Geology of Illinois

Last updated

The geology of Illinois includes extensive deposits of marine sedimentary rocks from the Palaeozoic, as well as relatively minor contributions from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Ice age glaciation left a wealth of glacial topographic features throughout the state.

Contents

Precambrian Geology

Precambrian rocks of Illinois are deeply buried by 2000–13000 feet (610–3960 m) of later sediments. Drilling has revealed these rocks to be primarily intrusive felsic igneous rocks, though some extrusive felsic rocks have also been recovered from boreholes. [1]

Precambrian rocks of Illinois are highly faulted; tectonic extension and related thermal subsidence have led to the formation of two major sedimentary basins. These basins, termed the Illinois Basin and Michigan Basin, allowed for extensive deposition of sedimentary rock during the Palaeozoic Era. [2] The Illinois Basin is a northwest–southeast asymmetrical structural basin that is filled with more than 4000 meters of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. The basin covers most of Illinois, and extends into western Indiana and western Kentucky. The basin is bounded to the north by the Mississippi River and the Kankakee Arch, to the east by the Cincinnati Arch, and to the south by the Ozark uplift and Pascola Arch. [3]

Palaeozoic Geology

For much of the Palaeozoic, Illinois was located much further south than today, instead being near the equator; it was also underwater for much of this time, forming a shallow continental sea. [4] [5]

Cambrian

The oldest Palaeozoic rocks in Illinois are those of the upper Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone, the most basal of which are interpreted as being braided river deposits, while the remainder of the formation seems to represent marine tidal environments. These tidal environments included both tidal channels and tidal flats; desiccation cracks and ripple marks preserve surface features of the time. Overlying the Mt. Simon Sandstone are the Eau Claire Formation, Ironton-Galesville Sandstone, Franconia Formation, Potosi and Eminence dolomites, and Jordan Sandstone; of these, only the Potosi is exposed at the surface, in Ogle and Lee Counties . These rocks suggest a gradual increase in local sea level over the time of the Cambrian; they also suggest that most sediment was being transported to the area from the North. Fossils are uncommon in the Cambrian of Illinois, but trilobites, brachiopods, gastropods, and trace fossils of worms have been discovered. [6]

Ordovician

Rocks of Ordovician age are best exposed in the Northwestern part of the state, largely in the Driftless Area (see below). Ordovician rocks in the state are separated from Cambrian and Silurian rocks by unconformities. Most of the Ordovician saw continued offshore marine deposition throughout the entirety of the state; however, Southern parts of the state saw some deposition of shallow-water carbonates and evaporites, indicating that some areas of the state were significantly shallower than others, and even exposed above water at times.

Ordovician rocks in Illinois are divided into three series, each separated by an unconformity; from oldest to youngest, these are the Canadian, Champlainian, and Cincinnatian series.

Ordovician features in Illinois include the now-buried Glasford Structure in Peoria County, a crater caused by a meteorite impact roughly 455 million years ago. It and a similar buried crater in Cook County have been associated with the Ordovician Meteor Event. [7] [8]

Silurian

Paleogeographic reconstruction showing the Illinois Basin area during the Middle Devonian period. Eastern North American Paleogeography Middle Devonian.gif
Paleogeographic reconstruction showing the Illinois Basin area during the Middle Devonian period.

Almost all Silurian rocks in Illinois are deep-water limestone and dolomite deposits; reef habitats were common, and fossils of reef organisms are locally highly abundant, including corals, brachiopods, crinoids, stromatoporoids, and bryozoans. [6]

Devonian

An unconformity separates the Devonian rocks of Illinois from those of the Silurian; the oldest Devonian rocks in the state are therefore from the middle part of the period. These rocks are also primarily marine limestones and shales, with the upper Devonian rocks of the state being carbon-rich black shales; some evaporite deposits are also present. There is evidence of significant intervals of hypersaline water in the middle Devonian in Illinois. Fossils include brachiopods, trilobites, corals, bryozoans, algaes, and conodonts. [6]

Artist's reconstruction of Tullimonstrum, Illinois's state fossil. Tullimonstrum.png
Artist's reconstruction of Tullimonstrum, Illinois's state fossil.

Carboniferous

The earliest Carboniferous rocks sit conformably on top of the youngest Devonian in Illinois; Carboniferous rocks in the state are areally extensive, regionally very well-exposed, and form a large percentage of the state's bedrock. Illinois remained marine for much of the Carboniferous, with limestones making up most of the rock deposited; however, sandstones, shales, cherts, siltstones, and coals are also present; these indicate marine conditions, but also terrestrial swamp conditions. Carboniferous fossils include the world-famous Mazon Creek fauna, home to the Illinois's State Fossil, Tullimonstrum gregarium. A significant unconformity separates Mississippian from Pennsylvanian strata. [10] [6]

Mesozoic Geology

Mesozoic rocks are overall poorly exposed in Illinois; those present are Cretaceous in age and only seen in extreme southern parts of the state. They are largely terrestrial sands and gravels, though one marine unit, the Owl Creek Formation, indicates that the Western Interior Seaway covered parts of the state at one point in time. [6]

Cenozoic Geology

Paleogene

Paleocene rocks are present only in the extreme south of Illinois, in Alexander and Pulaski counties. These rocks make up the Clayton Formation and Porters Creek Formation; both units are marine. The Porters Creek Formation preserves fossils of molluscs, sharks, and bony fishes. [6]

The only Eocene rocks in the state, exposed only in Pulaski County, are those of the Wilcox Formation. They were deposited in an ancient river delta. [6]

Neogene

Pliocene deposits in Illinois consist of river-deposited gravel beds. The Mounds Gravel lies in the southern part of the state, and the Grover Gravel is found as a scattering of deposits throughout the northern part of the state. [6]

Quaternary

During the Quaternary period, Illinois was subject to multiple intervals of glaciation; over 90% of Illinois was formerly covered by glaciers, leaving a variety of glacial landscape features.

The Mississippi River, fed by ice-sheet melt and water from glacial lakes, cut a deep valley as it flowed through the region. The formation of this valley has been constrained as having occurred between 2.5 and 0.8 million years ago. [11]

Among the oldest glacial features is the Buffalo Hart Moraine, located in Logan County. This is a terminal glacial moraine; however, unlike most other moraines in the state, it is not Wisconsinan in age but rather Illinoisan, and as such is roughly 125,000 years old.

Canyons at Starved Rock State Park were carved by the Kankakee Torrent. French Canyon - Starved Rock - panoramio.jpg
Canyons at Starved Rock State Park were carved by the Kankakee Torrent.

Kankakee River State Park, located in Kankakee County, contains evidence of the catastrophic Kankakee Torrent that occurred roughly 19,000 years ago. This event occurred when the dam of a glacial lake located in what is now the Lower Peninsula of Michigan failed catastrophically, leading to a massive influx of water down the channel of the modern Kankakee River. Evidence of this flood can be seen in the high rubble bars that run parallel to the modern river. The torrent also cut through the bedrock of the Joliet Dolomite; this caused the formation of waterfalls in tributaries of the Kankakee as their waters flowed over the hard bedrock and fell down into the canyon cut by the torrent. The Rock Creek Canyon is home to one such waterfall, which is eroding upstream at a rate of 3 inches (7.5 cm) per year [12] [13]

The most obvious glacial feature in Illinois is Lake Michigan, the basin of which was carved out by glaciers. [6]   As the glaciers receded they left a large number of recessional moraines; among the more visible moraines in the state is the Bloomington Moraine, a Wisconsinan terminal moraine that can be seen in Bureau County. This moraine is also associated with a large number of eskers and a substantial glacial outwash plain; also associated with this terminal moraine is a series of sand dunes created from sand deriving from glacial outwash. These are primarily parabolic and longitudinal dunes. Located to the Southwest the Bloomington Moraine is a large, very flat plain; this area is in fact the lakebed of Glacial Lake Pontiac, which drained about 17,000 years ago. [12]

Glacial Park, in McHenry County, preserves a wealth of glacial landscape features, including a delta kame named Camelback Kame, as well as wetlands in three glacial kettles—one marsh, one bog, and one fen.

The very northwesternmost corner of the state lies in the Driftless Area, so named because it was never covered by glaciers. This area is marked by much more dramatic topography than in the rest of the state, due to the incision of the Mississippi River and subsequent reworking of river systems during the Quaternary Glaciation. In this area, vertical cliffs have been cut into the resistant dolostone of the Ordovician Dunleith formation by rivers. Apple River Canyon State Park shows some of this dramatic topography in the eponymous canyon; the tributaries of the Apple River enter the main channel pointing upstream, indicating a reversal in flow direction due to the advance of the Illinoian glacier. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Llano Uplift is a geologically ancient, low geologic dome that is about 90 miles (140 km) in diameter and located mostly in Llano, Mason, San Saba, Gillespie, and Blanco counties, Texas. It consists of an island-like exposure of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks surrounded by outcrops of Paleozoic and Cretaceous sedimentary strata. At their widest, the exposed Precambrian rocks extend about 65 miles (105 km) westward from the valley of the Colorado River and beneath a broad, gentle topographic basin drained by the Llano River. The subdued topographic basin is underlain by Precambrian rocks and bordered by a discontinuous rim of flat-topped hills. These hills are the dissected edge of the Edwards Plateau, which consist of overlying Cretaceous sedimentary strata. Within this basin and along its margin are down-faulted blocks and erosional remnants of Paleozoic strata which form prominent hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of the Grand Teton area</span>

The geology of the Grand Teton area consists of some of the oldest rocks and one of the youngest mountain ranges in North America. The Teton Range, partly located in Grand Teton National Park, started to grow some 9 million years ago. An older feature, Jackson Hole, is a basin that sits aside the range.

The geology of the county of Shropshire, England is very diverse with a large number of periods being represented at outcrop. The bedrock consists principally of sedimentary rocks of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic age, surrounding restricted areas of Precambrian metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks. The county hosts in its Quaternary deposits and landforms, a significant record of recent glaciation. The exploitation of the Coal Measures and other Carboniferous age strata in the Ironbridge area made it one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution. There is also a large amount of mineral wealth in the county, including lead and baryte. Quarrying is still active, with limestone for cement manufacture and concrete aggregate, sandstone, greywacke and dolerite for road aggregate, and sand and gravel for aggregate and drainage filters. Groundwater is an equally important economic resource.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Basin</span> Geologic basin centered on the Lower Peninsula of Michigan

The Michigan Basin is a geologic basin centered on the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The feature is represented by a nearly circular pattern of geologic sedimentary strata in the area with a nearly uniform structural dip toward the center of the peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of England</span>

The geology of England is mainly sedimentary. The youngest rocks are in the south east around London, progressing in age in a north westerly direction. The Tees–Exe line marks the division between younger, softer and low-lying rocks in the south east and the generally older and harder rocks of the north and west which give rise to higher relief in those regions. The geology of England is recognisable in the landscape of its counties, the building materials of its towns and its regional extractive industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Wales</span>

The geology of Wales is complex and varied; its study has been of considerable historical significance in the development of geology as a science. All geological periods from the Cryogenian to the Jurassic are represented at outcrop, whilst younger sedimentary rocks occur beneath the seas immediately off the Welsh coast. The effects of two mountain-building episodes have left their mark in the faulting and folding of much of the Palaeozoic rock sequence. Superficial deposits and landforms created during the present Quaternary period by water and ice are also plentiful and contribute to a remarkably diverse landscape of mountains, hills and coastal plains.

One of the major depositional strata in the Himalaya is the Lesser Himalayan Strata from the Paleozoic to Mesozoic eras. It had a quite different marine succession during the Paleozoic, as most parts of it are sparsely fossiliferous or even devoid of any well-defined fossils. Moreover, it consists of many varied lithofacies, making correlation work more difficult. This article describes the major formations of the Paleozoic – Mesozoic Lesser Himalayan Strata, including the Tal Formation, Gondwana Strata, Singtali Formation and Subathu Formation.

The geology of Niger comprises very ancient igneous and metamorphic crystalline basement rocks in the west, more than 2.2 billion years old formed in the late Archean and Proterozoic eons of the Precambrian. The Volta Basin, Air Massif and the Iullemeden Basin began to form in the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic, along with numerous ring complexes, as the region experienced events such as glaciation and the Pan-African orogeny. Today, Niger has extensive mineral resources due to complex mineralization and laterite weathering including uranium, molybdenum, iron, coal, silver, nickel, cobalt and other resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Morocco</span>

The geology of Morocco formed beginning up to two billion years ago, in the Paleoproterozoic and potentially even earlier. It was affected by the Pan-African orogeny, although the later Hercynian orogeny produced fewer changes and left the Maseta Domain, a large area of remnant Paleozoic massifs. During the Paleozoic, extensive sedimentary deposits preserved marine fossils. Throughout the Mesozoic, the rifting apart of Pangaea to form the Atlantic Ocean created basins and fault blocks, which were blanketed in terrestrial and marine sediments—particularly as a major marine transgression flooded much of the region. In the Cenozoic, a microcontinent covered in sedimentary rocks from the Triassic and Cretaceous collided with northern Morocco, forming the Rif region. Morocco has extensive phosphate and salt reserves, as well as resources such as lead, zinc, copper and silver.

The geology of Libya formed on top of deep and poorly understood Precambrian igneous and metamorphic crystalline basement rock. Most of the country is intra-craton basins, filled with thick layers of sediment. The region experienced long-running subsidence and terrestrial sedimentation during the Paleozoic, followed by phases of volcanism and intense folding in some areas, and widespread flooding in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic due to a long marine transgression. Libya has the largest hydrocarbon reserves in Africa, as well as deposits of evaporites.

The geology of Ohio formed beginning more than one billion years ago in the Proterozoic eon of the Precambrian. The igneous and metamorphic crystalline basement rock is poorly understood except through deep boreholes and does not outcrop at the surface. The basement rock is divided between the Grenville Province and Superior Province. When the Grenville Province crust collided with Proto-North America, it launched the Grenville orogeny, a major mountain building event. The Grenville mountains eroded, filling in rift basins and Ohio was flooded and periodically exposed as dry land throughout the Paleozoic. In addition to marine carbonates such as limestone and dolomite, large deposits of shale and sandstone formed as subsequent mountain building events such as the Taconic orogeny and Acadian orogeny led to additional sediment deposition. Ohio transitioned to dryland conditions in the Pennsylvanian, forming large coal swamps and the region has been dryland ever since. Until the Pleistocene glaciations erased these features, the landscape was cut with deep stream valleys, which scoured away hundreds of meters of rock leaving little trace of geologic history in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.

The geology of Missouri includes deep Precambrian basement rocks formed within the last two billion years and overlain by thick sequences of marine sedimentary rocks, interspersed with igneous rocks by periods of volcanic activity. Missouri is a leading producer of lead from minerals formed in Paleozoic dolomite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Utah</span>

The geology of Utah, in the western United States, includes rocks formed at the edge of the proto-North American continent during the Precambrian. A shallow marine sedimentary environment covered the region for much of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, followed by dryland conditions, volcanism, and the formation of the basin and range terrain in the Cenozoic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Afghanistan</span>

The geology of Afghanistan includes nearly one billion year old rocks from the Precambrian. The region experienced widespread marine transgressions and deposition during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, that continued into the Cenozoic with the uplift of the Hindu Kush mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Uzbekistan</span>

The geology of Uzbekistan consists of two microcontinents and the remnants of oceanic crust, which fused together into a tectonically complex but resource rich land mass during the Paleozoic, before becoming draped in thick, primarily marine sedimentary units.

The geology of Lithuania consists of ancient Proterozoic basement rock overlain by thick sequences of Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic marine sedimentary rocks, with some oil reserves, abundant limestone, dolomite, phosphorite and glauconite. Lithuania is a country in the Baltic region of northern-eastern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Latvia</span>

Geology of Latvia includes an ancient Archean and Proterozoic crystalline basement overlain with Neoproterozoic volcanic rocks and numerous sedimentary rock sequences from the Paleozoic, some from the Mesozoic and many from the recent Quaternary past. Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edaga Arbi Glacials</span> Palaeozoic geological formation in Africa

The Edaga Arbi Glacials are a Palaeozoic geological formation in Tigray and in Eritrea. The matrix is composed of grey, black and purple clays, that contains rock fragments up to 6 metres across. Pollen dating yields a Late Carboniferous to Early Permian age.

The geology of national parks in Britain strongly influences the landscape character of each of the fifteen such areas which have been designated. There are ten national parks in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland. Ten of these were established in England and Wales in the 1950s under the provisions of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. With one exception, all of these first ten, together with the two Scottish parks were centred on upland or coastal areas formed from Palaeozoic rocks. The exception is the North York Moors National Park which is formed from sedimentary rocks of Jurassic age.

The geology of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park in the southwestern part of the Scottish Highlands consists largely of Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic bedrock faulted and folded and subjected to low grade metamorphism during the Caledonian orogeny. These older rocks, assigned to the Dalradian Supergroup, lie to the northwest of the northeast – southwest aligned Highland Boundary Fault which defines the southern edge of the Highlands. A part of this mountainous park extends south of this major geological divide into an area characterised by younger Devonian rocks which are assigned to the Old Red Sandstone.

References

  1. Bradbury, J. C. (2017). "The Precambrian Basement of Illinois". S2CID   131371826.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. Heidlauf, D. T.; Hsui, A. T.; Klein, G. (1986-11-01). "Tectonic Subsidence Analysis of the Illinois Basin". The Journal of Geology. 94 (6): 779–794. Bibcode:1986JG.....94..779H. doi:10.1086/629087. ISSN   0022-1376. S2CID   129301666.
  3. McDowell, R.C., (ed.), 2001, The geology of Kentucky -- A text to accompany the geologic map of Kentucky: USGS Professional Paper 1151-H, 68 p.
  4. Park, John K. (October 1994). "Palaeomagnetic constraints on the position of Laurentia from middle Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian times". Precambrian Research. 69 (1–4): 95–112. Bibcode:1994PreR...69...95P. doi:10.1016/0301-9268(94)90081-7.
  5. Steven G. Driese, Charles W. Byers (1981). "Tidal Deposition in the Basal Upper Cambrian Mt. Simon Formation in Wisconsin". SEPM Journal of Sedimentary Research. 51. doi:10.1306/212f7c84-2b24-11d7-8648000102c1865d. ISSN   1527-1404.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Willman, Harold Bowen; Atherton, Elwood; Buschbach, T. C.; Collinson, Charles William; Frye, John Chapman; Hopkins, M. E.; Lineback, Jerry Alvin; Simon, Jack A. (1975). "Handbook of Illinois stratigraphy". Bulletin No. 095.
  7. Monson, Charles C.; Sweet, Dustin; Segvic, Branimir; Zanoni, Giovanni; Balling, Kyle; Wittmer, Jacalyn M.; Ganis, G. Robert; Cheng, Guo (2019). "The Late Ordovician (Sandbian) Glasford structure: A marine-target impact crater with a possible connection to the Ordovician meteorite event". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 54 (12): 2927–2950. Bibcode:2019M&PS...54.2927M. doi:10.1111/maps.13401. ISSN   1945-5100. OSTI   1767765. S2CID   210296191.
  8. Flamini, Enrico; Coletta, Alessandro; Battagliere, Maria Libera; Virelli, Maria (2019), Flamini, Enrico; Di Martino, Mario; Coletta, Alessandro (eds.), "Des Plaines, USA", Encyclopedic Atlas of Terrestrial Impact Craters, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 501–502, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05451-9_138, ISBN   978-3-030-05451-9, S2CID   199894770 , retrieved 2020-11-26
  9. Blakey, Ron. "Paleogeography and Geologic Evolution of North America". Global Plate Tectonics and Paleogeography. Northern Arizona University. Archived from the original on 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  10. Baird, G. C.; Sroka, S. D.; Shabica, C. W.; Kuecher, G. J. (June 1986). "Taphonomy of Middle Pennsylvanian Mazon Creek Area Fossil Localities, Northeast Illinois: Significance of Exceptional Fossil Preservation in Syngenetic Concretions". PALAIOS. 1 (3): 271. Bibcode:1986Palai...1..271B. doi:10.2307/3514690. ISSN   0883-1351. JSTOR   3514690.
  11. Wickert, Andrew D.; Anderson, Robert S.; Mitrovica, Jerry X.; Naylor, Shawn; Carson, Eric C. (2019-01-01). "The Mississippi River records glacial-isostatic deformation of North America". Science Advances. 5 (1): eaav2366. Bibcode:2019SciA....5.2366W. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aav2366 . ISSN   2375-2548. PMC   6353627 . PMID   30729164.
  12. 1 2 3 Wiggers, Ray (1997). Geology Underfoot in Illinois. Mountain Press Publishing. ISBN   978-0-87842-346-0.
  13. Curry, Ben B.; Hajic, Edwin R.; Clark, James A.; Befus, Kevin M.; Carrell, Jennifer E.; Brown, Steven E. (2014-04-15). "The Kankakee Torrent and other large meltwater flooding events during the last deglaciation, Illinois, USA". Quaternary Science Reviews. 90: 22–36. Bibcode:2014QSRv...90...22C. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.02.006. ISSN   0277-3791.