Stratigraphic framework and distribution of lignite on Crowleys Ridge, Arkansas

Meissner, Charles R.

doi:10.3133/ofr83609

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The ridge ranges in width from 1.6 to 19 km and averages 60 m above the surrounding lowlands. It is composed in ascending order of Eocene Wilcox and Claiborne Groups (Meissner, 1984), Pliocene Upland Complex (Van Arsdale et al, 2007), and Pleistocene loess (Guccione et al, 1990).…”

Section: Geology Of the Reelfoot Rift Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reelfoot rift and its impact on Quaternary deformation in the central Mississippi River valley

et al. 2008

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Geophysical and drill-hole data within the Reelfoot rift of Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky, USA, were integrated to create a structure contour map and threedimensional computer model of the top of the Precambrian crystalline basement. The basement map and model clearly defi ne the northeast-trending Cambrian Reelfoot rift, which is crosscut by southeast-trending basement faults. The Reelfoot rift consists of two major basins, separated by an intrarift uplift, that are further subdivided into eight subbasins bound by northeast-and southeast-striking rift faults. The rift is bound to the south by the White River fault zone and to the north by the Reelfoot normal fault. The modern Reelfoot thrust fault, responsible for most of the New Madrid seismic zone earthquakes, is interpreted as an inverted basement normal fault. Geologic interpretation of 5077 shallow borings in the central Mississippi River valley enabled the construction of a structure contour map of the Pliocene-Pleistocene unconformity (top of the Eocene-base of Mississippi River alluvium) that overlies most of the Reelfoot rift. This map reveals both river erosion and tectonic deformation.Deformation of the Pliocene-Pleistocene unconformity appears to be controlled by the northeast-and southeast-trending basement faults. The northeast-trending rift faults have undergone and continue to undergo Quaternary dextral transpression. This has resulted in displacement of two major rift blocks and formation of the Lake County uplift, Joiner ridge, and the southern half of Crowley's Ridge as compressional stepover zones that appear to have originated above basement fault intersections. The Lake County uplift has been tectonically active over the past ~2400 yr and corresponds with a major segment of the New Madrid seismic zone. The aseismic Joiner ridge and the southern portion of Crowley's Ridge may refl ect earlier uplift, thus indicating Quaternary strain migration within the Reelfoot rift.

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Section: Geology Of the Reelfoot Rift Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reelfoot rift and its impact on Quaternary deformation in the central Mississippi River valley

et al. 2008

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“…Previous regional‐scale geologic mapping (Meissner, ) and well log data indicate that most of Crowleys Ridge is underlain by relatively uniform lithology (Figure a; Fisk, ; Van Arsdale & ten Brink, ). We also assume that because all streams draining Crowleys Ridge eventually join the Mississippi River just south of Crowleys Ridge, the streams have experienced a similar regional base level history.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Stratigraphically, the ridge is composed of Mesozoic, Eocene (Midway and Wilcox Groups), and Plio‐Pleistocene unconsolidated sediments (Figure a). The Eocene sedimentary rocks are composed of continental deltaic sand and clay interbedded with lignite and dip ~0.5° to the southeast (Meissner, ). Unconformably overlying the Eocene strata are Plio‐Pleistocene strata of the Upland complex (Autin et al, ; Van Arsdale et al, ; Van Arsdale et al, ), locally called the Lafayette Gravel or Citronelle Formation, composed of fluvial sands, gravels, and minor clay that is locally thicker than 50 m (Autin et al, ), although it may have been as thick as 150 m (Van Arsdale et al, ).…”

Section: Geologic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for Late Quaternary Deformation Along Crowleys Ridge, New Madrid Seismic Zone

et al. 2020

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The New Madrid seismic zone has been the source of multiple major (M~7.0-7.5) earthquakes in the past 2 ka, yet the surface expression of recent deformation remains ambiguous. Crowleys Ridge, a linear ridge trending north-south for 300+ km through the Mississippi Embayment, has been interpreted as either a fault-bounded uplift or a nontectonic erosional remnant. New and previously published seismic reflection and shallow resistivity data show discontinuities at the ridge margins in Plio-Pleistocene strata, yet the timing of most recent faulting and the lateral extent of these faults remain unknown. To assess Pleistocene-to-recent tectonic activity of Crowleys Ridge, we perform landscape-scale geomorphic analyses, such as relief, slope, hypsometry, and drainage basin shape, on a 10-m digital elevation model (DEM). North-to-south variations in geomorphic indices indicate Pleistocene-to-recent tectonic uplift of the southern ridge. Moreover, mapping on a <1-m lidar-derived DEM reveals scarps on late Pleistocene geomorphic surfaces. The scarps are primarily located along the southern ridge, trend parallel to the ridge margin discontinuously for 0.1-1 km, and vertically offset <56 ka surfaces 0.4 m with up to 6 m of tilting. These landscape-scale patterns and scarps, integrated with discontinuities in the seismic reflection and resistivity data, provide evidence of low-rate (<0.2 mm/year) late Quaternary tectonic activity along the southern segment of Crowleys Ridge. The interpretations agree with recent tectonic models suggesting southern Crowleys Ridge is a compressional step over in a right-lateral fault system within the Reelfoot Rift.

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“…The Eocene sequence is dominated by continental and deltaic sands and clays with minor intervals of lignite (Murray, 1961). Eocene units dip approximately 0.5° southeast (Meissner, 1984) and are unconformably overlain by Pliocene-Pleistocene fluvial sands, gravels, and clays that locally exceed 50 m in thickness (Holbrook, 1980). These Pliocene-Pleistocene fluvial deposits have been correlated with the Citronelle (Lafayette) Formation of the Gulf Coast (Potter, 1955;Saucier, 1974;Guccione and others, 1986).…”

Section: Geologic Setting Surface Geology Of Crowley's Ridge and Vicimentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigations of the New Madrid seismic zone

Johnston¹

1994

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Stratigraphic framework and distribution of lignite on Crowleys Ridge, Arkansas

Cited by 5 publications

References 1 publication

Reelfoot rift and its impact on Quaternary deformation in the central Mississippi River valley

Reelfoot rift and its impact on Quaternary deformation in the central Mississippi River valley

Evidence for Late Quaternary Deformation Along Crowleys Ridge, New Madrid Seismic Zone

Investigations of the New Madrid seismic zone

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