Jordan Formation

Last updated
Jordan Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Cambrian
JordanSSHoytPark.jpg
Outcrop of the Jordan Sandstone at Hoyt Park, Madison, WI. The rock-hammer rests near the contact of the Van Oser Member and overlying Sunset Point Member.
Type Geological formation
Unit of Trempealeau Group
Sub-unitsNorwalk Member, Van Oser Member, Waukon Member, Sunset Point Member
Underlies Oneota Formation of the Prairie du Chien Group
Overlies St. Lawrence Formation of the Trempeleau Group
Thickness15–115 m (49–377 ft)
Lithology
Primary sandstone
Location
RegionIowa Shelf, Wisconsin Arch, Lincoln Anticline, Michigan Basin
CountryUnited States
ExtentMinnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri
Type section
Named for Jordan, Minnesota
Named byN. H. Winchell (1874)

The Jordan Formation (also classified as the Jordan Sandstone or the Jordan Member of the Trempealeau Formation) is a siliciclastic sedimentary rock unit identified in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. [1] [2] Named for distinctive outcrops in the Minnesota River Valley near the town of Jordan, it extends throughout the Iowa Shelf and eastward over the Wisconsin Arch and Lincoln anticline into the Michigan Basin. [3]

Contents

Stratigraphically, the Jordan Formation is the uppermost unit of the type St. Croixan Series (historically, the uppermost subdivision of the Cambrian in North America). [4] It is predominantly composed of mature, poorly cemented quartz sandstone, though several distinct facies have been identified on the basis of grain size, feldspathic content, and sedimentary structures. [5]

The Jordan is an important source of silica. Historically, the unit has been mined extensively for glass manufacturing, though recently it has been utilized as a source of frac sand. [6] This porous, poorly cemented stratum is also an important aquifer and a major source of drinking water for people throughout the upper Midwest. [7]

Definition and history

The earliest references to strata now referred to as Jordan were made by many of the pioneering geologists of the upper Midwest. In an 1852 report on the geology of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, D. D. Owen assigned it to the uppermost part of his “Lower Sandstone” (the “Upper Sandstone” referring to what is now called the St. Peter). [8] The term Jordan Sandstone was first applied in 1874 by N. H. Winchell, who based his description on exposures in a quarry near Jordan, Minnesota. [9]

Extent

The Jordan Formation is represented extensively by outcrops and exposures throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa [5] Geologic Map of Wisconsin; Geologic Map of Minnesota). It is particularly well represented in outcrops along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. [5] It is also present in the subsurface in many parts of these states, and it has been identified in cores and drill cuttings in Illinois, Missouri, and Michigan as well (though here, it is not found at the surface). [2]

Beyond this region, rocks of similar age are present, though they are referred to other lithostratigraphic units. Presumed lateral equivalents of the Jordan Formation include the Eminence Dolostone of the Illinois Basin, [10] the Au Train Formation of the northern Michigan Basin, [11] and some horizon of the Knox Supergroup in the east-central United States. [10] [12]

Sedimentology

The Jordan Formation is composed primarily of very mature, well-sorted sandstones of uncertain provenance. [5] Although it is composed primarily of quartz grains, feldspathic and lithic fragments are present in significant quantities, as are a variety of bioclasts derived from marine invertebrates. [5] [13]

At least three distinct facies types have been identified and distinguished on the basis of sedimentary structures and grain size: a hummocky cross stratified facies, a trough-cross stratified facies, and a large scale-cross stratified facies. [5] Overall, the Jordan Formation displays a coarsening upward sequence. [5]

Stratigraphy

Generally, the Jordan Sandstone is assigned formational rank and considered the uppermost subdivision of the Trempealeau Group (though it is sometimes ranked as the uppermost Member of the Trempealeau Formation). [2] [14] Although the original type section is no longer exposed, a new reference section is defined at an exposure near Homer, Minnesota in Winona County, where several distinct tongues of the formation are seen intertonguing. [4] The Jordan Sandstone ranges from 15 to 115 meters (50 to 377 feet). [4]

Underlying

The lower Jordan contains relatively high proportions of feldspathic material and its lower contact is fairly gradational. [5] Throughout much of the upper Midwest, it overlies the St. Lawrence Formation, which consists of a dolomitic facies (the Black Earth Member) and a silty facies (the Lodi Member). [15] Earlier studies often combined the Jordan and the St. Lawrence, though they may be distinguished on the basis of lithology. [1] The contact between these units is generally set at the top of the uppermost siltstone bed of the Lodi, where it is overlain by a continuous layer of sandstone. [4] [16]

Overlying

An outcrop of late Cambrian and early Ordovician rocks in a road-cut at Miller's Curve, just to the west of Madison, Wisconsin. The Jordan sandstone is the light grey rock in the lower third of this outcrop, the Oneota (dolomitic carbonate) is the orange grey rock in the upper two thirds of the road-cut. JordanOneota MillersCurve.JPG
An outcrop of late Cambrian and early Ordovician rocks in a road-cut at Miller's Curve, just to the west of Madison, Wisconsin. The Jordan sandstone is the light grey rock in the lower third of this outcrop, the Oneota (dolomitic carbonate) is the orange grey rock in the upper two thirds of the road-cut.

The Jordan is overlain by the Oneota Formation, a dolomitic carbonate unit of early Ordovician Age. [15] The massive, well-cemented microbial carbonates of the Oneota Formation generally overlie several meters of sandy shale with calcareous interbeds referred to as Coon Valley or Stockton Hill Member. [1] [17] Although these beds have traditionally been allied with the Jordan Formation based on lithostratigraphic properties, but more recent sequence and biostratigraphic studies suggest it is more closely allied with the Oneota. [1] [18] The upper contact of the Jordan is interpreted to be a topographically complex, unconformable surface. [13]

Subunits

The Jordan has at least four named subdivisions distinguished on the basis of sedimentary structures, grain size, and stratigraphic position. [5] The basal Norwalk Member is composed of fine grained hummocky-stratified sandstone containing a relatively high proportion of feldspar. This subunit is heavily bioturbated, and contains occasional fossils of marine organisms.

A photo-mosaic of the Jordan Formation at Mendota Station, a few miles north of Madison, Wisconsin. The lower Van Oser Member is at the base, Sunset Point Member is in the middle, and Upper Van Oser Member is at the top. MendotaStation SWOutcrop2Reduced.jpg
A photo-mosaic of the Jordan Formation at Mendota Station, a few miles north of Madison, Wisconsin. The lower Van Oser Member is at the base, Sunset Point Member is in the middle, and Upper Van Oser Member is at the top.

The Norwalk is generally overlain by the Van Oser Member, a medium-grained trough-cross stratified quartz sandstone facies. [5] At least two tongues of this facies are present in the Jordan Formation, generally separated by either a fine-grained hummocky stratified sandstone called the Waukon Member, or a bioturbated, laminated feldspathic quartz sandstone with dolomitic cement, which is called the Sunset Point Member. [5]

Depositional history

Deposition

Owing to the presence of rare fossils and bioturbated sediments, the Jordan Formation is interpreted as a product of marine depositional environments. [13] The bioturbated, fine-grained facies are interpreted as lower shoreface deposits influenced by tidal fluctuations and storms. [13] The coarser, cross-bedded deposits, such as the Van Oser, may be deposits of large, submarine dunes. [13]

The Jordan is one of many “sheet sandstones” which covered a large swath of the continent during the late Cambrian. [13] At this time, most of North America was covered by shallow sea, blanketed by laterally continuous sheets of sandstone and carbonate covering tens of thousands of square kilometers (the Paleozoic orthoquartzite-carbonate suite). [19]

Age

The Jordan Formation has long been regarded as Upper Cambrian, more specifically, it encompasses part of the Saukia trilobite biozone, as determined by the presence of trilobites such as Tellerina strigosa . [5] Conodonts from the Norwalk Member suggest assignment to the Eoconodontus zone, which corroborates the ages provided by trilobites. [5]

The overlying Oneota Formation is early Ordovician in age, as indicated by conodonts and trilobites. [18] This suggests that the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary should reside either in the upper Jordan, or at the contact with the overlying Oneota. [18] But this is still an area of active study.

Economic impact

Frac sand

The well-sorted, well-rounded sediments of the Jordan Formation are mined extensively as a proppant for hydraulic fracturing. [6] The sand is commonly added to fracking fluids for the purpose of keeping induced hydraulic fractures open. The thickness of the unit, its relatively poor cementation, and its close proximity to major waterways and roadways has made it a lucrative target for mining companies. [20] [21]

Groundwater

The coarse grained Jordan Formation is poorly cemented, and it has a low clay content, meaning the unit is highly permeable. [22] These properties make it an excellent aquifer, which extends throughout the north-central United States. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torridon Group</span>

In geology, the term Torridonian is the informal name for the Torridonian Group, a series of Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic arenaceous and argillaceous sedimentary rocks, which occur extensively in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The strata of the Torridonian Group are particularly well exposed in the district of upper Loch Torridon, a circumstance which suggested the name Torridon Sandstone, first applied to these rocks by James Nicol. Stratigraphically, they lie unconformably on gneisses of the Lewisian complex and their outcrop extent is restricted to the Hebridean Terrane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinsburg Formation</span> Geologic formation in the eastern United States

The Ordovician Martinsburg Formation (Om) is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is named for the town of Martinsburg, West Virginia for which it was first described. It is the dominant rock formation of the Great Appalachian Valley in New Jersey (where it is called Kittatinny Valley and Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dakota Formation</span> Rock units in Midwestern North America.

The Dakota is a sedimentary geologic unit name of formation and group rank in Midwestern North America. The Dakota units are generally composed of sandstones, mudstones, clays, and shales deposited in the Mid-Cretaceous opening of the Western Interior Seaway. The usage of the name Dakota for this particular Albian-Cenomanian strata is exceptionally widespread; from British Columbia and Alberta to Montana and Wisconsin to Colorado and Kansas to Utah and Arizona. It is famous for producing massive colorful rock formations in the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains of the United States, and for preserving both dinosaur footprints and early deciduous tree leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarens Formation</span> Geological formation of the Stormberg Group in southern Africa

The Clarens Formation is a geological formation found in several localities in Lesotho and in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Eastern Cape provinces in South Africa. It is the uppermost of the three formations found in the Stormberg Group of the greater Karoo Supergroup rocks and represents the final phase of preserved sedimentation of the Karoo Basin.

The Tumblagooda Sandstone is a geological formation deposited during the Silurian or Ordovician periods, between four and five hundred million years ago, and is now exposed on the west coast of Australia in river and coastal gorges near the tourist town of Kalbarri, Kalbarri National Park and the Murchison River gorge, straddling the boundary of the Carnarvon and Perth basins. Visible trackways are interpreted by some to be the earliest evidence of fully terrestrial animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hebridean Terrane</span> Part of the Caledonian orogenic belt in northwest Scotland

The Hebridean Terrane is one of the terranes that form part of the Caledonian orogenic belt in northwest Scotland. Its boundary with the neighbouring Northern Highland Terrane is formed by the Moine Thrust Belt. The basement is formed by Archaean and Paleoproterozoic gneisses of the Lewisian complex, unconformably overlain by the Neoproterozoic Torridonian sediments, which in turn are unconformably overlain by a sequence of Cambro–Ordovician sediments. It formed part of the Laurentian foreland during the Caledonian continental collision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacobsville Sandstone</span>

Jacobsville Sandstone is a red sandstone formation, marked with light-colored streaks and spots, primarily found in northern Upper Michigan, portions of Ontario, and under much of Lake Superior. Desired for its durability and aesthetics, the sandstone was used as an architectural building stone in both Canada and the United States. The stone was extracted by thirty-two quarries throughout the Upper Peninsula of Michigan approximately between 1870 and 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munising Formation</span> Geologic formation in Michigan and Ontario

The Munising Group or Formation is a 1,700 feet (520 m) thick, white to light grey Cambrian sedimentary unit that crops out in Michigan and Ontario. At one end of its extent, it comprises a basal conglomerate overlain by the Chapel Rock Member and the Miners Castle Member; elsewhere, it comprises the Eau Claire, Galesville (=Dresbach), and Franconia Members. Anhydritic evaporite deposits are present in places. The conglomerate was deposited by rivers in flood, with the Chapel Rock member, which contains deltaic deposits, representing transgression as the conglomerate cones became submerged; the Miners Castle member was deposited further from the shoreline, representing shelf deposits. Its uppermost strata may be Early Ordovician in age, and contain conodonts, trilobites and phosphatic moulds of brachiopods, ostrocoderm fish and gastropods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potsdam Sandstone</span>

The Potsdam Sandstone, more formally known as the Potsdam Group, is a geologic unit of mid-to-late Cambrian age found in Northern New York and northern Vermont and Quebec and Ontario. A well-cemented sandstone of nearly pure quartz, in the 19th century it was widely used in construction and in refractory linings for iron furnaces.

The Stretton Group is a group of rocks associated with the Longmyndian Supergroup of Ediacaran age, in Shropshire, England. The rocks are located within the tract between two elements of the Welsh Borderland Fault System, the Church Stretton Fault and the Pontesford-Linley Lineament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in Wisconsin</span>

Paleontology in Wisconsin refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The state has fossils from the Precambrian, much of the Paleozoic, and the later part of the Cenozoic. Most of the Paleozoic rocks are marine in origin. Because of the thick blanket of Pleistocene glacial sediment that covers the rock strata in most of the state, Wisconsin’s fossil record is relatively sparse. In spite of this, certain Wisconsin paleontological occurrences provide exceptional insights concerning the history and diversity of life on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deadwood Formation</span> Geologic formation of the Williston Basin and Western Canada Sedimentary Basin

The Deadwood Formation is a geologic formation of the Williston Basin and Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present in parts of North and South Dakota and Montana in the United States, and in parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and southwestern corner of Manitoba in Canada. It is of Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician age and was named for exposures in Whitewood Creek near Deadwood, South Dakota. It is a significant aquifer in some areas, and its conglomerates yielded significant quantities of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The Mount Whyte Formation is a stratigraphic unit that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the southern Canadian Rockies and the adjacent southwestern Alberta plains. It was deposited during Middle Cambrian time and consists of shale interbedded with other siliciclastic rock types and limestones. It was named for Mount Whyte in Banff National Park by Charles Doolittle Walcott, the discoverer of the Burgess shale fossils, and it includes several genera of fossil trilobites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridport Sand Formation</span>

The Bridport Sand Formation is a formation of Toarcian age found in the Worcester and Wessex Basins of central and southern England. It forms one of the reservoir units in the Wytch Farm oilfield in Dorset. The sandstone is very-fine grained to fine-grained and contains regular narrow bands that are calcite-cemented and more resistant to weathering, giving it a characteristic banded appearance at outcrop, such as in the cliffs between Bridport and Burton Bradstock in Dorset. It is named for Bridport and has previously been known as the Midford Sand(s), Cotteswold Sands, Yeovil Sands and Upper Lias Sand(s). It forms a locally important aquifer, particularly around Yeovil.

The Mansfield Natural Gas Field is located west of Mansfield, Ohio, within the Appalachian foreland basin. The field is 1.5 miles long by 1.4 miles wide and is in a general oval shape, stretching northward. This field, although small, is an analog for many of the natural gas fields that occur within the Appalachian Basin. It was first discovered by the Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company in the early 1930s. It is part of the Utica – Lower Paleozoic system, which is estimated to make up 15 to 20 percent of the total hydrocarbon abundance of the Appalachian Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geological history of the Precordillera terrane</span>

The Precordillera terrane of western Argentina is a large mountain range located southeast of the main Andes mountain range. The evolution of the Precordillera is noted for its unique formation history compared to the region nearby. The Cambrian-Ordovian sedimentology in the Precordillera terrane has its source neither from old Andes nor nearby country rock, but shares similar characteristics with the Grenville orogeny of eastern North America. This indicates a rift-drift history of the Precordillera in the early Paleozoic. The Precordillera is a moving micro-continent which started from the southeast part of the ancient continent Laurentia. The separation of the Precordillera started around the early Cambrian. The mass collided with Gondwana around Late Ordovician period. Different models and thinking of rift-drift process and the time of occurrence have been proposed. This page focuses on the evidence of drifting found in the stratigraphical record of the Precordillera, as well as exhibiting models of how the Precordillera drifted to Gondwana.

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 South Korea includes rocks dating to the Archean and two large massifs of metamorphic rock as the crystalline basement, overlain by thick sedimentary sequences, younger metamorphic rocks and volcanic deposits. Although extent is small, Geology is diverse, and there are diverse rocks that were formed during the Precambrian to Cenozoic Era in the Korea Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bliss Formation</span> Geologic formation in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona, US

The Bliss Formation is a geologic formation that is exposed in southern New Mexico, west Texas, and southeastern Arizona. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Cambrian to early Ordovician periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of the Ellsworth Mountains</span>

The geology of the Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica, is a rock record of continuous deposition that occurred from the Cambrian to the Permian epochs, with basic igneous volcanism and uplifting occurring during the Middle to Late Cambrian epochs, deformation occurring in the Late Permian or early Mesozoic epochs, and glacier formation occurring in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic epochs. The Ellsworth Mountains are located within West Antarctica at 79°S, 85°W. In general, it is made up of mostly rugged and angular peaks such as the Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Clayton, L.; Attig, J.W. (1990). "Geology of Sauk County, Wisconsin" (PDF). Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Information Circular. 67: 1–68.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jordan Sandstone". National Geologic Map Database. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  3. ↑ "Jordan Sandstone". National Geologic Map Database. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Runkel, Anthony (1994). "Revised Stratigraphic Nomenclature for the Upper Cambrian (St. Croixan) Jordan Sandstone, Southeastern Minnesota" (PDF). Short Contributions to the Geology of Minnesota: Minnesota Geological Survey Report of Investigations. 43: 60–71. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Byers, Charles; Dott, R. H. (1995). "Sedimentology and Depositional Sequences of the Jordan Formation (Upper Cambrian), Northern Mississippi Valley". Journal of Sedimentary Research. 65B (3): 289–305. doi:10.1306/d4268239-2b26-11d7-8648000102c1865d.
  6. 1 2 McLeod, Reggie (2011). "$and Dollars - Mining Frac Sand in the River Valley" (PDF). Big River Magazine: 24–39. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  7. 1 2 Miller, James A. "Sandstone Aquifers". Ground Water Atlas of the United States. USGS. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  8. ↑ Owen, D.D. (1852). Report of a Geological Survey of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota: and Incidentally of a Portion of Nebraska Territory. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co.
  9. ↑ Winchell, N. H. (1874). Second annual report for the year 1873. Minnesota Geological and Natural History Survey. pp. 73–219.
  10. 1 2 Shaver, R. H. (compiler) (1984). Correlation of Stratigraphic Units in North America - Midwestern basin and Arches Region. Tulsa, OK: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Correlation Chart Series.
  11. ↑ Bergstrom DJ, Morey GB (compiler) (1984). Correlation of Stratigraphic Units in North America - Northern Midcontinent. Tulsa, OK: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Correlation Chart Series.
  12. ↑ Patchen DG, Avary KL, Erwin RB (compilers) (1984). Correlation of Stratigraphic Units in North America - Northern Appalachian Basin. Tulsa, OK: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Correlation Chart Series.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Runkel, A.C. (1994). "Definition of the uppermost Cambrian (Croixan) Jordan Sandstone, and the nature of the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary in the Upper Mississippi Valley". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 106 (4): 492–506. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1994)106<0492:dotucc>2.3.co;2.
  14. ↑ Ulrich, E.O. (1924). "Notes on new names in the table of formations and on physical evidence of breaks between Paleozoic systems in Wisconsin". Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters: Transactions. 21: 71–107.
  15. 1 2 "Bedrock stratigraphic units in Wisconsin" (PDF). Educational Series 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  16. ↑ Berg, R. R.; Nelson, C. A.; Bell, W.C. (1956). Sloan, R.; Schwartz, G.M. (eds.). "Lower Paleozoic geology of the Upper Mississippi Valley". Geological Society of America Guidebook Series Field Trip. 2: 1–23.
  17. ↑ Smith, G.L.; Byers, C.W.; Dott, R.H. (1993). "Sequence stratigraphy of the Lower Ordovician Prairie du Chien Group on the Wisconsin Arch and in the Michigan Basin". American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin. 33: 49–67.
  18. 1 2 3 Parsons, B.P.; Clark, D.L. (1999). "Conodonts and the Cambrian-Ordovician Boundary in Wisconsin" (PDF). Geoscience Wisconsin. 17: 1–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-18.
  19. ↑ Pettijohn, F.J. (1957). Sedimentary Rocks (Second Edition). New York: Harper. pp. 1–718.
  20. ↑ "Silica Sand Mining in Wisconsin" (PDF). Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "Silica sand in Wisconsin". Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey web site. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  22. ↑ Runkel, R. C.; Tipping, R. G.; Alexander, E.C.; Alexander, S.C. (2006). "Hydrostratigraphic characterization of intergranular and secondary porosity in part of the Cambrian sandstone aquifer system of the cratonic interior of North America: Improving predictability of hydrogeologic properties". Sedimentary Geology. 184 (3–4): 281–304. doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2005.11.006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.