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Nanjemoy Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Ypresian (Wasatchian) ~ | |
Type | Formation |
Unit of | Pamunkey Group |
Sub-units | Woodstock & Potapaco |
Underlies | Piney Point & Calvert |
Overlies | Aquia & Marlboro Clay |
Thickness | About 20 m (66 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone, claystone |
Other | Marl, limestone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 38°48′N76°42′W / 38.8°N 76.7°W |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 39°06′N60°48′W / 39.1°N 60.8°W |
Region | Virginia Maryland District of Columbia |
Country | United States |
Extent | Extent |
Type section | |
Named for | Nanjemoy Creek Etymology |
Named by | Clark & Martin |
Year defined | 1901 |
The Nanjemoy Formation is a geologic formation pertaining to both the Wilcox Group and the Pamunkey Group of the eastern United States, stretching across the states of Virginia, Maryland, and District of Columbia. The formation crops out east of the Appalachians and dates back to the Paleogene period. Specifically to the Ypresian stage of the Eocene epoch, about 55 to 50 Ma or Wasatchian in the NALMA classification, defined by the contemporaneous Wasatch Formation of the Pacific US coast.
The about 20 metres (66 ft) thin formation crops out in a narrow irregular band and only in certain of the many creeks of the Maryland peninsula and on the southern side of the Potomac River in Virginia. The two members the formation was divided into by Clark and Martin in 1901; Potapaco and Woodstock, represent different phases in the basin history. The lower Potapaco Member is much more clayey, described as marl, than the upper Woodstock Member, probably characteristic of less storm influences in the shallow shelf sediments.
The formation has provided a wealth of fossils of mainly fish, but also mammals, reptiles, birds and flora. The presence of the sharks Otodus obliquus and Carcharocles aksuaticus , as well as various other shark and ray species are notable. Crocodylian, snake, turtle, mammal, and bird remains have all been found in the Nanjemoy Formation. [1]
The formation is named after Nanjemoy Creek, a left tributary of the Potomac River. [2] Nanjemoy is probably an Ojibwe word, meaning "one goes downward," [2] representing the many rivers and creeks in the wet watershed of Chesapeake Bay, an area originally inhabited by the Algonquin-speaking Nanticoke and Powhatan. [3]
Wicomico is the name of two separate rivers, one on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Wicomico River (Maryland eastern shore), and another in Southern Maryland, Wicomico River (Potomac River tributary), and is the name of a small thoroughfare in southeastern Charles County. [2]
Wigh or wik, representing "pleasant" and accomico "dwelling, village" was the native's way of telling the Europeans they liked living there. [2]
Potapaco was an early name for Port Tobacco Creek [4] that was named after the Piscataway people.
Mattawoman, found in Charles County, Prince George's County, and on the Eastern Shore, has remnants of not only Algonquin, but Fox and Ojibwe as well, and translates to "where one goes pleasantly." [2]
The Nanjemoy Formation was defined by Clark and Martin in 1901, as part of the mapping by the Maryland Geological Survey. The Nanjemoy Formation was divided into two members, the lower or Potapaco, and the upper or Woodstock. The main lithologic distinction is that the lower part of the Nanjemoy is much more clayey than the upper part. In the subsurface, the distinction between the members is less evident than in outcrops, especially in Maryland, so the formation has been left undivided. [5]
In the outcrops along the Potomac River near Popes Creek, the contact between the Woodstock and Potapaco at about 10 feet (3.0 m) above the water level. [5]
Notable sites of the Nanjemoy Formation in the Potomac River basin in northeastern Virginia and western Maryland NC - Nanjemoy Creek, Ws - Woodstock, FS - Fisher/Sullivan site |
The Nanjemoy Formation, represented as Tn on the geologic map of the Washington West 30' × 60' Quadrangle, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C., restricted to the southeastern side of the Potomac Basin represented in the quadrangle. [6] Scott (2005) in his thesis included a map showing the thin bands of outcrops of both the underlying Marlboro Clay and the Nanjemoy Formation, restricted to the many creeks feeding the Chesapeake Bay. [7]
The Nanjemoy Formation (Eocene), the Marlboro Clay (Paleocene), and the Aquia Formation (Paleocene) are present in the westernmost part of the Potomac channel. [8]
The outcrop area of the formation is designated Nanjemoy Wildlife Management Area.
Geologically, the area of deposition of the Nanjemoy Formation is part of the Atlantic coastal plain province.
The Potomac Basin represents the central part of the Atlantic coastal plain that stretches along the Atlantic coast of Canada and the United States. The basin stretches across parts of four states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia), as well as the District of Columbia. This area is also called the Potomac watershed. It includes all of the land area where water drains towards the mouth of the Potomac – the point where the river spills into the Chesapeake Bay. The Potomac River basin is the 2nd largest watershed in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. [9]
The drainage area of the Potomac includes 14,670 square miles in four states: Virginia (5,723 sq. mi.), Maryland (3,818 sq. mi.), West Virginia (3,490 sq. mi.), Pennsylvania (1,570 sq. mi.), and the District of Columbia (69 sq. mi.). The basin’s total area varies depending on map projection used. The basin lies in five geological provinces: the Appalachian Plateau, the Ridge and Valley, Blue Ridge, Piedmont Plateau, and Coastal Plain. The Potomac meanders over 383 miles from Fairfax Stone, West Virginia to Point Lookout, Maryland. The river’s distance will vary with map projection and location of measuring tool in the river (ie. middle of the river, Maryland shoreline, Virginia shoreline).
Based on information from the NLCD 2011 database, the majority of the basin’s land area is covered by forests at 54.6 percent of the land area. Developed land makes up 14.1 percent of the basin’s land area, while agriculture covers 26.0 percent. Water and wetlands make up 5.9 percent of the basin’s land area.
The Potomac's major tributaries include: the Anacostia River, Antietam Creek, the Cacapon River, Catoctin Creek, Conococheague Creek, the Monocacy River, the North Branch, the South Branch, the Occoquan River, the Savage River, the Seneca Creek, and the Shenandoah River.
The population of the basin is approximately 6.11 million (2010 estimated census). The population has increased by about five percent since 2005. The following information is based on 2010 estimated census data.
The Nanjemoy Formation belongs to two geologic groups; the Wilcox Group of the Gulf of Mexico Basin in the southernmost surface expression of the formation and the Pamunkey Group in the northern and central portions from Maryland in the north through Virginia and the Carolinas. Both geologic groups have been dated to the early Paleogene; the Paleocene and Eocene periods, or in the commonly used NALMA classification; Wasatchian, defined by the age-equivalent Wasatch Formation of Wyoming.
The third-oldest unit in the Pamunkey Group is the Nanjemoy Formation that overlies the Marlboro Clay and is partly overlain by the Piney Point Formation and in many areas covered by the Miocene Calvert Formation, separated by an unconformity representing about 34 Ma.
The upper surface reaches an elevation of about 50 metres (160 ft) and is overlain in most places by the Calvert Formation (Tc). The unit is present only in the southeastern part of the map area of Washington D.C., and it reaches a maximum thickness of about 20 metres (66 ft). [6]
The formation comprises glauconitic quartz sand, dark-grayish-green to olive-black (tan to orange where weathered), fine to medium-grained; and dark-greenish-gray silty clay. In places, the sand is very muddy or contains many small quartz pebbles, and the clay is silty or sandy. Both lithologies contain richly fossiliferous beds including abundant mollusk shells. [6]
Robert E. Weems and Gary J. Grimsley (1999) described the geology of the Fisher/Sullivan site in Virginia as: [10]
Formation | Member | Bed | Lithology | Thickness (ft) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nanmejoy | Potomac | B | Sand, dominantly quartz, fine-grained, well sorted, micaceous, glauconitic, medium-brown, spa$e wood fragments present and molds and casts of shells | 1 |
Sand, dominantly quartz, dominantly fine-grained but with abundant rounded grains of medium- to coarse-grained quartz and scattered rounded quartz granules and pebbles to 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter, glauconitic, medium-brown, contains abundant shell casts of Venericardia potapacoensis and abundant teeth and bones | 2 | |||
Unconformity | ||||
Nanmejoy | Potomac | A | Sand, dominantly quartz, very fine- to fine-grained, bioturbated and massive, glauconitic, medium-brownish- gray, scattered wood fragments throughout and scattered molds and casts of shells, upper foot bioturbated and burrows filled with matrix from above bed, basal foot contains abundant medium- to coarse-grains and is more glauconitic than sediments above | 15 |
Marlboro Clay | Clay, silty, finely micaceous, greasy, sticky, lightgray, upper two feet intensely burrowed and burrows filled with matrix from bed above | 8 | ||
Total section exposed | 26 | |||
The climate of the Early Eocene and Late Paleocene was very hot and rich in CO2. Based on the fossils of the terrifyingly large Titanoboa cerrejonensis , dating to the latest Paleocene, a body mass of 1,135 kilograms (40,000 oz) for the snake was estimated. This enormous size could only have been possible under the most ideal conditions for such large species, around 6 to 8 Ma after the extinction of the previous megafauna; the dinosaurs. The climate of the Neotropical biome was estimated at 34 °C (93 °F) average yearly temperatures and 2000 ppm atmospheric CO2. [11]
The depositional environment of the Nanjemoy Formation is mostly shallow shelf. The more clayey beds suggest an area or time of quiet water, not affected by waves, tides, or current activity; intercalated sandier zones may reflect the higher energy of waves or currents during episodic storms. Its regional dip is eastward at 15–20 ft per mile (3-3.5 m/km). [5]
The floral and faunal assemblage of the Nanjemoy Formation is very varied and provides an insight into the paleobiological and paleoclimatological environment of the early Eocene. Fossils of bivalves, sharks, rays, actinopterygian fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals, and of fruits and seeds are common in the Potapaco Member. More than 2000 vertebrate coprolites from the Potapaco Member at the Fisher/Sullivan Site in Virginia were analyzed by Dentzien Dias et al. (2019). The chemical composition (phosphatic), inclusions and morphology suggest that only carnivorous scats were preserved. [12]
All Nanjemoy coprolites were produced by fishes; chondrichthyans, Carcharhiniformes, and lamniform sharks, probably the genus Carcharias . Other morphotypes were produced by actinopterygian fishes. The surface marks and the lack of flatness on most coprolites suggests early lithification of the Potapaco Member. [12]
Main fossil sites of the Nanjemoy Formation are
In October 1990, Mr. Richard Brezina of the Maryland Geological Society (MGS) discovered an important fossil site east of Fredericksburg, in eastern Stafford County, Virginia. This locality, along an unnamed tributary of Muddy Creek, became known as the Fisher/Sullivan site in recognition of its principle landowners. [20]
Brezina immediately realized that the site was exceptional, because it yielded numerous shark teeth and other vertebrate remains from the sands and gravels in the unnamed tributary. Brezina notified other members of the Maryland Geological Society, and together members of the MGS began to screen stream sediments at the site for more shark teeth and other remains. It soon became apparent, from the types of teeth that were being found and from the color and texture of the sediments in the banks of the creek, that the fossils were being reworked from glauconitic ("greensand") horizons of the Lower Tertiary (Paleocene-Eocene) Pamunkey Group. [20]
Because the Pamunkey Group previously had yielded only sparse vertebrate remains, it seemed reasonable to suspect that this locality was scientifically important. [20]
Among many invertebrates (such as gastropods, bivalves, corals, and bryozoans), the following fossils have been reported from the Nanjemoy Formation:
Formation | Wasatch | DeBeque | Claron | Indian Meadows | Pass Peak | Tatman | Willwood | Golden Valley | Coldwater | Allenby | Kamloops | Ootsa Lake | Margaret | Nanjemoy | Hatchetigbee | Tetas de Cabra | Hannold Hill | Coalmont | Cuchara | Galisteo | San Jose | Ypresian (IUCS) • Itaboraian (SALMA) Bumbanian (ALMA) • Mangaorapan (NZ) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basin | Powder River Uinta Piceance Colorado Plateau Wind River Green River Bighorn | Piceance | Colorado Plateau | Wind River | Green River | Bighorn | Williston | Okanagan | Princeton | Buck Creek | Nechako | Sverdrup | Potomac | GoM | Laguna Salada | Rio Grande | North Park | Raton | Galisteo | San Juan | ||
Country | United States | Canada | United States | Mexico | United States | |||||||||||||||||
Copelemur | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Coryphodon | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Diacodexis | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Homogalax | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Oxyaena | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Paramys | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Primates | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Birds | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Reptiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Fish | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Insects | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Flora | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Environments | Alluvial-fluvio-lacustrine | Fluvial | Fluvial | Fluvio-lacustrine | Fluvial | Lacustrine | Fluvio-lacustrine | Deltaic-paludal | Shallow marine | Fluvial | Shallow marine | Fluvial | Fluvial | |||||||||
Volcanic | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | ||||||||||||
Ypresian, Wasatchian and Casamayoran formations: [21]
The Potomac River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States and the 21st-largest in the United States. More than 5 million people live within its watershed.
Nanjemoy is a settlement along Maryland Route 6 in southwestern Charles County, Maryland, United States, and the surrounding large rural area more or less bounded by Nanjemoy Creek to the east and north, and the Potomac River to the south and west.
The Siletz River Volcanics, located in the Oregon Coast Range, United States, are a sequence of basaltic pillow lavas that make up part of Siletzia. The basaltic pillow lavas originally came from submarine volcanoes that existed during the Eocene.
The Aquia Formation is a geologic sandstone formation that extends from the upper Chesapeake Bay to the James River near Hopewell, Virginia. It consists of clayey, silty, very shelly, glauconitic sand. Fossil records indicate that this stratigraphic unit was created during the Paleocene.
Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve is a large wilderness area located on the southern border of Stafford County, Virginia, United States, between Potomac Creek and Accokeek Creek. The greater portion of the Crow's Nest Peninsula is approximately 3,800 acres (15 km2) and lies within the coastal plain of Virginia. About 3,115 acres (12.61 km2) of the peninsula is protected as part of the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System. Funding for the original two tracts came from a number of sources including DCR, Stafford County, Virginia Department of environmental Quality and a number other sources.
Mallows Bay is a small bay on the Maryland side of the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The bay is the location of what is regarded as the "largest shipwreck fleet in the Western Hemisphere" and is described as a "ship graveyard."
The Ieper Group is a group of rock strata in the subsurface of northwest Belgium. The group is subdivided into three marine formations, all formed during the Ypresian, a single age of the geologic timescale. Both age and group are named after the West Flemish town of Ypres, for which the Dutch name is "Ieper".
Brychaetus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine bonytongue fish known from the Late Cretaceous to the late Eocene of Europe, North America, and northern Africa.
The Doswell Formation is a geologic unit of Upper Triassic age, part of the Newark Supergroup. The Doswell Formation was originally named to refer to a geological sequence which forms the lower part of the sedimentary fill of the Taylorsville Basin in Virginia and Maryland. This sequence was deposited by lakes and rivers in the developing rift basin. A 2016 study argued that several geological layers in Pennsylvania as well as the neighboring Richmond Basin of Virginia also qualified as components of the Doswell Formation.
Paleontology in Maryland refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Maryland. The invertebrate fossils of Maryland are similar to those of neighboring Delaware. For most of the early Paleozoic era, Maryland was covered by a shallow sea, although it was above sea level for portions of the Ordovician and Devonian. The ancient marine life of Maryland included brachiopods and bryozoans while horsetails and scale trees grew on land. By the end of the era, the sea had left the state completely. In the early Mesozoic, Pangaea was splitting up. The same geologic forces that divided the supercontinent formed massive lakes. Dinosaur footprints were preserved along their shores. During the Cretaceous, the state was home to dinosaurs. During the early part of the Cenozoic era, the state was alternatingly submerged by sea water or exposed. During the Ice Age, mastodons lived in the state.
The Chesapeake Group is a geologic group in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and North Carolina. It preserves mainly marine fossils dating back to the Miocene and Pliocene epochs of the Neogene period. This group contains one of the best studied fossil record of Neogene oceans in the world. Professional Paleontologists and amateur fossil hunters alike collect from this group intensely. The Calvert Cliffs stretch the length of Calvert County, Maryland and provide the best continuous stretch of the Calvert, Choptank, and St. Marys Formations. Ward (1985) recommended including the Old Church Formation in this group.
The Old Church Formation is a geologic formation in Virginia and possibly Maryland. It preserves fossils dating back to the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene period. It rarely exposes on land and is under-studied. However, deposits from this period are rare and the Old Church Formation likely contains many scientifically significant taxa. Ward (1985) recommended placing this formation in the Chesapeake Group.
The Piney Point Formation is a geologic formation in Virginia. It preserves fossils dating back to the Lutetian Stage of the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene period.
The Wasatch Formation (Tw) is an extensive highly fossiliferous geologic formation stretching across several basins in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and western Colorado. It preserves fossils dating back to the Early Eocene period. The formation defines the Wasatchian or Lostcabinian, a period of time used within the NALMA classification, but the formation ranges in age from the Clarkforkian to Bridgerian.
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The Whitemud Formation is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. it is present through the plains of southern Saskatchewan, southeastern Alberta and south-central Alberta. Named by N.B. Davis in 1918, the formation is characterized by white kaolinitic clay and is a source of high-quality refractory clay. The type locality has been designated as Dempster's clay pit northwest of Eastend, Saskatchewan.
Messelasturidae is an extinct family of birds known from the Eocene of North America and Europe. Their morphology is a mosaic that in some aspects are very similar to modern hawks and falcons, but in others are more similar to parrots. Initially interpreted as stem-owls, more recent studies have suggested a closer relationship to parrots and passerines. Their ecology is enigmatic.
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