Guide to the Geology of the Apple River Canyon State Park and Surrounding Area of Northeastern Jo Daviess County, Illinois

Transcription

1 Guide to the Geology of the Apple River Canyon State Park and Surrounding Area of Northeastern Jo Daviess County, Illinois Wayne T. Frankie Illinois State Geological Survey Robert S. Nelson Illinois State University Field Trip Guidebook 2002B October 19, 2002 November 2, 2002 George H. Ryan, Governor Department of Natural Resources Brent Manning, Director ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William W. Shilts, Chief

2 Cover photo: Apple River Canyon State Park (photo by W. T. Frankie). Geological Science Field Trips The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) conducts four free tours each year to acquaint the public with the rocks, mineral resources, and landscapes of various regions of the state and the geological processes that have led to their origin. Each trip is an allday excursion through one or more Illinois counties. Frequent stops are made to explore interesting phenomena, explain the processes that shape our environment, discuss principles of earth science, and collect rocks and fossils. People of all ages and interests are welcome. The trips are especially helpful to teachers who prepare earth science units. We ask, however, that grade school students be accompanied by at least one parent or guardian for each five students. High school science classes should be supervised by at least one adult for each ten students. A list of guidebooks of earlier field trips for planning class tours and private outings may be obtained by contacting the Geoscience Outreach Coordinator, Illinois State Geological Survey, Natural Resources Building, 615 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, IL Telephone: or This information is on the ISGS home page: Six USGS 7.5-Minute Quadrangle maps (Apple River, Elizabeth Northeast, Scales Mound East, Scales Mound West, Shullsburg, and Warren) provide coverage for this field trip area. Editorial Board Jonathan H. Goodwin, Chair Michael L. Barnhardt David R. Larson B. Brandon Curry John H. McBride Anne L. Erdmann Donald G. Mikulic William R. Roy ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES v Printed with soybean ink on recycled paper Printed by authority of the State of Illinois 3/02-1M

3 Guide to the Geology of the Apple River Canyon State Park and Surrounding Area of Northeastern Jo Daviess County, Illinois Wayne T. Frankie, Illinois State Geological Survey Robert S. Nelson Illinois State University Field Trip Guidebook 2002B October 19, 2002 November 2, 2002 George H. Ryan, Governor Department of Natural Resources Brent Manning, Director ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William W. Shilts, Chief Natural Resources Building 615 E. Peabody Drive Champaign, IL Home page:

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5 CONTENTS Introduction 1 Geologic Framework 1 Precambrian Era 1 Paleozoic Era 2 Depositional History 3 Paleozoic Era 3 Stratigraphic Units and Contacts 3 Mesozoic Era 7 Ancient Environmental History 7 Stratigraphy 12 Bedrock Names 12 Ordovician Period 12 Silurian Period 12 Structural Setting 14 Wisconsin Arch 14 Preglacial History of Northwestern Illinois 14 Erosion Surfaces 15 Glacial History of Illinois 16 Pleistocene Epoch 16 Geomorphology 21 Wisconsin Driftless Section 21 Rock River Hill Country 23 Natural Divisions and Geology 23 Natural Divisions 23 Wisconsin Driftless Division 24 Drainage 24 Relief 24 Natural Resources 24 Mineral Production 24 Groundwater 25 Future of Mineral Industries in Illinois 25 GUIDE TO THE ROUTE 27 STOP DESCRIPTIONS 47 1 Rutherford s Quarry and Dolomite Prairie 54 2 Youngbluth Quarry 56 3 Benton Mound 59 4 Lunch 60 5 Cox Quarry 62 6 Wenzel Mound Quarry 65 REFERENCES 70 RELATED READINGS 71 GLOSSARY 74 SUPPLEMENTARY READING 82

6 Era CENOZOIC "Recent Life" MESOZOIC "Middle Life" Age of Mammals Age of Reptiles Epoch Period or System Age and Thickness (years ago) Holocene Quaternary 0-500' Tertiary 0-500' Cretaceous 0-300' Pleistocene Glacial Age Pliocene Eocene Paleocene 10, m 5.3 m 33.7 m 54.8 m 65.0 m 144 m 290 m Recent General Types of Rocks alluvium in river valleys Glacial till, glacial outwash, gravel, sand, silt, lake deposits of clay and silt, loess and sand dunes; covers nearly all of state except northwest corner and southern tip Chert gravel, present in northern, southern and western Illinois Mostly micaceous sand with some silt and clay; presently only in southern Illinois Mostly clay, little sand; present only in southern Illinois Mostly sand, some thin beds of clay, and, locally, gravel, present only in southern Illinois Age of Amphibians and Early Plants Pennsylvanian 0-3,000' ("Coal Measures") Mississippian 0-3,500' 323 m 354 m Largely shale and sandstone with beds of coal, limestone, and clay Black and gray shale at base, middle zone of thick limestone that grades to siltstone chert, and shale; upper zone of interbedded sandstone, shale, and limestone PALEOZOIC "Ancient Life" Age of Fishes Age of Invertebrates Devonian 0-1,500' Silurian 0-1,000' Ordovician 500-2,000' 417 m 443 m 490 m Thick limestone, minor sandstones and shales; largely chert and cherty limestone in southern Illinois; black shale at top Principally dolomite and limestone Largely dolomite and limestone but contains sandstone, shale, and siltstone formations Cambrian 1,500-3,000' Chiefly sandstones with some dolomite and shale; exposed only in small areas in north-central Illinois Precambrian 543 m Igneous and metamorphic rocks; known in Illinois only from deep wells Generalized geologic column showing succession of rocks in Illinois.

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10 Tete des Morts Mosalem Dolomite, light gray, slightly cherty, thick-bedded medium to fine-grained, relatively pure. Dolomite, gray, cherty; medium-bedded; lower part is very argillaceous dolomite grading to dolomitic shale at base.; Figure 2 Generalized stratigraphic column from the top of the Niagaran (middle Silurian) to the base of the Champlainian (middle Ordovician) in the field trip area (modified from Kolata and Buschbach 1976). Figure continues on the next page. 4

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12 normal fault reverse fault fault plane fault line footwall hanging wall normal fault after erosion and burial horst graben Figure 3 Diagrammatic illustrations of fault types that may be present in the field trip area. A fault is a fracture in the Earth s crust along which there has been relative movement of the opposing blocks. A fault is usually an inclined plane, and when the hanging wall (the block above the plane) has moved up relative to the footwall (the block below the fracture), the fault is a reverse fault. When the hanging wall has moved down relative to the footwall, the fault is a normal fault. A B x x x z Figure 4 Schematic drawings of (A) a disconformity and (B) an angular unconformity (x represents the conformable rock sequence, and z is the plane of unconformity). x 6

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14 Plum Zo River Faul n t Apple River Canyon State Park e WISCONSIN ARCH Des Plaines MISSISSIPPI RIVER ARCH Glasford Sandwich Fault Zone Anticline Syncline Monocline Fault, ticks on downthrown side Crypto-explosive or impact structure F.C. Fault Complex F.F. Faulted Flexure F.S. Fault System F.Z. Fault Zone La Salle KANKAKEE ARCH Kentland Royal Center Linc F oln Fishhook Pittsfield WESTERN SHELF SANGAMON ARCH Anticlinorium Marshall-Sidell Fortville old Cap au Gr s F.F. Louden Mt. Carmel Valmeyer OZARK DOME Waterloo-Dupo Ste. G SPARTA SHELF enevie e v F.. Z Du Quoin Salem FAIRFIELD BASIN Omaha Dome Cottage Grove F.S. Hicks Dome Lusk Creek F.Z. Clay City Fluorspar Area F.C. Wabash Valley Fault System Roe ugh Cr Central F.S. eek-shawn Moorman eto w n Pennyrile F.S. F.S. CINCINNATI ARCH MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT PASCOLA ARCH Reelfoot Rift mi km Figure 5 Structural features of Illinois (modified from Buschbach and Kolata 1991). 8

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16 Figure 7 Bedrock geology beneath the surficial deposits in Illinois. 10

17 Figure 8 Bedrock valleys of Illinois (modified from Piskin and Bergstrom 1975). 11

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24 Figure 12 Generalized map of the glacial deposits in Illinois (modified from Willman and Frye 1970). 18

25 Woodfordian Figure 13 The sequence of glaciations and interglacial drainage in Illinois. 19

26 Years before present Time-distance diagram Interglacial and glacial episodes Sediment record Dominant climate conditions Dominant land forming and soil forming events HOLO- CENE (not to scale) PLEISTOCENE EPOCH 10,000 25,000 75, ,000 interglacial episode WISCONSIN (late) glacial episode WISCONSIN (early and middle) glacial margin north of Illinois ILLINOIS glacial episode SANGAMON interglacial episode glacial ice River, lake, wind, and slope deposits. Till and ice-marginal deposits; outwash and glacial lake deposits; loess. 6 Loess; river, lake, and slope deposits. 5 River, lake, wind, and slope deposits. 4 Till and ice-marginal deposits; outwash and glacial lake deposits; loess. 3 Warm; stable landscape conditions. Formation of modern soil; running water, lake, wind, and slope processes. Cold; unstable landscape conditions. Glacial deposition, erosion, and landforming processes (e.g., formation of end moraines, outwash plains, valley trains, proglacial lakes, kettles), plus running water, lake, wind, and slope processes. Cool; stable. Weathering, soil formation (Farmdale Soil and minor soils); wind and running water processes. Warm; stable. Weathering, soil formation (Sangamon Geosol); running water, lake, wind, and slope processes. Cold; unstable. Glacial deposition, erosion, and landforming processes, plus proglacial running water, lake, wind, and slope processes; possible minor soil formation. 300, ,000 YARMOUTH interglacial episode? PRE-ILLINOIS glacial and River, lake, wind, and slope deposits. 2 Till and ice-marginal deposits; outwash and glacial lake deposits; loess plus nonglacial river, lake, wind, and slope deposits. Warm; stable. Long weathering interval with deep soil formation (Yarmouth Geosol); running water, lake, wind, and slope processes. Alternating stable and unstable intervals of uncertain duration. Glacial deposition, erosion, and landforming processes, plus proglacial and interglacial running water, lake, wind, and slope processes; interglacial weathering and soil formation. 1,600,000 and older interglacial episodes? 1 Figure 14 Timetable illustrating the glacial and interglacial events sediment record, and dominant climate conditions of the Ice Age in Illinois (modified from Killey 1998). 20

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28 Figure 15 Physiographic divisions of Illinois (modified from Leighton et al. 1948). 22

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43 1 START mi km N 37

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47 4 LUNCH mi km N 41

48 0.5 1 mi km N 5 42

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50 0.5 1 mi km N 44

51 0.5 1 mi km N 45

52 To Galena To Warren 6 END mi km N 46

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57 A City of Apple River N DRAINAGE E DIVIDE W Stockton B City of Apple River N Lake Outlet Glacier Blocked Stockton valley C Mill Creek West Fork Apple River Hell s Branch North Coon Creek Fork City of Apple River Clear Creek GLACIER BOUNDARY South Fork APPLE RIVER Mud Run Creek Buried valley Yellow Creek Stockton Figure 18. (A) Pre-Illinois glacial episode drainage (modified from Reinertsen et al.1972). (B) Illinois glacial episode drainage (modified from Reinertsen et al.1972). (C) Post-Illinois glacial episode drainage (modified from Reinertsen, Berggren, and Killey 1972). 51

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89 Figure A2 Generalized sequence of strata in the Galena area. 83

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96 5 START 4 LUNCH To Warren 6 END mi km N To Galena 90