SY SSSR Kaos PAST SS SoS SN a SSNS MAAK SS : PSS SEH Ss SR : x SSK AVY 3 NS aos . SSSR SES * Oe Geass eo Reems WES Page ibs SRE nia beta eee THE UNIVERSITY GF ILLINOIS sat ia LIBRARY Ss ee ees S57, aD e ars GEOLOGY - ¥ “ Rae AS P OLOGY LIBRARY Return this Hoe: On or before the Latest Date ees below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. _, University of Illinois Library APR 17 1 . | pec 1 R57 arte Ye APR 19 1968 DEC 13 1968 4 g 1968 | HT 2? & 9 ar i ike ky 4 | ww WY Ge 8 MAR he "0 DEC 18 1970 NOV 4 7. DEC 1 sg7e FEp 25 1974 hepne f f V t “ny t JU Ny oJ) ig L161— O0-1096 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2021 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign https://archive.org/details/geologyofprincet1019well aes ~ or * fs e + 1’ The Kentucky Geological Survey WILLARD ROUSE JILLSON DIRECTOR anp STATE GEOLOGIST SE REE Sos EX VoLUME TEN Geology of the Princeton Quadrangle 1923 (PROVIDENCE) sar BE FARMERSVILLE LEWISTOWN | OUTLINE MAP pie Se 23 sks = | PRINCETON | SHO , eel QUADRANGLE | SUE U STE E ELES Gre Lire ———-——-—-— _ STATE OF KENTUCKY | pu Peer es RAILROADS * ; = J Ly SKETCH MAP SHOWING FAULTS OF THE PRINCETON QUADRANGLE IN THE STATE OF KENTUCKY. The irregular lines which are numbered to correspond to the text rep- resent the surface extension of the faults. These lines will be easily distinguished from the North-South and East-West lines of longitude and latitude. This outline map is a reduced reproduction of the new stand- ard U. S. G. S. quadrangle (Princeton), scale 1-62,500, on which the areal and structural geology of this region has been plotted by the author, (DAWSON _SPRINGS (GEOLOGY of the PRINCETON QUADRANGLE : A Detailed Report on the Stratigraphy and Structure of the Princeton, Kentucky Region BY STUART WELLER ASSISTANT GEOLOGIST Presented With Four Separate Miscellaneous Papers BY ArtTHur McQuiston MILLER WILBUR GREELEY BURROUGHS ADOLPH CHARLES NOE and WILLARD ROUSE JIILSON oe ae ~ 5 a I SNR ALY . Illustrated with forty-two Photographs, ~~ ~'5 HAR oF The Maps and Diagrams FP aa : A i! 4 1Q 9A First EDITION ee LNULS 500 CopPIEs THE Kentucky GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FRANKFORT, Ky. 1923 THE STATE JOURNAL COMP VY Printer to the Commonwealth Frankfort, Kentucky. i ~ 4 2d ROY , \ vc As ih : Nuuilo vit6 1Q Qrirg 2 4 Orv Oy DLZ a he A MH S&S) mio oO VU. LO Letter of Transmittal Dr. W. BR. JILLSON, Director and State Geologist, The Kentucky Geological Survey, Frankfort, Kentucky. DEAR SIR :— I am transmitting herewith the manuscript of a report on the stratigraphie and structural Geology of the Princeton Quad- rangle of the United States Geological Survey topographie atlas. This is the second quadrangle lying within the highly faulted area of western Kentucky which includes the important fluorspar deposits of the State, upon which I have reported. The first of these reports was upon the Goleonda Quadrangle; and a third upon the Cave in Rock Quadrangle, including most of the 1m- portant mining area of Crittenden County, will be made later. Nearly the whole of the area covered in the present report is included in Caldwell County. The careful and accurate mapping of the structure and stratigraphy of these areas will undoubtedly prove to be of very great assistance in further prospecting and development in the Western Kentucky fluorspar field. Respectfully submitted, STUART WELLER. The University of Chicago, Chicago, III. Oct. 1st; 1922. wel © oi “eed ~~ ~~ Contents Letter of Transmittal: Geology of Princeton Quad- Vv 89 93 97 oo 127 PAD SLOT ey A eae sea eo Ran oie ee ere ne Contents ‘fins Se a Se ce ee eee Hlustrations =... NS cil et Deas Sete he oe a as Re I. Geology of the Princeton Quadrangle, Ky., ‘by Stuart Weller: Chapter oe INtroduehio ny cece ee eee Chapter IL Stratigraphic -Geology. 22.252 Chapter III. Stratigraphic Geology, Iowa Series Chapter IV. Stratigraphic Geology, Chester OTIOS <2 sees sc last ee hee oe eee cee eee Chapter V. Stratigraphic Geology, Pennsyl- VanlaneSystemMn.2. eee eee ee Chapter VI. Stratigraphic Geology, Lafayette GEV OL reared ea eae eee eee tee Chapter Vilv -l2neéous: Rocks 2. oe eee Chapter. VUT.- Structural’ Geology. 2... II. Recent Cave Explorations in Kentucky for Animal and Human Remains, by Arthur McQuiston Miller 107 Ill. A Pottsville-Filled Channel in the Mississippian, by Wilbur, -Gréeley..Burroushse 2). ee IV. The Flora of the Western Kentucky Coal Field, by Adolph Charless NGOs Cees. o te ee eee V. A Bibliography of the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, Dy: “Willard. Rousesillsone 2 ee eee Td ex eee Pe cece ee ae ee ConA Ma ww Ss DNONDDNDNYNNNHHH HHH PH pp PABA HN ER SSCHONAMTR WN ES 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. Illustrations Page Frontispiece: Sketch Map Princeton Quadrangle........................ ii ORL ILD TE PIMCOLOM see Hoy oy FUCLLOD ey see oe ete ea aeoe tan Os teehee 2 Metal ote FardinSDuUres SAlLdStONG oc tence oF es et ae ee, 6 PUI RGmL OCA Le DGLOTINA GION a scents cosesessvulcecssicowdesopeste coco Sines ate geaatt an 10 P ATIGUGTN GT OLmA VV ALOIE G5 God) Gr eee ta cet oan oe eect eT oR we 21 AD Debate GLtlon wl UIFt Sy DEIN ES ATL OSUOM Case tee oon ccc the ans cicc¥enceasise 27 PIGCATEPOUR Tr Cll Ube adn CSLON CG wage tasers geen ces ces sree oe ete rc nce 33 PerUneustel all-in the Deg Gls SANSOM C Merc. .c.-cccaeeeree st tan tee ceacecoee 41 Steeulveincuneds Cy Press xsaNas tO ec. cecs sence ok ere dee vi cece 53 Pwetorerons Ofs Lie. .Glen ss Dea reese ccesor eo easren coc ett ae snnce eee eee 64 ha somU ree! Ate PLINgS = OAD CSCO LH Cet! ce nce tree ce eee She he pete cata cere 67 PUGeLriincaling PireCtsa OL. cEilOSl OM) uke. cscs tre preg eee eet evan zee coe 72 Panoramic Section, Walche’s:Cut. (tipped: 1n)= 2-2... 222k a. 100 Hines’ Cave, Near Mill Springs, Wayne Co., Ky. ..................-2--+- 110 PHOIANS SICICLON SIN ee ULAA Le OSI EL ONT sor teneipiees bec dece on ccuk te cneuwacstte sees ie HPectlioneGieLOoLavilost 1 led) Channels kel ain eee sateen 118 Diagrammatic Section of Faulted Pottsville Filled Channel...... 120 Coa balletroni West. hentuckye Mine NO: 12 ‘2.c:dcctiveeitsaccssstoteee 127 Ideal Coal-Measure Swamp in Kentucky -0.0.2.....0..ceccceeeeseeeceeecceeeeeee 128 Lepidodendron Volkmannianum from Princeton, Ky. .................. 129 Lepidodendron Volkmannianum from Princeton, Ky. .................. 130 Lepidodendron Veltheimianum from Princeton, Ky. .................. 131 Lepidodendron Veltheimianum from Princeton, Ky. .................. 131 Pe DIOOUCHO LOM OMe TINCELON Ss - Vioe yc. seeet soci seers eo recsesnck eotn ey ones 132 Decorticated Lepidodendron Stem from Princeton, Ky. ........ eo Decorticated Lepidodendron Stem from Provindence, Ky. ........ 134 Decorticated Lepidodendron Stem from Princeton, Ky. .............. 135 Transverse Cut of Branching Lepidodendron Stem from Coal NSSOUD DE oS ckeerd Bale aR ta Mra WES te Alen fay ate US pte Nate Pins ea NN ince ae On ar 136 Lepidodendron Leaves from Princeton, Ky. -......0.....cc.ceccccee eeeeeee eee 137 Sip iiiaride Lomntrom marlin ge tons. Var ee ies ae, eee 137 SLicmarigal 1 COldGS = frOM HeENdersoOMny, WS Vivv.s---ccscesce ete esces eee 138 Calaihices -SUCKOVIE from» Erin Geton, \KiVare eee... secceseceesc ers eee 139 Annularia Sphenophylloides from Braidwood, Ill. ........00.000....0002.. 140 Sphenophyllum Emarginatum from West Kentucky Mine TED Wi aPaaplen ce iat ES Seana et hoa ah POE A Ran CO <<. ORR ck SC REA 141 Sphenophyllum Emarginatum from Braidwood, IIl. .................. 142 Sphenophyllum Stem in Transverse Section from Coal Ball ...... 143 Menropteris) Leaves, frome MOOrman SK yc 5 iscstecsde sche cesses te esas iticccee 144 Neuropteris Rarinervis from Spring Valley, IIl. ........0000... 145 PUVSORLOMA, SCCC sLrOMeppring VaLLGY, sLile ens ee ieee 146 Lagenostoma Seed in Longitudinal Cut from Coal Ball............ 147 (ordaitegsirom wWest-Kentucky= Mingo NOiv 6.2 cocci ee ce 148 Outline Map Princeton Quadrangle Showing Fault Pattern. Scale 1 in=-1 mile, by Stuart Weller (Separate, inside back cover) ri ga™ rh Lou ts. ee Sh ee GEOLOGY of the PRINCETON QUADRANGLE I. GEOLOGY of the PRINCETON (QUADRANGLE By STUART WELLER, Assistant Geologist CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION The Princeton Quadrangle of the United States Geological Survey Atlas of topography, Hes between longitude 87° 45’ and 88°, and between latitude 37° and 37° 15’. It covers about 240 square miles, all but about 22 miles of which is included in Caldwell County. The smaller portion, in the southwestern corner of the quadrangle, lies in Lyon County. Nearly the entire of the area is extensively faulted. The most complicated faulting lies along a belt extending in a northwest direction from a little south of Claxton, near the eastern border of the quadrangle, to the western border about two and one-half miles south of the northwestern corner. Apart from the fault- ing in this belt, where the direction of individual faults is in nearly every point of the compass, the major faults are for the most part in a general east-west direction. None of this faulting is reflected to any great extent in the topography of the area. In places drainage lines have been developed along fault lines, and after the structure is worked out, the faults are found locally to follow ravines and gullies in many places, but there are no outstanding topographic characteristics which would suggest to the observer of the topographic may alone that the area is complexly faulted. The southwestern ‘portion of the _ area, about one-fourth or a little more of the whole, is rather sharply differentiated topographically from most of the remain- ing part of the quadrangle, by reason of the presence of great numbers of sink holes. These sinks are largely characteristic of the Ste. Genevieve limestone. Aside from the sink hole area the topography is essentially mature in its stage of development, being fully dissected. In places where the less resistant lime- stone and shale beds constitute the surface formations, the topographic expression is somewhat soft, but elsewhere it is decidedly rugged. 2 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE The town of Princeton, with about 3,689 inhabitants, is the County Seat of Caldwell County, and is situated near the eenter of the Quadrangle. A number of other villages, consist- ing of one or more stores and a few houses, are scattered through the area. Of these Crider, Farmersville, Cedar Hill are per- haps the most important. Smaller villages are Flat Rock, Rufus, Lewistown, Olney, Claxton, Dulany, Scottsburg, MeGowan, ‘Otter Pond, and Saratoga. Nearly the entire area is drained by comparatively small streams. Tradewater River crosses the northwestern corner of the Quadrangle, and approximately one-half of the entire quad- rangle drains into this stream through Flynn and Donaldson Creeks and their tributaries. The more southern portion of the area, separated by an irregular, northwest-southeast line, fol- lowing in the main the southern border of the more faulted belt, drains into the Cumberland River through Eddy Creek and its tributaries, and White Sulphur Creek. G Va i Marion 4 / SalemO , Sketch map of a portion of .Western Kentucky and Illinois showing the geographical position of the Princeton Quadrangle. The white area is Mississippian except west of the Tennessee River. Coal, Measures cover the stippled areas. Ps INTRODUCTION ee] In the State of Kentucky it is much more difficult to describe the exact location of specific points, than in the states where the federal land surveys have subdivided the surface into townships and sections. Where these subdivisions have been made it is a simple matter to describe the location of a given point within the limits of a 40-acre tract, or even within the limits of a 10-acre tract. . This cannot be done where such land surveys do not exist. The Kentucky quadrangles are divided, however, into nine smaller quadrangular areas by the 5- minute lines of longitude and latitude, and for the purpose of assisting in describing locations, some nomenclature of these smaller quadrangles is convenient. In the present report these smaller units will be designated as rectangles to distinguish them from the quadrangle as a whole, and each will be desig- nated by the name of some geographic feature present in that particular unit. Beginning at the northeast corner of the quad- rangle map, the rectangles will be designated as follows: first, the Tradewater rectangle, so-called from the presence of the river of that name, which does not enter any other rectangle on the map; second, next west of the Tradewater is the Farm- ersville rectangle; third, next west of the last is the Flat Rock rectangle; fourth, south of the last is the Crider rectangle, to the east of which; fifth, is the Princeton rectangle; sixth, east of the Princeton is the Claxton rectangle; seventh, south of the Claxton is the Otter Pond rectangle; eighth, west of the Otter Pond is the McGowan rectangle; and ninth, west of the McGowan, in the southwest corner of the map, is the Saratoga rectangle. | The field work upon which this report is based was carried on throughout the whole of the 1921 field season, and during a part of 1922. In the prosecution of the work the writer has been most efficiently assisted by Mr. Ben B. Cox. The same assistant has also rendered great service in his study, under the writer’s direction, of the fossil collections, from the region, and in the compilation of the several lists of fossils which are | included in the report. For the identification of the fossil 4 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE bryozoans in the several faunas, acknowledgment is due Mr. A. C. MeFarlan, who has been engaged for a number of years in a very detailed study of the bryozoans of the Chester faunas. Throughout the progress of the work Dr. Jillson, Director of the Kentucky Geological Survey, has done much to facilitate the investigation. | aS CHAPTER II. STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY, FORMATIONS NOT EXPOSED AT THE SURFACE INTRODUCTION The hard rock geologic formations which are exposed at the surface in the Princeton quadrangle are all Mississippian and Pennsylvanian in age. The oldest exposed formation is the Spergen or Salem limestone, whose position is somewhat above the middle of the Lower Mississippian or Iowa Series. The remaining higher units of the Iowa Series are all well exhibited within the quadrangle, and also the whole of the Upper Missis- Sippian or Chester Series. The Pennsylvanian is represented only by strata of Pottsville age. Although no formations older than the Spergen or Salem limestone are exposed at the surface, the succession of beds down to and including some portion of the Devonian, has been made known by the drilling of a deep well near Cedar Hill, on the farm of Mrs. W. F. O’Hara. This well was drilled during the vear 1921, and a fairly complete series of cuttings from the different depths has been preserved by Mr. F. K. Wylie, of Princeton. These cuttings have been generously placed in the hands of the writer, who is under great obligation to Mr. Wylie for the privilege of studving them. The depth of the well is 2,017 feet, and the strata penetrated are as follows: Log of Well at Cedar Hill, Kentucky Iowa Series (Lower Mississippian) Thickness. Depth. PiOreE SEL TTD LON tua 1 thee Oe ei oe ered eae Re 250 250 Gray limestone, more or less crystalline, with “SACS? CCA RE Be ieee Heth ee Rete ices eens ae 5 255 PORTERS SLITS) LO Sees ec tia, Labs ae a ee eget eee tee 55 310 Dark and light gray limestone, more or less erratallinegss wills chertesse:. 225 foe 240 550 Black Silico-caleareous shale 2.2..242.22n.....22-4 10 560 Dark, silico-calcareous shale with some gray NST OVEN RA) 003 ghee ve eee ie ie At SY Fas es oe oe 25 585 Brown limestone with chert and pyrite ............ 65 650 Brown to gray limestone with chert and pyrite 30 680 Gray and brown limestone with chert and RATS Rl De he Aiea mops = Ae ave ec ee er are ey pec 350 1030 6 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE Brown limestone with some silico-calcareous shale, some (cherteandepyrite io ee 70 1100 Dark to black silico-calcareous shale with some Dyrites# NOjACheGih teak ee ee 502 1602 Black, silico-calcareous shale, more siliceous than-a@bOvenrs twee eek ee eee ee 8 LOLe Black, silico-calcareous shale with some gray Limestone eee ee ee ent en ee ee 5 1615 Greenish black, highly siliceous shale ................ 10 1625 IN Cee AI ro os ee nas esac ee Oa ae ee, Se ae 5 1630 Chattanooga Shale (Devonian) Brown to black shale with Sporangites .............. 135 1765 Black siliceous shale with conspicuous pyrite Hedsat 183 seen ae ee Lo ree 107 1872 Devonian Limestone White crystalline limestone 22.2.5 10 1882 rray chert with some white limestone .............. Bye] 1915 No sain phe". ee URE ere oe at eee. O55 2010 White to dark gray limestone with some chert. Kraementvol Mavosites =<. .- ( GAPEy) Meee eee Girtyella brevilobatus (Swallow) ............----..---------- Spiriferina transversa. (McChesney )* _..... 20.2. SPIT1] CrING “SPUN SUN. Gy a) ree ee Spistfer pellaensis WW Cer jo ase cates ss eters ne sarees Spirifer increbescens var. transversa Hall ....- Peek SPAT ePer etd tens See mses eke eee ooo ere een ee Eagmnetria’ Vera. (Ea) ) 6 ierec cae tae reece oe nep ere ecar a Cleiothyridina sublamellosa (Hall) .......-.-..2--------- | Comnposita trinucted, -( Elall) Wi are ee ee Senizodus SPr vive. ae earn eet cerca career | Orthonychia cf. chesterensis M. & W. ...-...--..----------- Euomphalus cf. planidorsatus M. & W. ......------------ PHAUIDSIONS Dc ee a pe ete ses CIATODUS? SD ee a a ee ee comet ee * | % * & & # Mice ane, oak Ss Cite ea: * i Very good collections have been made from the higher part of the Renault limestone at two localities northeast of Otter Pond, the first from about three-fourths of a mile from the rail- road station and the other about one and one-fourth miles from the same point. Both collections are from shaly beds, and it is not improbable that the horizon is the same at the two local- ities. A combined list of the species in these collections is given below, the two occurrences beine indicated in the. columns I and?2* STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 37 Renault Faunas Northeast of Otter Pond ra PIODRUMUNEESDINWIOSIUNL. CM. Hiv 6c U TH. ) oi. .iessestaensce neces -ceeeee TOLEPOCTINUS, SD. 2:...!..-2.2- CR al TT oh RS 2 IER TB, od eB Sa | SerererreriaAtese atid. SLES. eee ee ee Be cu te ance eee save | PCILELEIMALES (DTINCELONCTISIS. UITICIY 8. lasetucncee 22.) ese eee Perteteie SDINES ay DIAUCS ten. neers masta ale ocsea Si cgosdnak abe ets PEPREILET UT Ge CCCLENSs WAP Chy oo sekec2c 5. Uist edeencacaesedededeilaacteemesmeaes Soe * RRR EERO T AEM TIOEIL CULIIOT UE Ul LEI CL pac tees ots eat oc onncesQtonssuneste-2n-caeiren-: 228 Deh OW Teg ATG ODOC TAU fs AO ah CD AT ky em ee ae serMEML EGE LLORES) Sek ct ween OL cee oRUER., on cncadahegre écdectnstestecens PEEL PCNA ILO CT CULE Ce ae LOU Ly ieee oe sap iesc ons eaten eet ee ode enn 2 ENGR CO TOA TO) ei tices SNe OR Sala os ee Se Ne es ee STC TICS SCUTTLE LU WOITIGIY 22020 catepcee bos one cteeh satoase settee end. oe ree eT (herd 7 OChGOR LT LGU. 221, tan ee oe sce bare ope ed nanan e~ -condeteceaeesei-oe TRS Veet WE Sea Mead | 27h, OURS OS OA en ee ee JEG SEE CHUB Eee SS oo 2 RL ES Reis mn ee Se PeereTEVOUOTU. CILUCT CINCO, WATICHS .. 2... nccc00se2-caednseeeedietewenecsuaes Ne OO UE LAE LD LOS (he W CLL OT cdncccascekedonaroccartnc-otagsbe atdegar tees <2lacate EE MES RR 3S eo OE Less | Pane wok Ori notceres Kashaskiensts (MCCHESNECY ) .2....c22..00.cnck--cecceceseee-s | RS TIA SGT GRR ol ws IST To Se Rae a ean Oe SER et IMGES CLE O (IESE IN GaGCU Ls). cesneresete sateen c aekeececeonees docs--te----=2 AES GMA LULILOTSEIVS IS AW CLIGY occs.tn ten sadpay ss vlece centakceedaesovnke aetsasus ENSUE RAR OTRO THAR ELI NS ORs CC I) eee ota ave ROL Ey eee aoe Sense CCL ROE ULLOUULOD (Wall OW, ) lo rsenc- tes Sesswecibecse-c--s2 5 cesses scce spirierimasiransversa. (MeéChesney) .-02226)..--.: fetes eee Spirifer increbescens var. transversa Hall .........-.-.--....--000 SUES BURR ECS OSS Ea Oe EN Seg ENS BNE oes 2 PRR ie oY ee ee TEE SVE AG R12 0 9 os Hs PT Ay ae na I OTILUVACTIE SUD CIIVELLOS (CRT ANT ) ic secre ace ede oe oa ee Sec ees rr nOetLG erence. (Hall) oe see a ee aeons ee ah EN Sa OPES Se gh eh Bec EP ih en et Rc Aap Nan: SOR a Lek SIN ESTATE GT SSE 6 BUD Ie Desay ERO tes By: OEM ORES WAP ie, 5 Se ee ENT 0 IRI TIES VI CBRL 4 ee elle Uhr Bp aes i ie nie or Dk de Ae A ar eter CLUVOLG. (NLCGUESIIOY ) ( caiicaltedsietc- db. Recaectdeneceseascsutes ¥ Cs 8d CACY Tey OND BE Ap Aaa eee Oe so * + & *& * %*%¢ + & * * * * * * * * * * * % % * 3 re ee i A Ce RS at SS * + + ss wr s + Se Ce ee Sci ei go SR 2c Along the lower slopes of the hillside one-fourth mile west of McGowan Station, some silicified Renault fossils occur in the red residual clays, and from this locality the following species have been identified : 38 PRINCETON. QUADRANGLE Renault Fossils from Near McGowan Triplophyllum spinulosum (M.-E. & H.) Talarocrinus trijugis M. & G. Pentremites princetonensis Ulrich. Pentremites buttsi Ulrich. Spiriferinag sp. Cleiothyridina sublamellosa (Hall). Composita trinuclea (Hall). From some localities in the Renault limestone of the Prince- ton Quadrangle, a fauna somewhat different from those recorded above, has been collected. It is a fauna which seems to be associated with thin shaly partings between more massive lime- stone beds, which are really rather shaly limestone layers. From such a bed, one mile north of Princeton, the following species have been collected: Renault Fossils from North of Princeton Triplophyllum spinulosum (M.-E. & H.) Cystodictya labiosa Weller. Orthotetes kaskaskiensis (McChesney). Productus ovatus Hall. Diaphragmus elegans (N. & P.) Spiriferina transversa (McChesney). Spirifer breckenridgensis Weller. Spirifer cf. pellaensis Weller. Cliothyridina sublamellosa (Hall). Composita trinuclea (Hall). Platyceras sp. In this fauna the large brachiopods, Orthotetes kaskas- kiensis and Productus ovatus are by tar the most numerous species, the remaining forms being represented by a very limited number of individuals. Correlation. The question of the correlation of the Renault limestone has been fully discussed in the report on Hardin County, Ilinois,*? Ulrich included the formation in his Ohara member of the Ste. Genevieve limestone, and seemingly because of its Chester fauna he transferred the whole of his Ste. Gen- evieve limestone to the Chester Group. Extensive faunal studies of all of these beds, and the detailed mapping of the formations 7Tll. State Geol: Surv., Bull. No. 41, pp. 150-159 (1921). STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 39 entirely across southern Illinois and into western Kentucky, have established the fact that the inclusion of the Ste. Genevieve limestone proper in the Chester Series is entirely unwarranted. The detailed field studies continue to pile up the evidence for the exact correlation of the ‘‘ Upper Ohara’’ of Ulrich’s section with the Renault limestone of the Mississippi Valley section. The bed has now been actually traced and mapped in detail from Caldwell County, Kentucky, to and across Union County, Tllinois. it has been shown elsewhere that the Renault (‘‘Upper Ohara’’) limestone fauna, including that of the Shetlerville member, from Hardin County, Illinois, is essentially the fauna of the typical Renault of Monroe County, Illinois, with the exception of three species which have been described as new and which are known only from the Shetlerville. It has also been shown that the diagnostic fossils of the Ste. Genevieve limestone, Platycrinus penicillus and Pugnoides ottumwa are entirely unknown from the Renault (‘‘Upper Ohara’’) or any other Chester fauna. The species which are common to both the ‘‘Upper Ohara’’ and the Ste. Genevieve are in nearly every case long range forms which either are present in pre-Ste. Genevieve beds or are represented there by closely allied forms. The observations which have been made in Kentucky during the past two field seasons have confirmed the earlier conclusions in regard to the relationships of the faunas, in every respect. The correlation of the so-called ‘‘Upper Ohara’? with the typical Renault is established beyond question, and the extension of the name Renault into southern Illinois and Kentucky is fully justified. BETHEL SANDSTONE Name. In his description of the Mississippian section in western Kentucky, Ulrich* described a sandstone formation resting upon his Ohara member of the Ste. Genevieve limestone, which he identified as the Cypress sandstone of Engelmann, originally described from southern Illinois. In 1915 the writer established the fact that the Cypress of Ulrich was not the original Cypress of Engelmann, but a lower member of the Senormmapern Wah 2 Gel. sUinv., ANOM ob. p.roo (1905), 40 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE Chester Series. A statement to this effect was made in Decem- ber, 1915,5 and the correction was accepted by Ulrich. In 1917 Butts proposed the name Bethel sandstone ® for this formation which Ulrich had erroneously called Cypress, a name which has been adopted and used by all later workers in this field. Distribution. The distribution of the Bethel sandstone in the Princeton Quadrangle follows closely that of the underlying Renault limestone. The usual dip of all the strata throughout the area is to the northeast, and in general this sandstone under- hes a cuesta slope, much interrupted and broken by faults, sloping northwestwardly from the summit of the bluff-like exposures of the Renault. If the earth’s crust in this quad- rangle had never suffered the disturbances which are evidenced by the complex faulting, the Bethel sandstone would have con- stituted a continuous belt from one to two miles wide, extending from the southeastern corner of the quadrangle to the western border, about four miles south of the northwest corner. As it exists today the outcrop of the formation is restricted for the most part to this belt, just southwest of the major northwest- southeast lines of faulting, but it is offset to the east or to the west a number of times by the east-west faults which cross the quadrangle, so that the total width of the belt in which the out- crop is included is considerably greater than it would have been otherwise. The pattern of the outcrop is made very irregu- lar through this belt by reason of the effects of stream erosion. Tithelogic characters. As it is exposed in surface outcrop in the Princeton Quadrangle, the Bethel sandstone is commonly light brown in color, moderately fine grained in texture, and more or less friable in character. Much of the formation is massively bedded with much cross bedding, but locally it is thinly and evenly bedded. If the sandstone were encountered under cover, as in well drilling, the sand might be expected to be less oxidised and somewhat lghter in color. It is probably the coarsest in texture of any of the sandstone formations of the Chester Series in this area, it is aS massive as any of the others, although some of the beds in the Tar Springs and also the Palestine sandstones are as massive. °* Paper read before Geol, Soc. Amer., but not published. ‘Ky. Geol. Surv., Miss. Form. West. Ky., p. 63 (1917). STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 41 A THRUST FAULT IN THE BETHEL SANDSTONE. The small fault may be seen in Walche’s Cut, Illinois Central Railroad, east of Scottsburg. Thickness. The usual thickness of the Bethel sandstone about Princeton is about 40 feet, but in one locality at least, two and one-half miles east of the town, there is a thickness of only 25 feet. 42 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE Stratigraphic relations. Presumably the Bethel sandstone lies unconformably upon the underlying Renault limestone. The actual contact between the two formations is best exhibited in the Quadrangle, in Walche’s cut on the new line of the Illinois Central Railroad, northeast of Scottsburg. The two formations are exposed west of the bridge crossing the cut, the sandstone at this locality being more thinly bedded than usual. Throughout a part of the section the sandstone apparently rests upon a massive, cherty limestone member of the Renault, but elsewhere there is a laver of variegated clay shale between it and the same cherty lHmestone bed, a condition which suggests the removal, in places, of the shale before the sandstone was deposited. In Hardin County, Dlinois, the contact between these two formations is well exhibited in the Ohio River bluffs * and clearly shows the unconformity between them, and it is not unlikely that this unconformity continues to the Princeton Quadranele. The contact between the Bethel and the overlying Paint Creek formation has not been observed. There seems to be an abrupt change from the sandstone into the overlying limestones and shales, which suggests a condition of unconformity, and there is some evidence of unconformable relations at this horizon in Hardin County, Iimois. However, with the present infor- mation available it is not possible either to affirm or deny such an unconformity in the Princeton Quadrangle. Paleontology. No fossils of importance have been detected in the Bethel sandstone in the Princeton Quadrangle, although in places there are fragments of undeterminable plant remains such as are found in the formation throughout its extent in Kentucky and Illinois. Correlation. The Bethel sandstone has been traced and mapped in detail from the Princeton Quadrangle in Kentucky, to near Anna, Union County, Illinois. The formation thins materially towards the western portion of its outerop in Ilinois, and in at least one, and perhaps in other localities of small ex- tent, it is absent altogether, permitting the Paint Creek to rest upon the Renault. The continuity of the bed throughout the whole distance, however, is unquestioned. The formation is said TI, State Geol. Surv., Bull. No... 41) pp, 146-147-971). STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 43 by Butts to continue eastward from the Princeton Quadrangle to near Fairview, close to the line between Christian and Todd Counties, Kentucky, but, according to the same author, it has not been observed farther east.§ Tn the Mississippi River sections of the Chester Series, the position of the Bethel sandstone is occupied by the Yankeetown formation, a thin, siliceous bed which is in part chert, and locally a quartzite. in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, Butts has described the Sample sandstone, assigning it to a position supposed to be higher in the Chester Series than that occupied by the Bethel.?® There seems to be no doubt, however, that the Sample is the exact equivalent of the Bethel, and consequently the name Sample should be abandoned. The relationship of the Bethel and Sample sandstones will be discussed more fully on a later page, in connection with the consideration of the Paint Creek forma- tion, and the so-called Gasper limestone of Butts. PAINT CREEK LIMESTONE Name. This formation was originally described from Mon- roe and Randolph Counties, Illinois, the name being taken from a stream in southern Monroe County. The formation has been recognized and mapped in detail across these Mississippi River counties in Illimois and southward across the Mississippi River into Perry County, Missouri, also across the southern counties of Illinois from Union to Hardin, and across the Ohio River into Livingston, Crittenden and Caldwell Counties, Kentucky. When Ulrich first described the Chester section of western Kentucky, he defined the Tribune limestone as a formation with oolitic beds, overlying the Bethel sandstone, which he at that time called the Cypress sandstone. The formation was named from outcrops at Tribune, six miles east of Marion, which have been shown by the writer to belong far up in the Chester section, really being a part of the Menard limestone.!° Another of the original Tribune localities specified by Ulrich is the limestone outcrop at the mouth of the Fairview Mine at Rosiclare, [linois, Pee Gol Sit...) Miss, sHOrn?.. NV. iy, p63 G9lDz Ve cola puny as ky... IVLISS.) Eh Oormin awe ky") p: WH: oly) 10 Paper read at the Washington Meeting of Geol. Soc. Amer., but not published. (1915). 44 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE and this limestone has been shown by the writer to be the Renault.11 Still another of the specified localities for the Tri- bune limestone, designated by Ulrich is in Livingston County, Kentucky, east of Jov. Detailed mapping of this region has shown that no limestone of any sort is present at the locality indicated, and that it is situated in the midst of an unbroken area of Cypress sandstone. In his later contributions Ulrich !2 has indicated that what. he really intended to designate as Tribune is certain limestone exposures between Princeton and Hopkinsville, at about the line between Caldwell and Christian Counties, which are just a little east of the Princeton Quadrangle, and beds at another exposure east of Scottsburg which are in the Princeton Quad- rangle. The limestones at both of these two localities are the aint Creek of this report. An attempt has been made by Butts to eliminate the con- fusion introduced by Ulrich by his naming of a formation defined as overlying the Bethel (Cypress of Ulrich) sandstone, from outcrops at Tribune which occupy a very different strati- eraphie position, by the proposal of the name Gasper ?* as a substitute for Tribune, a substitute accepted by Ulrich. As used by Butts and Ulrich the Gasper includes not only the ‘‘Tribune’’ east of Princeton, which is the exact equivalent of the Paint Creek, but also beds which are clearly the exact equiva- lents of the Renault, the Sample sandstone member of the Gas- per in Breckenridge County, being really nothing else than the more eastern manifestation of the Bethel sandstone. The intro- Cuction of the name Gasper, therefore, has not clarified the situation in the least. The Paint Creek of southern Illinois is clearly the exact equivalent of the beds in western Kentucky to which Ulrich intended to apply the name Tribune, and even if the Gasper were the exact equivalent of Ulrich’s earlier name it would he ruled out by the prior name Paint Creek. Distribution. In the Princeton Quadrangle the surface exposures of the Paint Creek formation are confined in general, to the same northwest-southeast belt in which the Renault and STS Stave Geols Surv. > UN OsT4I-e Dme oom GlozinE aK y. .Geol, Suryvs) Miss SP orm..0W. is ¥ DD solo Cola 4 Ky. Geol. Surv.s, Miss: Horm, .W. Ky. p.264°917): STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES: 45. Bethel are found. In his original description of the Tribune limestone, which properly interpreted, as already pointed out, is the exact equivalent of the Paint Creek, Ulrich says !* ‘‘The Tribune limestone rarely comes to the surface in the region: under discussion. Indeed it has been certainly recognized in: only six localities in the district, and at only five points in the’ area covered by the map accompanying this report.’’ Of the six localities named by Ulrich that at Tribune, Kentucky, is Menard limestone, that east of Joy is in the midst of the Cypress sandstone, and that at the Fairview mine at Rosiclare is Renault limestone. The locality at Lamb’s cut on the old line of the Illinois Central Railroad is the only one of the original localities: specified by Ulrich which lies within the limits of the Prinece- ton Quadrangle, and it does occupy the true position assigned to the formation. This Lamb’s cut outcrop, however, is really one of the less important of the Paint Creek outcrops in the Quadrangle, and there are many other excellent and abundantly fossiliferous exposures of the formation which were mapped as Birdsville by Ulrich. From this situation, therefore, it will be seen that Ulrich not only misidentified much of his so-called. Tribune, but also failed to recognize a great deal of limestone which he should properly have placed in the formation. The greater portion of the Paint Creek in the quadrangle hes to the southeast of Princeton. The areas of outcrop are somewhat scattered and discontinuous by reason of the extreme faulting, but the distribution is shown upon the accompanying” map. One area of considerable extent lies northwest of Prince-- ton, in the fault block bounded by faults 11, 28, 29, and 30. Tithologic characters. The Paint Creek is in the main a limestone formation with interbedded shale layers of varying thickness. Kverywhere in the quadrangle, where the formation is exposed, the outcrop is more or less covered with talus or’ residuum, so that the exact succession of beds in the formation cannot be determined. There seems to be a considerable num-- ber of limestone ledges with shale partings in the lower part of the formation, then a series of beds that are more shaly, with numerous fossils, and above this a third division which again. “Prot, waper, -U..S, Geol, Surv., No. 36, p.'s9 (1905). 46 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE is made up of more or less massive limestone ledges interbedded with shale layers. Some beds in the lower part of the formation are oolitic in texture and carry a fauna including many small molluses, and some oolitie beds are present locally in other por- tions of the formation, but the formation, as a whole, is not nearly so much of an oolitic limestone as the reader of Ulrich’s original description of the Tribune limestone would be led to believe. Some of the limestone beds of the formation, especially some of those in the higher portion, are hard and dense, weather- ing with smooth surfaces, and closely resemble in their outcrop -gome of the Renault exposures, but in the main the Paint Creek limestones are more crystalline than the Renault, and crumble somewhat under conditions of weathering, so that the weathered surfaces are rougher and give a better opportunity for the growth of lichens and mosses, which are most generally absent from the Renault exposures. The greater amount of shale in the Paint Creek also produces more slumping and more talus covering than is present over much of the Renault outcrop. As the Paint Creek is developed in Livingston County, Kentucky, and across the Ohio River in the southern counties of Illinois, it is very largely a shale formation, much of the shale being black or greenish in color and very fissile in character. Some of the shales in the middle portion of the Paint Creek in the Princeton Quadrangle are entirely like those of the section near the Ohio River, a good exhibition of such a shale being along the publie highway between Cedar Hill and Scottsburg, just south of fault No. 70. The westernmost exposures of the Paint Creek in the quadrangle are about one and one-fourth miles from the western border, a little southeast of Good Spring School, and the exposure at this locality is composed of about as much limestone as is present elsewhere in the quadrangle, so that the transition from the more calcareous to the nearly complete shale facies of the formation must take place across Crittenden County for the most part. In the upper part of the Paint Creek formation there is locally at least, a thin, more or less calcareous sandstone layer, followed by a few feet of more calcareous beds, beneath the con- tinuous sandstone of the overlying Cypress formation. Some STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 47 question might be raised as to whether the sandstone should be’ included in the Paint Creek, or whether the limestone should: be considered as a part of the Cypress, but it seems best to draw the line between the two formations above the highest limestone. This situation is best exhibited near Scottsburg, a. little southeast of the village. Thickness. The full thickness of the Paint Creek is not exposed continuously anywhere in the quadrangle, in such a manner as to permit its measurement, bed by bed, but at a num- ber of places the interval between the underlying Bethel and the overlying Cypress sandstones can be rather closely determined, giving a thickness of essentially 100 feet for the Paint Creek. There is probably very little variation from this thickness any- where in the Quadrangle. Stratigraphic relations. It cannot be certainly established whether the Paint Creek rests unconformably upon the Bethel sandstone or not. At no locality in the quadrangle has the actual contact between the two formations been observed. In southern Illinois there is some evidence suggesting the presence of an unconformity at this horizon, but the beds might be uncon- formable there and still be perfectly conformable at Princeton, Kentucky. ‘The presence of a thin sandstone bed in the upper part of the Paint Creek, followed by a recurrent bed of lime- Stone, suggests that there was some alternation of conditions in the region at the time of transition from the Paint Creek to the overlying Cypress, and that the stratigraphic succession is really uninterrupted. Paleontology. The Paint Creek is perhaps the most fos- siliferous formation of the entire Chester Series in the Prince- ton Quadrangle, at least the fossils are most favorably preserved for purposes of collecting. Most of the limestone beds of the formation are only sparingly fossiliferous, and the fossils present are indifferently preserved. Some oolitic beds, locally present, near the base of the formation, do contain many fossils which constitute a rather varied fauna containing numerous small molluscs among other things. The most fossiliferous portion of the formation is some of the calcareous shale beds with thin limestone layers, in the middle portion of the formation. Upon 48 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE some glade-like exposures of these beds great numbers of very perfectly preserved fossils can be collected, belonging to many species of brachiopods, bryozoans, and pentremites. The best collection which has been made from the basal, oolitie limestone, has been made at the road corner just east of the Hopkinsville branch of the Hhnois Central Railroad, a little over one-half mile northwest of McGowan Station. The largest collection which has been made from the eal- eareous Shale layers near the middle of the Paint Creek forma- tion, is from a rather extensive glade about one-fourth mile north of the Sand Lick Road, a little more than one-fourth mile from the east boundary of the quadrangle. The species which have been identified are as follows: Paint Creek Fauna from North of Clay Lick Road Triplophyllum spinulosum (M.-H. & H.) Amplexus sp. Michelinia sp. Pentremites pyriformis Say. Pentremites godoni de France. Pentremites sp. (godoni Ulrich, not de France). Mesoblastus cf. incurvatus Weller. Pterotocrinus sp. (wing plates). AGJQ@SSiZOCcrinus sp. Taxrocrinus sp. Crinoid stem (pentagonal). EHridopora punctifera Ulrich. Stenopora cestriensis Ulrich. Anisotrypa symmetricus Ulrich. Polypora sp. Cystodictya labiosa Weller. Crania chesterensis Miller and Gurley. Schuchertella costatula (Hall and Clarke). Orthotetes kaskaskiensis (McChesney). Chonetes chesterensis Weller. Productus inflaius McChesney. Productus ovatus Hall. Productus sp. Productus cf. parvulus Meek and Worthen. Diaphragmus elegans (N. & P.). Camarotecechia purduei Girty. Dielasma illinoisensis Weller. Girtyella brevilobata (Swallow). Girtyella indianensis (Girty). STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 49 Spiriferina transversa (McChesney). Spiriferina spinosa (N. & P.). Spirifer increbescens var. transversalis Hall. Spirifer sp. Reticularia setigera (Hall). Eumetria vera (Hall). Cliothyridina sublamellosa (Hall). Composita trinuclea (Hall). Conocardium sp. Bellerophon sp. Platyceras sp. Phillipsia sp. Fish tooth. Many other smaller collections have been made from the shale beds at essentially the same horizon as the fauna recorded above, but as they all duplicate the above list to.a greater or less extent, it will be unnecessary to present lists. Correlation. A comparison of the fauna of the Paint Creek beds in the Princeton Quadrangle, with that of the same forma- tion as far away as Monroe and St. Clair Counties, Illinois, shows very much in common. The formation is peculiarly the horizon of Cystodictya labiosa, a species which is present in great abundance. This bryozoan also does occur in the fauna of the Renault limestone, but never in such great numbers as in the Paint Creek. The species is unknown outside of these two formations. This formation in the Princeton Quadrangle is likewise a horizon of great abundance of Pentremites, and while there is some geographic variation exhibited by the members of the genus Pentremites in passing from place to place, there is a notable community of forms in the Paint Creek of the Princeton Quadrangle and that of the Mississippi River coun- ties in Hlinois. Chonetes illinoisensis, described, originally from a Paint Creek fauna in St. Clair County, Illinois, is the only Chester species of the genus in western Illinois, and is known only from this horizon. In the Princeton Quadrangle it is like- wise present, being the only Chester species of the genus, and it occurs only in this formation. In their more recent writings both Butts and Ulrich 15 have used the name Gasper in place of Tribune, because of the unfor- 1 Ky. .Geol. Surv., Miss. Form. West. Ky. 50 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE tunate choice of the latter name. The typical Tribune is the same as the Paint Creek of the Princeton Quadrangle, but the typical Gasper is exposed farther east in Kentucky than the Princeton Quadrangle, and as described consists of two lime- stone members separated by the Sample sandstone member. The whole of the more typical Gasper is correlated by these authors with the Renault and Paint Creek limestones together of the western Illinois section, a correlation which seems to be wholly justified. The same authors consider the Paint Creek of the Princeton region to be the equivalent of the whole of the Gasper farther east, and consequently must find the equivalent of the Sample sandstone member within the 100 feet of the formation. In western Christian County, along the Prineceton-Hopkinsville Pike, ‘‘Ulrich’s type locality of the Tribune limestone,’’ Butts 1° has designated a clay bed two to three feet thick as the equivalent of the Sample sandstone of Breckenridge County, and in this manner he is able to make two divisions of the Gasper such as are present in the more typical section. There is no reason whatsoever for dividing this ‘‘typical Tribune limestone’’ sec- tion, so far as the paleonthological evidence is concerned, and the whole interpretation is based on the misconception of the true relationship of the Sample anl Bethel sandstones, which are really exactly equivalent. In Breckenridge County the true Renault fauna is present beneath the Sample sandstone just as it is present beneath the Bethel sandstone in the region east of Princeton, and the Paint Creek fauna is present in beds overlying these two sandstones in the two regions. Both Butts and Ulrich have assumed without reason that the ‘‘Upper Ohara’’ in the Princeton region is older than the Renault, there- fore it is necessary for them to find some equivalent for the Renault in the formation they now call Gasper. The same men have recently determined that the Renault (‘‘Upper Ohara’’) in Union County, Hlinois, is Paint Creek in age,!* a determina- tion which is proven to be incorrect by reason of the beds having been actually traced and mapped in detail from the undisputed ‘‘Upper Ohara’’ farther east in Illinois, to the outcrop which they examined in Union County. as Ky. Geol Sury., Miss, gE Orm: » West K Yu) Doles Bull? ‘Geol Soc. Amer, vol. e335 pe 832e C1922). STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 51 Both paleontological and stratigraphical evidence confirm the exact correlation of Ulrich’s ‘‘Tribune limestone’’ of the section east of Princeton, with the Paint Creek formation of southern and southwestern Illinois, and with the upper division of the Gasper limestone of Breckinridge County, Kentucky. One of the species which has been enumerated in the Paint Creek faunal list recorded on an earlier page, is Camarotoechia purduet. This is a rhynchonelloid brachiopod shell, a type which is unusual in the Chester fauna of southern Illinois and western Kentucky, and which is wholly unknown in most of the formations. In the locality where it has been found the Species occurs in great numbers. It was originally described from the Moorefield shale of Arkansas, a Chester formation which has never been correlated with entire satisfaction with the Chester formations of the Illinois basin. The great abun- dance of the species in this Kentucky Paint Creek fauna sug- gests, at least, the correlation of the Moorefield with the Paint Creek. During the summer of 1920 a single specimen of Tnorhynchus carboniferum, another species peculiar to the Moretield shale of Arkansas, was collected by the writer in Liv- ineston County, Kentucky, from a limestone bed which was believed to be Golconda in age, suggesting the correlation of the Moorefield with the Golconda formation. From paleontological evidence at hand at the present time, the correlation of the Moorefield with either the Paint Creek or the Golconda, or per- haps with both these formations, can be assumed, but more cer- tain determination of the age of the Arkansas formation must await additional knowledge of fossil faunas in Kentucky. CYPRESS SANDSTONE Name. This is not the Cypress sandstone of Ulrich’s orig- inal report on western Kentucky, which, as has been shown, is in reality the Bethel sandstone. The Cypress was originally deseribed by Engelmann from Cypress Creek in Union County, Illinois, and the formation has now been traced and mapped in detail clear across southern Illinois and into Kentucky. It is the formation which lies above the Paint Creek (Ulrich’s orig- inal Tribune limestone), instead of the sandstone beneath it. In some parts of western Kentucky the Cypress is the bed which UNIVERSITy OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY 52 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE Ulrich designated as bed No. 1 of the Birdsville, but, as will be shown, much of this Birdsville No. 1 is really the Tar Springs sandstone, occupying a much higher position in the section. Distribution. Because of its limited thickness the Cypress is a much less important sandstone formation in the Princeton Quadrangle than it is farther west in Kentucky and in southern Illinois. Jike the already described Chester formations its area of outcrop is in the belt extending to the northwest from the southeastern corner of the quadrangle, southwest of the main line of faulting The most extensive outcrops are south and southeast of Scottsburg, but it is also present along and west of the Farmersville road four miles northwest of Princeton. Some of the best exposures of the formation are present in the road between Scottsburg and Friendship. Tithologic characters. The Cypress is a thinly bedded sandstone in the Princeton Quadrangle, of rather fine texture, the surfaces of the layers bearing ripple marks and other mark- ines of shallow water conditions. The sandstone is commonly brown in color, or yellowish in some places. Thickness. The total thickness of the Cypress sandstone has nowhere been observed fully exposed in the Princeton Quad- rangle, in such a condition that it can be accurately measured. In the section at Walche’s cut there are 30 feet of Cypress exposed, but the exposure is interrupted by a fault on the west, and the total thickness should probably be somewhat greater. The best locality for observing the extent of the interval between the top of the Paint Creek and the base of the overlying Gol- conda formation, is about a mile southeast of Scottsburg, and while the limits of the two bounding formations cannot be accurately fixed, the interval is clearly less than 40 feet, and the Cypress is probably about 380 feet thick at this place. Nowhere in the quadrangle is there any evidence that the for- mation exceeds 40 feet in thickness. In his deseription of a ‘‘Section of the Chester Series in Caldwell County, east of Princeton, Ky.,’’ Ulrich!® has described the Cypress as a series of beds 163 feet in thickness, with 124 feet more as questionably Cypress, making 287 feet wikhy. Geol. Surnv.; -Miss: “Norm: “West. ik y., «pee i-16- STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 53 STEEPLY INCLINED CYPRESS SANDSTONE This view is in Walche’s Cut, Illinois Central Railroad, east of Scotts- burg, Caldwell County, Kentucky. in all. This shows an utter misconception of the Chester sec- tion of the region on his part, and the sandstones which he has described, so far as he has described anything, belong to the Tar Springs formation rather than the Cypress. Indeed, the whole of Ulrich’s so-called Birdsville bed No. 1 in the Princeton area, which should be the Cypress sandstone in accordance with his present conception, is Tar Springs sandstone, although the Birdsville No. 1 farther west, towards the Ohio River, is really the Cypress. Stratigraphic relations. The stratigraphic relations of the Cypress with the underlying and overlying formations is not entirely clear in the Princeton Quadrangle. As has been indi- cated already, the alternation of thin limestone and sandstone members at the horizon of transition from the Paint Creek to the Cypress, especially as exhibited southeast of Scottsburg, suggests the absence of any relation of unconformity at the base of the formation. No unconformity between the Cypress sandstone and the overlying Golconda formation has been cer- tainly established in the Princeton Quadrangle, although an unconformity at this horizon is widely present farther west in Kentucky and in southern Illinois. 54 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE Paleontology. No fossils of any sort have been observed in the Cypress sandstone in the Princeton Quadrangle, although it would not be unexpected to find fragments of plant remains, especially broken trunks of Lepidodendron. Correlation. The correlation of the Cypress sandstone in the Princeton Quadrangle is established by its stratigraphic. position between the certainly determined overlying and under- | lying formations on the basis of their contained fossils. These formations are unquestionably the Paint Creek below and the Goleonda above, which establishes the position of the inter- veninge sandstone as being the same as that of the typical Cypress sandstone in southern Illinois. GoLCONDA LIMESTONE Name. The Goleonda formation has been named from excellent exposures in the Ohio River bluffs above the town of Golconda, Illinois. The name has been carried over into Liy- ingston County, Kentucky, in the detailed mapping of the Goleonda quadrangle, and it has been mapped in detail across ‘much of Crittenden County. The presence of the formation in the Princeton quadrangle has been fully established by the fossil collections which have been secured. Distribution. The Golconda is nowhere the surface for- mation under any considerable area within the Princeton quad- rangle, although it is distributed in more or less isolated out- crops almost entirely across the quadrangle within the much faulted helt. The most extensive area of outcrop of the forma- tion, within the limits of the quadrangle, is east of Scottsburg, between faults Nos. 74 and 76. The actual exposures in the area are really few, the best exhibition of the formation being three-fourths of a mile southeast of Scottsburg, and one-tenth of a mile northeast of the public road to Friendship, where the characteristic fossils of the formation can be collected in abun- dance. The formation must underlie the surface traversed by the Sand Jick road for three-fourths of a mile southeast from the crossing over the old line of the Illinois Central Railroad, but the actual exposures are limited to a few limestone ledges, more or less displaced, a little over one-half mile from the STRATIGRAPHIC GEHOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 55 railroad crossing. Excellent exposures of some of the shale beds of the formation are present in the upper portion of the valley crossing the boundary between Otter Pond and Claxton rectangles, a little less than one and one-half miles west of the quadrangle boundary. Elsewhere within this area the presence of the Golconda is indicated by the low and flat topography and by the attitude of the overlying sandstone. In the southeastern part of the Claxton rectangle the Gol- econda formation outcrops in the block bounded by faults 64, 65, 66, 70, and 45. The formation is present in the southern portion of this block, and is best exposed in the southwestern portion adjacent to fault No. 45, where the beds are steeply inclined, and have furnished a large and characteristic fauna. A narrow outcrop of the formation extends longitudinally through the middle of the fault block bounded by faults 57, 62, 63 and 45, the best exposure along this hne being in Walche’s cut, near its western extremity. A number of outcrops of the Goleonda are present near the line between the Princeton and Claxton rectangles, over a distance of one and three-fourths miles north from the main road from Princeton to Dawson Springs. Along this belt the outcrops are really present in four distinet fault blocks, although there is no great dislocation between the different areas. From three and one-half to four and one-half miles north- west of Princeton, near the road to Farmersville, the Golconda presents a narrow, band-like outcrop in the fault block bounded by faults 16, 17, 28, and 11. The best outcrops in this belt are in the southeastern part of the fault block. Other outcrops are present in the narrow, tilted fault block lying between faults 3 and 9 in the Flat Rock rectangle. lithological characters. Throughout the Princeton quad- rangle, the Goleonda is much more of a shale formation than a limestone, although in nearly every locality where the forma- tion has been observed there are thin limestone layers inter- ealated in the shale. The shales differ more or less in character from place to place. In Walche’s cut, nearly the whole forma- tion is made up of black, fissile shale, elsewhere the shales are lighter in color, and in places they are more or less siliceous with some sandy layers. The limestone layers are also variable 56 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE ~ in character, but they are for the most part crystalline in tex- ture, and vary from dark to lght gray and brown in color. The beds are commonly thin, a foot more or less, and the maxi- mum thickness observed is not over six feet. In a number of the Golconda exposures which have been observed, there is a layer of hard limestone conglomerate, with some chert pebbles in places. This conglomerate bed does not occur at the base of the formation, but is commonly. somewhere near the middle. In Walche’s cut it is ten inches thick, and a similar thickness has been observed in a number of other localities. Its maximum development, so far as seen, is in a eut on the old line of the Illinois Central Railroad, where there are really two layers of the conglomerate separated by sand- stone, the whole thickness beine about five feet. Where weath- ered the conglomerate layer is more or less ferruginous, and commonly contains worn fossils, which in places are numerous. Thickness. The maximum thickness of the Golconda for- mation, as it has been observed in the Princeton quadranele, is 80 feet in the Walche’s cut section. In some other places it cannot exceed 50 feet in thickness, and 1s even as thin as 30 feet in some of the sections studied. In the Walche’s cut section over 60 feet of the entire thickness is black, fissile shale, in the midst of which is the conglomerate layer. The basal portion of the formation at this locality is a hard limestone. Ulrich 1° has described the Goleonda formation east of Princeton as a limestone with thick and thin shale partings with a thickness of 50 feet. He also expresses the opinion that some 124 feet of beds which are arenaceous in the main and which are believed by him to underlie the limestone and shale beds, are perhaps the equivalent of the lower portion of the Goleonda as the formation is developed in its typical exposures. These arenaceous beds, however, are in fact a part of the Tar Springs formation and belong far above the Golconda in the Chester section. Stratigraphic. relations. In all probability the Goleonda formation follows the Cypress sandstone without stratigraphic interruption. In Walche’s cut most of the upper ten feet of ” Ky. Geol, Surv., Miss. Form. West. Ky., pp. 73-74. STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 57 the Cypress is thinly bedded. At the very top of the forma- . tion there is a three-inch layer of thinly laminated gray sand- stone, followed by six inches of rusty, siliceous limestone. This limestone is followed by 18 inches of dark gray, carbonaceous shale which in turn is succeeded by 5 feet 11 inches of massive, eray, erystalline limestone. This succession seems to indicate that there may have been a somewhat gradual change in the character of sediments, from the arenaceous Cypress to the eal- eareous and shaly Goleonda. In general, throughout the Ohio Valley, there seems to be no stratigraphic break in the section, and the chances are that the same conditions exist in the Prince- ton quadrangle. On the other hand, unconformity at the top of the Goleonda has been clearly recognized at a number of localities in the Ohio Vallev, both in western Kentucky and in southern I]linois, and although such a relation has not been certainly established in the Princeton quadrangle, the varying thickness of the Goleonda suggests that such may be the situa- tion. Furthermore it is established by the fossil faunas that it is the lower portion of the Goleonda which is present in the cnuadrangle, a situation which would favor the absence of uncon- formity between the formation and the underlying Cypress. Paleontology. Good fossils have been collected at a number of localities in the Princeton quadrangle. In the four principal areas of outcrop of the formation, the characteristic basal Gol- econda species, Pterotocrinus capitalis, has been found. Two distinct faunal assemblages have been recognized, one with the usual brachiopods, bryozoans and P. capitalis, the assemblage which is very characteristic of the basal Goleonda from the Princeton quadrangle to Union County, Illinois. The second fauna is a mollusean fauna with many bellerophontids and some peleeypods, among which is the peculiar Nucula platynotus, a fauna which has been recognized here in the Princeton quad- rangle, in Livingston County, Kentucky, in southern Johnson County, Illinois, and again in the basal Okaw limestone in Ran- dolph County, Tinois. The best representative collection of the usual Pterotocrinus capitalis fauna of the lower Golconda is from a locality three- fourths of a mile southeast of Seottsburg, where the following species have been recognized : 58 PRINCETON QUADRANGLE Fauna of the Golconda Limestone Near Scottsburg Triplophyllum spinulosum (M. E. & H.). Pentremites sp. 7 Pterotocrinus capitalis (Lyon). Pterotocrinus sp. (wing plates). Zeacrinus sp. EKupachyrinus sp. Echinoid spine. Fistulipora excellens Ulrich. Eridopora punctifera Ulrich. Eridopora macrostoma Ulrich. Meekopora clausa (Ulrich). Stenopora tuberculata (Prout). Fenestella cestriensis Ulrich. Fenestella elevatipora Ulrich. Archimedes communis Ulrich. Archimedes compactus Ulrich. Archimedes distans Ulrich. Archimedes intermedius Ulrich. Archimedes meekanus (Hall). Archimedes proutanus Uirich. Archimedes swallovanus (Hall). Archimedes terebriformis Ulrich. Reteporina flexuosa (Ulrich). Rhombopora tabulata Ulrich. Streblotrypa nicklesi Ulrich. Productus ovatus Hall. Diaphragqmus elegans (N. & P.). Camarophoria explanata (McChesney). Rhynchopora perryensis Weller. Dielasma illinoisensis Weller. Girtyella indianensis (Girty). Girtyella brevilobata (Swallow). Spiriferina transversa (McChesney). Spiriferina spinosa (N. & P.). Spirifer sp. Humetria vera (Hall). Cliothyridina sublamellosa (Hall). Composita trinuclea (Hall). Sphenotus cf. monroensis Weller. Euphemus randolphensis Weller. Orthoceras sp. Fish tooth. The best exhibition of the Nucula platynotus fauna is from a locality east of Sulphur Creek, one and one-fourth miles south- STRATIGRAPHIC GEOLOGY—CHESTER SERIES 59 west of Claxton. Butts, Chas. ‘‘Mississippian Series of Eastern Ky.,’ Ky, Geol. Sur- vey, Series VI, p. 125. ¢ Butts, Chas. “Mississippian Series of Eastern Ky.,’’ Ky. Geol. Sur- vey, Series VI,: pp. 165-16. 120 A POTTSVILLE-FILLED CHANNEL of Pottsville rock, the width of the block is about 3144 to 41% miles. About three-quarters of a mile north of Bonnieville, the north side of the faulted conglomerate is reached and Mammoth Cave limestone again becomes the surface rock from the rail- road to the tops of the gently sloping hills, except where they are capped by Cypress sandstone. The topography resumes about the same aspect it had south of the faulted area. West of the Louisville & Nashville tracks the writer mapped both sides of the down thrown Pottsville formation until it joined the main mass of the Pennsylvanian of the Western Coal Field. Mammoth Cave limestone country with wide valleys and comparatively gentle slopes border the rough area of the Potts- ville block. The Pottsville varies in thickness from being entirely absent to 15 feet along the sides of the lens, up to 200 feet and over near the center. This doubtless is due to the sand and pebbles having been deposited in a deep channel eroded in the Mississippian formations. Then later the Pottsville filled Diagrammatic section of faulted Pottsville filled channel in eroded Mississippian, west of Louisville & Nashville Railroad, Hart County, Ky. Note eroded surface of Mammoth Cave limestone on which the con- glomerate rests. The Pottsville which originally extended on either side of the faulted area has been removed by erosion, as here illustratd. Horizontal scale, 1 inch==1 mile. Vertical exaggeration, 7.54 times horizontal. Pe=—Pottsville conglomerate. Cys-——Cypress sandstone. Mlis.—Mammoth Cave limestone. ehannel was faulted downward. Near Cub Run, on a hill to the northwest of the Pottsville, the formations dip southeast toward the Pottsville at an angle of 20 degrees. On the south- east side of the Pottsville on the road from Cub Run to Mun- fordsville a brownish gray sandstone dips at approximately the same angle northwest toward the Pottsville lens.- Thus the downthrow of the Pennsylvanian rocks caused the nearby sur- rounding formations to slant toward the fault area. About one-quarter of a mile east from the Louisville & Nashville tracks north of Bonnieville, on a road that leads ulti- CONGLOMERATE IN ERODED MISSISSIPPIAN 121 mately to Hammonyille, on the north side of the fault block, oceurs a ledge of dark and heht gray limestone with beds 3 to 4 feet thick. Total height above the road equals 20 feet. About one and one-half miles along this road to Hammonville, Pottsville pebbles occur approximately 50 feet vertically lower than the limestone just mentioned. Faulting and probably an erosion channel in the Mississippian, account for this position of the Pottsville in this small lens below the Mammoth Cave beds. Further along this road eastward occurs a small gravity fault. The Pottsville conglomerate, light gray oolitic Ste. Genevieve limestone and the darker gray, non-oolitic St. Louis limestone on the down-thrown side have been tilted on edge and brought down against other portions of the St. Louis. The distance across the edge, and hence the thickness of the Pottsville is 50 feet, the Ste. Genevieve 75 feet. Chert waste occurs on the St. Louis upthrow side of the fault. The fault plane extends in a general east-west direction. On this same road occur red sand banks containing Potts- ville quartz pebbles for a thickness of 40 feet. It is bounded at least on one side, where it can be seen, by dark gray, massive St. Louis limestone. It is a channel filling in the St. Louis. Further on, on the outskirts of Hammonvyille, near the top of the hill above the stream in -the bank beside the road occur Pottsville pebbles. Upon digging into the bank, it is found that beneath the weathered exterior the conglomerate became quite solid, although still weathered. The formation is distinctly eross-bedded and has the appearance of a delta formation. It probably is a small distributary from the main stream in the eroded Mississippian. Slightly down the hill is found the chert waste from the St. Louis. The St. Louis in the bed of the stream at Hammonville is dark gray, beds 2 to 3 feet thick, dipping 3 to 4 degrees toward the west. This St. Louis is very near the delta deposited Pottsville. If the Pottsville had been brought to its present position in this small lens by faulting, the St. Louis strata doubtless would have dipped at a greater angle than they do, and would have dipped with some relation to the position the Pottsville holds, but the St. Louis beds were inclined at the small angle mentioned, and slanted with no relation to 122 A POTTSVILLE-FILLED CHANNEL the Pottsville. Hence the Pottsville acquired its present posi- tion as stated above. From Hammonville to Magnolia cherty waste from the St. Louis is exposed beside the road. On the southeast side of the large mass of Pottsville, Bett of the Louisville & Nashville tracks, patches of Pottsville peb- bles occur along the side of the main Pottsville area. They are separated by Mississippian waste. In all cases only masses of Pottsville pebbles, at least 3 to 4 feet thick in situ, were mapped. Care was taken not to count loose pebbles which had been scattered by surface waters of the present day. The natives call the Pottsville quartz pebbles ‘‘ Jack Rocks.’’ About four- fifth of a mile west of Atna Furnace, Hart County, in the bank beside the road, weathered Pottsville pebbles and sand come in sharp contact with a cherty, gray, very hard limestone—the St. Louis. The curve of the contact resembles the bank of a small stream. The west side of this apparent channel filling was not exposed. North of Atna Furnace, toward Larue County, Pottsville pebbles, bounded by cherty limestone waste, occur. This sort of occurrence was noted frequently. The hori- zontal extent of the conglomerate pebbly deposit in these small channels varied from 20 feet to about 300 feet. Their long axis apparently ran in a direction that would meet the main body of the Pottsville. Even this main body of conglomerate was patchy in eastern Hart County in places. The Pottsville in passing out of the northeast corner of Hart County cuts through the southeast corner of Larue County and extends in a narrow ridge, with spurs running off due to present stream erosion, alone the boundary of Larue, Green, Taylor and Marion Counties. The conglomerate here is less weathered in places. The ridge forms the drainage divide between the tributaries of Rolling Fork on the north, and those of Green River on the south. The topography is very rough and wild. The people, influenced by this Pottsville topography, resemble the mountaineers of the main mass of Pennsylvanian formations many miles away. The conglomerate and its waste can be traced eastward for miles. The distance from the end of the rather continuous Potts- ville to the nearest Pennsylvanian strata of the Eastern Coal INFLUENCE UPON LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 123 Field is about 50 miles. Even after its continuity as a lens dis- appears, patches of Pottsville pebbles occur here and there from one coal field to the other.“ Such patches of Pottsville waste were noted in Lincoln County and deseribed by Linney in his ‘*Report on Lincoln County,’’ and by Prof. A. M. Miller in the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, Vol. 20, 1908. Green River Knob, in the south corner of Casey County, is capped by the Pottsville sandstone. The Cypress sandstone of the Mississippian, already mentioned as capping knobs, gives evidence of the fact that it once crossed the Cincinnati Arch and has since been isolated into outliers by erosion. The patches of Pottsville referred to above indicate that in the stream channel in which it was deposited, it also crossed the arch. The appear- ance of a stream channel filled with Pottsville sand and pebbles is somewhat more marked after one leaves the strikingly faulted portion to the west: although even there the fact that it is a channel filling is apparent. Across the interval between the coal fields, somewhat north- east from the Pottsville filled channel which we have been fol- lowing, in southeastern Madison County, is a valley worn in the Mississippian and filled with Pottsville conglomerate. This chan- nel is at present, due to erosion, at the top of the knobs. Some of the pebbles are as large as hen eggs. Much cross-bedding occurs. This Pottsville disappears on the sides of this old valley, but increases not entirely as conglomerate, however, to 150 feet at the center. It is another Pottsville filled channel similar to the one running eastward from Hart County. The two fill- ings of Pottsville might have been dsposited from the same drainage system. INFLUENCE OF THE POTTSVILLE-FILLED CHANNEL Upon THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE The stretch of rugged Pottsville conglomerate land flanked on both sides by Mammoth Cave limestone territory presents a striking contrast not only in topography but also in the life of the people. The limestone areas have been worn into wide, com- ‘Miller, A. M., “Geology of Kentucky,’’ Dept. of Geol. of Ky., Series Vee Bil SLT oy5..- 200: ®* Butts, Chas., ‘Mississippian of Eastern Ky.,’ Ky. Geol. Survey, Ser. iVi4ds) Da 166. 124 A POTTSVILLE-FILLED CHANNEL paratively gently sloping valleys. The farmhouses and barns are well built on the average, and often painted neatly. The people appear comparatively prosperous. The main roads are piked. In contrast to this peaceful scene of the limestone areas, the narrow rugged Pottsville formation stretches like a wall, where it is well developed, approximately northeast-southwest in Hart County. Numerous streams have dissected the con- elomerate into a rough, mature topography. The roads are often not much better than trails. They are nearly always ill-kept, with great holes caused by washouts and ruts worn by the wagons of the mountaineers. QOne-room cabins and small box-houses are the rule. The people are poor and appear illit- erate and shy. Their fields are small patches on the steep slopes of the unfertile soil, where they endeavor to raise tobacco and corn. Trachoma is present and frequently well developed, even to blindness. The people are very courteous and hospitable once their Inherent shyness is overcome. During the meals the mother and girls served the husband and his guest, as is done generally in the more remote parts of the southern Appalachian coal field. Occasionally a cabin had its walls papered with newspapers, Everywhere the cabins were clean. The food in this Pottsville belt is typical of the mountains—eges, soda biscuit, pork or bacon in gravy, and very strong coffee: Canned berries of many kinds were served, and butter, probably in honor of the company. Prof. A. M. Miller, who was in a part of this area in 1908, writes that ‘“It need awaken no surprise to learn that now and -then a wild turkey may be seen, that the wildcat is not unknown, and the feud not uncommon. . . .’’® The region offers an interesting problem for detailed geographic study. CONCLUSION The Pottsville conglomerate filled channel which we have traced northeast in Hart County and thence eastward toward the eastern coal field was probably formed as follows: (1) At. * 9 ee A M., “Geology of Ky.,’’ Dept. of Geol. of Ky., Series 5, Bull. Ppl Cpe 4 0) ee - KENTUCKY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 5S (ULES SERIES WZ., 1923 W. RFR. JILLSON, STATE GEOLOGIST SKETCH MAP SHOWING EXTENT oF 2 aa et POTTSVILLE (COAL MEASURE) SEDIMENTS (ee HART, GREEN, TAYLOR, MARION, AND LARUE COUNTIES, KY. eee GEOLOGY BY WW. G. BURROUGHS AND A. M. MILLER -— . d PE oe re ela Zee) PIUMFORBDOVILL ue Va Kh fac ae Nkeonnee “~___N : === 7 ee ee meet em as : Not Hart @ounty geology by Burroughs; Green, Larue, Taylor and Marioffounty geology by Miller. ote :— THEORY OF FORMATION—CONCLUSION 125 the close of the Mississippian Period the land in Kentucky rose above the sea. The strata higher up on the Cincinnati Arch were worn away the most rapidly, causing the older strata to appear at the surface in belts. Numerous channels were worn in the Mississippian formations. In Pennsylvanian times waters of an alluvial fan advanced westward into Kentucky, slowly moving from regions to the east. These waters filled the ero- sional valleys in the Mississippian formations with sand and pebbles derived originally from Appalachia to the east." (2) In the case under consideration, two fresh water streams, the one flowing east and the other west, having their divide near the erest of the arch had eroded their drainage patterns in the surficial Mississippian. The Pennsylvanian waters in time filled these valleys and gradually passed over the main divide between them;:forming one continuous coal measure stream flowing from eastern: to western Kentucky. The waters of this-.large stream’ were impounded in-the many branch val- levs of the former streams until they overflowed through low passes into the lower lands and other tributaries which they found and then spread out as distributaries over the land sur- face. Sand and pebbles were laid down, filling the branch channels as well as the main river. The sand and pebbles were often deposited with cross-bedding. In some places larger rounded quartz pebbles were dropped and the finer sand sorted out, and to a great extent carried away. If the waters covered the land between the distributaries, they doubtless were not very deep and the sediments they deposited not very thick. Higher knobs of Mississippian formations may have stood as islands above the swirling waters. But a connection was made between what is now the Eastern and Western Coal Fields and, therefore, between the Appalachian and Eastern Interior Coal Fields, by the Pottsville sediments laid down in this great valley. (3) The channel filled with Pottsville rock was subsequently faulted downward into the surrounding Mississippian forma- tions. This aided in preserving the Pottsville from erosion, in addition to its favorable position in the channel carved in the Mississippian strata. } | 10 Graham, Vege Lextbook of Geolocy. Part Il,1921, p. 479. 126 A POTTSVILLE-FILLED CHANNEL (4) At the close of the Pennsylvanian all of central and eastern Kentucky was elevated never to go beneath the water again. During this lapse of time the rocks near the crest of the Cincinnati Arch have suffered the greatest erosion Those situated farther down the sides of the fold and in the synclines have been more or less preserved. Today near the crest of the Arch only the channels filled with Pottsville remain. The more exposed limestone on the sides of the channels have been worn away, leaving the Pottsville channel fillings, where thick, stand- Ing up above the surrounding country. (5) The Pottsville filled channel here described has influ- enced strikingly the life of the people who inhabit its areas. They resemble in all respects the people of the Pottsville coun- try of the Eastern Coal Field. This ancient connection between the Eastern and Western Coal Fields, although obliterated in parts, still forms a connecting link by determining that the life of the people within its boundaries shall be that of the Potts- )ille coal fields. Manuscript completed January 12, 1923. \ yy “ES (Z Sw AVA THE FLORA OF THE WESTERN KENTUCKY COAL FIELD By ApoupH CHARLES NOE Paleobotanist THe LITERATURE. The fossil flora of the western Kentucky coal fields was first examined by Leo Lesquereux! in 1857. He describes the various coal seams which he studied and lists the fossils found with each one of them. Since that time our knowledge of fossil 1. COAL BALL FROM WEST KENTUCKY MINE NO. 12. plants has considerably increased and the terminology of paleo- botany has been somewhat revised and changed. His nomen- clature does therefore no longer correspond, in many eases, with that of today, and his species names must be accepted with reservations. Otherwise Lesquereux’s work is an excellent piece of paleontological research and a fine testimony to his knowl- 1Leo Lesquereux, Paleontological Report of the Fossil Flora of the Coal Measures of the Western Kentucky Coal Fields (Third Report of the Geological Survey in Kentucky, made during the years 1856 and 1857 by Dy sO wenoehrankrtort, sod, 8pp., 499-556) plasVil. ViIl-- 128 FLORA OF WESTERN KENTUCKY COALS edge of fossil plants. He was the great pioneer of paleobotany in the United States, whither he came with his fellow-country- man, the famous Louis Agassiz. In 1859 Lesquereux? continued his investigation of coal plants in Kentucky, extending it to eastern Kentucky as well. 2. IDEAL COAL-MEASURE SWAMP IN KHEINTUCKY. Lester F. Ward? of the United States Geological Survey treats fossil plant deposits in Kentucky in a few pages of his large report on the geographical distribution of the fossil plants in North America. Since that time only sporadic information on fossil plants was given in various short passages in the ditetent bulletins of the Geological Survey of Kentucky. THE CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD The carboniferous period is divided in Kentucky as else- where in North America into the Mississippian and the Penn- * Leo Lesquereux, Report of the Fossil Flora and of the Stratigraphical Distribution of the Coal in the Kentucky Coal Fields (Fourth Report of the Geological Survey in Kentucky made during the years 1858 and 1859 by D. D. Owen, Frankfort, 1861, pp. 3833-487, pl. I-1V). 31889, Lester E. Ward, The NS Sekt oe distribution of fossil plants (EFighth Annual Report of the U. S. Geological Survey 1886-1887 by J. W. eet Washington, 1889, Part II, pp. 663-960, pl. LXI.), Kentucky, pp. Vf ad 84, THE CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD 129 sylvanian Systems. The main bulk of the Carboniferous flora is found in the latter system because it contains the Productive 3. LEPIDODENDRON VOLKMANNIANUM FROM PRINCETON, KY. Coal Measures, with their wealth of plant hfe. Only a few specimens from the Chester series of the Mississippian were collected during these investigations. In the following a rather full picture of the Pennsylvanian plant life is attempted in order to familiarize the public with the principal types of the coal flora and to increase its interest and cooperation in future collecting expeditions. The fossils appear either as petrefacts when the plant tissue is well preserved by impregnation with calcium and silicon or they are mere impressions and casts in the shale or sandstone. Petrefacts may be either petrified pieces of wood or coal balls. The former are found frequently in the fossiliferous strata, but coal balls had not been reported previously in American deposits. They are black or brown pieces of rock containing well-preserved stems, roots, fructifications, and leaves which had formed part of a coal producing layer of plant matter but were preserved -as plant individuals by an early infiltration with lime or silicon. 130 FLORA OF WESTERN KENTUCKY COALS 4. LEPIDODENDRON VOLKMANNIANUM: FROM PRINCETON, KY. Coal is metamorphosed and amorph plant matter, which shows cell structure only in rare circumstances under the micro- scope. But the coal ball can be cut and ground to microscope ~slices and will allow examination at a linear magnification of several hundred times, just like tissues of living plants. There- fore, coal balls are of greatest importance in fossil botany. They have revealed the wonders of paleozoie plant histology. Up to the present coal balls have only been found in England, France and the coal fields of Silesia and Moravia. The writer has been constantly on search for coal balls in this country. Many pyritie coneretions (nigger-heads) occur in the coal, but. the pure caleareous or siliceous type which is suitable for micro- scopic examination in transparent light could not be located. THE CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD 131 5. LEPIDODENDRON VELTHEIMIANUM FROM PRINCETON, KY. The first discovery of a real American coal ball occurred in Mine No. 12 of the West Kentucky Coal Company near Sturgis, Kentucky. The coal ball (Fig. 1) is unusually large as com- pared with the Kuropean material and promises to give valuable information when it will be cut. 6. LEPIDODENDRON VELTHEIMIANUM FROM PRINCETON, KY. 132 FLORA OF WESTERN KENTUCKY COALS Since coal balls are caleareous concretions found in the coal seam they were rather expected to occur in the Kentucky coal No. 11 and the coresponding coal No. 6 of Illinois, which have a limestone cap rock. But the coal ball from Sturgis was found in coal No. 9 and similar coal balls were found in [hnois in coal No. 5 (O’Gara Mine No. 9 in Harrisburg’). Investigation must therefore be prepared to look for such balls in these two corresponding seams of Kentucky and Illinois. There will be found, among the illustrations to this paper, some. microphoto- eraphs obtained from [Enelish coal balls. They were taken by Dr. Paul Sedgewick in the botanical laboratories of the Uni- versity of Chicago and prove the importance of this source of paleozoic plant material to science. All illustrations of fossil plants are reproduced from orig- inals which were collected by the writer or by other persons 7. LEPIDODENDRON FROM PRINCETON, KY. connected with the Walker Museum of Paleontology in the Uni- versity of Chicago. The habit pictures of fossil plants were THE CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD 133 taken by Dr. Lillian Reynolds of the University of Chicago. Wherever possible Kentucky fossils are presented, but in a few instances fossils from Braidwood, Mazon Creek, and Spring Valley in Illinois were included in order to illustrate the type of flora which covered the great basin of Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana in Pennsylvanian times. The field work upon which this report is based began July 28, at the suggestion of Dr. W. R. Jillson, State Geologist, and ended August 27, 1922. Mines and outcrops were visited in Caldwell, Union, Henderson, Daviess, Webster and Hopkins Counties. Owing to the shortness of time a number of impor- tant localities in Haneock, Ohio, McLean, Muhlenberg, Breck- inridge and Butler Counties could not be seen during this year’s trip. 8. DECORTICATED LEPIDODENDRON STEM FROM PRINCETON, KY. The Survey is indebted in many ways to the citizens of these regions generally for their cheerful cooperation in furthering the work and especially to the Hon. G. L. Drury of Morgan- field, to Mr. J. C. Jenkins of Henderson, to the Bell Coal & Navigation Company, the West Kentucky Coal Company, the Morganfield Coal & Coke Company, the Southland Coal Com- pany, and to numerous other corporations and individuals. 134 FLORA OF WESTERN KENTUCKY COALS A WESTERN KENTUCKY CoAL Swamp DuRING THE PENNSYLVANIAN PERIOD An ideal landscape showing the vegetation during the Pennslyvanian period in Kentucky gives us a startling picture (Fig. 2). Big trees which were probably over one hundred feet high, in many instances, form the bulk of the swamp forest. They belong to the extinct genera of Lepidodendron and Sigil- laria whose surviving relatives are the small clubmosses (lyco- podium and Selaginella). These trees alternated: with groups 9. DECORTICATED LEPIDODENDRON STEM FROM PRINCETON, KY. of gigantic horse tails (Calamites) of from twenty to thirty feet in height. Also some true Gymnospermie trees related to our pines and hemlocks were among the forest trees. The under- brush consisted of ferns and cyeade-like, medium sized shrubs. The water currents are full of a, long since, extinct type of plants, the wedge shaped Sphenophyllum. Various climbing ferns cover the large trees and the open spaces in ‘the~ thick forests are dotted with fern trees, some of which bore seeds. This great swamp vegetation of western Kentticky; Tlinois and southwestern Indiana grew at a low mean sea level‘and was frequently subjected to inundation. Sometimes the swamp was filed up with the stagnant waters of rivers when these were obstructed in their course by sandbars. In such a ease it was PLANT GENERA OF WESTERN COAL FIELD 135 a fresh water inundation. At other times the sea level rose and in the course of thousands of years the ocean water covered the swampy plains. More frequently it may have been the brackish water of the river deltas which flowed back into the land and covered everything with its salty floods. Whenever such an inundation occurred the rich vegetation was buried in sand and mud. Again the water level sank and a new vegetation occupied the.emerged lowlands. 10. DECORTICATED LEPIDODENDRON STEM FROM PRINCETON, KY. Submersions and emergions alternated successively many times and left as many layers of vegetable matter burried under- eround. The pressure of the overlying masses transformed the plant masses into coal, and a series of successive coal seams resulted. The plant structure disappeared in the coal, but many individual plants or plantorgans had been separated from the great mass and were buried in the sandstone or shale cover of the coal seam. They became imprints in the rocks, forming the roof of the coal, and in that way preserved their individual- itv. Other masses of vegetable matter were saturated with lime or silicon and became coal balls. Out of the impressions in the shales and sandstones and from microscopic sections of coal balls we have gained our knowledge of the vegetation which filled once the coal swamps of North America and we were able to reconstruct a picture of the swamp forests which once covered the basin of western Kentucky, [linois and Indiana. PLANT GENERA OF THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CoAL FIELD A true conception of a coal swamp flora is best obtained by an examination of the fossil evidence. Herewith is given a description of the fossil types which lead to such a reconstrue- Pees, 0 has 8. Lg 88 if 4 8 . 3 rt segs iJ iP eee St ge 4 Pes ie Beg td hg hog tei Me sh ies: sitet ee 11. TRANSVERSE CUT OF BRANCHING: LEPIDODENDRON STEM FROM COAL BALL. tion. The types described were all found in western Kentucky in the course of the field work of last summer. The largest tree forms belonged to two families represented by the genera Lepidodendron and Sigillaria. Lepidodendron means ‘‘Scale’’ tree because its bark looked like a fish scale. Figures 3 and 4 show an early type of Lepidodendron (L. Volk- mannianum Sternb.) found in the Tar Springs sandstone, three and one-half miles northeast of Princeton, Kentucky. The scale-like bark appears very clearly. The leaf cushions forming the bark are still comparatively simple. The Tar Springs sand- stone at the point where these fossils were taken les below the Pennsylvanian or the so-called Productive Coal-Measures and is a member of the Mississippian series. ? PLANT GENERA OF WESTERN COAL FIELD 137 12. LEPIDODENDRON LEAVES FROM PRINCETON, KY. The design of the bark in Figures 5 and 6 is more orna- mental. These photographs represent specimens of a Pottsville species (Lepidedendron Veltheimianum Sternb.). The Potts- ville forms the lowest portion of the Pennsylvanian series. Fig- ure 5. which is a positive east, was found eleven miles northwest of Princeton, Kentucky, while a corresponding negative cast (Fig. 6) was picked up along the old road at the forking of Piney Creek, twelve miles southwest of Providence, Kentucky. Figure 7 shows a specimen from the same locality as Figures 38 and 4. The stem to the right is a well preserved cast of 13. SIGILLARIA STEM FROM BARLINGTON, KY. 138 FLORA OF WESTERN KENTUCKY COALS Lepidodendron obovatum, Sternb., while the one to the left had suffered to a considerable degree decortication, which means the tree trunk had been washed about by current water and the outer bark or cortex had been shorn off before the specimen became embedded in the sandstone. Figure 8 represents another decorticated stem, probably from L. Volkmannianum, and was found in the same place with the specimens illustrated by Fig- ure 5. Decortication had proceeded so far in Figure 9 as to remove the entire bark of the specimen. In this instance the inner as well as the outer cortex is gone. The specimen was found on Piney Creek near the locality of the specimen shown in Figure 6. It 1s impossible to determine with accuracy the spe-ies of the specimen shown in Figure 9, but it might have been L. Volk- 14. STIGMARIA FUCOIDES FROM HENDERSON, KY. PLANT GENERA OF WESTERN COAL FIELD 139 mannianum. Another decorticated specimen, a cast of a small tree trunk which probably belonged to L. obovatum, is found in Figure 10. It comes from the same bed as Figures 5, 7 and 8. The Lepidodendron stem is divided dichotomously, that is, it branched by repeated forking. This is very well illustrated in a microphotograph taken from an Hneglish coal ball (Fig. 11). The leaves of Lepidodendron were lanceolate, somewhat resem- bline grass blades, and stood in tufts on the younger branches of the trees. Figure 12 represents a layer of these leaves, which was found in the same place with the specimen of Figure 3. To the ends of the voune branches were attached the spore bear- ine cones of the Lepidodendron tree. They are rarely found. Similar in size was another great tree of the Coal-Measures, the Sigillaria or ‘‘Seal’’ tree, called so because its bark was covered with seal-like impressions. They formed vertical rows or spirals and were circular and hexagonal, while the Lepidoden- dren tree had rhomboid and diamond shaped sears. Figure 13 1. CALAMITES SUCKOVII FROM PRINCETON, KY. 140 FLORA OF WESTERN KENTUCKY COALS represents such a Sigillaria bark. It was found on the coal slab in the North Diamond Mine of the St. Bernard Coal Com- pany near Harlington, Kentucky.. The outline of the scars appear in pyrite or iron sulfide on the black coal and make a very impressive fossil. In its branchings leaves and fructifica- tions the Sigillaria resembles closely the Lepidodendron. It is impossible to distinguish between the roots of Lepido- dendron and Sigillaria. When first discovered they received the generic name of Stigmaria and only one species, S. ficoides Brongn., has been established. The Stigmarias are cylindrical casts characterized by a smooth or irregularly wrinkled surface bearing spirally disposed circular scars bounded by a raised rim and containing a central pit. Figure 14 shows an impres- sion of S. ficoides from the Nicholson Mine at Henderson. The rootlets were attached to the small circular sears which sup- pled the tree with water. The Stigmarias are often found to be of considerable leneth, frequently from 20-30 feet. They seem to have spread in four directions from the tree basis and have forked repeat- 16. ANNULARIA SPHENIPHYLLOIDES FROM BRAIDWOOD, ILL. PLANT GENERA OF WESTERN COAL FIELD 141 edly. They run close to the surface of the ground upon which the tree stood and were admirably adapted to support high trees in a mud soil. The Lepidodendron and Sigillarias were spore bearing cryp- togamic trees nearly related to the club mosses of our time and formed with these the order of Lycopodiales. Another recent plant group, the Kquisitales or horse tails, were represented in the coal measures by gigantic tree forms. These ancient plants are now classified under the genus Cala- mites.