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Knox Supergroup

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The Knox Supergroup, also known as the Knox Group and the Knox Formation, is a widespread geologic group in the Southeastern United States. The age is from the Late Cambrian to the Early Ordovician. Predominantly, it is composed of carbonates, chiefly dolomite, with some limestone. There are also cherty inclusions as well as thin beds of sandstone.[1][2]

Knox Supergroup
Stratigraphic range:
Late Cambrian-Dapingian
~497–470.0 Ma
Sphalerite from the Knox Superroup, Tennessee
TypeSupergroup
Unit ofSauk
Sub-units
Kentucky
Ohio, West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky
Pennsylvania
Indiana and Illinois
Other
UnderliesAncel Group, Wells Creek Dolomite
Overlies
Lithology
PrimaryDolomite
OtherLimestone and sandstone
Location
RegionIndiana, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named forKnox County, Tennessee
Named bySafford (1869, p. 151)

Stratigraphy

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The Knox lies beneath a unconformity known as the Knox Unconformity. There is well-developed karst topography at the top of the Knox Supergroup. This demonstrates a prolonged period of erosion. This has modern economic impact because of forming reservoirs for hydrocarbons as well as some mineral deposits.[2]

Everton Formation

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Collapse breccia (Everton Formation, Middle Ordovician; Rush Creek District, Arkansas, USA) 1

The Everton Formation is a geologic formation in northern Arkansas through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana that dates to the middle Ordovician Period.[3] It was named by Ulrich (1907) for exposures found around Everton, Arkansas. Fossils of Conodonts Paraprioniodus costatus and Leptochirognathus quadratus indicate Whiterockian age.[4] Unconformities separate this formation from the underlying Powell Formation and the overlying St. Peter Sandstone Formation. The Everton Formation is composed primarily of dolomite, limestone, and some sandstone as well as a zone of breccia. There are local thick sections of a friable sandstone. The grains are nearly identical to the overlying St. Peter Sandstone, and may cause some confusion in identifying the different formations. The sand grains are medium grained, well rounded and are frosted. Fossils of ostracods, cephalopods, gastropods, bivalves, trilobites, and bryozoans are preserved within the formation.[5]

Stratigraphy

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Five named members of the Everton Formation are recognized (in stratigraphic order):

  • Jasper Limestone Member
  • Newton Sandstone Member
  • Calico Rock Sandstone Member
  • Kings River Sandstone Member
  • Sneeds Limestone Lentil

Beekmantown Group

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Canyon passage in Skyline Caverns, Rockdale Run Formation, Beekmantown Group

The Beekmantown Group is the upper unit of the Knox Supergroup.[6] It is a late Cambrian to lower–middle Ordovician geologic group that occurs in the eastern Canada (Québec) and northeastern United States,[7] datable from its conodont fauna. It contains dolomitic sandstones and carbonates from just off land from the palaeocoastline. Most likely the Arbuckle Arbuckle Group of Oklahoma, and Ellenburger Group of Texas are equlivant to the Beekmantown.[8]

The usage of the term is diverse and depends on the state or region in question, and the group encompasses different formations in different regions. In some states it is considered a formation rather than a group, but the lithology varies by region.[9]

In Pennsylvania the Beekmantown is broken down into the Bellefonte Formation at the Knox Unconformity, followed by the either the Axemann Formation or the Nittany Dolomite, with the Stonehenge Dolomite at its base. The Stonehenge is stratigraphically equitant to the Chepultepec Formation.[6]

Mining and Industrial materials

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Zinc is mined in outcrops found in Virginia. Mostly in Augusta, Rockingham, and Shenandoah counties. The largest is the Bowers-Campbell Mine.[10]

Within the breccia zone galena is extracted along with small amounts of sphalerite and pyrite.[8]

The Beekmantown is quarried in many locations for aggregate and rock.[11]

Chepultepec Formation

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The Chepultepec Formation is an Early Ordovician-aged geological formation in the Appalachian regions of Eastern North America. Also known as the Chepultepec Dolomite, it is a unit of the Upper Knox Group, overlying the Copper Ridge Dolomite and underlying the Longview-Kingsport-Mascot sequence. The formation was named by E. O. Ulrich in 1911 for the town of Chepultepec (now Allgood).[6]

The Chepultepec Formation is a primarily limestone and dolomite formation, the earliest formation of the Ordovician period in its area. Further north, it is equivalent to the Stonehenge Formation of the Beekmantown Group.[12] The formation was first described from Allgood, and has also been found in Tennessee and Virginia.[13] In Virginia, the Chepultepec Formation has a habit of forming large natural arches, including Natural Tunnel in Scott County and Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County.[14][15]

Prairie du Chien Group

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This group includes the Oneota Formation and the Shakopee Formation.

Oneota Formation

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Sugar Loaf

The Oneota Formation is a geologic formation in the upper Midwest (United States) including Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. It preserves marine fossils dating back to the Ordovician period.[16]

The Sugar Loaf landmark located in Winona, Minnesota is made of Oneota Dolomite.

Shakopee Formation

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Shakopee Formation in southeast Minnesota

The Shakopee Formation is a geologic formation in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ordovician period. It is named after the town of Shakopee, Minnesota, where the formation can be seen in bluffs along the Minnesota River.

The formation is broken up into two members, the New Richmond and Willow River Members. The Shakopee was deposited in a peritidal setting and is divided by an unconformity. The unconformity left river valleys that were filled with siliciclastic material that was covered by marine deposits. Facies-defining cycles are divided into grainy carbonate, muddy carbonate, sandstone, shale, and Stromatolitic–Algal mat Boundstones.[17]

Stromatolite reefs are a common occurrence in the Shakopee and are well documented throughout. Some of the recognized species of stromatolites are cryptozoon minnesotense, cryptozoon liberta and cryptozoon rosemontensis.[18]

Fossils
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  • Mollusk
    • Murchisonia artemesia
    • Pleurotomaria canadensis
    • Lophospira cassina
    • Cameroceras stillwaterense
    • Cotteroceras compressum
    • Cyptendoceras ruedemanni

References

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  1. ^ Hickman, John B. (17 December 2019). "Major Lower Paleozoic Horizons of the Southern Illinois Basin". University of Kentucky.
  2. ^ a b Gooding, Patrick J. (1992). UNCONFORMITY AT THE TOP OF THE KNOX GROUP (CAMBRIAN AND ORDOVICIAN) IN THE SUBSURFACE OF SOUTH-CENTRAL KENTUCKY. Kentucky Geological Survey. p. 12.
  3. ^ "Everton Formation, Arkansas Geologic Survey, Ozark Plateaus, Ordovician". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  4. ^ "Everton Dolomite". legacy.igws.indiana.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  5. ^ "Ordovician period of the Ozark Plateaus in Arkansas". www.geology.arkansas.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  6. ^ a b c CALVERT, WARREN L. (1962). "SUB-TRENTON ROCKS FROM LEE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, TO FAYETTE COUNTY, OHIO" (PDF). Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  7. ^ Hersi, O. S.; Lavoie, D.; Nowlan, G. S. (2003). "Reappraisal of the Beekmantown Group sedimentology and stratigraphy, Montréal area, southwestern Quebec: Implications for understanding the depositional evolution of the Lower-Middle Ordovician Laurentian passive margin of eastern Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 40 (2): 149. Bibcode:2003CaJES..40..149H. doi:10.1139/e02-077.
  8. ^ a b Herbert, Jr, Paul; Young, Robert S. (1956). "Sulfide Mineralization in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia" (PDF). Department of Energy Virginia.
  9. ^ Beekmantown Geologic Unit, Geolex – Unit Summary, National Geologic Map Database. USGS/AASG. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  10. ^ "Virginia Energy - Geology and Mineral Resources - Zinc". energy.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  11. ^ Wilkes, Gerald P. (2007). "BEDROCK GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE LEXINGTON 7.5-MINUTE QUADRANGLE, VIRGINIA" (PDF). Virginia Department of Energy.
  12. ^ Read, J. Fred; Eriksson, Kenneth A. (2012). "Paleozoic Sedimentary Successions of the Virginia Valley & Ridge and Plateau" (PDF). Virginia Tech Scholarly Works, Department of Geosciences.
  13. ^ Unklesbay, A.G.; Young, Robert S. (May 1956). "Early Ordovician Nautiloids from Virginia". Journal of Paleontology. 30 (3): 481–491.
  14. ^ Spencer, Edgar W. (May 1964). "Natural Bridge and vicinity" (PDF). Virginia Minerals. 10 (2): 1–6.
  15. ^ Woodward, Edgar W. (1936). "Natural bridge and Natural Tunnel, Virginia". The Journal of Geology. 44 (5): 604–616. Bibcode:1936JG.....44..604W. doi:10.1086/624457.
  16. ^ "Oneota Dolomite".
  17. ^ "Geoscience Wisconsin Volume 17 - Sedimentology and Sequence Stratigraphy of a Lower Ordovician Mixed Siliciclastic-Carbonate System, Shakopee Formation, Fox River Valley of East-Central Wisconsin - WGNHS". wgnhs.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  18. ^ STAUFFER, CLINTON R. (July 1945). "Cryptozoons of the Shakopee Dolomite". Journal of Paleontology. 19 (4): 376–379. JSTOR 1299048 – via JSTOR.
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