Savanna Sandstone

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Savanna Formation
Stratigraphic range: Pennsylvanian
Type Formation
Unit ofnone
Underlies Boggy Formation
Overlies McAlester Formation
Thickness1600 feet [1]
Location
Region Arkansas, Oklahoma
Country United States
Type section
Named byJ.A. Taff [2]

The Savanna Sandstone or Savanna Formation is a Pennsylvanian geologic formation in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Early descriptions of this unit have considered it to be part of the Coal Measures, [3] part of the Upper or Western Coal Bearing Division, [4] part of the Sebastian Stage, [3] and part of the Cavaniol Group. [5] In 1899, J.A. Taff introduced the Savanna Formation name in his study of the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma. [2] The name was introduced into Arkansas in 1907, [6] although in 1950, the interval was renamed the Boggy Formation, while the name "Savanna Formation" replaced the underlying interval consisting of the upper Fort Smith Formation and the lower Paris Shale (both names are now abandoned). [7] The Savanna Formation is informally recognized with two named sub-units in Arkansas: the Charleston and Paris coal beds. [8] Taff assigned the type area to the towns of McAlester and Savanna in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, however he did not state whether the town of Savanna is the origin of the name. Taff did not designate a stratotype, however, a reference section was designated in 1995 in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. [9] [10]

The Pennsylvanian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly 323.2 million years ago to 298.9 million years ago. As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain by a few hundred thousand years. The Pennsylvanian is named after the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, where the coal-productive beds of this age are widespread.

Ouachita Mountains

The Ouachita Mountains, simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thrust Belt, one of the important orogenic belts of North America. The Ouachitas continue in the subsurface to the northeast where they make a poorly understood connection with the Appalachians and to the southwest where they join with the Marathon area of West Texas. Together with the Ozark Plateaus, the Ouachitas form the U.S. Interior Highlands. The highest natural point is Mount Magazine at 2,753 feet.

Arkansas State in the United States

Arkansas is a state in the southern region of the United States, home to over 3 million people as of 2018. Its name is from the Osage language, of Siouan derivation; it denoted their related kin, the Quapaw people. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta.

See also

Paleontology in Arkansas

Paleontology in Arkansas refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Arkansas. The fossil record of Arkansas spans from the Ordovician to the Eocene. Nearly all of the state's fossils have come from ancient invertebrate life. During the early Paleozoic, much of Arkansas was covered by seawater. This sea would come to be home to creatures including Archimedes, brachiopods, and conodonts. This sea would begin its withdrawal during the Carboniferous, and by the Permian the entire state was dry land. Terrestrial conditions continued into the Triassic, but during the Jurassic, another sea encroached into the state's southern half. During the Cretaceous the state was still covered by seawater and home to marine invertebrates such as Belemnitella. On land the state was home to long necked sauropod dinosaurs, who left behind footprints and ostrich dinosaurs such as Arkansaurus.

Related Research Articles

Pittsburg County, Oklahoma U.S. county in Oklahoma

Pittsburg County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,837. Its county seat is McAlester. The county was formed from part of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory in 1907. County leaders believed that its coal production compared favorably with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the time of statehood.

Mount Magazine mountain

Mount Magazine, officially named Magazine Mountain, is the highest point of the U.S. Interior Highlands and the U.S. state of Arkansas, and is the site of Mount Magazine State Park. It is a flat-topped mountain or mesa capped by hard rock and rimmed by precipitous cliffs. There are two summits atop the mountain: Signal Hill, which reaches 2,753 feet (839 m), and Mossback Ridge, which reaches 2,700 ft (823.0 m).

Hale Formation

The Hale Formation is a geologic formation in northern Arkansas that dates to the Morrowan Series of the early Pennsylvanian. The Hale Formation has two named members: the Cane Hill and the Prairie Grove Members. The lower member is the Cane Hill, a primarily sandstone and shale interval that unconformably overlies the Mississippian-age Pitkin Formation. The upper member, the Prairie Grove Member, is predominately limestone and conformably underlies the Bloyd Formation.

The Imo Formation, or Imo Shale, is a geologic unit in northern Arkansas that dates to the Chesterian Series of the late Mississippian. The Imo is considered to be a member of the upper Pitkin Formation, and is the most recent Mississippian age rock in Arkansas. The Imo Shale unconformably underlies the Pennsylvanian age Hale Formation

The Winslow Formation was a geologic formation in Arkansas, now abandoned and replaced by the Atoka Formation, the Hartshorne Formation, and the lower McAlester Formation. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period.

The Johns Valley Formation is a geologic formation in Arkansas and Oklahoma. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period.

The Hartshorne Formation is a geologic formation in Arkansas and Oklahoma. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period.

Named after Atoka County, Oklahoma, the Atoka Formation is a geologic formation in central and western Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, central and western Texas, and eastern New Mexico. It is the surface rock of the Boston Mountains and dominates exposures in the Frontal Ouachita Mountains of the Arkansas River Valley.

The Boggy Formation is a geologic formation in Arkansas and Oklahoma. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period.

The Viola Formation is a geologic formation in Oklahoma. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ordovician period.

The Jackfork Sandstone, also referred to as the Jackfork Group, is a geologic formation associated with the Ouachita Fold and Thrust Belt exposed in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. It is named for Jackfork Mountain in Pittsburg and Pushmataha counties, Oklahoma.

The Crystal Mountain Sandstone is an Ordovician geologic formation in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. This interval was first described in 1892, but remained unnamed until 1909 as part of a study on the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas by Albert Homer Purdue.

The Mazarn Shale is an Early Ordovician geologic formation in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. This interval was first described in 1892, but remained unnamed until 1918 as part of a study by U.S. Geological Survey geologist Hugh Dinsmore Miser.

The Blakely Sandstone is a Middle Ordovician geologic formation in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. First described in 1892, this unit was not named until 1909 by Albert Homer Purdue in his study of the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Purdue had initially named this unit the Caddo Shale at a 1907 Geological Society of America meeting, but later redefined and renamed the unit as the Ouachita Shale. He again renamed the unit to the Blakely Sandstone in a letter to Edward Oscar Ulrich, to which Ulrich used in a 1911 publication, becoming the first reference using this name. Ulrich assigned the Blakely Mountain in Garland County, Arkansas as the type locality, but did not designate a stratotype. As of 2017, a reference section for this unit has yet to be designated.

The Womble Shale is a Middle Ordovician geologic formation in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. First described in 1892, this unit was not named until 1909 by Albert Homer Purdue in his study of the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, where he named this unit as part of the upper Ouachita Shale and the Stringtown Shale. In 1918, U.S. Geological Survey geologist, Hugh Dinsmore Miser, replaced Purdue's nomenclature with the Womble Shale. Miser assigned the town of Womble in Montgomery County, Arkansas as the type locality. As of 2017, a reference section for this unit has yet to be designated.

The Polk Creek Shale is a Late Ordovician geologic formation in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. First described in 1892, this unit was not named until 1909 by Albert Homer Purdue in his study of the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Purdue assigned Polk Creek in Montgomery County, Arkansas as the type locality, but did not designate a stratotype. As of 2017, a reference section for this unit has yet to be designated.

The Blaylock Sandstone is a Silurian geologic formation in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. First described in 1892, this unit was not named until 1909 by Albert Homer Purdue in his study of the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Purdue assigned the Blaylock Mountain in Montgomery County, Arkansas as the type locality, but did not designate a stratotype. As of 2017, a reference section for this unit has yet to be designated.

The Missouri Mountain Shale is a Silurian geologic formation in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. First described in 1892, this unit was not named until 1909 by Albert Homer Purdue in his study of the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Purdue assigned the Missouri Mountains in Polk and Montgomery counties, Arkansas as the type locality, but did not designate a stratotype. As of 2017, a reference section for this unit has yet to be designated.

The Stanley Shale, or Stanley Group, is a Mississippian stratigraphic unit in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. First described in Arkansas in 1892, this unit was not named until 1902 by J.A. Taff in his study of the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma. Taff assigned the town of Stanley in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma as the type locality, but did not designate a stratotype. After introduction into Arkansas in 1909 by Albert Homer Purdue, the unit was redefined in 1918, when the formation known as the Fork Mountain Slate was abandoned and partially combined into the Stanley Shale. As of 2017, a reference section for the Stanley Shale has yet to be designated.

The McAlester Formation is a Pennsylvanian geologic formation in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Early descriptions of this unit considered it to be part of the Coal Measures, part of the Upper or Western Coal Bearing Division, the Spadra Stage and part of the Sebastian Stage, and part of the Cavaniol Group. In 1899, J.A. Taff introduced the McAlester Formation name in his study of the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma. The name was introduced into Arkansas in 1907 as the McAlester Group, where it consisted of the formations known as the Spadra Shale, the Fort Smith Formation, and the Paris Shale. These formations was redefined and replaced in 1960, when the McAlester Shale replaced the Spadra Shale and the lower Fort Smith Formation. The McAlester Formation is informally recognized with three sub-units in Arkansas: the Lower and Upper Hartshorne coal beds, and the McAlester coal bed. Taff assigned the type locality near the town of McAlester in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, however he did not state whether the town is the origin of the name. Taff did not designate a stratotype and, as of 2017, a reference section for the McAlester Formation has not been designated.

References

  1. ↑ McFarland, John David (2004) [1998]. "Stratigraphic summary of Arkansas" (PDF). Arkansas Geological Commission Information Circular. 36: 24–25.
  2. 1 2 Taff, J.A. (1899). "Geology of the McAlester-Lehigh coal field, Indian Territory". Nineteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey. 3: 437–438.
  3. 1 2 Stevenson, John James (1896). "Notes on the geology of Indian Territory". Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences. 15: 50–61.
  4. ↑ Winslow, A. (1888). "The geology of the coal regions; a preliminary report upon a portion of the coal regions of Arkansas" (PDF). Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Arkansas for 1888. 3.
  5. ↑ Drake, N.F. (1897). "A geological reconnaissance of the coal fields of the Indian Territory". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 36: 326–419.
  6. ↑ Collier, A.J. (1907). "The Arkansas coal field" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin. 326.
  7. ↑ Hendricks, Thomas A.; Parks, Bryan (1950). "Geology of the Fort Smith District, Arkansas" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 221-E.
  8. ↑ Haley, Boyd R. (1987). "Resources of low-volatile bituminous coal and semianthracite in west-central Arkansas, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin. 1632.
  9. ↑ Hemlish, LeRoy A. (1995). "Principal reference section (neostratotype) for the Savanna Formation, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma" (PDF). Oklahoma Geology Notes. 55 (6): 204–243.
  10. ↑ Hemlish, LeRoy A.; Suneson, Neil H. (1997). "Stratigraphy and resources of the Krebs Group (Desmoinesian), south-central Arkoma Basin, Oklahoma" (PDF). Oklahoma Geological Survey Guidebook. 30: 49.


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