| Crab Orchard Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Telychian-Aeronian | |
| Type | Formation |
| Underlies | Bisher Formation |
| Overlies | Brassfield Formation |
| Location | |
| Region | Kentucky |
| Country |  United States |
The Crab Orchard Formation is a geologic formation in Kentucky, United States. It dates back to the Telychian to Aeronian stages of the Silurian period. [1]
The Silurian is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at 443.8 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, 419.2 Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozoic Era. As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by a few million years. The base of the Silurian is set at a series of major Ordovician–Silurian extinction events when up to 60% of marine genera were wiped out.
In the geologic timescale, the Ludfordian is the upper of two chronostratigraphic stages within the Ludlow Series. Its age is the late Silurian Period, and within both the Palaeozoic Era and Phanerozoic Eon. The rocks assigned to the Ludfordian date to between 425.6 ± 0.9 Ma and 423.0 ± 2.3 Ma. The Ludfordian Stage succeeds the Gorstian Stage and precedes the Pridoli Epoch. It is named for the village of Ludford in Shropshire, England. The GSSP for the Ludfordian is represented as a thin shale seam, coincident with the base of the Leintwardine Formation, overlying the Bringewood Formation in England.
In the geologic timescale, the Gorstian is an age of the Ludlow Epoch of the Silurian Period of the Paleozoic Era of the Phanerozoic Eon that is comprehended between 427.4 ± 0.5 Ma and 425.6 ± 0.9 Ma, approximately. The Gorstian Age succeeds the Homerian Age and precedes the Ludfordian Age. The age is named after Gorsty village southwest of Ludlow. The base of the age is marked by Graptolites tumescens and Graptolites incipiens. The type section is located in a quarry in the Elton Formation at Pitch Coppice, Shropshire, United Kingdom.
In the geologic timescale, the Sheinwoodian is the age of the Wenlock Epoch of the Silurian Period of the Paleozoic Era of the Phanerozoic Eon that is comprehended between 433.4 ± 0.8 Ma and 430.5 ± 0.7 Ma, approximately. The Sheinwoodian Age succeeds the Telychian Age and precedes the Homerian Age.
In the geological timescale, the Llandovery Epoch occurred at the beginning of the Silurian Period. The Llandoverian Epoch follows the massive Ordovician-Silurian extinction events, which led to a large decrease in biodiversity and an opening up of ecosystems.
The Clinton Group is a mapped unit of sedimentary rock found throughout eastern North America. The interval was first defined by the geologist Lardner Vanuxem, who derived the name from the village of Clinton in Oneida County, New York where several well exposed outcrops of these strata can be found. The Clinton Group and its lateral equivalents extend throughout much of the Appalachian Foreland Basin, a major structural and depositional province extending from New York to Alabama. The term has been employed in Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, though in many of these areas the same interval is referred to as the Rose Hill, Rockwood, or Red Mountain Formations. Historically the term "Clinton" has also been assigned to several lower Silurian stratigraphic units in Ohio and Kentucky which are now known to be significantly older than the Clinton Group as it was originally defined. Many parts of this succession are richly fossiliferous, making the Clinton Group an important record of marine life during the early Silurian. Several economically valuable rock-types are found within this interval, though it is perhaps best known as a significant source of iron ore
In the geologic timescale, the Přídolí Epoch is the uppermost subdivision of the Silurian Period, dated at between 423 ± 2.3 and 419.2 ± 3.2 mya. The Přídolí Epoch succeeds the Ludfordian Stage and precedes the Lochkovian, the lowest of three stages within the Lower Devonian geological epoch. It is named after one locality at the Homolka a Přídolí nature reserve near the Prague suburb, Slivenec, in the Czech Republic. The GSSP is located within the Požáry Formation, overlying the Kopanina Formation. Přídolí is the old name of a cadastral field area.
The New Albany Shale is an organic-rich geologic formation of Devonian and Mississippian age in the Illinois Basin of the United States. It is a major source of hydrocarbons.
The Devonian Jeffersonville Limestone is a mapped bedrock unit in Indiana and Kentucky. It is highly fossiliferous.
The Brassfield Formation, named by A.F. Foerste in 1906, is a limestone and dolomite formation exposed in Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia in the United States. It is Early Silurian in age and well known for its abundant echinoderms, corals and stromatoporoids. In Ohio, where the unit has escaped dolomitization, the Brassfield is an encrinite biosparite with numerous crinoid species.
The Rose Hill Formation is a geologic formation in West Virginia, United States. It preserves fossils dating back to the Silurian period, and is a source of iron ore for nearby foundries.
The Louisville Limestone is a geologic formation in Ohio. It preserves fossils dating back to the Silurian period.
The Bisher Formation is a geologic formation in Ohio. It preserves fossils dating back to the Silurian period.
The Osgood Formation, also known as the Osgood Shale is a geologic formation in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. It preserves fossils dating back to the Silurian period.
The Waldron Shale is a geologic formation in Indiana. It preserves fossils dating back to the Silurian period.
The Laurel Formation, also known as the Laurel Limestone or the Laurel Dolomite, is a geologic formation in Indiana and Kentucky. It preserves fossils dating back to the Silurian period.
The St. Clair Limestone is a geologic formation in Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. It preserves fossils dating back to the Silurian period. This high density, high magnesium dolomitic limestone was originally classified as a marble in Oklahoma due to the fact that it would hold a high polish, hence Marble City.
Edward B. Branson was an American geologist and paleontologist. He was a professor of geology at the University of Missouri.
Distomodus is an extinct genus of conodonts.
The geology of Kentucky formed beginning more than one billion years ago, in the Proterozoic eon of the Precambrian. The oldest igneous and metamorphic crystalline basement rock is part of the Grenville Province, a small continent that collided with the early North American continent. The beginning of the Paleozoic is poorly attested and the oldest rocks in Kentucky, outcropping at the surface, are from the Ordovician. Throughout the Paleozoic, shallow seas covered the area, depositing marine sedimentary rocks such as limestone, dolomite and shale, as well as large numbers of fossils. By the Mississippian and the Pennsylvanian, massive coal swamps formed and generated the two large coal fields and the oil and gas which have played an important role in the state's economy. With interludes of terrestrial conditions, shallow marine conditions persisted throughout the Mesozoic and well into the Cenozoic. Unlike neighboring states, Kentucky was not significantly impacted by the Pleistocene glaciations. The state has extensive natural resources, including coal, oil and gas, sand, clay, fluorspar, limestone, dolomite and gravel. Kentucky is unique as the first state to be fully geologically mapped.
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