Guide to the geology of the Apple River Canyon State Park and surrounding area of northeastern Jo Daviess County, Illinois

96 Pages·2002·6.3 MB·English

by  Frankie, Wayne T

iLurX"^^
557
p— IL6gui
2002-B
Giuide 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
FietdTrip Guidebook 2002B October 19, 2002
November 2, 2002
George H. Ryan, Governor t^rt
Department of Natural Resources
Brent Manning, Director -^mp:
ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
WilliamW. Shilts, Chief
Coverphoto: 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 yearto acquaintthe public with the rocks, mineral resources, and landscapes ofvarious
regions ofthe state andthe geological processes that have ledto theirorigin. Eachtrip is an all-
dayexcursionthrough one ormore Illinois counties. Frequent stops are madeto explore interesting
phenomena, explain the processesthat shape ourenvironment, discuss principles ofearth science,
and collect rocks and fossils. People ofall ages and interests are welcome. The trips are espe-
cially 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 listofguidebooksofearlierfieldtripsforplanningclasstours andprivateoutingsmaybe
obtainedbycontactingtheGeoscienceOutreachCoordinator, Illinois StateGeological Survey,
Natural ResourcesBuilding, 615 EastPeabodyDrive, Champaign, IL61820-6964.Telephone:
217-244-2427or 217-333-4747. This information isonthe ISGS homepage:
http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu.
SixUSGS 7.5-MinuteQuadranglemaps(Apple River, ElizabethNortheast, ScalesMound East,
Scales Mound West, Shullsburg, and Warren) provide coverage forthis fieldtrip area.
;Bride
likulic
NATURAL IllinoisStateGeologicalSurvey
RESOURCES
Printed with soybean inkon recycled paper
Printed by authorityofthe State ofIllinois 10/02 - 1M
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
WilliamW. Shilts, Chief
Natural Resources Building
615 E. Peabody Drive
Champaign, IL 61820-6964
Home page: http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
http://archive.org/details/guidetogeologyof2002fran
1
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 2
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 25
Mineral Production 25
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 - Apple River Canyon State Park 60
5 Cox Quarry 62
6 Wenzel Mound Quarry 65
REFERENCES
70
RELATED READINGS 71
GLOSSARY
74
SUPPLEMENTARY READING 82
PeriodorSystem Age
Era andThickness (yearsago) GeneralTypesofRocks
Holocene Recent-alluviuminrivervalleys
10,000
Quaternary Glacialtill,glacialoutwash,gravel,sand,silt,
0-500' lakedepositsofclayandsilt,loessandsand
dunes;coversnearlyallofstateexceptnorth-
westcornerandsoutherntip
m
1.8
Pliocene •-335..37mm-- ChweersttegrrnaveIlll,inopirsesentinnorthern,southernand
Tertiary Mostlymicaceoussandwithsomesiltandclay;
0-500' presentlyonlyinsouthernIllinois
54.8 m
Paleocene Mostlyclay, littlesand;presentonlyinsouthern
65.0 m Illinois
Mostlysand,somethinbedsofclay,and,locally,
144m- gravel,presentonlyinsouthernIllinois
290 m-
Pennsylvanian |Sjr
0-3,000' Largelyshaleandsandstonewithbedsofcoal, ^m
limestone,andclay
("Coal Measures")
323 m
Blackandgrayshaleatbase,middlezoneof
Mississippian thicklimestonethatgradestosiltstone
0-3,500' chert,andshale;upperzoneofinterbedded
sandstone,shale,andlimestone
354 m
Thicklimestone,minorsandstonesandshales;
D0e-v1o,n50i0a'n lIlalrignoeilsy;cbhlearctkasnhdalceheatrttyoplimestoneinsouthern Ci2i' :i :.<~;
I I I I
417 m
/
/,
Silurian Principallydolomiteandlimestone
0-1,000' / /
,
443 m
Ordovician Largelydolomiteandlimestonebutcontains
500-2,000' sandstone,shale,andsiltstoneformations
490m
Cambrian Chieflysandstoneswithsomedolomiteandshale;
1,500-3,000' exposedonlyinsmallareasinnorth-central
Illinois
543 m
Precambrian Igneousandmetamorphicrocks;knownin
Illinoisonlyfromdeepwells
GeneralizedgeologiccolumnshowingsuccessionofrocksinIllinois.
INTRODUCTION
TheApple River Canyon State Park area is located in the unglaciated area ofnorthwestern Illinois
inJoDaviess County inthe northeastern partoftheWisconsin Driftless Section ofIllinois. This
naturaldivisionispartofthehighlysignificantNorthAmericangeobiologicalfeature,the"Driftless
Area." Firstdescribed in 1823 bygeologistW. H. Keating, itis world renowned for its isolation
fromdirectglacial impactsduringthePleistoceneEpoch. Highhills, sharpridges, sweepingslopes,
and narrow valleys form some ofthe most picturesque topography in the state.
The area's rugged surface was formed mainly bythe differential erosion ofOrdovician and Sil-
urian sedimentary strata consisting primarily ofdolomite1 and shale and some limestone (see gen-
eralizedgeologic columnon facingpage). Ridges and large mounds are upheld byresistantdolo-
mite caps, and sweeping slopes are developed on soft shale. Steep-walled valleys are incised into
lower, older, resistantdolomite strata. Thetrails alongthetops ofthetowering bluffsofApple
River Canyon State Park offer spectacularviews oftheApple River and the surrounding scenic
topographyofthecounty.This geological science fieldtripwill acquaintyouwiththegeology,
landscape, and mineral resources forpartofJo Daviess County, Illinois.
Stockton,with apopulationof1,926, isthe largestcitywithinthefieldtriparea.AppleRiverCan-
yon State Park is 20 miles eastand slightly north ofGalenaand approximately 135 mileswestof
Chicago, 190milesnorthofSpringfield,285 milesnorthofEastSt. Louis,and420milesnorthof
Cairo.
Jo Daviess County was named after Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss, a prominent Kentucky lawyer
and Indian fighterwho died in 1811 while leading acharge againstNativeAmericans atthe Battle
ofTippecanoe in Indiana. Interestingly, an earlyclerical error ledtothe spellingofDaveiss with an
"ie" rather than "ei."
Kentucky, Indiana, and Missouri also have a Daviess County, named afterthe same man, but
withoutthe firstname added. Many visitors askaboutthe correctpronunciation. In most parts of
the county Daviess is pronounced the same as "Davis" with a short "i." One often hears, how-
ever, particularly fromthose who have not grown up in the county, the long"e," as in "Davees."
Whenfirstestablished,JoDaviessCountyincludedmostofnorthwesternIllinois, includingallor
partsofthefollowingcounties: Carroll, Stephenson, Winnebago,Whiteside,Ogle, Lee,Henry, Bu-
reau, and Rock Island.
GEOLOGIC FRAMEWORK
Precambrian Era (3.8 BY to 543 MY)
Through several billionyearsofgeologictime, thearea surroundingtheAppleRiverCanyon State
Park, like the restofpresent-day Illinois, has undergone manychangesthroughoutthe hundreds of
millions ofyears ofgeologic time. The oldestrocks beneaththe fieldtrip areabelongtothe ancient
Precambrian basement complex. We know relatively little about these rocks from direct observa-
tions because they are not exposed atthe surface anywhere in Illinois. Only about 35 drill holes
have reached deep enough forgeologists to collect samples from Precambrian rocks ofIllinois.
1 Words in italics (except forfossilnames) are defined inthe glossaryatthebackofthe guidebook.Also,
pleasenote: althoughallpresent localitieshaveonlyrecentlyappearedwithinthegeologictimeframe,the
present names ofplaces and geologic features are usedbecause they provide clearreference points forde-
scribing the ancient landscape.
The depth to the Precambrian rocks in Jo
Daviess Countyrange from 2,000 to 2,500
feet. In southern Illinois, the depth to the Pre-
cambrian rocks is greaterthan 20,000 feet in
the deepest part ofthe Illinois Basin. From
these samples, however, we know that these
ancientrocks consistmostlyofgraniticand
rhyolitic igneous rocks and possibly meta-
morphic, crystalline rocks formed about 1.5 to
1.0billionyearsago. Fromabout 1 billionto
about 0.6 billion years ago, these Precambrian
rocks were exposed at the surface. During
this long period, the rocks were deeply weath-
ered and eroded, forming a barren landscape
that was probablyquite similartothetopogra-
phy ofthe present Missouri Ozarks. There is
no rockrecord {sediments) in Illinois that rep-
resents the long interval ofweathering and
erosion that lasted from the time the Precam-
brian rocks were formed until the first Cam-
brian age sediments accumulated on the
eroded Precambrian rocks. This interval of
weathering and erosion is almost as long as
thetime fromthe beginningofthe Cambrian
Period to the present.
Figure 1 Locationofsomeofthemajorstructures in
Because geologists cannot see the Precam- theIllinoisregion:(1)LaSalleAnticlinorium,(2)Illi-
noisBasin,(3)OzarkDome,(4)PascolaArch,(5)
brian basement rocks in Illinois except as cut- NashvilleDome,(6)CincinnatiArch,(7)RoughCreek
tings and cores from boreholes, othervarious Graben-ReelfootRift,and(8)WisconsinArch.
techniques, such as measurements ofEarth's
gravitational, andmagneticfields,and seismic
exploration, are used to map the regional characteristics ofthe basement complex. The evidence
collected from these variousexploratorytechniques indicatesthatsouthernmostIllinois, nearwhat
isnowthehistoricKentucky-IllinoisFluorsparMiningDistrict,consistedofriftvalleyssimilarto
those in easternAfrica. These Illinois Basin rift valleys formed as movement ofcrustal plates
(plate tectonics) began to rip apart the Precambrian North American continent. These rift valleys
have been named the Rough Creek Graben and the Reelfoot Rift (fig. 1).
Paleozoic Era (543 MY to 248 MY)
Afterthe beginningofthe Paleozoic Era, about 520 millionyears ago in the late Cambrian Period,
theriftingstopped, and thehilly Precambrian landscapebeganto sink slowlyon abroad regional
scale, allowingthe invasionofa shallow seafrom the south and southwest. Duringthe following
280 millionyears ofthe Paleozoic Era, the areathat is nowcalledthe Illinois Basin continued to
accumulate sediments that were deposited in the shallow seas that repeatedly covered this subsid-
ing basin. The region continued to sink until at least 20,000 feet ofsedimentary stratawere depos-
ited in the deepest part ofthe basin, located in the Rough Creek Graben and Reelfoot Rift areas of
southeastern Illinois and western Kentucky. Atvarious times duringthis era, the seas withdrew,
and deposits were weathered and eroded. As a result, there are gaps (called a hiatus) in the sedi-
mentaryrockrecord in Illinois.
These deposited sediments, when compacted and hardened {indurated), constitute the bedrock
succession. Bedrock refers tothe indurated or lithified rockunitsthatunderliethe soils orother
relatively loose, crumbly, materials nearEarth's surface.
Inthe field trip area, bedrock strata range in age from more than 490 million years (the Cambrian
Period)to lessthan420millionyearsold(the Silurian Period). JoDaviessCounty isunderlainby
as much as 2,500 feet ofPaleozoic sedimentary strata. Figure 2 shows the succession ofrock
strata a drill bit would penetrate in this area ifthe rock record were complete and all informa-
tions were present. The oldest Paleozoic rocks exposed in the area are Ordovician in age. These
rocks formed from sedimentsthataccumulated from about490 upto 443 millionyears ago in an
ancient sea.
DEPOSITIONAL HISTORY
MY
Paleozoic Era (543 to 248 MY)
As noted previously, the Rough Creek Graben and the Reelfoot Rift (figs. 1 and 3) were formed
bytectonic activitythatbegan in the latterpartofthe Precambrian Era and continued until the
Late Cambrian. Toward the end ofthe Cambrian, rifting ended, and the whole region began to
subside, allowingshallow seastocoverthe land.
These inland seas connected with the open ocean to the south during much ofthe Paleozoic, and
the areathat is now southern Illinois was an embayment. The southern part ofIllinois and adjacent
parts ofIndiana and Kentucky sank more rapidlythan the areas to the north, allowingmore sedi-
mentto accumulate. Duringthe Paleozoic and Mesozoic,the Earth'sthin crustwas periodically
flexed and warped in places as stresses built up in response to the tectonic forces associated with
thecollision ofcontinental and oceanic plates and mountain building. Thesemovementscausedre-
peated invasions and withdrawals ofthe seas across the region. The former sea floors were thus
periodicallyexposedto erosion, which removed some sediments fromthe rock record.
Stratigraphic Units and Contacts Sedimentary rock, such as limestone, sandstone, shale, or
combinations ofthese andotherrocktypes, commonlyoccurin units called formations.Aforma-
tion is abodyofrockthathas adistinctive lithology, or setofcharacteristics, andeasilyrecogniz-
abletop and bottom boundaries. It is alsothickenough to be readilytraceable in the field and suffi-
ciently widespread to be represented on a map. Most formation names contain modifiers, such as
St. Peter Sandstone or Scales Shale, which are usually derived from geographic names and pre-
dominant rock types. In cases where no single rock type is characteristic, the word Formation be-
comes a part ofthe name (for example, Dubuque Formation). Agroup, such as the Galena Group
orthe MaquoketaGroup, isavertical lumpingtogetherofadjacentformationshavingmanysimi-
larities.Amember, orbed, is a subdivision ofa formation that is toothinto be classified as afor-
mation orthat has minorcharacteristics setting it apart from the rest ofthe formation.
—
Manyofthe sedimentaryunits, called formations, haveconformablecontacts thatis, no signifi-
cant interruption in deposition occurred as one formation was succeeded by another(figs. 2 and
4). In some instances, even though the composition and appearance ofthe rocks change signifi-
cantly at the contact between two formations, thefossils in the rocks and the relationships be-
tween therocks atthe contact indicatethatdeposition wasvirtually continuous. In contrast, in
some places, the top ofthe lower formation was at least partially eroded before the next formation
began to be deposited. In these instances, fossils and otherevidence within oratthe boundary be-
tween the two formations indicate a significant age difference between the lower unit and the
overlying unit. This type ofcontact is called an unconformity (fig. 4). Ifthe beds above and
SYS-
SERIES GROUP FORMATION LITH0L0GY DESCRIPTION
TEM
Thickness, ft
zS2
7 T Dolomite, pure, gray, thin-bedded to mas-
Z^Z sive; local reef structures; local areas of
TF brownish gray, argillaceous dolomite.
Racine
< 300
~n
l
< 7is~/
i I,
zzz.
<
< z±z
S
t±^
cr
Marcus Dolomite, very pure, buff, vesicular,
=)
35-45 7Z7 slve; contains Pentamerus in great
_i abundance in lower 5-1S ft.
T*rf'"<rf-<iJ"*w-N£*-v-
CO / T^~^TT
; Dolomite, pure, pinkish gray; inthin wavy
Sweeney M/ / beds with green shale partings; corals
<z 45-55 S1 z abundant; 3-5 ft cherty zone near middle
contains Miarooardinalia and Pentamerus.
or
o
z AAA>AAA'A/AA
< gSg Dolomite, pure, brownish gray; contains
X Blanding ; a/a,,. many layers ofwhite chert; slliclfled
25-35 PF^f corals abundant; lower 3-5 ft slightly
A / A argillaceous.
£ A ,A A,
TetedesMorts /.A / Dolomite, lightgray, slightlycherty,thick-bedded
15-20 / / mediumtofine-grained, relativelypure.
Mosalem / * / Dolomite, gray, cherty; medium-bedded; lowerpart
0-100 isveryargillaceousdolomitegradingtodolomitlc
shaleatbase.;
Shale, greenish gray, dolomitlc; lnterbedded
Brainord with fine- to medium-grained, argilla-
ceous dolomite; abundant and diverse
z 0-50
< fauna consisting largely of brachlopods
< and bryozoans.
< Fort 0A-tIk0inson -/— /— Dolaormgiitlel,acyeeolulso,witshhing-rbaeyd,defdi;nel-ngtrearibneeddd,ed
> z n. with greenish gray shale.
z
o a- Shale, gray, dolomitlc; concholdal frac-
o o 2a Scales tduarreks;brIoewont,elcuaarbcoonmamcoenouisn,ulpapmeirnapatretd;
or o I25 osfhablreoIwnnlaorwgeirll1a5cefotu;sondoeloormittweoabteds
o
base containing depauperate fauna,
pyrite, and phosphatic pebbles.
Figure2 GeneralizedstratigraphiccolumnfromthetopoftheNiagaran(middleSilurian)tothe
baseoftheChamplainian(middleOrdovician)inthefieldtriparea(modifiedfromKolataand
Buschbach 1976). Figurecontinuesonthenextpage.