Sharon Conglomerate

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Sharon Conglomerate
Stratigraphic range: Pennsylvanian
Sharon Conglomerate the Ledges July 2021 c.jpg
Outcrop of the Sharon Conglomerate at the Ledges, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Type Sedimentary
Unit of Pottsville Formation
OverliesMeadville Shale
Lithology
Primary conglomerate
Location
RegionPennsylvania
CountryUnited States
Extent Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland
Type section
Named for Sharon, Pennsylvania

The Sharon Conglomerate is a geologic formation of early Pennsylvanian age in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland, in the United States. It is dominantly conglomerate and quartzarenite sandstone. In places it is abundantly crossbedded.

The Sharon Conglomerate is generally considered a Member of the Pottsville Formation in Pennsylvania and Maryland, [1] but it is a Formation in Ohio.

Exposures

The Sharon conglomerate has no formal type section, [2] although it is named after the town of Sharon, Pennsylvania.

One excellent exposure is located in Cuyahoga Valley National Park at "the Ledges," located southeast of the town of Peninsula, Ohio. Another exposure is at Mary Campbell Cave near Cuyahoga Falls.

Geologic cross section at Cuyahoga Valley National Park showing the Sharon Conglomerate at upper right (stratigraphic top). Cuyahoga Valley National Park geologic cross section.png
Geologic cross section at Cuyahoga Valley National Park showing the Sharon Conglomerate at upper right (stratigraphic top).

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References

  1. Lyons, P.C., Jacobsen, E.F., and Scott, B.K., 1985. Coal geology of the Castleman coal field, Garrett County, Maryland, U.S. Geological Survey, Coal Investigations Map C-98. Scale: 1:24,000. link.
  2. Sharon, National Geologic Map Database, Geologic Unit: Sharon
  3. Cushing, H.P.; Leverett, Frank; Van Horn, Frank (1931). Geology and Mineral Resources of the Cleveland District, Ohio, USGS Bulletin 818. Washington: US Government Printing Office.