http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3360/sim3360_readme_version2.txt[8/4/2016 8:46:22 AM]

Geologic Map of the Murray Quadrangle, Newton County, Arkansas

By Mark R. Hudson and Kenzie J. Turner

2016

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3360

ABSTRACT

This map summarizes the geology of the Murray quadrangle in the

Ozark Plateaus region of northern Arkansas. Geologically, the area

is on the southern flank of the Ozark dome, an uplift that has the

oldest rocks exposed at its center, in Missouri. Physiographically,

the Murray quadrangle is within the Boston Mountains, a high

plateau region underlain by Pennsylvanian sandstones and shales.

Valleys of the Buffalo River and Little Buffalo River and their

tributaries expose an approximately 1,600-ft-thick (488-meter-thick)

sequence of Ordovician, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian carbonate

and clastic sedimentary rocks that have been mildly deformed by a

series of faults and folds. The Buffalo National River, a park that

encompasses the Buffalo River, and adjacent land that is administered

by the National Park Service is present at the northwestern edge of

the quadrangle.

Mapping for this study was carried out by field inspection of

numerous sites and was compiled as a 1:24,000 geographic information

system (GIS) database. Locations and elevation of sites were

determined with the aid of a global positioning satellite receiver

and a hand-held barometric altimeter that was frequently

recalibrated at points of known elevation. Hill-shade relief and

slope maps derived from a U.S. Geological Survey 10-meter digital

elevation model as well as orthophotographs were used to help trace

ledge-forming units between field traverses within the Upper

Mississippian and Pennsylvanian part of the stratigraphic sequence.

Strike and dip of beds were typically measured along stream

drainages or at well-exposed ledges. Structure contours, constructed

on the top of the Boone Formation and the base of a prominent

sandstone unit within the Bloyd Fomation, were drawn based on the

elevations of field sites on these contacts well as other limiting

information for their minimum elevations above hilltops or their

maximum elevations below valley bottoms.

DISCLAIMERS

Any use of trade, product or firm names is for descriptive purposes

only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public

domain, it also contains copyrighted material as noted in the text.

Permission to reproduce copyrighted items for other than personal use

must be secured from the copyright owner.

This database, identified as SIM 3360, has been approved for release

and publication by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although this

database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially

complete,the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to

further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition

that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government may be held liable

for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use.

Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer

system at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty, expressed or

implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any

other system, or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act

of distribution constitute such warranty. The USGS or the U.S

Government shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of

the data described and/or contained herein.

DATA FILES

List of files:

sim3360_readMe.txt

sim3360.pdf (map file)

sim3360_georeferenced.pdf (georeferenced map file)

sim3360.met/.xml (metadata)

sim3360_GIS.gdb.zip

 GeologicMap

 attitudes

 ContactsAndFaults
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3360/sim3360_readme_version2.txt[8/4/2016 8:46:22 AM]

 ControlPoints

 CrossSectionLines

 Folds

 MapUnitPoints

 MapUnitPolys

 StructureContours

 murray_base (topographic base map)

 murray_hill (shaded-relief base)

 

sim3360_shapefiles.zip directory:

 attitudes.shp (dbf/prj/sbn/sbx/shp.xml/shx)

 ContactsAndFaults.shp (dbf/prj/sbn/sbx/shp.xml/shx) 

 ControlPoints.shp (dbf/prj/sbn/sbx/shp.xml/shx)

 CrossSectionLines.shp (dbf/prj/sbn/sbx/shp.xml/shx)

 Folds.shp (dbf/prj/sbn/sbx/shp.xml/shx)

 MapUnitPoint.shp (dbf/prj/sbn/sbx/shp.xml/shx)

 MapUnitPolys.shp (dbf/prj/sbn/sbx/shp.xml/shx)

 StructureContours.shp (dbf/prj/sbn/sbx/shp.xml/shx)

sim3360_basemaps.zip:

 murray_base.tfw

 murray_base_tif

 murray_base_original (unaltered 7.5-minute Murray quadrangle base)

 murray_hill.tfw

 murray_hill.tif

sim3360_metadata.zip

 sim3360.met/.xml 

HOW TO OBTAIN THE DIGITAL FILES

The digital files constituting the geologic map database of this

report can be obtained via the Internet from the U.S. Geological 

Survey publications website. Go to the web page at

http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3360/ or http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3360

and follow the directions to download the files.

The main product is a Portable Document Format (.pdf) map, which

requires Adobe Acrobat for viewing, and from which paper copies may be

printed. Acrobat software runs on a variety of systems, and is

available for download free of charge from Adobe at

http://www.adobe.com.

The map also is also presented as a georeferenced

map, sim3360_georeferenced.pdf, that has active layers (hence the

larger size). The georeferenced map can be opened in Acrobat and

the layers listed.Go to Tools=>Analyze in the

menu bar to enable the geospatial tool.

ArcReader may be downloaded free of charge from

http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/download for viewing

additional files included in this report.