathers, dolomitic, fine
o SW, SP grained, some bryozoans.
>---,----,------l.-----,------'-------r-------'-----,..---I------r-----'----1

~-----'--_____r------'-_____.-----'---r-----'-------r------'-------r------I
SW
o SOP Packstone-wackestone, light gray to light brownish gray, medium grained,
variably oolitic, basal part usually covered by talus.

FIGURE 11 STOP 4 - Columnar section of the middle part of the upper Mississippian
(Chesterian Series) at abandoned quarry of Randolph Stone Co. near Roots. NW 1/4 of
Sec. 15, TWP 6 S., RNG 8 W., Randolph County, Illinois (modified from Collinson and
others, 1979).

T143: 15
 5m
VIENNA LIMESTONE

Grainstone/packstone, gray to dark gray, medium grained; several thin

irregular chert lenses; bryozoans abundant.

Grainstone/packstone, gray; one or two dark gray chert bands,

echinoderm fragments in chert.

o 0
Grainstone/packstone, gray to brownish gray, fine to medium grained;
fossiliferous, bryozoans abundant; shaly partings between beds; thin dark
gray argillaceous bed near base.

TAR SPRINGS SANDSTONE

Sandstone, very fine grained, ripple marked, small load casts.

Shale, medium dark gray, fissile.

Sandstone, very fine grained; irregular discontinuous bedding, cuspate

ripple marks, load casts; forms persistent ledge.
Shale, medium gray, laminated, silty, with numerous very fine grained
sandstone layers~ small scale load casts.
Sandstone, very fine grained, calcareous, argillaceous, irregularly bedded.

Claystone, greenish gray, slightly silty.

. .,. ..

-f~~~-~~ Sandstone, fine grained, calcareous; grades into shaly sandstone in upper
part.

....
-
... .
- - -

Shale, gray, laminated, silty with numerous siltstone interlaminations,

some beds contorted, micro-cross-Iaminated, f1aser bedding.

GLEN DEAN LIMESTONE

Shale, gray to dark gray, calcareous and fossiliferous at base grading
upwards to arenaceous.

Grainstone, gray, partly crossbedded.

Shale, gray, poorly laminated.

Grainstone, gray, oolitic, crossbedded; much echinoderm debris.

FIGURE 12 STOP 5 - Columnar section of the middle part of the upper Mississian
(Chesterian Series) at Coles Mill roadcut on Rt. 3 south of Chester. SW 1/4 NW 1/4
of Sec. 30, TWP 7 S., RNG 6 W., Randolph County, Illinois (after Collinson and
others, 1979).

T143: 16
interbeds are all common. The
depositional environment of the
uppermost sandstone at this location has
been interpreted as tidal flat on the
basis of detailed study of the trace
r
fossils (Wescott and Utgaard, 1987).
Other supporting evidence includes the
presence of herringbone crossbedding,
reactivation surfaces, ripple
lamination, etc. In general, the Tar
Springs Sandstone was deposited in
fluvial-deltaic and associated coastal
evironments with four major facies being
distinguished: cross-stratified
sandstone, horizontally bedded
sandstone, flaser and lenticular bedded
sandstone, and interbedded sandstone and
shale (Wescott, 1982).
Conodonts have been found in most of
the upper Glen Dean shale and in the top
of the lower Glen Dean shale. Conodonts
are sparse in the Vienna and are unknown
in the Tar Springs. The Glen Dean
conodont fauna here consists of more ~
than two dozen species (Rexroad, 1957). ~ - - - ..... Sub-Pennsylvanian valley

o 20
20

40
40

60
60 mi

80 km
---I.- Fault; downthrown side indicated

~ Fault lone; downthrown side indicated

~Monocline

--t-- Anticline

ISGS 1979

FIGURE 13 Drainage system in sub-

Pennsylvanian unconformity surface below
Chesterian (from Howard, 1979).

THE PENNSVLVANIAN OF THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS BASIN:

The Nature of the SUb-Pennsylvanian Unconformity
Heinz H. Damberger
Illinois Geological Survey,
Champaign, Illinois

A major worldwide retreat of the sea Mississippian (Grove Church Shale

late during Mississippian time (e.g.
Saunders and Ramsbottom, 1986) exposed
previously deposited Mississippian
sediments to subaerial erosion.
Southwest-flowing rivers carved valleys
more than 30 km (20 mi) wide and as deep
as 140 m (450 ft) into the erosion
surface (fig. 13). The amount of
erosion in the uplands between the
valleys is uncertain. For instance,
based on their conodont studies, Rexroad
and Merrill (1985) postulated continuous
sedimentation between the youngest
Member) and earliest Pennsylvanian
(Wayside Member) in southern Illinois at
the Grove Church type locality. Most
workers, however, describe the
Mississippian-Pennsylvanian boundary as
a basin-wide major unconformity with
variable degrees of nondeposition and
erosion (Siever, 1951; Bristol and
Howard, 1971 and 1974; Howard, 1979;
Jennings and Fraunfelter, 1986). The
sUb-Pennsylvanian age of sediments
increases northward from youngest
Mississippian to Silurian and Ordovician

T143: 17
interbeds are all common. The
depositional environment of the
uppermost sandstone at this location has
been interpreted as tidal flat on the
basis of detailed study of the trace
r
fossils (Wescott and Utgaard, 1987).
Other supporting evidence includes the
presence of herringbone crossbedding,
reactivation surfaces, ripple
lamination, etc. In general, the Tar
Springs Sandstone was deposited in
fluvial-deltaic and associated coastal
evironments with four major facies being
distinguished: cross-stratified
sandstone, horizontally bedded
sandstone, flaser and lenticular bedded
sandstone, and interbedded sandstone and
shale (Wescott, 1982).
Conodonts have been found in most of
the upper Glen Dean shale and in the top
of the lower Glen Dean shale. Conodonts
are sparse in the Vienna and are unknown SOUTHERN SHELF
in the Tar Springs. The Glen Dean
conodont fauna here consists of more ~
than two dozen species (Rexroad, 1957). - - • • - ....._ Sub-Pennsylvanian valley

0 20
20
40
40
60
60 mi
80 km
__I._ Fault; downthrown side indicated

~ Fault zone; downthrown side indicated

~Monocline

- f - - Anticline

FIGURE 13 Drainage system in sub-

Pennsylvanian unconformity surface below
Chesterian (from Howard, 1979).

THE PENNSYLVANIAN OF THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS BASIN:

The Nature of the Sub-Pennsylvanian Unconformity
Heinz H. Damberger
Illinois Geological Survey,
Champaign, Illinois

A major worldwide retreat of the sea Mississippian (Grove Church Shale

late during Mississippian time (e.g.
Saunders and Ramsbottom, 1986) exposed
previously deposited Mississippian
sediments to subaerial erosion.
Southwest-flowing rivers carved valleys
more than 30 km {20 mi) wide and as deep
as 140 m (450 ft) into the erosion
surface (fig. 13). The amount of
erosion in the uplands between the
valleys is uncertain. For instance,
based on their conodont studies, Rexroad
and Merrill {1985) postulated continuous
sedimentation between the youngest
Member) and earliest Pennsylvanian
(Wayside Member) in southern Illinois at
the Grove Church type locality. Most
workers, however, describe the
Mississippian-Pennsylvanian boundary as
a basin-wide major unconformity with
variable degrees of nondeposition and
erosion {Siever, 1951; Bristol and
Howard, 1971 and 1974; Howard, 1979;
Jennings and Fraunfelter, 1986). The
sub-Pennsylvanian age of sediments
increases northward from youngest
Mississippian to Silurian and Ordovician

T143: 17
 • Grove Church-Kinkaid 0 30 60 mi

0 Degonia-Menard 0 50 100 km

0 Waltersburg-Glen Dean

\:•. •·•: •·.j Hardinsburg-Renault

FIGURE 14 Paleogeologic map of the sub-Chesterian surface (unconformity) in the
Illinois Basin (from Howard and Whitaker, 1988).

T143: 18
along the northern limit of
Negli Creek

Pennsylvanian strata in the basin (fig.

14).
In many of the paleovalleys,
slumping on a large scale was caused by
the deep erosion and undercutting of
lithified Chesterian strata (STOPS 7,
13, and 14). Large slump blocks, many
of which exceed 60 m (200 ft) in
thickness, became incorporated in the
basal Pennsylvanian siliciclastics (fig.
15). Both dendritic (Siever, 1951; FIGURE 15 Slump blocks along
Potter and Siever, 1956; Potter and paleovalleys of pre-Pennsylvanian
Desborough, 1965, Sedimentation Seminar, unconformity drainage system (from
1978) and anastomosing channel patterns Bristol and Howard, 1974).
(Shawe and Gildersleeve, 1969) have been
recognized. Because of the complex
intervalley and intra-valley erosional
patterns, Howard (1979) proposed a
succession of erosional periods; each
created its own drainage pattern,
followed by aggradation. Howard sees
this as a continuation of the cyclicity
characteristic of Chesterian time. Ross
and Ross (1985) thought that they could
recognize six worldwide transgressive/
regressive episodes for the interval of
time that includes the development of
the unconformity. Thick successions of
strata apparently were deposited during
this time interval in the Appalachian
(Arkle and others, 1979; Rice and
others, 1979) and European coal basins,
suggesting a potentially large hiatus in
the Illinois basin.
Even though the Illinois basin was
near the equator during the development
of the unconformity, the presence of
anastomosing drainage patterns (Howard,
1979), apparently steep-walled mesas
with limestone caps (Bristol and Howard,
1971, 1974; Davis and others, 1974), and
the formation of limestone benches
(Siever, 1951; Shawe and
Gildersleeve,1969) all point towards at
least intermittent aridity or
semi-aridity. Plants in strata filling
the valleys also have xerophytic
characteristics consistent with
semi-aridity (Phillips and Peppers,
1984).
The paleovalleys of the unconformity
are filled with Pennsylvanian
sandstones, siltstones, and shales (e.g.
STOPS 7 and 17). The sandstone bodies
are potential targets for petroleum
exploration (Howard and Whitaker, 1988).

T143: 19
 OVERVIEW OF THE PENNSYLVANIAN IN THE ILLINOIS BASIN
Heinz H. Damberger
Illinois State Geological Survey
Champaign, Illinois
The Pennsylvanian System (fig. 16)
has a maximum thickness of almost 900 m
(2900 ft) in the Mormon syncline of
western Kentucky and 750 m (2500 ft) in
the Pairfield basin, the structually
deepest portion of the Illinois basin.
Permian rocks, conformably overlying
Pennsylvanian strata, are known to exist
only from a single drill hole in a small
down-faulted block in western Kentucky
(Kehn and others, 1982; Douglass, 1979).
Individual formations of the
Pennsylvanian thin towards the Canadian
Shield in the north (fig. 17), as well
as towards the eastern and western
margins of the basin. Judging from the
degree of compaction of clastic
sediments (Altschaeffel and Harrison,
1959) and the degree of maturity of
coals (Damberger, 1971; in preparation),
well over 1 km (approximately 1 mile) of
sediments in northern Illinois and as
much as 3 km (approximately 2 miles) in
southern Illinois may have been
deposited on, and subsequently eroded
from, present-day surficial strata. The
current upper surface of Pennsylvanian
strata is marked by an erosional surface
of post-Pennsyvanian, pre-Pleistocene
age.
The Pennsylvanian System consists of
intertonging and interbedded sandstone,
siltstone, shale, claystone, limestone,
and coal, many of which are laterally
traceable over large distances; other
units are of limited regional extent.
Typically, 90 to 95 percent of the
system is composed of siliciclastic
rocks, the remainder being carbonates
and coal.
The Pennsylvanian (fig. 16) can be
subdivided into a lower sandstone-
dominated (Morrowan and Atokan Series),
a middle cyclothem-dominated
(Desmoinesian Series), and an upper
marine limestone and shale dominated
series of rocks (Missourian and
Virgilian Series). The boundaries
between the three rock groups are
transitional and have been placed at
various stratigraphic levels. Further
subdivision of Pennsylvanian strata,
with up to eight formations being
recognized, have been proposed, but no
T143: 20
widely accepted classification for the
entire basin has yet emerged (fig. 18),
in spite of cooperative efforts in
recent years among the three state
geological surveys active in the basin
(Jacobson and others, 1985).
Lower Sandstone-Dominated Sequence
(Morrowan and Atokan Series,
approximately equivalent to Namurian
C/Westphalian A through C).
Following the extended period of
stream incision into upper Chesterian
and older strata, a rising base (sea)
level caused valley alluviation and
deposition of Morrowan sediments in the
river valleys of the southeastern
Illinois basin (Sedimentation Seminar,
1978; Pryor and Potter, 1979).
Continued alluviation and ingressions of
the nearby sea from the south created an
alluvial or coastal/deltaic plain with
little topographic relief during
Morrowan time in the southern part of
the basin. Alluviation began and ended
progressively later toward the north.
Marine influence is repeatedly recorded
throughout the sequence and probably is
more pervasive than has been documented
so far. For instance, a dark-gray to
black shale with abundant marine fossils
has recently been discovered during
geologic mapping in the Drury Shale
Member at several locations of southern
Illinois. The fauna includes goniatites
(Axinolobus, Gastrioceras and
Wiedezoceras (?)), nautiloids, bivalves,
brachiopods, and conodonts, as well as
palynomorphs (Devera and others, 1987),
suggesting a late Morrowan (Westphalian
A) age. Spores from older Pennsylvanian
strata indicate the presence of Namurian
C age rocks towards the base of the
Pennsylvanian.
About 50 to 60 percent of this Lower
Pennsylvanian rock sequence is made up
of sandstone. The coarser sandstones
reach about 30m {100 ft) thickness and
commonly exhibit crossbedding with
predominantly western, southwestern, and
southern dip directions of crossbeds
along the southern edge of the basin
(Potter and Olson, 1954; Potter, 1962,
 Top

Woodbury Limestone
Greenup Limestone
c
~
'e> Reisner Limestone
Cheltenham
Clay
5 Mt. Rorah/DeLong Coal
Bogota Limestone Murphysboro Coal
§l==:::r:::r:!Q New Burnside Coal

~l=====l Shumway Limestone

~
Calhoun Coal

~~~~ Pope Creek/Willis Coal

..,..,..,.,.,..,.,.~ Tarter Coal
Shelbyville Coal

Oconee/Opdyke Coal Manley Coal

Friendsville Coal
Millersville/livingston/
LaSalle Limestone

Witt Coal Bell Coal

1---+---tJ,:P.:...,--,I!~~-!... Reynoldsburg Coal
Flannigan/Fiat Creek Coal

J
Pounds Sandstone

Gentry Coal Drury Member

Sellers Limestone

Battery Rock Sandstone

Carthage Limestone
(m) (ft)
Macoupin Limestone Wayside Member 100
300
Carlinville Limestone
80 250
Chapel (No. 8) Coal
60 200
Scottville/Exline 150
Limestone 40
West 100
Lonsdale Limestone
Franklin 20 50
Limestone
0 0
Piasa Limestone
Danville (No. 7) Coal
Bankston Fork Limestone Shale, sandy shale, siltstone,
locally sandstone
Limestone
Gray silty shale and siltstone

Springfield (No. 5) Coal Black shale

Houchin Creek (No.4) Coal Coal

Survant Coal ,..... ''~ Underclay

Francis Creek Shale
Colchester (No. 2) Coal
[J0til ~;~~~~~~~o;~~~meratic sandstone
FIGURE 16 Generalized composite stratigraphic column of Pennsylvanian System in
Illinois, with key to stratigraphic intervals exposed at Stops 6 through 9.

T143: 21
 " m
l200so
0 0 20
15
40km
FIGURE 17 Thinning of Pennsylvanian strata towards Canadian Shield in north-south
section (from Nelson and others, in preparation).
1963). Erosional basal contacts and
channel lag deposits are common at their
base. The sandstones are relatively
pure quartz sandstones, especially those
of Morrowan age (Caseyville Formation of
Illinois and Kentucky, lower part of
Mansfield Formation in Indiana).
Several of the more massive
sandstones are conspicuous cliff and
ledge formers and have been named (e.g.
Battery Rock and Pounds Sandstones, fig.
16) and traced over considerable
distances (STOPS 9 and 10). However,
recent mapping has demonstrated that
even the more prominent of these
sandstones are more lenticular than was
previously thought (Nelson and others,
in preparation). Most sandstones of the
Caseyville Formation contain scattered
quartz pebbles and local conglomerate
beds. The presence of quartz pebbles
larger than about 6 mm (1/4 in.) is
considered diagnostic for sandstones of
the Caseyville and lower part of the
Mansfield Formations.
The petrologic maturity of the
sandstones decreases upward through the
30~
Abbott (IL), Tradewater (KY), and Brazil
(IN) Formations. Quartz granules and
pebbles become smaller, scarcer, and
ultimately disappear; small mica grains,
feldspar, and rock fragments become
increasingly common; silica cement is
replaced by a clay matrix; iron oxide
becomes common, especially in the middle
Abbott sandstones; the sandstones are
more friable and less resistant to
erosion than the Caseyville sandstones,
and therefore are less prominent bluff
formers. Also, the younger sandstones
are not as widely traceable as, for
instance, the Battery Rock and Pounds
Sandstones of the Caseyville; only the
larger sandstones reach 30 m (100 ft)
thickness, most are less than 15 m (50
ft); 3 to 12m (10-40 ft) thicknesses
are the rule for these relatively
tabular younger sandstones.
The remaining 40-50 percent of the
Lower Pennsylvanian rock sequence is
made up of siltstone, sandy-shale,
shale, and very minor proportions of
carbonates and coals. These
fine-clastic units generally are not
T143: 22
 lll1nois Indiana W. Kentucky
calcareous, with thin bands and nodules
Modesto Fm. Shelburn Fm. of argillaceous limestone. The Abbott
Danville (No. 71 E
lL
Danville lVII) Coiltown IW. Ky No. 14) Formation of southern Illinois contains
two or more marine zones which contain
Baker (W. Ky No. 13)
Jamestown "'
Cl
Hymera (VI)
Parad1se (W. Ky. No. 121

fossiliferous limestones and calcareous

Cl
Herrin (No.6) ~ Hernn Herrin (W. Ky. No. 11)
Bnar Hill (W. Ky. No. 10)
Springfield (No 5)
~
Springfield (VI Springfield (W. Ky. No.9) shales. The lack of good outcrops
Cl
precludes judgment on the lateral
] continuity of these marine zones. Two
::0

~
marine limestones have been named in
------
~
~
Survant (IV)
1"'
u
southwestern Indiana (Fulda and
Ferdinand Members) and one in western
Colchester (No. 21
.::i
Colchester (lila) Colchester Kentucky (Lead Creek Limestone) that
Dekoven /Seelyville Seelyville II II) Dekoven IW. Ky. No. 71 could be of roughly equivalent age.
~
~
Davis
Murphysboro c
Dav1s IW. Ky. No. 61
This period seems to have been one of
c
pronounced marine transgression.
J
0 New Burnside
g_
(f)
Bidwell
Buffaloville Mannington (W.Ky. No.4! Numerous trace fossils have been found
in clastic rocks indicating the presence
Rock Island (No. 1 I
Minshall ~
Willis
~ Upper Block
Lower Block
"' of abundant bottom-dwelling organisms.
~
~
en 1
~
Even though many trace fossils are not
diagnostic of marine, brackish or
~ Mariah Hill

fresh-water environments, other evidence

_Q Blue Creek
<!

for marine influence is strong (see

Bell IW. Ky. No. 1b)
E St. Meinrad
Reynoldsburg lL

discussion for STOP 6 below).

-a
Gentry
~ ~ ~ Main Nol1n

QJ
c
~
Pinnick
French Lick
<ll

>
Current mapping by the state
1 >
geological surveys of Illinois and
u"'
u Indiana, with the support of the U.S.
Geological Survey COAGEOMAP Program,
FIGURE 18 Rock Classification Systems should help to further clarify the
of the Pennsylvanian System currently stratigraphic framework of this sequence
used in the Illinois Basin. and the depositional environments that
led to their formation. A near-shore
deltaic setting best fits the field and
laboratory evidence. The depositional
environments were initially
well exposed and tend to form valley characterized by occasional marine
floors between sandstone ridges. transgressions into estuaries. Later
The coal beds commonly associated ones are better described by deposition
with the fine-clastic sequences are in deltaic and coastal plain settings.
lenticular and rarely exceed a few feet The sediment supply through the river
in thickness. Several of the coal beds system varied depending on orogenic
are widespread and thick enough to be activity in the northern Appalachians.
named {fig. 16), but none have more than Major distributary channels between the
local economic significance. The interdistributary bays shifted
percentage of fine clastics and the frequently and were filled with sand.
number of coal beds tend to increase With passing time marshes and swamps
toward the top of this lower sequence. became more frequent.
Carbonates are restricted in their
occurrence to a few marine-influenced
zones. The lowest carbonate bed occurs Middle Cyclothem-Dominated Sequence
near the base of the Drury Member of the (Desmoinesian Series, approximately
Caseyville Formation (fig. 16) as a equivalent to Westphalian D)
single occurrence of sandy limestone at
Sellers Landing on the Ohio River in Desmoinesian strata range in
southeastern Illinois (Wanless, 1939 and thickness from 60 to 275 m {200 to 900
1955; Baxter and others 1963). ft) and are dominantly composed of
Another(?) marine zone was recently shale, claystone, siltstone (together
discovered during mapping in the upper 65-75 percent) and sandstone
portion of the Drury in northeastern (approximately 25 percent), with thin
Pope County about 20 km {12 mi) south of but laterally traceable beds of coal {2-
Harrisburg (Devera and others, 1987). 5 percent) and limestone (1-5
It consists primarily of a dark-gray to percent). In contrast to the
black fossiliferous shale that is partly Appalachian basin, almost all coal beds
T143: 23
 Shale. gray, sandy at top ; contains marine
fossils and ironstone concretions, especially
in lower part.

Limestone ; contains marine fossils .

Shale, black, hard , fissile , "slaty"; conta1ns

large black spheroidal concretions and
marine fossils .
Limestone ; contains marine fossils .

Shale, gray; pyritic nodules and ironstone

concretions common at base ; plant foss1ls
locally common at base ; marine fossils rare .

Coal ; locally contains clay or shale partings.

Underclay , mostly medium to light gray ex-
cept dark gray at top ; upper part noncalcare-
ous . lower part calcareous .

L1mestone. argillaceous; occurs 1n nodules

or discontinuous beds; usually nonfossllifer-
ous.

Shale. gray. sandy.

Sandstone. fi ne-grained , micaceous. and

siltstone. argillaceous; variable from massive
to thin-bedded ; usually with an uneven lower
surface .

FIGURE 19 Ideal "static" (a) and "dynamic" (b) representations of a typcial mid-
Pennsylvanian cyclothem after Willman and Payne, 1942, (b) after Baird and Shabica,
1980(a).

of economic significance in the Illinois Shepard, 1936; Sloss, 1979; Shabica,

basin are contained in the Desmoinesian
Series. Of about 243 x 109 metric tons
(268 billion short tons) of bituminous
coal resources have been identified in
the basin, approximately 77 x 109 metric
tons (85 billion short tons) are
considered to be of current economic
interest.
The dominant feature of this rock
sequence is the repetitious cyclic
nature of a succession of diverse
lithologies (fig. 19). "Ideal" Illinois
cyclothems, first named by Wanless and
Weller (1932), but recognized long
before by Udden (1912}, have been
described and their possible origins
discussed in the literature many times
(Weller, 1930, 1956; Wanless and
T143: 24
1979; Heckel, 1977, 1980). Eustatic and
diastrophic sea level changes and
periodic progradations and abandonments
of deltas, followed by marine
transgressions have variously been
invoked to explain their origin.
Of particular interest are the
strata of unit 6 of the ideal cyclothem
(fig. 19). These are typically
non-marine gray shales, siltstones, and
sandstones which are closely associated
with channel-fill deposits that
originated in peat-contemporaneous river
systems (fig. 19b}. The best-known and
most widespread of these peat-
contemporaneous fluvial deposits is
related to the Walshville channel in the
Herrin Coal (Johnson, 1972; Treworgy and
Jacobson, 1985; Burk, Deshowitz and
Utgaard, 1987). The Walshville channel
has been mapped from the outcrop in
west-central Indiana through Illinois to
the outcrop in southern Illinois (fig.
20), a distance of about 480 km (300
mi). Peat-contemporaneous overbank
sedimentation caused the formation of
shale partings in the coal along the
channel (~split coal~); the partings
tend to thicken towards the Walshville
channel, the source of the clastic
material. Later, at several locations
along the Walshville channel, splay
deposits were laid down on the peat
adjacent to the channel more than 30 m
(100ft) thick (after compaction). This
unit, the Energy Shale, acted as a
shield against sulphate-bearing sea
water during the subsequent
transgression of the sea, preserving the
original low sulphur content of the peat
in areas where thickness and low
permeability of the Energy Shale
prevented sea water from infiltrating
the peat (Gluskoter and Hopkins, 1970;
Johnson, 1972; Treworgy and Jacobson,
1985; Burk, Deshowitz and Utgaard, 1987)
0 20
0 30
~ Main coal
swamp
1- I Split coal
t-::-j Shallow lake
kill Low positive area;
thin or variable peat
accumulation
I River (Walshville
channel)
FIGURE 20 Walshville channel, contemporaneous with (left) and postdating (right)
the Herrin Coal swamp (from Treworgy and Jacobson, 1985).
T143: 25
(STOP 8). Similar relationships have
been described from the Springfield coal
for the peat-contemporaneous Galatia
channel of southern Indiana and
southeastern Illinois (Hopkins, 1968;
Allgaier and Hopkins, 1975; Hopkins,
Nance and Treworgy, 1979; Eggert, 1982;
Eggert and Adams, 1985) and from the
Murphysboro coal (Oraville channel,
Jacobson, 1983). The Danville coal of
western Indiana and the Colchester coal
of northern Illinois are also relatively
low in sulphur content where overlain by
non-marine roof rocks. These low- to
moderately low-sulphur coal deposits
have been mined preferentially in the
past and continue to attract special
attention. Only a small fraction of the
remaining resources fall into this
category but several billion tons of
in-place, low-sulphur coal resources are
of current economic interest.
· Whatever the principal cause(s) for
the pronounced cyclicity of the mid-
Pennsylvanian rock sequence, members 1-5
of cyclothems reflect increasing
regression or progradation. The non-
marine "gray shales~ that occur in
restricted areas above coal beds (unit
6) can, in some cases, be interpreted as
the first sign of a rising base level
0
I E3
(;:;:;] Marine
•• - Abandoned channel
[iWJ Abandoned splay
and fluvial deposits
that caused crevassing along major
rivers draining peat-swamps. Heckel
(1977, 1980) argued that the extremely
widespread black shales with phosphatic
nodules of unit 8 represent maximum
transgression of the sea. Others
(Wanless, 1975; Wright, 1979; Zangerl
and Richardson, 1963) interpret these
black shales as brackish to marine
shallow water deposits, representing the
initial marine transgression over
coastal swamps and sedimentation in
restricted shallow bay areas. These
workers would consider the marine,
fossiliferous limestone (unit 9) as
representing maximum transgression. The
upper gray shale (unit 10) usually
contains marine fossils in its lower
part. It marks the end of the
transgressive phase and the start of the
next regressive phase, probably
foreshadowing the approach of a
prograding delta. These gray shales of
unit 10 commonly represent a significant
portion of the total sediment volume of
any given cyclothem. Units 1 through 5
of the succeeding cyclothem can be
explained in the same progradational
context. Figure 19b illustrates
diagrammatically the dynamic
relationships between the various units;
STOPS 8 and 11 will provide
opportunities to study them in the
field.
Upper Marine Limestone and Shale-
Dominated Subquence (Missourian and
Virgilian Series, equivalent to
Stephanian A, B and C).
The combined maximum thickness of
the Missourian and Virgilian Series is
about 550 m (1800 ft), including the
youngest strata in a single drill hole
in western Kentucky (Kehn and others,
1982). However, due to erosion and the
shape of the basin, the areal extent of
these rocks is increasingly limited with
decreasing age. The maximum preserved
thickness in the Fairfield basin of
Illinois is only about 250m (800 ft).
The former extent of these strata is
unknown, but judging from the degree of
compaction of the clastic sediments and
the maturity of the coals they, as well
as younger (Permian) strata, must have
extended far beyond their present limits
of occurrence.
This rock sequence is similar to the
underlying cyclothem-dominated sequence,
but it reflects a stronger marine
T143: 26
influence and a significantly drier
climate. The marine limestones tend to
be thicker and less argillaceous. The
coal beds are thinner, many less than
0.3 m (1ft), and probably less
widespread; variegated claystones, many
reddish in color, occur above and below
some limestones.
An extended dry interval began in
the Missourian leading to extinction of
such previously dominant coal-forming
plants as Lepidophloios, Lepidodendron
and Paralycopodites, while tree ferns
such as Psaronius and seed ferns such as
Medullosa became the dominant swamp
inhabitants (Phillips and Peppers,
1984).
Permian strata (identified by
fusilinid Triticites sp.) have only been
recognized in one drill hole in western
Kentucky in a down-faulted block of the
Rough Creek Fault System (Kehn and
others, 1982). They contain
considerably more limestone than the
underlying Pennsylvanian strata (25
percent vs. 5 percent).
STOP 6 - Spillway at little Grassy Lake
south of Carbondale (fig. 21):
a marine sandstone within the Abbott
Formation of the Atokan Series
Stop leaders: Joseph Devera and George
Fraunfelter
Lower Pennsylvanian rocks in the
southern part of the Illinois basin have
been interpreted in the past as being
deltaic or fluviatile in origin.
However, the marine origin of many Lower
Pennsylvanian siliciclastic units has
now been well established and documented
by geologists at Southern Illinois
University at Carbondale and the
Illinois State Geological Survey. Most
of the marine interpretations are based
on sedimentological and ichnological
evidence, although some have been based
on the presence of marine invertebrate
body fossils. The exposure along the
spillway of the Little Grassy Lake is a
good example of such a Lower
Pennsylvanian marine zone that contains
diagnostic sedimentological features,
marine body fossils, and an abundance of
marine ichnofossils. These provide a
basis for paleoenvironmental
interpretation.
The exposed sequence is about 3.5 m
(12 ft) thick and composed of gray to
reddish-brown, hematitic-stained quartz
sandstone. The sandstone is fine- to
medium-grained, well-sorted, and
cemented with silica. Clay pebbles are
common, mica is present in the matrix
and, in some places, the quartz sand is
cemented by hematite. Common primary
sedimentary structures include linguoid
ripples, abundant, asymmetric, spoon
shape oscillatory ripples, small-scale
trough crossbeds, and planar
crossbeds. In places interbedded
siltstones and claystones are found
filling troughs of the rippled
sandstones. Ichnofossils are
characteristically abundant and diverse
in this unit. Body fossils of
brachiopods, gastropods, corals, and
pelmatozoan fragments can occasionally
be observed. Lycopod driftwood is seen
throughout this marine zone.
Ichnology. There are five
behavioral (ethological) classes: 1)
dwelling traces {domichnia), 2) crawling
traces (repichnia), 3) feeding traces
(fodichnia), 4) grazing traces
(pascichnia), and 5) resting traces
(cubichnia). All are present at this
exposure. Ichnofossils that have been
identified from this marine zone are
(fig. 21), Aulichnites sp., Chondrites
sp., Cochlichnus sp. Eiona sp.,
Olivellites sp., RhabdQ91Yphus sp.,
Rhizocorallium sp., Scalarituba
missouriensis, Scolicia sp.A, Scolicia
~·· Skolithose sp., Stelloglyphus(?).
sp., Torrowangea sp., Zoophycos sp., and
y-shaped horizontal burrows, (Stanley,
1980; Ethridge, 1973).
This ichnofossil assemblage
represents the Cruziana ichnofacies,
which occurs in shallow marine settings
below the low tide line, but usually
above wave base. Diverse behavioral
types are indicative of this

ICM

FIGURE 21 STOP 6 - Trace fossils found in marine sandstone of Abbott Formation at

spillway of Little Grassy Lake south of Carbondale, Williamson County, Illinois. SE
1/4 of Sec. 18, TWP 1 E., RNG 10 s. (from Fraunfelter and others, 1973).
A. Diagrammatic illustration of Aulichnites sp. (after Hantzschel, 1962, p.
W165, fig. 110.4).
B. Diagrammatic illustration of Scolicia sp. (after Frey and Howard, 1970, p.
152, fig. 7g).
C. Diagrammatic illustration of Rhizocorallium (after Sellwood, 1970, p. 495,
fig. 3a).
D. Diagrammatic illustration of Zoophycus (after Hass, and others, 1962, p.
W219, fig. 137, 2b).
E. Diagrammatic illustration of Chondrites (after Frey, 1971, p. 120).
F. Diagrammatic illustration of Rhabdoglyphus (after Msiazkiewicz, 1970, p.
284).
G. Diagrammatic illustration of small vertical burrow (modified from Heinberg,
1970, p. 233).
H. Diagrammatic illustration of small Y-shaped horizontal burrow.

T143: 27
ichnofacies. However, horizontal
repichnia and cubichnia traces typically
dominate the Cruziana ichnofacies which
can be observed on the floor of the
spillway cut during low water stages.
Ethological diversity at the Little
Grassy Spillway may not reflect faunal
diversity in some cases. For instance,
the single gastropod species found
within this sandstone may have been
responsible for making the traces of
Aulichnites, Scolicia, and
Olivellites. These traces are sometimes
found in close proximity to each other
and have approximately the same width.
Small morphological differences between
these traces were probably the result of
differing rates of locomotion or feeding
habits. Differences in trace
morphologies can also be produced by the
thixotropic nature of the substrate.
Sedimentological Features. Linguoid
ripples and spoon-shaped troughs with
current-modified oscillatory ripples
within the troughs may indicate that
these sandstone were reworked from
larger-scaled bed forms. Periodic
fluctuations between moderate and low
sedimentation rates are reflected by the
dominant horizontal nature of the
ichnofauna. The primary sedimentary
structures and clay pebbles support
higher energy periods whereas the
abundance of trace fossils supports
periods of low energy.
Environment of Deposition. The
sedimentological, ichnological and
paleontological, and taphonomic evidence
indicates that this sandstone was
deposited in a shallow subtidal
environment. Reworked ripple crests,
fluctuations in sedimentary rates and
fluid flow, moderate diversity of
ichnofossils, presence of marine body
fossils, and the highly-abraded and
disarticulated nature of brachiopods,
crinoids and corals suggests that this
unit was deposited near or within a
tidal inlet below low tide, but above
wave base.
This marine zone probably correlates
with the Boskeydell Marine Zone (Lamar,
1925), which represents a traceable,
eustatic event throughout most of
southern Illinois.
STOP 7 - Road cut on U.S. 51 between
Makanda and Cobden (fig. 22):
Mississippian-Pennsylvanian unconformity
T143: 28
Stop leaders: John Utgaard, Joseph
Devera, and Richard Howard
This exposure is an outlier of the
Lower Pennsylvanian Caseyville Formation
south of its principal outcrop belt. It
apparently was preserved due to the
deposition in a channel cut into
Mississippian rocks. Typical Caseyville
sandstone in this area rests
conspicuously and unconformably on upper
Chesterian shale and limestone units of
the Cave Hill Member of the Kinkaid
Formation (fig. 22). Part of the Cave
Hill, the Goreville Limestone and the
Grove Church Shale (see fig. 1) are
missing due to erosion; 30 m (100 ft) or
more of strata may have been eroded
here.
The following interpretation (fig.
22) is based on Roush and Ethridge
(1973).
The oldest unit (unit 1 of fig. 22},
a gray fossiliferous calcareous shale,
apparently was deposited on a shallow
marine subtidal shelf where sediment
transport was primarily by suspension,
and the sedimentation rate was low.
Debris of limestone detritus was
winnowed by currents into small lenses
in an otherwise quiet-water
environment. Most shells show little
evidence of transport.
The overlying light gray, very
fossiliferous limestone (unit 2)
apparently was deposited in a shallow
marine subtidal environment where
currents were sufficiently strong to
transport bedload sediment. Abundant
vertical burrows in the upper part of
the lower limestone suggest a period of
little or no sedimentation, permitting
establishment of an abundant infauna on
the carbonate shelf.
The quartzose, fine- to coarse-
grained sandstone is the first unit (3}
of Pennsylvanian age in this area and
fills an erosional channel in the
underlying Mississippian limestone. The
channel cuts completely through unit 2
and into unit 1. Typical features of
fluvial channel deposits that can be
observed are: channel lag conglomerates
with various kinds of pebbles; logs of
trees up to 0.3 m (1 ft) diameter; scour
and fill structures; slump blocks up to
1.5 m (5 ft) in diameter; superimposed
channel-fills; cross bedding;
interbedded shales with plant
impressions and abundant carbonaceous
fragments.
 ~.?~- ... ~ ~ .-
.. UN IT 4. Lenticular and flaser-bedded siltstone with

~~ .. · - · · · -
. - ~.. ~,.- .~:r-
shale interbeds; units contain numerous small horizontal
z burrows and load features.
:::>
--:- : ;.:.., -../ :-:..; -;::::::;; .: ..
Sfc;~:;·~:o~oo
J:Li[J'·
... ~.~
TI ·:)_;;.:· :· './; ·.
.... ··_·_·_ ..·.
........,....._

. . ,. . .
UNIT 3. Sandstone, quartzose, fine- to coarse-grained,
I
. . . ....
1\··--···-
\ ·. cross-bedded; contains quartz and chert granules and
,~liAr\·-.··y.·
1--r----1-
". . ;/ .
,--.----", • / •
pebbles. Repeated superimposed channel-fill deposits;
individual channel fill consists of basal lag conglomerate
containing clay pebbles, quartz and chert pebbles, and log
M ~ ~ I\.· .. ·. . . casts (Calamites sp. and Lepidodendron sp.); overlain by
1- I\~ medium- to coarse-grained sandstone with polymodal
z ... - •..
1--T-....L...::fll~l-11 trough cross-beds. The uppermost unit is lenticular,
:::> flaser-bedded siltstone and shale containing leaf and twig
N I l'i'\ .' .. ·.
(., '_;/6:!?./ impressions and abundant carbonaceous plant fragments.
!::: ~ I v ' / .....~.· Grain size decreases upward within channel-fill deposit
z UJ I .'. and horizontally toward the channel margins. Slump
:::> I- .1-:-·· .-:- 0 0 0 0 •
(f) blocks as much as 5 feet in diameter occur along the
I' ()L- ~
c
0
>-
(f) I~ 11-···- north channel margin on the east side of the highway.
-~
I
C"C
E z I I~
<{
0 - 'I
LL
Q)
z I
I I,
I UNIT 2. Limestone, light gray, thick-bedded, very
<{ fossiliferous, consists of biomicrites and biosparites.
~
·; I q
UJ
>
>
_J
...1

Ul
Contains solitary corals, Archimedes, other fenestrate
1- bryozoans, ramose and frondose bryozoans, brachiopods
Cf) Q)
.....
~
C"C >- I l
>- c
0 ..0
Q) u (/)
z
I and gastropods. Trace fossils include vertical burrows as
(f) I I much as 12 inches long in upper part of lower limestone,
t; E z I
z Q)

E
Q)

~
UJ
I I
and long branching horizontal burrows near base of lower
<{ a.. limestone. Shale interbeds containing flame structures
a..
....J
I
I
I ·-~:: occur in upper limestone. Interbeds become more abun-
a.. I
Q) (\I 0. 0 0 .. dant and thicker toward the top. Upper limestone con-
•/ ·0
(f)
(f)
>
()1--
f--
I ) 'f 1
_,_ I
·.·~.·:
tains microtrough cross-beds and lenticular beds. Irregular
chert-filled concretions present in the upper part of upper
(f)
(f) - - -~ limestone. Sinkholes occur both east and west of road-
~ cut.

15r
ft m

oL
UNIT 1. Shale, dark gray, finely laminated, very fossil-
1-------- iferous. Contains numerous thin to thick lenses of argil-

!:::
z
=---r-=- == =
~-----CD-
laceous, gray, biomicritic limestone. Shale contains
Archimedes, Fenestrella, Polypora, crinoid debris, solitary

:::> - - -- -- - corals, and brachiopods. Limestones abundantly fossil-

iferous; contain allochems of fenestrate, fistuliporoid,
and trepostome bryozoans and brachiopods.

ISGS 1979

FIGURE 22 STOP 7- Columnar section of Mississippian-Pennsylvanian unconformity at

roadcut on U.S. 51 between Makanda and Cobden south of Carbondale. NE 1/4 of Sec.
8, TWP 11 S., RNG 1 W., Jackson County (after Roush and Ethridge, 1973).

T143: 29
 The youngest exposed unit (unit 4),
a gray, flaser-bedded siltstone with
shale interbeds, has a transitional
contact to unit 3 below. A migrating
fluvial (distributary?) channel
environment (unit 3) with transition to
an estuarine environment (unit 4) were
suggested as likely settings by Roush
and Ethridge (1973).
STOP 8 - Burning Star No. 5 Mine of
Consolidation Coal Co., about 13 km (8
m) north of Carbondale (figs. 23, 24):
Walshville channel deposits and Herrin
coal
Stop leaders: Russell Jacobson, John
Utgaard and Heinz Damberger
The Burning Star No. 5 Mine is
situated on both the east and west
flanks of the channel-fill deposits of
the ancient Walshville River.
Collectively, these channel-fill
deposits are referred to as the Energy
Shale Member {figs. 20 and 23). A cross
section of the Walshville channel and
associated deposits was compiled from
coal test data (fig. 24). Drill holes
7, 8, 9, and 10 are located directly in
the sandstones and sandy siltstones that
fill the Walshville channel. An
overbank facies of the channel locally
interrupted deposition of peat,
producing thick splits in the Herrin
coal {drill holes 5 and 6). This split
is much thinner farther west where it is
also encountered in drill holes 2, 3,
and 4. No splits were identified in
drill holes east of the channel
(although they have been seen in
highwalls there), but thick deposits of
the Energy Shale Member overlie the
Herrin Coal. These appear to have been
largely deposited in a crevasse splay.
This stop offers an opportunity to
inspect the thick marginal deposits of
the Energy Shale Member which overlies
the Herrin Coal. These appear to have
been deposited in a crevasse splay,
fresh-water environment.
Deposits from two major stream
channels are present in the Burning Star
No. 5 Mine area. The gray silty shales
and siltstones that directly overlie the
Herrin Coal were derived from the
Walshville channel. The sandstone that
locally forms the upper part of the
highwall was deposited after the
Bankston Fork Limestone Member, which
has been seen immediately underlying
T143: 30
this sandstone in the westernmost
portions of the mine.
Two major facies of several minor
facies of the Energy Shale Member {Burk
and others, 1987) have been recognized
in the Burning Star No. 5 Mine: splay
channel-fill and splay-margin facies.
The splay channel-fill facies consists
of sandstone, siltstone, and silty
shale, with lag deposits of siltstone
pebble conglomerates that grade lateral
and vertically into channel-fill
sandstones. The splay-margin facies
consists largely of shale and is present
lateral to the channel-fill facies.
These deposits are commonly seen
overlain by point-bar deposits of
medium- to coarse-grained sandstone of
post-Bankston Fork Limestone age. This
sandstone is locally separated from the
underlying Energy Shale Member by marine
and non-marine strata ranging from the
Anna Shale through Bankston Fork
Limestone (figs. 16 and 24).
STOP 9 - Upper Caseyville/Lower
Tradewater Roadcut on Interstate 57,
southern Illinois (figs. 25, 26):
tidally influenced deposits of Early
Pennsylvanian age
Stop leaders: Allen Archer, Joseph
Devera, Eric Kvale, and John Nelson
Stop 9 is located along Interstate
57 between the Goreville and Lick Creek
exits in Johnson County. These
exposures were described and interpreted
by Simon and Hopkins {1966), Gopinath
(1972), Ethridge and others (1973), and
Gopinath and Ethridge (1976). Gopinath
and Ethridge {1976) recognized six
distinct units along this outcrop (fig.
25). Additional descriptive work on
unit C by the stop leaders and David
Uhlir indicates that the sequence is
dominated by wavy- to flaser-bedded
oscillatory current, and wave(?) rippled
sandstones. In addition, there is an
occurrence of gutter casts on the bases
of lenticular, elongated, sandstone-
filled channel bodies. Paleoflow for
the unit was dominantely west-
southwesterly as measured by dip
direction o·f ripple foreset laminations,
gutter cast orientations, and trace-
fossil alignments.
Unit E is particularly noteworthy
because it was interpreted by Gopinath
and Ethridge (1976) to be a clasic
Gilbert-type deltaic sedimentation
 . . . . .. . . . . . . . ......... ... . . .
..................................................................................................................................... .
. . ...............................

The study area _ __

is indicated in black\)

Energy Shale

Limit of the Herrin (No. 6) Coal

Walshville channel filled with sandstone, shale, and

siltstone which laterally replace the Herrin Coal;
channel is peat contemporaneous Carbondale
•
~ .... Anvil Rock Sandstone filling channels that cut
~ out the Herrin Coal 0 16 32 km

FIGURE 23 STOP 8- Distribution of the Walshville channel and Energy Shale and
outcrop of the Herrin (No. 6) Coal in southwestern and western Illinois (from Palmer
and Dutcher, 1979).

T143: 31

A
w
I
Lawson
Shale
Mbr. "'--
Brereton
L1rnestone _
Mbr
Herrm .r-
(No.6) Coal
Mbr
Harrisburg_
(No. 5) Coal
Mbr
Summun
No.4 Coal
Mbr
Coal
Mbr
_j
L.....----------------
FIGURE 24 STOP 8- East-west cross section through Burning Star No. 5 Mine north of
Carbondale, TWP 8 S., RNG 1 W., Jackson County (modified from Dutcher and others,
1977; interpretations and correlations by Jacobson, 1979 and 1988).
unit. A re-examination of this outcrop
(specifically units C, D, E, and F) has
shown that tidal currents also affected
the depositional style of the sequence
(Kvale and Uhlir, 1988, and this
report). The most pronounced and direct
evidence of tidal influence is found in
the large-scale planar crossbeds of unit
E (inclined 23° to SE). The foresets
that comprise the planar crossbeds can
be shown to have been deposited as
distinct sedimentary packages during a
single depositional event. Each foreset
package is separated by a goethite-
cemented boundary, deposited along a
weakly sigmoidally-shaped reactivation
surface. Differential weathering along
these surfaces imparts a flaggy
appearance to the foreset packages.
Thicknesses of sequential packages
varies systematically in a down-current
direction and can be related to neap-to-
spring tidal events in a semidiurnal or
mixed tidal regime (Kvale and Uhlir,
1988). Thickest foreset packages occur
approximately every 29th event (fig.
26). Additional evidence documenting
tidal influence includes northward
directed oscillation and linguoid
ripples within top sets.
The evidence of tidal influence on
these units suggests that the receiving
12
9
8
nn
Und1 fff~1 entiated
pleistocene deposits
anrl nver alluv1um
Herrin (Nu 6) Coal
Memher
H,:ar1sburq
(No 51 Coal
CHANNEL
~·:llr
[T----~
0 1000 2000 3000 4000ft
F=-=="L =:J
0 300 600 800 1200m
ISGS1979
body of water for the deltaic foresets
was at least brackish if not entirely
marine. If so, this is the first
documented occurrence known to the
authors of a non-freshwater, tidally-
influenced Gilbert-type delta.
Trace fossils are most commonly
found as convex hyporeliefs on the sole
of fine-grained sandstone lenses that
are interbedded with shales. A high
abundance, low diversity ichnofossil
assemblage occurs within mudstone units
A and B. The ichnofauna is composed of
Lockeia (cubichnia) with Uchirites
(repichnia) and an unnamed arthropod
resting trace (Stanley, 1980) with
Isopodichnus (repichnia). Lockeia are
resting traces of suspension-feeding
bivalves that also made the Uchirites
crawling trails. Two examples of this
ichnofossil relationship have been found
in unit A. The Isopodichnus crawling
traces terminate within the arthropod
resting traces. In unit C, the
arthropod traces are nearly all oriented
perpendicular to the ripple crests found
within each bed. These resting traces
probably represent crustaceans that fed
off the dominant current (west-
southwest). Their heads face east-
northeast and a V-shaped tail impression
was occasionally preserved.
T143: 32
 z
0
a:
~ w MEAN
THICK. GRAIN
~ ~ DEPOSITIONAL 1-
a: jj] ENVIRONMENT z LITHOLOGY FT (M) SIZE DESCRIPTION
0
u. ~ :::>
Sandstone, reddish brown, large scale trough
crossbeds (dip average 15-21°, S15°E) clay pebbles,
medium numerous erosional contacts and interbeds of
distributary F 17(5.2) to mudstone and silt. Ripples, small scale cross
bay coarse laminations, and plant fragments are not uncommon.
Sandstone, reddish brown, one set of very large scale
planar crossbeds (average dip of 23°, to the S25°E),
foreset beds are tangential into bottomset beds, top set
Gilbert-type beds are removed by erosion. Lower contact is convex
delta E
upwards along its contact with Unit D.

distributary Sandstone, reddish brown, large scale trough

D 7(2.1) coarse crossbedded (average dips 16° S15°E), with clay
channel
pebbles, numerous erosional contacts, and interbeds
of mudstone and siltstone. Ripples, small scale cross
laminations, and plant fragments occur in the
interbedded mudstones and siltstones.
- -· -(lJ·--
Mudstone (dark gray), siltstone, and sandstone,
interlaminated, with gradational basal contact. Unit is
interdistributary
bay c -e ......;.~·.·.·:~ characterized by current and wave ripples, lenticular
- o - • - •• - . • :z=:- 35(10.7) fine bedding, micro-cross laminations, and flaser bedding.
if fl-
Shales contain plant fragments, load features, rare
4-...... -~.·It--~ burrows (small horizontal and vertical), mica flakes, and
- .-p_:__-, - - 0 ball and pillow structures. Sandstones display channel
fill features, clay pebble zone (iron oxidized), and
abundant small scale cross laminations. Asymmetrical
ripples indicate that sediment transport to the south
(apparent dip) was dominant.

Sandstone, reddish brown, large scale trough and

planar crossbeds (dip direction NBO'W), large scale
load features (some ball and pillow), and erosional
Q) contacts. Thin interbedded siltstone and mudstone
c distributary B horizons occur (more often near the top) and plant
w
_J
0
iii
channel debris, mica flakes, and linguoid ripples are common.
_J "'0 The sandstone unit has clay pebble horizons and a few
c
>
>-
co
(/)
sole marks.
w
(/)
(/)
"'0
<t: c
(.) :J
0
0..
Mudstone (blue-gray), siltstone (tan) and sandstone, 5m
gradational contacts. Loading structures (like ball and

1
pillow) are common. Sandstone beds are six inches to
interdistributary three feet thick and pinch out laterally. Current ripples, 10 ft
bay A clay pebbles and planar crossbeds are also common.
15(4.6) fine
Mudstone is interbedded with silts and sands. Burrows,
L-~--~--------~L--L==-=~~==~==--==~----L---~~~pl_an_t_fr~ag~m_e_n_ts_a_n_d_lo_a_d_st_ru_c_tu_re_s_a_re_a_ls_o_o_bs_e_rv_e_d_.~ 0 0
0 Lockeia bivalve trace fossil
? oriented crustacean burrow

FIGURE 25 STOP 9 - Columnar sections for roadcut at Pounds Escarpment, exposing

portions of lower Abbott and upper Caseyville Formations; 1-57 north of Lick Creek
(modified from Gopinath, Ethridge, and Kolodziej, 1973).

STOP 10 - Pounds Escarpment on sandstones. Roadcuts along the highway

Interstate 24 in southern Illinois {fig. have made accessible nearly all of the
27): deposits of Early Pennsylvanian Caseyville Formation and the basal
age, Caseyville Formation portion of the Abbott Formation. These
roadcuts provide the best exposure of
Stop leaders: Russell Jacobson, John Lower Pennsylvanian strata in Illinois
Utgaard, Joseph Devera, and John Nelson and contain many primary sedimentary
structures that are typical of deltaic
and marine deposits, giving a clear
Interstate 24 passes through the picture of the variations in facies in
Lower Pennsylvanian rocks of the scenic the lower Pennsylvanian (Koeninger,
Pounds Escarpment, roughly 15 to 30 km 1978; Koeninger and Mansfield, 1979).
{10 to 20 mi) south of Marion, South of the Pounds Escarpment,
Illinois. This escarpment is a cuesta low-resistant shales, limestones, and
formed of resistant basal Pennsylvanian thin-bedded sandstones of the Chesterian
T143: 33
 200
.sE 16o
CJ)
CJ)
Q)
c
~ 120
£
Q)
CJ)
~ 80
~
40
15 30 45 60
FIGURE 26 STOP 9- Foreset thickness variability within a portion of unit E (Fig.
25) (unpublished data by Kvale and Archer).
Series (Upper Mississippian) produce a
gently rolling topography. Middle
Pennsylvanian strata north of the scarp
form a moderately rugged landscape, but
the Illinoian glacial drift largely
masks the influence of the bedrock
structure. In fact, the southernmost
advance of Pleistocene continental
glaciation in North America was
approximately 5 km (3 mi) north of this
roadcut.
The oldest Pennsylvanian rocks in
Illinois are assigned to the Caseyville
Formation (fig. 16) of Morrowan age
(Willman and others, 1975, p. 163-183).
The formation consists dominantly of
quartz arenitic sandstone that is
typically massive or cross bedded and
commonly conglomeratic with diagnostic
well-rounded granules and small pebbles
of white quartz (Simon and Hopkins,
1966). Thin-bedded quartzose sandstone,
medium- to dark-gray silty shales,
discontinuous thin coals and underclays,
and, rarely, limestones are also found
in the Caseyville. The Caseyville
Formation unconformably overlies the
Chesterian Series. The Abbott
Formation, which conformably overlies
the Caseyville (fig. 16), is
lithologically similar to the
Caseyville, but contains a greater
75 90 105 120 135 150 165 180 195
Foreset number
proportion of shale. The sandstones in
this formation are less massive, only
rarely conglomeratic, and
petrographically less mature than those
of the Caseyville Formation.
In the roadcuts on I-24, the upper
three members of the Caseyville
Formation are: the Battery Rock
Sandstone Member at the base, a middle
shaly interval, the Drury Member, and
the Pounds Sandstone Member (Willman and
others, 1975; figs. 16 and 27).
In the upper roadcut, about 28 m {92
ft) of sandstone, shale, and coal of the
Abbott Formation and the Pounds
Sandstone of the Caseyville Formation
are exposed (fig. 27). The lower cut
exposes part of the basal Drury Member
and about 30 m (100 ft) of the Battery
Rock Sandstone Member.
Koeninger (1978) and Koeninger and
Mansfield (1979) reported that
river-dominated or high-constructive
deltaic sediments compose the Casey-
ville Formation. Three main facies are
distinguished: active channel facies,
interdistributary facies, and overbank
facies (fig. 27).
Active Channel Facies. In this
facies, Koeninger (1978) recognized two
basic subfacies: the distributary
channel and the point bar. The
T143: 34
distributary channel subfacies grades
upward and commonly cuts into deposits
of the interdistributary and overbank
facies. Deposits in the distributary
channel subfacies are usually medium-
and fine-grained sandstone with fewer
common lenses of gravelly,
coarse-grained sandstone and shale. The
main sedimentary structures of this
subfacies include planar and trough
crossbeds~ erosional contacts, casts of
plant fragments, and disrupted bedding.
The point-bar subfacies deposits
overlie and sometimes cut into deposits

Facies
LOWER ROADCUT
Abandoned UN IT 5. Sandstone, light gray. deeply weathered; rusty orange
distributary 5 with purple mottling on weathered surfaces, fine- to medium-
channel grained, friable, grains subangular to subrounded; bedding is thin
to very thin. Contains a few low amplitude symmetrical ripples.

UNIT 4. Sandstone, siltstone and shale, deeply weathered;

mostly covered by vegetation. Sandstone and siltstone, light tan,
weathers dark orange, very fine-grained, silty; becomes finer
Abandoned
toward top of unit; grains are subangular to subrounded; thin-
distributary
4 bedded to laminated. Few low amplitude ripples present. Shale,
channel
gray and brown, weathers dark brown, carbonaceous on bedding
and marsh
planes, with abundant iron oxide concretions as much as 1 Y. inch
(3 em) in diameter. Thin, discontinuous coal (12 in. or 30 em) in
south roadcut. May be the Gentry Coal Member." Upper contact is
concealed.

UNIT 3. Sandstone, gray-white, orange where weathered,

Distributary locally purple along joints and bedding planes, medium- to fine-
fluvial 3 grained, grains are subrounded to subangular; arkosic in ap-
channel pearance; poorly indurated. Unit contains trough cross-bedding
with sets filling scours in underlying sets. Paleocurrent trend
northwest and southwest. Gradational contact with overlying
Upper point sandstone and siltstone.
0::: bar (?)
w Flood plain (?) UNIT 2. Sandstone, siltstone, and shale; sandstone is purplish
CXl 2 white, dark orange and purple where weathered, very fine-
::2 lnterdistribu-
w grained; grains are subrounded to subangular. Shale, gray, tan,
z ::2
tary bay (?)
brown, and gray where weathered; banded in upper one-third
0 w of the unit; slightly silty. Shale gredes laterally into lenticular
i= z siltstone. Sandstone, thin- to thick-bedded, ripple-bedded to
<(
0 ripple laminated, with some fine-grained scours into underlying
::2 I-
0::: (/) very fine-grained beds. Sharp erosional contact with overlying
0 0
u... z sandstone.
w <(
(/)
....I UNIT 1. Sandstone and conglomerate, white and light pink,
....I ::.::: orange-tan with purple and red zones where weathered, medium-
>
>-
(..)
0 to coarse-grained, becomes finer in upper part, subrounded
grains. Quartz is dominant mineral. Sandstone, planar cross·
w 0:::
(/)
<( >-
0:::
bedded, but with trough cross-bedding in channel fill. No dis-
cernable structure in some units. Conglomerate, white and light
(..) w
I- pink to dark tan-brown and reddish where weathered, consists of
I- well-rounded, polished, oblate to spheroidal quartz pebbles in
<(
CXl sandstone matrix. Matrix is similar to adjacent sandstone beds in
composition and texture. Quartz pebbles as much as 2 inch
(5 em) in diameter. Conglomerate is thin· to very thin-bedded
and generally occurs as elongate lenses along bedding planes
Fluvial or as fill in channels and scours. Paleocurrent direction north·
distributary west and southwest. Trend of two channels is west-southwest.
channel Gradational contact w•th overlying shale.
(point bad

15r5
ft m

ofo

lSGS 1984

T143: 35
 c
0 .....
·.;:::; Cl.l
C1l .0
E E
0 Cl.l
u. ~ Facies
Q)
c UN IT 5. Sandstone, white, weathers buff with iron-oxide
B Fluvial
5 staining, fine-grained to very fine-grained, grains are subangular
-oc channel to subrounded, well-sorted. Quartz is the dominant mineral;
co oxidized clay chips common. Unit is both planar cross-bedded
(/')
with asymmetrical, low-amplitude ripples where sorting is poor,
Distributary
~ and structureless where sorting is good. Paleocurrent directions
I-
I- -oc fluvial
channel or
4 south-southwest.
0 UN IT 4. Sandstone and siltstone; sandstone, dark brown,
co ~ crevasse splay
co weathers deep purple, fine- to medium-grained, subrounded
<(
~ Swamp 3 grains, abundant quartz; some oxidized clay chips and wood
::J fragment casts. Sandstone occurs as thick to thin lenses which
-£;_ have filled scours in siltstone. Siltstone, white, weathers light
"Oco
-o lnterdistribu-
gu tary bay I marsh 2
gray, fine-grained, silty, parts easily along bedding planes; thin-
> to very thin-bedded; deposits draped over sandstone lenses.
Q)
a: Ripple lamination common. Paleocurrent directions west-
southwest. Contact with overlying sandstone is sharp.
UNIT 3. Coal (Reynoldsburg Coal Member), shale, and silt-
stone. Unit 3 fills paleotopographic depressions and is scoured
by Unit 4; thickness is variable. The coal is bright banded and as
much as 27 inches (70 em) thick; partly stained yellow. Shale,
black, carbonaceous, thin~edded. Siltstone, dark brown, weath-
ers rusty brown, grains subangular; siltstone occurs in very thin
lenses which are rippled and which cut into the underlying
w tll
c shale and grade into the overlying shale. Sharp contact with over-
.....J B lying sandstone and siltstone.
.....J
-oc UNIT 2. Siltstone and shale; siltstone, light brown, weathers
> co
Distributary rusty brown and orange, subangular grains. Shale, gray, slightly
>- (/')
fluvial silty, carbonaceous, thin-bedded to laminar. Siltstone is thin-
w
(f)
-oc channel bedded, ripple-bedded, and missing locally; fills an irregular
<( ::J eroded surface on underlying shale and grades into the over-
u 0
a. lying shale. Sharp contact with overlying shale and coal.
UNIT 1. Sandstone; white to pink, weathers rusty tan and buff,
purple mottling, with red iron-oxide on bedding planes; fine-
grained, grains are subrounded, sorting is fair to good. Quartz
is the dominant mineral; contains few clay chips. Lower part of
unit appears structureless due to good sorting of constituent
grains; upper part contains planar and trough cross-beds. Paleo-
current directions south-southeast. Gradational contact with
overlying siltstone and shale.

FIGURE 27 STOP 10 - Columnar sections for roadcuts at Pounds Escarpment on

I-24 south of Marion. E 1/2 Sec. 8, W1/2 Sec. 16, TWP 12 S., RNG 3 E., Johnson
County (after Koeninger, 1978 and Koeninger and Mansfield, 1979).

of the other facies. This subfacies has
rocks that are coarser than other
channel deposits; the rocks vary from
gravelly, coarse-grained sandstone to
medium-grained sandstone. Sedimentary
structures observed in this subfacies
include planar and trough crossbeds,
major scour channels, and erosional
truncations. The rocks in this
subfacies fine upward, with silt-
stone/mudstone commonly draping each
channel fill.
Interdistributary Facies. This
facies is subdivided into three
sub-facies: the interdistributary bay,
the abandoned distributary channel, and
the deltaic lake. The interdistributary
bay deposits usually overlie
distributary channel or abandoned
channel subfacies, as well as marsh and
swamp subfacies. They may pass upward
into marsh deposits (i.e., coal and
coaly shales), or they may be scoured by
younger channel subfacies. This
subfacies consists mostly of shale,
siltstone, and fine-grained sandstone,
which are often lenticular and
surrounded by shale. These sandstone
lenses contain small-scale trough
crossbeds and ripple-drift lamination.
The shales contain wavy bedding and a
few burrows.
The abandoned distributary channel
subfacies forms deposits that often fine
upward into interdistributary bay and
marsh deposits, or they may be scoured
by younger distributary channels. They
are characterized by shale and
lenticular bodies of fine- to medium-
grained sandstone. Koeninger (1978)
believed that some of these deposits
were tidally influenced; they are
characterized by thin to thick sandstone
lenses with small-scale trough cross-

T143: 36
bedding. The sandstone lenses are separating the more resistant sandstone
capped by ripple marks formed by a flow parts of the escarpment. Locally, it
direction opposite of that suggested by develops into a valley separating the
the underlying trough cross-beds. In Pounds and Battery Rock Sandstones into
addition, these tidally influenced two cuestas. This unit appears to be
abandoned channel subfacies are the result of a period of marine
characterized by the presence of flaser- transgression between periods of delta
bedding. Koeninger (1978) also believed lobe formation represented by the Pounds
that abandoned channel subfacies with and Battery Rock Sandstone Members.
ripple-marked sandstone that fine upward Koeninger (1978) believes that the Drury
into normally-bedded siltstone and shale Shale probably represents prodeltaic
lack such tidal influence. clays. Further evidence supporting this
The deltaic lake subfacies marine transgression is found in the
conformably overlies the Drury interval further east where black
interdistributary bay deposits, but is shales, and limestones with marine
itself scoured by younger distributary fossils can be seen (Devera and others,
channel deposits. In this subfacies one 1987).
can find interbedded black mudstone and
a gray, silty mudstone. The units also
contain layers of vertical selenite
crystals. The bedding is uniformly thin
and laterally persistent, resulting in a
varve-like appearance.
Overbank Facies. This facies has
three subfacies: marsh, floodplain, and
swamp. The marsh subfacies overlies the
distributary channel, point-bar, and
interdistributary bay subfacies. This
subfacies may grade upward into swamp or
interdistributary bay subfacies, or it
may be cut into by distributary channel
subfacies. The marsh deposits also
interfinger laterally with the swamp
deposits. The marsh subfacies consists
mainly of black shales interbedded with
thin, fine-grained sandstone lenses.
Carbonaceous laminae are common along
partings in the shale and bedding in the
sandstone.
The flood plain subfacies usually
overlies the point-bar subfacies, and is
scoured by younger distributary
channels. Floodplain deposits contain
shale that is color-banded, which
probably indicates subaerial exposure.
These shales then enclose rhythmically
interbedded, uniformly thick,
ripple-marked siltstone lenses that
represent seasonal floods.
The swamp subfacies of the overbank
facies is not well-represented in the
Caseyville Formation. These deposits
consist mainly of coals, and
carbonaceous thinly-bedded shale with
siltstone lenses.
Another facies, not visible in the
I-24 cuts, is in the 9 m (30 ft) thick
covered interval between the lower and
upper roadcuts. This is the interval
that is equivalent to most of the Drury
Member. Because it is so shaley and
nonresistant, it forms a prominent bench
T143: 37
 GUIDE TO THE CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF KENTUCKY
Donald R. Chesnut and James C. Cobb
Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, Kentucky
INTRODUCTION
In Kentucky, the field trip will
traverse a variety of physiographic and
structural features along the
700-kilometer route (Figs. 28-29) and
many depositional environments of the
Carboniferous.
The Eastern Interior (Illinois)
basin in Kentucky is represented largely
by the Western KentuCky Coal Field,
which is composed of Pennsylvanian-age
rocks (figs. 28-29). The Eastern
Interior basin can be divided into two
sub-basins, the northern and largest
occurs mostly in Illinois and Indiana
and is a broad, gently dipping basin.
This part has been termed a "sag" basin,
and was discussed previously. The
southern sub-basin, lying in part of the
Western Kentucky Coal Field, is much
smaller, but is deeper. It occupies the
Moorman syncline and represents
Carboniferous reactivation of late
Precambrian or early Paleozoic rift
faults known as the Rough Creek
graben. This region is crossed by
several complex fault systems, most of
which appear to be normal and reverse
faults. Our first stop will investigate
Upper Mississippian rocks exposed
between faults on the western edge of
the coal field. In this region the
topography is low and large areas in the
coal field have been strip mined to
recover the thick, flat-lying coal beds
occurring near the surface. One stop
will examine the geology of the most
economically important of these coals.
A regional unconformity between
Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks,
which occurs throughout the Western
Kentucky Coal Field, will also be
observed. Several stops are planned to
examine this important unconformity and
the rocks associated with it.
As we travel to the east, we leave
the Western Kentucky Coal Field and
approach the north-south-trending
Cincinnati Arch, which separates the
Eastern Interior and Appalachian basins
(Figs. 28-29). The field trip crosses a
low on the arch called the Cumberland
saddle. The rocks exposed here are
T143: 38
largely Mississippian in age.
Consequently this region is called the
Mississippian Plateau. Lower
Mississippian clastic rocks outcrop
along the axis of the arch, whereas
Upper Mississippian rocks surround the
basins. Where the Upper Mississippian
carbonate rocks outcrop, the topography
is karstic, and features such as caves,
sinkholes, uvalas, and terra rosas can
be observed. Here we will visit a large
cave system in Mammoth Cave National
Park. Additional stops will be made to
investigate the transition from Lower
Mississippian subaqueus delta and
basinal clastics to Upper Mississippian
platform carbonates.
After crossing the Cincinnati Arch,
we enter the central part of the
Appalachian basin (figs. 28-29). This
part of the basin was actively subsiding
during the Late Mississippian and the
Early and Middle Pennsylvanian, and was
probably a foreland basin formed by
loading of the crust during the
Alleghenian Orogeny. The gently dipping
Pennsylvanian rocks of this basin in
Kentucky make up the Eastern Kentucky
Coal Field. A regional unconformity
separates the Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian rocks here as well, and we
will stop at the western edge of the
coal field to study the unconformity and
its associated rocks.
The Eastern Kentucky Coal Field has
been one of the most productive in the
world, and mtning has been the dominant
industry in the region. The topography
of this coal field has much more relief
than the Western Kentucky Coal Field,
and therefore the shallow coal beds are
mined in a different manner. Common
types of mining here include
contour-strip, auger, drift, and
mountain-top removal. The topography
also affects road construction in that
many large roadcuts are required for
major highways. As a consequence, the
series of outcrops seen along this part
of the field trip are excellent for
observing depositional features
associated with coal-bearing strata.
Several stops have been selected along
these roadcuts, which illustrate
important depositional environments.
 • STOPS
1. Stevens HUI
2. Saint Charles
3. Peth
4. Nolin Reservoir
N D. Breaks Interstate Park
5. Gradyville
6. Fishing Creek
7. Sugar HIli
8, Billows
9. Brier Fork
10. Four Corners
11. Darb Fork
12. Ogden Branch
13. Martin
FIGURE 28 Physiographic map of Kentucky showing field trip route and stops for
Kentucky (from Loebeck, 1929).
Very few faults are found in this
coal field. A notable exception is the
Pine Mountain thrust fault, which occurs
in southeastern Kentucky, Tennessee, and
Virginia, and will be visited at the
Breaks Interstate stop. The Pine
Mountain fault is the distal-most thrust
fault of the Alleghenian Orogeny.
STOP DESCRIPTIONS
STOP Il--STEVENS HIll CUT: Alternating
Upper Mississippian Terrestrial and
Marine Sequences
Stop Leader: Stephen F. Greb
Part of the Chesterian Series (Upper
Mississippian), from the Cypress
Sandstone Formation to the Tar Springs
Sandstone Formation, is exposed in
roadcuts along the Western Kentucky
Parkway, at Stevens Hill near Princeton,
Kentucky (fig. 30). The Chesterian
Series is composed of irregularly
alternating couplets of limestone and
T143: 39
• OVERNIGHT STOPS
A. Mammoth Cave National Park
B. London, Kentucky
C. Jenny Wiley State Park
50 o 50 100 MILES
shale beds with sandstone and shale beds
(fig. 31). This pattern marks the
transition from carbonate deposition of
the underlying Ste. Genevieve to the
deltaic-clastic deposition of the
overlying Pennsylvanian Caseyville
Formation. Sedimentation was largely
controlled by the fluctuating position
of the ancient Michigan River system,
which introduced terrigenous clastics
into the basin from the north (Swann,
1963). Approximately 70 minor reversals
are superimposed on 12 major cycles of
shoreline advance and retreat in the
Chesterian Series (fig. 31). During
shoreline advance, delta-constructional
facies were deposited, and during
shoreline retreat, delta-destructional
facies and shelf carbonates were
deposited (fig. 32).
Cypress Sandstone
The Cypress Sandstone is the
lowermost Chesterian formation exposed
at Stevens Hill (fig. 30). The Cypress
 PRINCESS
CENTRAL UNIT

J
APPALACHIAN
FOUR

JSCA~E
80m
BASIN ~ CORNERS
EASTERN INTERIOR ~UNIT
30km
U)
(ILLINOIS) BAS'IN datum variable
w z
-'
CIC (I)
oQ
C ~ Z

. o
%
CJ
0

;£
-' -'
faults not shown w
! >
c c M/DDL~ PENNSYL VAN/AN
en CJ
;---~~---
o

ta.
DAY 3 DAY 4

DAY 6

FIGURE 29 Cross section of route through Kentucky, showing field trip stops.

is at least 18 meters thick and consists thin, coarsely crystalline, bioclastic

of a basal, fine-grained, thin-bedded
sandstone, overlain by red, green, and
gray shales, a thin bioclastic
limestone, and fine-grained, thin-
bedded, calcareous sandstones (fig. 31).
The Cypress is a blanket-sand
deposit; one of the more uniform
Chesterian sandstones in the basin. The
Cypress Formation ;s an example of
shoreline reversal (fig. 31). The lower
sheet sand is typical of other distal,
constructive-deltaic complexes in the
Chesterian, and the upper, increasingly
carbonate-rich clastics and thin
limestones are typical of the
destructive-deltaic complexes produced
by the onlap of shallow marine shelf
conditions.
Golconda Formation
The Golconda Formation has four
members in this part of the basin (figs.
30-31). The basal Beech Creek is a
limestone that is oolitic near the
top. The 001 ites indicate shallow.ing,
higher energy conditions and the
development of shoals.
The Beech Creek is overlain by the
regionally intergrading Fraileys Shale
and Big Clifty Sandstone. At Stevens
Hill the Fraileys occurs as 13 m (42.6
ft) of interbedded, fossiliferous,
calcareous shales and limestones (figs.
30-31). The Big Clifty is 8 m (26.2 ft)
thick, with a basal, fine-grained,
calcareous sandstone exhibiting wavy
bedding and possible bimodal
paleocurrent directions, overlain by
calcareous shales, siltstones,
limestones, dolostones, and dolomitic
sandstones with flow rolls (figs.
30-31). Regionally, crossbedding in the
Big Clifty differs from most other
Chesterian sandstones in that
paleocurrent directions are to the west,
instead of the south (Potter and others,
1958) •

T143: 40
 A B
700 C/)
..J
west east I
C/)
..J Ward Creek
200 NORTH FACE
>
w 345m to C
z
«
J:
600
175
GLEN
DEAN
LS

125
400~----~-----~------------------==:::::::"""'_----------J

elev.

m ft
700
C D STEVENS HILL ROADCUT If; SANDSTONE
west east WESTERN KENTUCKY PARKWAY
Ward Creek CALDWELL COUNTY, KY. ~-~ SANDY SHALE
200
SOUTH FACE (a ft e r T rae e • 1 9 8 1 )
345m to B

HORIZONTAL SCALE
L=:I SHALE

,...L_
~
...J...
600
TAR SPRINGS SS o 300 600 ft ...L,
,--L CALCAREOUS SHALE

175 ~---r-"",---.......I""'I----,-'~I.- I -l
......

o 100 200 m LIMESTONE

NODULAR DOLOMITE

150
<> MARINE FOSSILS COAL

__ GLEN DEAN LS v- BIOTURBATION POORLY EXPOSED

125 HARD'NSiJiiRG ss -- --
400

FIGURE 30 Diagram of roadcut exposures at Stevens Hill stop (adapted from Trace,
1981).

The combined Fraileys-Big Clifty Creek fault zone (Treworgy, 1985). The
interval was deposited by tidally thin, nodular dolostones in the red and
influenced, shallow-marine-ramp facies green shales at the top of the unit
including tidal channels, tidal bars, represent supratidal flats and
turbidites, tempestites and beach paleosols, which would indicate exposure
barriers (Treworgy, 1985). of the interval prior to transgression
Beach-barrier islands apparently and deposition of the next carbonate
prograded westward from an exposed unit (Treworgy, 1985).
Cincinnati Arch across the underlying The fossiliferous Haney Limestone
shallow-shelf carbonates and muds overlies the Big Clifty (figs. 30-31).
(Balthaser, 1969; Vincent, 1975). This The Haney consists of a 1 m (3 ft)
part of the section differs thick, fine- to coarse-grained limestone
significantly from its Illinois overlain by 13 m (42.6 ft) of
counterpart in that the Big Clifty interbedded calcareous siltstone,
beaches were restricted to the southern sideritic shales, and bioclastic
part of the basin. Facies changes like limestones (fig. 33). The dominance of
this indicate that the southern shelf the bryozoan, Rhombopora biofacies at
was separated from the northern part of this stop indicates that the member was
the basin by relief along the Rough deposited at or near wave base, but too
T143: 41
 CHESTERIAN grade upward into calcareous silty
>-
(!)
C/)
C/)
SHORELINE shales with calcareous sandstone lenses
~ C/)
m w
...w -a:w ~
0
-' z- POSITION and flow rolls (figs. 30-31). The
C/)
w
>- C/)
"~
u.
0
:I:
~E
2""" 960 to 1600 km
.,NE sandstones contain trace fossils and the
bryozoan, Archimedes sp. (Trace,
C/) !=
-' ...
:I:

1981). About 13 m (42.6 ft) from the

base a thin coaly zone is preserved
above one of two channels that truncate
the lower sheet-like sands. The large
channel is filled with bioturbated,
ripple- and rhythmical-bedded sandstones
containing transported marine-fossil
lags, and is overlain by a crinoidal
limestone.
The Hardinsburg is one of the most
widespread Michigan River deltaic units
Zz
extending into Kentucky (fig. 34). At
this stop, a thin, streaky coal
~ ~
a. a:
Hardinsburg
Sandstone
~==-~=~ _ 0
('t) indicates that the Hardinsburg delta
Ci5~ complex was stable enough to provide a
~(J) substrate for plant growth and
(J)W
(J) J: I--.---r--:- peat-swamp environments. The channels
~ () represent distributary or tidal channels
that were abandoned as the strand line
retreated to the north and marine
conditions advanced across the basin.
Glen Dean limestone
The Glen Dean Limestone overlies the
Hardinsburg. At this stop the Glen Dean

l'llli
STEVENS HILL
SECTION
(after Trace. 1981)
FIGURE 31 Stratigraphic section exposed
at Stevens Hill (after Trace, 1981)
compared to the Chesterian shoreline
reversal diagram of Swann (1963).
deep for oolite formation (Vincent,
1975).
Hardinsburg Sandstone
The Hardinsburg Sandstone overlies
the Golconda. At this stop the
Hardinsburg is 30 m (98.4 ft) thick and
is composed of fine-grained sandstones
and gray shales. The lenticular
sandstones are planar, rhythmically, and
wavy bedded. The sandstones and shales
is 28 m (91.8 ft) thick. The base of
the unit is aIm (3 ft) thick, coarsely
crystalline, thick-bedded, fossiliferous
LAND
limestone. The limestone is truncated
at this stop by a thin-bedded,
channel-fill sandstone that is slumped
(after Swann, 1963) along its margin (figs. 30-31).
The top of the sand is poorly
exposed, but is overlain by thin,
interbedded siltstones and shales that
become more calcareous toward the top of
the section. The Glen Dean is capped by
3 m (9.8 ft) of coarsely crystalline
limestone and calcareous shale.
The Glen Dean illustrates three
reversals of the Chesterian strand line
(fig. 31). The basal carbonate bed
records the initial onlap of shallow
shelf conditions over the Hardinsburg
delta complex. The channel-fill and
middle clastic sections show the distal
influence of yet another delta complex,
and the upper carbonate bed records a
major onlap of carbonate shelf
conditions.
Tar Sp~ings Sandstone
The Glen Dean is overlain by the Tar
Springs Sandstone (figs. 30-31). Only
the lower 13 m (42.6 ft) of the Tar

T143: 42
 CHESTERIAN SERIES
SHORELINE-RETREAT ENVIRONMENTS
FIGURE 32 Paleogeography of regressive-progradational and transgressive phases
during the Chesterian.
Springs is exposed at this cut, but the
unit may be as much as 40 m (131.2 ft)
thick in surrounding areas. The
sandstone is fine grained and thin to
medium bedded. Paleocurrent directions
range from 95 0 to 145 0 •
Regional lithofacies analysis
indicates that the Tar Springs was
deposited by highly constructive,
lobate, Michigan River deltas that were
influenced by wave action. Longshore
currents heading from southeast to
northwest resulted in the formation of
interdeltaic wave-dominated beaches and
tidal flats protected by elongate
barrier bars (Neely, 1982; Wescott,
1982), similar to Big Clifty deposition.
STOP 12--SAINT CHARLES: economically
important Springfield (Kentucky No.9)
coal bed and distributary sandstone
Stop Leader: Stephen F. Greb
This stop is located near milepost
32 on the Western Kentucky Parkway
T143: 43
CHESTER IAN SERIES
SHORELINE-ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTS
(figs. 28-29). The coal exposed near
road level is the Springfield coal bed
of the Carbondale Formation (Middle
Pennsylvanian). This coal is the most
economically important bed in this part
of the state. Most of the stripping
operations that can be observed along
this part of the Parkway mine this
bed. The bed averages a little less
than 2 m (6.6 ft) in thickness, and is
commonly overlain by a I-meter thick
black shale that is easily
distinguishable on subsurface
geophysical logs (Smith and others,
1969) •
At this stop the Springfield coal is
1.5 m (4.9 ft) thick and is capped by
0.5 m (1.6 ft) of bone coal. The bone
coal contains abundant pelecypods and
brachiopods. Underlying the coal is a
thin, unfossiliferous limestone and gray
sideritic shale. The coal and bone are
overlain by gray sideritic shale
containing pelecypods, brachiopods,
ostracodes, corals, and crinoids (fig.
35). The shale becomes silty to the
east, and is truncated by a 12 m {39.4
 west east
A B
EASTERN INTERIOR BASIN
OZARK DOME CINCINNA TI ARCH

~=-~=-=-=-=-=--==-=-=-~=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-=-~=ff ~F[D] ~~B=UB ~ =--==-=-=-~=--==-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=~-=-=

(after Vincent, 1975)

~ PRODELTA MU'DS

o BEACH AND BARRIER ISLANDS

E] SWAMP AND MARSH

IL IN
~ OOLITE SHOALS

SHALLOW MARINE CARBONATES

MO
SHALLOW MARINE CLASTICS
AND CARBONATES

FIGURE 33 Cross section showing distribution and facies relationships of the Big
Clifty Sandstone, Fraileys Shale, and Haney Limestone (after Vincent, 1975).

ft) thick sandstone (Whaley and others,
1979) •
The sandstone is fine to medium
grained, has a scoured base containing
coal spar, rounded coal pebbles, and
plant stem and log debris, and exhibits
massive, trough and planar
crossbedding. Several broad,
cross-cutting beds can be observed in
the exposure. The sandstone can be
traced laterally for several
kilometers. At milepost 32 the
sandstone exhibits low-angle
accretionary surfaces with west-dipping
crossbed directions ranging from 245 to
303 (fig. 35). At milepost 33 the same
0
sandstone is 20 m (65.6 ft) thick and
contains several cross-cutting channels
with paleocurrents to the southwest from
198 to 220 (fig. 35b).
0 0
Gradual subsidence of the local
delta lobe outpaced peat burial,
resulting in the bone coal at the top of
the Springfield coal. Continued
transgression led to marine bays that
~ere progressively filled by the silty,
distal edge of a prograding delta
lobe. The thick sandstone above the
coal represents the distributary mouth
bars and channel bars of this deltaic
system. Shifting axes of channel
deposition are demonstrated by the
cross-cutting channel scours (Whaley and
others, 1979) and shifts in paleocurrent
directions between outcrops. Several
north-south distributary sandstones have
been mapped at this stratigraphic
interval (Hopkins, 1958; Beard and
Williamson, 1979), and the sandstones in
this area may represent a branch of the
0
same distributary network. Some of
these sandstones (e.g., the Henderson
Channel) may have eroded completely
through the Springfield coal, causing
serious mining difficulties (Beard and
Williamson, 1979). .
STOP 13--PETH: paleoslump along the
upland unconformity surface
Stop Leader: Stephen F. Greb
T143: 44

MICHIGAN RIVER SYSTEM
CHESTERIAN SERIES
\IL
MO··
,)
l.
\ t"--" I~..KY
'. . """
\.j\('.,
o 40 km
I I
," ...... - - - DEGONIA SS FM
. -.....--- PALESTINE SS FM
~''''''''''''''
..
(after Swann, 1963)
FIGURE 34 Inferred pathways of the
Michigan River system during the
Chesterian, based on sandstone isopachs
(after Swann, 1963).
This stop is located just west of
milepost 99, on the Western Kentucky
Parkway near Leitchfield (Figs.
28-29). At this stop the Mississippian-
Pennsylvanian unconformity is a
paleo-upland surface, in contrast to
being one of the major paleovalleys, as
will be seen at Nolin Reservoir (fig.
36).
The Upper Mississippian Menard
Limestone is exposed at road level (fig.
37). It is the uppermost preserved
Chesterian carbonate in the area. The
carbonates in the Chester Series
characteristically form broad,
relatively flat terraces or benches
beneath the unconformity except where
they are dissected by paleovalleys. At
this stop the unconformity is poorly-
exposed, but occurs between the Menard
and overlying shales and siltstones
(fig. 37).
Lower Pennsylvanian strata above the
unconformity consist of poorly-
laminated siltstones and black shales
with a high abundance and diversity of
marine trace fossils. Several
lense-shaped pods of sandstone
exhibiting massive and ripple bedding
occur within the shale. Thick channel
sands are exposed at either end of the
roadcut (fig. 37). Most of the
sandstone beds are steeply dipping and
slickensided. The channel sandstone and
shale is overlain by a thin coal bed
that can be traced across most of the
outcrop. The coal bed is capped by a
coarsening-upward sequence. At least
( .. .......".. -
..
one, and possibly two slumps are exposed
at this stop. The glide plane for the
west slump occurs beneath the underclay
\ and the darker shales (fig. 37). The
principal coal bed thins and continues
over the top of the slump. A second bed
occurs along the glide plane and
thickens toward the slump. This second
WALTERSBURG SS FM
bed may represent either a detached mat
of peat, a lower bench of a coal split,
or a totally separate coal bed. The
HARDINSBURG SS FM
slump consists of several large, highly
inclined and steeply dipping,
slickensided blocks of sandstone in a
mottled red and gray shale. The
sandstone blocks exhibit massive to
poorly- developed rhythmic bedding, much
like the sandstones in the smaller slump
and channel on the far eastern end of
the roadcut.
The shale and siltstone is typical
of Pennsylvanian bay-fill deposits.
These slumps may have been initiated as
bank failures on the margin of a
channel, with the glide planes following
the bases of wedge-shaped overbank
deposits. A part of the channel may be
exposed at the far eastern end of the
cut. It is presumed that the channel
was part of a minor distributary system
that included the channel on the far
western end of the exposure.
Another possible explanation for
slumping is that the slumps were
initiated by faulting. The fractured
and steeply dipping sandstones, as well
as the mottled shale (which often
indicate secondary fluid movement) near
the covered part of the exposure (fig.
37) were interpreted by Higgins (1986)
as a large-scale kink resulting from
horizontal compression prior to
lithification of the sediments.
If a fault does occur beneath the
slump: (1) it formed prior to the upper
coal bed that seems to be continuous
T143: 45
 m
20
E

10

oiZ!_-~~~
(after Whaley and others, 1979)
ROAD LEVEL
SPRINGFIELD COAL

HORIZONTAL NOT TO SCALE

~ SANDSTONE
~ COAL [L] PALEOCURRENT DIRECTIONS

E&l
--
SILTSTONE
~ BONE COAL ~
", LOGS AND COAL SPAR LAG

[]
- -
SHALE
EJ BIOTURBATION
~
C <:I
SIDERITE NODULES

§ LIMESTONE
G MARINE FOSSILS [J] FRACTURES

FIGURE 35 Diagram of roadcut exposures in the vicinity of the Saint Charles stop.
(A) Roadcut exposure at the Saint Charles stop (after Whaley and others, 1979). (B)
Adjacent roadcut exposure to the east, near milepost 32. (C) Roadcut exposure
farther to the east, near milepost 33.

T143: 46
 SUB-PENNSYL VANIAN unconformity surface (Whaley and others,
1979) or resulted from channel incision
PALEOTOPOGRAPHY and bank collapses, followed by
differential compaction of isolated sand
PETH NOLIN lenses in shale.
STOP RESERVOIR
STOPS
STOP 14--NOlIN RESERVOIR: channel-fill
I at regional unconformity surface
Stop Leader: Stephen F. Greb
At the previous stop the
Mississippian-Pennsylvanian unconformity
was observed on the Chesterian
paleo-upland surface (fig. 36). At this
stop the unconformity is formed by a
paleovalley that is entrenched
approximately 31 m (101.7 ft) beneath
the upland erosion surface. The
FIGURE 36 Cross section showing the paleovalley at Nolin Reservoir was
upland surface and valley called the Rochester Paleovalley (fig.
paleotopographic relief at the 38) by Davis and others (1975) and is
unconformity surface in the vicinity of the combined Brownsville and Drakesboro
the Peth and Nolin Reservoir stops. Paleovalleys of Bristol and Howard
(1971). This type of
over the outcrop, and (2) it had little bedrock-entrenched, alluvial-valley
displacement. Structural controls have system, is a significant indicator of
been suggested as a controlling the geologic conditions that controlled
influence on the position of sedimentation during the Carboniferous
paleodrainages along the in the bas'n.
sub-Pennsylvanian unconformity in the Exposures of the Lower Pennsylvanian
basin (Greb, 1987). Kyrock Sandstone Member (Caseyville
Another explanation for the Formation) in this area indicate that
slickensides and steep dips is that the the valley ranges in width from 3 to 5
slump resulted from rapid loading of km (4.8-8 mi), and truncates underlying
saturated sediments on an uneven Chesterian strata to the Haney Limestone

east FAUL TED AREA west

PALEOSLUMP ?
m
PALEOSLUMP
------?--- CASEYVILLE SS

? ~///J:B; 4

o
ROAD LEVEL
85m MENARD LS
HORIZONTAL NOT TO SCALE

~
--
INTERBEDDED SHALE
DARK SHALE LIMESTONE
AND SANDSTONE . --.-
---

H
SANDSTONE G LIGHT SHALE SIDERITE

PB COAL BIOTURBATION

FIGURE 37 Diagram of roadcut exposure at the Peth stop.

T143: 47
level (fig. 39). The valley is made up
of two parts, an inner entrenched SUB-PENNSYLVANIAN PALEOVALLEY NETWORK

valley, and an outer shallower valley. EASTERN INTERIOR BASIN

Sediments of the inner-valley fill are N

visible in exposures near lake level at
Nolin Reservoir, while outer-valley fill
sediments are exposed at road level and r
in the spillway (fig. 39).

lower Pebbly Sandstone Unit

On the trail from the boat ramp
(lake level) the thick conglomeratic
nature of the lower sandstone is
evident. Gravel layers occur along the
base of planar and trough beds and along
foreset avalanche faces. Quartz pebbles
up to 122 mm (4.8 in) in diameter have
been documented. The sandstone is
medium to coarse grained, with abundant
planar crossbedding. Paleocurrent
directions are unidirectional ,with
little dispersion, conforming closely to NOLIN RESER VOIR
the axis of the main valley
(Sedimentation Seminar, 1978). 1 ROUGH CREEK FAULT SYSTEM ~ ROCHESTER PALEOVALLEY
2 PENNYRILE FAUL T SYSTEM (combined)
3 WABASH VALLEY FAULT SYSTEM
Upper Sandstone'Unit 4 CENTRAL FAULTS rm BROWNSVILLE PALEOVALLEY
5 OWENSBORO GRABEN FAULTS [Q] DRAKESBORO PALEOVALLEY

At the spillway of the dam, the compiled from: Bristol ~nd Howard, (1971)
upper sandstone unit is exposed (fig. Davis and others, (1974)
Greb, (1987)
39). The upper sandstone occupies the
outer valley and is two to four times FIGURE 38 Sub-Pennsylvanian
wider than the lower pebbly sandstone. paleovalleys of the Eastern Interior
Most of the bluffs in the region are Basin. The Nolin Reservoir stop (N) is
formed by this upper sandstone unit. located in the Rochester Paleovalley
Channel facies in the spillway exhibit (R) •
basal lags with abundant logs and
conglomerate, and large, thick, planar
and trough crossbedding grading upward
into siltstones exhibiting ripples and
flat bedding. This sequence is capped z
~
~
u.
west
ROCHESTER (BROWNSVILLE) PALEOVALLEY
north

by silty shales, claystones, and Z

c( w NOLIN RE'SE~VOIR
mudstones with minor slumps, ripples, >
-J
>
-J
::
>
SPILLWAY
elev.-
plant debris, and coal streaks (fig.
STOP BOAT RAMP
00 > STOP m
z
~
w
40). Three 5 to 6 m (16.4-19.7 ft) z OUTER VALLEY

~
00
w c(
200
thick fining-upward cycles are a. u

exposed. Paleocurrent measurements are

unimodal to the southwest, but with much
more dispersion than the lower pebbly 00

sandstone (Sedimentation Seminar, 1978). z

~
a:
w 150
~ 00
a.
~ Z
Interpretations 00
.~
~
a:
00 w SCALE
t-
The Rochester paleovalley represents ~
~
oo
W
i
0
I
100 m
a fluvial system that was entrenched
:I
U
100
into the underlying Chesterian carbonate
section in the Early Pennsylvanian (or (after Sedimentation Seminar, 1978)

possibly Late Mississippian). Streams

in the valley fed deltas in the Ouachita FIGURE 39 Cross section of the
trough to the southwest in Oklahoma and Rochester (Brownsville) Paleovalley at
Arkansas (Sedimentation Seminar, Nolin Reservoir.

T143: 48
1978). A base-level increase (that may
have been perhaps tectonically
controlled, as evidenced by the apparent
structural controls of paleovalley
position (Greb, 1987» led to the
northeastern migration of sedimentary
environments and valley aggradation.
The lower pebbly sandstone unit was
deposited by high-discharge, high
sediment-load, low-sinuosity streams as
the upper alluvial-valley facies shifted
in the upstream direction (Sedimentation
Seminar, 1978) (fig. 41).
When the inner valley filled, more
unconfined aggradation and continued
headward shift of fluvial facies led to
the accumulation of lower
alluvial-valley point-bars, represented
by the upper sandstone unit.
Paleohydrological analysis indicates the
existence of high-sinuosity meandering
streams, 196 to 328 m (643-1076 ft)
wide, 4.8 to 7.6 m (15.7-24.9 ft) deep,
with average current velocities of 30 to
76 cm/second (11.8-29.9 in/second),
maximum velocities on the order of 122
cm/second (48 in/se~ond), and a
disc~arge of 7625 m /second (25,000
feet /second) (fig. 41). This discharge
is less than the present-day discharge
of the Ohio River, but roughly
equivalent to the present day Kentucky
River (Sedimentation Seminar, 1978).
Valley filling was followed by
unconfined sedimentation and the
encroachment of delta-plain
environments.

CROSSBEDDING - ~
N
Trough
I
Axis
,t l
N
Ptanar
Master
Sets
NOLIN DAM SPILLWAY

im CLAY DRAPE AND CHUTE DEPOSITS IDEAL POINT BAR SEQUENCE

r~·:1 POINT BA~-UPPER SLOPE

.l
I.·p·:~· . POINT BAR-MIDSLOPE

[3
>".oo~~·"
POINT BAR-LOWER SLOPE
AND CHANNEL

CHANNEL LAG DEPOSITS

FIGURE 40 Fluvial deposits of the outer valley exposed at the Nolin Reservoir
spillway.

T143: 49
 PALEOVALLEY MODEL

OUTER VALLEY
MEANDERING
STREAMS

(after Sedimentation Seminar, 1878)

FIGURE 41 Paleoenvironments of the

Rochester (Brownsville) Paleovalley.

MJM10TH CAVE

Stephen F. Greb
Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, Kentucky

For the purposes of this field Pleistocene alluviation of the Green

guide, only the stratigraphy of the
Mammoth Cave region is described. The
following information is from Palmer
(1985).
Mammoth Cave and connecting
neighboring caves form the world's
largest known continuous cave system,
with a total length of 490 km (304 mi)
nearly three times larger than any other
caves explored so far. A generalized
cross section of the cave is illustrated
in Figure 42.
The upper cave levels (F) represent
Tertiary development, while the lower
levels (G, H) represent Quaternary
development and flooding by late
River. The Late Mississippian-age units
in which these levels are developed are
the Girkin Limestone Formation (B), on
the western flanks of the Cincinnati
Arch, the Ste. Genevieve Limestone
Formation (C), and the St. Louis
Limestone Formation (0). The cap rock
over most of the area is the Big Clifty
Sandstone Formation (see the Stevens
Hill stop) and higher Chesterian
carbonates and clastics (A). The units
beneath the cavernous limestones are the
impure limestones and detrital rocks of
the Late Mississippian Salem and
Harrodsburg Formations, and the Early
Mississippian Fort Payne Formation

T143: 50
 PALEOVALLEY MODEL

OUTER VALLEY
MEANDERING
STREAMS

(after Sedimentation Seminar, 1878)

FIGURE 41 Paleoenvironments of the

Rochester (Brownsville) Paleovalley.

MJM10TH CAVE

Stephen F. Greb
Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, Kentucky

For the purposes of this field Pleistocene alluviation of the Green

guide, only the stratigraphy of the
Mammoth Cave region is described. The
following information is from Palmer
(1985).
Mammoth Cave and connecting
neighboring caves form the world's
largest known continuous cave system,
with a total length of 490 km (304 mi)
nearly three times larger than any other
caves explored so far. A generalized
cross section of the cave is illustrated
in Figure 42.
The upper cave levels (F) represent
Tertiary development, while the lower
levels (G, H) represent Quaternary
development and flooding by late
River. The Late Mississippian-age units
in which these levels are developed are
the Girkin Limestone Formation (B), on
the western flanks of the Cincinnati
Arch, the Ste. Genevieve Limestone
Formation (C), and the St. Louis
Limestone Formation (0). The cap rock
over most of the area is the Big Clifty
Sandstone Formation (see the Stevens
Hill stop) and higher Chesterian
carbonates and clastics (A). The units
beneath the cavernous limestones are the
impure limestones and detrital rocks of
the Late Mississippian Salem and
Harrodsburg Formations, and the Early
Mississippian Fort Payne Formation

T143: 50
 GENERALIZED PROFILE OF
SE NW
MAMMOTH CAVE
M
CAVE PASSAGES
300

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ----=----- -.:...----------=---=------=--------=------=--=--=----------=-------=-=----------- -=----=-------------=-- ----------------- ------------.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
~- -=--~ --~ -=-~--=-_:-

(after Palmer, 1985)

FIGURE 42 Geological cross section at Mammoth Cave.

(E). Most of these units can be seen of the delta front probably was as much
along the field trip route. as 85 m (278.8 ft) (Sedimentation
Seminar, 1972).
STOP 15--GRADYVILLE: bioclastic After the influx of terrigenous
biostrome in starved basin sediments decreased, progradation into
the basin resumed with the initiation of
Stop Leader: Garland R. Dever, Jr. carbonate deposition. Carbonate
sediments originating on the platform
This stop is in the upper part of were transported across the platform,
the Fort Payne Formation (Lower onto the slope, and into the basin,
Mississippian), a lithologically forming southwest-prograding clinoform
heterogeneous unit that filled an Early deposits that generally paralleled the
Mississippian basin extending across slope and trend of the older detrital
parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Borden delta front (Sedimentation
Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Seminar, 1972; Klein, 1974; Hannan,
Missouri, and Arkansas (Lewis and 1975; Benson, 1976).
Potter, 1978; Whitehead, 1984). The Deposits southwest of the Borden
formation is composed of dolomite, delta front are assigned to the Fort
limestone, shale, siltstone, sandstone, Payne Formation. Correlative rocks
and chert. Here, in south-central overlying Borden shale and siltstone
Kentucky, the basin fill is mainly northeast of the delta front have been
dolomite and limestone. designated as the Muldraugh Member of
During Early Mississippian time, the Borden Formation (fig. 43).
before deposition of the Fort Payne, a The Cane Valley Limestone Member of
southwest-prograding wedge of the Fort Payne is exposed at this
terrigenous detrital sediments, the stop. Skeletal carbonate sand was
clays and silts of the Borden Formation, concentrated as linear shoals in a
advanced into Kentucky. The deposits high-energy environment at the break in
formed a submarine platform across slope (Sedimentation Seminar, 1972).
eastern and central Kentucky before The depositional dip of 0.5 to 1.0 0 0

detrital sedimentation sharply reflects accumulation on a slope

decreased. The platform was bordered by parallel to the Borden delta front. The
a southwest- facing foreset slope, Cane Valley consists of two elongate
called the Borden delta front by limestone bodies, with asymmetrical~
Peterson and Kepfer1e (1970), which clinoform shapes (fig. 43). They are
trended northwestward across about 45 km (28 mi) long, with average
south-central and west-central Kentucky widths of 9 km (5.6 mi) and a maximum
into Indiana (fig. 43). The basin to thickness of about 60 m (196.8 ft).
the southwest was sediment- starved. They trend northwest, paralleling the
Water depth several kilometers seaward trend of the Borden front, descend

T143: 51
 sw HE
SALEM AND WARSAW FORMATIONS

z
Z 0
<C ~
a. ~
a. o0::
tn u.
tn w
tn Z
tn ~
:E D..
I-
0::
oU.

DE'l CHATTANOOGA SHALE

FIGURE 43 Diagrammatic cross section showing relationship between Fort Payne and
Borden Formations in south-central Kentucky and geologic setting of Gradyville and
Fishing Creek field trip stops. Modified from Kepferle and Lewis (1974).

stratigraphically in the section during Mississippian time across a large

westward, and pinch out or grade into
adjacent dolomite and dolomitic
siltstone (Sedimentation Seminar, 1972;
Kepferle and Lewis, 1974).
Crossbedded calcarenite in the
Gradyville roadcuts is composed of
bryozoan and crinoidal sand, with
scattered brachiopods~ The limestone is
interlaminated and interbedded with
dolomite. In part of the roadcut along
the south side of the highway,
individual crossbeds of calcarenite
intertongue with and pass downward into
dolomite. Small hollow geodes, 1 to 5
cm (0.4-2.0 in) in diameter, are common
in both the dolomite and limestone. The
geodes generally have hollow centers,
but in dolomite freshly exposed by
spalling, gypsum fills the geodes and
also occurs in thin horizontal layers.
In addition to the elongate Cane
Valley Limestone bodies of the upper
Fort Payne, fan-shaped bodies of
crinoidal-bryozoan limestone occur in
the lower part of the formation. They
represent sediment-gravity-flow deposits
that formed submarine fans at the toe of
the slope (Klein, 1974).
STOP 16--FISHING CREEK: Borden delta
and platform carbonate transition
Stop Leader: Garland R. Dever, Jr.
The rocks at this stop represent the
initial sediments of a major sequence of
carbonate rocks that were deposited
part of the eastern United States. In
the Appalachian basin, carbonate
deposition occurred between Early and
Late Mississippian episodes of
terrigenous-detrital sedimentation.
Early Mississippian sedimentation
across Kentucky was dominated by the
deposition of terrigenous-detrital
sediments, principally clays and silts
of the Borden Formation. These
sediments were the distal marine edge of
a westward-prograding terrigenous
clastic wedge associated with the final
stages of the Acadian orogeny along the
eastern margin of North America
(Kepferle, 1977). Deep-water prodelta
clays of the basal Borden coarsen upward
into delta-front silts (Peterson and
Kepferle, 1970). The deltaic deposits,
as much as 185 m (607 ft) thick in
eastern Kentucky, progressively thin
southwestward and westward into the
central part of the state, where they
abruptly thin southwestward across a
narrow belt, about 2 to 12 km (1.2-7.5
mil wide, called the Borden delta front
by Peterson and Kepferle (1970) (fig.
43). The belt of abrupt thinning trends
northwest across central Kentucky into
Indiana. Excepting a thin accumulation
of prodelta clays, commonly less than 10
m (33 ft) thick, starved- basin
conditions existed southwest of the
front.
After construction of the submarine
deltaic wedge in eastern and central
Kentucky, sedimentation sharply

T143: 52
 West East
Ft. M.
20 300M. 200 100 0
60 I I I I I I
I I I i i i I
1000 Ft. 800 600 400 200 0

40

10
ST. LOUIS LIMESTONE

20 d / 7 7 ... - ..
}~ /I ~""-'!'l",~S",'!'l
~ ~
S ",\..E.~O~,:","'i\O~S

~
.....lo

-J:=
W

Ul "'l~~\O~
W
fO~~'
00~QE.~

Explanation
~ Limestone ~ Chert
- - - NANCY MEMBER Ed Dolomite ~ Geode
EZ33 Silty Dolomite I ~ I Nodular Quart2
~ Arq. Dolomite ~ Glauconite
~ Shale

FIGURE 44 Composite diagram of roadcuts along north and south sides of Cumberland
Parkway east of Fishing Creek showing upper Borden Formation, Salem and Warsaw
Formations, and lower St. Louis Limestone. Modified from Dever and Moody (1979).
decreased. A thin, widespread
glauconitic unit, the Floyds Knob Bed,
accumulated across the platform formed
by the deltaic wedge, on the slope of
the delta front, and in the basin (figs.
43-44).
The Floyds Knob Bed marks the change
in late Early Mississippian time from
terrigenous-detrital sedimentation to
carbonate deposition that continued into
Late Mississippian time, resulting in
the accumulation of as much as 150 m
(492 ft) of limestone and dolomite on
the platform before terrigenous-detrital
sedimentation was renewed. Greater
thicknesses of carbonate rocks were
deposited in the basin southwest of the
delta front.
Basal deposits of the carbonate
sequence, the Muldraugh Member of the
Borden Formation, abruptly thicken
southwestward as the underlying deltaic
shale and siltstone thin across the
delta front (fig. 43). Their thickness
increases from 15 m (49.2 ft) along the
margin of the platform to as much as 95
m (312 ft) in the basin, where rocks
correlative with the Muldraugh are
assigned to the Fort Payne Formation.
Progradation of the carbonate sediments
southwestward from the deltaic platform
contributed to the infilling of the
previously sediment-starved basin by the
Fort Payne (Sedimentation Seminar,
1972). Succeeding sediments of the
Salem and Warsaw Formations (Late
Mississippian) were deposited across the
region on a relatively level sea floor
that resulted from the basin infilling.
Dolomite, commonly argillaceous and
silty, and skeletal limestone are the
principal lithologies of the MUldraugh
and Salem and Warsaw (fig. 44). Cyclic
deposition of peritidal and subtidal
sediments is indicated by the
repetition, respectively, of dolomite
and limestone in these units (Benson,
1976). Correlative dolomite in southern
Indiana, however, is considered to be a
replacement of subtidal carbonate mud
(Maliva, 1987).
The lower 17 m (55.8 ft) of the St.
Louis Limestone, which has a total
thickness of about 30 m (98.4 ft) are
exposed at Fishing Creek (fig. 44).
Dolomite is the dominant lithology and
represents shallow subtidal, intertidal,
and supratidal sediments. It is partly
burrowed (mainly subhorizontal burrows),
in part finely laminated, and contains
several zones of nodular quartz. The
T143: 54
quartz and associated intervals of
brecciated dolomite, up to 1 m (3.3 ft)
thick, were formed during the
dissolution and replacement of
evaporites (Dever and others, 1978).
Subsurface deposits of gypsum and
anhydrite are present in the St. Louis
of the Eastern Interior basin. A
prominent interval of subtidal,
fossiliferous limestone, almost 3 m (9.8
ft) thick, also occurs in the lower St.
Louis. The uppermost part of the
formation, as will be seen at Sugar
Hill, the next stop, consists entirely
of subtidal limestone.
STOP 17--SUGAR HIll: platform carbonate
environments
Stop Leader: Garland R. Dever, Jr.
The crossbedded skeletal and oolitic
calcarenites, calcilutites, and
fossiliferous limestones of the St.
Louis and Monteagle Limestones (Late
Mississippian) in the Sugar Hill
roadcuts are representative of the types
of carbonate rocks commonly present in
late Meramecian and early Chesterian
strata of both the Appalachian basin in
eastern Kentucky and the Eastern
Interior basin in western Kentucky
(figs. 45-46). The boundary between the
Meramecian and Chesterian Series in
south-central Kentucky is in the lower
part of the Monteagle Limestone~ at the
contact between the Ste. Genevieve
Limestone and Kidder Limestone Members.
The upper 6 to 9 m (19.7-29.5 ft) of
the St. Louis Limestone, which has a
total thickness of about 30 m (98.4 ft)
in south-central Kentucky, consists of
fossiliferous calcilutite and
calcarenite. Colonies of acrocyathid
corals (Acrocrathus roliferus and ~.
floriformis floriformis and
Syringopora, partly in growth position,
are the most prominent fossils (fig.
45). The subtidal fossiliferous
limestone of the upper St. Louis
indicates an increase in water depth
across the shelf after deposition of the
supratidal to shallow subtidal dolomite
in the lower part of the formation,
which was seen at the Fishing Creek stop
(fig. 44).
Crossbedded calcarenites of the
overlying Monteagle Limestone were
deposited in high-energy, shallow
subtidal environments; calcilutites
probably represent lagoonal and tidal-
 West East
KIDDER LIMESTONE MEMBER
Explanation
~ Limestone ~ Talarocrinus

P::::;::::::::: Nodular bedded ~ Platycrinites

I::I::::::::::: limestone

STE. GENEVIEVE ED Dolomite ~ AcrcooCr~~:hid

~Chert
~~t;1~!~ESTONEMEMBER w
z PALEOSOL FEATURES

Ft. M. ....o I I Calcrete c::sz:::J Breccia

en
w
sOT'S ~
::::i
w
~ -oJ
~
(!)
40
4:= «
W ....w
.. z
Ul -Ll0 o
Ul ~
30
~coveredSlope

(t45M~

20

10

o 100 200 M.
ST. LOUIS LIMESTONE
I I I I
I I I ,- I l~ I I I
o 100 200 300 400 500 600 Ft.

FIGURE 45 Diagram of roadcut along northside of Kentucky Highway 80 at Sugar Hill

showing upper St. Louis Limestone and lower Monteagle Limestone.
flat sediments. Micrite-enveloped
grains are common to abundant in the
calcarenites. They were formed by the
repeated process of grain boring by
endolithic algae, bore vacation, and
subsequent bore filling with micritic
carbonate (Bathurst, 1971).
Calcareous paleosols, or caliches,
are common in the lower Monteagle (Figs.
45-46) and in correlative limestones of r--

both eastern and western Kentucky. Some r--

are widespread; others have very limited

areal extent. Subaerial exposure of the
carbonate sediments resulted from
several causes: (1) tectonic uplift,
(2) eustacy, (3) progradation of ~
supratidal deposits, and (4) shoaling of 0
0

calcareous sand bodies. Most of the C\I

L:
paleosols have been truncated and, 0
0

commonly, only the C horizon is co

preserved (Ettensohn and others, 1988). 0,...

:c
Pedogenic features include (1) 0

melanization, or darkening of the ~ ~

.:::L
limestone, (2) laminar micritic U
::5
calcrete, in part silicified, and (3) -4J
c:
brecciated calcilutite.
0
0 Q)
~ ~

The Chesterian sequence of the 4-

o
Eastern Interior basin mainly consists 0
~
of rhythmically alternating marine 0
0
C')
Q)
-0
0""
carbonate and terrigenous detrital (/)

deposits; shallow-water shelf

limestones alternating with shales and 0
~
sandstones from the southwest-prograding
Michigan River delta (Swann, 1963). ClQ)
.
c::c:
Early Chesterian strata here in the 0 00
western Appalachian basin and in the ~ r-- ..f-J
ItS(/)

southeastern part of the Eastern +oJE

Q)

Interior basin (Girkin Formation of the ::5°""

U-l
Mammoth Cave region) mainly consist of -0
1tSQ)
o
carbonate rocks, showing little or no t-O)
r--

influence from the Michigan River. The 4-Q)

ItS

Chesterian Kidder Limestone Member is 45 O..f-J

EO
c::
m (147.6 ft) thick in the vicinity of 1tS::E:
Sugar Hill; only the lower 11 m (36.1 t-
0)4-
0
ft) are exposed in the southern roadcut ItS

(::) +oJ
(fig. 46). ~

I
It)

I I
t-

The boundary between the Chesterian

J I
ItS
'-0 0-
¢
and Meramecian Series in Kentucky is w c:
0)

marked by both a change in crinoid fauna ... ~o,...

and a break in deposition. Late tn

ca
=>~
(,.!JO
........ .r:::.
Meramecian strata are characterized by W w
z WW
a: u.. (/)
the presence of Platycrinites penicillus o
~
a:
>a'l
w:E
-w
and early Chesterian rocks by species of 00
ww
~a'l
>~
w
zW
Talarocrinus (Swann, 1963) (figs. -:E
w
...J
a::E
wz
C)o
45-46). The upper boundary of w
c
.~
wOO

Meramecian rocks is a widespread

~w
c oo~
~ ~
paleosol occurring at the top of the
Ste. Genevieve Limestone Member of the 3NO.lS3~ll 31E>V3.lNOV\l
Monteagle in south-central Kentucky and
the Ste. Genevieve Limestone of western
Kentucky and Indiana.

T143: 56
 PENNSYLVANIAN ROCKS OF THE EASTERN KENTUCKY COAL FIELD
Donald R. Chesnut, Jr.
Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, Kentucky
The central Appalachian basin has
been one of the largest coal-producing
regions in the world, and the bituminous
coal produced here is well-known for its
high quality. Consequently, mining of
coal is the dominant industry in this
mountainous area. The Pennsylvanian-age
rocks of the central Appalachian basin
are sandstones, siltstones, shales,
coal, underclay, and other minor
lithologies. Detailed geologic mapping
on a scale of 1:24,000, conducted
jointly by the Kentucky and U.S.
Geological Surveys, revealed that about
50 stratigraphically distinct coal beds
are mined in eastern Kentucky.
Regional Unconformity
Pennsylvanian rocks unconformably
overlie Mississippian rocks throughout
the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field and most
of the central Appalachian basin. The
unconformity is recognized from both
surface and subsurface analysis. The
contact at the surface is marked by such
features as scours, channels, pedogenic
flint clay, iron ore, and paleokarst.
In addition, paleontological data
support different ages for the
Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks
throughout the basin. Regional cross
sections (fig. 47) reveal sequential
truncation of lowermost Pennsylvanian
(Pocahontas unit) and Mississippian
(Pennington Group and underlying) rocks
from the center of the basin toward the
Cincinnati arch. The unconformity
occurs within Lower Pennsylvanian rocks
near the center of the basin. In the
deepest parts of the basin (parts of
Virginia and southeastern West
Virginia), the contact is conformable.
Where the lowermost Pennsylvanian rocks
are removed by erosion, as in the
Eastern Kentucky Coal Field, the
unconformity is an apparent
IIMississippian-Pennsylvanian ll
unconformity. Along the western edge of
the basin, Early Pennsylvanian
sandstones directly overlie rocks as old
as Early Mississippian (Ohio and
northeastern Kentucky).
T143: 57
Lithostratigraphic Framework
The four Pennsylvanian formations
mapped in the Eastern Kentucky Coal
Field, from bottom to top, are the Lower
and Middle Pennsylvanian Lee and
Breathitt Formations and the Upper
Pennsylvanian Conemaugh and Monongahela
Formations. The Lee Formation is
composed of massive, largely quartzose
and quartz-pebble sandstones. The
Breathitt Formation is the dominant
coal-bearing formation and is made up of
IIdirty ll sandstones, siltstones, shales,
coal beds, and underclays. Very thin
limestones, siliceous rocks, and flint
clays are minor constituents.
The Conemaugh Formation contains
abundant red beds; coal beds are thinner
and they are of much less economic
importantance than those of the
underlying Breathitt Formation. The
overlying Monongahela Formation marks a
return to Breathitt-like lithologies.
The Conemaugh and Monongahela Formations
of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field are
restricted to a small area in a syncline
in northeastern Kentucky.
The Lee and Breathitt Formations
onlap the unconformity surface to the
northwest. The Lee Formation occurs as
unconformity channel-fills, and as large
sandstone belts. Several deep channels
within the regional unconformity
surface, filled with sandstones of the
Lee Formation~ have been mapped by Rice
(1984) (these are similar to the
Caseyville Sandstone at the Nolin
Reservoir stop). This mapping largely
indicates flow to the south. The
largest volume of Lee sandstones,
however, occurs as four large,
belt-shaped lenses within the lower part
of the Breathitt Formation (fig. 48).
These belts trend southwest and average
about 80 km (50 mi) in width. They
appear to be largely confined between
the dipping unconformity surface to the
northwest and the Breathitt lithologies
to the southeast. The belts are as
thick as 150 m (487 ft) and are composed
of a number of sandstone beds, most of
which are 20 to 30 m (65.6-98.4 ft)
 I
NW
I
Kentucky Virginia
SE
Corbin Sandstone Member
I

Meters
180
120

60
6 12 18
Kilometers Lee Formation

FIGURE 47 Cross section of middle Carboniferous units from northeastern Kentucky to

western Virginia. Subdivisions of the Breathitt Formation are informal units used
only for stratigraphic analysis (see text for discussion). Upper Mississippian
rocks include the Pennington Group and the Poppin Rock and Mt. Vernon Members.
Overlying units are Pennsylvanian; the Alvy Creek and below are Lower Pennsylvanian,
and units above the Alvy Creek are Middle Pennsylvanian. Middle and upper parts of
the Breathitt Formation are not shown.
thick. Thicker beds are known but (bay- fill) and coastal lowland
probably represent coalescing sandstone environments, including distributary and
bodies. The 20 to 30 m (65.6-98.4 ft) meandering fluvial systems, and
thick sandstone beds are separated by swamps. The coal-bearing rocks of the
thin beds of coal, rooted underclay, Breathitt Formation have been
shale, and siltstone. The dominant categorized in the past as lower and
crossbed direction for the Lee upper delta plain and alluvial plain.
sandstones is to the southwest, parallel However, this terminology has caused
to the trend of the sandstone belts. confusion. Clastics were brought into
The repetitive lithologies of the the area by rivers, and some of these
Breathitt Formation are difficult to clastics were deposited in marine bays,
differentiate. The key stratigraphic although a single large delta is not
beds for correlation are marine shale recognized in the lithologies of the
sequences and economically important Breathitt. Instead, a series of
coal beds that are commonly exposed by shallow, parallel rivers prograded
mining. Although some marine or across the region, resulting in a
near-marine rocks occur throughout the unified but digitate coastal-alluvial
Breathitt Formation (Chesnut, 1981), plain. Progradation was generally to
certain thick and extensive marine zones the west or northwest. Widespread peat-
are easily recognized at the surface and swamps capped each progradational
in subsurface records. These marine deposit and, in turn, marine
zones are used here to informally transgressions from the west or
subdivide the thick Breathitt Formation southwest drowned the swamps.
into units for stratigraphic and coal Approximately 50 such progradation-
resource analyses (fig. 48). swamp-transgression cycles are
The lithologies of the Breathitt recognized in the Breathitt, with an
Formation represent inland sea-fill average life estimated to be about

T143: 58
400,000 to 450,000 years per cycle. A Formation, the westward progradations
400,OOO-year duration is roughly built toward the sandstone belts of the
equivalent to both the cyclothem of the Lee Formation, where crossbeds indicate
Eastern Interior basin and the long a dominant flow to the southwest. The
earth periodicity (an orbital depositional environments of the
eccentricity). The long earth massive, quartz-pebble sandstones of the
periodicity is known to control glacial Lee Formation have been controversial.
cycles. The key stratigraphic marine The quartzose nature of some of the
zones, occurring approximately every 2.5 sandstones has been used as evidence for
million years, represent more extensive a beach-barrier-bar system. The scoured
transgressions of longer duration. The bases, plant fossil content, close
mechanism controlling these larger associations with coal beds, and
cycles is unknown but may be tectonic. fining-upward sequences, as well as the
An overall coarsening-upward pattern can largely unimodal crossbedding, have been
be seen in the Breathitt. This pattern used to support arguments for a f1uvia1-
may be attributed to the increasing depositional environment for the Lee
intensity of the A11eghenian orogeny to sandstones. Although not recognized in
the east, the source for the Breathitt the past, these rocks are also being
sediments. investigated for evidence of tidal
In the lower part of the Breathitt influences, and suggestions for tidal

West East
Kentucky Southern
West Virginia
u. Conemaugh and Monongahela Formations

Princess unit
Stoney Fork Member

Four Corners unit

Magoffin Member
Q)~-----------------------------------1
c "'C
ca "'C Hyden unit .,OJ
c ~ t--_K_e_n_d_r_ic_k_S_ha_l_e ---I ~
ca
-
P"'+
> Pikeville unit ::::T
>.
o Betsie Shale
c
c Grundy unit
11
.,
o
CD
a.
I--+:;:::::::::=====::::::::======::::::::...~u~n~n.:a~m~e~d__.:m~a~r~i
n~e~z~o~ne~ ~ ----I ~
~

Bee Rock Sandstone Member, Lee Formation Alvy Creek unit g

Sewanee Sandstone Member, Lee Formation Bottom Creek

unit

~~ Warren Point Sandstone Member, Pocahontas unit

~~;~~ Lee Formation

unconformity surface

FIGURE 48 Stratigraphic framework for the Pennsylvanian rocks of eastern Kentucky

and other parts of the central Appalachian basin. Many of the units are informal
and used only for stratigraphic analysis.

T143: 59
 west
BILLOWS QUADRANGLE AREA
~ FIELD T~IP STOPS
LOWER TONGUE
OF THE
BREA THITT FM.
20m
J SCAL~1 km.
FIGURE 49 Cross section along Ky. Highway 80 showing major stratigraphic units and
field trip stops in the Billows Quadrangle area.
channel-fill or deposition of sand in
marine straits are being introduced
(Cecil and Englund, this volume). Much
more detailed stratigraphic and
sedimentologic analyses will have to be
done before the problem of depositional
environments can be resolved.
The origin of the quartz pebbles in
the Lee sandstones has also been a
problem, because the Breathitt
lithologies that prograde toward the Lee
sand belts only rarely contain quartz
pebbles, and the rocks that subcrop at
the regional unconformity do not contain
quartz pebbles at all. Regional
sedimentological studies by Bement
(1976) indicate that the quartz pebbles
increase in size to the northeast, which
suggests a northeastern source.
The same sequences associated with
the 2.5 million-year cycles in the
Breathitt Formation can be recognized in
the Lee Formation. The Lee sandstone
belts are typically overlain by coal
beds and rooted underclays. In places,
marine or brackish shales appear to
overlie the coal, as in the rest of the
Breathitt. Locally, however, the coal
may be absent and marine shale may
directly overlie a Lee sandstone. Where
the coal is missing, the uppermost parts
of the sandstones may show reworking and
marine bioturbation. Otherwise, the
massive sandstones of the Lee Formation
are devoid of any fossils but plant and
non-marine trace fossils in the Eastern
Kentucky Coal Field.
east
PULA SK I COUNTY LAUREL COUNTY
Rockcastle River
~ PALEOCURRENT DIRECTIONS
STOP 18--BILLOWS: unconformity and
Lower Pennsylvanian depositional
features
Stop Leaders: Stephen F. Greb and
Donald R. Chesnut, Jr.
On the eastern flank of the
Cincinnati arch (figs. 28-29), in the
Billows Quadrangle, the lower portion of
the onlapping Pennsylvanian section of
the Appalachian basin will be
observed. The contact between the
Mississippian and Pennsylvanian
lithologies is seen at Exposure A (fig.
49). This stop also highlights a
typical sequence of regionally
restricted thin coal, shale, and
sandstone beds that comprise the lower
tongue of the Breathitt Formation.
Exposures B, C, and D highlight the Lee
Formation (fig. 49). The Lee Formation
consists of multiple, widespread, thick
sandstone belts that straddle the Lower
and Middle Pennsylvanian boundary, and
form a clastic wedge between the lower
tongue of the Breathitt Formation and
the coal-measures of the Breathitt
Formation, which will be seen in up-
coming stops.
Exposure A
At this stop the
Mississippian/Pennsylanian unconformity
(see discussion in preceding chapter). is
placed beneath a thin coal rooted along
T143: 60
a shallow scour (fig. 50). The coal is
partially eroded by a fining-upward,
thin-bedded, fine-grained sandstone
interbedded with a dark shale containing
a high abundance and low diversity of
horizontal trace fossils. Because the
leached zone follows the plane of the
scour and not the underlying bedding
planes, it is disconformable with the
underlying variegated shales. This zone
is inferred to represent exposure of the
underlying Late Mississippian-age
Paragon (Pennington) Formation and soil
formation in an abandoned channel,
followed by peat-swamp development and
sUbsequent Breathitt Formation
channeling. Thin, abandoned-channel-
fill coal beds accompanied by
thin-bedded sandstones and dark-gray
shales are common in this part of the
section and indicate deposition in
marine- and brackish-water-influenced
marshes and swamps.
In contrast to this Pennsylvanian
paleosol, the nodular dolostone layer
(in some places exhibiting columnar
peds) in the underlying red and green
variegated shales of the Paragon
Formation represents Mississippian
exposure of tidal-flat environments
(fig. 50). MUltiple exposures of these
units in this area are probably because
of the area's proximity to the
Cincinnati arch.
Exposure B
At the Rockcastle River a giant bed

LOWER TONGUE OF THE

STOP A
west BREATHITT FM. east
m
15 --r~~,:""":"":,~~--:-:--~~~~~",,:,,,,:,,,,:~~"':""""I"~--:--~"'--:-~~--:""'~-w-:-"'I'"'~~~~~~

10 z
.
z
~-=-.~~~-:~~~-:~~:~:~:-!--:~-~~-:~:~:~:~-:"-;-~~:-::--:~~:.:;-:~~-:~-:~:~:--:--:~: ~

~~-ft2~:~~r;;70~~~· ?

o
=~~~i:~~~~~_~~~~;'-=-=~~_-::~~~~~~~-~~~Z;:~~F~ M
ROAD LEVEL PARAGON FM.

COAL fN\DI SANDSTONE

LEACH ZONE r---l DARK SHALE

VARIEGATED SHALE 1 1 BIOTURBATION

NODULAR DOLOMITE bel :1 SIDERITE NODULES

INTERBEDDED SANDSTONE ~ FINING-UPW A R D SEQUENCE

AND SHALE

~ COARSENING-UPW ARD SEQUENCE

FIGURE 50 Section of channel along the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian contact at

Exposure A. Note the leach zone and nodular dolostone (paleosol) beneath the
contact.

T143: 61
 ROCK CASTLE SANDSTONE MEMBER
LEE FORMATION
ROCK CASTLE RIVER..
1 - - - - - - - - - - 25 m------------1
[fD:l QUARTZ-PEBBLE CONGLOMERATE
FIGURE 51 Section of the northern roadcut at Exposure B showing large foresets in
the Rockcastle Sandstone.
form is exposed in the Rockcastle
Sandstone Member of the Lee Formation
(fig. 51). The Rockcastle Sandstone is
part of the Bee Rock sandstone belt
(discussed in the preceding chapter).
The bedform consists of coarse-grained,
quartz-pebble conglomerates with steeply
dipping foresets 6.2 m (20.3 ft) high.
The bedform is more than 50 m (164 ft)
wide and pinches out to the east and
south over flat bottom sets and
westward-dipping, low-angle accretion
deposits. Paleocurrent directions
indicate that the foresets migrated in a
west to northwest direction (270° to
325°).
Several large, tabular foresets are
exposed at this stop. Each of them
appears to have advanced over the slope
of the immediately underlying accretion
deposits, thus forming a series of
slightly offset northwest- and
southwest-migrating bars.
Exposure C
The Rockcastle Sandstone is overlain
by the Pine Creek sandstone (an informal
unit that is also part of the Bee Rock
sandstone belt), and an unusual unit
informally called the Poison Honey beds
(fig. 52). The Pine Creek sandstone
consists of thin- to thick-bedded sheet
sandstones, with curvilinear to flat
bounding surfaces, exhibiting trough
T143: 62
LAUREL COUNTY
1..-1 PALEOCURRENT DIRECTIONS
crossbedding, planar crossbedding, and
current-ripple laminations. The
sandstones are pebbly to fine grained,
and fine upward into gray shales with
plant fossils and coal streaks.
Crossbedding directions in the
sandstones are to the south and
southwest (185° to 230°).
The Pine Creek sandstone represents
a bedload, possibly braided, stream
deposit (Amig, 1988). The decrease in
bed thickness, and pebble-sized clasts
from the underlying Rockcastle Sandstone
indicates, a relative decrease of
coarse-grained detritus in combination
with a decreasing slope resulting from
partial filling of the basin by the
Rockcastle Sandstone.
The upper part of the Pine Creek
sandstone is truncated by the base of
the matrix-supported shale-clast
conglomerate of the Poison Honey beds
(fig. 52). This unit consists of a
fine-grained sandstone matrix with
abundant transported shale clasts and
siderite nodules (the shale clasts cause
a dark color that gives the appearance
of a shaly matrix). Orientation and dip
measurements of the clasts, and rare
accretion surfaces in discontinuous sand
lenses, as well as apparent directions
of accreting sheet sands in the upper
part of the unit, indicate a transport
direction to the east with a range from
3° to 160°. The clean sand sheets and
lenses interfinger with the
matrix-supported conglomerate and
generally increase in proportion upward
as well as laterally (Greb and others,
1988).
The fabric of the deposit suggests
multiple debris flows that accreted from
the west (fig. 53). Fault triggering of
flows, or fault movement supplying a
source area that was drained by
tributary streams containing debris
flows is suggested by, (1) the rarity of
debris flows in this part of the section
coupled with the proximity of the
deposit to a fault, (2) the change in
paleocurrents from eastward (and onto
the downthrown fault block) in the
Poison Honey beds as compared to
southwestward in the surrounding units,
(3) the abundant detrital shale clasts
indicating short transport distance, and
(4) the abundant detrital siderite
clasts that are uncommon in surrounding
Lee facies, but common in Breathitt
facies on the upthrown fault block to
the west.
Exposure D
To the east the full thickness of
the Pine Creek sandstone can be seen
(fig. 49) Three 15 to 20 m (49.2-65.6
POISON HONEY BEDS
west
m
20
•
...
~..
......
~
..:;-:-:.
MATRIX-SUPPORTED
CONGLOMERATE
TROUGH-CROSSBEDDED
SANDSTONE
PLANAR-,BEDDED
SANDSTONE
~
eo- .-
THIN-BEDDED SANDSTONE
FIGURE 52 Section of the northern roadcut at Exposure C of the Poison Honey beds.
ft) thick sandstone units with similar
sedimentological features (which for the
purposes of this discussion are treated
as a single unit) are separated by
thinner (5 to 8 m, 16.4 to 26.3 ft,
thick) coal and shale intervals (fig.
54). Overall, the sandstones fine-
upward and have unimodal paleocurrents
to the south and southwest.
The upper sand is overlain by an
irregular truncation surface filled with
black shales and capped by two iron-rich
siderite layers (fig. 54). These layers
contain rare articulate brachiopods, and
the shales contain Skolithos and
Zoophycos trace fossils (Amig, 1988).
The deep, shale-filled scours indicate
abandonment of the underlying
high-energy (probably fluvial) channel
environments and in-filling by
low-energy, brackish to marine
environments. This shaly interval is
overlain by the informally named Hazel
Patch sandstone of the Breathitt
Formation (fig. 54). The Hazel Patch
records another influx of sediments,
with paleocurrents directed to the
west. The Hazel Patch is finer grained
and more bioturbated than the underlying
Lee sandstones, and represents an influx
of sands into the marine or brackish
environment.
east
STOP C
D
:
.,':.:
~
. .
~
- --
MASSIVE SANDSTONE
SANDY SHALE
GRAY SHALE
[]
f;~:1
EJ
PALEOCURRENT
DIRECTIONS
SIDERITE PEBBLES
BIOTURBATION
§
--
BLACK SHALE
0 COVERED
T143: 63
 POISON HONEY DEBRIS FLOW
~
CONGLOMERATIC
SANDSTONE SHEETS

-------
MASSIVE BEDDING
CHANNELS OR
CRUDE TROUGHS

MATRIX-SUPPORTED
SHALE-CLAST
CONGLOMERATES

BEDDING
PARTIALLY SCOURED BASE
IMBRICA TED PEBBLES

FIGURE 53 Depositional model of the Poison Honey beds.

RESOURCE PERSPECTIVES OF COAL IN EASTERN KENTUCKY

James C. Cobb and Donald R. Chesnut, Jr.
Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, Kentucky

The Eastern Kentucky Coal Field The research on coal resources in

produced about 126 million metric tons
of coal in 1987, which accounted for
nearly one-fourth of the coal produced
in the entire Appalachian region. More
than 100 coal beds that are 35 cm (13.8
in) or greater in thickness are
recognized in the Eastern Kentucky Coal
Field. These coal beds have been mapped
at a scale of 1:24,000, and a
computerized data base containing 25,000
coal-thickness measurements was made for
resource estimates. The original coal
resources were estimated to be 58.2
billion metric tons, and 51.3 billion
metric tons are estimated to remain.
T143: 64
the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field
illuminated, in a very direct way, the
geology of the coal beds. As the
estimates of resources for each bed were
entered into a resource table, a pattern
in resource abundance with respect to
stratigraphic position became
apparent. Figure 55 is a bar graph
showing the abundance of resources for
each major coal bed in stratigraphic
order. Marine zones that are principal
stratigraphic markers are also
illustrated. A cyclicity in resource
abundance corresponds to the occurrence
of marine zones.
 POISON HONEY DEBRIS FLOW
~
CONGLOMERATIC
SANDSTONE SHEETS

-------
MASSIVE BEDDING
CHANNELS OR
CRUDE TROUGHS

MATRIX-SUPPORTED
SHALE-CLAST
CONGLOMERATES

BEDDING
PARTIALLY SCOURED BASE
IMBRICA TED PEBBLES

FIGURE 53 Depositional model of the Poison Honey beds.

RESOURCE PERSPECTIVES OF COAL IN EASTERN KENTUCKY

James C. Cobb and Donald R. Chesnut, Jr.
Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, Kentucky

The Eastern Kentucky Coal Field The research on coal resources in

produced about 126 million metric tons
of coal in 1987, which accounted for
nearly one-fourth of the coal produced
in the entire Appalachian region. More
than 100 coal beds that are 35 cm (13.8
in) or greater in thickness are
recognized in the Eastern Kentucky Coal
Field. These coal beds have been mapped
at a scale of 1:24,000, and a
computerized data base containing 25,000
coal-thickness measurements was made for
resource estimates. The original coal
resources were estimated to be 58.2
billion metric tons, and 51.3 billion
metric tons are estimated to remain.
T143: 64
the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field
illuminated, in a very direct way, the
geology of the coal beds. As the
estimates of resources for each bed were
entered into a resource table, a pattern
in resource abundance with respect to
stratigraphic position became
apparent. Figure 55 is a bar graph
showing the abundance of resources for
each major coal bed in stratigraphic
order. Marine zones that are principal
stratigraphic markers are also
illustrated. A cyclicity in resource
abundance corresponds to the occurrence
of marine zones.
 STRATIGRAPHIC COLUMN interruption of clastic deposition and
STOP D subsequent swamp development. The coal
beds of one such sequence, the Kendrick
to Magoffin interval (fig. 55), are
shown as a series of coal bed isopach
HAZEL PA lCH maps in Figure 56. The Fire Clay coal,
SANDSTONE which occurs near the middle of the
sequence, is the most extensive and
thickest coal bed in the interval. The
maps of the other coals in the sequence
e,.........-----...-...c...-.u IRON-RICH show progressively less development
,~~___4._~ SIDERITE LAYERS
toward the stratigraphic positions of
the marine zones. The swamp
MARINE SHALE environments that developed immediately
following and preceding the marine zones
appear to have been isolated and patchy,
and still under marine influences, as
indicated by the sulfur-content. The
PINE CREEK swamp environments at the middle of the
SANDSTONE: intervals are extensive and continuous,
and farther removed from marine
influence.

Sulfur
1% 2% 3%

FIGURE 54 Stratigraphic column of

strata at Exposure D.

Coal beds that immediately overlie

and underlie marine zones have lesser c
resources, whereas beds in the middle of o
the intervals between marine zones have
greater resources. These cycles of
increasing-decreasing resources, from
~
E
'-
••••-=====:
o
marine zone to marine zone, are repeated LL
five times in the Breathitt Formation.
The mean sulfur-content of each coal
bed was plotted adjacent to the resource
bar graph to determine if the quality of
coals also changes in a cyclic pattern
(fig. 55). The sulfur-contents of coal
beds are highest just above and below
marine zones; and the coal beds in the
middle of the sequence have minimum
sulfur-content. This cyclic trend for
sulfur-content is the inverse of the
cylic trend for coal resource abundance.
The intervals between marine zones
-
Coaf bed

c=J
S tra tig ra p h ic
Marker
that contain these coal beds are west-
prograding clastic wedges composed of 01234567891011
channel, flood-basin, and lacustrine Resources (BT)
depositional facies with minor brackish
and marine facies. These sequences are FIGURE 55 Coal resource abundances and
further subdivided by several extensive sulfur content of Breathitt Formation
coal beds (fig. 55), which represent coal beds.

T143: 65

MAGOFFIN
MARINE ZONE
GENERAL
COAL THICKNESS
THIN
MEDIUM
• THICK
COALS
KENDRICK
MARINE ZONE
FIGURE 56 Coal bed isopach maps of the
interval between the Kendrick and
Magoffin marine zones. Wh, combined
isopach of the Upper and Lower
Whitesburg coal beds; FC, Fire Clay coal
bed; FCr, Fire Clay rider coal bed; Ha,
Hamlin coal zone; TC, Taylor-Copland
coal zone.
A preliminary analysis of available
data indicates that, on a regional
scale, the cycles of coal abundance and
quality are related to the interplay of
marine transgressions and sediment
progradations. In the following stops
we will investigate the rocks that
resulted from some of these important
transgressions and progradations and see
a variety of environments that represent
these shifts in deposition.
STOP 19--BRIAR FORK: Magoffin Member
and channel Facies
T143:
Stop Leaders: James C. Cobb and Donald
R. Chesnut, Jr.
This stop is located at milepost 55
on the Daniel Boone Parkway. The
feature of particular interest exposed
in the roadcut is the erosion of the
Hazard No.7 coal, which is seen here
only as an erosional or transported
remnant. The Magoffin Member is at roao
level on the west side of the roadcut
where abundant fauna may be collected .
The stratigraphy exposed in this
roadcut, from road level upward,
consists of the Magoffin Member, Hazard
coal, Hazard No.7 coal, Hazard No.8
coal, Hindman coal, and Stoney Fork
Member of the Breathitt Formation. A
general description of the exposed units
can be seen in Figure 57. A more
detailed description can be found in
Cobb and others (1981, p. 18-27).
The Magoffin Member of the Breathitt
Formation is exposed at road level at
the western end of the roadcut. The
Magoffin Member is a medium-gray, silty,
calcareous, fossiliferous shale. The
macrofossil assemblage includes
pelecypods, gastropods, nautiloids,
goniatites, brachiopods, and crinoids,
and represents a mollusk-brachiopod-
dominated community. Large,
fossiliferous, calcareous concretions
are also found in the Magoffin. The
shale coarsens- upward (coarsening-
upward sequence 1, fig. 57) into a
sandstone, but at the level of the first
bench it is truncated by a scour
surface.
The typical fauna of the Magoffin
Member indicates deposition in a marine
environment. The coarsening-upward
nature of the Magoffin Member shows the
increased influx of terrigenous-clastics
into a marine environment. The erosion
surface that terminates the marine
shales indicates prograding distributary
channels.
As progradation continued, the
channel system persisted, depositing
sands and silts in mouth bars, distal
levees, crevasse splays, and delta-front
environments. Sands, silts, and clays
were also deposited in the
interdistributary(?) environments that
were marine or brackish. The succession
of sandstone and shale facies separated
by scoured surfaces shows that the
channel migrated while it built upward.
A fining-upward sequence
(fining-upward sequence 2, fig. 57)
66
 VertlcRI Bca'e
LEGEND 6 Meters
Em
o
Covered

o
Sandstone

8Si,:stone

§SiltYShale

Shale
I
Hor'zontal not to sca'e

~DarkgreYShaletobone
•
~Limastoneconcretion

..4- Verlicalslumps

~Rooting
0M8f1netossllS

~AbundantPlantfOSS:lS
\l Coarsening upward saQuence

I2l Transported coal clasts

._.j . ':.:

..... , ~ ~.
. ~.fy.
F.-:::;::::;::::: . . .
:.. '

:::::::::-:-~~
\

. .~

::':i-fiJ~¥-~~~~~~'i; ~-~- B ria r For k

FIGURE 57 Diagram of roadcut exposure at the Briar Fork stop.

overlies the channel-interdistributary thick as 21 m (68.9 ft), has an

facies sequences and indicates that erosional base, conglomeratic lag
channel, overbank, and crevasse-splay deposit, and is crossbedded. One of the
deposits entered into the distal deltaic most obvious features in this sandstone
environments. Vertical stumps, abundant is the large coal remnant. This coal is
plant fossils, and coal beds indicate at the stratigraphic position of the
frequent emergence of the deposits, as Hazard No. 7 coal bed. It attains a
would be expected on the natural levees thickness of about 2 m (6.6 ft) about 1
and adjacent swamps of a major km (0.62 mi) east of here.
distributary-fluvial system. Approximately 0.3 m (1.0) of sandstone
The sequence above the Hazard coal occurs below the coal remnant. The
dominated by shale and siltstone with remnant also occurs above a topographic
minor sandstone and coal beds shows high of the channel bottom. This coal
episodic deposition of terrigenous- remnant was probably stream transported
sediments. Abundant plant fossils found and came to rest on this high in the
in this unit are listed in Cobb and channel while the stream was still
others (1981, p. 18-27). A rooted actively cutting away peat in other
vertical Calamites trunk was found in a areas. It is apparent from the
siltstone lens in the medium-gray compactional features seen in the
shale. Rooted vertical stumps in these sandstone enclosing the coal and in the
deposits demonstrate lengthy emergence coal itself that a considerable amount
interrupted by rapid sedimentation. of post-depositional compaction
Next, subsidence probably exceeded occurred. These features indicate that
sediment input for a brief interval, the remnant was enclosed in the sand as
causing a slight transgression, a peat.
indicated by burrowed, calcareous The sandstone (sequence 3, fig. 57)
shales. represents the migration of a major
The overlying thick sandstone channel across this area. The coal
(fining-upward sequence 3, fig. 57), as remnant enclosed by this sandstone

T143: 67
 FOUR CORNERS DARB FORK

SANDSTONE

SIL TV SHALE

SHALE

COAL

SLUMP

BRIAR FORK FOUR CORNERS DARB FORK

FIGURE 58 Cross section showing lateral relationships of lithologies associated

with the Hazard Nos. 7 and 8 coal beds at the Briar Fork, Four Corners, and Darb
Fork stops. The lower figure is a model showing depositional environments during
and shortly after deposition of the Hazard No.7 peat. .

suggests that a thick peat deposit
accumulated and then was destroyed by
the river.
The Hazard No. 7 coal has been the
major producing coal in this area. The
purpose of this stop is to observe the
varied character of this coal. Here, at
Briar Fork, it is reduced to an
erosional and possibly transported
remnant (fig. 58); at the Four Corner's
stop it is 2.1 m (6.9 ft) thick, and at
the Darb Fork stop the coal is split
into two separate beds by a thick
clastic wedge.
The sandstone of sequence 3 (fig.
57) fines upward into shales and thin
coal beds capped by the Hazard No. 8
coal zone. Siltstone and shale of
overbank origin continue up to a rider
coal followed by another major fluvial
sandstone which, in turn, is overlain by
the Hindman coal bed. A marine
transgression closely followed the
deposition of the Hindman coal bed, as
indicated by marine fossils and thin
carbonate beds overlying the coal.
Another massive sandstone overlies the
marine zone, indicating that channel
systems moved back into the area.
STOP 20--FOUR CORNERS: Pennsylvanian
fluvial environments
Stop Leaders: James C. Cobb and
Donald R. Chesnut, Jr.
The Four Corners stop is located at
the intersection of Kentucky Highway 80,
Kentucky Highway 15, and the Daniel
Boone Parkway, about 4.3 km (2.7 mi)
northwest of Hazard, Kentucky, in Perry
County. The purpose of this stop is to
observe a section of the major producing
coal beds of the Eastern Kentucky Coal
Field. This stop will be organized in
such a way that close inspection of many

T143: 68
of the coal beds can be made and that
coal samples, plant fossils, and marine
fossils can be collected.
The dangers here are many. The
danger from traffic is always present.
All participants should be alert for the
extreme heights, unstable highwalls, and
unstable footings. Always stand back
from the highwalls. Be particularly
aware of people below you and of
injuries that could result from
dislodged rocks. Do not enter adits or
overhangs of adits! Blasting intended
to collapse them has made them extremely
unstable. You are reminded that much of
the geology is visible from the road and
that climbing is not necessary and is at
your discretion!
The named stratigraphic units at
this stop, from bottom to top, are the
Magoffin Member, Haddix coal zone,
Hazard coal zone, Hazard No.7 coal,
Hazard No.8 coal, and Hindman coal. A
diagrammatic sketch showing all the coal
beds, their stratigraphic nomenclature,
and the structures and lithologies of
enclosing strata is presented in Figure
59. A detailed description of this stop
is in Cobb and others (1981, p. 27-32).
The Magoffin Member, as previously
discussed (Briar Fork stop), represents
a marine environment that filled with
terrigenous-clastics (fig. 59). The
Haddix coal zone developed upon these
deposits. The Haddix coal bed is mined
in Breathitt County to the north but is
locally absent, as is the case at the
Briar Fork stop, where it was probably
removed by erosion. Brackish- to
fresh-water influences were still active
during Haddix deposition, as seen by the
occurrences of the pelecypod,
Anthraconaia, xenocanthid shark teeth,
and other non-marine fish plates in
fossiliferous black shale between coals
of this zone.
Crevasse-splay or overbank sediments
were deposited over the Haddix peat
deposits and built up to a level that
supported tree growth. In-place stumps
and transported logs can be seen in this
zone. A reduction in sediment influx
allowed sporadic peat accumulation. A
sandstone (fining-upward sequence 1,
fig. 59) with accretion beds directly
overlying the thickest Hazard coal bed
indicates fluvial processes,
particularly point-bar deposition onto
the peat swamp. This point-bar deposit
marks the occurrence of a channel in the
area. The accretion beds are overlain
T143: 69
by overbank deposits of siltstone
containing abundant plant fossils and
in-place stumps. Although peat
accumulation continued, this sequence is
dominated by thick overbank deposits.
Subsidence developed faster than
sediment influx, and marine conditions
developed above the overbank deposits.
The fossil fragments, calcareous
concretions, and burrowing indicate
brackish to marine conditions for these
deposits, but the grain size indicates
that terrigenous-clastic input was still
high.
Following filling of the bay, the
Hazard No. 7 peat accumulated. A
succession of overbank deposits covered
this extensive peat deposit (Figs.
58-59). The burial of in-place stumps
by these overbank deposits preserved a
good example of a Middle Pennsylvanian
forest in eastern Kentucky. At least
two successive forests separated by a
dark claystone and several thin coals
are preserved midway up the interval.
The preserved trees probably represent a
mature forest, because many reached a
diameter of 0.9 m (3.0 ft)
A diversion in the major drainage
system caused cessation of the overbank
deposits. During this period of
emergence, the Hazard No. 8 peat
accumulated. At least once, a period of
more rapid subsidence or an increase in
sea level caused brackish water to
inundate the Hazard No.8 coal swamp,
depositing a fossiliferous claystone
parting; however, peat accumulation
resumed. The thick sandstone above the
Hazard No. 8 coal (fining-upward
sequence 2, fig. 59) represents the
return of a major channel. This channel
eroded the Hazard No. 8 peat deposits in
some places and caused major slumping in
other places (fig. 59). A thick
sandstone was deposited over the Hazard
No.8 peat by this system; over this
sandstone the Hazard No. 8 rider peat
was deposited.
Following deposition of the Hazard
No. 8 rider peat, marine conditions may
have occurred in the area. The
informally named Bulan shale, which
overlies the rider coal, contains
unusual grapefruit-size calcareous
concretions at its base, and marine
fossils are found in this unit to the
north. The calcareous concretions can
be traced at least for several
kilometers eastward. These sediments
are followed by thick fluvial channel
 Vertical scale
6 Melera

LEGEND
I
Horlzonlal not 10 Bcale o Sandstone

~Siltstone
§SiItYSha,e

~Shale
§Blackshale
~largelimestoneconcretions

~ Grapefruit-sized limestone nodules

~~ Small selenite crystals

t1~ Horizontallogs

-l1.... Vertical logs

gMarinetoSStis
~BracklShorfreshwaterpel4CYPOdS

~AbundantPlantfossilS
~Rooting
6. Fining upward seQuence

~Calcareoussediment
JV Contorted bedding

[Z:2] Transported coal clasts

§Sideriteband

E3 Conglomerate

t-3
-l:="
W

-:J
o

Northeast Cut

Four Corners

FIGURE 59 Diagram of the two northern roadcuts of the four exposures at the Four
Corners stop.
and point-bar deposits.
The Hindman peat accumulated over
the thick fluvial deposits during a
period of non-clastic deposition. The
Stoney Fork marine zone, commonly
occurring above this coal, has been
eroded, but marine conditions probably
existed here after the peat was formed.
STOP 21--DARB FORK: crevasse splay
Stop Leaders: Donald R. Chesnut, Jr.
and James C. Cobb
This stop is located on Kentucky
Highway 80 at milepost 10, about 4 km
(2.5 mil east of the intersection of the
Daniel Boone Parkway and Kentucky
Highway 15. The roadcuts of interest
are on both sides of the Darb Fork
valley. The purpose of this stop is to
see a split in the Hazard No.7 coal
caused by sediments of probable
crevasse-splay origin. The split
increases from 0.5 m (1.6 ft) to more
than 10 m (33 ft) in thickness.
The named stratigraphic units
exposed at this stop are the Hazard coal
zone, Hazard No.7 coal, Hazard No.8
coal, Hindman coal, and Stoney Fork
Member of the Breathitt Formation. A
general description of the exposure is
given in Figure 60. A more detailed
description is in Cobb and others (1981,
p. 32-34).
The depositional sequence for the
upper part of the Hazard coal zone is
identical to that seen at the Briar Fork
and Four Corners stops.
The Hazard No. 7 coal bed is
developed on siltstone above the Hazard
coal zone (fig. 60). The Hazard No.7
coal is 2.6 meters thick and contains a
parting 0.5 meter thick at the western-
most part of the stop. The parting
there consists of shale with siderite
nodules. The coal below the parting is
1.4 m (4.6 ft) thick, and the coal above
the parting is about 0.7 m (2.3 ft)
thick. Within only a few tens of meters
the parting increases to 1.8 m (5.9 ft)
at the eastern end of the western
exposure. At the eastern exposure,
approximately 0.3 km (0.2 mil to the
east, the parting becomes a split in the
coal up to 10.4 m (34.1 ft) thick. The
lower coal is 1.4 m (4.6 ft) thick,
little changed from its thickness in the
western exposure, but the upper coal is
less than 0.4 m (1.3 ft) thick, about
half of its thickness to the west.
T143: 71
Overlying the lower coal is only a few
decimeters of dark-gray, fissile shale
with abundant plant fossils. Above this
dark shale is a gray, silty shale with
some sandstone, abundant plant fossils,
and siderite nodules. This silty shale
interfingers to the east with a fine
sandstone with interbedded shale. The
upper coal has relief and dips downward
into a depression that is directly above
a high in the lower coal. Some minor
slump features are immediately below the
depression.
The Hazard No.7 coal bed is 2.1 m
(6.9 ft) thick at the Four Corners stop
4 km (2.5 mi) west of here. The
thickness of the coal minus the parting
at the western exposure of this stop is
almost 2.1 m (6.9 ft). Deposition of
the thin parting at this location
apparently did not hinder the sUbsequent
development of the bed. The combined
coal thickness is only 1.7 m (5.6 ft) at
the eastern exposure, a loss of 0.4 m
(1.3 ft) from the western exposure.
Because the lower bed thickness is
nearly the same at both exposures, and
the upper coal is only half as thick at
the eastern exposure, the split had a
considerable effect on the development
of the upper coal but apparently none on
the lower coal.
Lobes of fine-grained clastics,
probably from crevasse-splay processes,
entered the No.7 peat swamp (fig.
58). Deposition was rapid and did not
allow peat to accumulate while the
sediments were being deposited. As a
result, coal stringers, thin coals, or
heavily rooted zones are not found in
these deposits. The depression in the
upper coal of the Hazard No. 7 zone may
represent a channel in the crevasse-
splay lobe. The disturbed beds below
the depression in the upper coal are
probably the result of minor slumping
into the channel.
The thick sandstone above the upper
coal of the Hazard No.7 zone is the
result of an ancient river migrating
into this area. This same river
probably had earlier supplied the
sediments that were deposited in the
crevasse splay, forming the split (fig.
58). Peat forming the Hazard No.8 coal
accumulated on this sandstone after the
river again migrated out of the area.
The silty claystone with abundant plant
debris above the No.8 coal is an
overbank deposit, indicating the
influence of the river on its flood
 Verticil' scale
6 Meters

I
Horizontal not to Bca'e

LEGEND

!::. Fining upward sequence ~Caicareoussandstone

'iJ Coarsening upward r.eQuence ~BUrrOwjng

o Sandstone SMarinetossilS

E]Sillstone 'f/ Abundant plant tossils

§SillYShale ~Rooting
~Shale e 19 Calcareous nodules

~BlaCkshaleorbone * Plant collection

~

-l:=
W

-..1
r\.) West

Hazard No.7 Uoper $olit

",a' Hazard NO.1 Lower Split
Southside Exoosure

Darb Fork
FIGURE 60 Diagram of the two roadcut exposures at the Darb Fork stop.
plain. The river migrated back into
this area, as indicated by the scour
surface on the overbank deposits above
the Francis coal and the thick,
fining-upward sequence (fining-upward
sequence 3, fig. 60) of fluvial deposits
that followed. The rider coal above the
No. 8 coal culminated fluvial processes
once the river's drainage had again been
diverted. An episode of brackish-water
conditions invaded the coal swamp and
terminated peat accumulation. Only non-
fossiliferous clays with calcareous
concretions formed in this restricted
environment.
The river once again entered this
area and scoured the deposits of the
brackish-water environment. Its thick
fluvial deposits (fining-upward sequence
4, fig. 60), capped by the Hindman coal,
are a repetition of the previous
coal-bearing sequence. Again, marine to
brackish conditions developed, ending
peat accumulation. This time a less
restricted environment developed, with
slightly coarser clastics being
transported in and a diverse fauna being
established. The sulfur bloom and
pyrite masses found in this
coal seem to coincide well with the
occurrence of marine deposits directly
above it.
Deposition of fluvial sediments
account for the remainder of the strata
exposed by this roadcut.
STOP 22--0GDEN BRANCH: distributary
mouth bar
Stop Leaders: Donald R. Chesnut, Jr.
and James C. Cobb
This stop is divided into two
exposures. Exposure A is on Kentucky
Highway 80, approximately 150 m (492 ft)
west of the intersection with the
Hindman access road in Knott County,
Kentucky. Exposure B is located on the
Hindman access road about 0.8 km (0.5
mil south of the intersection with
Kentucky Highway 80. The purpose of
this stop is to show the sequence of
Magoffin lithologies that formed as
deposition shifted from open marine, to
distributary mouth bar, to river
channel, and finally to peat swamp.
The strata exposed at this stop
range from the Copland coal zone to the
Hazard coal. This interval includes the
Magoffin Member. A generalized
T143: 73
description can be seen in Figure 61.
More detailed descriptions are in Cobb
and others (1981, p. 35-38).
Abundant plant fossils from several
beds within the Copland coal zone at
Exposure B (fig. 61) were collected and
are listed in Cobb and others (1981).
In-place stumps, abundant plant fossils,
rooting, and a fining-upward nature
support a fresh-water fluvial origin for
the Copland coal zone and enclosing
strata. Later, subsidence or eustatic
change in sea level resulted in the
development of a marine bay or inland
sea over the uppermost Copland peat.
The next 18 m (59 ft), the lower part of
the Magoffin Member, represents the
infilling of this bay with terrigenous-
clastics. Marine conditions persisted
up to the upper portion of these finer-
grained beds, as evidenced by the marine
fauna.
At Exposure A (fig. 61) the upper
part of the Magoffin consists of
calcareous siltstone containing siderite
layers and burrows. This siltstone
grades upward into silty sandstones that
alternate with layers of fine-grained
sandstone. The silty sandstones contain
calcareous concretions, whereas the
fine-grained sandstone layers contain
conspicuous deformed beds (convoluted
bedding and flow rolls).
The next 4.5 to 9 m (14.8-29.5 ft)
of section at Exposure A consists of
fine- to medium-grained, flaggy-bedded
sandstone (flagstone). The bedding
changes in attitude and thickness,
becoming thinner to the west. The
bedding planes are nearly parallel where
they become horizontal, but diverge
updip, attaining maximum dips of 10° to
15°. The horizontal beds are about 15
cm (5.9 in) thick, but thicken to 50 cm
(19.7 in) where steeply dipping. These
beds are rippled, slightly calcareous,
and have poorly defined graded bedding.
They contain horizontal and vertical
trace fossils. Vertical escape burrows
are common and begin at the bottom and
extend to the tops of individual graded
beds. One escape burrow travels through
two sets of graded beds. Other vertical
and horizontal trace fossils are also
common.
An erosion surface across the entire
outcrop of Exposure A separates the
inclined beds from the overlying,
medium-grained sandstone, which appears
more massive. The upper part of this
sandstone body is rooted and capped by
 DSandSlo n• ~ ~=~~~II:~~lno Cro.I-Bedded r$?~:::·::··:D:.?:::::-:?Y:7s8~7??77"7:::l~
mS"ta,on. ~RhytnmIC'lly.ndG,.a.d­
~BeddedSa"dSI0ne
/F::;·:;..:>..:·:. . . ·.:.:-:.:. .:·.:·.;.:·:·::.::'.;:::::::-,:::':',::'::'.:'. ::.::.~: . :.::.:.:.~:.:.:;':..:.::-.,:'.;:-;::.::<..•:-:..•.
~S'''YSh.'. %:.aoUlderyFlow-ROIiI

~Sha'. h~1' Conto,led-SeddeoSartCl.ton. / : : :.::r:~H·?{,)Y:\:\??/\::y:Js/::\~:::;y):(i;(/~?\~·.:·r: .: :}{,: .:.:. ?~ ' ..:.

~BurrOwl ~L.rg.C.I"'.r.ou.C.oncr.hO"'
::...

[:T}i</:·:·;:·:::·:·/:·:S:·:·::~::··:··::::\:;':i<:.~r: .:.:::.\:;::.::.:.::.:::.. .::::.:::.:; ; '::. '"

Vertical scale .. ;.: :.: . .'.:

6 Meters .. : ;::.' '

I :.'.

:.:
'.'

:'.

Composite Cross-Section From Both Sides Of Road

p;- L;~'

Ogden Branch, Exposure A

LEGEND
o Sandstone
Vertical scale
6 Meters

I
~Si1tstone
SSillYShale

~Shale
Horlzontsl not to scale
§BlaCkshaleorbone

§Calcareoussandstone

§Thinlimestonebed

~Limestoneconcretions

fIT1lill Rooting

gMarlnef05SIIS

~f::::::, Horizontallogs

~Foss'IPlants
.-Il-.. Vertical stumps

Ogden Branch, Exposure B

FIGURE 61 Diagram of the two roadcut exposures at the Ogden Branch stop.

T143: 74
the Hazard coal bed.
The Magoffin Member represents an
open marine bay or inland sea that was
progressively filled by increasingly
coarser clastic material as deltaic
sediments prograded into the bay. The
flaggy-bedded sands were deposited as
distal parts of a distributary mouth-bar
advancing into a marine- or brackish-
water bay (fig. 62). Individual graded
beds with escape burrows indicate that
the beds were deposited in floods, with
up to 50 cm (19.7 in) of sediment
deposited in a single event. These beds
were then truncated by the river as it
eroded the upper part of its previous
mouth-bar. Following abandonment of the
distributary systems, vegetation became
established on top of the channel-fill
sandstone, and peat accumulated.
The upper 9 m (29.5 ft) of the
Magoffin at Exposure B is disturbed
(fig. 61). These beds may be a
continuation of the coarsening-upward
sequence observed at Exposure A. The
bedding is tilted, generally to the
south, and offset in a normal fault
displacement that is down to the
north. The faults continue through the
underlying marine siltstones for only a
few decimeters, and appear to become
tangential to the bedding of the
underlying siltstone. Smaller scale
features observed in the disturbed beds
include disharmonically folded beds,
down-dip thickening of beds, boudinage
of sideritic layers, and fracturing and
mild deformation of calcareous
concretions.
An erosional surface occurs at the
top of this intensely disturbed section,
which is followed by approximately 15 m
(49.2 ft) of sandstone (fining-upward
sequence 3, fig. 61). This sandstone
displays accretion bedding in the upper
4.5 m (14.8 ft) that dips to the
north. The primary sedimentary
structures in this 4.5 (14.8) section,
in ascending order, are large-scale
trough crossbeds, overlain by ripple-
bedded, fine-grained sandstones, capped
by intensely rooted sandstone,
claystone, and coal. The coal is the
Hazard coal bed.
The disturbed zone in the upper part
of the Magoffin at Exposure B resulted
from slumping in response to channel
erosion. This river channel was likely
a part of the distributary system that
deposited the flaggy-bedded sandstones
at Exposure A, only 1.6 km (1.0 mi) to
T143: 75
the north (fig. 62). The fluvial-
sandstone sequence above the paleoslumps
represents the migration of a river
across the slumped strata, partially
eroding them and then burying them (fig.
62). Peat-forming environments were
again established in the area when the
river system migrated out of the area.
STOP 23--MARTIN: compaction ratios,
tonstein, and channel erosion
Stop Leaders: James C. Cobb and Donald
R. Chesnut, Jr.
This stop is located on Kentucky
Highway 80 at milepost 11 in Floyd
County, approximately 2 km (1.2 mil
north of Martin, Kentucky. Of
particular interest are the cutout of
the Fire Clay coal bed, the tonstein
parting in the Fire Clay coal, the large
clasts in the sandstone that replaces
the Fire Clay coal, and the channel-fill
coal in the Fire Clay rider zone. This
exposure will illustrate the influence
of fluvial processes on the formation
and destruction of peat.
The strata exposed in this roadcut,
in stratigraphic order from road level
upward, are the Fire Clay coal bed, Fire
Clay rider, Taylor (Copland) coal zone,
Magoffin Member, Hazard coal zone, and
Peach Orchard coal zone. A generalized
description of this exposure can be seen
in Figure 63. A more detailed
description is in Cobb and others (1981,
p. 40-42).
A medium- to coarse-grained
sandstone (fining-upward sequence 1,
fig. 63) with large-scale crossbeds,
coal spar, log impressions, and very
large angular clasts of siltstone
overlies the Little Fire Clay coal
bed. The Fire Clay coal bed (1.2 m, 3.9
ft, thick), with a 12 cm (4.7 ft) flint
clay parting, has been cut out and
replaced by this sandstone. The ragged
and splayed appearance of the coal bed
and the convergence of structures in the
sandstone illustrate differential
compaction between the sandstone and the
coal. A rough measurement indicates a
compaction ratio of 4 to 1 for the coal,
subsequent to deposition of the
sandstone. It seems likely that the
stream erosion occurred before
compaction of the peat had progressed
very far.
The flint-clay parting in the Fire
Clay coal bed occurs throughout most of
FIGURE 62 Three-dimensional reconstruction of the lithologies between the Copland
and Hazard coal beds at Ogden Branch.
the central Appalachian basin and is
very useful as a key stratigraphic
bed. A volcanic mineral assemblage
indicates that this parting is a
volcanogenic tonstein (Bohor and
Triplehorn, 1981). Radiometric dates on
sanidine and plagioclase grains give a
311 Ma date for the tonstein (J. C.
Hess, 1988, written communication).
Tonstein isopachs and reconstruction of
wind patterns in the Pennsylvanian
suggest an eastern source for the
volcanic ash (Chesnut, 1983).
Overlying the sandstone
(fining~upward sequence 1, fig. 63) is
the Fire Clay rider coal bed. The rider
coal lies flat along most of the
roadcut, but near the north end it fills
a channel scour. This coal
progressively thickens into the
channel. Where the rider coal is
flat-lying some distance away from the
T143: 76
channel, its thickness is 27 cm (16.8
in). The rider coal is 0.67 m (2.2 ft)
thick in the deepest part of the
channel; the depth of the channel is 4.3
m (14.1 ft). Assuming that at least 4.3
m (14.1 ft) of peat originally
accumulated in the channel and that the
equivalent peat for 27 cm (16.8 in) of
coal accumulated above this channel to
provide the 27 cm (16.8 in) of coal
outside the channel, then a compaction
ratio of approximately 10 to 1 for peat
to coal is estimated.
A vertical stump 1.6 m (5.2 ft) high
and 0.4 m (1.3 ft) wide rests on the
rider coal at the deepest part of the
channel. Preservation of this stump is
probably because of its location above
the thickest deposit of peat.
Compaction of peat in the channel
preserved this lense of clastics. The
lense fines upward and is overlain by
 VertIcal scale
6 Melera
LEGEND

DSsndstone
I
Horizontal not to acale ~Siltstone
~SiltYShale
~Shale
§Blacksha,eorthincoal

§Sideritebsnd

§Ltmestonebed

~Verticalstump
M1lJ flooting

~PlanttossilS
~LingUla
@MarinefossilS

BCong,omerate

~Trsnsportedcoalorpeat
~FlintclayinflfeClaYCOal
~'.argetransportedclastsof
s,ltstone and shale

...-3
~

~
W

~
~

Martin

FIGURE 63 Diagram of the roadcut exposure at the Martin stop.

coal beds.
Burrowed and fossiliferous
(including Lingula) siltstone and
sandstone occur above the thin Fire Clay
rider coals. A fossiliferous limestone
0.3 m (1.0 ft) thick persists across the
roadcut. Marine fauna in this
brachiopod-dominated limestone include
an unidentified productoid, Derbyia
crassa, Anthracospirifer, and
Composita. Derbyia is so abundant in
some layers that a Derbyia pavement was
formed.
A coarse- to very coarse-grained
sandstone (fining-upward sequence 2,
fig. 63) that contains coal spar,
large-scale trough crossbeds, and an
erosional base overlies the marine beds
above the rider coals. The sandstone is
capped by claystones, black shales, and
thin coals. The finer-grained beds
include the Taylor (Copland) coal zone.
The overlying Magoffin Member is 9.4
m (30.8 ft) thick and consists of
limestone, claystone, and silty shale in
a coarsening-upward sequence (sequence
3, fig. 63). It is thinner here than at
the previous stops due to greater
truncation by a channel system. The
Magoffin is extremely fossiliferous at
this roadcut and includes a wide variety
of brachiopods, pelecypods, gastropods,
some nautiloids, goniatites, echinoids,
crinoids, and other fossils.
A very coarse-grained sandstone
(fining-upward sequence 4, fig. 63),
erosional at its base, which contains
trough crossbeds, coal spar, and log
impressions, overlies the Magoffin
Member. This sandstone contains small-
scale trough crossbeds and ripple beds
in its upper part and constitutes a
fining-upward sequence. Silty
claystones, siltstones, and a thin coal
above the sandstone mark the beginning
of the Hazard coal zone. This coal zone
includes one coal 0.8 m (2.6 ft) thick.
A conglomeratic sandstone
(fining-upward sequence 5, fig. 63)
overlies the Hazard coal and contains
crossbedding and log impressions. The
sandstone is overlain by a series of
claystones, thin sandstones, and thin
coals. Vertical stumps in fine
sandstone can be observed in this finer
grained sequence. The coals make up the
Peach Orchard coal zone, which
correlates with the Hazard No. 7 and No.
8 coal beds at the Briar Fork, Four
Corners, and Darb Fork stops. A
sandstone continues to the top of the
roadcut. The Broas coal bed, which
T143: 78
occurs above the Peach Orchard coal zone
in this area, has been extensively
surface mined.
The deposition of rocks exposed in
this roadcut is represented by at least
five fining-upward sequences interrupted
by two marine zones, one coarsening-
upward. The fining-upward sequences are
characterized by the following physical
features: erosional base, conglomeratic
lag at base, large-scale crossbeds, and
log impressions. In the upper part of
the sequence are small-scale trough
crossbeds, ripples, rooting, vertical
stumps, plant fossils, thin and split
coals, and carbonaceous shales. These
features indicate deposition from
fluvial processes. Each fining-upward
sequence terminates at a coal zone. The
repetition of fining-upward sequences
resulted from either channel migration
across a subsiding alluvial basin or
cyclic changes in base level.
STOP 24--PIKEVILLE: IIModel Cityll river
diversion cut
Stop Leaders: Donald R. Chesnut, Jr.
and James C. Cobb
This series of roadcuts is located
on U.S. Highway 23 between the two
downtown Pikeville exits (fig. 64).
They are part of a major river-diversion
project. A large section of the Betsie
Shale Member and associated rocks of the
Breathitt Formation are exposed here.
The Betsie Shale is the
stratigraphically lowest, key
stratigraphic marine zone that persists
basinwide across the Eastern Kentucky
Coal Field. The rocks exposed include
the Millard, Bingham, and Lower Elkhorn
coal zones, as well as the Upper
Elkhorn Nos. 1, 2, and 3 coal zones. A
general description of the geology can
be seen in Figure 65.
River Diversion
This series of cuts was made to
divert the Levisa Fork River. Figure 64
illustrates the entrenched meander bend
that the original channel took in this
mountainous region. The city of
Pikeville, built in the valley of the
meander, commonly flooded. In order to
control flooding and provide more flat
land for the community, a breech was cut
through the meander down to river
level. In doing so, the highway and
 railroad were shortened by 1.2 km (2
mil. The rock taken out of the cuts was
used to fill in parts of the old Levisa
Fork channel as well as some nearby
valleys. Some of these valley fills can
be seen from the meander cut. Apartment
complexes and recreational parks have
been built on these valley fills.
Betsie Shale
The Betsie Shale is an important
subsurface Pennsylvanian marker lone; it
is easily detected in geophysical logs
and occurs across the central
Appalachian basin. We have seen the
dark-gray claystones, mudstones, and
minor sandstone of the Betsie Shale in
London and Manchester, Kentucky, near
the western edge of the coal field. At
this stop the Betsie Shale is more
FIGURE 64 Map showing location of coarse-grained; argillaceous sandstones
roadcut exposures at the Pikeville stop are a dominant lithology here. The
and the old and new channels of the coarser clastics indicate proximity to
Levisa Fork diversion project. the source. The source of clastics for
most of the Breathitt Formation is the
uplands to the east, which were produced
by early stages of the Alleghenian
orogeny.
The Betsie Shale at this locality is
composed of two coarsening-upward
sequences (fig. 65). The lower sequence
is about 15 m (49.2 ft) thick. A basal

N s
LEGEND
E·· .j Siltstone
~Shale
I:::·\:::.:::·:·.::A Sandstone
E!:E!J Coal bed and rooting
1\r.".'V""1 Abundant trace fossils
I:: ~ ~ I Marine fossils
~ Calcareous concretion

\j Coarsening-upwards sequence

. ",:.: :..
~

Vertical Scale

Bingham
coal zone

_.~.~.~._._':'.:
..:.:_,;.::.~ .....:..:..:.:.:... _.~ .... ~.. ~ ... ~ ... ~ ..'~'.'~'.'.:...:.:-:..;."":"::':'::'---:"::"::-:"."-:"':":":' . ':":":":':':_._.:"":"":""'.'''':''''-.~::'':''':''':''''.'~'.'~' .. _::"=".'

FIGURE 65 Diagram of the two eastern road cut exposures at the Pikeville stop.

T143: 79
thin black shale is overlain by a
dark-gray, fissile claystone containing
sideritic layers and nodules. The upper
part is composed of a fine-grained,
planar-bedded sandstone.
The upper sequence is a little more
than 40 m (131.2 ft) thick. The basal 2
m (6.6 ft) is composed of silty shale
with sandstone lenses. Siderite nodules
and burrowing as well as Lingula fossils
are found here. Overlying this shale is
approximately 30 m (98.4 ft) of
interbedded fine-grained sandstone,
siltstone, and shale. Rhythmites, 2 to
5 cm (0.8-2.0 in) thick, can be found in
some layers of the sequence. Other
layers containing finely comminuted
plant debris exhibit a diverse
ichnofauna composed of horizontal
traces. The upper 16 m (52.5 ft)
contains calcareous sandstone lenses and
calcareous concretions. The sandstone
lenses are slightly inclined and appear
to represent a low-angle accretionary
relationship to the other lenses. The
upper surface of the Betsie Shale is
rooted and overlain by shale and thin
coaly layers containing Stigmaria. The
coaly shale layer marks the base of the
Lower Elkhorn coal zone and its
associated sandstones and shales.
STOP 25--BREAKS INTERSTATE PARK: Lee
Formation and Pine Mountain Thrust Fault
Stop Leaders: Donald R. Chesnut, Jr.
This stop is located on the boundary
between Kentucky and Virginia at the
Breaks Interstate Park, a jointly owned
and operated park. A series of scenic
overlooks and short hiking trails afford
a leisurely look at the Pine Mountain
thrust fault and sandstones of the Lee
Formation.
A geologic map of the area
surrounding the park (adapted from
Alvord and Miller, 1972) is provided in
Figure 66, as well as cross sections
drawn through the Pennsylvanian rocks
(fig. 67).
Pine Mountain Thrust Fault
A ramp of the Pine Mountain thrust
fault can be seen on the western valley
wall of Russell Fork River at the State
Line Railroad Tunnel, best seen from the
Breaks and State Line Overlooks.
Overturned beds of the Bee Rock
Sandstone Member of the Lee Formation
T143: 80
are drag folds on the footwall of the
ramp of the thrust fault. The sandstone
in the hanging wall overlying the drag
folds is the Sewanee Sandstone Member of
the Lee Formation. Stratigraphic and
horizontal displacement here is minimal
compared to other places along the
thrust fault.
The Pine Mountain thrust fault is
the most distal thrust fault of the
Alleghenian orogeny. The fault is
bounded by lateral ramp faults, the
Jacksboro and Russell Fork faults (fig.
68). Horizontal displacement of the
thrust fault near the Jacksboro Fault is
estimated to be 18 km (11.2 mil, whereas
displacement at the northeastern end
(southwest of the Russell Fork fault) is
thought to be only about 6 km (3.7 mi)
(Englund, 1968). A minor part of the
thrust fault occurs northeast of the
Russell Fork lateral fault, and this
part is exposed at the Breaks Interstate
Park (fig. 68).
Lee Formation
Three members of the Lee Formation
are exposed at this park from lowest to
highest: the Warren Point, Sewanee, and
Bee Rock. (Please refer to the chapter
in this guidebook on the Pennsylvanian
rocks of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field
for the nomenclature and a discussion on
the sandstone units of the Lee
Formation.) The Lee sandstones are
commonly resistant to erosion and almost
always provide excellent scenery where
they outcrop. The overlooks and most of
the hiking trails in the park are
located along the outcrop of the Bee
Rock Sandstone. A variety of crossbed
forms, ripple marks, and other
sedimentary features, such as quartz-
pebble lenses and horizontal limb
impressions, can be observed along these
outcrops. Cross bed measurements taken
at various levels along these exposures
indicate an average direction of dip to
the southwest for the Bee Rock (fig.
69), a direction typical of the Lee
sandstones.
The finer-grained shale and
siltstone units between the members of
the Lee Formation are largely covered.
However, the Raven coal bed underlying
the Bee Rock (fig. 61) has been drift
mined in this area. Collapsed adits and
coal float can be found along the
Prospectors Trail in the park.
The Sewanee Sandstone, approximately
75 m (246 ft) thick, can be seen on the
 1000 feet

........--~

300 m

.......
......
...... ....
......
.......
....... ....
.......
........
........
:::}:~: .:::~~:::.:~:~.:.:.::~:~.:~~H-1H-rnH~~~
.........
.........
........ ....
.........
........
......... ...
.........
.........
........ .
.........
........
.........
......... ....
.........
.........
.......... ...
.........
..........
.......... ...
........... .
...............
...........
............

Lee fm.
Bee Roelc SSe
Sewanee SSe
W arre n Point Ss

FIGURE 66 Geologic map of the Breaks Interstate Park (after Alvord and Miller,
1972).

T143: 81
 A
100 ft. 30 m.
B
c
]I Betsie Sh.

C,h.;;O~?c-;;a'

, ,
[]] 0
Lee Fm. Breathitt Fm.
300 m.

FIGURE 67 Geologic cross sections through Breaks Interstate Park. Location of

sections shown in the preceding figure.

Breaks Interstate Park

, I

-"" ,..,/
,-,----,
' , ' - - ... -
,..-,
"---_ ..
I

, "'-, - - -'-' _/ /
~
,
" " "'- I
""
""
"
FIGURE 68 The Pine Mountain Thrust Fault and related lateral faults.

N opposite valley wall from the

overlooks. The Sewanee is composed of
three or four smaller sandstone bodies
separated by thin shales, siltstones,
and coals at this site. Only the upper
part of the Warren Point Sandstone
outcrops at stream level of the Russell
~-----E
Fork River.

FIGURE 69 Rose diagram showing crossbed

directions of the Bee Rock Sandstone at
Breaks Interstate Park.
T143: 82
 OVERNIGHT
STOPS. STOPSA
26) Bluestone A)Beckley
27) Pocahontas B)Hawks Nest
exhibition mine state park
28) Pinnacle rock C)Lakeview
MILES
o 5 10 15 20

29) In gIesid e b 10 20 3~
30)Camp Creek KILOMETERS

31) Turnpike
32)Bolt Mountain ~

J
33) Mount Hope
N
34)New River gorge
35) Nuttall sandstone
36)Birch River
37)Clarksburg
38) Goshen road
39)Osage
41) Route 48-
40)Sabraton Chestnut Ridge

T143: 83
 ORIGIN OF COAL DEPOSITS AND ASSOCIATED ROCKS IN THE
CARBONIFEROUS OF THE APPALACHIAN BASIN
C. Blaine Cecil and Kenneth J. Englund
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia
INTRODUCTION
The occurrence of coal and associated
strata in the Appalachian basin was
controlled regionally and
stratigraphically by many factors. The
evolution of land plants, first known
from the Silurian, was one of the
initial controlling factors. Plants
were well-developed and contributed to a
few minor coal deposits by Late Devonian
time. Land plants also flourished in
Early Mississippian time as coal
forming-environments became more
prevalent. Lower Mississippian coal has
been mined in southwestern Virginia.
Thus, after the beginning of the
Mississippian period, the availability
of land plants was no longer a limiting
factor in coal formation. However,
Mississippian coal deposits are very
limited in North America even though
plants were available and depositional
environments such as delta plains,
coastal plains, and fluvial systems were
common. Coal formation, therefore, must
have been controlled by additional
factors including allocyclic processes
such as eustacy, tectonics, and
climate, and autocyclic processes such
as delta switching.
Although the factors that control the
occurrence and quality of coal are well-
known, criteria for an integrated
evaluation of all factors are lacking.
It is the purpose of this paper to
present a genetic framework for the
origin of coal deposits and associated
rocks. We will attempt to classify and
qualify the impact of various factors on
the occurrence and quality of coal
beds. The conceptual framework is based
on the autocyclic and allocyclic
processes of sedimentation as presented
by Beerbower (1964). His definition of
these processes utilized the energy
derived from fluvial systems in an
attempt to transform the descriptive
cyclothemic concept of Weller (1930) and
Wanless (1946) into a quantitative,
process oriented model of
sedimentation. Allocyclic and
autocyclicare terms used herein to
indicate the dominant energy sources in
T143: 84
depositional systems although in a
somewhat broader context than
Beerbower's (1964) original
definition. Allocyclic processes are
driven by energy changes external to the
system such as eustatic changes in sea
level, tectonic activity, and climate
changes. Autocyclic processes are those
that are governed by the energy of the
system such as delta switching, and
stream meandering. The present study
suggests that the major coal beds of the
Carboniferous were primarily controlled
by allocyclic processes of climate,
eustacy, and perhaps tectonic activity,
whereas the thin, discontinuous, and
impure coal beds can be attributed to
autocyclic process of sedimentation.
Busch and Rollins (1984) suggested
that Carboniferous rocks can be
described, interpreted, and correlated
using six scales of allocyclic
transgressive-regressive (T-R) units.
Clearly there are transgressive-
regressive units present in the
Carbonifereous of the Appalachian basin
which cannot be explained by autocyclic
processes. However, our data indicate
that sedimentation and peat formation
were also controlled by the allocyclic
processes of paleoclimate and
tectonics. Numerous eustatic changes in
sea level occurred without the formation
of significant quantities of coal.
Many studies of coal formation tend
to focus on recognizable attributes of
rocks associated with coal beds such as
depositional environments. However,
predictive models that are based on
single factors are generally inadequate
predictors of either the occurrence or
quality of coal beds. In the
Appalachian Basin, delta-plain models
are often used to predict coal bed
continuity but they are generally not
successful because autocyclic processes
such as delta switching cannot account
for the spatial form and lateral
continuity of the major coal beds. The
conditions that are necessary for the
formation of high quality peat are
inverse to the conditions that are
necessary for the formation of
fluvial-dominated deltas. Large-scale
peat formation requires both low
suspended- and dissolved-sediment loads,
and large, flat areas that are
uninterrupted by contemporaneous clastic
sediments and associated channels.
Therefore, fluvial-dominated deltaic
systems are not conducive to the
formation of high-quality coal beds
because of high sediment influx and the
lack of a suitable surface for extensive
peat formation. This premise does not
preclude the presence of rocks derived
from fluvial-dominated deltaic
sedimentation in the Pennsylvanian
System of the central Appalachian
basin. It states only that the major
stages of peat formation were not
contemporaneous with fluvial-dominated
deltaic sedimentation. Instead, we
propose that the primary controls on
major stages of peat formation are
allocyclic processes involving
paleoclimate, eustatic changes in sea
level, and tectonics. These allocyclic
processes account for the abundance of
coal resources in Pennsylvanian rocks
and the limited occurrence of
economically important coal deposits in
rocks of Mississippian age. Coal beds
that formed in response to autocyclic
processes are generally thin,
discontinuous, and of low quality.
Secondary controls, such as the
geochemistry of sedimentary
environments, may be affected by both
autocyclic and allocyclic processes.
The object of this paper is, therefore,
to present preliminary evidence in
support of allocyclic processes as the
primary control on the deposition of the
major lithostratigraphic units and on
the occurrence and quality of coal beds
in Carboniferous rocks in the
Appalachian basin.
THE ALLOCYCLIC EFFECTS OF CLIMATE
The importance of climate on coal
formation is well known. Major Holocene
peat deposits occur in everwet-tropical
and cold temperate regions of the world
where rainfall is high relative to
evapotranspiration. These modern peat
deposits are found in exceedingly
diverse environmental settings, ranging
from the coastal plains of Borneo and
Sumatra to blanket-peat deposits on
upland slopes in Scotland and the South
Island of New Zealand. Modern deposits
such as these are primarily controlled
by the allocyclic processes. In Borneo
and Sumatra, these processes include
T143: 85
both eustacy and an ever-wet, tropical
climate. In Scotland and New Zealand,
rainfall, high humidity, and relatively
low evapotranspiration allow
blanket-peat deposits to form even on
upland slopes. Peat formation in these
diverse geologic and geographic settings
clearly require more explanation than
can be provided by an interpretation of
the physical depositional environment.
Climate was apparently a primary
control on peat formation during the
Carboniferous also. Based on plant
megafossil data, White (1925) suggested
that the climate of the Late
Mississippian was arid or semiarid. In
contrast, the climate of the
Pennsylvanian was humid tropical or
sub-tropical and equable except during
the late Middle and Late Pennsylvanian,
when it was seasonal according to White
(1925). The limited occurrence of coal
in the red-bed sequences of the Upper
Mississippian and the Conemaugh
Formation of the Upper Pennsylvanian
Series may have been the result of a
relatively dry climate. Phillips and
Peppers (1984) have also related the
abundance of coal resources in the
Pennsylvanian of the Appalachian and
Illinois basins to paleoclimate.
Major stratigraphic changes in the
occurrence and quality of coal beds in
the Carboniferous in the Appalachian
Basin has been attributed to changes in
the geochemistry of nonmarine
depositional environments and the
geochemistry, in turn, was controlled by
paleoclimate (Cecil and others, 1985).
The occurrence of low-sulfur «1
percent) and low-ash «10 percent) coal
beds in rocks of the Lower and lower
Middle Pennsylvanian Series was
attributed to oligotrophic, ombrogenous
conditions of peat formation that
resulted in domed-peat deposits in a
tropical ever-wet climate. The seasonal
climate of the late Middle and Late
Pennsylvanian resulted inmesotrophic to
eutrophic topogenous peat deposits;
these are the higher ash (>10 percent)
and higher sulfur (>1 percent) coal beds
of the upper Middle and Upper
Pennsylvanian Series (Cecil and others,
1985).
The extent of major coal beds in the
Pennsylvanian is indicative of peat
formation over a large area, such as the
coastal lowlands of the Sunda shelf
(Borneo, Sumatra, and the southern part
of the Malay Peninsula) (fig. 70). A
major change in an allocyclic condition,
 tropical and sea level was such that
Pocahontas NO.3 coal bed
peat could form on a broad, flat coastal
(fig. 13) at same scale
plain. Initial stages of peat formation
commenced on the topographically high
areas of abandoned delta lobes.
Indian Widespread, but locally domed deposits
Ocean developed in the final stages of peat
500 MILES formation (fig. 71).
10" I
I Further indications of the
500 KILOMETERS paleoclimate during the Carboniferous
can be found in the composition of
clastic sediments. On the west side of
the Appalachian basin, kaolin-rich clay
South China Sea
deposits (flint clay) are well-developed
on the disconformable Mississippian
surface in Kentucky, Ohio, and
Pennsylvania. Similar deposits are also
fairly common in rocks of the upper
Middle Pennsylvanian Series in
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland,
and Ohio. Quartzose sandstone
deposition is common, commencing in the
Upper Mississippian, and continuing into
the Lower Pennsylvanian. The
kaolin-rich clay deposits, and perhaps
• Lowland peat areas

the sandstone, may indicate tropical

weathering. The clay deposits are
residual (Patterson and Hosterman, 1962;
110"

Donaldson and others, 1985; Cecil and

FIGURE 70 Distribution of tropical others, 1985) and the quartzose
lowland peat deposits in southeast Asia. sandstone may be a reworked weathering
product (Cecil and others, 1985).
Reworking of the sandstones is indicated
in a nearshore marginal marine
such as sea level or climate, would environment (Englund and Delaney, 1966;
probably terminate peat formation. The Englund, 1974; Miller, 1974).
Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed represents an The dearth of heavy minerals in the
example of the effects of a tropical quartzose sandstone may also be
ever-wet climate and eustacy. Cecil and indicative of conditions of weathering
others, (1985) attributed the spatial and paleoclimate. Acid conditions of
form of the Pocahontas No. 3 to domed- tropical weathering, which could produce
peat deposits in a coastal plain a quartz residuum, would tend to leach
environment analogous to the modern and destroy the heavy minerals.
coastal environments of Borneo and Minerals such as tourmaline, illmenite,
Sumatara. The paleoclimate was inferred magnetite, and perhaps even zircon,
to be ever-wet tropical based on coal would not be stable in such an
quality data, the spatial form of the environment.
coal bed, and the type and amount of Syngenetic and early diagenetic
syngenetic and early diagenetic minerals minerals in rocks of nonmarine origin
in rocks associated with the coal bed. are indicators of the geochemistry of
Englund (1974) related the thick depositional environment. The
Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed to peat geochemistry of a nonmarine depositional
formation on abandoned delta lobes. environment is, in part, controlled by
This interpretation was expanded to climate. These minerals include the
include peat formation on abandoned oxides of iron, the carbonates, and the
delta lobes during stillstands in sea sulfides. An ever-wet tropical climate
level (Englund and others 1984). On the produces surface and near surface water
basis of the two data sets we now that is mildly acid and extremely low in
suggest that the Pocahontas No. 3 coal dissolved solids. The dissolved solids
bed is the result of allocyclic content of the Amazon River is 28 mg/l,
processes including climate and and the pH is 6.5 (Hem, 1970). Stable
eustacy. The climate was ever-wet minerals that could form under these

T143: 86
conditions would include siderite under
reducing conditions. Under drier
climatic conditions, surface and near-
surface water is more nearly neutral to
mildly alkaline because of hydrolysis.
It is relatively high in dissolved
solids content. The dissolved solids
content of the Mississippi River is 256
mg/1 (an order of magnitude greater than
the Amazon) and the pH is 7.5 (Hem,
1970). Calcite may form and is stable;
pyrite and siderite can form depending
on oxidation/reduction conditions.
Clear patterns exist in these syngenetic
and early diagenetic minerals in
nonmarine rocks of the Carboniferous.
Calcite and hematite are common in the
grayish-red beds of the Upper
Mississippian Series. Paleosols that
contain calcareous nodules are common.
The combination of calcite and hematite
are indicative of water conditions that
can be expected from a dry or seasonally
dry climate. In the Lower Pennsylvanian
Series, calcite is rare and is only
associated with rocks of marine
origin. Siderite is the predominant
carbonate and iron-bearing mineral. The
lack of calcite and the abundance of
siderite are indicative of a major
change in water chemistry. This change
37° 00'
I~;~~
/'
:x
r
-
~astern margin
\ Appalachian
,;"./
83° 00'
FIGURE 71 Distribution of the Pocahontas No.3 coal bed in southwestern Virginia
and southern West Virginia (from Englund and others, 1984).
has been attributed to a major
paleoclimatic change in latest
Mississippian or earliest Pennsylvanian
time, and the syngenetic and early
diagenetic minerals in the rocks of the
Lower Pennsylvanian are probably the
result of an ever-wet tropical climate
(Cecil and others, 1985). The water
chemistry regime was also conducive to
the formation of low-ash and low- sulfur
coal.
ALLOCYCLIC EFFECTS OF EUSTACY AND
TECTONICS
It is not possible to separate the
effects of eustatic change in sea level
from subsidence on the basis of
currently available data. The effects
of sea level change on sedimentation may
be independent of the cause of that
change. However, throughout the
Carboniferous there is evidence which
indicates that eustatic changes in sea
level did occur. Likewise, evidence
also indicates that the basin was
subsiding to accommodate a thick
sequence of shallow water sediments.
37° 30'
t"!!'i:i!i'l :.-~~. :~::::
Pocahontas No.3 coal bed
Strike-slip fault
Arrows indicate relative
horizontal movement
--14--
o 5 10 MILES
Isopach of
Pocahontas No.3 coal' bed
Contour interval 14 inches
coal basin I
o
I I
8 16 KILOMETERS
T143: 87
For example, the widespread distribution
of the Upper Mississippian limestone in
the Appalachian basin and midcontinent
area may be related to eustatic changes
in sea level; the very thick sequence of
Upper Mississippian limestones in the
east-central Appalachian Basin may be
related to differential subsidence. We
will discuss eustacy and tectonics
independently although we recognize that
at certain times, they may have acted
independently and at other times they
may have acted synergistically.
On the basis of lithostratigraphy and
sedimentary structures, we suggest that
major changes in lithostratigraphic
units are mainly the result of
allocyclic processes; minor changes
within the major lithostratigraphic
units are the result of autocyclic
processes.
THE ORIGIN OF QUARTZ ARENITES
The origin of the quartz arenite in
the Upper Mississippian and Lower
Pennsylvanian has been the subject of a
considerable amount of study.
Interpretations generally favor either a
beach-barrier origin (Englund and
Delaney, 1966; Ferm and others, 1971;
Englund, 1972; Miller, 1974;) or a
braided-stream, fluvial origin
(Donaldson and Shumaker, 1979;
Houseknecht, 1980; Rice, 1984). The
question of origin remains unresolved
largely because the data are not totally
definitive and there are elements of
both beach-barrier and fluvial systems
in all data sets. We propose that the
quartz arenites are primarily the result
of tidally dominated systems. The tidal
systems developed in response to the
allocyclic processes of eustacy and/or
tectonic activity. Rocks of tidal
origin include estuarine, tidal flat,
channel, and bay deposits. Quartzose
sandstones of fluvial or beach-barrier
origin are subdominant and they tend to
be restricted to the margins of the
major sandstone bodies. Sandstones of
fluvial origin occur as channel fill
deposits in fluvial channels that were
supplying quartz sand and gravel to the
tidal systems. Sandstones of
beach-barrier origin may occur in
restricted areas where wave energy was
dominant over tidal energy.
Evidence for tidal conditions include
both sedimentary structures and
lithostratigraphic relationships. There
T143: 88
are a number of mappable quartzose
sandstone members of Late Mississippian
age in southeastern West Virginia, and
southwestern Virginia. These include
the Stony Gap, Falls Mills, Tallery, and
a few other unnamed sandstone units.
The basal contacts are erosional except
near the margins where they may be
gradational. The margin areas, and
sometimes the basal part of the
sandstone, are ripple-bedded. The
ripple- bedding commonly contains
herringbone structures of uniform
thickness. This bidirectional
crossbedding is highly indicative of
deposition by tidal currents. Where the
sandstone units reach their maximum
thickness, they may be conglomeratic,
and the ripple-bedding generally grades
upward into unidirectional, large-scale
crossbeds that appear to be the result
of accreting sand waves and/or
megaripples, and migrating bars.
Herringbone structures and flaser-
bedding or ripple-bedding may occur
again in the upper part of the
sandstone. The crossbedding suggests
that the initial deposition of sand was
the result of deposition by
bidirectional currents in a subtidal to
intratidal depositional environment near
the marginal areas of the sand
deposition. In the more central areas
of deposition, stronger currents
prevailed in which one flow direction
was dominant. Flood-tide and ebb-tide
currents in modern environments, such as
the Straits of Malacca on the Sunda
shelf (Keller and Richards, 1967;
Coleman and others, 1970) are on the
order of 0.8 and 1.5 m/sec (2.5 and 5
ft/sec) respectively. Current
velocities of this magnitude are
adequate to transport coarse-grained
sand to fine gravel.
Sandstone such as the orthoquartzite
of the Upper Mississippian and Lower
Pennsylvanian may be the result of tidal
deposition during sea level rise.
Because these sandstones were deposited
in a high-energy tidal environment, body
fossils and trace fossils are extremely
rare except in the lower parts of the
system where trace fossils may be
common. As sea level continued to
increase, tidal energy was no longer
channelized and sedimentation changed.
Lower energy tidal deposits are
indicated by units such as the Pride
Shale Member of the Bluestone Formation
and flaser-bedded clastics of the Lower
Pennsylvanian Series.
STOP 26: Bluestone Section
Stop Leader: Kenneth J. Englund
The Bluestone section contains the
type section of the Bramwell Member, the
uppermost unit of Mississippian age
(fig. 72). This member consists mostly
of medium-dark-gray calcareous shale and
siltstone that coarsens upward and
grades locally into very fine- to
fine-grained, ripple-bedded sandstone.
The basal bed of the Bramwell consists
of about 2.7 m (9 ft) of black,
carbonaceous shale containing abundant
ostracodes, pelecypods, and Lingula.
Overlying beds of the member, which
total 26 m (86 ft) in thickness, contain
articulate brachiopods and pelecypods
and a few ellipsoidal limestone
concretions as much as 0.15 m (0.5 ft)
thick by 0.6 (2 ft) in diameter. The
Bramwell Member is the youngest marine
unit in the area known to contain
fossils with unquestioned late
Chesterian (Late Mississippian)
affinities.
Basal beds of the Bramwell Member
record a marine transgression over
fresh- or brackish-water sediments.
Overlying beds of the Bramwell were
deposited during a marine regression,
are largely prodeltaic, and grade upward
to coarser distal-bar sediments of a
prograding delta.
SOUTHEAST
MISSISSIPPIAN ~ ~ PENNSYLVANIAN
BLUESTONE POCAHONTAS FORMATION
FORMATION (type area)
(type area)
FIGURE 72 STOP 26 - Mississippian-Pennsylvanian (Namurian A - Namurian B) boundary
along State Route 102 at Bluestone, West Virginia.
T143: 89
At this locality, the overlying lower
sandstone member of the Pocahontas
Formation consists of slumped,
delta-front siltstone and sandstone
succeeded by massive, channel-fill
sandstone of a distributary lobe •
Pennsylvanian plant fossils, including
Neuropteris pocahontas and Mesocalamites
sp., have been collected from the
delta-front facies but more commonly
occur in the beds overlying the lower
sandstone member.
The significance of this section is
that it defines the systemic boundary in
the type area of both the Bluestone and
Pocahontas Formations, which represent
the youngest and oldest units,
respectively, of the Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian Systems in the central
Appalachian basin. Furthermore, because
of the continuity of deposition here,
this section presents the ideal locality
in the study area for a point-boundary
stratotype for the base of the
Pennsylvanian System.
STOP 27: Pocahontas Exhibition Mine
Stop Leader: Kenneth J. Englund
The Pocahontas Formation is 213 m
(700 ft) thick here in the type area and
includes ten coal beds in a sequence of
sandstone, siltstone, shale, and
underclay. Most of these rocks were
deposited in deltaic lobes that
NORTHWEST
o 50 100 FEET
I I
I
o
I
15
I
30 METERS
." Plant fossils
~ Marine fossils
prograded from the southeast. During
periods of relative stability, when Raleigh 60 METERS 200 FEET

subsidence and influx of sediments were Sandstone

minimal, barrier bars formed along the en

w
z
o I Member
~""""'-Beckley coal bed
northwestern margins of the lobes and l-
e:(
30 100

extensive coastal marshes extended 0:

W ::E
across the coastal plain. During these en a:
periods, peat accumulated across the o
Z u. Fire Creek coal bed 0 J... 0-
delta lobes to form thick and extensive « a: . , Plant
coal beds, such as the Pocahontas No. 3 z
w
> fossils
exposed at this locality. « a:
The first mining in the Pocahontas > ~ Marine

coal field was in the Pocahontas No. 3 ...J ~ fossils

> w
coal bed in this immediate area, and 44 en z
million tons of coal were produced z
before this mine was worked out in z
W
1955. The bed is 3 m (10 ft) or more Q.
thick in this area and consists of 0:
low-volatile bituminous coal that is W Pocahontas No. 6 coal bed
also low in ash and sulfur. This coal ~
has excellent coking properties and is o...J Pocahontas No. 4 coal bed
in great demand by both domestic and
export markets. The old workings of
this mine provide an excellent
opportunity to examine the bed in en Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed

detail, particularly the bright and w

finely cleated character of the coal. a:
w
Note also the large lycopod stems and en "'-'---.;';' Pocahontas No.2 coal bed
other plant fragments in the shale that z
«
forms the roof. Mining has depleted a.
this bed for miles to the north, west, a.
and southwest, but substantial reserves en
en
remain farther to the southwest, en
principally in Buchanan County, en
Virginia, where the bed is accessible by ~
shafts to depths of 427 m (1,400 ft) or a:
more. The lack of a continuous, well- w
a.
exposed section of the Pocahontas a.
:::J
Formation here in its immediate type
area required the selection of a section
at Garwood, West Virginia, 19 km (12 mi)
to the north (fig. 73). FIGURE 73 Upper Mississippian (Namurian
A) and Lower Pennsylvanian (Namurian B
STOP 28: Pinnacle Rock State Park and C) strata along State Route 10 near
Garfield, West Virginia. (From Englund
Stop Leader: Kenneth J. Englund and others, 1979).
Steeply dipping beds at this locality
are on the northwestern limb of the Abbs
Valley anticline. Pinnacle Rock, a together with its lithic character and
precipitous ledge at the ridge crest local geometry, indicate that it was
(fig. 73) is formed by the Stony Gap deposited as an offshore bar in a
Sandstone Member at the base of the tidally dominated system. As mapped
Hinton Formation. It is a well-sorted, regionally, the Stony Gap Sandstone
highly quartzose sandstone and, because Member represents a coalescing of
of its resistant character, is the offshore bars (fig. 74).
principal ridge and cliff-forming unit
in this area at the southeastern edge of STOP 29: Ingleside Section
the coal field. The occurrence of local
marine beds in the Stony Gap Sandstone Stop Leader: Kenneth J. Englund
Member and in the Bluefield and Hinton
Formations immediately below and above, A thick, widely recognized sequence
T143: go
 SOUTHWEST
Cumberland Gap Area
Gap Member ....
t
120
ME :E RS ::: FEET
6
10 20 MILES
~.~
o 16 32 KILOMETERS
FIGURE 74 Generalized cross section of the Stony Gap Sandstone Member of the Hinton
Formation (from England and others, 1979).
of argillaceous limestone and
calcareous shale in the upper part of
the Hinton Formation (fig. 75) is
assigned to the Little Stone Gap Member
or Avis Limestone of Reger (1926). It
attains its maximum thickness of about
30 m (100 ft) at Stop 29 and is
distributed primarily along strike in
the geosynclinal trough from
east-central Tennessee to northern West
Virginia. Westward across the
Appalachian Basin the member thins and
is truncated in eastern Tennessee and
Kentucky at the Mississippian
Pennsylvanian unconformity. A diverse
marine fauna was identified by Gordon
and Henry (1981), including the
brachiopods Orthotetes aff. O.
kaskaskiensis n. sp. A., Orthotetes
sUbgl~bosus n. sUbsp., Diaphragmus
~ Marine fossi~s
." Plant fossils
c s Carbonaceous shale
FIGURE 75 STOP 29 - Profile of
overturned, steeply dipping beds in the
upper part of the Hinton Formation near
Ingleside, West Virginia (from Englund
and others, 1979).
T143: 91
NORTHEAST
Bluefield Area
- oz
t=
<
~
a:
oLL.
z
o
' .. -:.:.:.::::::.(~. ~
J:
cestriensis, Productus n. sp. A., Ovatia
aff. Q. pileiformis, Composita
sUbguadrata, Martinia contracta, and
Eumetria? sp. indet., numerous
pelecypods, scattered gastropods,
abundant bryozoans, pelmatozoan
fragments, and representatives of other
groups. They reported that this fauna
and others from the Little Stone Gap
Member support a correlation with the
Menard Limestone in the middle to upper
part of the type Chesterian Provincial
Series.
The strata underlying and overlying
the Little Stone Gap Member are
dominated by grayish-red shale and
siltstone and represent a transition to
less marine and ultimately nonmarine
conditions, ranging from tidal flat to
coastal plain. Thin beds of coal,
carbonaceous shale, rooted underclay,
and other plant-bearing beds indicate
the seaward or northwestern edge of
coastal peat-swamps. These terrestrial
beds wedge out immediately to the
northwest and increase in thickness to
the southeast, a relationship that
concurs with the concept that coal
formation began in Late Mississippian
time and continued into the Early
Pennsylvanian in association with the
northwestward encroachment of
terrestrial facies across the
Appalachian Basin.
STOP 30: Camp Creek Interchange Section
Stop Leader: Kenneth J. Englund
 A widespread and lithically distinct and channeling by strong bottom
bed in the Upper Mississippian, the currents. Bedding within the discordant
Pride Shale Member of the Bluestone blocks appears to be consistent with
Formation, is exposed at Stop 30 (fig. channel fill. However, some slumping
76). The underlying Princeton Sandstone may have occurred along channel
and the overlying Glady Fork Sandstone margins. Subaqueous channels, rhythmic-
Member of the Bluestone, both consisting bedding, subtle bidirectional
mostly of fine- to coarse- grained, crossbedding, and marine fossils and
calcite-cemented, conglomera~ic
sandstone, are also present in this
sequence.
The Pride Shale Member is nearly 80 m
(100 ft) thick and consists largely Glady Fork
of dark-gray shale with nodules and Sandstone
concretions of pyrite, siderite, and Member
limestone. Basal beds of the member
include about 7.6 m (25 ft) of medium-
to dark-gray, sparsely rooted, shale and
silty shale. Fresh-water marsh
deposition is indicated by the presence z
of the rooted beds and by brightly o
banded coal as much as 5 cm (2 in) ...
thick. This basal unit of the Pride <
Shale Member appears to grade laterally W ~
into uppermost beds of the Princeton W
Sandstone. The roof shale of the thin -a: a:
o
coal beds contain partially abraded w LL
e
plant fossils such as Sphenophllum W W P rid 'S h a I e ~1 e m be r
tenerrimum, Stigmaria stellata, Z
Pecopteris aspera, Archaeocalamites sp. z
and Sphenopteris elegans. This flora is « ...oen
characteristic of the Upper 0- w
Mississippian of North America and the 0- :::)
Namurian A of western and central ..J
Europe. It succeeds the Fryopsis zone W m
(zone 3 of Read and Mamay, 1964) and en
precedes the Neuropteris pocahontas zone en
(zone 4 of Read and Mamay, 1964) at the W
base of the Pennsylvanian System. Coal
laminae, limestone nodules, and a few ~
inches of conglomeratic sandstone ~ Marine fossils
commonly occur near the contact with the -0:
." Fossil plants
overlying dark-gray shale and silty W
shale of the Pride Shale Member. The 0-
w
lower part of the dark-gray shale 0- z
:::>
contains marine invertebrates and
fresh-water to brackish vertebrates ...
o
en
50 FEET

including a new genus and species of .:)

fossil fish, Tanypterichthys pridensis z
c(
(Weems and Windolph, 1986), collected at en
10
this locality from a large limestone z 25
concretion. This specimen has thick o
bony scales, is deep bodied, and has an ...w 5
unusually long pectoral fin. ()
In addition to flaser- and z
lenticular-bedding with bidirectional a:
cross- bedding, the Pride Shale Member Q. a a
contains large-scale discordant-bedding
features that have been interpreted as
slump structures (Cooper, 1961). Eroded FIGURE 76 STOP 30 - Upper Mississippian
surfaces associated with these features (Namurian A) strata exposed at the Camp
may have resulted from submarine scour Creek interchange of 1-77.

T143: 92
burrows indicate that the Pride was
deposited in a shallow marine or
estuarine environment.
Pocahontas No. 3
coal bed
STOP 31: West Virginia Turnpike Section
C/)
Stop Leaders: C. Blaine Cecil and
Kenneth J. Englund w
Approximately 122 m (400 ft) of a: Pocahontas No.2
w z
section are exposure in roadcuts along coal bed
1-77 at Stop 31. This section (fig. 77) en 0
includes the upper part of the red I-
member of the Bluestone Formation, the Z e(
Bramwell Member of the Bluestone c( ~
Formation, and the lower part of the a:
Pocahontas Formation up through the Z
c(
0
Pocahontas No.8 coal bed. This stop u.
provides an excellent opportunity to >
study the significant paleobotanical, ...J en
geochemical, and sedimentological >- «
changes across the Mississippian- en I-
Pennsylvanian boundary in an area of Z
continuous sedimentation. Many of these Z
0
changes appear to be the result of a Z
J:
major change in paleoclimate. The red W
«
member of the Bluestone Formation a- U
consists of grayish-red and greenish- 50 FEET
gray sandstone, siltstone, and shale. a: 0
a.
15 METERS

These strata were deposited in a coastal W 10

plain environment which persisted from 25
the deposition of the Pride Shale and ~
5
Glady Fork Sandstone Members up to the 0
marine Bramwell Member. The rocks are -I o 0
highly calcareous and calcareous nodules
occur in rooted paleosols. Lenticular til Fossil plants
sandstone units as much as 4.6 m (15 ft)
~Marine 10ssils
thick are suggestive of small fluvial
systems which flowed across the area.
Coal beds are thin, discontinuous, and
impure although rooted underclays are z
rather common. A dry to seasonally dry «
paleoclimate is indicated by the c:: wz Member
presence of calcareous paleosols a.
(caliche) and the limited occurrence and enen Zo
en 0-
poor quality of coal beds. w
The Bramwell Member, which is 18 m en-
en a:
1-1-
ene(
(60 ft) thick at Stop 31, represents a -w w~
marine transgression over the
~en ::) a: ~....-Pl"'"

coastal-plain deposits of the red a: ...JO

w ccu.
member. About 0.8 m (2.5 ft) of 0..
0..
Red member
carbonaceous shale at the base of the ::)
~amwell overlies a rooted underclay.
This shale contains fresh-water FIGURE 77 STOP 31 - Upper Mississippian
ostracodes at the base and a brackish- (Namurian A) and Lower Pennsylvanian
water fauna in the upper part indicating (Namurian B) strata exposed along the
transgressive conditions (Englund and West Virginia turnpike (1-77)
Henry, 1981). The remainder of the
Bramwell Member is greenish-gray,
calcareous siltstone and shale, which is

T143: 93
typical of the member. Small-scale
ripple- and flaser-bedding are the
dominant bed forms. The unit is
moderately bioturbated. Marine fossils
are scarcer and of lower diversity than
at other localities. This paucity of
marine fossils, bioturbation, ripple-
and flaser-bedding are all consistent
with deposition in a tidally dominated
system.
The Pocahontas Formation is
interpreted as a sequence of coastal
plain and near-shore marine sediments
(Englund and Henry, 1981) that were
deposited under a tropical ever-wet
climate (Cecil and others, 1985). This
wet climate during the Early
Pennsylvanian was in marked contrast to
the dry or seasonally dry climate of the
Late Mississippian. This climate change
is indicated by the floral assemblages
noted by White (1913), differences in
the mineralogy of syngenetic and early
diagenetic minerals, and the occurrence
and quality of coal beds. In contrast
to the Mississippian strata at this
locality, calcareous rocks and
grayish-red beds are not present in the
Pennsylvanian sequence.
The sandstone which overlies the
Bramwell Member probably represents a
small meandering tidal creek deposit in
a coastal setting. Tidal marsh and/or
tidal flat deposits occur just north of
the US Route 19 overpass. These tidally
deposited sandstone and shale beds are
in contrast to the deltaic sandstone
exposure at Stop 26. These tidal
deposits consist of gray siltstone and
shale that are bioturbated. Several
thin, rooted underclay deposits overlain
with thin carbonaceous shale are also
present. Marsh sediments contain
convolute- bedding and, locally,
Calamites in the growth position.
A quartzose sandstone with an
erosional base overlies the tidal marsh
complex. This sandstone is
approximately 9.7 m (32 ft) thick, fine-
to medium-grained, and contains
large-scale festoon crossbeds in the
lower part. Most of the crossbeds dip
west-northwest, but a few sets dip east-
southeast. The cross-bedding is
indicative of bidirectional currents in
a tidally dominated system in which the
ebb tidal currents were dominant over
those of the flood tide. The festooning
decreases upward, and the sandstone
becomes planar- and ripple-bedded
indicating a decrease in current
velocity. The sandstone is overlain by
T143: 94
a thin, rooted underclay and coal bed,
indicative of sand deposition in a tidal
system followed by marsh sedimentation
and subaereal conditions. Approximately
4.6 m (15 ft) of gray siltstone and
shale of probable tidal marsh origin
overlie the thin coal bed. The upper
part of the silty shale is rooted and
also highly carbonaceous.
Approximately 6 m (20 ft) of
light-gray sandstone overlies the tidal
sand and tidal marsh complex. Within
this sandstone, sedimentary structures
are obscure because of its uniform
composition. Sedimentary structures
recognizable in fresh samples or fresh
outcrop include large-scale features
that may be ball and pillow structures,
convolute bedding, and large-scale
accretionary beds. The accretion-bedding
may be the result of sedimentation in a
river mouth bar, estuarine delta, or
perhaps a tidal delta. Although the
sedimentary structures cannot be
unquivocally interpreted, this sandstone
may have been deposited in an estuarine
environment which had a strong tidal
influence. None of the bed forms are
definitive of any particular
depositional system; however, they are
consistent with deposition in a tidally
dominated estuarine environment.
Typical fluvial features are not
evident. This sandstone may have served
as a platform for the initiation of peat
formation and the development of the
peat forming environment as suggested by
Englund and others (1984) for the
Pocahontas No. 3 coal beds.
The light-gray sandstone is overlain
by approximately 3 m (10 ft) of rooted
underclay and the Pocahontas No. 2 coal
bed which ;s 0.76 m (2.5 ft) thick.
This coal bed is the stratigraphically
lowest minable coal bed in the immediate
area. It contains about 1 percent total
sulfur and yields 10-15 percent ash.
Conditions for the formation of high
quality peat were not as well-developed
as for overlying coal beds such as the
Pocahontas No.3.
The Pocahontas No. 2 coal bed is
separated from the Pocahontas No. 3 by
approximately 15 m (50 ft) of silty
shale. The Pocahontas No. 3 is a low-
volatile bituminous coal which generally
contains less than 1 percent total
sulfur and yields less than 6 percent
ash. At Stop 31, the Pocahontas No. 3
consists of thin beds of coal
intercalated with carbonaceous shale.
This locality is at the edge of the
Pocahontas No. 3 paleoswamp, but coal of
minable thickness and quality occurs
less than 1.5 km (one mile) to the
southwest. The paleoswamp to the
southwest developed under a tropical
everwet climate; it was ombrogenous,
domed, and highly acidic. These
physical and geochemical conditions of
peat formation were conducive to the
formation of a low-ash and low-sulfur
coal bed (Cecil and others, 1985). The
thickest part of the coal bed developed
over platforms of sand in delta lobes
(Englund, 1974).
STOP 32: Bolt Mountain Section
Stop Leaders: Mitch Blake, Alan Keiser,
and Cortland Eble
The Bolt Mountain section, located in
western Raleigh County, West Virginia,
is one of only a few sections having
almost complete exposure of the Middle
Pennsylvanian age Kanawha Formation.
Most of the Kanawha Formation is exposed
along West Virginia Route 99 between the
town of Bolt and the top of Guyandotte
Mountain, with only the basal 61 m (200
ft) below drainage just west of Bolt,
West Virginia. Locally, the Kanawha
Formation totals approximately 613 m
(2000 ft) in thickness. A correlation
chart (fig. 78) has been provided to
stratigraphically orient the reader with
areas visited prior to the West Viginia
portion of this field trip.
The Kanawha Formation of Campbell and
Mendenhall (1896) comprises the lower
three quarter of the Middle
Pennsylvanian Series. It conformably
overlies the Nuttall Sandstone member of
the New River Formation and includes all
strata between the base of the Douglas
coal bed and the top of the Kanawha
black flint.
The Kanawha Formation can be
informally broken into three sub-units,
referred to here as the lower, middle,
and upper members. The lower member,
approximately 213 m (700 ft) thick in
this area, consists of a series of
marine shale sequences and associated
coastal sediments representing a long
period of underfilled basinal conditions
(restricted to full marine). The thick
marine shale sequences are commonly
flaser-bedded, rippled, burrowed, and
generally contain brackish to marine
invertebrate faunas. Coal beds in the
lower member are generally thin,
T143: 95
widespread, laterally continuous beds
which seldom attain minable thickness.
Examples of these, such as the Gilbert,
Glenalum Tunnel, and Lower War Eagle
coal beds, will be pointed out. The top
of the lower member is placed at the top
of the Eagle shale of White, (1891)
which is correlative with the Betsie
shale of Rice and others (1987), in
eastern Kentucky (correlative eastern
Kentucky units are indicated in
parenthesis). (STOP 32A).
The middle member of the Kanawha
Formation at this location is
approximately 259 m (850 ft) thick.
Approximately 38 m (125 ft) above the
Eagle (Betsie?) Shale of White (1891),
is the Eagle (Pond Creek) coal bed (STOP
32B). The Eagle coal bed is the
stratigraphically lowest coal bed of
regional economic importance in the
Kanawha Formation. Generally, the Eagle
coal is a low-sulfur (average 1.5
percent, moisture-free), low-ash
(average 7.8 percent, moisture-free),
high-volatile A bituminous coal. The
middle member represents an extended
time when the basin was relatively
stable and sediment influx increased
relative to subsidence. Two widespread
marine shale sequences, the Campbells
Creek (Kendrick?) (STOP 32C) and
Winifrede (Magoffin) marine horizons are
present in the middle member. These
marine horizons mark temporary returns
to underfilled basinal conditions where
subsidence, due to crustal loading from
an advancing thrust-sheet complex, was
greater than sediment influx (Tankard,
1986). These two marine horizons are
both excellent basin-wide
lithostratigraphic marker beds.
Regionally, brackish to marine beds of
limited thickness and lateral extent
occur between the Campbells Creek and
Winifrede marine zones. These units
represent interdistributary (bay-fill)
depositional environments. Coal beds in
the middle member are transitional in
character between the bright "gas coals
ll
of the Pocahontas, New River, and lower
Kanawha Formations, and the dull
"splint" coals common to the upper
Kanawha Formation and lower Charleston
Sandstone (Sprunk and others, 1940).
They are also generally low in ash-yield
and sulfur-content. Examples include
the Campbells Creek (Upper Elkhorn No.
3) coal zone and the Cedar Grove
(Whitesburg) coal zone. These beds will
be pointed out going up-section and
observed at stops 32C and 320. In
 WEST
VIRGINIA

/48
ROUTE

/0kCH
>
l- RIVER
V> '
UJ
O~?;'tNTA/N
BOLT o
5 MOUNTAIN
I
50 100mi
,
o 50 100 150km

Z
«
V>
UJ
o Z COAL BEDS/ MARINE UNITS (EKYequiv.)

o 500ft. 150m.

~
zv>
400
100
«~ 300

200
Z 'I- 50

U~zl-
100
COALBURG C.
---J I (PEACH ORCHARD) 0 0
Z >- ~~ C

« v>OUJ
Zl-Ck:
... ; :.
WINIFREDE C. (HAZARDC)
WINIFREDE SH(MAGOFFIN MEMBER)
---J
« Z«cll
I
CL
UJ
a.. «. . ~~.~
::~:.: >:.:....
HERNSHAW C.
FLINT CLAY PARTING (FIRE CLAY C)

l- I :::::·::~ . ;..:~2D
V>
UJ
«S:·~>·:·-;-:·\·.:·
~
. ::·.
CAMPBELL CREEK SH (KENDRICK SH)
5 Z -=-_--=-
~=~
~2C
PEERLESS C. (UPPER ELKHORNCj

UJ
« ~= NO. 2 GAS C. NOJ

---J ~~"~:'~'":''' MATEWAN C.

d:lO
o STOP32B
.::.::.. ~.~.:~ EAGLE C. (POND CREEK C)
~
EAGLE SH(BETSIE SH)
STOP32A
LOWER WAR EAGLE C.
GLENALUM TUNNEL C.

GILBERT C.

BASAL 200 FEET (61m) OF KANAWHA FM.

BELOW DRAINAGE- NOT EXPOSED

FIGURE 78 STOP 32 - Middle Pennsylvania strata exposed along State Route 99 near
Bolt, West, Virginia.
T143: 96
 addition, a thin, widespread flint clay
is found in the Hernshaw (Fire
Clay/Hazard No.4) coal zone (STOP
320). Characteristics including a
kaolinite/quartz dominated mineralogy,
the presence of igneous minerals such as
allogenic, euhedral sanidine, rutile,
euhedral zircon, feldspar, embayed
euhedral guartz, glass shard ghosts, and
the wide-spread geographic distribution
indicate that the flint clay represents
an ancient volcanic ash fall (Seiders,
1965; Bohor and Triplehorn, 1981;
Chesnut, 1983; and Keiser and others,
1987).
The strata of the upper member of the
Kanawha Formation, approximately 137 m
(450 ft) thick, are generally dominated
by thick, multi-storied sandstones with
sandstone percentages increasing toward
the top of the section. These
sandstones represent distributary
channel-fill deposits indicative of an
upper delta plain/alluvial plain
depositional environment. Coal beds are
generally thick, low in both ash-yield
and sulfur-content, mUltiple-benched,
laterally continuous, and are typically
dull and blocky in appearance. The
three major coal beds in the upper
member (in ascending order) include the
Winifrede (Hazard), Coalburg (Peach
Orchard), and Stockton (Broas) coal
beds. These beds are sometimes referred
to as the IIKanawha Splints", a local
trade name which emphasizes their hard,
blocky nature and dull luster. The base
of the conglomeratic sandstone above the
Stockton coal bed at the top of the Bolt
Mountain section (STOP 32E) represents
the base of the overlying Charleston
Sandstone. In more northerly sections,
this contact is marked by the Kanawha
Black Flint of White (1891), and
associated marine shale facies, which
will be shown in the upcoming Birch
River section (STOP 36). Several meters
of Charleston Sandstone cap the hills in
the Bolt Mountain Section area.
All of the coal beds mentioned above
will be pointed out in the Bolt Mountain
section. Stops 32A through 32E in this
section demonstrate this stratigraphic
change in coal characteristics.
Please note the following units for
reference and for comparison to the
upcoming Birch River Section (STOP
36): the Kanawha Black Flint, the
Stockton coal bed, the Campbells Creek
marine zone, and the Campbells Creek
coal zone.
T143: 97
STOP 33: MOUNT HOPE SECTION
Stop Leader: Kenneth J. Englund
This section, located at the Mount
Hope exit of U.S. Route 19, includes
beds in the upper part of the New River
Formation. The New River Formation
characteristically includes thick
quartzose, conglomeratic sandstone
members that were deposited as
widespread barrier-bar complexes. In
contrast, at this locality the formation
is represented by a back-barrier facies
consisting largely of bay-fill sediments
that are flaser-bedded and burrowed
(fig. 79). Interdispersed with these
sediments are tidal-channel and marsh
deposits. With the filling of the bays
and lagoons, plants took root, and peat
accumulated in broad coastal marshes.
The coal beds in this sequence are
typically widespread but thin. The
Nuttall Sandstone Member, at the top of
the section, represents the encroachment
of deltaic distributary deposits over
the back-barrier sediments. The Sewell
coal bed occurs about 30 m (100 ft)
below the base of these exposures and
has been extensively mined in this
area. Several beds in this section
yield excellent plant fossils of late
Early Pennsylvanian age including
abundant Mariopteris pottsvillea along
with M. eremopteroides, Lyginopteris
hoeninghausii, Oiplotheca stellata, and
Sphenophyllum cuneifolium.
STOP 34: New River Gorge Bridge
Overlook
Stop Leader: Kenneth J. Englund
Stop 34 provides an ideal observation
point for the New River Gorge Bridge
(fig. 80), reportedly the longest steel
arch bridge in the world. Its main span
is 518 m (1,700 ft) long and its total
length is 914 m (3,000 ft). At 267 m
(875 ft) above the New River the bridge
is also the second highest in the United
States.
STOP 35: Fayetteville Section
Stop Leader: Kenneth J. Englund
The entire New River Formation from
the top of the Pocahontas Formation
(immediately above river level) to the
 SOUTHWEST NORTHEAST

100 FEET
60 METERS

600 FEET

o 200 METERS

Mount Hope
E x it
~~-- ~ ~__~4
-- '~~"""~~~ri=4.~se
w ell B co a I bed

FIGURE 79 STOP 33 - Back-barrier deposits in the New River Formation along U.S.
Route 19 at the Mount Hope, West Virginia exit.

base of the Kanawha Formation crops out
in the Fayetteville section, located
along State Route 82 and in excavations
for the New River Gorge bridge
abutments. This section is in the type
area for the New River Formation and
presents a sequence of beds suitable for
a stratotype of the upper part of the
Lower Pennsylvanian Series. Outcrop
data was supplemented by information
from the core drilling of the Lower
Pennsylvanian Series (fig. 81). The
Pocahontas Formation, which is mostly in
the subsurface, is 24.3 m (80 ft) thick
and wedges out about 9.7 km (6 mi) to
the northwest. The overlying New River
Formation is 277.4 m (910 ft) thick and
includes several beds of quartzose
conglomeratic sandstone that crop out in
precipitous cliffs or resistant ledges
along the gorge walls. Intervening beds
consist of shale, siltstone, sandstone,
coal, and underclay. At Stop 35, the
Nuttall Sandstone Member, the uppermost

SOUTHWEST NORTHEAST

o 400 FEET
t-I ---+----11
o 12U METERS

FIGURE 80 STOP 34 - Cross section of New River Formation (~Pn) at New River Gorge
bridge, n - Nuttall Sandstone Member; s - Sewell coal bed; r - Raleigh Sandstone
Member; pv - Pineville Sandstone Member; Pp - Pocahontas Formation; M~Pb - Bluestone
Formation; g - Glady Fork Sandstone Member; p - Pride Shale Member.
T143: 98
 Fayetteville Section
o N

t KANAWHA FORMATION

Nuttall

z
Sandstone o
Core Hole ~
B «
tl··,·.o· ..~". ~
::(..~.:.:~.:
..•
Member (I:
ou..
." :0. .' ..

?t7\~~
::~: (:./):;
30 METERS ~ : ::~':'.".: :
- ' .

o 0 a:
Core Hole LlJ a:
A Sewell coal bed -a:> W
>
u..
-
a:
0
w
0
-
(/)

z
a:
Ralei h coal bed w
t-
-:-.: ..... :r:':':".~ . ,
Raleigh Sandstone (/)
<

+
Member w

w
Q
-a:
en w ~
z> W
a:~ Z
Pineville w
~u.

Sandstone enQ
w
. e_ ."
.:.~..:':""...:.-:-
Member ~

------==- POCAHONTAS FORMATION

FIGURE 81 STOP 35 - Section and core holes of Lower Pennsylvanian (Namurian B -

Westphalian B) rocks at the New River Gorge bridge.
T143: 99
member of the New River Formation, BIRCH
consists of quartzose sandstone typical
of a barrier-bar complex. Fossil plants RIVER
and fresh- or brackish-water
invertebrates occur in several beds. STOP36A
Shale below the Sewell coal bed contains
a good florule which includes:
Alethopteris decurrens, Neuropteris
pocahontas var. inaequalis, ~. ~_~ .' .. NO.6(?) BLOCK C.
-:=:-:--:-~.~6B
pocahontas, var. pentias, Mariopteris ..: ..... :.... NO.5 BLOCKC.
pottsvillea, Sphenopteris preslesensis, (RICHARDSON C)
Stigmaria ficoides, Calamites carinatus, L. 5 BLOCK C.
Neuropteris heterophylla, and Cordaites ......... STOP36C
sp. ',.:.'.J~ ......
_--.:'" ~ r'!~'YAWHA Bl.FlINT SHFACIES
". " ..... ~ ~ STOCKTON C
36D
STOP 36: Birch River Section .' '. ': :. COALBURG C.'

Stop Leaders: Mitch Blake, Alan Keiser, STOP36E

Cortland Eble, and William Grady
CAMPBEll CREEK SH
Excellent exposures of the Middle NO.2 GAS C.
Pennsylvanian Charleston Sandstone occur
along U.S. Route 19 between the town of
Birch River and the top of Powell COVERED SECTION
Mountain (fig. 82). All but the basal
61 m (200 ft) of the Kanawha Formation, 500ft. 150m. WEST
which is concealed below drainage, and 400
VIRGINIA
the entire Charleston Sandstone can be
observed in this section. The total 300
100
RoiJTE

L
thickness of the Kanawha Formation has 200
48

been compressed by approximately 60 50

percent compared to the Bolt Mountain 100 BIRCH

area, with the greatest decrease
occurring in the upper and lower
members, as previously described.
The Charleston Sandstone, exposed
toward the top of Powell Mountain, is
approximately 137 m (450 ft) thick in
the Birch River area. The Charleston
Sandstone of Campbell and Mendenhall
(1896) comprises the upper 20 percent of
the Middle Pennsylvanian Series and
includes strata from above the Kanawha
Black Flint up to the base of a red bed
sequence mapped as the Conemaugh
Group. The actual contact with the
overlying Upper Pennsylvanian Conemaugh
Group will be pointed out along U.S.
Route 19 approximately 1.6 km (one mile)
south of the U.S. Route 19 and 1-79
interchange. As its name implies, the
Charleston Sandstone is composed mostly
of sandstone (70 percent or more) that
is fine- to coarse-grained and
occasionally congomeratic. Economically
important coal beds include the No. 5
and No. 6 Block coal zones. These
IIblock coals ll , so named for their
tendency to break into cubical pieces,
are commonly low in aSh-yield and
sulfur-content and have been extensively
o~~
a a
. MOUNTAIN a 50 lOami
I i
"-"--~
a 50 100 150km
FIGURE 82 STOP 36 - Middle
Pennsylvanian strata exposed along U.S.
Route 19 near Birch River, West
Virginia.
mined for steam and metallurgical use.
STOP 36A is near the top of the
Charleston Sandstone. Here, a good
example of a channel lag deposit occurs
at the base of a conglomeratic sand-
stone. STOP 36B is at the No. 6(?)
Block coal horizon, represented locally
by a regionally mappable flint clay. In
contrast to the flint clay in the
Hernshaw (Fire Clay, Hazard No.4) coal
zone on Bolt Mountain which represents
an ancient volcanic ash fall, the flint
clay at this horizon has been inter-
preted as a paleosol (Outerbridge,
1987). The facies equivalent nature of
this flint clay with the No. 6(?) Block
coal bed suggests that it represents a

T143: 100
positive area which bordered the peat
swamp. The abundance of flint clay beds
in the Charleston Sandstone and
equivalent strata (Allegheny Formation)
in adjacent areas, in contrast to their
relative paucity in lower Middle and
Lower Pennslyvanian strata, suggests
that they are associated with a shift in
climate from an ever-wet to a less-wet,
more seasonal climate (Cecil and others,
1985). Between Stops 36B and 36C the
economically important No.5 Block
(Richardson) coal sequence is exposed in
road cuts along the highway.
Regionally, the No.5 Block coal bed is
low ash (average 12.7 percent, moisture-
free), low-sulfur (average 1.0 percent,
moisture-free), high volatile A
bituminous coal.
The upper member of the Kanawha
Formation has thinned from 137 m (450
ft) on Bolt Mountain to 46 m (150 ft) at
Birch River. Two splits of the Stockton
(Broas) coal bed and the Coal burg (Peach
Orchard) coal bed are exposed, with the
Stockton coal bed being capped by a
marine sequence representing the shale
facies of the Kanawha Black Flint of
White (1891) (Reppert, 1979). The
Kanawha Black Flint, in its areal
extent, represents the top of the
Kanawha Formation and is an excellent
lithostratigraphic marker bed. Brackish
to marine invertebrates are present in
the shale facies in this area of
Nicholas County. STOP 36C and STOP 360
(walk through stops) will examine the
Kanawha Black Flint/Stockton - Coalburg
coal zone.
The middle member of the Kanawha
Formation is well-exposed on the Birch
River section with only the basal 30 m
(100 ft) concealed beneath Birch
River. Here, the middle member is
approximately 122 m (400 ft) thick
compared to 259 m (850 ft) thick at Bolt
Mountain. STOP 36E is at the well-
developed Campbells Creek (Kendrick)
marine shale sequence and underlying No.
2 Gas coal bed. The Winifrede
(Magoffin) marine zone and Hernshaw
(Fire Clay) coal flint-clay parting,
both seen at Bolt Mountain, are not
present on the Birch River Section, but
have been found approximately 1.6 km (1
mile) to the south. The base of the
Birch River Section is about 9 m (30 ft)
above the Eagle (Pond Creek) coal bed.
The lower member of the Kanawha
Formation (subsurface in the Birch River
area) is rapidly wedging out to the
north-northwest. Only about 46 m (150
T143:
ft) of strata remain of the
approximately 213 m (700 ft) present on
Bolt Mountain. Lithologically, the
lower member still consists of marine
shale sequences and lower delta plain
sediments.
Just south of the intersection of
U.S. Route 19 and 1-79 the Charleston
Sandstone-Conemaugh Group boundary,
marked by the appearence of abundant red
beds, can be observed. This represents
the near-culmination of a major climate
shift from a tropical everwet to a more
seasonal and drier climate. The Middle-
Late Pennsylvanian botanical transition,
which is equivalent to the Westphalian-
Stephanian boundary in western Europe is
superjacent to this formational
boundary. Northward along 1-79, the
Conemaugh Group and Monongehela Group
are well exposed. Important units will
be pointed out and, if time allows, one
or two brief stops will be made.
STOP 37: Upper Pennsylvanian
Monongahela Group strata
Stop Leaders: Cortland Eble, C. Blaine
Cecil, and William Grady
At the intersection of 1-79 and U.S.
Route 50 in Harrison County, West '
Virginia, Upper Pennsylvanian rocks
assigned to the Conemaugh and
Monongahela Groups (Stephanian) are
exposed along 1-79 (fig. 83). The upper
one-third of this section is represented
by the Sewickley and Lower Sewickley
Sandstones bounding a nodular claystone
unit containing the Sewickley coal
bed. At this location, the Sewickley
coal bed is thin (0.06 m, 0.2 ft, thick)
and is approximately at its southern-
most limit of occurrence. In northern
West Virginia, southwestern Pennsylvania
and northeastern Ohio, the Sewickley
coal bed attains minable thickensses (up
to 1.8 m, 6 ft) and is locally exploited
as a high-quality steam coal. The
underlying Fishpot coal and limestone,
likewise, are also poorly-developed
here. The Fishpot coal bed never
reaches minable-thickness. The Fishpot
limestone is one of several fresh-water
limestones that are characteristic of
Monongahela Group.
The Redstone coal bed at this
location is well-developed (1.1 m, 3.5
feet) and is situated at the
northwestern edge of a thick pod of
Redstone coal located in north-central
West Virginia. Further to the
101
 percent ash, 1-4 percent sulfur), thus
z ~ SEWICKLEY SS requiring preparation plant treatment
0::: SEWICKLEY COAL BED before usage in a combustion furnace.
«
W
In comparison, coal beds of the Lower
and lower through mid-Middle
V')

Pennsylvanian Series (Pocahontas, New

LOWER
m ft River, and Kanawha Formations), in
z SEWICKLEY SS 0 o general, contain lower percentages of
« ... - ... - vitrinite macerals (50-80 percent
z z- :.....:..~.:-~..:- 10 mineral matter free), and proportionally
« 5
>
F~= FISHPOT COAL BED 20 much higher percentages of exinite (5-15
«
...... FISHPOT LS 30 percent mmf) and inertinite (15-40
~
~~
c::::>
10 percent mmf) macerals. These coal beds
40
V')

Z
Z REDSTONE SS
I w
a...
a...
REDSTONE COAL BED
w 0:::
REDSTONE LS
w
a...
a...
::>
PITTSBURGH COAL BED
t-
LITTLE PITTSBURGH
COAL BED
FIGURE 83 STOP 37 - Monongahela and
upper Conemaugh Group (Upper
Pennsylvanian) sediments exposed in a
road cut at Clarksburg, West Virginia.
southeast, in portions of Barbour, Lewis
and Upshur counties, the Redstone coal
bed is mined and marketed as a steam
coal, or is used for general household
heating. The Redstone coal bed rapidly
thins in a northward direction and is
replaced by a nodular, calcareous shale,
before another thick pod of minable
Redstone coal is encountered in the
vicinity of Morgantown, West Virginia.
This clastic facies of the Redstone coal
bed will be observed in the upcoming
Osage section (Stop 39).
Compositionally, the Redstone coal
bed is typical of other Monongahela
Group coals, including the underlying
Pittsburgh coal bed. Monongahela Group
coal beds generally contain very high
percentages of vitrinite group macerals
(85-95 percent mineral matter free) and
relatively low percentages of exinite
(1-3 percent mmf) and inertinite (5-10
percent mmf) macerals. Ash-yields and
sulfur-contents of Monongahela Group
coal beds are variable; they can be low
(less than 10 percent ash, 1.0 percent
sulfur), but are commonly high (10-20
also tend to be uniformly low in both
15 50 ash-yield and sulfur-content.
These compositional differences may
be related to the type of swamp in which
the peat accumulated, and the climate
under which the peat developed. Upper
Pennsylvanian Monongahela Group coal
beds are thought to have developed in
swamps with planar geometry (Cecil and
others, 1985), and consistent water-
cover. This type of swamp setting
promoted the formation of a uniformly
IIbright-layered" coal bed which, because
of the OXidation-inhibiting water-cover,
would contain high percentages of
vitrinite macerals, and proportionally
low percentages of exinite and
inertinite macerals. However, this type
of setting, under the proper geochemical
conditions, could also favor anaerobic
(pH controlled) decomposition of the
peat and the emplacement of authigenic
mineral matter (Cecil and others, 1979),
and pyritic sulfur (Schopf, 1952), or
detrital contamination from a water-
borne source.
In contrast, Lower through mid-Middle
Pennsylvanian coal beds are thought to
have developed in a domed peat-swamp
setting (Cecil and others, 1985) with
inconsistent water-cover. This type of
swamp setting would promote the
development of a coal bed with increased
amounts of dull II sp lint coal ll layers,
relative to "bright coal ll layers (Sprunk
and others, 1940) which, because of an
inconsistent water cover, would contain
increased percentages of exinite and
inertinite macerals, and decreased
percentages of vitrinite macerals. The
low ash yield and low-sulfur content of
these coal beds is a function of the
domed geometry of the swamp. The doming
of the swamp prevents dissolved and
suspended sediment contamination from
flood waters, and the dominantly
ombrogenous water source creates a
geochemical environment that inhibits
mineral matter formation.
T 143: 102
 Collectively, these differences are z . -.:-..: : . :.,'
z Q.. <{ : ..
thought to be controlled by climate :) ~ ..: ::.: : GRAFTON SS
(Cecil and others, 1985). Early through <{ Z 0 ~ : :',: m ft
mid-Middle Pennsylvanian peat swamps are _<{0l::V')
~ <{ '.' " ; ' .
. o 0
believed to have formed in an ever-wet z z u···· " 10
climate, which promoted the development <{ <{
>
J: AMES lS and SH 5 20
of domed peat-swamps. Late I
....J
>- :)
~
10 30
HARLEM COAL BED
Pennsylvanian swamps, in contrast, are Q.. V') <{ 40
believed to have formed in a less-wet, z ~
15 50
Z
more seasonal climate, which promoted
UJ UJ

.- ~ z PITTSBURGH RED SH
the development of planar peat-swamps. au
Stratigraphic changes in coal bed
V')

composition are, therefore, believed to

be directly related to climate. BASAL 10 ft (3m) OF

The Redstone limestone, which SECTION COVERED

underlies the Redstone coal bed, is a FIGURE 84 STOP 38 - Conemaugh Group

widespread lacustrine unit. It is a
lateral facies equivalent of the
Pittsburgh sandstone. The Pittsburgh
sandstone, absent here, will be observed
along the field trip route at the
Pierpont exit of U.S. Route 48. Fresh
water limestones, common in the
Monongahela Group, but absent in Lower
through mid-Middle Pennsylvanian strata,
also indicate that the climate was less-
wet, more seasonal during Late
Pennsylvanian time (Cecil and others,
1985).
The Pittsburgh coal bed is 2.7 m (9.0
ft) thick here and represents the most
widespread, minable coal bed in the
Dunkard basin. It marks the base of the
Monongahela Group and represents a
substantial economic deposit. Like the
overlying Redstone coal bed, the
Pittsburgh coal bed is a bright-banded,
high vitrinite content coal that is
variable in ash-yield and sulfur-
content. Unlike the Redstone, which is
very pod-like in occurrence, the
Pittsburgh is more blanket-like in
distribution.
The top of the Conemaugh Group is
exposed at the base of this section.
The Little Pittsburgh coal bed, 0.7 m
(2.2 ft) thick here, is a laterally
persistent coal bed which only rarely
attains minable thickness.
STOP 38: Middle Conemaugh Group strata
exposed at Goshen Road
Stop leaders: Alan Donaldson, Blaine
Cecil, and Cortland Eble
Upper Pennsylvanian strata assigned
to the Conemaugh Group are exposed in a
roadcut along 1-79 adjacent to the
Goshen Road exit (exit 146) in
Monongalia County, West Virginia. The
cut exposes approximately 34 m (110 ft)
sediments (Upper Pennsylvanian) exposed
along 1-79 at the Goshen Road exit.
of section including the following
units, from youngest to oldest: Grafton
sandstone, Ames Limestone and shale,
Harlem coal bed and Pittsburgh red shale
(fig. 84).
The Grafton sandstone occurs at the
top of the section and consists of
interbedded siltstone and sandstone. ,
The Grafton sandstone marks the base of
the Casselman Formation. Strata beneath
the Grafton are assigned to the Glenshaw
Formation.
The Ames Limestone and shale occurs
directly beneath the Grafton sandstone
and represents a major marine
transgression in the Dunkard basin. The
Ames is generally an impure, shaley
limestone to calcareous shale, and is
locally fossiliferous. A widespread
unit across the Dunkard basin, the Ames
Limestone and shale serves as an
important lithostratigraphic marker bed.
The Harlem coal bed, which underlies
the Ames Limestone, is a. thin (generally
less than 0.6 m, 2.0 ft, thick),
laterally persistent unit that, in
places, attains minable thickness.
Compositionally, the Harlem coal bed is
a "typical" Conemaugh Group coal bed.
Conemaugh coal beds are generally thin,
impure and laterally continuous. They
contain high percentages of vitrinite
macerals and low to occasionally
moderate amounts of exinite and
inertinite macerals. Ash-yields and
sulfur-contents are commonly high.
Overall, the composition of Conemaugh
Group coal beds are similar to the
overlying Monongahela coal beds. Other

T143: 103
Conemaugh coal beds include the
Mahoning, Bakerstown, Elk Lick and
Little Clarksburg.
The unit underlying the Harlem coal
bed at this location consists of
alternating beds of impure limestone and
variegated red/green claystone which
often contain limestone nodules. This
unit, referred to as the Pittsburgh red
shale contains features that indicate of
repeated subaerial exposure. These
features include calcareous peds,
gilgai, cone-in-cone and
pseudoanticlinal structures, which
indicate that this unit represents an
ancient paleosol. The lateral
persistence of this unit across the
Dunkard basin indicates that the
conditions necessary for the formation
of this unit were of basinal extent.
The development of thick paleosols, such
as this one, are a common feature in
Conemaugh Group strata, but are rare to
absent in Lower through mid-Middle
Pennsylvanian sediments. The
preferential stratigraphic occurrence of
these paleosols is probably a function
of a less-wet, more seasonal
paleoclimate that prevailed during the
Upper Pennsylvanian, as opposed to a
more uniform ever-wet paleoclimate
persisting during the Lower and Middle
Pennsylvanian. Therefore, climate
appears to have been a major influence
on the type of sediment that was
deposited, as well as the type of peat-
swamp (planar vs. domed) that formed
during Pennsylvanian time in the
Appalachian basin.

MORGANTOWN AREA STOPS

Alan C. Donaldson
West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
and
Cortland F. Eble
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

Part of the last day will be spent
observing Pennsylvanian strata in the
vicinity of Morgantown in northern West
Virginia (fig. 85). Morgantown is
located in the Appalachian plateau
region on the eastern side of the
Dunkard basin. Pennsylvanian sediments
which were deposited in the Dunkard
basin are dominantly late Middle
(Allegheny Formation, =Westphalian D)
and Late (Conemaugh, Monongahela and
Dunkard Groups, =Stephanian)
Pennsylvanian in age (fig. 86). Unlike
the thick, well-developed Lower and
Middle Pennsylvanian sections seen in
eastern Kentucky, western Virginia, and
southern West Virginia (e.g. Bolt
Mountain), age-equivalent Pottsville
Group strata in northern West Virginia
represents only a fraction of what was
deposited in southern West Virginia and
eastern Kentucky. This reflects a shift
in both source area and center of basin
subsidence, from a southern (Pocahontas
basin) to a more northern (Dunkard
basin) location during the Pennsylvanian
Period.
Stop 39 will show exposure of
T143: 104
Monongahela Group strata, a series of
sandstone and siltstone, shale,
freshwater limestone and coal. The
Pittsburgh coal at the base of this
section represents one of the most
extensively-mined coal beds in the
State. Stop 40 is in the Conemaugh
Group of strata at the Ames limestone
and shale horizon. The Ames is
abundantly fossiliferous at this
location and represents a major Upper
Pennsylvanian marine transgression.
Stop 41A will examine the Upper Freeport
and Mahoning coal beds on the northwest
flank of the Chestnut Ridge anticline.
This stop will also show the Allegheny
Formation-Conemaugh Group contact and
discuss the Middle-Late Pennsylvanian
transition, a major climate shift
observed in North America and western
Europe. Stops 41B and 41C are in
Pottsville strata, a group of strata
dominated by multi-storied sandstones.
The rapid thinning of the Lower and
Middle Pennsylvanian section coming
north from areas of maximum development
in southwestern Virginia and southern
West Virginia {Bolt Mountain for
Conemaugh coal beds include the
Mahoning, Bakerstown, Elk Lick and
Little Clarksburg.
The unit underlying the Harlem coal
bed at this location consists of
alternating beds of impure limestone and
variegated red/green claystone which
often contain limestone nodules. This
unit, referred to as the Pittsburgh red
shale contains features that indicate of
repeated subaerial exposure. These
features include calcareous peds,
gilgai, cone-in-cone and
pseudoanticlinal structures, which
indicate that this unit represents an
ancient paleosol. The lateral
persistence of this unit across the
Dunkard basin indicates that the
conditions necessary for the formation
of this unit were of basinal extent.
The development of thick paleosols, such
as this one, are a common feature in
Conemaugh Group strata, but are rare to
absent in Lower through mid-Middle
Pennsylvanian sediments. The
preferential stratigraphic occurrence of
these paleosols is probably a function
of a less-wet, more seasonal
paleoclimate that prevailed during the
Upper Pennsylvanian, as opposed to a
more uniform ever-wet paleoclimate
persisting during the Lower and Middle
Pennsylvanian. Therefore, climate
appears to have been a major influence
on the type of sediment that was
deposited, as well as the type of peat-
swamp (planar vs. domed) that formed
during Pennsylvanian time in the
Appalachian basin.

MORGANTOWN AREA STOPS

Alan C. Donaldson
West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
and
Cortland F. Eble
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

Part of the last day will be spent
observing Pennsylvanian strata in the
vicinity of Morgantown in northern West
Virginia (fig. 85). Morgantown is
located in the Appalachian plateau
region on the eastern side of the
Dunkard basin. Pennsylvanian sediments
which were deposited in the Dunkard
basin are dominantly late Middle
(Allegheny Formation, =Westphalian D)
and Late (Conemaugh, Monongahela and
Dunkard Groups, =Stephanian)
Pennsylvanian in age (fig. 86). Unlike
the thick, well-developed Lower and
Middle Pennsylvanian sections seen in
eastern Kentucky, western Virginia, and
southern West Virginia (e.g. Bolt
Mountain), age-equivalent Pottsville
Group strata in northern West Virginia
represents only a fraction of what was
deposited in southern West Virginia and
eastern Kentucky. This reflects a shift
in both source area and center of basin
subsidence, from a southern (Pocahontas
basin) to a more northern (Dunkard
basin) location during the Pennsylvanian
Period.
Stop 39 will show exposure of
T143: 104
Monongahela Group strata, a series of
sandstone and siltstone, shale,
freshwater limestone and coal. The
Pittsburgh coal at the base of this
section represents one of the most
extensively-mined coal beds in the
State. Stop 40 is in the Conemaugh
Group of strata at the Ames limestone
and shale horizon. The Ames is
abundantly fossiliferous at this
location and represents a major Upper
Pennsylvanian marine transgression.
Stop 41A will examine the Upper Freeport
and Mahoning coal beds on the northwest
flank of the Chestnut Ridge anticline.
This stop will also show the Allegheny
Formation-Conemaugh Group contact and
discuss the Middle-Late Pennsylvanian
transition, a major climate shift
observed in North America and western
Europe. Stops 41B and 41C are in
Pottsville strata, a group of strata
dominated by multi-storied sandstones.
The rapid thinning of the Lower and
Middle Pennsylvanian section coming
north from areas of maximum development
in southwestern Virginia and southern
West Virginia {Bolt Mountain for
 1 11
79° 28 36
~P_EN_N_S_YL_VA_N_IA """"""""' ---.,.---.;,......,.;...,..;...,. +_ 39° 43 15
1 11

WV
OSAGE SECTION BRUCETON
STOP39 MillS 0
MONONGALIA CO. ------~ '--- U S. ROU TE
/ ------48
/
/
INTERSTATL/
79~

PENNSYLVANIAN
SYSTEM )-----11~---.
STRATOTYPE INDEX MAP
\
WEST VIRGINIA
BIRCH RIVER a 50 100 150 MI.
--SECTION
BOLT MOUNTAIN a 100 200 KM.
SECTION
MOUNT HOPE SECTION

FIGURE 85 Location map of stops in the vicinity of Morgantown, West Virginia.

example) will be emphasized at these Pittsburgh coal with one to as many as

stops. Stop 41C will also show the four or five "r ider" coals, is
unconformity at the Mississippian- represented in the Osage section by one
Pennsylvanian systematic boundary. rider coal and a dark shale sequence.
The Redstone Limestone (unit 5)
ranges from 0 to 9 m (0-30 ft) in the
Stop 39: Osage Section Osage section area and is interpreted to
represent a series of interdistributary'
Stop leaders: Alan Donaldson and lakes or bays. Typically, the thicker
Cortland Eble sequences of limestone occur adjacent to
thick accumulations of the Pittsburgh
STOP 39 is along the Osage exchange sandstone, which is not present in the
ramp to 179. In this section the Osage section. The Redstone coal bed
interval from the Pittsburgh coal bed to (unit 6), represented by a claystone
Sewickley coal bed and overlying here, ranges from 0 to 2.5 m (0-8 ft)
Sewickley clastics are exposed (fig. thick in the Osage area and, unlike the
87). The Pittsburgh coal bed (unit 1), blanket-like occurrence of the
present at the base of the section, is a underlying Pittsburgh coal, is very
thick (2.7-3.3 m, 9-11 ft, in the poddy and discontinuous. The claystone
Morgantown area) widespread coal bed has been traced into black organic
that is extensively mined in the shale, then bone coal and finally coal
northern Appalachian area. The within 91 m (300 ft) of this outcrop.
Pittsburgh is a bright-banded coal which Minable- thickness Redstone coal (3+ ft,
is generally used as a steam coal, 1+ m) occurs less than 1.6 km (1 mile)
although it is also occasionally blended away. The great range in thickness of
with other coals for metallurgical this coal locally and occurrence in
purposes. A coaly zone (units 2, 3 and small patches, plus the presence of the
4), which is generally present above the underlying Redstone Limestone may

T 143: 105
 «
...J
REDSTONE SS.
REDSTONEC
W PITTSBURGH SS.
::I: PITTSBURGH C
«
e> L. PITTSBURGH C.
z
o
z CONNELLSVILLE SS.
o L. CLARKSBURG C z
~ «
z CLARKSBURG RED SH. z
« I
MORGANTOWN SS.
ELK LICK C
«
I
a..
.....
w

Ze> BIRMI NGHAM RED· SH. V")

«> Ij!iim
GRAFTON SS.
AMES LIMESTONE AND SH.
HARLEM C
PITTSBURGH RED SH.
....J BAKERSTOWN C-
>-
(/)
BRUSH CREEK LS.- COAL-
MAHONINGC
Z UP FREEPORT C o
Zw LOW FREEPORT C

W:J UP KITTANNING C z
«
a.. en> LOW KITTANNING C .....J

«
CLARIONC
J0- I
a..
t- HOMEWOOD SS. .....
o V")
w
a.. POTTSVILLE I COAL ~
UP. CONNOQUENESSING SS.
POTTSVILLE 2 COAL
UNNAMED MARINE ZONE
LOW. CONNOQUENESSING SS.
POTTSVILLE J COAL ou
Ih -
V)~
MAUCH CHUNK RED BEDS «~
*UNIT NOT PRESENT IN THE ROUTE 48- z
CHESTNUT RIDGE SECTION

FIGURE 86 STOPS 39-41 - Generalized stratigraphic section of strata exposed in the

vicinty of Morgantown, West Virginia.

indicate paleokarst topography control A series of shale, siltstone and fine

on the formation of this coal bed.
The Fishpot Limestone (unit 7) is a
thick sequence of interbedded limestone
and shale, split into an upper and lower
unit by the Redstone sandstone (unit
8). This ribbon sandstone, which is
thin and not very extensive in the Osage
area, probably represents an avulsion
event of the Redstone fluvial system
into the Fishpot lacustrine - mud flat
environment. The Fishpot coal bed (unit
10) does not attain minable-thickness
anywhere in the Dunkard basin and, like
the underlying Redstone coal bed, occurs
in discontinuous pods and lenses.
sandstone, (unit 11) representing a
facies of the Fishpot sandstone,
separates the Fishpot coal bed from the
overlying Sewlckley coal bed and its
associated underclay (Units 12 and
13). The Sewickley is a fairly thick
(av. 1.2-1.5 m, 4-5 ft, in the Osage
area), widespread coal bed of
substantial economic importance. It is
bright-banded and generally split by one
or more small inorganic-partings.
Locally, this bed is exploited by both
underground and surface mining methods
and used as a high quality steam coal.

T143: 106
 OSAGE SECTION
SEWICKLEY
COAL
:llIlli;~~;;~~~ FISHPOT COAL
7
5 Ames sea.
VERT. -4
EXAG.-
FIGURE 87 STOP 39 - Upper Pennsylvanian
Monongahela strata exposed along the
Osage, West Virginia interstate of 1-79.
Stop 40: Sabraton Section
Stop leaders: Alan Donaldson and
Cortland Eble
STOP 40 illustrates the rock sequence
from the Harlem coal to the Elk Lick
coal in the Conemaugh Group, exposed in
outcrop along the eastbound entrance
ramp to U.S. Route 48 at exit 4
(Sabraton exit). This outcrop provides
exposure of the Upper Pennsylvanian
Conemaugh Group and displays a wide
range of facies. The cut exposes
approximately 18 m (60 ft) of section
including the following units (from
oldest to youngest): thick paleosol
(Pittsburgh red shale) underlying the
Harlem coal, Harlem coal bed, Ames
Limestone and shale, Grafton Sandstone,
Birmingham Shale, Elk Lick Limestone and
Elk Lick coal bed (fig. 88).
The Harlem coal is generally a thin,
but widespread coal bed that
occasionally reaches minable
thicknesses. A thick paleosol underlies
the Harlem coal. This is the same
paleosol that was observed at Stop 38.
Subaerial exposure features of
associated redbeds and carbonates
characterize Upper Pennsylvanian strata,
T143: 107
particularly the Conemaugh Group of the
Appalachian basin. These exposure
features occur as gilgai structures,
pseudo-anticlines, ankerite crusts and
calcite nodules oriented orthogonal to
bedding. The abundance of carbonate in
these paleosols suggests alkaline
conditions and a drier (?less wet)
climate than the inferred ever-wet
climate of the Early through mid-
Pennsylvanian. The marine Ames
Limestone and shale beds, directly
overlying the Harlem coal, were
subdivided by McColloch (1979) into four
units based on lithology and faunal
composition. Sedimentological and
paleoecological interpretations of these
units would suggest alternate
transgression-regressions of the ancient
The Ames limestone and shale is
overlain by a thin red shale and then
the Grafton Sandstone. Several facies of
the sand-dispersal system of the Grafton
IIriver ll are present in the outcrop (fig.
88). At this location, the channel
eroded through its prodelta and
river-mouth bar. As a result, these
channel deposits, which consist of
interbedded fine sandstones, siltstones
and shales that are inclined in places
(units 1-2), rest directly on Ames
shales. Unit 3 represents a point bar
built on the inside of an alluvial
channel which has eroded down into the
mouth bar. This unit consists of large
scale, unidirectional, cross-stratified,
coarse-grained sandstone beds laterally
accreting westward. The sequence fines
upward and has an erosional base. The
river appears to have been meandering to
the north-northwest, while migrating
westward. Unit 4 is a levee of
fine-grained sandstones, siltstones and
shales which built over the point bar as
it was deposited. Unit 5 appears to be
either a well-developed swale or, more
likely, an abandoned chute-channel fill
incised into its point bar (unit 6),
which probably correlates with the
abandoned fill of the channel. Unit 7,
a bone coal, apparently represents later
fill of the abandoned meander channel
during vertical accretion of the
channel-levee deposits (unit 8). Unit 8
consists of a fining upward sequence of
interbedded sandstones, siltstones
and shales and represents the levee
deposits which are, in part, equivalent
to unit 7.
Above the Grafton Sandstone is the
Birmingham Shale and the Elk Lick
 SABRATON EXIT
AMES MARINE LS and SHe
ENTRANCE
FIGURE 88 STOPS 40 - Upper Pennsylvanian Conemaugh strata exposed along the Sabraton
interchange of U.S. Route 48.
Limestone representing flood basin
lacustrine deposits. These lithologies
are overlain by the Elk Lick coal and
associated underclay which represents
swamp development within the flood
basin. The Elk Lick coal bed, like the
underlying Harlem, is a relatively
widespread but thin coal bed, which only
occasionally reaches minable thickness.
The 1.2 m (4+ ft) of Elk Lick coal in
this section represents its maximum
development in the Morgantown area.
Stop 41: Route 48 - Chestnut Ridge
Section
Stop leaders: Alan Donaldson and
Cortland Eble
u.S. Route 48 cuts across the
Chestnut Ridge anticline in eastern
Monongalia and western Preston counties,
West Virginia providing exposure of,
youngest to oldest, lower Conemaugh
Group, Allegheny Formation and
Pottsville Group rocks. STOP 41A occurs
on the northwestern flank of Chestnut
Ridge at the first large outcrop as one
ascends the ridge on Route 48 after
crossing Cheat Lake. The Upper Freeport
T143: 108
HARLEM C
RAMP TO @J
TO
ROUTE
7
and Mahoning coal beds are exposed at
Stop 41A.
The Upper Freeport coal bed at this
location is split into three benches,
separated by shale partings. At more
westward locations, more than 1 m (3 ft)
of the Upper Freeport coal is
underground mined as one unit, whereas
to the east thinner splits, similar in
appearance to this location, are
commonly surface mined. The thickest
Upper Freeport coal reported in northern
West Virginia is located about 40 km (25
mil to the east of this outcrop. Upper
Freeport coal that is presently being
mined is generally marketed as steam
coal, or blended with other coals for
metallurgical use.
The top of the Upper Freeport coal
bed represents the Allegheny Formation-
Conemaugh Group boundary in the Dunkard
basin (fig. 85). Above this contact is
the massive Mahoning sandstone and
overlying Mahoning coal bed. The
Mahoning coal, which is at its western
limit of occurrence, is the
stratigraphically highest coal bed that
contains abundant Lycospora, the
dispersed spore of many of the giant
lycopod trees (Lepidodendron,
Lepidophloios) which dominated Lower and
Middle Pennsylvanian peat swamps.
Occurring above the Mahoning coal, at
the level of the Brush Creek Limestone
(not present in the Route 48 section),
is the Middle-Late Pennsylvanian floral
transition, where all but one of the
major arborescent lycopod genera and
several tree fern genera become
extinct. This transition is equivalent
to the Westphalian-Stephanian boundary
in western Europe, and represents the
culmination of a major climatic shift
from a basically ever-wet climate, to
one which was less-wet, probably more
seasonal (Phillips and others, 1985).
Between STOPS 41A and 41B as we
ascend Chestnut Ridge, several "rolling
stop" discussions will point out
features in outcrops along the roadway,
which can be observed from the bus. The
first "ro lling stop" is a large exposure
of Allegheny Formation strata on the
westbound side of Route 48 containing,
from top to bottom, Upper Freeport
Sandstone, Lower Freeport coal, Lower
Freeport Sandstone and Upper and Lower
Kittanning coal beds. The Lower
Kittanning coal has been correlated with
the No. 6 Block coal in southern West
Virginia (Kosanke, 1984), which was seen
earlier on this trip in the Birch River
section as a flint clay paleosol (see
fig. 82), and with the Colchester No.2
coal bed in the Illinois basin (Kosanke,
1973). The next "ro lling stop" will
point out the Upper Connoquenessing
Sandstone in an outcrop along the right
(eastbound) side of the road, which
represents the top of the Pottsville
Group at this location. Subsurface core
data from northern West Virginia
indicates that at other locations the
Homewood Sandstone, a stratigraphically
higher unit, marks the top of the
Pottsville (Presley, 1979). The top of
the Pottsvllle is approximately time
equivalent to the Kanawha Formation -
Charleston Sandstone contact in southern
West Virginia.
The last "ro lling stop" will show a
large exposure of the Upper
Connoquenessing and Lower
Connoquenessing sandstones. Rocks of
the Pottsville Group are typically
massive pebbly sandstones and sandy
conglomerates, intercalated with shale,
siltstone and thin, discontinuous coal
beds. This type of sequence was
probably deposited by bed load, braided
fluvial systems onto an alluvial plain
(Presley, 1979). Pottsville sediments
in the Route 48 - Chestnut Ridge area
were derived from orogenic highlands
located to the east and southeast in
Virginia (Meckel, 1967, Donaldson and
Schumaker, 1981; fig. 89). Pottsville
Group sandstones, like the ones shown in
this outcrop, generally occur as
multi-storied units up to 30 m (100 ft)
thick, averaging 9 to 12 m (30-40 ft).
Cross-stratification occurs in medium to
large scale trough sets, in tabular sets
and in ripple sets. Plant debris
(mainly stems) is commonly found on
bedding surfaces. A palynological
analysis of a thin, unnamed coal bed
(Pottsville coal 1) in a shale lense in
the Upper Connoquenessing Sandstone near
the top of the cut indicates that it is
age equivalent to the middle Kanawha
Formation (Hernshaw - Chilton coal
interval) in the southern part of West
Virginia (fig. 90).
STOP 41B is at an unnamed marine zone
in a siderite bed beneath the Lower
Connoquenessing sandstone. This
previously unreported unit contains a
marine fauna of Middle Pennsylvanian
age, which is very similar
compositionally to the marine Campbells
Creek Shale seen at Bolt Mountain and
Birch River (I.W. Henry, personal
communication). A miospore analysis of
MIDDLE PENNSLVANIAN TIME
KANAWHA FORMATION
75 150 km
modified from DONALDSON and
SHUMAKER, 1979
FIGURE 89 Paleographic map of the
central Applachian basin during Middle
Pennsylvanian time.

T143: 109
 SOUTHERN NORTHERN
WEST VIRGINIA WEST VIRGINIA
z BOLTMl HOUTE 48 z<t
~V) NO.6 BLOCK C., 0 .....
~V) . z~
NO.5 BLOCK C. , ______.-t REDSTONE C.
u O<t z
:E C> <t
KANAWHA BLACK FLINT ------------ PITTSBURGH C.
w5 ~
~-.

COALBURGC. Z =>
AMES LS. 0<t
<t
>
z - y

WINIFHEDE SH
u~ .....
""'"'"'"' UP. FREEPORT C. >-
« ........
>- V)

~~ Z
<5
=-
"7" HERNSHAW C. -. LOW KITTANNINGC. Z
Z
':"''':::.:.-::.~:. 1 2 POTTSVILLE COALS ~w w
« ""'"'"'"'
« J: CAMPELLS CHEEK SH ?- - - - - - -
UNNAMED MAHINEZONE o~
> ~
«
....J
~ . CAMPBELLS CREEK C. 3 CL>
CL

Z
:> « ~
....., r
V)

z EAGLE C.
z EAGLE SH
LOWER WAR EAGLE C.
w

a..
DOUGLAS C.

SEWELL C.

FIGURE 90 Stratigraphic correlations between northern and southern West Virginia.

the thin, discontinuous coal bed palynologically analyzed and yielded a

directly beneath the Lower
Connoquenessing sandstone (Pottsville
coal 2) at this location has shown the
palynoflora to correlate with the
Campbells Creek - Cedar Grove coal
interval of the Middle Pennsylvanian
Kanawha Formation. This is consistent
with the invertebrate data.
The last stop in the Route
48-Chestnut Ridge section, STOP 41C, is
at the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian
unconformity. Here, a rubble surface
separating the underlying Mississippian
Mauch Chunk Group from the overlying
Pennsylvanian Pottsville Group can be
observed. A thin coal bed (Pottsville
coal 3) which occurs approximately 3 m
(10 ft) above the unconformity was
miospore assemblage comparable with the
Lower War Eagle - Eagle coal interval of
the lower Middle Kanawha Formation
(lower Middle Pennsylvanian) in southern
West Virginia (fig. 90). This age
relationship suggests that Lower'
Pennsylvanian (Pocahontas and New River
Formations) and lower Middle
Pennsylvanian sediments were never
deposited in the northern West Virginia
area. Moreover, only about 61 m (200
ft) of the 600 m (2000 ft) of Kanawha
strata observed at Bolt Mountain is
present in the Route 48-Chestnut Ridge
area (fig. 91), emphasizing the rapid
thinning of the Pennsylvanian section in
a northerly direction.

T143: 110
 BOLT BIRCH ROUTE
MOUNTAIN RIVER 48
.' .
REDSTONEC.
PITTSBURGH C.
STOP39

o COAL BEDS/MARINE UNITS (E.KYequiv.j ~.~. ·:.~~O.6(?) BLOCK C.

500ft. 150 ..: .. :.:.... NO.5BLOCKC.
m. (RICHARDSONCJ
400 loS BLOCKc.
STOP36C
100 KANAWHA Bl.FLlNT SH.FACIES ':::':;::::'.:->.:'.
300
P STOCKTON C.
200 360 COAL BURG C.
50
100
COALBURG c.
(PEACH ORCHARD) 0 0
C.
WINIFREDE C. (HAZARDC.)
WINIFREDE SH.(MAGOFFIN MEMBER)
....J
«
J:
a..
t-
V)
W CAMPBELL CREEK SH. (KENDRICK SH.)
~ STOP32C PEERLESS C. (UPPER ELKHORN C.)

1/-
NO. 2 GAS C. NO.1 BIRCH ROUTE
RIVER 48
700' 200'
MATEWAN C.

EAGLE SH.(BETSIE SH.)

STOP32A
LOWER WAR EAGLE C.
GLENALUM TUNNel C.

GILBERT C.

BASAL 200 FEET (61m) OF KANAWHA FM.

BELOW DRAINAGE-NOT EXPOSED 50 l00mi
i
50 100 lSOkm

FIGURE 91 STOP 41 - Stratigraphic thinning of Lower and Middle Pennsylvanian strata

in West Virginia along strike from the central Appalachian basin in southern West
Virginia to the Dunkard basin in northern West Virginia.

T143: 111
 STRATIGRAPHIC VARIATION IN BULK SAMPLE MINERALOGY OF PENNSYLVANIAN
UNDERCLAYS FROM THE CENTRAL APPALACHIAN BASIN.
Frank T. Dulong and C. Blaine Cecil
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia
INTRODUCTION
A previous study in the central
Appalachian basin determined that there
were at least two major climate changes
which affected sedimentation during the
Late Paleozoic (Cecil and others,
1985). These changes are indicated
stratigraphically by variations in coal
quality and lithology. Similar
inferences in climate changes were
determined from variation in
Pennsylvanian coal-swamp vegetation
(Phillips and others, 1985).
Coal quality data for thirty-four
minable coal beds from the Lower to
Upper Pennsylvanian Series show
systematic changes in both sulfur
content and ash yield. The major
stratigraphic change in total sulfur
content occurs between the Kanawha
Formation (lower Middle Pennsylvanian)
and the Allegheny Formation (upper
Middle Pennsylvanian) (fig. 92).
Analysis of variances and means with an
F- and T-test, respectively, at the 0.05
level of significance indicates the mean
total sulfur values are lowest and equal
between coal beds in the Pocahontas, New
River and Kanawha Formations. The mean
sulfur contents of the coal beds in the
Pocahontas, New River and Kanawha
Formations are less than the Allegheny
Formation which is equal to the
Conemaugh Formation. The Monongahela
Formation has the highest mean total
sulfur content (Table 1). Similar
stratigraphic trends are also seen for
ash values. Like sulfur content, there
is also a change in mean ash-yield
between the Middle and Upper
Pennsylvanian (fig. 93). The Pocahontas
and New River Formations are
statistically equal and have the lowest
ash-yield, followed by the Kanawha
Formation. The Allegheny and
Monongahela Formations are equal in ash-
yield. Coal samples from the Conemaugh
Formation contain the highest mean ash
value (Table 1).
Major changes in lithologies of coal-
bearing strata coincide with major
changes in the occurrence and quality of
T143: 112
minable coal beds. Of particular
interest for paleoclimatic
interpretation is the presence and
relative abundance of minerals and
lithologies that may indicate
geochemical conditions of weathering,
soil formation, sedimentation, and early
digenesis. These include pyrite,
calcite, siderite, kaolinite-rich clay
deposits, quartz arenites, and iron
oxide in red beds. Freshwater
limestones are abundant and common in
the Upper and upper Middle Pennsylvanian
and absent in the lower Middle and lower
Pennsylvanian (fig. 94). Caliche and
red beds, indicators of drier
conditions, are most abundant in the
Conemaugh Formation. Pyrite is very
common in the upper Middle and Upper
Pennsylvanian, whereas siderite is
rare. In contrast, pyrite is rare in
the lower Middle and Lower
Pennsylvanian, whereas siderite is
common.
Based on the presence of these
minerals and lithologies Cecil and
others (1985), concluded that the
changes in paleoclimate that affected
geochemical conditions of sedimentation
during the Late Paleozoic in the central
Appalachian basin are reflected in the
stratigraphic occurrence and quality of
coal beds and on rock lithologies (fig.
95): 1) the Upper Mississippian climate
was dry-seasonal to dry. Many rocks are
of continental origin, contain nodular
calcareous paleosols, and few minable
coal beds; 2) the climate of the Lower
and lower Middle Pennsylvanian was
ever-wet tropical (that is, rain fall
was high and evenly distributed
throughout the year). Coal beds from
these rocks are thick, low in ash and
developed from domed, ombrogenous peat
swamps analogous to those of present
coastal environments in Malasia and
Indonesia; and 3) the climate of the
upper Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian
became more seasonal and perhaps
drier. The driest climate occurred
during the deposition of the Conemaugh
Formation. Coal beds in the upper
Middle and Upper Series were derived
from planar, topogenous peat swamps.
 DUNKARD
sampled the upper 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12
in.) of each bed. A representative
-•
.-
la
,b portion of the sample was ground to
MONONGAHELA
i I if Ie
minus 100 mesh and then low-temperature
ashed. The ash was ground to minus 200
z
~
CONEMAUGH mesh and pressed into pellets for
:::;) - - - - - - - 1 semiquantitative determination of
-, mineral percentages (Hosterman and
~
o ALLEGHENY
'8 1"1
(J-------t
• IP I • • n
Dulong, unpublished manuscript). The
(J .........
r+-t r
q
analytical method used provides
%
Q. $St semiquantitative estimates of the major
C
a: KANAWHA
~u and minor phases within the inherent
limits of X-ray diffraction (Hosterman
I _ rx

"c
~ ~y
and Whitlow, 1983). The relative
a:
~
_ IZ percentages of minerals, illite
U)
------I crystallinity (measurement of 001 peak
• mean of values
width at half maximum intensity), as
NEW RIVER I ..-.*=t bb 188 ~~ standard deviation well as a qualitative kaolinite
I ~CC Idd crystallinity index (inter-sample
~ee
comparison of the relative broadness of
POCAHONTAS the 001, 7 angstrom peak) were measured
on all samples.
o 2 3 4 5
The geographic and stratigraphic
SULFUR
(Weight Percent)
distribution of the samples are shown in
Figure 96. Underclay associated with
FIGURE 92 Stratigraphic distribution of coal beds in the Lower through Upper
the mean sulfur values (weight percent)
for thirty-four minable coal beds from
the Pennsylvanian System of the central
Appalachian basin (from Cecil and
others).
DUNKARD
, • 18

-
I Ib
Mineralogical Study of Underclays MONONGAHELA
I
I
Of •t e"d
Ie

This study of the bulk mineralogy of

underclay from the central Appalachian CONEMAUGH , •
,','9tS: ,
,f
basin was undertaken to determine if
Ig
Ih
ALLEGHENY
there is a systematic stratigraphic ,
k
I' '['no

relationship between the mineralogical Ip

• •
I Iq

variation of the underclay and the I

~~8
If

geochemical conditions of sedimentation

rlt·~JU
and peat formation. Was the KANAWHA
I
I • IX
mineralogical composition of the I
• IY
underclay influenced by allocyclic
events such as climate changes during I
• IZ

the Pennsylvanian (Cecil, 1986)? The

term underclay refers to the stratum
directly under the coal bed. It is NEW RIVER II • t I bb 188 •
. - -1
mean of values
standard deviation
generally argillaceous, gray, non- I
' I •• '
•
c'Cdd
lee
bedded, and sometimes rooted; rooting ~ff
indicates it was a soil with plants POCAHONTAS ~g"h
growing on it. Underclay thicknesses o 10 20 30
can range from a few centimeters to
several meters. Although the concepts a (Weight Percent)
ASH
pedogenic origin for underclay is not
new, it is still controversial (Huddle FIGURE 93 Stratigraphic distribution of
and Paterson, 1961; Rimmer and Eberl, the mean ash values (weight percent) for
1982; and Hughes and others, 1987). thirty-four minable coal beds from the
In a reconnaissance study of the Pennsylvanian System of the central
stratigraphic relationship among bulk Applachian basin (from Cecil and others,
sample mineralogy of underclay, we 1985).

T143: 113
 Z
<C
z MONONGAHELA A c R C R C-R
a:: ~
w ;..J
>
::) en
Q.
Q.
z
ffi CONEMAUGH c A R C-R R A
Q.

z C
~ ALLEGHENY C A-C C A R
R
w ~
..J ;..J

eo
~
>
en
z
KANAWHA o o C R o o
z
W
Q.

z
~ NEW RIVER o o C R o o
ffi ~
~ ~
..J ~
ffi POCAHONTAS o o C R o o
Q.

MODIFIED FROM C B CECIL, AND OTHERS 1985

FIGURE 94 Lithologic characteristic of the Pennsylvanian System of the Appalachian

basin. A stands for abundant, C for common, R for rare, and 0 for absent (modified
from Cecil and others, 1985).

TABLE 1
Number of samples (N), mean, and standard deviation (sd)
used in the stratigraphic statistical evaluation of the
total sulfur and ash values for coal beds in the
Pennsylvanian System of the central Appalachian basin.

FORMATION TOTAL SULFUR ASH

N mean sd mean sd

Monongahela 159 3.4 1.4 10.8 4.2

Conemaugh 8 2.2 1.3 18.1 10.6
Allegheny 296 2.9 1.5 11.2 5.5
Kanawha 73 0.9 0.5 9.2 5.3
New River 74 0.9 0.4 7.1 3.5
Pocahontas 21 0.8 0.3 6.8 2.1

SULFUR: Pocahontas = New River = Kanawha < Allegheny = Conemaugh <

Monongahela
ASH: Pocahontas New River < Kanawha < Allegheny = Monongahela <
Conemaugh

T143: 114
Series Pennsylvanian Series was sampled.
... c:
~
Samples from below the Upper Bakerstown,
Q) . -
~E~
Cli
o() Lower Freeport, Middle Kittanning and
0 ... .....,
...J Q)
a.. Lower Kittanning coal beds (Allegheny
Formation) are from western Maryland.
c:
~ Seventeen of twenty Upper Freeport
... ·c>~ underclay samples are from southwestern
Pennsylvania, one is from eastern Ohio
Q)
0.-
a.~
:::>~
c: and two are from western Maryland. The
Q)
a.. Anderson coal bed (Conemaugh Formation)
underclay samples are from eastern
c:
~
Ohio. Six Pocahontas No. 3 and three
·c Pocahontas No. 2 samples (Pocahontas

I
~
Formation) are from southern West
Q)
- >
"0-
"0 ~
.- en Virginia and adjacent southwestern
~ c:
c:
Q)
... Virginia. The seven Hernshaw-Fireclay
a.. .2
sen Everwet coal bed (Kanawha Formation) underclay
c:
I
~
samples are from eastern Kentucky and
~ o southwestern West Virginia. Seventeen
... ·c>
j
...J
Q)
~ .c.~

en
Kanawha Formation coal beds (Coal burg
~­
o ~ ~ down to the Gilbert) were collected from
...J~
c:
I
~
o
the Bolt Mountain section near Bolt,
Q)
a.. ...J West Virginia. All samples came from
mappable coal beds most of which are
economically important.
Dry-seasonal
RESULTS
Low High The crystal 1inity of the ill ite is
Rainfall poor (measured as peak width at half
Evapotranspiration
height in degrees two-theta of the Oql,
10 angstrom peak) in both the Upper
FIGURE 95 Ratio of rainfall to Bakerstown and the Anderson (Conemaugh
evapotranspiration interpreted from Formation) underc1ays. The illite is
lithologies and coal quality of the mostly of the 1M type, and the underclay
Pennsylvanian System of the Appalachian also contains some mixed-layer material
basin (modified from Cecil and others,
1985). c
co
...
"2
CD co
>
c. >.
Upper c. tJ)
Bakerstown ~ c
Conemaugh c
Anderson CD
Q.
Upper Freeport
Lower Freeport
Allegheny Middle Kittanning C
m
Lower Kittanning "2
CD co
:c >
't' >.
Coalburg
:i cc
tJ)

Kanawha
Hernshaw-Fireclay CD
[ Q.
Gilbert

C
New River co
...CD "2
co
~
>
0 >.
Pocahontas #3 ..J
tJ)
Pocahontas C
C
Pocahontas #2 CD
Q.

FIGURE 96 Spatial and stratigraphic distribution of samples used in this study.

T143: 115
 o

o
Ch

K o
K

>-
I-

J\J \
I I
U5
Z
W

J\
I-
~

UPPER S) ERST N \1 I
M-L r \ I "J ~\ ~}\"
~ ~J ~ ~ ~VV\t
ANDERsA
J l \
1
4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
TWO THETA TWO THETA

FIGURE 97 X-ray diffractograms (copper FIGURE 99 X-ray diffractograms (copper

radiation) of underclay samples from the radiation) of underclay samples from the
Conemaugh Formation. Kanawha Formation.

(fig. 97). The Anderson underclay underclay from the Fireclay and Lower
contains very little kaolinite (001 peak Bens Creek coal beds, Kanawha Formation,
at 12 degrees two-theta). Poorly contain well crystallized illite of the
crystalline illite also is present in 2M type. Chlorite is present in the
the Upper Freeport and Lower Kittanning Lower Bens Creek underclay sample, as it
(Allegheny Formation) underclay samples is in the majority of the Kanawha
(fig. 98). The underclay of the Upper underclays (fig. 99). Chlorite is also
Freeport coal bed contains calcite (29.4 present in the Pocahontas No. 3
degrees two-theta) and pyrite (28.5 and underclay sample (fig. 100).
33 degrees two-theta). Samples of the The average amounts of kaolinite,

0
1

K Ch
o

>-
I-
U5
Z
W
I-
~

8 12 16 20 24 28 32 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
TWO THETA TWO THETA

FIGURE 98 X-ray diffractograms (copper FIGURE 100 X-ray diffractograms (copper

radiation) of underclay samples from the radiation) of underclay samples from the
Allegheny Foramtion. Pocahontas Formation.

T143: 116

FIGURE 101 Summary X-ray diffractograms
(copper radiation) of representative
underclay samples from the Allegheny,
Kanawha and Pocahontas Formations.
pyrite and calcite are greater in the
Allegheny Formation than in the Kanawha
Formation (Table 2). The underclay
samples of the Kanawha Formation contain
more illite and chlorite than other
formational groups of samples and the
illite is well crystallized. The
average peak width is smaller; therefore
the illite is more crystallized in the
Kanawha Formation than in samples from
the Allegheny Formation. The underclay
samples from the Pocahontas Formation
resemble underclays of the Kanawha
Formation in their kaolinite to chlorite
ratio, paucity of pyrite and calcite,
and degree of illite crystallinity.
CONCLUSIONS
Three diffraction patterns can be
used to summarize the bulk mineralogy of
Pennsylvanian underclay samples used in
this study (fig. 101). On the basis of
clay mineral contents (Table 3) the
samples separate into two groups: 1)
Those which are composed mostly of soil
type (poorly crystallized) kaolinite
with a subequal to minor illite of the
poorly crystalline variety (soil-type
suite of Hughes and others, 1987); and
2) those containing mostly well-
crystallized illite with lesser, yet
substantial kaolinite and chlorite
(shale-type suite of Hughes and others,
1987). The mineralogy of the first
group of underclay samples indicates in
situ alteration. The underclay samples

TABLE 2
Average semiquantitative bulk sample mineralogy for samples used in
this study. N is the number of samples. QTZ = quartz, CAL =
calcite, PYR = pyrite, ILL = illite, PWHM = width of the 001 illite
peak in degrees two-theta at half maximum intensity, CHLR =
chlorite, KAOL = kaolinite, and FELD = feldspar. Values are in
weight percent.

COAL BED N QTZ CAL PYR ILL PWHM CHLR KAOL FELD

Upper Bakerstown 1 40 28 .37 30 2

Anderson 1 50 45 .61 3 2
Upper Freeport 20 38 1 9 20 .46 4 23 2
Lower Freeport 1 42 28 .89 2 22 2
Middle Kittanning 1 53 20 .23 2 18 3
Lower Kittanning 4 38 16 .25 5 40 2
Kanawha coal beds 17 35 41 .20 13 6 2
Hernshaw-Fireclay 7 33 41 .22 12 10 3
Pocahontas No. 3 6 41 42 .23 5 8 3
Pocahontas No. 2 3 49 34 .40 3 10 4

T143: 117
 TABLE 3
Normalized average semiquantitative clay
mineralogy for significant samples from the
the Allegheny, Kanawha and Pocahontas Formations.
N is the number of samples. Values are in weight
percent.

COAL BED N ILL CHLR KAOL

Upper Freeport 20 43 9 49
Lower Kittanning 4 26 8 66
Kanawha coal beds 17 69 21 10
Hernshaw-Fireclay 7 65 19 16
Pocahontas No. 3 6 76 9 15
Pocahontas No. 2 3 72 6 21

of the Allegheny and Conemaugh We conclude that there are

Formations, upper Middle and Upper
Pennsylvanian Series respectively, make
up this first group. The mineralogy of
the second group, comprised of the Lower
and lower Middle Pennsylvanian Series
underclay samples, indicates little if
any alteration from the original
shale-type sediment.
stratigraphically different mineralogic
suites of underclays from the central
Appalachian basin. The differences in
mineralogy tend to parallel, and
probably are caused by the major change
in paleoclimate.

PLANTS, COAL, AND CLIMATE IN THE PENNSLVANIAN OF THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS

Richard B. Winston,
Geological Survey of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
and
Ronald W. Stanton,
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

ABSTRACT comprise more than 50 percent of the

The variation of plant abundances in
Pennsylvanian coal beds in the central
Appalachian basin correspond to inferred
climatic changes during the
Pennsylvanian Period. Lycopods comprise
more than 50 percent of the coal in the
Lower Pennsylvanian except in coal that
is split or thin. In the lower Middle
Pennsylvanian, lycopods comprise 40-45
percent of the coal. At the base of the
upper Middle Pennsylvanian, lycopods
coal. Lycopod abundance decreases up-
section to a low of 35 percent near the
top of the Middle Pennsylvanian.
Lycopods comprise 11 percent of the coal
(one sample in this study) from the
Upper Pennsylvanian. The major
peat-contributing lycopods are
interpreted to have favored wet
conditions.
As inferred from lycopod abundance,
the climate was moist in the Early
Pennsylvanian but became less moist

T143: 118
 TABLE 3
Normalized average semiquantitative clay
mineralogy for significant samples from the
the Allegheny, Kanawha and Pocahontas Formations.
N is the number of samples. Values are in weight
percent.

COAL BED N ILL CHLR KAOL

Upper Freeport 20 43 9 49
Lower Kittanning 4 26 8 66
Kanawha coal beds 17 69 21 10
Hernshaw-Fireclay 7 65 19 16
Pocahontas No. 3 6 76 9 15
Pocahontas No. 2 3 72 6 21

of the Allegheny and Conemaugh We conclude that there are

Formations, upper Middle and Upper
Pennsylvanian Series respectively, make
up this first group. The mineralogy of
the second group, comprised of the Lower
and lower Middle Pennsylvanian Series
underclay samples, indicates little if
any alteration from the original
shale-type sediment.
stratigraphically different mineralogic
suites of underclays from the central
Appalachian basin. The differences in
mineralogy tend to parallel, and
probably are caused by the major change
in paleoclimate.

PLANTS, COAL, AND CLIMATE IN THE PENNSLVANIAN OF THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS

Richard B. Winston,
Geological Survey of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
and
Ronald W. Stanton,
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

ABSTRACT comprise more than 50 percent of the

The variation of plant abundances in
Pennsylvanian coal beds in the central
Appalachian basin correspond to inferred
climatic changes during the
Pennsylvanian Period. Lycopods comprise
more than 50 percent of the coal in the
Lower Pennsylvanian except in coal that
is split or thin. In the lower Middle
Pennsylvanian, lycopods comprise 40-45
percent of the coal. At the base of the
upper Middle Pennsylvanian, lycopods
coal. Lycopod abundance decreases up-
section to a low of 35 percent near the
top of the Middle Pennsylvanian.
Lycopods comprise 11 percent of the coal
(one sample in this study) from the
Upper Pennsylvanian. The major
peat-contributing lycopods are
interpreted to have favored wet
conditions.
As inferred from lycopod abundance,
the climate was moist in the Early
Pennsylvanian but became less moist

T143: 118
during the early part of the Middle
Pennsylvanian. The climate became moist
during the middle of the Middle
Pennsylvanian and gradually became less
moist in the later part of the Middle
Pennsylvanian. During the early part of
the Late Pennsylvanian, the climate was
much drier than previously. No direct
comparison of the climate of the later
part of the Late Pennsylvanian to Early
and Middle Pennsylvanian can be made
with these data except that the
resumption of widespread coal formation
indicates that climate was somewhat
wetter than it had been in the early
Late Pennsylvanian.
The abundances of ferns, calamiteans,
pteridosperms and cordaiteans were also
determined in profiles of coal beds but
their variations in abundance appear to
be more affected by local conditions.
In 9 of 18 samples, lycopods show a
statistically-significant decline upward
within coal beds whereas in the other 9
samples, no statistically significant
trends in lycopod abundance were
observed. An upwards decline in lycopod
abundance in a coal bed would be
expected in a bed which formed from a
domed peat swamp. The results of this
study indicate that peat-dome formation
was an important process in
Pennsylvanian-age peat swamps.
INTRODUCTION
That plants have evolved and changed
in abundance through time is well known
from palynology, compression-impression
fossils, and permineralized plants.
Because of the abundance of plant
fossils in the Pennsylvanian Period, and
their association with numerous coal
beds, the floras of this time are
particularly well-studied.
Compression-impression fossils provide
information about plants from a wide
range of environments outside of peat
swamps whereas permineralized plants (in
the form of permineralized peat or coal
balls) commonly yield information about
plants from within peat-swamps.
Palynology can provide information about
plants both within and outside
peat-swamps although certain taxonomic
groups may not be represented, and
relating individual spore and pollen
species to their parent plants is not
always possible. Additionally, those
plants which are represented in the
palynological flora are not always
T143: 119
represented in proportion to their
contribution to peat or abundance in the
community.
The dominant plants in Pennsylvanian
peat-swamps were not the same as the
dominant plants outside the peat-swamps
(DiMichele, 1983, 1985). Because
edaphic conditions within peat swamps
vary less than those outside peat
swamps, the peat-swamp flora is less
variable than the non-peat-swamp flora
(DiMichele and others, 1987). This
decreased variability of peat-swamp
vegetation permits a simple means to
interpret changes in climate using
coal-bed floral compositional data over
a stratigraphical interval.
Unfortunately, such data is unevenly
distributed geographically. In North
America, most of the coal-bed floral
data come from the Illinois and Western
Interior Basins and range in age from
Westphalian B to Stephanian, but is
primarily from the Westphalian D and
Stephanian. In western Europe
coal-balls occur primarily in the
Westphalian A, near the Westphalian AlB
boundary, and in the Stephanian. Thus
to sample all parts of the
Pennsylvanian, samples from widely
separated geographic localities must be
used.
Recently, however, methods have been
developed to identify plant tissues
directly from coal (Winston 1986a,
1986b, in press a). The anatomical
structures of many peat-contributing
plants are still preserved in coal and
can be revealed by suitable treatment.
Identifying plants in coal avoids the
problems of widely separated sampling
localities necessary in permineralized
peat studies and non-representation of
certain taxonomic groups in
palynological studies. Coal paleobotany
also avoids another limitation of
palynology; it can be applied to coal up
to and including the rank of anthracite
(Turner and Randall, 1923, Turner, 1930)
whereas current palynological techniques
are limited to coal of medium-volatile
rank or less (Smith and Butterworth,
1967).
In this paper, coal paleobotany was
used to infer climatic changes during
the Pennyslvanian Period in the central
Appalachian basin. This area was chosen
because of its relatively complete
stratigraphic section. Because
palynological information <was available
primarily from the lower rank coal beds
from the Upper and upper Middle
Pennsylvanian of the Illinois basin
(Phillips and others, 1985), this study
focused more on the higher rank coal
beds of the Lower and lower Middle
Pennsylvanian from the Appalachian basin
in an effort to expand our knowledge of
the types and amouts of plants that grew
in Pennsylvanian peat-swamps. In most
cases, only one locality per coal bed
was investigated, but in a few coal beds
several samples were studied. The
vertical distributions of plants within
individual coal beds were also observed,
and were compared among beds.
MATERIALS
Eighteen samples were studied that
represent thirteen different coal beds
from Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio~ and
Pennsylvania. Coal beds represented
were the Pocahontas No.2, Pocahontas
No.3 (three samples), Little Fire
Creek(?) (two samples), Jawbone, Upper
Banner, Norton, Eagle, Campbell Creek
(No.2 Gas), Hernshaw, Stockton, Middle
Kittanning, Upper Freeport (three
samples), and Pittsburgh. Sample
locations are shown in Figure 102.
METHODS
All the samples used were either from
cores or column samples collected at
mines or outcrops. Polished blocks
representing the entire coal bed
thickness were prepared and etched with
either a low temperature plasma-asher or
an acidified potassium permangenate
solution. Methods of preparing samples
are the same as in Winston (in press
b). Methods of quantifying samples
differ slightly from those of Winston
(in press b) in that no attempt was made
to measure plant tissue thicknesses more
precisely than to the nearest mm where
thicknesses were greater than 1 mm. In
most cases, tissues were less than 1 mm
thick and in those cases, the dominant
plant group in each mm was identified.
Plant groups identified were lycopods,
ferns, rootlets (from both lycopods and
ferns), calamiteans, pteridosperms,
cordaiteans, degraded plants and three
lycopod genera: Lepidophloios,
Diaphorodendron, and Sigillaria. Shale,
pyrite, and concretions were also
identified but were excluded when
computing the abundances of the plant
groups.
T143: 120
ANALYSIS
The average abundance of each
different major plant type was
calculated for each 1 cm (0.4 in.)
interval of the bed. The average
abundance of each plant type within the
bed was calculated from all of the 1 cm
(0.4 in.) averages for each plant
type. The correlation coefficient
between depth from the top of the beds
and average abundances of the various
plant groups were used to search for
statistically significant trends in
plant abundances within beds.
RESULTS
Stratigraphic
In the Lower Pennsylvanian
(Pocahontas and New River Formations)
lycopods range in abundance from 54 to
70 percent except where the coal is
split or thin (fig. 103). In the lower
part of the Kanawha Formation (lower
Middle Pennsylvanian) lycopods comprise
42 to 46 percent of the plant tissue in
the coal. Lycopods are abundant in the
Campbell Creek coal (55 percent) and
gradually decrease up-section in the
upper Middle Pennsylvanian to a low of
33-36 percent in the Upper Freeport coal
bed. No coal beds from the Conemaugh
Formation were examined. In the
Pittsburgh coal bed from the Monongahela
Formation (Upper Pennsylvanian),
lycopods have their lowest abundance (11
percent).
Ferns comprise less than 10 percent
of the coal in all coal beds except the
Upper Banner (14 percent, Kanawha
Formation, lower Middle Pennsylvanian)
and the Pittsburgh coal bed (35 percent,
Monongahela Formation, Upper
Pennsylvanian).
Rootlets of lycopods and ferns
currently can not be reliable
distinguished from one another and,
therefore, they are classified as one
category, IIrootlets li • Rootlets comprise
less than 10 percent of the peat in the
Pocahontas No. 2 and Pocahontas No. 3
coal beds except where the Pocahontas
No.3 is thin 49 em (20 in.). In the
coal beds of the New River and Kanawha
Formations (upper Lower Pennsylvanian
and Middle Pennsylvanian), rootlets
always exceed 10 percent of the coal
except in the Campbell Creek coal bed
(9.7 percent) and one sample of the
Upper Freeport coal bed (5 percent)
 LEGEND

1 - Pittsburgh #8
2 - Upper Freeport
2.1 - stream margin, lower split
2.2 - interior, lower split
2.3 - interior, upper and lower splits
3 -. Middle Kittanning
4 - Stockton-Lewiston
OH
5 - Hernshaw
6 - Campbell Creek
7 - Eagle
1
2. -<> 4!2.3
2.2
8 - Norton 1
9 .. Upper Banner <>-
10- Jawbone
11- Little Firecreek (?) -<>3
11.1 .. lower split PA
11.2 - unsplit
12- Pocahontas #3
12.1 - marginal, high ash wv MD
12.2 .. thin, low-ash
12.3 .. interior, thick
13.. Pocahontas #2

4 N
<2
5¢- 6

-¢-7 0
I . i
, ,
SOmi
,
•
r
0 40 80km

FIGURE 102 Sample locations for coal paleobotanical analyses.

which is within 1 km (0.6 mil of a
syndepositional channel (Stanton and
others, 1986)
Calamiteans comprise less than 3
percent of the coal in all samples.
They exceed 1 percent of the coal only
in the Upper Freeport (Allegheny
Formation, upper Middle Pennsylvanian)
and Hernshaw coal beds (Kanawha
Formation, mid-Middle Pennsylvanian).
Pteridosperms comprise less than 25
percent of the coal except in samples
that are near syndepositional channels,
or from parts of the bed that are split
by a shale parting. In the Stockton
(Kanawha Formation, mid-Middle
Pennsylvanian) and higher coal beds,
pteridosperms always comprise more than
15 percent of the coal whereas in the
coal beds below the Stockton,
pteridosperm abundance varies but shows
no clear stratigraphic pattern.
Cordaiteans comprise less than 3
percent of the coal in all samples.
They exceed 1 percent of the coal only
in one sample of the Upper Freeport coal'

T143: 121
 PLANT GRO UPS

~ ~ MaN Pitt
~ p..
~ ~
§) ~ CON AMES

o CHAR UF MK •
S

H
KAN cc
E
N
UB

N RIV
LFC

pac Poc3
Poc2

0 70 25 35 3 60 3 35 4 9 4 40

PERCENT ABUNDANCE

Pitt=Pittsburgh, Ames=Ames Limestone, UF=Upper Freeport,

MK=Middle Kittanning, S=Stockton, H=Hernshaw. CC=Campbell Creek,
E=Eagle. N=Norton, UB=Upper Banner, J=Jawbone,
LFC=Little Fire Creek(?). Poc3=Pocahontas #3, Poc2=Pocahontas #2

FIGURE 103 Fossil plant abundances in central Appalachian coal beds. Correlations
with the European time scale are based on Phillips and others (1985).

bed (Allegheny Formation, upper Middle Lepidophloios never comprises more than
Pennsylvanian) and in the Stockton coal 4 percent of any of the coal samples in
bed (Kanawha Formation, mid-Middle this study although in coal balls, it is
Pennsylvanian). In the Upper Freeport usually one of the dominant genera in
coal bed they are almost entirely Middle Pennsylvanian coal beds (Phillips
restricted to an upper bench which was and others, 1985). Lepidophloios is
present at only one of the three most common in the Campbell Creek
sampling localities. locality and one locality of the Little
Degraded plant material is generally Fire Creek(?) coal beds comprising a
less common (less than 15 percent) in little less than 3.5 percent in both
coal samples from the Pocahontas, New localities.
River, and the lower part of the Kanawha Diaphorodendron is more easily
Formations up through the Norton coal. identified in coal than the other two
In the Eagle and higher coal beds, genera, so the identifiable portion of
degraded plant material generally it is larger than Lepidophloios even
comprises more than 15 percent of the though its actual abundance may be
coal. smaller. Diaphorodendron is most common
Three genera of lycopod trees can be in the Stockton and Jawbone coal beds.
sometimes identified in coal; In the Stockton, it comprises 9 percent
Lepidophloios, Diaphorodendron, and of the coal and in the Jawbone it
Sigillaria. Although most of the comprises 6 percent.
material belonging to these genera can Sigillaria is easier to identify in
only be identified as lycopods in coal coal than Lepidophloios, but not as easy
(Winston in press b), the abundances of to identify as Diaphorodendron. Coal
the identifiable portion of these genera ball studies have shown that it is the
is likely to be proportional to their dominant lycopod in Upper Pennsylvanian
actual abundances. Identifiable coals (Phillips and others, 1985). In
T143: 122
this study, Sigillaria is most common in
the Pittsburgh coal bed (Upper
Pennsylvanian, 3 percent) and the
Campbell Creek coal bed (mid-Middle
Pennsylvanian, 3 percent).
Vertical Changes Within Coal Beds
Plant fossils are not distributed
randomly within coal beds; 57 percent of
the correlations among plant group
abundance and depth are statistically
significant (Table 4). If the plants
were distributed randomly, only 10
percent of the correlations would be
statistically significant (two-tailed
test with alpha=5 percent in each
tail). A clear pattern emerges for the
lycopods; they either decrease upward
within coal beds or show no consistent
trend; they never increase upward (Table
4). Although other plant groups show
statistically significant changes with
depth within coal beds, the patterns are
not consistent. One possible exception
to this is the pattern of
pteridosperms. Although the
pteridosperms increase upward nearly as
often as they decrease upward in coal
beds, all but one of the coals in which
two exceptions are the coal beds closest
to the Westphalian AlB boundary.
DISCUSSION
Climate
Previous work (Phillips, 1979,
Phillips and Peppers, 1984, Phillips and
others, 1985, DiMichele and others,
1985), indicates that the abundance of
lycopods in coal can be used as an
indicator of climatic "wetness", at
least during the Lower and Middle
Pennsylvanian.
The low abundance of lycopods in the
lower part of the Kanawha Formation
supports the existence of an "ear lier
drier interval" during the early Middle
Pennsylvanian as postulated by Phillips
and others (1985) (fig. 104). No such
drier interval was recognized by Cecil
and others (1985). In Europe,
crassidurain is most common in coal beds
from three periods, the Namurian A, late
Westphalian A through Westphalian Band
late Westphalian D through early
Stephanian (Smith, 1964b). The latter
two periods correspond to the drier
intervals recognized in this paper which
suggests crassidurain may indicate a >

they increase upward are below the
Westphalian AlB boundary (between the
Upper Banner and Norton coal beds)
(Phillips and others, 1985). In
contrast, all but one of the coals in
which they decrease upward are above the
Westphalian AlB boundary (Table 5). The
drier climate. In the United States,
however, splint and semisplint coal (=
durain and clarodurain) exceed 70
percent of the coal in beds formed
during the late Westphalian C
(Winifrede, Coal burg, Stockton and
Brookville coal beds) (Sprunk and

TABLE 4
Significant Correlations between depth in their bed and plant
group abundances in eighteen coal bed localities

Plant group Increase upsection No trend Decrease upsection

Lycopods 0 9 9
Diaphorodendron 1 1 a
lootlets 6 6 6
ferns 1 6 1
pteridosperms 3 8 5
degraded 6 7 4

Values represent the number of localities at which statistically significant

correlations exist. Only those samples in which the abundance of the group in
question is greater than 5 percent are included.
T143: 123
 TABLE 5
Plant-Group Patterns of Individual Localities

Coal Lyc D Rl Fe Pt Deg

Pittsburg a * a a a
Upper Freeport
1, marginal, high-ash, lower split * * a *
2, interi or , low-ash, lower split a * + a
3, interior, thick coal a * +
Middle Kittaning a *a + a a
Stockton - a * a +
Hernshaw a * 0 * a a
Campbell Creek * + * +
Eagle a * + * 0 a
Norton * + a +
Upper Banner *0 + +
Jawbone + a * +
Little Fire Creek (?)
1,10wer split * a * +
2, unsplit * 0 * a +
Pocahontas No.3,
1, marginal, high-ash * a a + a
2, thin, low-ash a * * * +
3, interior thick a * * a 0
Pocahontas No. 2 a * * a 0

Lyc = lycopods, D = Diaphorodendron, Rl = Rootlets, Fe = ferns,

Pt = pteridosperms, Deg = degraded plants, + = Groups which increase
upsection, a = Groups which show no change upsection, - = Groups which
decrease upsection, * = Group comprising less than 5 percent of this
sample.

others, 1940). The sample of Stockton
coal studied here, however, did not have
nearly so high an abundance of durain.
During the early part of the Late
Pennsylvanian, the North American
populations of Lepidophloios and
Diaphorodendron became extinct and were
largely replaced by tree ferns
(Psaronius) (Phillips and others, 1974,
Phillips and Peppers, 1984, Phillips and
others, 1985). Lepidophloios and
Diaphorodendron provide much of the
lycopod material in Lower and Middle
Pennsylvanian coal beds. Because they
became extinct, lycopod abundance can be
used to compare climatic IIwetness" only
in Lower and Middle Pennsylvanian coal
beds. The extinction of these lycopods,
however, could mean that in the early
part of the Late Pennsylvanian,
conditions were less wet than earlier in
the Pennsylvanian. The less wet
conditions could have resulted from
either decreased rainfall, increased
evapotranspiration, or increased
seasonality of rainfall. A major marine
transgression also could have decreased
swamp habitats and, in turn, decreased
the opportunity for plants, such as
lycopods, which grew primarily in
swamps, to survive. The decline in
lycopods during the late Middle
Pennsylvanian (Westphalian D) supports
the contention of Schultz (1958) and
Cecil and others (1985) that a drying
trend commenced during the late Middle
Pennsylvanian. No such drying trend was
recognized by Phillips and others
(1985). Both Phillips and others (1985)
and Cecil and others (1985), using
different criteria and evidence,
recognize a drier interval at the

T143: 124
 DUNKARD

MONONGAHELA
CONEMAUGH
CHARLESTON

KANAWHA

NEW RIVER

POCAHONTAS

BLUESTONE

LEAST WET WETTEST

FIGURE 104 Comparison of paleoclimatic interpretations of the central Appalachian
basin.

beginning of the Late Pennsylvanian.
Thus the climatic model presented here
incorporates features of the models of
both Phillips and others (1985) and
Cecil and others (1985) but is identical
to neither (fig. 104).
It is unlikely that plant evolution
can explain all of the results described
here. Although the decreasing abundance
of lycopods in the late Middle
Pennsylvanian might be explained by
evolution of other groups towards
greater tolerance of peat-swamp
conditions, such an explanation could
not account for the relatively low
abundances of lycopods in the early
Middle Pennsylvanian followed by a sharp
increase in lycopod abundance at the
beginning of the late Middle
Pennsylvanian.
T143: 125
Major changes in sea level may playa
role in determining the abundances of
the different plant groups. The
extinction of Lepidophloios and
Diaphorodendron, for example, occur
near, but earlier than, the major
transgression recorded by the Upper
Pennsylvanian Ames Limestone.
Palynological evidence suggests that
amounts of subsidence can also influence
variation in the paleobotanical
composition within coal beds (Smith and
Butterworth, 1967).
Plant Succession and Doming
In recent years, models for peat
formation incorporating domed peat
deposits (McCabe, 1984; Cecil and
others, 1985) have become popular
because of increased awareness of the
importance of peat domes in modern peat
forming environments (Polak, 1970;
Anderson and Muller, 1975). However,
few criteria are available for
distinguishing between coal beds which
formed from domed as opposed to planar
peat swamps. One difference may be the
existence of a single, unrepeated
botanical succession in domed swamps
(Anderson and Muller, 1975), whereas in
planar peat swamps the succession is
often disturbed and may be repeated many
times (Cohen, 1974). Additional studies
of tropical peat- swamps to confirm the
validity of this distinction would be
valuable. In temperate peat swamps
(both domed and planar) the changes in
plant communities are often controlled
by climatic changes and not by the
development of a peat dome (e.g.,
Middeldorp, 1986). Studies of
succession in tropical domed peat swamps
have not shown that climatic changes
playa dominant role in determining the
plant communities (Anderson and Muller,
1975, Anderson, 1983). Thus the
existence of a simple botanical
succession would be evidence for the
importance of domed swamps in the
Pennsylvanian Period. The fact that
lycopods always either decline upward
within coal beds or show no trend, but
never increase upward is evidence that a
simple botanical succession does exist
in some Pennsylvanian coal beds. A
decline in lycopods upward might be
expected if a peat dome had formed. The
roots of the lycopods have a specialized
anatomy which provides them with
abundant air spaces. Such air spaces
are needed for vascular plants growing
in standing water and are typical of
roots of modern plants such as Nymphea
that are adequatically-adapted. For
these and other reasons, lycopods have
long been interpreted to have been
adapted to very wet conditions
(Phillips, 1979, Phillips and Peppers,
1984, Phillips and others, 1985,
DiMichele and others, 1985). Because
conditions become better drained during
the development of a peat dome, the
abundance of lycopods would decline
through time as the peat dome developed.
It is also possible that the pattern
displayed by the pteridosperms is
explained by the formation of peat
domes. Before the Westphalian AlB
boundary, Lyginopteris was probably the
dominant pteridosperm in Pennsylvanian
peat swamps; after the Westphalian AlB
T143: 126
boundary, Medullosa was the dominant
pteridosperm. If Lyginopteris was a
late successional plant and Medullosa an
early successional plant, this could
explain why pteridosperms increase
upward within coal beds before the
Westphalian AlB boundary but decrease
upward after the Westphalian AlB
boundary. However, in two of the three
cases in which pteridosperms increase
upward, there are abundant partings in
the upper part of the coal bed. Because
the abundance of pteridosperms is known
to be associated with partings (Winston,
in press b), the stratigraphic pattern
may be coincidental.
The above discussion leads to another
point; clearly the distribution of the
plants within many coal beds is not
random. However, most groups display no
consistent trends among beds as would
have been expected if the development of
peat domes was the only factor
controlling plant abundances. Other
factors which may be important are
floods (which are probably responsible
for the existence of many partings) and
climatic fluctuations during the
existence of the paleoswamps. The
association between abundant partings
and abundant pteridosperms is evidence
for the importance of floods in
controlling plant abundances. The
importance of climatic fluctuations is
proposed by analogy with Holocene
temperate peat-swamps (Middeldorp,
1986), but no specific evidence for it
from the Pennsylvanian is presented
here.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank the following
for advice, samples or assistance:
Blaine Cecil, E.C.T. Chao, Sharon
Crowley, Frank Dulong, Cortland Eble,
Brenda Pierce, Leslie Ruppert, Peter
Warwick, Frank Senftle, Ken Englund, and
T.W. Henry of the U.S. Geological
Survey; the Ohio Geological Survey, West
Virginia Geological and Economic Survey,
The Pennsylvania Electric Company, and
Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company.
 A PETROGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTS OF ACCUMULATION OF THE POCAHONTAS
NO. 3 COAL BED IN SOUTHWESTERN WEST VIRGINIA
William C. Grady
West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey
Morgantown, West Virginia

ABSTRACT thickness and the ash and sulfur

The Pocahontas No.3 coal bed in
southeastern West Virginia ranges from 0
to 3 m (0 to 10 ft) in thickness, varies
in ash from <2 percent to >30 percent,
ranges in sulfur from 0.5 to 2.4 percent
and, on average, contains 71.5 percent
vitrinite (mean mineral-matter-free
volume percent), 0 percent exinite and
28.2 percent inertinite.
Two layers were identified within the
Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed that were
laterally extensive and composed
entirely of very intimately intermixed
10-20 micron size inertodetrinite,
kaolinite and quartz. These layers
account for much of the ash in the
Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed.
Variations in thickness, ash-yield,
sulfur-content and petrographic
composition are attributable to
differences in paleoenvironments of peat
formation caused by contemporaneous
folding which produced localized basins
within the region of Pocahontas No. 3
paleo-peat swamp. In regions of
localized subsidence, thicker peat
developed which resulted in coal that is
high in vitrinite and low in sulfur.
The abundance of vitrinite is
attributable to less oxidation of plant
material. Outside of these, thinner
peat accumulated, which resulted in coal
that containes higher percentages of
inertinite macerals, the result of
increased oxidation.
INTRODUCTION
Low-ash yields, low-sulfur contents
and low-ash and sulfur variability, in
conjunction with widespread minable
thickness and continuity, are attributes
which have contributed to the commercial
importance of the Pocahontas No. 3 coal
bed. The purpose of this paper is to
interpret the paleoenvironments of peat
formation of the Pocahontas No. 3 coal
bed on the basis of coal petrography and
to suggest mechanisms by which the
paleo-environments controlled the
T143: 127
contents in the coal bed. An
understanding of the paleoenvironments
of the Pocohontas No. 3 coal bed may
lead to better understanding of thinner
and less continuous coal beds of the
Lower Pennsylvanian Pocahontas
Formation.
This study utilizes 32 full-thickness
channel samples and 2 columns of
increment and bench samples collected in
McDowell, Wyoming, Raleigh and Mercer
counties in southern West Virginia
(fig.105). Most of these samples were
located within an area of previous
investigation (Rehbein and others, 1981)
where thickness, ash and sulfur data had
been mapped (fig. 105). Thickness, ash,
sulfur and petrographic data were
collected on the samples utilized in
this study and analyzed by Pearson
product-moment correlation to reveal
relationships among thickness, ash,
sulfur and petrographic components.
RESULTS
The results of the ash, sulfur and
petrographic analyses of the Pocahontas
No.3 full channel samples were
summarized using simple statistics
(Table 6). Pearson product-moment
correlation coefficients (r), presented
in Table 7, are significant at the 5
percent level, but the low r values
(0.4-0.6) indicate that only 16-36
percent of the relationship can be
explained by interrelationship between
the two variables. Evidence of the
causalities inferred from Table 7 must
therefore come from other sources.
Geological inferences may reveal those
sources.
The petrographic composition of the
Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed is typical of
low-volatile bituminous rank coal beds
of the Appalachian coal field.
Vitrinite contents of the full channel
samples ranges from 55.4 to 80.5
mineral-matter-free (mmf) volume percent
with a mean value of 71.5 percent, which
is within the normal range of
Appalachian basin coal samples (76.3
 A
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under 5%
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YIELD

COAL THICKNESS
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ISOPACH SULFUR
MAP
~ CONTENT

FIGURE 105 Location, isopach, ash-yield and sulfur-content maps. A. locations and
sample number of 25 of the 32 full channel samples in McDowell, Wyoming, Mercer and
Raleigh counties, West Virginia. The route of the field trip between Princeton and
Beckley is shown as is the second stop at the Pocahontas No.3 coal. Other maps
overlay this map; sample locations indicated by dots. B. Isopach map showing
thickness trends in the Pocahontas No.3 coal. C. Ash yield map showing
distribution of ash in the coal. D. Sulfur map showing trends in sulfur in the
coal. All maps modified from Rehbein and others, 1981.

T143: 128
 TABLE 6
Simple Statistics on the full-bed thickness channel samples

POCAHONTAS NO. 3 COAL BED

VARIABLE MEAN S.D 1 MINIMUM MAXIMUM n2

THICKNESS (feet) 4.0 1.2 2.2 6.8 32

ASH (dry wt.%) 8.4 3.2 3.0 18.0 32
SULFUR (Total Sulfur, dry wt.%) 0.82 0.43 0.49 2.38 32
VITRINITE GROUP (volume %mmf) 71.5 6.5 55.4 80.5 32
INERTINITE GROUP (vo1ume %, mmf) 28.2 6.2 19.5 44.1 32
Pyrosemifusinite 3 3.1 1.5 0.8 6.9 32
Degradosemifusinite 4 16.4 4.4 6.9 26.2 32
Micrinite 2.5 1.0 0.9 4.2 32
Inertodetrinite 5.8 3.0 2.5 15.3 32

APPALACHIAN COAL BEDS

VARIABLE MEAN S.D. 1 M1NIMUM MAXIMUM n2

THICKNESS (feet) 3.6 2.0 0.4 12.2 280

VITRINITE GROUP (volume %mmf) 76.3 11.8 14.8 98.1 289
INERTINITE GROUP (vo1ume %, mmf) 19.4 9.7 1.9 53.8 2.89
Pyrosemifusinite 3 1.7 1.3 0.0 17.4 289
Degradosemifusinite 4 9.1 5.6 0.7 32.4 289
Micrinite 4.1 3.2 0.0 19.1 289
Inertodetrinite 4.0 3.0 0.4 27.5 289

1 Standard Deviation.
2 N=number of observations.
3 Dominantly pyrosemifusinite but data shown are sums of the
Qyrosemifusinite and pyrofusinite counted during point count.
Dominantly degradosemifusinite but data shown are sums of the
degradosemifusinite and degradofusinite oounted during point count.

percent ± 11.8 percent mmf n=289, Table
6). Because of the high rank of this
coal bed, exinite macerals, which have
been metamorphosed to vitrinite, are
absent. Inertinite content (mmf) ranges
from 19.5 percent to 44. 1 percent with a
mean value of 28.2 percent, which is
higher than the average for Appalachian
basin coal (Table 6). Combined
pyrosemifusinite and pyrofusinite, the
macerals which comprise the "fossi1
charcoal" lithotype fusain, averages 3.1
percent (mmf) and ranges from 0.0 to 6.8
percent. This is higher than average
for Appalachian coal beds (Table 6).
Combined degradosemifusinite and
degradofusinite averages 16.4 percent,
T143: 129
which is also higher than the average of
Appalachian coal samples. Mean
micrinite and inertodetrinite abundances
are within the normal range for
Appalachian coal beds.
The thickness of the Pocahontas No. 3
coal bed in McDowell, Wyoming, and
Raleigh counties (fig. 105) ranges from
o to 3 cm (0 to 10 ft) with the thickest
coal occurring along the margin of the
eastern outcrop belt on the West
Virginia-Virginia border (fig. 105).
Bed thicknesses of the samples analyzed
in this study range from 0.67 m (2.2 ft)
to 2.07 m (6.8 ft) with a mean thickness
of 1.22 m (4.0 ft). The correlations
calculated between thickness and sulfur
 TABLE 7
Pearson correlation coefficients
VARIABLE THICKNESS
ASH +0.052
SULFUR [-0.362]
VITRINITE GROUP [-Hl.425]
INERTINITE GROUP [-0.425]
Pyrosemifusinite +0.323
Degradosemifusinite [-0.589]
Micrinite -0.177
Inertodetrinite -0.101
NOTE: Correlation coefficients in [bold] type are significant within
confidence limits.
content indicate that thicker coal
contains less sulfur than thinner
coal. Thick coal also correlates
positively with high vitrinite
content. Thin coal correlates
positively with high inertinite group
abundance, and especially the maceral
degradosemifusinite.
Ash yield of the full channel samples
ranges from 3.0 to 18.0 wt. percent with
a mean of 8.4 percent and corresponds
with the distribution shown in the ash
yield map (fig. 105). There is a
significant positive correlation between
increasing ash and increasing inertinite
macerals, especially inertodetrinite.
Vitrinite content of the full channel
samples decreases as ash-yield
increases.
Mean sulfur content for the 32 full
channel samples is less than 1 percent
(Table 6). Correlations (Table 7)
indicate that coal with high vitrinite
abundances have low sulfur contents, and
that channel samples high in sulfur are
also high in inertinite macerals,
especially degradosemifusinite.
An analysis of a column of 0.15 m
(0.5 ft) increments displays the
vertical distribution of ash, sulfur and
petrographic components within the
Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed at a single
location (fig. 106). The ash-yield
profile shows two high ash intervals at
the top and near the base of the coal
bed and very low-ash content (2-4
percent) in the central portion (0.6 m,
T143: 130
CORRELATIONS WITH
ASH SULFUR
+0.160
+0.160
[-0.378] [-0.422]
[-Hl.403] [:f{l.418]
+0.013 -0.037
+0.271 [+0.436]
-0.174 +0.220
[+0.506] +0.187
2.0 ft) of the coal bed. The sulfur
content of the column is generally less
than 1 percent. The organic sulfur is
consistently near 0.6 percent but the
inorganic sulfur fraction, primarily
pyrite, varies from 0.03 percent to 0.50
percent, and is the cause of the
variations shown in total sulfur
content. Petrographic components vary
significantly through the coal bed.
Mineral-matter-free inertinite is lowest
in abundance (27.3 percent, mmf) at the
base of the coal. Two very high
inertinite (>50 percent, mmf) increments
coincide with the high ash layers at the
top and bottom of the coal bed.
Inertinite content of the central 0.6 m
(2.0 ft) is uniform, but high compared
to other Appalachian coal samples (Table
6). Because exinite macerals are absent
from these increments, the mineral-
matter-free vitrinite profile is the
converse of the inertinite profile.
Petrographic analyses identified two
intervals consisting entirely of
extremely well-mixed 10-20 micron size
particles of inertodetrinite, kaolinite
and quartz. These layers contain 70
percent inertodetrinite and 30 percent
mineral matter consisting dominantly of
kaolinite aggregates 10-20 microns in
size and quartz (approximately 10
percent), exhibiting rounded and angular
shapes, and often containing rutile.
These two layers are within the two
high-inertinite/high-ash increments.
The composition of the top increment of

ASH YIELD
(Wt.%)
SAMPLE
NO. 0 10 20 30% 0
m. ft.
0 0
11020
11021
11022
.5
11023
2
11024
11025
3 IIIII1
1
1.1 3.5
11026
FIGURE 106 Ash, sulfur, and petrographic composition histograms of a 3.5 ft (1.1 m)
thick colum of Pocahontas No.3 coal located 10 miles (20 km) east of the location
map in Figure 1.
the studied column consists almost
entirely of mineral matter and
inertinite whereas the lower increment
contains some of the surrounding low-ash
coal layers. Two identical layers were
identified in the upper and lower
benches, but not the middle bench, of a
column of coal located 35 km (20 mil to
the southwest near sample 1854
(fig.105). This inertodetrinite/
kaolinite/quartz layer has also been
detected in 25 of the 32 full channels
extending over a distance of 70 km (40
mil (Rehbein and others, 1981).
DISCUSSION
Correlations of coal bed thickness
with vitrinite and inertinite,
especially degradosemifusinite may
indicate conditions which governed the
thickness of the Pocahontas No. 3 peat
deposit. Thick coal correlates with
high vitrinite content and thin coal
with high degradosemifusinite content.
Other inertinite macerals show no
correlation with thickness.
Degradofusinite and degradosemifusinite
(combined in this study) display poorly
preserved cell structures, semifusinitic
reflectance and white appearance
(Teichmuller, 1982, p. 274).
Teichmuller (1982) notes two possible
origins for these macerals (1982): (1)
they -~rmthrough dehydration and
T143: 131
SULFUR
CONTENT PETROGRAPHIC COMPOSITION
(Wt.%) (mmf. Volume%)
1% 0 50 100%
I I I I I I I
INERTINITE
II
: I1II1 Ir(l~f( ~/I~~
oxidation, II probably because of
desiccation and relatively higher oxygen
supply at the peat surface,1I and (2)
they can form during the mouldering of
wood (dry rot) as a II resu lt of the
activity of wood decomposing fungi ll •
Both of these processes probably occur
simultaneously in damp peat that retains
water even while exposed to air. These
processes are very different from
charring and burning, which Teichmuller
(1982) attributes the origins of
pyrofusinite and pyrosemifusinite on a
peat surface that occasionally dries
out.
The dominance of degradosemifusinite
(Table 6) indicates that the oxidation
of the peat occurred predominantly
through slow mouldering and/or
dehydration and oxidation at the peat
surface. However, in the relatively
high percentage of pyrofusinite and
pyrosemifusinite in the Pocahontas No. 3
coal bed, compared to that contained in
other coal beds (Table 6), indicates
that occasional drying and burning of
the peat surface also occurred
frequently. The correlation
coefficients indicate that in thin
areas, oxidation may have been more
frequent and prolonged; in areas of
thicker peat accumulation, areas higher
in vitrinite (unoxidized II woody ll
materials), oxidation was probably less
frequent and of shorter duration.
The ash-yield of the Pocahontas No. 3
coal correlates most strongly with the
amount of inertodetrinite in the coal.
It correlates less strongly with the
inertinite group and is not related to
degradosemifusinite or pyrosemi-
fusinite abundances. In the increment
column, inertodetrinite is only abundant
(>30 percent, mmf) in the
inertodetrinite/kaolinite/quartz layers
at the top and bottom of the bed, and
accounts for 5 percent (mmf) of the
other coal layers. Therefore, it
appears that the strongest influence on
ash distribution in the Pocahontas No. 3
coal bed is the distribution of the
inertodetrinite/ kaolinite/quartz
layers. Microlithotype analyses show
that the abundance distribution of these
layers in the full channel samples
coincides very closely with the ash
yield map (fig. 105).
Sulfur in the full channel samples of
the Pocahontas No. 3 coal bed correlates
most strongly and positively with the
inertinite group macerals, especially
degradosemifusinite, and negatively with
vitrinite macerals. Coal samples
containing high amounts of vitrinite are
lowest in sulfur content. In contrast,
sulfur distribution in the increment
column shows an opposite relationship
between vitrinite-content and sulfur-
content (fig. 106). The organic sulfur
varies only slightly, but the inorganic
sulfur increases with increasing
vitrinite content. Though very low in
abundance, inorganic sulfur (primarily
pyrite) formed more readily in areas of
the swamp more prone to vitrinite
formation. Increments containing the
inertodetrinite/kaolinite/ quartz layers
contained little, if any, inorganic
sulfur.
INTERPRETATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
The occurrence of the high vitrinite
content in association with the thick
Pocahontas No. 3 coal indicates that
thick peat deposits accumulated in areas
where the peat was less exposed to
oxidation and that the thin peats
accumulated in areas subject to more
frequent oxidizing conditions. The
coincidence of thick Pocahontas No. 3
coal along fold axes led Rehbein and
others (1981) to conclude that these
folds represent localized basins in
which peat accumulation was greater than
in adjacent areas. The higher vitrinite
content of these coals support this
T143: 132
interpretation. Subsidence allowed more
rapid submergence of the peat surface
and less oxidation. Conversely, the
peat surfaces in surrounding areas with
less subsidence were more susceptible to
oxidation, resulting in thinner coal
that is higher in inertinite content,
especially degradosemifusinite.
The correlation between
inertodetrinite, ash-yield, and the ash
profile of the increment column (fig.
106) indicates that part of the ash
distribution shown in figure 1 may be
attributable to the occurrence of the
two inertodetrinite/ kaolinite/quartz
layers at the bottom of the coal bed.
The correlation between ash and
inertodetrinite explains only about 36
percent of the ash variation. Full
channel samples without the
inertodetrinite/kaolinite/quartz layer
contain 5-10 percent ash, apparently
from other sources. The origin of the
thin, widespread inertodetrinite/
kaolinite/quartz layers is unknown.
The distribution of sulfur in the
full channel samples of the Pocahontas
No. 3 coal appears to be related to
vitrinite and inertinite contents.
Channel samples high in vitrinite
contain less sulfur than channels high
in inertinite, especially
degradosemifusinite. This would
indicate that more rapid subsidence,
leading to the high vitrinite content
also contributed to reduced sulfur
content. The sulfur profile in the
increment column appears to show an
opposite trend, but the trend may be
affected by the occurrence of the
inertodetrinite/kaolinite/quartz layers
which were devoid of inorganic sulfur.
The paleoenvironments under which the
Pocahontas No. 3 coal accumulated may be
speculated from the available data. The
minimum inertinite content of the
Pocahontas No.3 full channel samples
equates with the mean inertinite content
for Appalachian coal beds (Table 6),
suggesting that the ancient Pocahontas
No. 3 peat-swamp was more prone to slow
mouldering oxidation, which produced
degradosemifusinite, than most other
Appalachian coal beds. The amount and
type of inertinites in the coal suggest
a slightly convex-upward peat surface
throughout the study area. They also
suggest a wet-dry paleoclimate with
annual rainfall sufficient to support a
convex peat surface, covered most of the
year with surface water. During dry
seasons, when oxidation of the peat
surface took place, the peat retained
enough water to only allow slow
mouldering oxidation. Drying and
burning of the peat surface occurred
frequently enough to allow formation of
the macerals pyrofusinite and
pyrosemifusinite. Regions of the swamp
undergoing active subsidence allowed
peat to accumulate with frequent but
short duration episodes of oxidation.
This may have been because the surface
was less convex and less prone to
drainage or because the peat was more
rapidly buried. The thicker peat
contained a high proportion of
unoxidized plant debris which formed
vitrinite. Peat in surrounding regions
of the swamp were subjected to more
prolonged slow mouldering, resulting in
high inertinite contents. Concentration
of the ash-forming minerals in the
inertodetrinite/kaolinite/ quartz layers
and very low ash yields within the body
of the coal also suggest a convex swamp
surface with an ombrogenous water
source.

PALYNOLOGY, PETROGRAPHY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE HERNSHAW -

FIRE CLAY COAL BED IN THE CENTRAL APPALACHIAN BASIN
Cortland F. Eble
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston t Virginia
William C. Grady
West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey
Morgantown t West Virginia
and
William H. Gillespie
U.S. Geological Survey, Charleston West Virginia
t

ABSTRACT raised, ombrogenous peat system,

Vertically-continuous increment and
full bed thickness channel samples of
the Hernshaw coal bed (Kanawha
Formation, Middle Pennsylvanian Series)
in southern West Virginia and its
equivalent in eastern Kentucky, the Fire
Clay coal bed (Breathitt Formation),
were analyzed palynologically and
petrographically to determine the
paleoecology of the ancient Hernshaw-
Fire Clay peat swamp. Arborescent and
herbaceous lycopod and fern (trees and
herbs) miospores dominate the
palynoflora, although small spores
assignable to calamites and Cordaites
also occur frequently. Typically, the
bed is compositionally stratified.
Basal increments are commonly high in
Lycospora and vitrinite content, and
pass upward into more fern and
herbaceous lycopod miospore-rich layers
which also contain increased amounts of
inertinite (especially semifusinite)
macerals. This type of miospore and
maceral distribution of the Hernshaw -
Fire Clay coal is thought to indicate a
gradual doming of the peat, suggesting
that the ancient swamp may have been a
T143: 133
analogous to the modern domed swamps of
equatorial Indonesia and Malaysia. The
overall low ash-yield (generally less
than 10 percent) and low sulfur
(generally less than 1 percent) content
of the Hernshaw - Fire Clay coal is
consistent with this interpretation.
INTRODUCTION
The Hernshaw coal bed (Kanawha
Formation, Middle Pennsylvanian Series)
and its equivalent in eastern Kentucky,
the Fire Clay coal bed (middle Breathitt
Formation), is a widespread, low-ash
(generally less than 10 percent), low-
sulfur (generally less than 1 percent)
coal of considerable economic importance
in the central Appalachian basin. The
Hernshaw - Fire Clay coal is upper
Westphalian B in age when compared with
western European chronostratigraphic
zonations and correlates with the Upper
Morrowan of the Illinois basin (fig.
107). A unique feature of this coal bed
is the presence of a characteristic
flint-clay parting, which has been
interpreted to represent an ancient
seasons, when oxidation of the peat
surface took place, the peat retained
enough water to only allow slow
mouldering oxidation. Drying and
burning of the peat surface occurred
frequently enough to allow formation of
the macerals pyrofusinite and
pyrosemifusinite. Regions of the swamp
undergoing active subsidence allowed
peat to accumulate with frequent but
short duration episodes of oxidation.
This may have been because the surface
was less convex and less prone to
drainage or because the peat was more
rapidly buried. The thicker peat
contained a high proportion of
unoxidized plant debris which formed
vitrinite. Peat in surrounding regions
of the swamp were subjected to more
prolonged slow mouldering, resulting in
high inertinite contents. Concentration
of the ash-forming minerals in the
inertodetrinite/kaolinite/ quartz layers
and very low ash yields within the body
of the coal also suggest a convex swamp
surface with an ombrogenous water
source.

PALYNOLOGY, PETROGRAPHY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE HERNSHAW -

FIRE CLAY COAL BED IN THE CENTRAL APPALACHIAN BASIN
Cortland F. Eble
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston t Virginia
William C. Grady
West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey
Morgantown t West Virginia
and
William H. Gillespie
U.S. Geological Survey, Charleston West Virginia
t

ABSTRACT raised, ombrogenous peat system,

Vertically-continuous increment and
full bed thickness channel samples of
the Hernshaw coal bed (Kanawha
Formation, Middle Pennsylvanian Series)
in southern West Virginia and its
equivalent in eastern Kentucky, the Fire
Clay coal bed (Breathitt Formation),
were analyzed palynologically and
petrographically to determine the
paleoecology of the ancient Hernshaw-
Fire Clay peat swamp. Arborescent and
herbaceous lycopod and fern (trees and
herbs) miospores dominate the
palynoflora, although small spores
assignable to calamites and Cordaites
also occur frequently. Typically, the
bed is compositionally stratified.
Basal increments are commonly high in
Lycospora and vitrinite content, and
pass upward into more fern and
herbaceous lycopod miospore-rich layers
which also contain increased amounts of
inertinite (especially semifusinite)
macerals. This type of miospore and
maceral distribution of the Hernshaw -
Fire Clay coal is thought to indicate a
gradual doming of the peat, suggesting
that the ancient swamp may have been a
T143: 133
analogous to the modern domed swamps of
equatorial Indonesia and Malaysia. The
overall low ash-yield (generally less
than 10 percent) and low sulfur
(generally less than 1 percent) content
of the Hernshaw - Fire Clay coal is
consistent with this interpretation.
INTRODUCTION
The Hernshaw coal bed (Kanawha
Formation, Middle Pennsylvanian Series)
and its equivalent in eastern Kentucky,
the Fire Clay coal bed (middle Breathitt
Formation), is a widespread, low-ash
(generally less than 10 percent), low-
sulfur (generally less than 1 percent)
coal of considerable economic importance
in the central Appalachian basin. The
Hernshaw - Fire Clay coal is upper
Westphalian B in age when compared with
western European chronostratigraphic
zonations and correlates with the Upper
Morrowan of the Illinois basin (fig.
107). A unique feature of this coal bed
is the presence of a characteristic
flint-clay parting, which has been
interpreted to represent an ancient
 SOUTHERN EASTERN
WEST VIRGINIA KENTUCKY
Kanawha black flint ft. m.
Lost Creek Is.
200 60
Stockton coal
~
.. ::.:: :.'\ Hazard no.9 coal
Hazard no.8 coal
Coal burg coal
Hazard no.7 coal
o o ~U ~L~~~~i··:{ Haddix coal
......-..............~Winifrede coal - z········:::·(
5 0 (:.i:.·::.> MagoWn member
(f) --- ~ ~. Taylor coal

z
« '~':~:~:"'::--FIRE CLAY COAL
z ~ ------- Kendrick shale
« <t n::: - - - Williamson coal
z Z CD 0 '.' Elkins Fork shale
« « l..L :~ ~.~ :I
Upper Elkhorn no. 3 c.
Campbells Creek Is. >
-.J Campbells Creek Is.
Campbells Creek coal >-~ Lower Elkhorn coal
Powellton coal (f) Powellton coal
Cannelton Is.
Eagle coal ~~~==
W-.J-···.····.·······.. /
Cannelton
Eagle coal
Is.

(L ~ ~ !.·.iLi /·i)
Eagle limestone Wo.... Betsie shale
-.J r- W.::·, .'. /
.............~~ Lower War Eagle coal
§ ~ ~ ;.ii·i'·:;"\. Splash Dam coal
~ ~ Elswick coal
i;·\; /.~ .\/§
Glenalum Tunnel coal

-=----=--1 Lower Banner coal

Gilbert coal ---~~
~ . .. ...
>':'::.:: ·:':.:1
Douglas coal
lU.S. Geological Survey terminology 2Mid _Continent 3Western Europe

FIGURE 107 Generalized stratigraphic column showing the position of the Hernshaw
coal bed in the Kanawha Formation of the West Virginia, and the Fire Clay coal bed
in the Breathitt Formation of eastern Kentucky. Widespread marine units used as
lithostratigraphic marker beds are also shown.

volcanic ash fall (Seiders, 1965, Bohor swamp. Vertically-continuous increment

and Triplehorn, 1981, Chesnut, 1983). samples and full bed thickness channel
Figure 108 shows the mapped extent of samples were collected from locations in
the flint clay parting in the southern West Virginia and eastern
Appalachian basin. The flint-clay Kentucky (fig. 109) to evaluate any
parting is important because it allows vertical as well as lateral palynofloral
for positive identification of the changes within the bed. One of the
Hernshaw - Fire Clay coal in an interval objectives was to ascertain if the ash
where individual coal bed correlation is fall had an effect on the swamp flora by
often difficult. It also can be used as determining if miospore assemblages in
a time line. the flint clay parting are different
The present investigation was from assemblages in adjacent coal
initiated to assess the biological layers. Palynological studies of the
implications of the volcanic ash fall Fire Clay coal in eastern Kentucky have
into the ancient Hernshaw - Fire Clay been initiated (Unuigboje, 1987, Gross,

T 143: 134

PA
OHIO
PENNSYLVANIAN
AGE---..:::::::---~
ROCKS
KY
EXPLANATION
_ ABSENT
~ <15em (6in)
~ 15-23 em
(6-9in)
[[[0] >23 em (9in)
modified from CHESTNUT, 1983
FIGURE 108 Extent of volcanic flint-
clay parting in the Hernshaw - Fire
Clay, and correlative, coal beds in the
central Appalachian basin (modified from
Chesnut, 1983).
1979), but are limited in scope and
preliminary in nature. Cross (1947) and
Kosanke (in press) have reported briefly
on the overall miospore composition of
the Hernshaw coal bed in West Virginia.
RESULTS
Results show the Hernshaw - Fire Clay
coal bed to contain a diverse
palynoflora dominated by miospores
assignable to both arborescent
(Lycospora and Granasporites medius and
herbaceous (Densosporites) lycopods,
ferns (trees: Punctatisporites minutus,
Punctatosporites minutus,
Apiculatasporites saetiger, and herbs:
Granulatisporites, Leiotriletes,
Lo hotriletes and others), calamites
Calamospora and large species of
Laevi atos orites), and cordaites
Florinites. Analysis of the increment
samples indicates that vertical miospore
abundance variation occurs at many of
T143: 135
the sample locations, especially in
areas where the coal is thick (>1 m, >3
ft). Typically, the seat earth and
basal coal layers are dominated by
Lycospora, the dispersed spore of many
of the giant lycopod trees (e.g.,
Lepidophloios), which dominated Early
and Middle Pennsylvanian peat swamps in
EurAmerica (Phillips and others,
1985). Successive layers show a
decrease in Lycospora, and an increase
in miospores affiliated with ferns
(trees and herbs) and herbaceous
lycopods (fig. 110). Partings, notably
the characteristic flint clay parting,
contain miospore assemblages which
differ from those in adjacent coal
layers. The flint-clay parting in
Figure 110 contains a palynoflora
dominated by tree fern miospores.
Cordaite pollen (Florinites) also
becomes more common in the parting, a
fairly consistent feature across the
study area, which may reflect the
establishment of a plant type better
adapted to growth on an inorganic,
rather than peat, substrate. Cordaites
have been described as an lIupland flora ll
constituent (Chaloner, 1958), but also
as a swamp plant (Phillips, and others,
1985). Coal layers immediately above
the parting, also enriched in Florinites
(probably a hold-over from the flint-
clay parting), contain a miospore flora
very similar to the basal coal layers,
in which Lycospora is the dominant
palynomorph. This is interpreted as
marking a return to an arborescent
lycopod initial flora as swamp
conditions became more stable.
Although variation occurs, the
vertical miospore abundance pattern of
Lycospora-fern miospores-herbaceous
lycopod "densospores" appears to be
consistent from location to location.
In some cases, this pattern is
truncated, mostly because of a
disruption in peat accumulation (e.g.,
inorganic partings). This type of
miospore abundance pattern has been
observed in other Kanawha Formation coal
beds (Grady and others, 1985), in an
Allegheny Formation coal bed (Habib,
1966), and also in Upper Carboniferous
coal beds in Great Britain (Smith, 1957,
1962, 1963, 1964).
After establishing that vertical
miospore abundance variation was
occurring in the Hernshaw - Fire Clay
coal bed, two increment columns and
several full-channel samples were
analyzed petrographically to determine
 HFC- 5 INCREMENT CHANNEL SAMPLE
9756 FULL BED THICKNESS CHANNEL SAMPLE
FIGURE 109 Sample location map.
if there was any maceral variation
occurring within the bed, and if so,
whether or not any correlation with the
palynologic data could be ascertained.
Figure 111 shows the miospore and
maceral distribution in columns HFC - 3
and HFC - llA. On the basis of these
profiles, maceral variation does occur
vertically within the bed and, more
importantly, maceral trends correlate
with the miospore variation. In both
columns, increments which contain
abundant Lycospora are also enriched in
vitrinite content. Conversely,
increments which show increased amounts
of fern miospores and/or herbaceous
lycopod "densospores", have a decreased
vitrinite content, but an increased
amount of inertinite, especially the
maceral variety degradosemifusinite
(Stach and others, 1982). This type of
inertinite is interpreted to form not by
exposure to fire, but through slow
oxidation by exposure of the peat
surface to air or percolation of
oxygenated rain water.
Palynologic and petrographic analysis
of the full bed thickness channel
samples also reveals a close association
T143: 136
o 50 100 mi.
I
~
o 25 50km.
between the miospore and maceral
abundance trends. Samples (Group 1)
which contain increased amounts of
inertinite macerals are also enriched in
fern miospores and herbaceous lycopod
"densospores" (fig. 112). In contrast,
samples (Group 2) which contain abundant
Lycospora are vitrinite-rich and
inertinite-poor.
DISCUSSION
One explanation for the correlative
palynologic and petrographic trends
observed in both the increment and
full-channel samples of the Hernshaw-
Fire Clay coal is to consider the
ancient Hernshaw-Fire Clay peat swamp to
have been a domed ombrogenous peat
system, analogous to the domed swamps
which occur today in portions of
Indonesia and Malaysia. These
equatorial swamps, described in detail
by Polak (1933) and Anderson (1961), are
thick (up to 13 m, 43 ft), laterally
extensive and contain very low-ash, low-
sulfur peat. Citing these and other
factors, Cecil and others (1985) have
suggested that these peat deposits
 FIRE CLAY INCREMENT COLUMN HFC-IO
LYCOPODS FER N S CALbcOR-
ARBORESCENT I HERBACEOUS TREES laTHER MIT@OAITES

ft. m.

o 0
,~
I
.5
2
I

3
3.2

o 25 50%
-p-t-.-.-.--.--.-w-_r-
...--IIIIIIII-,
II
coal
~
seat
~ .- D'"
,--r-~
"""T'"---r--~

flint sandstone
:.
: •••••

SCALE
earth clay

ft. m.
"
..
• • "0

INTERPRETATION
o 0
miospore flora Similar to basal coal layers.
Lycospora- bearing arborescent lycopods dominant.
F/orinites common adjacent to flint parting.
FLINT CLAY L tree ferns dominant.
PARTI NG I cordaites show increased abundance

.5

miospore flora of basal coal layers

dominated by arborescent lycopods.
3
/ _ _successive layers show more fern/ herb. lycopod
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _'- _ _ .1 -----
influence
3.2
"""f'~.-y~. SEAT L dominated by Lycospora - beari ng
~~~ ROCK I arborescent lycopods

FIGURE 110 Miospore distribution and paleoecologic intrepretation of Hernshaw -

Fire Clay increment column 10 located in Martin County, Kentucky. The coal at
this location is approximately 1 meter (3 feet) thick.

T143: 137
 represent good modern analogues for most parts of the dome.
Lower and lower Middle Pennsylvanian Miospore abundance patterns described
coal beds in the Appalachian basin. by Smith (1957, 1962, 1963, 1964), in
The upward transition of an which the terms Lycospore, Transition
arborescent lycopod dominant community, and Densospore were introduced to
common in the seat earth and basal coal describe the vertical change in miospore
layers, to a more fern and herbaceous composition in British coal beds,
lycopod community in successive layers compare favorably with the miospore
is consistent with, and may be the abundance patterns found in the Hernshaw
result of, the IIphasic" floral community - Fire Clay coal bed. Smith also
structure found in modern domed peat attributed this sequence of miospore
deposits (Anderson, 1961; see fig. 113). IIphasic ll communities to a gradual change
Poorly-drained portions of these swamps from sUbaquatic to subaerial (doming)
are occupied by what is termed a mixed conditions and cited the domed swamps of
swamp forest flora. A succession of Borneo (Indonesia and Malaysia) as
plant communities, culminating in a pole probable modern analogues (Smith, 1963).
forest, are encountered towards the Petrographic changes in the
better-drained portions of the dome. Hernshaw-Fire Clay coal are also
This change in community structure is consistent with a domed peat origin.
referred to as a floral catena and is Coal layers that are dominated by
the result of decreasing nutrient Lycospora also contain abundant
availability towards the more raised vitrinite. Lycospora-bearing

HERNSHAW INCREMENT COLUMN HFC-3

VITRINITE EXINITE INERTINITE MINERAL MATTER
o 20 40 60 80 0 1020 0 20 40 0 25 50 75 100 0/0
II I II I I I, I I II I I II II I II I I II--L...LJ I I I I II I I I II I I I II-.LLJ.J
ft m.

o 0

- CLAY-
.5
2
22

LYCOPODS FERNS CALAMITES CORDAITES

o 15 30 45 60 75 90 0 25 50 75 0 25 o 15 0/0
I I I I I I I II I I I I I I I I I I 1L.......L....-,.....L--.L.---L,_IL.........I..-,...L-,-L-,---L,----l...-I.I...-,.....L--.L.---1I----l1 I I I I I I LL.U
ft m

o 0
[j-- ROOF
1-----
f----

FLINT
~
I++++++-t'r-f~~~~- CLAY - ::" - PARTING -
5 1/1

2
22 ~
- SEAT
VI

~ Trees illIIIJ Trees

~Herbs ~ Other

T 143: 138
 FIRE CLAY INCREMENT COLUMN HFC-llA
V I TRI NITE EXINITE INERTI NITE MINERAL MATTER
o 15 30 45 60 75 90 0 15 0 20 40 0 25 50 75 100 0/0
1111111111111111111 l.L.U 11111111111111I111111111111111
ft. m.
~ - - ROOF
o 0

.5
2

r-
3
3.5 CLAY-
FLINT
SEAT

LYCOPODS FERNS CALAMITES CORDAITES

§ Trees
~ Herbs [ill] Trees ~ Herbs

0 15 30 45 60 75 90 0 25 50 0 10 0 20 0/0
I , I 1 , I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 1 I I I I I W lL.uJ
ft. m.
- - ROOF -SHALE - -
0 0

..
.5 :e.:
2

3
3.5 FLINT :'.:; - PARTING -
-SEAT--

FIGURE 111 Comparative palynologic and petrographic profiles for increment columns
HFC - 3, located in Boone County, West Virginia, and HFC - l1A, located in Perry
County, Kentucky. Note the direct correlation between Lycospora and vitrinite
content, and between fern/herbaceous lycopod miospores and lnertinite content.
Also note the increase of Florinites in, and directly above, the flint clay
parting in both columns.

arborescent lycopods were plants which herbaceous lycopod miospores are

preferred areas of fresh, standing water enriched in inertinite macerals. These
for growth and reproduction (DiMichele increments may represent more raised,
and Phillips, 1985). Coal derived from better-drained portions of the dome
this type of peat would be expected to where water table fluctuation would
be vitrinite-rich as the relatively occur more frequently, and the potential
constant water cover would inhibit for oxidation of plant material and
oxidation of the plant material and the production of inertinite macerals would
formation of inertinite macerals be greatest. Likewise, the paucity of
(degradosemifusinite). Conversely, arborescent lycopods in these areas may
increments of coal which contain be attributed to the lack of a
increased percentages of fern and consistent standing water cover, which

T143: 139
 LYCOPODS
TREES HERBS FERNS VITRINITE INERTINITE*
o 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 0 25 50 % 0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 % mmf
I, " ,I I", I", I I " , I" ,I
....
I" ,I" ,I, " I " , I I " , I, " I I" " I" ,I",

GROUP 1 AVG.I~~~ [[[[[]] ~ E8

.........
9752 EI~3 I11I1I111111 ~
~
~

9764 t==1~~==tl [ill ~ OTHER I:":::::·:1

9757~1~~~I [[]]] ~ ~
~

9753 ~I~~~~~I [[IIJ ~ ~

~

9754~ [[[]]] W//K>J ~

L.:....:.....:.

9746EI~~~I [[l] ~ 1::.····::·1

9747§1~~~I [[[[] ~ TREES ~
L:....:....:...
9748~ [ill]]] WF~ ........
Cd
9749fjjjjj [l] W//N ~
~

11342 ~I~~~I illIIIII ~ ~

~

11343EI~~~I illIIIII ~ L3

GROUP 2 AVG.I lZI3 tt I 1':":":1

L.:..:..:.J
9761 E++"S ~ 1 1 D
97651 ~ 1 22J ~
L.:....:....:.J
r::l
9758 L%%%% 1 m l2IJ I I ~

97621 1 I ~ I I r:::J
~

C"I 97591 I I ~ EI~~~I ~

~
....-.
97561 1 ~ 1 1 -.-...
~ .....
a.... 112721 I ~ .... -.
1::······1
::J [2l] ~
l:..:..:3
0 113451 rn
rn ~
I 1
~
0:::: 113471 L::..:..:.:.£..

19 9760 1 [] ~ • petrographic percentages

reported as mineral matter free
97551 I ~ ("mm fll)

FIGURE 112 Palynologic and petrographic analysis of selected Hernshaw - Fire Clay
channel samples. The same miospore/maceral trends that were observed in the
increment columns are evident in the full channel samples.

these hydrophilous plants preferred CONCLUSIONS

(DiMichele and Phillips, 1985). The
association of high percentages of In southern West Virginia, the Middle
herbaceous lycopod IIdensospores" with Pennsylvanian Hernshaw coal bed, and its
durains (dUll, inertinite-rich) and equivalent in eastern Kentucky, the Fire
abundant Lycospora with clarains Clay coal, contains a widespread flint
(bright, vitrinite-rich), noted by Smith clay parting of volcanic origin that
(1957, 1962, 1963, 1964) for British allows for regional identification and
coals, correlates with petrographic correlation. Palynological analyses of
observations from the Hernshaw - Fire vertically continuous increment samples
Clay coal bed. and full channel samples indicate that

T143: 140
 MODERN

"PHASIC" SWAMP COMMUNITIES

uneven canopied
mixed forest

channel HERB. LYCOPOD/FERN channel

ANCIENT
MIOSPORE
ft. m. ......--_----, "PHASIC" COMMUNITIES
o o DENSOSPORE
ferns (trees and herbs) and
Densosporites - producing herbaceous
.5 lycopods more common in higher layers. TRANSITION
2
Lycospora - bearing arborescent lycopods
3 dominate basal coal layers. LYCOSPORE
(Smith)

FIGURE 113 Top portion shows an idealized modern domed peat-swamp with distribution
of generalized phasic floral communities (Anderson, 1961). The bottom portion
hypothetically illustrates the 10 meter peat deposit compressed into a 1 meter
bituminous coal bed. It is suggested that the vertical miospore abundance patterns
observed in the Hernshaw - Fire Clay coal bed, which are consistent with the miospore
phasic communities described by Smith (1963), are the result of the doming of the
peat, and the subsequent development of a floral catena.

the ancient Hernshaw-Fire Clay swamp represents a major change in edaphic

supported a rich and diverse flora
consisting of arborescent and herbaceous
lycopods, ferns (trees and herbs),
calamites and cordaites. When the
palynological results are compared with
petrographic data, it can be seen that,
typically, the Hernshaw coal is
compositionally stratified. Basal coal
layers are usually dominated by
Lycospora-bearing arborescent lycopods
and are high in vitrinite content.
Successive increments show a decrease. in
Lycospora and in fern and herbaceous
lycopod miospores. These increments
also contain higher amounts of
inertinite macerals.
The volcanic ash fall, preserved as
the flint-clay parting in the Hernshaw-
Fire Clay coal bed, had a considerable
effect on the development of the ancient
Hernshaw-Fire Clay peat swamp. Besides
arresting peat accumulation, the
introduction of an inorganic substrate
T143: 141
conditions within the swamp. This
change is reflected by a change in
palynoflora, and the establishement and
proliferation of some plant groups,
notably cordaites and calamites, that
may have been better adapted to growth
on mineral soils. Inorganic partings in
general, regardless of their origin
(detrital, authigenic, or airborne),
represent changes in the edaphic
conditions within the swamp that are
often reflected by changes in plant
ecology.
The compositional stratification of
the bed indicates that the ancient
Hernshaw-Fire Clay swamp was a domed,
ombrogenous swamp. Layers dominated by
hydrophilous lycopod trees may have
developed in areas with a consistent
water cover, which prohibited oxidation
of the peat. These areas would most
likely occur in less-domed, more poorly-
drained, portions of the swamp. Layers
containing a more fern and herbaceous
lycopod dominant flora may have
developed in areas which lacked a
consistent water cover, allowing for
periodic aerobic exposure (oxidation) of
the peat. This type of setting would
also prohibit the establishment and
expansion of lycopod trees. These areas
would most likely occur in the more
domed, better-drained portions of the
swamp.
These palynologic and petrographic
relationships, indicative of a domed
peat-swamp origin, are not confined to
the Hernshaw-Fire Clay coal bed, but
appear to be characteristic of coal beds
of Lower through mid-Middle
Pennsylvanian age. A very-wet climate,
necessary for the development of domed
peats, is therefore inferred for this
part of the Pennsylvanian section in the
Appalachian basin, and also for age-
correlative strata in other
geographically-separated coal-forming
basins.
T143: 142
REFERENCES CITED
Allgaier, G.J., and Hopkins, M.E., 1975,
Reserves of the Herrin (No.6) Coal in
the Fairfield Basin in southeastern
Illinois: Illinois State Geological
Survey, Circular 489, 31 p.
Altschaeffl, A.G., and Harrison, W.,
Estimation of a minimum depth of
burial from a Pennsylvanian
underclay: Journal of Sedimentary
Petrology, v. 29, pp. 178-185.
Alvord, D.C., and Miller, R.L., 1972,
Geologic map of the Elkhorn 'City
Quadrangle, Pike County, Kentucky:
U.S. Geological Survey Geologic
Quadrangle Map GQ-951.
Amig, B.C., 1988, Lithofacies and
paleoenvironments, Lower Pennsylvanian
rocks, Kentucky State Route 80 near
the Rockcastle River: Lexington,
Kentucky, University of Kentucky, M.S.
Thesis, 86 p.
Anderson, J.A.R., 1983, The tropical
peat swamps of western Malasia; in
Gore, A.J.P., ed., Ecosystems of the
World, 4B, Mires: Swamp Bog, Fen, and
Moor; Elsevier Scientific PUblishing,
Amsterdam, pp. 188-199.
Anderson, J.A.R., and Muller, J., 1975,
Palynological study of a Holocene peat
and a Miocene coal deposit from NW
Borneo: Review of Palaeobotany and
Palynology, v. 19, pp. 291-351.
Anderson, J.A.R., 1961, The structure
and development of the peat swamps of
Sarawek and Brunei: Tropical
Geography, v. 18, pp. 7-16.
Arkle, T., Jr., Beissel, D.R., Larese,
R.E., Nuhfer, E.B., Patchen, D.G.,
Smosna, R.A., Gillespie, W.H., Lund,
R., Norton, C.W., and Pfefferkorn,
H.W., 1979, The Mississippian ,and
Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous) Systems
in the United States--West Virginia
and Maryland: U.S. Geological Survey
Professional Paper 1110-D, 35 p.
Baird, G.C. and Shabica, C.W., 1980, The
Mazon Creek depositional event:
examination of Francis Creek and
analogous facies in the Midcontinent
region, in Langenheim, R.L., and Mann,
C.J., [eds.l, Middle and Late
Pennsylvanian strata on margin of
Illinois Basin: Great Lakes Section,
Society of Economic Paleontologists
and Mineralogists, 10th Annual Field
Conference, pp. 79-92.
Balthaser, R.H., 1969, Petrology and
paleoecology of middle Chester
(Mississippian) rocks of southwestern
Indiana outcrop: Bloomington,
containing a more fern and herbaceous
lycopod dominant flora may have
developed in areas which lacked a
consistent water cover, allowing for
periodic aerobic exposure (oxidation) of
the peat. This type of setting would
also prohibit the establishment and
expansion of lycopod trees. These areas
would most likely occur in the more
domed, better-drained portions of the
swamp.
These palynologic and petrographic
relationships, indicative of a domed
peat-swamp origin, are not confined to
the Hernshaw-Fire Clay coal bed, but
appear to be characteristic of coal beds
of Lower through mid-Middle
Pennsylvanian age. A very-wet climate,
necessary for the development of domed
peats, is therefore inferred for this
part of the Pennsylvanian section in the
Appalachian basin, and also for age-
correlative strata in other
geographically-separated coal-forming
basins.
T143: 142
REFERENCES CITED
Allgaier, G.J., and Hopkins, M.E., 1975,
Reserves of the Herrin (No.6) Coal in
the Fairfield Basin in southeastern
Illinois: Illinois State Geological
Survey, Circular 489, 31 p.
Altschaeffl, A.G., and Harrison, W.,
Estimation of a minimum depth of
burial from a Pennsylvanian
underclay: Journal of Sedimentary
Petrology, v. 29, pp. 178-185.
Alvord, D.C., and Miller, R.L., 1972,
Geologic map of the Elkhorn 'City
Quadrangle, Pike County, Kentucky:
U.S. Geological Survey Geologic
Quadrangle Map GQ-951.
Amig, B.C., 1988, Lithofacies and
paleoenvironments, Lower Pennsylvanian
rocks, Kentucky State Route 80 near
the Rockcastle River: Lexington,
Kentucky, University of Kentucky, M.S.
Thesis, 86 p.
Anderson, J.A.R., 1983, The tropical
peat swamps of western Malasia; in
Gore, A.J.P., ed., Ecosystems of the
World, 4B, Mires: Swamp Bog, Fen, and
Moor; Elsevier Scientific PUblishing,
Amsterdam, pp. 188-199.
Anderson, J.A.R., and Muller, J., 1975,
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