U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Pamphlet A to accompany

Scientific Investigations Map 3343

Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin from the Eastern 

Margin of the Illinois Basin, Jefferson County, Kentucky, to the Valley and Ridge 

Province, Scott County, Virginia

By Robert T. Ryder, Michael H. Trippi, and Christopher S. Swezey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2015

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Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Ryder, R.T., Trippi, M.H., and Swezey, C.S., 2015, Geologic cross section I–I′ through the Appalachian basin from the eastern margin of the Illinois basin, Jefferson County, 

Kentucky, to the Valley and Ridge province, Scott County, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3343, 2 sheets and pamphlet A, 41 p.; pamphlet B, 

102 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3343.

ISSN 2329-1311 (print)

ISSN 2329-132X (online)

ISBN 978-1-4113-3973-6
ii

Pamphlet B

Appendix 1. Table Summarizing Stratigraphic Units and Depths of Stratigraphic Units for Drill Holes 1–10 in Cross Section I–I′.........................1

Appendix 2. Table Summarizing Stratigraphic Units and Depths of Stratigraphic Units for Drill Holes 11–19 in Cross Section I–I′.....................49

Appendix 3. Scale, Units, and Depths for Gamma-Ray Logging Runs..............................................................................................................................99

Contents

Pamphlet A

Introduction......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................1

Construction of the Cross Section ...............................................................................................................................................................................................1

Structural Framework ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................3

Basement Rocks and Associated Structures ...................................................................................................................................................................3

Thin-Skinned Structures.......................................................................................................................................................................................................7

Stratigraphic Framework...............................................................................................................................................................................................................8

Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic(?) Siliciclastic Strata............................................................................................................................................9

Lower Cambrian to Upper Ordovician Siliciclastic and Carbonate Strata.................................................................................................................10

Upper Ordovician to Lower Silurian Siliciclastic Strata................................................................................................................................................17

Lower Silurian to Middle Devonian Carbonate and Evaporitic Strata........................................................................................................................18

Middle Devonian to Middle Mississippian Siliciclastic Strata ....................................................................................................................................20

Middle and Upper Mississippian Carbonate Strata.......................................................................................................................................................22

Upper Mississippian and Pennsylvanian Siliciclastic Strata.......................................................................................................................................23

Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................................................................................................................26

References Cited...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................26
iii

Conversion Factors

Multiply By To obtain

Length

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)

Figures

[On map sheets]

1. Map of Kentucky, Virginia, and adjoining States showing location of cross section I–I′ and selected tectonic features.

2. Correlation chart of Paleozoic rocks along cross section I–I′ in Kentucky and Virginia.

3. Diagram showing major footwall ramps (thrust faults) and zones of bedding-plane detachment in the eastern part of 

cross section I–I′.

Table

[In pamphlet A]

1. Drill holes used in cross section I–I′ ..........................................................................................................................................................................4
Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin from the Eastern 

Margin of the Illinois Basin, Jefferson County, Kentucky, to the Valley and 

Ridge Province, Scott County, Virginia

By Robert T. Ryder, Michael H. Trippi, and Christopher S. Swezey

Introduction

Geologic cross section I–I′ is the fourth in a series 

of cross sections constructed by the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS) to document and improve understanding of the geologic framework and petroleum systems 

of the Appalachian basin. Cross section I–I′ (fig. 1) 

provides a regional view of the structural and stratigraphic framework of the Appalachian basin from the 

eastern margin of the Illinois basin in central Kentucky, 

across the Cincinnati arch (Lexington dome), to the 

Valley and Ridge province in southwestern Virginia, a 

distance of approximately 280 miles (mi). This cross 

section is a companion to cross sections E–E′, D–D′, 

and C–C′ (Ryder, Swezey, and others, 2008; Ryder and 

others, 2009; Ryder and others, 2012) that are located 

approximately 200 to 300 mi to the northeast (fig. 1). 

Cross section I–I′ either updates or complements earlier 

geologic cross sections through the central Kentucky 

and southwestern Virginia part of the Appalachian basin 

by Renfro and Feray (1970), Black (1989), Rankin and 

others (1991), and Hickman (2004), and restored stratigraphic cross sections by Colton (1970) and Harris and 

Milici (1977). Although other published cross sections 

through parts of the basin show more structural detail 

(for example, Black, 1968; Alvord and Miller, 1972; 

Evans and Troensegaard, 1991) and stratigraphic detail 

(for example, Read, 1980; Mitchell, 1982; Englund 

and Thomas, 1990; Pope and Read, 1997; Harris and 

Sparks, 2000; Hickman, 2004; Riley and others, 2006; 

Ryder, Crangle, and others, 2008), these other cross 

sections are of more limited extent geographically and 

(or) stratigraphically.

Cross section I–I′ contains much information that 

is useful for evaluating energy resources in the Appalachian basin. Although the Appalachian basin petroleum 

systems identified by Swezey (2002) and Milici and 

others (2003) are not shown on the cross section, many 

of their key elements (such as source rocks, reservoir 

rocks, seals, and traps) can be inferred from lithologic 

units, unconformities, and geologic structures shown 

on the cross section. Other aspects of petroleum systems (such as the timing of petroleum generation and 

petroleum migration pathways) may be evaluated by 

burial history, thermal history, and fluid flow models on 

the basis of what is shown on the cross section. Cross 

section I–I′ also provides a stratigraphic and structural 

framework for the Pennsylvanian coal-bearing section, 

although the cross section lacks the detail to illustrate 

key elements of coal systems such as coal quality 

(composition) and coal rank. In addition, cross section 

I–I′ may be used as a reconnaissance tool to identify 

plausible geologic structures and strata for the subsurface storage of liquid waste (for example, Colton, 1961; 

Lloyd and Reid, 1990; Clark and others, 2005) or for 

the sequestration of carbon dioxide (for example, Smith 

and others, 2002; Lucier and others, 2006; Greb and 

others, 2012).

Construction of the Cross Section

Cross section I–I′ is oriented northwest-southeast, 

approximately normal to the structural grain of the 

region. Several abrupt bends in the section, however, 

are required to accommodate key drill holes that penetrate the entire section of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks.

Cross section I–I′ is based on geological and geophysical data from 19 deep drill holes, 10 of which penetrate the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the basin and 

bottom in Mesoproterozoic crystalline basement rocks 

of the Grenville province or eastern granite-rhyolite 

province. The locations of the tops of each stratigraphic 

unit penetrated in the 19 deep drill holes were converted from depth in feet (ft) below the kelly bushing 

(KB) to depth below ground level (GL), and then were 

plotted on the cross section with respect to mean sea 
2 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

level (MSL). Detailed depth information for the tops 

of the stratigraphic units in each well is reported in 

appendixes 1 and 2.

The correlation of stratigraphic intervals between 

drill holes was based on a variety of geophysical (wireline) and lithologic logs. The most commonly used geophysical logs were the gamma ray-neutron and gamma 

ray-density log suites, whereas the most commonly 

used lithologic logs were those produced by the Geological Sample Log Company (table 1). Gamma-ray 

logs used for correlations were digitized as Log ASCII 

files (LAS), converted to graphic images, and then 

plotted next to their respective drill holes. The lithology 

assigned to each stratigraphic interval was simplified to 

just a few rock types and lithologic modifiers.

The data from drill holes were supplemented by 

data on topography and bedrock geology. For example, 

the topographic profile for the cross section was created 

from a Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 

90-m-grid digital elevation model (DEM) for parts 

of Kentucky and Virginia. This topographic profile 

is approximate and should not be used to determine 

accurate surface elevations. The original website 

accessed in 2009 for DEM data is no longer accessible, but equivalent DEM data can be found at http://

srtm.csi.cgiar.org/. Some details of the Pennsylvanian 

stratigraphy in eastern Kentucky were obtained from 

bedrock geologic maps such as those by Donnell and 

Johnston (1963), Jenkins (1967), Outerbridge (1968), 

Weir and Richards (1974), Hinrichs and Ping (1978), 

and Sable (1978). The nomenclature for Pennsylvanian 

strata follows Greb and others (2004, 2009). Similar 

details of the Pennsylvanian stratigraphy in southwestern Virginia were obtained from bedrock geologic maps 

by Meissner (1978) and Mitchell and others (1984). 

Also, pre-Pennsylvanian stratigraphic units in the cross 

section were tied to the outcrop using geologic maps 

of Kentucky (Cressman, 1964, 1975a,b; MacQuown, 

1968; and McDowell, 1978) and of Virginia (Evans and 

Troensegaard, 1991; Bartlett and Webb, 1971; Virginia 

Division of Mineral Resources, 1993).

Although some correlations shown on cross section I–I′ are based on the authors’ interpretations, many 

correlations are adopted or modified from previous 

publications, and stratigraphic nomenclature follows 

existing terminology wherever possible. Useful references for stratigraphic correlations and (or) nomenclature include the following: Colton (1970), Harris 

and Milici (1977), Le Van and Rader (1983), Patchen 

and others (1985), Milici and de Witt (1988), Swezey 

(2002), and Noger and Drahozal (2005) for the entire 

Paleozoic section; Read (1980), Webb (1980), Cressman (1973), Weir and others (1984), Riley and others 

(1993, 2006), Ryder, Crangle, and others (2008), and 

Harris and others (2004) for Cambrian and Ordovician 

rocks; Wilson and others (1981a,b), McDowell (1983), 

Currie and MacQuown (1984), Brett and others (1990), 

Dorsch and others (1994), and Meglen and Noger 

(1996) for Silurian rocks; Wilson and others (1981a,b), 

de Witt and others (1993), and Filer (2002, 2003) 

for Devonian rocks; Averitt (1941), Englund (1979), 

Englund and Thomas (1990), Sable and Dever (1990), 

Chesnut (1992), Harris and Sparks (2000), Greb and 

others (2004, 2009), and Stamm (2004) for Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks. A correlation chart for 

all the stratigraphic units identified along cross section 

I–I′ is shown in figure 2.

Only selected unconformities are shown on cross 

section I–I′. Regional unconformities shown on section I–I′ and in figure 2 include (1) the basal Cambrian 

unconformity (see Read, 1989a; Harris and Baranoski, 

1996 for the stratigraphic location), (2) the Middle 

Ordovician (Knox) unconformity (Harris and Repetski, 

1982; Mussman and others, 1988), (3) the Upper Ordovician to lower Silurian Cherokee unconformity (Dennison and Head, 1975; Brett and others, 1990), (4) the 

Lower to Middle Devonian Wallbridge unconformity 

(Dennison and Head, 1975), (5) the Middle to Upper 

Devonian unconformity (de Witt and others, 1993), 

and (6) the Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity (Rice 

and Schwietering, 1988; Ettensohn, 1992a). The correlation of these unconformities with North American 

sequences of Sloss (1963, 1988) and Wheeler (1963) is 

shown on figure 2 and by Ettensohn (1994) and Swezey 

(2002, 2009).

Basement-involved structures along cross section 

I–I′ are modified from (1) structure-contour maps by 

Shumaker (1996), Drahovzal and Noger (1995), and 

Hickman and others (2006); (2) from seismic-based 

interpretations by Black (1989) and Hickman and others (2006); and (3) from an unpublished single-fold 

seismic profile (GTS31–1a) provided by John Hickman 

of the Kentucky Geological Survey in 2009. Thinskinned structures such as the Pine Mountain, St. Paul 

(Hunter Valley), Dumps, Honaker, and Copper Creek 

thrust faults and a complex, unnamed ramp anticline 

penetrated by well 18 are displayed on cross section 

I–I′ mainly on the basis of interpretations by Woodward 

(1985) and Evans and Troensegaard (1991) and from 

lithologic descriptions by L.D. Harris (unpub. data, 

1979). Another thin-skinned structure, the Russell Fork 

fault (fig. 1), is recognized as a transverse fault and 

lateral ramp (Harris and Milici, 1977; Meissner, 1978).

As defined by Rodgers (1970), the Allegheny 

structural front in southwestern Virginia and adjoining 

Tennessee separates low-dipping strata of the Cumberland Plateau (of the Appalachian Plateau province) on 

the northwest from steeper dipping and thrust-faulted 

strata of the Valley and Ridge province on the southeast (fig. 1). The Allegheny structural front is located 

in southwestern Virginia at the eastern end of the St. 

Paul (Hunter Valley) thrust fault near its junction with 

the Dumps thrust fault (Rodgers, 1970; Evans and 

Troensegaard, 1991). About 5 to 10 mi southwest of 

cross section I–I′, the Allegheny structural front shifts 

slightly to the north to wrap around the northern flank 

of the Powell Valley anticline (Rodgers, 1970).

The location of the Cincinnati arch (Lexington 

dome) on cross section I–I′ is based on the geologic 

map of Kentucky (McDowell and others, 1981). In 

addition, the eastward homoclinal regional dip of 

middle and upper Paleozoic strata on the eastern side 

of the arch, as shown on cross section I–I′, is based 
Structural Framework 3

on a structure-contour map on the base of the Devonian Ohio Shale (Dillman and Ettensohn, 1980). The 

westward dip of strata from the arch toward the Illinois 

basin, as shown on cross section I–I′, is based on 

structure-contour maps on the top of the Cambrian and 

Ordovician Knox Group (McGuire and Howell, 1963), 

on the top of the Ordovician Tyrone Limestone (Black, 

1989), and on the base of the Devonian New Albany 

Shale (Schwalb and Norris, 1980).

Structural Framework

The St. Paul (Hunter Valley) thrust fault and an 

underlying unnamed ramp anticline drilled by well 

18 mark the western margin of the Valley and Ridge 

province (fig. 1), where a thick panel of Cambrian 

to Ordovician carbonate rocks was decoupled from 

underlying strata and was thrust about 4 to 5 mi 

west up a major tectonic ramp (footwall ramp, using 

terminology of McClay, 1992) of the Pine Mountain 

thrust fault system. This footwall ramp connects a basal 

zone of detachment (footwall flat; McClay, 1992) in 

the Cambrian Shady Dolomite with an upper zone of 

detachment (hangingwall flat; McClay, 1992) in the 

Devonian Marcellus Shale and (or) Rhinestreet Shale 

(fig. 3). The upper detachment zone of the Pine Mountain thrust fault system extends west from beneath the 

unnamed anticline for about 32 mi along the Marcellus 

Shale and (or) Rhinestreet Shale before the zone breaks 

upsection along a secondary tectonic ramp (secondary 

footwall ramp) through rocks as young as Pennsylvanian (fig. 3). The net shortening in the unnamed ramp 

anticline is about 6 to 7 mi when accounting for folding 

and secondary thrust faults in the core of the structure. 

The duplication of the Cambrian Shady Dolomite and 

Cambrian Rome Formation in the unnamed ramp anticline has created a net structural relief of approximately 

1.7 mi (9,000 ft).

On cross section I–I′, the location of the basal 

detachment zone in the Shady Dolomite is based solely 

on the presence of stacked thrust sheets composed 

of Shady Dolomite in the unnamed ramp anticline 

penetrated by drill hole 18 (L.D. Harris, written communication to J.A. Cramer, Jr., Exxon Company, July 

9, 1979) and on the presence of anhydrite beds in the 

Shady Dolomite in drill hole 18 (both in the parautochthonous section near the bottom of the drill hole and 

the allochthonous horse blocks in the Pine Mountain 

thrust sheet, discussed later in the text). This placement 

contradicts previous work by Harris and Milici (1977) 

and Kulander and Dean (1986), who placed the basal 

detachment zone in the Cambrian Rome Formation.

The upper detachment zone of the Pine Mountain 

thrust fault continues west for an additional 35 to 40 

mi beyond the secondary footwall ramp, as a secondary bedding plane fault in the Devonian Rhinestreet 

Shale (Shumaker, 1978). Another bedding plane fault 

located within the lower part of the Devonian Huron 

Shale extends even farther west beyond the secondary tectonic ramp of the Pine Mountain thrust fault 

(Shumaker, 1978). These secondary bedding plane fault 

zones described by Shumaker (1978) occur in Devonian organic-rich shale beds and are characterized in 

core samples by horizontal and inclined fractures with 

slickensides.

Typical Appalachian basement-involved structures 

are predominantly extensional faults, several of which 

may have resulted from Neoproterozoic to earliest 

Cambrian rifting of the eastern continental margin of 

North America (Rankin and others, 1989; Thomas, 

1991). This rifting event was followed by the opening 

of the Iapetus Ocean and the construction of a passive 

margin along the eastern margin of North America 

(Rankin and others, 1989; Thomas, 1991). A Middle 

Cambrian rifting event, which was more moderate in 

scale than the Neoproterozoic-earliest Cambrian rifting 

event, formed the Rome trough about 200 mi inland 

from the evolving passive margin (Beardsley and 

Cable, 1983; Read, 1989a,b; Shumaker, 1996). A major 

basement fault near the crest of the Cincinnati arch, 

between wells 4 and 5, shows normal (extensional) 

offset. This fault, however, was originally a west-verging thrust fault that placed Proterozoic Grenville-age 

crystalline basement rocks against crystalline basement rocks of the Proterozoic eastern granite-rhyolite 

province and overlying red conglomeratic sandstone 

(litharenite) of the Proterozoic Middle Run Formation 

(Drahovzal and others, 1992).

Typical Appalachian thin-skinned structures 

(terminology of Rodgers, 1963) are bedding-plane 

detachment zones, footwall ramps, ramp anticlines, 

and imbricate thrust faults (Rodgers, 1963; Harris and 

Milici, 1977; Woodward and Gray, 1985). These features are contractional in origin and probably developed 

during the Late Mississippian to Permian continental 

collision (Alleghanian orogeny) between eastern North 

America and Africa (Rodgers, 1988; Hatcher and 

others, 1989). Crustal contraction that accompanied 

this collision caused large horizontal displacements 

of thick, competent panels of Paleozoic strata along 

surfaces in incompetent Paleozoic strata. In places, the 

Alleghanian orogeny reactivated basement faults and 

locally inverted the Rome trough (Harris, 1978; Dever, 

1986; Shumaker and Wilson, 1996; Hickman and others, 2006).

Basement Rocks and Associated 

Structures

Basement rocks along cross section I–I′ consist of 

igneous and metamorphic rocks. East of drill hole 4, 

these basement rocks are the subsurface extension of 

the Grenville province (Rankin and others, 1993). Most 

isotope ages of these Grenville rocks range between 

1,350 and 950 million years old (mega-annum, or 

Ma), and many ages cluster around 1,100 to 1,000 Ma 

(fig. 2). Radiometric ages reported for the majority of 

basement rocks in the vicinity of cross section I–I′ are 

consistent with a Grenville-province age. For example, 

Heald (1981) reported a potassium-argon (K-Ar) age 

of 935±10 Ma for biotite in granodiorite in the No. 
4 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

Table 1. Drill holes used in cross section I–I’.—Continued

[Drill-hole locations are shown in figure 1. Sources of lithologic logs are Geological Sample Log Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. (GSLC); W.L. Calvert (1962), Ohio Report of Investigations 45 (C); unpublished data 

(1974), Signal Oil and Gas Company (S); Souder and Zafar (1977), Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Report No. 951 (S and Z); unpublished data, Harris (1979)(LDH). Additional abbreviations are as follows: 

Co., County; Comp., Company; Corp., Corporation; min, minute; NA, not available; No., number; Ky., Kentucky; Va., Virginia]

Drill 

hole 

number

Name used in text Location

American 

Petroleum 

Institute number

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Source of 

lithologic 

log

Cored intervals (in feet) and 

stratigraphic unit

Total 

depth 

(in feet)

Age of oldest 

rocks drilled 

(stratigraphic unit)

Kentucky

1 E.I. Dupont de Nemours and 

Comp. No. 1 Dupont Plant 

Disposal

Jefferson Co., Ky. (Louisville West, 

Ky., 7.5-min quadangle)

16–111–24576 38.219 -85.840 GSLC 1,156–1,176, High Bridge Group; 

1,677–1,704, Wells Creek dolomite; 

1,704–1,713, St. Peter Sandstone; 

1,713–1,805, Knox Dolomite; 

2,499–2,529, Copper Ridge Dolomite; 

2,700–2,830, Copper Ridge Dolomite; 

4,410–4,456, Conasauga Formation; 

5,335–5,340, Middle Run Formation; 

5,993–6,008, eastern granite-rhyolite 

province gabbro

6,011 Mesoproterozoic

2 Beaver Dam Coal Comp. 

No. 1 C.J. Morris

Shelby Co., Ky. (Shelbyville, Ky., 

7.5-min quadangle)

16–211–09113 38.158 -85.172 GSLC NA 2,075 Late Cambrian

(Copper Ridge 

Dolomite)

3 Stoll Oil and Refining Comp.

No. 1 Ben Bond

Anderson Co., Ky. (Alton Station, 

Ky., 7.5-min quadrangle)

16–005–00000 38.026 -84.884 GSLC NA 2,838 Late Cambrian and 

Early Ordovician 

(Knox Group)

4 Phillip Agrios Exploration 

No. 1 Dudley Gaines

Woodford Co., Ky. (Tyrone, Ky., 

7.5-min quadrangle)

16–239–21801 38.011 -84.753 GSLC NA 2,812 Late Cambrian and 

Early Ordovician 

(Knox Group)

5 Kentucky Drilling and Operating Comp. No. 1 Paul 

Adams and Clarence Long

Clark Co., Ky. (Ford, Ky., 7.5-min 

quadrangle)

16–049–10287 37.947 -84.302 GSLC NA 1,563 Late Cambrian and 

Early Ordovician 

(Knox Group)

6 Ashland Oil and Refining 

Comp., Inc. No. 1 M.W. 

Miller

Clark Co., Ky. (Austerlitz, Ky,. 

7.5-min quadrangle)

16–049–18142 38.025 -84.166 GSLC NA 3,425 Mesoproterozoic

7 Ferguson and Bosworth 

No. 16–1 Alvery Potter

Montgomery Co., Ky. (Levee, Ky., 

7.5-min quadrangle)

16–173–11507 37.976 -83.956 GSLC NA 4,481 Mesoproterozoic

8 Monitor Petroleum Corp. 

No. 1 Campbell

Menifee Co., Ky. (Pomeroyton, Ky., 

7.5-min quadrangle)

16–165–29846 37.874 -83.551 GSLC 5,713–5,741, Maryville Limestone of 

Conasauga Group

6,787 Mesoproterozoic

9 Monitor Petroleum Corp.

No. 1 C.K. Stacy Heirs

Morgan Co., Ky. (Cannel City, Ky., 

7.5-min quadrangle)

16–175–28019 37.864 -83.370 GSLC NA 7,587 Mesoproterozoic
Structural Framework 5

Table 1. Drill holes used in cross section I–I’.—Continued

[Drill-hole locations are shown in figure 1. Sources of lithologic logs are Geological Sample Log Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. (GSLC); W.L. Calvert (1962), Ohio Report of Investigations 45 (C); unpublished data 

(1974), Signal Oil and Gas Company (S); Souder and Zafar (1977), Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Report No. 951 (S and Z); unpublished data, Harris (1979)(LDH). Additional abbreviations are as follows: 

Co., County; Comp., Company; Corp., Corporation; min, minute; NA, not available; No., number; Ky., Kentucky; Va., Virginia]

Drill 

hole 

number

Name used in text Location

American 

Petroleum 

Institute number

Latitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Longitude 

(decimal 

degrees)

Source of 

lithologic 

log

Cored intervals (in feet) and 

stratigraphic unit

Total 

depth 

(in feet)

Age of oldest 

rocks drilled 

(stratigraphic unit)

Kentucky—Continued

10 Exxon Corp. No. 1 Orville 

Banks

Wolfe Co., Ky. (Lee City, Ky., 

7.5-min quadrangle)

16–237–30520 37.709 -83.368 GSLC 7,326–7,386, Nolichucky Shale; 

9,425–9,439, Rutledge Limestone; 

12,178–12,186, Chilhowee Group; 

12,188–12,219, Chilhowee Group

12,323 Mesoproterozoic

11 United Fuel Gas Comp. No. 

8613T S.W. (B.) Williams

Breathitt Co., Ky. (Quicksand, Ky., 

7.5-min quadrangle)

16–025–00745 37.537 -83.290 GSLC, C NA 11,130 Mesoproterozoic

12 Signal Oil and Gas Comp. 

No. 1 Hall

Floyd Co., Ky. (Wayland, Ky., 

7.5-min quadrangle)

16–071–27524 37.493 -82.758 S NA 13,035 Mesoproterozoic

13 Signal Oil and Gas Comp. 

No. 1 Stratton

Pike Co., Ky. (Millard, Ky., 7.5–min 

quadrangle)

16–195–24577 37.482 -82.463 GSLC NA 12,471 Mesoproterozoic

14 United Fuel Gas Comp. No. 

201 Kentland Coal and 

Coke Comp.

Pike Co., Ky. (Elkhorn City, Ky., 

7.5–min quadrangle)

16–195–18969 37.337 -82.346 NA NA 4,990 Middle Devonian (Onondaga 

Limestone)

Virginia

15 Columbia Natural Resources 

No. 20321–T Mullins 

Heirs

Dickenson Co., Va. (Elkhorn City, 

Va., 7.5–min quadrangle)

45–051–20238 37.278 -82.259 GSLC NA 9,374 Late Cambrian and 

Early Ordovician 

(Knox Group)

16 Columbia Gas Transmission 

Corp. No. 9781–T Pittston 

Comp.

Buchanan Co., Va. (Prater, Va., 

7.5–min quadrangle)

45–027–20147 37.247 -82.186 NA NA 6,798 Ordovician (Juniata 

Formation)

17 Columbia Gas Transmission 

Corp. No. 9722–T John W. 

Pobst and others

Buchanan Co., Va. (Prater, Va., 

7.5–min quadrangle)

45–027–04032 37.165 -82.142 GSLC NA 7,299 early Silurian 

(Hagan Shale 

Member of 

Clinch Sandstone)

18 Gulf Oil Comp. No. 1 N.R. 

Price

Russell Co., Va. (Hansonville, Va., 

7.5–min quadrangle)

45–167–20256 36.872 -82.237 GSLC, 

LDH

8,735–8,739, Clinch Sandstone; 

9,710–9,770, Trenton Limestone; 

13,400–13,420, Copper Ridge Dolomite of Knox Group

17,000 Mesoproterozoic

19 Tidewater and Wolf’s Head 

No. 1 E.D. Smith

Scott Co., Va. (Mendota, Va., 

7.5–min quadrangle)

45–169–19690 36.649 -82.318 GSLC, S 

and Z

3,243–3,253, Little Valley Limestone; 

6,991–6,998, Clinch Sandstone

7,222 Late Ordovician 

(Sequatchie 

Formation)
6 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

9674T Mineral Tract well, located in Mingo County, 

West Virginia, about 33 mi northeast of drill hole 13 

in cross section I–I′ (fig. 1). Keller and others (1981) 

reported K-Ar biotite ages of 894±30 Ma (depth of 

7,586 ft) and 917±31 Ma (depth of 6,388 ft) in the No. 

1 Blanton well, located in Morgan County, Kentucky, 

about 7 mi northeast of drill hole 8 in cross section 

I–I′ (fig. 1). Keller and others (1981) also reported 

rubidium-strontium (Rb-Sr) ages of 975±85 Ma (from 

feldspar in a microsyenite vein) in the No.1 Daulton 

well, and 950±40 Ma (from biotite in gneiss) in the No. 

1 Edwards well, both of which are located in Pulaski 

County, Kentucky, approximately 60 mi southwest of 

drill hole 5. Hoppe and others (1983) and Randy Van 

Schmus (Steve Bergman, oral commun., 1992) reported 

an older zircon uranium-lead (U-Pb) age of 1,457±10 

Ma for syenite in the No. 1 Edwards well. This older 

U-Pb age possibly represents the age of a protolith 

to the metamorphic rocks of the Grenville province. 

Although some of these reported ages are older than 

Mesoproterozoic, or younger than the 950 Ma Mesoproterozoic basement lower limit suggested by Rankin 

and others (1993), the rocks with ages of approximately 

1,457 to 894 Ma are grouped in this report with rocks 

of the Grenville province based on their similar lithology and structural style.

The western margin of the subsurface extension 

of the Grenville province is marked by the Grenville 

front (figs. 1 and 2), along which intensely deformed 

Grenville-age (Mesoproterozoic) metamorphic and 

igneous rocks (commonly characterized by westverging thrust faults; Culotta and others, 1990; Rankin 

and others, 1991; Drahovzal and others, 1992) are 

juxtaposed against mildly deformed 1,480 to 1,450 Ma 

crystalline basement rocks of the eastern granite-rhyolite province to the west (Lidiak and others, 1993; Van 

Schmus and others, 1996; McBride and others, 2001). 

The basement-involved Lexington fault zone, located 

between drill holes 4 and 5 (fig. 1), defines the approximate boundary between Grenville Mesoproterozoic 

basement rocks and rocks of the eastern granite-rhyolite 

province (Drahovzal and others, 1992). Drill hole 1 in 

Jefferson County, Kentucky, is the only drill hole along 

cross section I–I′ that bottomed in crystalline rocks of 

the eastern granite-rhyolite province (fig. 1). Gabbro 

at the bottom of this drill hole has been interpreted as 

basement rock of the eastern granite-rhyolite province 

(Drahovzal and others, 1992) from a determined Rb-Sr 

isotope age of 1,500±200 Ma (Steve Bergman, ARCO 

Exploration and Production, written commun., 1993). 

An alternate interpretation is that the gabbro in drill 

hole 1 originated as a Mesoproterozoic feeder dike system that was emplaced along the faulted margin of the 

Louisville Accommodation Structure (fig. 1) and was 

composed of crystalline basement rocks of the eastern 

granite-rhyolite province (Stark, 1997a).

Mesoproterozoic basement rocks along the 

Grenville front have been thrust west against the 

Proterozoic Middle Run Formation, which overlies an 

unconformity on basement rocks of the eastern graniterhyolite province. Evidence for westward thrusting of 

Grenville basement rocks against rocks of the Proterozoic Middle Run Formation is from the No. 1 Sherrer 

well (Jessamine County, Kentucky), approximately 

17 mi southeast of drill hole 4 (fig. 1) and within a 

mile of the Grenville front. In core from this well, the 

Middle Run Formation dips as steep as 70 degrees 

(J.A. Drahovzal, written commun., 2010). Moreover, 

weathered basalt is present at the top of the Middle Run 

Formation in the No. 1 Sherrer well (M.N. Bass, written commun., 1970), but the structural context of the 

basalt is unknown. Presumably, both the basalt and the 

red conglomeratic sandstone (litharenite) units of the 

Middle Run Formation were deformed by contraction 

associated with the Grenville front (J.A. Drahovzal, 

written commun., 2010). J.A. Drahovzal (written commun., 2010) estimated that the age of the Middle Run 

Formation in the No. 1 Sherrer well is about 1,000 Ma. 

The 1,020 Ma radiometric age of a quartz trachyte (or 

rhyolite) flow within the Middle Run Formation in the 

No. 1 Spears well in Lincoln County, Kentucky (M.N. 

Bass, written communication to the Kentucky Geological Survey, 1969; Drahovzal and others, 1992) is 

consistent with the 1,000 Ma age of deposition of the 

Middle Run Formation proposed by J.A. Drahovzal 

(written commun., 2010).

The crystalline basement of the Appalachian basin 

is a homoclinal ramp that dips gently from an interior 

craton to the external margin of a fold-and-thrust belt, 

which is typical of many foreland basins. Along cross 

section I–I′, this basement ramp deepens progressively 

to the southeast from about 2,200 ft below mean sea 

level (MSL) beneath the Cincinnati arch near drill hole 

4, to about 14,000 ft below MSL beneath the Allegheny 

structural front at drill hole 18. This gradual eastward 

deepening of the basement ramp along cross section 

I–I′ is interrupted by the Rome trough, a Middle Cambrian rift system that drops the basement rocks to as 

much as 12,000 ft below MSL (fig. 1). The northwestern limit of the Rome trough on cross section I–I′ is 

defined as the down-to-the-south Kentucky River fault, 

which is located several miles northwest of drill hole 7, 

whereas the eastern limit of the Rome trough on cross 

section I–I′ is defined as the down-to-the-west Rockcastle River fault, which is located about 8 mi southeast 

of drill hole 11 (Drahovzal and Noger, 1995; Shumaker, 

1996; Hickman and others, 2006). Along cross section 

I–I′, the Rome trough is about 65 mi wide and has a 

structural relief on the top of basement that ranges from 

about 1,000 ft at its western margin to an estimated 

3,800 ft along the Irvine-Paint Creek fault in the middle 

of the trough. In general, the structural relief on basement along the Rome trough in cross section I–I′ is less 

than the structural relief on basement along the margins 

and (or) within the Rome trough in cross sections C–C′

and D–D′. This decrease in structural relief in cross 

section I–I′ may represent less crustal extension during 

the Mesoproterozoic in central and eastern Kentucky 

than in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West 

Virginia.
Structural Framework 7

Many of the normal (extensional) faults associated with the Rome trough rift system were reactivated 

at least once during the Paleozoic to produce either 

renewed subsidence or small-scale basin inversion 

(Shumaker and Wilson, 1996). The best example of 

basin inversion on cross section I–I′ is shown by the 

Caney anticline on the southern side of the Irvine-Paint 

Creek fault between drill holes 9 and 10. This deeply 

rooted anticline probably resulted from a reversal in 

motion of the preexisting, down-to-south Irvine-Paint 

Creek fault in the middle of the Rome trough (Sable, 

1978; Hickman and others, 2006). The reversal in 

motion that caused the small-scale inversion probably 

resulted from contraction during the Late Mississippian 

to Permian Alleghanian orogeny.

The southeast-dipping basement block between 

the Rockcastle River fault and the Allegheny structural 

front along cross section I–I′ is an extension of the 

central West Virginia and southern West Virginia arches 

(fig. 1) that were identified by Kulander and Dean 

(1986). This southeast-dipping block is broken along 

several north- to northwest-trending subvertical basement faults (with as much as 500 to 1,000 ft of vertical 

separation) that divide the block into the Perry and 

Pike County uplifts (between drill holes 11 and 13) and 

the intervening Floyd County embayment at drill hole 

12 (Sutton, 1981). The D’Invilliers structure, located 

between drill holes 14 and 15, is a northeast-trending 

flexure that is probably underlain by a basement fault 

that bounds the eastern side of the Pike County uplift 

(Kubik, 1993; Drahovzal and Noger, 1995; Shumaker, 

1996). Therefore, the Perry and Pike County uplifts and 

the Floyd County embayment are probably fault-bound 

blocks that trend approximately normal to the Rome 

trough and terminate against the southern margin of the 

Rome trough (fig. 1). The southern ends of these fault 

blocks are overridden by the Pine Mountain thrust fault 

(fig. 1).

Paleozoic strata along the western flank of the 

Cincinnati arch dip west into the Illinois basin at a 

much lower angle than the Paleozoic strata dipping 

off the eastern flank of the dome. The westward dip of 

strata from the Cincinnati arch into the Illinois basin is 

generally very uniform except for several minor sags, 

low-amplitude anticlines and synclines, terraces, monoclines, and fault zones (Cressman, 1965; Kepferle, 

1974a; Black, 1989). Most of these subtle surface structures are probably underlain by Proterozoic- to Cambrian-age extensional basement faults, similar to faults 

that have been interpreted in nearby areas by Drahovzal 

and others (1992) and Stark (1997a,b). Many basement 

faults of Proterozoic to Cambrian age in the Illinois 

basin and vicinity were reactivated during the Late 

Mississippian to Permian Ouachita and (or) Alleghanian orogenies (Kolata and Nelson, 1997), creating 

minor structures in the overlying strata. In addition, two 

circular-shaped cryptoexplosive structures are located 

along the western flank of the Cincinnati arch near 

cross section I–I′. The larger and more complex of the 

two is the Jeptha Knob structure (Cressman, 1975a,b; 

Black, 1989), which is located about 3 mi northeast of 

drill hole 2, whereas the smaller Versailles structure 

(Black, 1964; Black, 1989) is located about 7 mi northeast of drill hole 3. Cressman (1981) and Seeger and 

others (1985) have attributed the origin of the Jeptha 

Knob structure to a meteorite impact, although shatter 

cones and meteorites have not been found in this area.

Thin-Skinned Structures

Thin-skinned structures in the Valley and Ridge 

province of cross section I–I′ are dominated by a 

system of foreland-vergent thrust faults (terminology of McClay, 1992) that consists from northwest to 

southeast of the Pine Mountain, St. Paul (Hunter Valley), Dumps, Honaker, and Copper Creek thrust faults 

(Rodgers, 1970; Harris and Milici, 1977; Woodward 

and Gray, 1985; Mitra, 1988; Evans and Troensegaard, 

1991). In addition, the Saltville thrust fault (fig. 1) is 

located several miles beyond the south end of cross 

section I–I′ (Bartlett and Webb, 1971; Virginia Division 

of Mineral Resources, 1993). As noted by Milici (1980) 

and shown on cross section I–I′, this belt of predominantly foreland-vergent, thin thrust sheets in the Valley 

and Ridge province contrasts in deformational style 

with the belt of thick thrust sheets and high-amplitude 

anticlines located along strike to the northeast (shown 

by cross sections C–C′, D–D′, and E–E′). The only anticline of the Valley and Ridge province shown on cross 

section I–I′ is the previously mentioned unnamed ramp 

anticline that is penetrated by well 18 (fig. 3) and is 

concealed beneath the St. Paul (Hunter Valley), Dumps, 

and Honaker thrust faults. 

The Pine Mountain thrust fault (Alvord and Miller, 

1972) and the associated Pine Mountain anticline 

immediately to the southeast (not shown on fig. 1) 

(Henika, 1989, 1994) crop out along cross section I–I′

between drill holes 14 and 15 and define the leading 

edge of the foreland-vergent group of thrust faults (fig. 

1). This part of the Pine Mountain thrust fault represents a northeast extension of the main branch of the 

thrust fault at its juncture with the Russell Fork fault 

(Alvord and Miller, 1972). The Pine Mountain thrust 

fault (extension) places Pennsylvanian strata on the 

hanging wall against Pennsylvanian strata on the footwall with about 500 ft of vertical separation (Alvord 

and Miller, 1972). In contrast, the main branch of the 

Pine Mountain thrust fault places Upper Devonian 

strata on the hanging wall against Pennsylvanian strata 

on the footwall with about 3,000 to 5,000 ft of vertical 

separation (Harris and Milici, 1977; Woodward and 

Gray, 1985; Mitra, 1988). The Pine Mountain thrust 

fault (extension) shown on cross section I–I′ continues 

downward as a southeast-dipping (20 to 30 degrees) 

secondary footwall ramp to a depth of about 5,500 ft 

where the fault flattens into the upper detachment zone 

(hangingwall flat of the primary footwall ramp) in the 

Devonian Marcellus Shale and (or) Rhinestreet Shale 

Member of the West Falls Formation (fig. 3). This 
8 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

upper detachment zone (hangingwall flat) in the Pine 

Mountain thrust fault continues within the Marcellus 

and Rhinestreet Shales to the south for about 32 mi to a 

depth of about 8,000 ft where the detachment joins the 

primary footwall ramp of the Pine Mountain thrust fault 

near drill hole 18 (fig. 3). The primary footwall ramp 

of the Pine Mountain thrust fault dips about 30 to 40 

degrees to the southeast, cuts across Cambrian through 

Middle Devonian strata to a depth of about 16,500 ft, 

and then flattens into the basal detachment zone (footwall flat of the primary footwall ramp) in the Lower 

Cambrian Shady Dolomite (fig. 3).

As previously mentioned, the unnamed anticline penetrated by well 18 is interpreted as a ramp 

(fault-bend) anticline that formed in a thick panel of 

Cambrian and Ordovician rocks. These strata were 

transported to the northwest up and over the primary 

footwall ramp that connected the basal detachment 

zone in Cambrian strata (footwall flat of the primary 

footwall ramp) with the upper detachment (hangingwall 

flat of the primary footwall ramp) in Devonian shale 

(fig. 3). The lower 2,500 ft of the anticlinal core is 

interpreted here as a duplex composed of stacked thrust 

slices (horse blocks) of Shady Dolomite and Rome 

Formation (fig. 3). These horse blocks probably were 

detached from the adjoining footwall ramp, as were 

similar horse blocks described by Schultz (1988) in the 

Pulaski thrust sheet in Montgomery, Pulaski, and Wythe 

Counties, Virginia. The duplex (antiformal stack) 

of Shady and Rome thrust slices and the overlying 

Cambrian carbonate rocks formed a tectonic wedge that 

was inserted into the slip-prone Devonian shale along 

the upper detachment zone of the Pine Mountain thrust 

fault. As the wedge-shaped leading edge of the ramp 

anticline was driven by contraction into the Devonian 

shale, a thick flap of the overlying Devonian and Mississippian rocks was progressively steepened to form 

a passive roof duplex (terminology of McClay, 1992) 

above the northwest limb of the anticline. Although 

both the unnamed ramp anticline and the Powell Valley 

anticline (fig. 1) are situated along the primary footwall 

ramp of the Pine Mountain thrust sheet, they represent 

slightly different styles of thin-skinned deformation 

and degrees of net shortening. For example, the core 

of the unnamed ramp anticline contains the previously 

described stack of thin thrust slices (horse blocks) with 

about 6 to 7 mi of net shortening, whereas the core of 

the Powell Valley anticline contains one or two thicker 

thrust slices with about 12 to 14 mi of net shortening 

(Harris and Milici, 1977).

In this report, the unnamed ramp anticline (fig. 3) 

is interpreted as occupying the same geometric position 

as a ramp anticline that Woodward and Gray (1985, 

cross section 19) shows at the top of the primary footwall ramp of the Pine Mountain thrust fault and beneath 

the St. Paul (Hunter Valley) thrust fault, although the 

ramp anticline of Woodward and Gray (1985) is not 

shown as a duplex. In contrast, an alternative interpretation by Evans and Troensegaard (1991) shows an 

allochthonous, primarily unfaulted, southeast-dipping 

homocline of lower Paleozoic strata.

The Copper Creek thrust fault branches off the 

basal detachment zone in the Lower Cambrian Shady 

Dolomite about 9 mi to the southeast of the primary 

footwall ramp of the Pine Mountain thrust fault and 

crops out about 3 mi to the southeast of the unnamed 

ramp anticline where the Rome Formation in the 

hanging wall is juxtaposed against Middle and Upper 

Ordovician limestone in the footwall. The Copper 

Creek thrust fault sheet shown on cross section I–I′ is a 

14,000- to 15,000-ft-thick panel of Paleozoic strata that 

dips to the southeast beneath the Saltville thrust fault, 

which is located within 5 mi of the southern end of the 

cross section (fig. 1). About 7,000 ft of Silurian, Devonian, and Mississippian strata in the upper part of the 

Copper Creek thrust fault sheet were penetrated by well 

19. The Mississippian strata penetrated by well 19 form 

the upright, northwest flank of the overturned Greendale syncline beneath the Saltville thrust fault (Cooper, 

1966; Bartlett and Webb, 1971). Restored cross section 

19 in Woodward and Gray (1985) indicates that the 

main branch of the Pine Mountain thrust fault and the 

Copper Creek thrust fault represent about 35 to 40 mi 

of total lateral shortening (or about 45 percent lateral 

shortening). By comparison, Kulander and Dean (1986) 

calculated 52 percent structural shortening across 

approximately the same region, using cross section 13 

of their report.

In cross section I–I′, the St. Paul (Hunter Valley), 

Honaker, and Dumps thrust faults are interpreted as 

frontal imbricates off the Copper Creek thrust fault 

that truncate the crest of the unnamed ramp anticline 

and conceal it beneath 2,500 ft of displaced strata. 

Woodward and Gray (1985) provide an alternative 

interpretation, which shows these faults as branches of 

the basal detachment. Another alternative interpretation is provided by Mitra (1988), who showed the St. 

Paul (Hunter Valley) thrust fault and Clinchport thrust 

fault (roughly equivalent to the Honaker thrust fault) as 

imbricates off a shallower fault system that presumably 

connects with the deeper Copper Creek thrust fault.

Stratigraphic Framework

Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic(?) sedimentary rocks of the Middle Run Formation are present on 

cross section I–I′ from near the western end of the section to the Lexington fault (about midway between drill 

holes 4 and 5). Across the entire length of cross section 

I–I′, these Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic(?) 

sedimentary rocks (and crystalline basement rocks of 

the adjoining Grenville and eastern granite-rhyolite 

provinces) are overlain by Paleozoic sedimentary 

rocks of thicknesses ranging from about 6,000 ft on the 

easternmost flank of the Illinois basin to about 3,000 

ft along the crest of the Cincinnati arch and to about 

16,000 ft near the Allegheny structural front. The lithology, stratigraphic nomenclature, depositional settings, 
Stratigraphic Framework 9

and tectonic settings of the Mesoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic(?), and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks along 

cross section I–I′ are briefly outlined and discussed 

in the following text. More detailed discussions are 

available in regional geological summaries by Colton 

(1970), Milici and de Witt (1988), Read (1989a,b), and 

Ettensohn (1992a).

Much of the eastward thickening of strata in the 

Appalachian basin was caused by regional tectonic 

events. For example, during the Neoproterozoic to 

Early Cambrian, as the proto-Atlantic (Iapetus) Ocean 

opened and formed a rifted continental margin, cooling and thermal contraction of the lithosphere caused 

subsidence that provided accommodation or preservation space for sediments to build an east-facing passive 

continental margin (Bond and others, 1988; Read, 

1989b). During several later periods of the Paleozoic, 

subsidence caused by thrust loading provided additional accommodation or preservation space for sediments to accumulate in Appalachian foreland basins 

(Quinlan and Beaumont, 1984). Sea level changes, 

caused by changes in global climate and (or) changes 

in regional tectonic activity, also played a role in the 

eastward thickening of Appalachian strata (Bond and 

others, 1988). For example, a rise in sea level may 

cause load-induced subsidence (by sediment and water 

column overburden) and provide accommodation space 

for additional sediments on the outer continental shelf, 

whereas a fall in sea level may cause erosion of the 

inner continental shelf.

During the Paleozoic, the Cincinnati arch behaved 

as a relatively stable block supported by the thick, 

rigid Middle Run Formation and adjoining crystalline 

rocks of the Grenville front. Stark (1997a) also recognized the close alignment of the axis of the Cincinnati 

arch and the subcrop of the Middle Run Formation 

but offered no explanation for the association of these 

features. Westward thickening of Paleozoic strata from 

the Cincinnati arch into the Illinois basin probably had 

multiple causes, one of which was extensional faulting 

of the basement and associated graben systems in western Kentucky and Illinois (Kolata and Nelson, 1997; 

Noger and Drahovzal, 2005). Subsidence was probably 

initiated during the Middle to Late Cambrian and persisted throughout most of the Paleozoic (Thomas, 1991; 

Kolata and Nelson, 1997).

Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic(?) 

Siliciclastic Strata

Mesoproterozoic crystalline rocks of the eastern 

granite-rhyolite province are capped by an unconformity, above which lie relatively flat-lying siliciclastic 

red beds of the Proterozoic Middle Run Formation. 

The siliciclastic red beds of the Middle Run Formation are characterized by red conglomeratic sandstone 

(litharenite), red to reddish-gray sandstone (litharenite), 

pebbly sandstone, siltstone, and local shale (fig. 2). 

Framework grains consist of quartz, feldspar (mostly 

potassium feldspar), and rock fragments that are mostly 

of metamorphic and volcanic origin (Shrake and 

others, 1990; Richard and others, 1997). The eastern 

limit of the Middle Run Formation on cross section 

I–I′ is marked by the Grenville structural front, where 

Mesoproterozoic crystalline rocks of the Grenville 

province are placed in thrust contact against the Middle 

Run Formation (Drahovzal and others, 1992; Stark, 

1997a,b). However, an alternate interpretation by 

Richard and others (1997), which is based on seismic 

data in southern Ohio, suggests that the Middle Run 

Formation overlaps rocks of the Grenville province and 

thus is a post-Grenville deposit. Although the estimated 

thickness of the Middle Run Formation is speculative 

because few wells have penetrated the unit, Drahovzal 

and others (1992) estimated the thickness in the vicinity 

of cross section I–I′ to range from 15,000 to 20,000 ft.

The Middle Run Formation was named by Shrake 

and others (1990, 1991) for a 1,910-ft-thick pre-Mount 

Simon unit penetrated in an Ohio Geological Survey 

corehole in Warren County, Ohio, (fig.1) and to which 

they assigned a late Precambrian age. Richard and 

others (1997), however, considered the Middle Run 

Formation to be Early Cambrian in age, and thus 

younger than the 1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift System. 

Uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages (84 analyses) of Middle Run 

Formation detrital zircons from the corehole in Warren 

County, Ohio, range from 1,982 to 1,030 Ma and indicate that most, but not all, of the zircons at the top of 

the Middle Run Formation were derived from the Grenville province (Santos and others, 2002). A U-Pb age 

of 1,048±22 Ma for the youngest of a population of 61 

detrital zircons indicates that the Middle Run Formation is a late Grenville to post-Grenville deposit (Santos 

and others, 2002). On the basis of zircon fission track 

dating by Roden-Tice and Shrake (1998), an upper age 

limit of 700 to 600 Ma for the Middle Run Formation 

suggests that the unit is a post-Grenville deposit. The 

apparent absence of detrital zircons younger than 1.0 

Ga in the Middle Run Formation may have been caused 

by the lack of felsic volcanism during the early Neoproterozoic (Santos and others, 2002).

There is some debate about the configuration of 

the rocks of the Grenville province, the eastern graniterhyolite province, and the Middle Run Formation and, 

consequently, the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic 

history of central Kentucky and adjoining States. The 

detrital zircon geochronology study by Santos and 

others (2002), combined with seismic data presented 

by Richard and others (1997) and Baranoski and others 

(2009), strongly suggest that at least the upper part of 

the Middle Run Formation in central and southern Ohio 

is a post-Grenville foreland basin deposit. In contrast, 

however, the previously described steeply dipping beds 

of the Middle Run Formation in the No. 1 Sherrer well 

suggest that the Middle Run Formation in the vicinity 

of cross section I–I′ was deposited prior to the thrust 

emplacement of Grenville province rocks along the 

Grenville front (Drahovzal and others, 1992; Stark, 

1997a,b).
10 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

The Middle Run Formation is interpreted as a 

braided fluvial deposit that accumulated on a semiarid 

alluvial plain (Richard and others, 1997). However, the 

origin of the basin in which the Middle Run Formation 

was deposited is uncertain. The Middle Run Formation 

may represent either synorogenic to early post-orogenic 

deposits of a 1.3 to 1.0 Ga foreland basin (Hauser, 

1993; Santos and others, 2002) or 1.1 Ga rift basin 

deposits of the East Continent Rift basin (Cannon and 

others, 1989) approximately coeval with the Midcontinent Rift System (Drahovzal and others, 1992). More 

recently, on the basis of interpretations of regional 

seismic reflection profiles, Baranoski and others (2009) 

suggested that the Middle Run Formation accumulated 

in both types of basins: the lower part of the Middle 

Run Formation accumulated in the East Continent Rift 

basin (extensional phase), whereas the upper part of 

the Middle Run Formation accumulated in the Grenville foreland basin (contractional phase). According to 

Baranoski and others (2009), both the extensional and 

contractional phases resulted from separate stages of 

Grenville orogenesis. Foreland basin deposits would 

have been primarily derived from a Grenville province 

terrane, whereas rift basin deposits would likely have 

been derived from both the Grenville province and 

eastern granite-rhyolite province terranes. Both types of 

basins are consistent with a thrust contact between the 

Middle Run Formation and Grenville-province basement rocks.

Lower Cambrian to Upper Ordovician 

Siliciclastic and Carbonate Strata

The Middle Run Formation is capped by an 

unconformity, above which lies Lower Cambrian to 

Upper Ordovician siliciclastic and carbonate strata 

that consist predominantly of limestone, dolomite, and 

gray shale, and lesser amounts of sandstone, anhydritic 

dolomite, and red shale (fig. 2). The thickest section of 

Lower Cambrian to Upper Ordovician siliciclastic and 

carbonate strata on cross section I–I′ is located in the 

central part of the Rome trough between the IrvinePaint Creek fault and drill hole 10. At this location, the 

Lower Cambrian to Upper Ordovician strata are about 

10,000 ft thick. To the north across the Irvine-Paint 

Creek fault, the Lower Cambrian to Upper Ordovician strata thin abruptly across several underlying 

basement fault blocks to about 4,000 to 4,500 ft in the 

northern part of the Rome trough near drill hole 7 and 

the Lexington fault zone. As shown on I–I′, Lower 

Cambrian to Upper Ordovician strata continue to thin 

westward from the northern margin of the Rome trough 

to a thickness of about 3,200 ft near the crest of the 

Cincinnati arch between drill holes 4 and 5. West of the 

Cincinnati arch, Lower Cambrian to Upper Ordovician 

strata gradually thicken to about 4,200 ft in the easternmost part of the Illinois basin at drill hole 1. Near 

the southern limit of the Rome trough at the Rockcastle 

River fault, the Lower Cambrian to Upper Ordovician 

strata are estimated to be about 8,500 ft thick. Between 

the Rockcastle River and Irvine-Paint Creek fault 

zones, the block-faulted central depocenter of the Rome 

trough contains two horst blocks over which Lower 

Cambrian and Upper Ordovician strata are about 9,400 

ft thick and 7,800 ft thick in drill holes 10 and 11, 

respectively. Southeast of the Rome trough (across the 

basement-involved fault blocks of the Perry County 

uplift, Floyd County embayment, and Pike County 

uplift), the thickness of Lower Cambrian to Upper 

Ordovician strata varies from about 7,300 to 8,500 

ft from west to east across the Perry County uplift to 

about 8,500 to 9,000 ft in the Floyd County embayment 

(drill hole 12) to about 6,700 to 7,000 ft across the Pike 

County uplift (drill hole 13). The autochthonous, gently 

southeast-dipping section of Lower Cambrian to Upper 

Ordovician siliciclastic and carbonate strata thickens slightly from a 6,700 ft section in drill hole 13 to 

about 7,000 ft in the primary footwall ramp of the Pine 

Mountain thrust fault (drill hole 18). By comparison, 

the allochthonous Lower Cambrian and Upper Ordovician strata in the Copper Creek thrust sheet at the 

southeastern end of cross section I–I′ varies in thickness from about 7,500 to 8,000 ft.

In the southeastern part of cross section I–I′ from 

the Rome trough to the Pike County uplift, Lower 

Cambrian to Lower Ordovician siliciclastic and carbonate strata are capped by the regional Middle Ordovician 

unconformity (Knox unconformity), above which lie 

Middle and Upper Ordovician strata that are predominantly carbonate. Below the Knox unconformity, 

these strata consist of the following units (in ascending order): (1) the Chilhowee Group; (2) the Shady 

Dolomite; (3) the Rome Formation; (4) the Conasauga 

Group, which is subdivided into the Pumpkin Valley 

Shale, the Rutledge Limestone, the Rogersville Shale, 

the Maryville Limestone, the Nolichucky Shale, and 

the Maynardville Limestone; and (5) the Knox Group, 

which is subdivided into the Copper Ridge Dolomite, 

the Rose Run Sandstone, and the Beekmantown Dolomite (fig. 2). Above the Knox unconformity, the Ordovician strata consist of the following units (in ascending order): (1) the St. Peter Sandstone; (2) the Wells 

Creek dolomite; (3) the High Bridge Group; and (4) the 

Lexington Limestone (fig. 2). The Chilhowee Group, 

Shady Dolomite, Rome Formation, and Conasauga 

Group thin progressively to the northwest and terminate 

against successively higher fault blocks (such as those 

defined by the Irvine-Paint Creek and Kentucky River 

faults) so that beyond the northwestern margin of the 

Rome trough only the uppermost Middle Cambrian to 

Upper Ordovician part of the siliciclastic and carbonate 

unit is present on cross section I–I′.

On the east flank of the Cincinnati arch between 

the Kentucky River and Lexington fault zones (drill 

hole 5 and 6), the Middle Cambrian to Lower Ordovician strata are also capped by the regional Middle 

Ordovician unconformity (Knox unconformity), above 

which lie Middle and Upper Ordovician strata that are 

predominantly carbonate. Below the Knox unconformity, these strata consists of the following units (in 

ascending order): (1) the Mount Simon Sandstone, 

which is probably equivalent to the upper part of the 
Stratigraphic Framework 11

Maryville Limestone; (2) the Conasauga Formation, 

which is equivalent to the Nolichucky Shale; (3) the 

Knox Group, which is subdivided into the Copper 

Ridge Dolomite, the Rose Run Sandstone, and the 

Beekmantown Dolomite (fig. 2). Above the Knox 

unconformity, the Ordovician strata consist of the 

following units (in ascending order): (1) the St. Peter 

Sandstone, which is probably present between drill 

holes 6 and 7; (2) the Wells Creek dolomite; (3) the 

High Bridge Group; and (4) the Lexington Limestone 

(fig. 2).

Farther west, between the crest and western flank 

of the Cincinnati arch and the eastern flank of the Illinois basin (drill holes 1 through 4), Middle Cambrian 

to Lower Ordovician strata are capped by the regional 

Middle Ordovician unconformity (Knox unconformity), 

above which lie Middle and Upper Ordovician strata 

that are predominantly carbonate. Below the Knox 

unconformity, these strata consist of the following units 

(in ascending order): (1) the Mount Simon Sandstone; 

(2) the Eau Claire Formation, which includes strata 

equivalent to the Conasauga Formation and the Maynardville Limestone; and (3) the Knox Group, which is 

subdivided into the Copper Ridge Dolomite, the Rose 

Run Sandstone, and the Beekmantown Dolomite (fig. 

2). Above the Knox unconformity, the Ordovician strata 

consist of the following units (in ascending order): (1) 

the St. Peter Sandstone; (2) the Wells Creek dolomite; 

(3) the High Bridge Group; (4) the Lexington Limestone; (5) the “Utica shale;” (6) the Maquoketa Shale; 

(7) the Calloway Creek Limestone; (8) the Grant Lake 

Limestone; and (9) the Drakes Formation (fig. 2).

In the Cumberland Plateau of southwestern Virginia, between the Kentucky-Virginia border (between 

drill holes 14 and 15) and drill hole 18, the Rose Run 

Sandstone is replaced by the Chepultepec Dolomite, 

and the Beekmantown Dolomite is replaced by the 

Kingsport Formation and Mascot Dolomite (fig. 2). 

New nomenclature is used in cross section I–I′ for 

strata that are equivalent to the St. Peter Sandstone, 

Wells Creek dolomite, High Bridge Group, and 

Lexington Limestone south of the Kentucky-Virginia 

border. In this area, the stratigraphic nomenclature 

changes as follows: (1) the St. Peter Sandstone and 

Wells Creek dolomite are replaced by a unit of red 

shale, gray shale, shaly dolomite, and limestone that is 

named the Blackford Formation, and an overlying carbonate unit that consists of the Elway, Five Oaks, and 

Lincolnshire Limestones; (2) the High Bridge Group is 

replaced by a sequence of local limestone units that are 

named the Rockdell Limestone, Benbolt, Wardell, and 

Bowen Formations, and the overlying Witten and Eggleston Limestones; and (3) the Lexington Limestone is 

replaced by the Trenton Limestone (fig. 2). There are 

additional changes in nomenclature for allochthonous 

Lower Cambrian and Upper Ordovician strata in the 

Valley and Ridge province of southwestern Virginia. 

For example, between drill holes 18 and 19 the lower 

part of the Conasauga Group (Pumpkin Valley Shale, 

Rutledge Limestone, Rogersville Shale, and Maryville 

Limestone) changes facies to a mostly dolomitic unit 

that is named the Honaker Formation (fig. 2). Furthermore, local units that constitute the Blackford Formation through the Trenton Limestone Formation are 

mapped in the Valley and Ridge part of cross section 

I–I′ as a single unit, which is identified as Middle and 

Upper Ordovician limestone.

On cross section I–I′, crystalline basement rocks 

of the Grenville province are capped by an unconformity, above which lies a sandstone (“basal sandstone”) 

that is named the Lower Cambrian Chilhowee Group 

(Webb, 1980; Read, 1989a,b; Hickman and others, 

2004; Hickman and others, 2006; Ryder, Swezey, and 

others, 2008). The use of the term “Chilhowee Group” 

in this report follows Kulander and Dean (1986), who 

correlated the basal sandstone in the Paleozoic section 

with outcrops of the Chilhowee Group in southwestern Virginia along the Blue Ridge structural front (fig. 

1). Where the Chilhowee Group (basal sandstone) is 

penetrated by drill holes 10 through 13 and drill hole 18 

in cross section I–I′, the unit ranges in thickness from 

about 50 to 150 ft. The basal sandstone in these drill 

holes consists of very fine to coarse-grained arkosic 

sandstone interbedded with minor red shale. Along 

cross section I–I′, the basal sandstone extends to the 

northwest as far as the Irvine-Paint Creek fault. On the 

basis of outcrop studies in southwestern Virginia, the 

basal sandstone of the Chilhowee Group in cross section I–I′ is interpreted as a shallow-marine deposit with 

a cratonic sediment source to the west (Schwab, 1986; 

Simpson and Eriksson (1990).

The basal sandstone of the Chilhowee Group is 

overlain by a unit of primarily dolomite and shale that 

is mapped as the Lower Cambrian Shady Dolomite. 

The Early Cambrian age of the Shady Dolomite is 

based on the presence of the fossil Salterella in outcrop 

and drill core in Wythe County, southwestern Virginia 

(Byrd and others, 1973; Willoughby, 1976). Where 

the Shady Dolomite is penetrated by drill holes 10 

through 13 and drill hole 18, the unit has a thickness 

of about 100 to 250 ft. In drill holes 10 through 13, the 

Shady Dolomite consists of finely crystalline dolomite 

as much as 40 ft thick interbedded with grayish-green 

shale and local beds of red shale, sandstone, and 

siltstone. In the autochthonous part of drill hole 18, the 

Shady Dolomite consists of finely crystalline dolomite 

as much as 50- to 60-ft-thick, anhydritic dolomite, 

anhydrite, greenish-gray shale, and siltstone (L.D. Harris, unpub. data, 1979). The previously discussed thrust 

slices (horse blocks) in drill hole 18 (6,792 to 7,457 ft) 

that were interpreted by L.D. Harris to be Shady Dolomite (written communication to J.A. Cramer, Jr., 1979) 

consist of dolomite, anhydrite, anhydritic dolomite, and 

minor red shale. Along cross section I–I′, the Shady 

Dolomite extends to the northwest as far as an unnamed 

fault about 10 mi southeast of the northwestern margin 

of the Rome trough.

The carbonate strata of the Shady Dolomite that 

overlie the Chilhowee Group are interpreted as a transgressive marine deposit that accumulated on a marine 

shelf and carbonate ramp after the adjacent craton was 

submerged by the Iapetus Ocean (Read, 1989a,b). The 

Shady Dolomite described in both the autochthonous 
12 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

footwall and the allochthonous horse blocks penetrated 

in drill hole 18 probably accumulated on a restricted 

shelf, inferring from the presence of anhydrite, anhydritic dolomite, and gray shale. In southern Wythe 

County, Virginia, about 70 mi east of drill hole 18 (fig. 

1), the Shady Dolomite thickens from 1,900 to 3,900 

ft and forms a high-relief shelf-margin with algal reefs 

and adjoining fore-reef breccias (Barnaby and Read, 

1990). The Lower to Middle Cambrian boundary 

(based on trilobite zones recognized by Willoughby, 

1977) is placed by Barnaby and Read (1990) in the 

middle of the upper Shady Dolomite.

The Shady Dolomite is overlain by a unit of shale, 

argillaceous sandstone, and limestone that is named 

the Rome Formation (fig. 2). The contact between the 

Shady Dolomite and the Rome Formation is possibly 

an unconformity (Ryder, Crangle, and others, 2008). In 

some publications, an Early Cambrian age is commonly 

cited for the Rome Formation on the basis of very 

sparse fossil evidence (Palmer, 1971; Kulander and 

Dean, 1986; Evans and Troensegaard, 1991). In this 

report, however, a Middle Cambrian age is assigned 

to the Rome Formation along cross section I–I′ based 

on (1) probable Middle Cambrian fossils in the Rome 

Formation in the Rome trough of western West Virginia 

(Donaldson and others, 1988), (2) Middle Cambrian 

fossils in the Rome Formation in Russell County of 

southwestern Virginia (Butts, 1940), and (3) stratigraphic reconstructions of the Shady Dolomite and 

Rome Formation in Wythe County of southwestern 

Virginia (Willoughby, 1977; Read, 1989a,b; Barnaby 

and Read, 1990).

In the Rome trough between the Irvine-Paint 

Creek and Rockcastle River faults (drill holes 10 to 11) 

the Rome Formation consists of approximately 1,600 

to 3,000 ft of gray to grayish-brown shale, argillaceous 

sandstone, and limestone. Between the Irvine-Paint 

Creek fault zone (downthrown side) and drill hole 10, 

the unit of argillaceous sandstone (very fine to finegrained with local medium- to coarse-grained sand 

and granules) is about 1,100 ft thick. This argillaceous 

sandstone unit of the Rome Formation thins to about 

600 ft in drill hole 11 and probably pinches out into 

gray shale about 3 mi northwest of the Rockcastle 

River fault. Between drill holes 10 and 11, the uppermost unit of the Rome Formation is a 300- to 500-ftthick argillaceous to sandy limestone. In the adjoining Perry County uplift, Floyd County embayment 

(drill hole 12), and Pike County uplift (drill hole 13), 

the Rome Formation consists of 1,300 to 2,200 ft of 

predominantly gray shale with thin beds of limestone. 

A 350- to 500-ft-thick unit of argillaceous limestone at 

the top of the Rome Formation in drill holes 12 and 13 

correlates with the 300- to 500-ft-thick unit of argillaceous to sandy limestone between drill holes 10 and 

11. Also in drill hole 13, red shale occurs locally in 

the lower 200 ft of the Rome Formation. Between the 

Pike County uplift and the autochthonous section of 

lower Paleozoic strata in the primary footwall ramp of 

the Pine Mountain thrust fault (penetrated by well 18), 

the Rome Formation maintains a relatively uniform 

thickness of about 1,200 to 1,300 ft and consists of predominantly grayish-green to red shale, dolomite, and 

anhydritic dolomite. The 200-ft-thick dolomite at the 

top of the autochthonous Rome Formation in drill hole 

18 correlates with the 350- to 500-ft-thick limestone 

that forms the uppermost unit of the Rome Formation 

between drill holes 10 and 13.

In the allochthonous strata penetrated by drill hole 

18, the previously described duplex structure in the 

core of the unnamed ramp anticline (fig. 3), between 

depths of about 5,300 and 7,100 ft, consists of three 

horse blocks of the Rome Formation that are characterized by red and green shale, dolomite, siltstone, and 

local anhydritic dolomite (L.D. Harris, unpub. data, 

1979). The lowermost of the three horse blocks also 

contains a unit of anhydritic dolomite and anhydrite 

that is recognized as the Shady Dolomite, which is 

capped by an unconformity. This unconformity is overlain by the Rome Formation. Also in drill hole 18, the 

uppermost horse block in the Rome Formation is overlain in thrust contact by an allochthonous 720-ft-thick 

section of the upper Rome Formation. Moreover, the 

Dumps and Honaker imbricate thrust faults in drill hole 

18 involve the Rome Formation between the depths of 

1,950 and 2,700 ft, and they override and conceal the 

unnamed ramp anticline. In outcrops of the Dumps and 

Honaker thrust faults, the Rome Formation is characterized by greenish-gray and grayish-red shale, siltstone, 

and discontinuous beds of dolomite and limestone that 

are as much as 50 ft thick (Evans and Troensegaard, 

1991).

About 4 mi southeast of drill hole 18, the Rome 

Formation is brought to the surface by the Copper 

Creek thrust fault. At the base of the Copper Creek 

thrust fault in Russell County, Butts (1940) described a 

1,200-ft-thick incomplete section of the Rome Formation that consists predominantly of red shale with 

subordinate amounts of green shale, dolomite, and 

limestone. The westward facies change from predominantly red shale (described by Butts, 1940) in the 

Copper Creek thrust sheet to predominantly greenishgray and grayish-red shale (described by Evans and 

Troensegaard, 1991) in the Dumps and Honaker thrust 

sheets, and is interpreted to occur on cross section I–I′

in the subsurface between the Honaker and Copper 

Creek thrust faults.

Between the Lexington fault and the Irvine-Paint 

Creek fault in the northwestern part of the Rome trough 

(drill holes 8 and 9), the 500- to 1,100-ft thick argillaceous and calcareous sandstone immediately below 

the Conasauga Group is mapped as the Rome Formation, and is interpreted to be equivalent to the 600- to 

1,100-ft-thick argillaceous and calcareous sandstone 

mapped as the middle part of the Rome Formation in 

the central part of the Rome trough. In the northwestern 

part of the Rome trough, the argillaceous sandstone of 

the Rome Formation rests on an unconformity above 

the Shady Dolomite. Likewise, the argillaceous sandstone of the Rome Formation is capped by an unconformity, above which lies a 100-ft-thick gray shale that 

probably correlates with the Rogersville Shale of the 

Conasauga Group. From a thickness of 1,200 ft in drill 
Stratigraphic Framework 13

hole 9, the argillaceous sandstone of the Rome Formation thins progressively to the northwest across successive fault blocks in the Rome trough, to a thickness 

of less than 100 ft in drill hole 7, and then terminates 

against the Lexington fault. Haynes (1991) conducted a 

detailed outcrop study of the Rome Formation (equivalent to the Waynesboro Formation) near the Blue Ridge 

structural front in Botetourt County, Virginia, about 

145 mi northeast of drill hole 18. He concluded that 

the Rome Formation at this locality consists primarily 

of carbonate (limestone and dolomite), and only 10 to 

20 percent of the formation consists of grayish-red and 

green clay mudrock.

A number of interpretations have been proposed 

for the Rome Formation. In Wythe County of southwestern Virginia and in Mingo County of western West 

Virginia (about 30 mi northeast of drill hole 13), the 

Rome Formation is interpreted as a shallow-water, 

nearshore marine to peritidal deposit (Donaldson and 

others, 1988; Barnaby and Read, 1990). In Botetourt 

County of southwestern Virginia, however, the Rome 

Formation is interpreted as only a peritidal deposit 

(Haynes, 1991).

West of drill hole 7, the Middle Cambrian sandstone of the Rome Formation and (or) the sandstone 

of the Lower Cambrian Chilhowee Group are replaced 

by the Middle to Upper Cambrian Mount Simon 

Sandstone as the basal sandstone northwest of the 

Rome trough. Between the Lexington fault zone and 

the northwestern end of cross section I–I′, the Mount 

Simon Sandstone thickens to the west from less than 

50 ft thick to about 825 ft. From southeast to northwest 

across the Cincinnati arch, the Mount Simon Sandstone 

rests on an unconformity on basement rocks of the 

Grenville province (drill hole 6), basement rocks of the 

Middle Run Formation (from drill holes 2 to 6), and 

basement rocks of the eastern granite-rhyolite province (drill hole 1). In several localities near the crest 

of the Cincinnati arch (between drill holes 4 and 5) 

the Mount Simon Formation may be absent. In addition, the Mount Simon Sandstone is younger than both 

the Chilhowee Group (basal sandstone) and the Rome 

Formation (fig. 2) and is probably equivalent to one of 

the thin sandstone units in the Maryville Limestone of 

the Conasauga Group in the Rome trough in drill holes 

7 through 9. The Mount Simon Sandstone is interpreted 

as a transgressive deposit that accumulated in a nearshore marine setting (Goodmann, 1992).

The Rome Formation is overlain by a unit of 

predominantly limestone, gray shale, sandstone, and 

local dolomite that is mapped as the Middle and Upper 

Conasauga Group (Formation) and which ranges in 

thickness from about 1,500 ft beneath the Allegheny 

structural front (drill hole 18) to about 350 to 500 ft on 

the east flank of the Cincinnati arch (drill hole 6). West 

of the Lexington Fault Zone, strata that are equivalent to the Conasauga Formation and Maynardville 

Limestone are mapped as the Eau Claire Formation. 

In the central part of the Rome trough (drill hole 10) 

the Conasauga Group is 3,200 ft thick and rests on 

an unconformity above the Rome Formation. In the 

northern part of the trough (drill holes 7 through 9), 

however, the Conasauga Group ranges from about 900 

to 1,100 ft thick and rests on an unconformity above 

the Rome Formation (pre-Conasauga unconformity of 

Hickman and others, 2004). In drill holes 11 through 

18, the Conasauga Group is subdivided (in ascending order) into the Pumpkin Valley Shale, Rutledge 

Limestone, Rogersville Shale, Maryville Limestone, 

Nolichucky Shale, and Maynardville Limestone (fig. 2). 

In drill hole 10, the Pumpkin Valley Shale and Rutledge 

Limestone are replaced by an unnamed unit of sandstone and shale. The Middle and Late Cambrian ages 

of the Conasauga Group are based on trilobite fauna in 

outcrops of the Valley and Ridge province of southwestern Virginia (Butts, 1940; Derby, 1965).

In the Conasauga Group, the unnamed unit 

of sandstone and shale (Pumpkin Valley Shale and 

Rutledge Limestone equivalent) terminates against the 

Irvine-Paint Creek fault, but the overlying Rogersville, 

Maryville, Nolichucky, and Maynardville units extend 

to the northwest beyond the Irvine-Paint Creek fault. 

The 100-ft-thick gray shale that is correlated with the 

Rogersville Shale rests on an unconformity above sandstone of the Rome Formation and extends across most 

of the northern part of the Rome trough before pinching 

out within 5 mi southeast of drill hole 7. The Marysville Limestone in drill hole 7 rests on an unconformity 

above the Rome Formation and terminates against 

the Kentucky River fault. Furthermore, the Maryville 

Limestone in this part of the Rome trough ranges from 

predominantly limestone to predominantly dolomite 

and contains several 5- to 10-ft-thick laterally continuous sandstone beds. As previously mentioned, one or 

more of these sandstone beds in the Marysville Limestone may correlate with the Mount Simon Sandstone. 

In contrast with the Rogersville Shale and Maryville 

Limestone, the Nolichucky Shale oversteps the northern margin of the Rome trough (Kentucky River fault), 

and in drill holes 1 through 6 the Nolichucky Shale is 

replaced by gray shale, limestone, and local red shale 

of the Conasauga Formation and the equivalent Eau 

Claire Formation. The Maynardville Limestone, which 

overlies the Nolichucky Shale, extends as far west as 

the Kentucky River fault before merging with the upper 

part of the Conasauga Formation. On the west side of 

the Cincinnati arch, a limestone unit that is equivalent 

to the Maynardville Limestone is present as the uppermost unit in the Eau Claire Formation in drill hole 1. 

This limestone unit pinches out to the east against the 

western flank of the Cincinnati arch.

In the allochthonous rocks of the Valley and Ridge 

province on the southeastern part of cross section I–I′, 

the Rutledge, Rogersville, and Maryville units of the 

Conasauga Group are replaced by the Honaker Formation, which consists of a lower limestone unit, a middle 

dolomite unit, and an upper limestone unit (fig. 2). 

The lower limestone unit of the Honaker Formation is 

equivalent to the Rutledge Limestone (Butts, 1940). 

The middle dolomite unit is equivalent to the Rogersville Shale and Maryville Limestone (Read, 1989a,b). 

The upper limestone unit in the Honaker Formation 

(recognized by Cooper, 1945; Evans and Troensegaard, 
14 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

1991) probably correlates with the upper part of the 

Maryville Limestone. As suggested by Rodgers (1953), 

the Pumpkin Valley Shale of the Conasauga Group 

probably correlates with the lowermost Honaker 

Formation in the southwestern Virginia part of the Valley and Ridge province. In the autochthonous section 

beneath the Pine Mountain thrust fault, the Nolichucky 

Shale and Maynardville Limestone of the Conasauga 

Group continue to the southeast into the Valley and 

Ridge province as distinct units above the Honaker Formation (Markello and Read, 1982; Read, 1989a,b). In 

the Copper Creek thrust sheet, the Honaker Formation 

is between 1,120 and 1,375 ft thick and the Nolichucky 

Shale is between 385 and 459 ft thick (Butts, 1940; 

Cooper, 1945). Along the Blue Ridge front in Washington County of southwestern Virginia (fig. 1), the 

Honaker Formation, Nolichucky Shale, and Maynardville Limestone are replaced by the Middle Cambrian 

Elbrook Formation and possibly the lower part of the 

Upper Cambrian Conococheague Group (Le Van and 

Rader, 1983; Koerschner and Read, 1989; Virginia 

Division of Mineral Resources, 1993).

The Conasauga Group in the Rome trough in 

Mingo County of western West Virginia (Donaldson and others, 1988) and in the Valley and Ridge of 

southwestern Virginia (Read, 1989a,b) is interpreted as 

tidal-flat to shallow-water marine deposits. Moreover, 

the sandstone unit in the pre-Rogersville Shale part 

of the Conasauga Group (drill hole 10) and the basal 

sandstone in the Maryville Limestone (drill hole 11) 

were probably derived from a cratonic source to the 

north and northwest. The abrupt changes in thickness of 

the Conasauga Group and the Rome Formation across 

basement fault blocks in the Rome trough and adjoining Perry County uplift, Floyd County embayment, and 

Pike County uplift suggest that these strata accumulated 

during the formation of the trough.

The Conasauga Group (Formation) and the equivalent Eau Claire Formation on the western flank of the 

Cincinnati arch and adjoining Illinois basin are overlain 

by a unit of dolomite and sandstone that is mapped 

as the Upper Cambrian and Lower Ordovician Knox 

Group (fig. 2). The Knox Group has a relatively uniform thickness that ranges from a maximum of about 

2,100 ft (drill hole 11) to 2,250 ft (drill hole 10) in the 

central part of the Rome trough to a minimum of about 

1,700 to 1,900 ft (drill holes 7, 8, and 9) near the western margin of the Rome trough. The Knox Group thins 

slightly to 1,800 ft (drill hole 6 and probably drill hole 

5) along the eastern flank of the Cincinnati arch and 

then thickens gradually to about 2,600 ft on the eastern 

flank of the Illinois basin (drill hole 1). In the Floyd 

County embayment (drill hole 12), the Pike County 

uplift (drill hole 13), and the autochthonous sequence 

beneath the unnamed ramp anticline (drill hole 18), the 

Knox Group ranges in thickness from about 1,600 to 

1,750 ft. In the Valley and Ridge province, the thickness of the Knox Group increases to about 2,350 ft 

in the Honaker thrust sheet in central Russell County 

(Evans and Troensegaard, 1991) and to between 2,100 

and 2,300 ft in eastern Russell County (Butts, 1940; 

Cooper, 1945). Near the Blue Ridge front in Washington County of southwestern Virginia (fig. 1), the 

Copper Ridge Dolomite of the Knox Group is replaced 

by the Upper Cambrian Conococheague Formation 

(Bartlett and Webb, 1971; Le Van and Rader, 1983; 

Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, 1993), which 

is overlain by the Chepultepec Dolomite, Kingsport 

Formation, and Mascot Dolomite (Bartlett and Webb, 

1971) or Beekmantown Group (Virginia Division of 

Mineral Resources, 1993).

In drill hole 10, the Knox Group consists of the 

following formations (in ascending order): (1) the Copper Ridge Dolomite, which is a 1,400-ft-thick dolomite 

with local chert in the upper part; (2) the Rose Run 

Sandstone, which is a 250-ft-thick unit of interbedded 

cherty dolomite and sandstone (quartzarenite) as much 

as 10 ft thick; and (3) the Beekmantown Dolomite, 

which is a 600-ft-thick chert-bearing, sandy dolomite 

(fig. 2). These three formations of the Knox Group are 

present over much of cross section I–I′, but in Virginia, 

as previously discussed, the Knox Group consists of 

four formations (fig. 2). These four formations of the 

Knox Group in Virginia are as follows (in ascending 

order): (1) the Copper Ridge Dolomite, which correlates with the Copper Ridge Dolomite in Kentucky; 

(2) the Chepultepec Dolomite, which correlates with 

the Rose Run Sandstone in Kentucky; (3) the Kingsport Formation, which correlates with the lower part 

of the Beekmantown Dolomite in Kentucky; and (4) 

the Mascot Dolomite, which correlates with the upper 

part of the Beekmantown Dolomite in Kentucky (Evans 

and Troensegaard, 1991). In the Honaker thrust sheet, 

Evans and Troensegaard (1991) recognized the Copper Ridge Dolomite and the Chepultepec Dolomite as 

a single unit, and they also recognized the Kingsport 

Formation and Mascot Dolomite as a single unit. In 

eastern Russell County, Virginia, Cooper (1945) treated 

units in the “Knox” dolomite in the same manner, 

recognizing several sandstone units in the upper part 

of the lower “Knox” dolomite (Copper Ridge Dolomite of Butts, 1940), but designating them as informal 

sandy members of the Knox. In addition, the Kingsport- and Mascot-equivalent strata in eastern Russell 

County were designated by Cooper (1945) as informal 

units such as the lower cherty member of the “Knox” 

dolomite.

The Late Cambrian and Early Ordovician age 

of the Knox Group is based primarily on conodont 

assemblages (A.G. Harris, unpub. data, 1979; Repetski, 

1985; Ryder and others, 1997; Ryder, Crangle, and 

others, 2008) and on regional correlations (Le Van and 

Rader, 1983). However, the Chepultepec Dolomite 

in this report is assigned to the uppermost Cambrian 

(fig. 2), which differs from previous investigations 

that place the Chepultepec Dolomite in the lowermost 

Lower Ordovician (McGuire and Howell, 1963; Le 

Van and Rader, 1983; Bova and Read, 1987; Evans and 

Troensegaard, 1991). A Late Cambrian age assigned in 

this study to the sandstone-bearing Chepultepec Dolomite and to the equivalent Rose Run Sandstone (fig. 2) 

is based on the tentative Late Cambrian age assigned 

by Freeman (1953) to the Rose Run Sandstone in 
Stratigraphic Framework 15

Kentucky. Moreover, the Rose Run Sandstone is probably correlative with the upper sandy member of the 

Gatesburg Formation in central Pennsylvania, which 

also is considered to be Cambrian in age (Wilson, 

1952).

In drill holes 8 through 11, a 50-ft-thick silty dolomite unit in the middle part of the Copper Ridge Dolomite is tentatively correlated with the B zone of Calvert 

(1964) in Ohio. As described by Janssens (1973), the 

B zone is a glauconitic siltstone and very fine grained 

sandstone that forms a persistent marker bed over much 

of central Ohio. The B zone also extends into parts of 

northern West Virginia (Ryder, Swezey, and others, 

2008).

The Knox Group and the overlying Upper Ordovician carbonate strata (High Bridge Group and Lexington Limestone) are interpreted as deposits of a post-rift 

passive margin sequence. Furthermore, the Copper 

Ridge and Beekmantown Dolomites are interpreted as 

restricted shallow-marine deposits that accumulated on 

a passive continental margin or carbonate ramp (Harris, 

1973; Read, 1989a,b). The sandstone (quartzarenite) 

beds in the Rose Run Sandstone and equivalent Chepultepec Dolomite are interpreted as shallow-marine to 

peritidal deposits that accumulated on a carbonate ramp 

(Bova and Read, 1987; Riley and others, 1993). These 

sandstone beds probably were derived from the craton 

(Riley and others, 1993).

The Knox Group is capped by an unconformity, 

which is called the Middle Ordovician (Knox) unconformity (fig. 2) or Owl Creek unconformity (Sloss, 

1963; Wheeler, 1963; Swezey, 2002, 2009). Judging 

from studies by Harris and Repetski (1982), Mussman and others (1988), Hickman and others (2004), 

and Noger and Drahovzal (2005), the Middle Ordovician (Knox) unconformity is present along all of cross 

section I–I′. Unlike the Knox unconformity in central 

Ohio, where there is deep erosion into the underlying Knox and progressive truncation of older units 

toward the west (Ryder, Swezey, and others, 2008), 

the Knox unconformity in Kentucky and southwestern 

Virginia is marked by far less erosion that is limited 

to the uppermost part of the Knox Group. The Middle 

Ordovician continental-scale erosion represented by the 

Knox unconformity is thought to have occurred during 

a drop in eustatic sea level and (or) tectonic uplift that 

preceded the Taconic orogeny (Read, 1989a,b).

The Knox unconformity is overlain by a 50- to 

300-ft-thick unit of sandstone, argillaceous to calcareous dolomite, and dolomitic limestone across all of 

cross section I–I′ (fig. 2). In Kentucky, the sandstone 

at the base of this unit is called the St. Peter Sandstone 

and the overlying dolomite is called the Wells Creek 

Dolomite (Freeman, 1953; McGuire and Howell, 1963; 

Humphreys and Watson, 1996; Hickman and others, 

2004; Noger and Drahovzal, 2005). In Virginia, equivalent sandstone, dolomite, and dolomitic limestone units 

are the Blackford Formation and the overlying Elway, 

Five Oaks, and Lincolnshire Limestones. A Middle 

Ordovician age is assigned to the St. Peter Sandstone, 

Wells Creek Dolomite, Blackford Formation, and 

Elway-Five Oaks-Lincolnshire Limestones based on 

conodont assemblages (Bergstrom and Carnes, 1985; 

Ryder and others, 1997; Ryder, Crangle, and others, 

2008) and regional correlations (Le Van and Rader, 

1983).

On cross section I–I′, the term Wells Creek dolomite is used informally because the term is common in 

the geologic literature. The Wells Creek Dolomite was 

first named by Lusk (1927) after a locality in western Tennessee. Wilson and Stearns (1968), however, 

discontinued the term in Tennessee when their geologic 

mapping failed to identify the Wells Creek Dolomite 

at the type locality. The name “Wells Creek Dolomite” 

was probably introduced in Kentucky by McGuire and 

Howell (1963) and used by Patchen and others (1985), 

Ryder and others (1997), Noger and Drahovzal (2005), 

and Hickman and others (2004, 2006).

The St. Peter Sandstone and overlying Wells 

Creek dolomite accumulated in a variety of depositional environments. The sandstone (quartzarenite) 

of the St. Peter Sandstone was probably derived from 

recycled Rose Run Sandstone and other sandstone units 

in the exposed Knox Group (Price, 1981). The St. Peter 

Sandstone is interpreted as shoreline deposits that filled 

topographic lows on the downthrown sides of rejuvenated basement faults (Price, 1981; Humphreys and 

Watson, 1996). The dolomite interval of the St. Peter 

Sandstone-Wells Creek dolomite and the equivalent 

Blackford-Elway-Five Oaks-Lincolnshire interval are 

interpreted as net transgressive deposits of tidal-flat origin that formed as marine conditions were reestablished 

across the exposed continental shelf (Read, 1980).

The Wells Creek dolomite and equivalent stratigraphic units are overlain by a widespread, westwardthinning wedge of Upper Ordovician limestone 

between the autochthonous section beneath the primary 

footwall ramp of the Pine Mountain thrust fault (drill 

hole 18) and the eastern flank of the Illinois basin 

(drill hole 1). The Late Ordovician age of the High 

Bridge Group in Kentucky, the High Bridge-equivalent 

limestone units in Virginia (shown on fig. 2), the 

Lexington Group in Kentucky, and the equivalent 

Trenton Limestone in Virginia is based on conodont 

assemblages (A.G. Harris, unpub. data, 1979; Sweet, 

1979, 1984; Bergstrom and Carnes, 1985; Richardson 

and Bergstrom, 2003; Ryder and others, 1997; Ryder, 

Crangle, and others, 2008) and on regional correlations (Le Van and Rader, 1983; Ettensohn, 1991; Pope 

and Read, 1997). Locally, the lower part of the Upper 

Ordovician limestone interfingers with the underlying 

Wells Creek dolomite. This wedge-shaped limestone 

interval is about 1,950 ft thick in drill hole 18, about 

1,250 ft thick in the central part of the Rome trough 

(drill hole 11), about 800 ft thick in the northern part of 

the Rome trough, and about 650 ft thick on the eastern 

margin of the Illinois basin (drill hole 1). Above the 

Wells Creek dolomite, the Upper Ordovician limestone 

is divided into the High Bridge Group and the overlying Lexington Limestone, following nomenclature used 

in the outcrop belt of the Cincinnati arch (Cressman, 

1964, 1973; Black, 1968; Pope and Read, 1997), in the 

subsurface between the Cincinnati arch and the Illinois 
16 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

basin (Noger and Drahovzal, 2005), and in the subsurface between the Cincinnati arch and the Virginia State 

line (Pope and Read, 1997; Hickman and others, 2006; 

Riley and others, 2006). The following three formations of the High Bridge Group are recognized on cross 

section I–I′ (in ascending order): (1) the Camp Nelson 

Limestone (an unnamed lower member that is equivalent to the Ordovician Joachim Dolomite elsewhere 

in the Illinois basin, the Pecatonica Member, and an 

unnamed upper member), (2) the Oregon Formation 

(combined in this report with the upper member of the 

Camp Nelson Limestone), and (3) the Tyrone Limestone. The Lexington Limestone is undivided on cross 

section I–I′ except for an informal upper tongue located 

near drill hole 3. This tongue of the uppermost Lexington Limestone probably represents the western margin 

of the Tanglewood Limestone Member of the Lexington Limestone of Cressman (1973) and the Tanglewood 

buildup of Ettensohn (1992b). A similar interval (about 

80 ft thick) in the uppermost Lexington Limestone is 

recognized in drill holes 8 through 10.

In Virginia, the High Bridge Group is equivalent 

(in ascending order) to the Rockdell Limestone, Benbolt Formation, Wardell Formation, Bowen Formation, 

Witten Limestone, and Eggleston Limestone, whereas 

the Lexington Limestone is equivalent to the Trenton 

Limestone. The names of the Rockdell through Eggleston limestone units on cross section I–I′ are based on 

units recognized in drill hole 18 by L.D. Harris (unpub. 

data, 1979) and on units recognized by Cooper (1945), 

Read (1980), and Le Van and Rader (1983) in outcrops 

in the Valley and Ridge province in southwestern Virginia. Likewise, the Trenton Limestone on cross section 

I–I′ follows usage by L.D. Harris (unpub. data, 1979) 

in drill hole 18 and by Le Van and Rader (1983) in outcrops in the Valley and Ridge province. The Rockdell 

through Eggleston units and the Trenton Limestone are 

approximately equivalent to the Black River Group and 

Trenton Group, respectively, as used in northeastern 

West Virginia by Perry (1972).

The Rockdell through Eggleston units display 

some thickness and lithologic variability from the 

Honaker thrust sheet to the Cooper Creek thrust sheet. 

In the Honaker thrust sheet in central Russell County 

of Virginia (part of the Valley and Ridge province), 

the Rockdell through Eggleston unit varies in thickness from about 1,280 to 1,525 ft (Butts, 1940; Cooper, 

1945; Evans and Troensegaard, 1991), and includes 

red shale beds in the Bowen Formation and calcareous 

reddish-gray shale (Moccasin Formation of Butts, 1940) 

that occur between the Witten and Eggleston Limestones. The overlying 200 to 230-ft-thick Trenton Limestone, included on the cross section with the Middle and 

Upper Ordovician (undivided) unit, is very argillaceous 

and forms the lower part of the Martinsburg Formation 

(Cooper, 1945; Kreisa and Springer, 1987; Haynes, 

1992). In contrast, in the Copper Creek thrust sheet in 

southwestern Russell County of Virginia, the Rockdell 

through Eggleston interval (including the Moccasin 

Formation) varies in thickness from about 1,100 to 

1,300 ft (Cooper, 1945) and is overlain by the Martinsburg Formation. In both the Honaker and Copper Creek 

thrust sheets in cross section I–I′, the stratigraphic units 

above the Knox Group and below the Reedsville Shale 

(including the Moccasin Formation) are recognized as 

being Middle and Upper Ordovician age.

The Martinsburg Formation consists of a lower 

unit of 350- to 500-ft-thick gray shale, a middle unit of 

150- to 500-ft-thick argillaceous fossiliferous limestone, and an upper unit of 400- to 650-ft-thick gray 

shale (Butts, 1940; Kreisa and Springer, 1987). The 

lower gray shale and middle argillaceous fossiliferous 

limestone units of the Martinsburg Formation of Kreisa 

and Springer (1987) constitute the Trenton Limestone 

(as previously noted in the Honaker thrust sheet), 

whereas the upper gray shale of the Martinsburg Formation constitutes the Reedsville Shale (as used in Le 

Van and Rader, 1983; Haynes, 1992; and this study).

 The High Bridge Group and equivalent strata in 

Virginia consist mainly of carbonate mudstone and 

wackestone with mudcracks, burrows, and argillaceous 

laminae that are interpreted as tidal-flat and subtidal 

carbonate ramp deposits (Cressman and Noger, 1976; 

Read, 1980; Ettensohn, 1991). In comparison, the 

Lexington and Trenton Limestones consist mainly 

of fossiliferous argillaceous limestone (wackestone 

and packstone) that are interpreted as shallow-water 

(subtidal) net transgressive deposits that accumulated 

on an open-marine carbonate ramp (Cressman, 1973; 

Ettensohn, 1991, 1992a; Haynes, 1992; Pope and Read, 

1997; Riley and others, 2006). Overall, the LexingtonTrenton deposits are interpreted as representing a 

gradual deepening of water across the carbonate ramp 

(platform) as net transgression progressed. The Tanglewood Limestone Member of the Lexington Limestone 

at the crest of the Cincinnati arch is a carbonate grainstone that is interpreted as having accumulated during a 

brief period of regression (Ettensohn, 1992b).

As shown on cross section I–I′ and in figure 2, the 

following five widespread K-bentonite beds are identified (in ascending order) in the Ordovician strata: (1) 

the Hockett Bentonite Bed, (2) the Deicke Bentonite 

Bed, (3) the Millbrig Bentonite Bed, (4) the “Elkport” 

Bentonite Bed, and (5) the Dickeyville Bentonite Bed; 

all of which are recognized and described by Kolata 

and others (1996). The Hockett, Deicke, and Millbrig 

Bentonite Beds are located in the Tyrone Limestone 

of the High Bridge Group. Furthermore, the Hockett 

Bentonite Bed is used in this study to define the 

approximate base of the Tyrone Limestone, whereas the 

Millbrig Bentonite Bed is used in this study to define 

the approximate top of the Tyrone Limestone (Kolata 

and others, 1996). The Hockett Bentonite Bed is also 

used in this study to define the approximate top of 

both the Oregon Formation and the upper member of 

the Camp Nelson Limestone, undivided. The Deicke 

Bentonite Bed is located in the upper part of the Tyrone 

Limestone about 20 to 30 ft below the Millbrig Bentonite Bed. The “Elkport” and Dickeyville Bentonite 

Beds are located in the lower part of the Lexington 
Stratigraphic Framework 17

Limestone. The Hockett, “Elkport,” and Dickeyville 

Bentonite Beds are not present in drill hole 2 and 3, but 

the Hockett is present in drill hole 1. In the western belt 

of the Valley and Ridge province of Virginia (drill holes 

15 through 18), the Hockett Bentonite Bed is located in 

the upper part of the Witten Limestone (or Hardy Creek 

Limestone, according to Kolata and others, 1996), 

whereas the Deicke and Millbrig Bentonite Beds are 

located in the upper part and top, respectively, of the 

Eggleston Limestone (Haynes, 1992; Kolata and others, 

1996). In western Virginia, the “Elkport” and Dickeyville Bentonite Beds are located in the lower part 

of the Trenton Limestone (Kolata and others, 1996). 

In the central belt of the Valley and Ridge province of 

Virginia, the Deicke and Millbrig Bentonite Beds are 

located primarily in the middle part of the Eggleston 

Limestone (Haynes, 1992). The K-bentonite beds 

identified on cross section I–I′ are thought to be derived 

from extensive volcanic ash falls that occurred during the Late Ordovician phase of the Taconic orogeny 

(Huff and Kolata, 1990; Huff and others, 1992).

Upper Ordovician to Lower Silurian 

Siliciclastic Strata

The Upper Ordovician limestone on cross section 

I–I′ is overlain by a westward-thinning wedge of Upper 

Ordovician to lower Silurian siliciclastic strata characterized by gray shale, limestone, red shale, and sandstone (fig. 2). These Upper Ordovician to lower Silurian 

siliciclastic strata rest conformably on Upper Ordovician limestone, and locally, the limestone and siliciclastic strata interfinger with one another. As shown on 

cross section I–I′, the combined thickness of the Upper 

Ordovician and lower Silurian siliciclastic strata ranges 

from about 1,300 ft in the vicinity of the Allegheny 

structural front (drill hole 18) to between 500 and 850 

ft above the central and northern parts of the Rome 

trough (drill holes 8 through 10). The section of Upper 

Ordovician and lower Silurian siliciclastic strata are 

incomplete over much of the Cincinnati arch because 

of erosion, but the section re-emerges as a 400-ft-thick 

unit on the eastern margin of the Illinois basin (drill 

hole 1). The majority of the westward thinning of the 

Upper Ordovician and lower Silurian siliciclastic strata 

was caused by depositional thinning, but some was 

caused by pre-Upper Devonian erosion in the vicinity 

of the Cincinnati arch between drill holes 6 and 8.

Nomenclature used for the Cincinnati arch outcrop 

belt (Black, 1967, 1968, 1974; McDowell, 1978, 1983; 

Weir and others, 1984; Pope and Read, 1997) and for 

the subsurface between the Cincinnati arch and the 

Virginia State line (Pope and Read, 1997; Hickman and 

others, 2006; Riley and others, 2006) indicates that the 

Kentucky part of the Upper Ordovician and lower Silurian siliciclastic strata consists of the following units (in 

ascending order): the Clays Ferry Formation, Garrard 

Siltstone, Calloway Creek Limestone, Ashlock Formation, Drakes Formation, Drowning Creek Formation 

of the Crab Orchard Group, Alger Shale of the Crab 

Orchard Group, and Keefer Sandstone (fig. 2). In the 

subsurface of eastern Kentucky (drill holes 12 through 

14) the Drowning Creek Formation and Alger Shale are 

replaced in ascending order by the “Clinton” sandstone (equivalent to the Clinch Sandstone in Virginia) 

and the Rose Hill Formation. In the outcrop belt and 

subsurface between the Cincinnati arch and the Illinois 

basin (Noger and Drahovzal, 2005), the Upper Ordovician and lower Silurian siliciclastic strata consist of the 

following units (in ascending order): the Maquoketa 

Shale (Clays Ferry Formation equivalent and Kope 

Formation equivalent), Calloway Creek Limestone, 

Grant Lake Limestone (Ashlock Formation equivalent), 

Drakes Formation, Brassfield Formation, and Osgood 

Formation. The Late Ordovician age of the Maquoketa 

Shale, Clays Ferry Formation, Kope Formation, Garrard Siltstone, Calloway Creek Limestone, Grant Lake 

Limestone-Ashlock Formation, and Drakes Formation 

in Kentucky is based on conodont assemblages (Sweet, 

1979, 1984) and on regional correlations (Le Van and 

Rader, 1983; Ettensohn, 1991; Pope and Read, 1997; 

Ryder, Crangle, and others, 2008).

The lower 100 ft of the Maquoketa Shale in drill 

hole 1 consists of a dark-brown to gray shale that is 

equated with unit A of the Maquoketa Group in southeastern Indiana (Gray, 1972). This lower unit is similar 

to the “Utica shale” (informal term used by drillers) 

discussed by Gray (1972), Mitchell and Bergstrom 

(1991), and Kolata and others (2001). The “Utica 

shale” at this locality is interpreted as a possible deeper 

water deposit that accumulated in the southeastern 

flank of the Sebree trough (fig. 1), a northeast-trending 

oceanic passageway (through southern Indiana and 

southwestern Ohio) that connected the Reelfoot Rift to 

the Midcontinent region (Kolata and others, 2001).

In Virginia, the Upper Ordovician and lower 

Silurian siliciclastic strata nomenclature change as follows: (1) the Clays Ferry Formation, Garrard Siltstone, 

Calloway Creek Limestone, and Ashlock Formation, 

which consist of gray shale with abundant siltstone and 

carbonate, grade east into a unit of gray shale with siltstone and limestone interbeds that is named the Reedsville Shale (Ettensohn, 1991, 1992a; Pope and Read, 

1997); (2) the Drakes Formation, which consists of 

limestone, gray shale, and local red shale, grades east 

into a unit of red shale and sandstone that is named the 

Juniata Formation (Ettensohn, 1991, 1992a; Pope and 

Read, 1997); and (3) the “Clinton” sandstone of Wilson 

and Sutton (1976) and the Drowning Creek Formation 

(Brassfield, Plum Creek Shale, and Oldham Members) 

of McDowell (1983) grade east into a sandstone that is 

named the Clinch Sandstone (Le Van and Rader, 1983; 

Dorsch and others, 1994). The lower Silurian Rose Hill 

Formation, including the Cacapon Sandstone Member 

is present in both Virginia and Kentucky (Smosna and 

Patchen, 1978). In Kentucky, the Rose Hill Formation 

extends west to within several miles of drill hole 11 

where it is replaced by the Lulbegrud Shale Member, 

Waco Member, and Estill Shale Member of the Alger 
18 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

Shale (fig. 2). The Cacapon Sandstone Member of the 

Rose Hill Formation also extends west in Kentucky 

to about 5 mi beyond drill hole 13. The lower Silurian 

Keefer Sandstone, which is a widespread unit situated at the top of Upper Ordovician and lower Silurian 

siliciclastic strata (Harris and others, 1994), extends 

from its western limit in Kentucky about 11 mi northwest of drill hole 8 (where the sandstone is truncated 

by the overlying Upper Devonian unconformity) into 

southwestern Virginia (drill hole 19). In Kentucky, the 

Keefer Sandstone is also known as the Big Six sandstone, an informal driller’s term (Meglen and Noger, 

1996; Noger and others, 1996).

The lower Silurian Clinch Sandstone between 

drill holes 15 and 18 is about 150 ft thick and consists 

of a lower unit of gray shale (Hagan Shale Member) 

and an upper unit of white sandstone (quartzarenite). 

The Clinch Sandstone is interpreted as shallow-marine 

shelf, shoreface, and fluvial to estuarine deposits 

(Dorsch and others, 1994).

In drill holes 12 through 18, the Clinch Sandstone 

(and the equivalent “Clinton” sandstone in Kentucky) is 

conformably overlain by the 300- to 350-ft-thick lower 

Silurian Rose Hill Formation. The Rose Hill Formation consists of gray shale, red shale, and red sandstone. 

About midway between drill holes 12 and 13, the lower 

part of the Rose Hill Formation is a unit of sandstone 

and hematitic red shale that is recognized as the Cacapon 

Sandstone Member (Smosna and Patchen, 1978). The 

Rose Hill Formation is interpreted as a low-energy shallow-marine shelf deposit (Smosna and Patchen, 1978).

The Rose Hill Formation is conformably overlain 

by the Keefer Sandstone, which is usually less than 50 

ft thick. Following Harris and others (1994), the lower 

Silurian-upper Silurian boundary is placed at the top of 

the Keefer Sandstone (equivalent to the top of the Clinton Group). The Keefer Sandstone is interpreted as a 

wave-dominated marine coastal deposit (Smosna, 1983).

The Upper Ordovician and lower Silurian siliciclastic strata in the Copper Creek thrust sheet in the 

Valley and Ridge province have a combined thickness 

of approximately 1,300 to 1,500 ft. These strata in 

the Copper Creek thrust sheet near cross section I–I′

consist of the following stratigraphic units (in ascending order): (1) the Upper Ordovician Reedsville Shale, 

which is a 470- to 650-ft-thick unit of gray shale and 

limestone in the upper part of the Martinsburg Formation as recognized by Butts (1940) and Kreisa and 

Springer (1987); (2) the Upper Ordovician Juniata 

Formation, which is a 200- to 400-ft-thick unit of red 

shale and sandstone (Butts, 1940; Diecchio, 1991); (3) 

the lower Silurian Clinch Sandstone, which is a 250-ftthick unit of white quartzarenite sandstone (Dorsch and 

Dreise, 1995); and (4) the lower Silurian Rose Hill Formation and Keefer Sandstone, which is a 220-ft-thick 

unit of shale and sandstone. In western Washington 

County of Virginia (fig. 1), the red shale and sandstone 

unit that contains the Rose Hill Formation and Keefer 

Sandstone was mapped by Bartlett and Webb (1971) 

as part of the Clinton Formation. These stratigraphic 

names are consistent with the nomenclature recognized 

in the Valley and Ridge of southwestern Virginia by Le 

Van and Rader (1983).

The Upper Ordovician to lower Silurian siliciclastic strata are interpreted as being derived from an 

easterly orogenic source and deposited as a wedge of 

clastic sediments in a rapidly subsiding foreland basin 

(Ettensohn, 1991, 1992a; Pope and Read, 1997). This 

foreland basin and its sedimentary deposits are associated with the continent-island arc collision of the 

Taconic orogeny (Colton, 1970; Milici and de Witt, 

1988; Drake and others, 1989; Pavlides, 1989; Faill, 

1997a). The Upper Ordovician Reedsville Shale in 

Virginia is interpreted as shallow-marine shelf and 

turbidite deposits that were derived from the Taconic 

orogenic belt (Diecchio, 1985, 1991; Ettensohn, 1991; 

Castle, 2001), whereas the equivalent Clays Ferry Formation, Garrard Siltstone, Calloway Creek Limestone, 

and Ashlock Formation in Kentucky are interpreted as 

mainly peritidal to subtidal deposits (Ettensohn, 1991; 

Pope and Read, 1997). The Juniata Formation and 

equivalent Drakes Formation are interpreted as delta 

plain, peritidal, and marginal marine redbed deposits 

that were derived from the Taconic orogenic belt (Diecchio, 1985, 1991; Ettensohn, 1991; Castle, 2001). The 

Clinch Sandstone is interpreted as a paralic deposit that 

accumulated during early Silurian late-stage uplift of 

the Taconic orogenic belt (Dorsch and others, 1994). 

The westward increase in carbonates in the Upper 

Ordovician and lower Silurian siliciclastic strata in 

Kentucky is thought to reflect a substantial reduction in 

the westward dispersal of argillaceous marine sediments from the Martinsburg foreland basin.

The Juniata Formation and the equivalent Drakes 

Formation are capped by a widespread unconformity 

named the Cherokee unconformity (Dennison and 

Head, 1975; Ettensohn, 1991; Pope and Read, 1997; 

Swezey, 2002, 2009; Ryder, 2006). The OrdovicianSilurian boundary is customarily placed at this unconformity (Diecchio, 1985). On cross section I–I′, the 

Cherokee unconformity is placed at the base of the 

Clinch Sandstone. Although Pope and Read (1997) 

recognized the Upper Ordovician lower Tuscarora 

Formation (Clinch Sandstone) and overlying Cherokee unconformity in southwestern Virginia (near cross 

section I–I′), the authors of cross section I–I′ found 

no compelling evidence in this study for an intraformational unconformity within the Clinch Sandstone. 

Dennison and Head (1975) suggested that the Cherokee 

unconformity resulted from a fall in eustatic sea level 

that was independent of the classic Taconic angular 

unconformity between Upper Ordovician and lower 

Silurian rocks in eastern Pennsylvania (Pavlides and 

others, 1968). Probably both a fall in eustatic sea level 

and Taconic orogenesis contributed to the Cherokee 

unconformity.

Lower Silurian to Middle Devonian 

Carbonate and Evaporitic Strata

Lower Silurian to Middle Devonian strata consist 

of a lithologically varied interval of limestone, cherty 
Stratigraphic Framework 19

limestone, dolomite, anhydritic dolomite, anhydrite, 

and sandstone (fig. 2). The combined thickness of 

these stratigraphic units ranges from about 400 ft in the 

vicinity of the Allegheny structural front and adjoining 

Valley and Ridge province (drill hole 18) to a zero edge 

about 11 mi northwest of drill hole 8 on the eastern 

flank of the Cincinnati arch (Meglen and Noger, 1996). 

The westward thinning of upper Silurian to Middle 

Devonian carbonate and evaporitic strata to a zero 

edge is caused largely by pre-Upper Devonian erosion 

(Upper Devonian unconformity) that cuts progressively 

to the west and downsection across the strata between 

drill holes 7 and 12. Stratigraphic units in this interval 

are named as follows (in ascending order): the Lockport Dolomite and an equivalent limestone unit, Salina 

Formation and equivalent Wills Creek Formation and 

Tonoloway Limestone, Helderberg Group (Helderberg Limestone in eastern Kentucky) and equivalent 

lower Wildcat Valley Sandstone, Oriskany Sandstone 

and equivalent middle Wildcat Valley Sandstone, and 

Onondaga Limestone and equivalent Huntersville 

Chert and upper Wildcat Valley Sandstone (Freeman, 

1951; Miller and others, 1977; Le Van and Rader, 1983; 

Currie and MacQuown, 1984; Diecchio and others, 

1984; Shell and others, 1984). In eastern Kentucky, 

the informal driller’s term “Corniferous” is commonly 

applied to all of these Silurian and Devonian carbonate 

and sandstone units and the underlying Keefer Sandstone or Big Six sandstone (Freeman, 1951; Currie and 

MacQuown, 1984; Noger and others, 1996). Following 

Denkler and Harris (1988a,b) and Harris and others 

(1994), the Silurian-Devonian boundary is placed 

within the lower part of the Helderberg Group (Helderberg Limestone).

The Lockport Dolomite in eastern Kentucky (drill 

holes 8 to 13) extends into Virginia (drill holes 15 and 

16). Farther southeast, between drill holes 16 and 17, 

the Lockport Dolomite is replaced by an equivalent 

limestone unit. In Virginia, an unconformity caps 

this equivalent limestone unit and cuts progressively 

downsection in a southerly direction to drill hole 18, 

where the equivalent limestone unit is completely 

truncated. The Salina Formation, which overlies the 

Lockport Dolomite near the Kentucky-Virginia border, 

is replaced in Virginia by the Tonoloway Limestone 

that extends south to the vicinity of drill hole 18. 

About 5 mi south of drill hole 17, the lower 40 ft of the 

Tonoloway Limestone are replaced by the Wills Creek 

Formation, which rests on the previously mentioned 

unconformity. In drill hole 18, where the LockportDolomite-equivalent limestone is absent, the Wills 

Creek Formation rests on an unconformity above the 

Keefer Sandstone. The unconformity probably extends 

to the south into the Copper Creek thrust sheet in the 

Valley and Ridge province (drill hole 19), as suggested 

by missing section (Lockport Dolomite-equivalent 

strata, Tonoloway Limestone, and Wills Creek Formation) between the Keefer Sandstone and the Helderberg-equivalent part of the Wildcat Valley Sandstone 

(fig. 2). The Oriskany Sandstone, which overlies the 

Helderberg Limestone in eastern Kentucky between 

drill holes 12 and 14, changes nomenclature to the 

Wildcat Valley Sandstone in southwestern Virginia.

Upper Silurian to Middle Devonian carbonate and 

evaporitic strata have been removed by erosion over 

much of the Cincinnati arch, but they are present on the 

eastern margin of the Illinois basin (between drill holes 

1 and 2) as a 220-ft-thick section with several intervening unconformities (fig. 2). In central Kentucky, the 

upper Silurian to Middle Devonian stratigraphic units 

are named as follows (in ascending order): (1) the 

Laurel Dolomite, (2) the Waldron Shale, (3) the Louisville Limestone, (4) the Brownsport Formation, (5) 

the Dixon Formation, and (6) the Sellersburg and Jeffersonville Limestones (Kepferle, 1974a,b; Noger and 

Drahovzal, 2005). The Laurel, Waldron, and Louisville 

strata correlate with the Lockport Dolomite on the eastern flank of the Cincinnati arch, whereas the Brownsport and Dixon Formations correlate with the Salina 

Formation on the eastern flank of the arch (McDowell, 

1983). The Brownsport and Dixon Formations are 

capped by an unconformity, above which lies the 

Sellersburg and Jeffersonville Limestones (undifferentiated), which correlate with the Onondaga Limestone on 

the eastern flank of the arch (Freeman, 1951).

The Keefer Sandstone is conformably overlain 

by the lower and upper Silurian Lockport Dolomite in 

eastern Kentucky and adjoining Virginia and by the 

Lockport equivalent limestone in southwestern Virginia. In addition, the Keefer Sandstone in southwestern Virginia is capped by an unconformity, above which 

lies the upper Silurian Wills Creek Formation (fig. 2). 

The Lockport Dolomite consists mainly of fine- to 

medium-crystalline dolomite with local skeletal grains 

and ooid buildups (Smosna and others, 1989; Noger 

and others, 1996). By comparison, the Lockport-Dolomite-equivalent limestone unit consists predominantly 

of micritic limestone.

The upper Silurian Salina Formation consists 

mainly of dolomite, anhydritic dolomite, and anhydrite. 

No halite has been reported from the Salina Formation 

in eastern Kentucky (Currie and MacQuown, 1984). 

The upper Silurian Tonoloway Limestone is lithologically similar to the Salina Formation, except limestone 

is more common in the Tonoloway Formation. The 

upper Silurian Wills Creek Formation is differentiated 

from the Tonoloway Formation by having a greater 

abundance of limestone and black shale and local 

anhydrite.

The overall depositional setting of the Salina Formation, Tonoloway Limestone, and Wills Creek Formation is interpreted as a shallow basin with closed circulation where evaporites were surrounded by a carbonate 

shelf with normal sea water (Smosna and others, 1977). 

Dolomite and evaporite beds in the Salina Formation, 

Tonoloway Limestone, and Wills Creek Formation 

signal an abrupt change on the carbonate shelf from 

normal circulation to greatly restricted circulation. The 

local limestone beds probably represent brief periods of 

accumulation on a carbonate shelf under more normal 

marine conditions. The abrupt change to restricted 

circulation was caused by a change to a very arid 

climate (Cecil and others, 2004). The Salina Formation 
20 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

is interpreted as greatly restricted shallow water and 

sabkha deposits (Tomastik, 1997).

On cross section I–I′, the Salina Formation (and 

equivalent upper part of the Tonoloway Limestone) 

is overlain by the upper Silurian to Lower Devonian 

Helderberg Group (Helderberg Limestone) from drill 

hole 18 to within about 8 mi southeast of drill hole 11 

where the Helderberg Limestone is truncated by the 

Middle to Upper Devonian unconformity. The thickness of the Helderberg Group (Helderberg Limestone) 

ranges from about 20 to 60 ft. Between drill holes 15 

and 18 in southwestern Virginia, the lowermost part of 

the Helderberg Group may be late Silurian in age (fig. 

2). In the Copper Creek thrust sheet in the Valley and 

Ridge province (drill hole 19), the Helderberg Group 

is replaced by the lower part of the Wildcat Valley 

Sandstone (Miller and others, 1977), which rests on an 

unconformity, above which lies the Keefer Sandstone 

as correlated by Wilson and others (1981b). In eastern 

Kentucky, the Helderberg Limestone consists of calcareous mudstone with local medium to coarse grains of 

frosted quartz sand (Currie and MacQuown, 1984). The 

Helderberg strata are generally interpreted as normal 

marine deposits that accumulated in an intracratonic 

basin and on flanking carbonate shelves (Dorobek and 

Read, 1986; Smosna, 1988).

The Helderberg Group (Helderberg Limestone) is 

capped by an unconformity, above which lies the clean, 

quartzose Lower Devonian Oriskany Sandstone that 

extends across the southeastern part of cross section 

I–I′ between drill holes 12 and 18. Furthermore, the 

Oriskany Sandstone is capped by an unconformity that 

probably truncated the Oriskany Sandstone several 

miles southeast of drill hole 12 near the pinch-out edge 

shown by Diecchio and others (1984) and Opritza 

(1996). West of the Oriskany Sandstone pinch-out, the 

unconformities above and below the Oriskany merge 

together and are truncated by the Middle to Upper 

Devonian unconformity midway between drill holes 11 

and 12. In the Copper Creek thrust sheet in the Valley and Ridge province (drill hole 19), the Oriskany 

Sandstone may be represented by part of the Wildcat 

Valley Sandstone (Miller and others, 1977). The Oriskany-equivalent part of the Wildcat Valley Sandstone, 

if present, probably rests on an unconformity above 

the Helderberg-equivalent part of the Wildcat Valley 

Sandstone (fig. 2).

The Oriskany Sandstone has been interpreted as 

a shallow-marine deposit (Bruner, 1988; Harper and 

Patchen, 1996), although Cecil (2004a,b) has suggested 

a prior eolian provenance for the Oriskany Sandstone. 

The regional unconformities identified at the top and 

base of the Oriskany Sandstone (Meglen and Noger, 

1996) probably were caused by falls in eustatic sea 

level (Dennison and Head, 1975). Many authors 

consider the unconformity at the base of the Oriskany 

Sandstone to be a regional unconformity named the 

Wallbridge unconformity (Sloss, 1963; Wheeler, 1963; 

Swezey, 2002, 2009). Dennison and Head (1975), however, considered the unconformity above the Oriskany 

Sandstone to represent the longer period of emergence 

and perhaps the greater decrease in water depth.

Between drill holes 12 and 17, the unconformity 

that caps the Oriskany Sandstone and equivalent Wildcat Valley Sandstone is overlain by the Middle Devonian Onondaga Limestone (Currie and MacQuown, 

1984). The Onondaga Limestone consists of cherty 

carbonate mudstone with local quartz grains. Several 

miles south of drill hole 17, the Onondaga Limestone 

is replaced by the Huntersville Chert, which contains 

more abundant chert than the Onondaga Limestone. In 

outcrops in the Copper Creek thrust sheet at the southeastern end of cross section I–I′ (Washington County, 

Virginia), the Huntersville Chert consists of fossiliferous chert, glauconitic sandstone, and greenish-gray 

siltstone (Bartlett and Webb, 1971). In drill hole 19 

(also in the Copper Creek thrust sheet), the Huntersville 

Chert is either absent or is replaced by a thin sandstone 

in the uppermost part of the Wildcat Valley Sandstone 

that rests on an unconformity above the middle (Oriskany equivalent) part of the Wildcat Valley Sandstone 

(fig. 2).

Middle Devonian to Middle Mississippian 

Siliciclastic Strata

Middle Devonian to Middle Mississippian 

siliciclastic strata consist of black shale, gray shale, 

siltstone, and sandstone (fig. 2). The Middle Devonian 

to Middle Mississippian strata shown on cross section 

I–I′ thin dramatically westward from as much as about 

2,800 ft in the vicinity of the Allegheny structural front 

in southwestern Virginia to about 1,850 ft near the 

Kentucky-Virginia border (drill hole 14), and to about 

700 ft in eastern Kentucky (near drill hole 8). These 

strata are absent across the Cincinnati arch due to erosion, but they are present as a 40-ft-thick unit bounded 

by unconformities on the eastern flank of the Illinois 

basin (drill hole 1). In the Valley and Ridge province of 

Virginia, part of the Middle Devonian to Middle Mississippian strata are present within frontal imbricates 

of the St. Paul (Hunter Valley) thrust fault. Also in the 

Valley and Ridge province, a complete 2,800-ft-thick 

section of Middle Devonian to Middle Mississippian 

strata are present in southeast-dipping beds of the 

Copper Creek thrust sheet (drill hole 19 and adjoining 

outcrops). The majority of the westward thinning of the 

Middle Devonian to Middle Mississippian siliciclastic 

unit is caused by regional depositional thinning (Roen, 

1984; Ettensohn and others, 1988; de Witt and others, 

1993).

In eastern Kentucky, the Middle Devonian to 

Middle Mississippian siliciclastic strata include the 

following units (in ascending order): (1) the Middle 

Devonian Marcellus Shale, (2) the Upper Devonian 

West Falls Formation (Rhinestreet Shale and Angola 

Shale Members), (3) the Upper Devonian Java Formation, (4) the Upper Devonian Ohio Shale (Huron 

Member, Three Lick Bed, Chagrin Shale, and Cleveland Member), (5) the Upper Devonian Bedford Shale, 

(6) the Upper Devonian Berea Sandstone, (7) the 

Lower Mississippian Sunbury Shale, and (8) the Lower 

and Middle Mississippian Borden Formation (fig. 2). 
Stratigraphic Framework 21

On the eastern flank of the Cincinnati arch, about 6 mi 

northwest of drill hole 8, the Huron, Cleveland, and 

Sunbury black shale units merge into a single black 

shale unit, called the Chattanooga Shale (de Witt and 

others, 1993; Hamilton-Smith, 1993). The Chattanooga 

Shale is equivalent to the Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian New Albany Shale (Kepferle, 1974a; Sable 

and Dever, 1990) on the eastern flank of the Illinois 

basin near drill hole 1 (fig. 2). The stratigraphy of the 

Middle Devonian-Lower Mississippian black shale 

units has been studied in great detail because of their 

role as hydrocarbon source rocks and reservoirs (Roen 

and Kepferle, 1993).

At least four additional stratigraphic names are 

applied to the Middle Devonian to Middle Mississippian strata in southwestern Virginia. First, the Marcellus Shale (in drill holes 14 through 18) is replaced by 

the Middle and Upper Devonian Millboro Shale in the 

Copper Creek thrust sheet (drill hole 19 and adjoining 

outcrops). In this area, the Millboro Shale consists of a 

lower part that is equivalent to the Marcellus Shale and 

an upper part, the top of which is possibly equivalent to 

the top of the Genesee Formation (Butts, 1940; Bartlett 

and Webb, 1971). The top of the Millboro Shale marks 

the top of the Middle Devonian on cross section I–I′. 

Second, strata that are equivalent to the Chagrin Shale 

Huron Member (upper), Three Lick Bed, and Cleveland 

Member in eastern Kentucky (drill hole 14) extend into 

southwestern Virginia (drill hole 15 to 17, and drill hole 

19 and adjoining outcrops) where they are mapped on 

cross section I–I′ as an Upper Devonian undivided unit 

of predominantly gray shale (fig. 2). Third, the Sunbury 

Shale in drill hole 17 and farther west correlates with 

the Big Stone Gap Shale in drill hole 19 (Bartlett and 

Webb, 1971). Fourth, the Lower and Middle Mississippian Borden Formation in Kentucky (Ettensohn and 

others, 1988; Lierman and others, 1992) is equated in 

southwestern Virginia with the Lower and Middle Mississippian Price Formation (Bartlett and Webb, 1971; 

Le Van and Rader, 1983; Kammer and Bjerstedt, 1986). 

On cross section I–I′, the name Borden Formation (as 

used by Ettensohn, 2009) is preferred to the name Borden Group (as used by Harris and Sparks, 2000).

In Virginia, between the Allegheny structural 

front and the Kentucky-Virginia State line, the Price 

Formation is overlain by a 30- to 50-ft-thick unit of red 

to gray shale named the Maccrady Shale (Wilpolt and 

Marden, 1959; Le Van and Rader, 1983). In Kentucky, 

red to gray shale in the uppermost part of the Borden Formation correlates with the Maccrady Shale in 

Virginia and extends west to a pinch-out edge about 8 

mi west of drill hole 12. In both southwestern Virginia 

and eastern Kentucky, the Maccrady Shale is capped 

by a regional unconformity (Matchen and Vargo, 1996; 

Vargo and Matchen, 1996). In the Greendale syncline at 

the southeastern end of cross section I–I′, the Maccrady 

Shale thickens to about 400 ft and consists of red shale, 

gray shale, anhydritic dolomite, and siltstone (Cooper, 

1966; Le Van and Rader, 1983). About 40 mi northeast 

of drill hole 19 (and adjoining outcrops), also in the 

Greendale syncline, the Maccrady Shale is as much as 

1,250 ft thick and contains beds of anhydrite and salt 

that is probably halite (Cooper, 1966). Part of the overthickened section of the Maccrady Shale is attributed to 

flowage of the evaporites during thrust faulting (Withington, 1965). The Maccrady Shale in drill hole 19 and 

in adjoining outcrops of the Copper Creek thrust sheet 

is capped by an unconformity, above which lies the 

Greenbrier Group (Le Van and Rader, 1983; Al-Tawil 

and others, 2003).

The Upper Devonian to Middle Mississippian 

siliciclastic strata are interpreted as sediments derived 

from an easterly orogenic source and deposited in a 

rapidly subsiding foreland basin. This foreland basin 

and its sedimentary deposits (the Catskill delta complex 

of Woodrow and Sevon, 1985, and Boswell and others, 

1996; and the Price-Rockwell delta complex of Boswell 

and others, 1996) are associated with the Acadian orogeny (Colton, 1970; Milici and de Witt, 1988; Osberg 

and others, 1989; Faill, 1997b). The 5,000- to 7,000-ftthick Middle Devonian to Middle Mississippian siliciclastic interval of sandstone, siltstone, and gray shale 

shown on cross sections C–C′ (Ryder and others, 2012), 

D–D′ (Ryder and others, 2009), and E–E′ (Ryder, 

Swezey, and others, 2008) represent the more proximal 

part of the foreland basin deposits, whereas the 700- 

to 2,800-ft-thick interval of gray shale, black shale, 

siltstone, and minor sandstone shown on cross section 

I–I′ represents the distal sediments that were deposited 

on the craton beyond the foreland basin (Ettensohn and 

others, 1988). The black shales are interpreted as anaerobic (anoxic) shallow-marine deposits (Roen, 1984; 

Ettensohn and others, 1988; Boswell, 1996). According 

to Ettensohn and others (1988), the subsiding foreland 

basin may have acted as a “giant sediment sink” that 

prevented coarser clastic sediment from reaching the 

distal areas in eastern Kentucky.

A regional unconformity is present among Middle 

to Upper Devonian strata across cross section I–I′ (fig. 

2). This unconformity is referred to as the Acadian 

unconformity (Wheeler, 1963; Swezey, 2002) and the 

Middle Devonian unconformity (de Witt and others, 

1993). In drill holes 15 through 19, this unconformity is 

present at the top of the Marcellus Shale and equivalent 

lower Millboro Shale (fig. 2). In drill holes 15 through 

18, however, the unconformity is probably disrupted 

by the upper detachment zone of the Pine Mountain 

thrust fault (fig. 3) that is located within the Marcellus 

Shale. West from drill hole 14, successively younger 

Upper Devonian strata downlap on the Middle to Late 

Devonian unconformity. For example, at drill hole 14 

the partially eroded Marcellus Shale is overlain by 

the Upper Devonian Rhinestreet Shale Member of the 

West Falls Formation. About 6 mi west of drill hole 

12, the Upper Devonian Angola Shale Member of the 

West Falls Formation rests on an unconformity above 

the Middle Devonian Onondaga Limestone. Farther 

west in drill hole 11, the Upper Devonian Java Formation rests on an unconformity above the upper Silurian 

Salina Formation. In drill holes 9 and 10, the Upper 

Devonian Huron Member (lower) of the Ohio Shale 

rests on an unconformity above the Salina Formation. 

At the western outcrop limit of the Upper Devonian 
22 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

black shale on the eastern flank of the Cincinnati arch, 

the Chattanooga Shale rests on an unconformity above 

the lower Silurian Brassfield Member of the Drowning 

Creek Formation. The Middle to Late Devonian unconformity is also recognized at the western end of cross 

section I–I′ where the New Albany Shale rests on an 

unconformity above the Middle Devonian Sellersburg 

and Jeffersonville Limestones (undifferentiated).

The Upper Devonian Bedford Shale and the 

overlying Upper Devonian Berea Sandstone consist 

of a 20- to 100-ft-thick interval of shale, siltstone, and 

sandstone (Pashin and Ettensohn, 1995). This interval 

extends from drill hole 14 to about 7 mi northwest of 

drill hole 8, and pinches out in the upper part of the 

Chattanooga Shale. A quartz-pebble conglomerate at 

the southeastern end of cross section I–I′ (drill hole 19 

and adjoining outcrops) is probably equivalent to the 

Berea Sandstone (unnamed quartz-pebble conglomerate at the top of the Chemung Formation of Bartlett 

and Webb, 1971; Cloyd Conglomerate of Wilson and 

others, 1981b). Between drill hole 16 and its pinch-out 

edge near drill hole 8, the Cleveland Shale Member of 

the Ohio Shale is conformably overlain by the Bedford 

Shale and an equivalent unnamed unit of sandstone and 

shale.

The Bedford Shale is overlain by the Berea Sandstone. West of drill hole 13, the contact between these 

two units is conformable. In drill holes 13 to 16 the 

Bedford Shale and (or) the equivalent unnamed sandstone and shale unit are capped by an unconformity, 

above which lies the Berea Sandstone. In drill hole 17 

and drill hole 19 (and adjoining outcrops), this unconformity caps Upper Devonian undivided strata, above 

which lies the Berea Sandstone. This unconformity at 

the base of the Berea Sandstone is sometimes referred 

to as the Kaskaskia I-Kaskaskia II boundary (Sloss, 

1988; Swezey, 2002).

The Bedford Shale-Berea Sandstone sequence is 

interpreted by Pashin and Ettensohn (1995) as a lowstand wedge that represents a major seaward shift in the 

upper part of the Devonian to Mississippian siliciclastic 

strata. The suggested eustatic drop in sea level possibly 

was associated with Late Devonian glaciations (Brezinski and others, 2010). The Berea Sandstone probably 

occupied a westward-prograding, sand-rich marine 

shelf that was dominated by storm deposits (Pashin and 

Ettensohn, 1995). The finer-grained Bedford Shale is 

interpreted as slope deposits on the westward-prograding shelf.

The Berea Sandstone is overlain by the Lower 

Mississippian Sunbury Shale, which is the uppermost 

black shale of the Upper Devonian to Middle Mississippian siliciclastic strata. This black shale represents 

the final transgression of the cratonic seaway across the 

distal part of the foreland basin (Ettensohn and others, 

1988).

On cross section I–I′, the Sunbury Shale, Big 

Stone Gap Shale, and Chattanooga Shale are overlain 

conformably by the Lower to Middle Mississippian 

Borden Formation and Price Formation. The Borden 

Formation in eastern Kentucky (drill holes 8 to 14) and 

the equivalent Lower to Middle Mississippian Price 

Formation in southwestern Virginia (drill holes 15 to 

17, and 19 and adjoining outcrops) consist primarily 

of silty shale overlain by siltstone. These two formations range in thickness from 900 ft in drill hole 19 

(and adjoining outcrops) to about 550 ft at their outcrop 

limit between drill holes 7 and 8. The Borden Formation is only 340 to 230 ft thick in drill holes 11 and 12, 

respectively.

The Borden and Price Formations on cross section 

I–I′ are interpreted as shallow-marine prodeltaic and 

delta-front deposits that formed on the distal part of the 

westward-prograding siliciclastic strata. The variations 

in thickness of the Borden Formation in drill holes 11 

and 12 is probably the result of syndepositional movement of an underlying basement block in the Rome 

trough.

The Price Formation is overlain by the Maccrady 

Shale, which consists of evaporite beds and red beds. 

Evaporite beds in the Maccrady Shale are mainly confined to the Greendale syncline. In drill hole 19 and in 

adjoining outcrops of the Copper Creek thrust sheet, the 

Maccrady Shale is capped by an unconformity.

 The Maccrady Shale is interpreted as having 

accumulated in a semiarid to arid environment (AlTawil and others, 2003). The Greendale syncline in 

which the Maccrady Shale accumulated is interpreted 

as a syndepositional basin of restricted circulation 

(Cooper, 1966, 1968). Overthickening of the Maccrady Shale within the Greendale syncline is attributed 

to flowage of the evaporites during subsequent thrust 

faulting (Withington, 1965).

Middle and Upper Mississippian 

Carbonate Strata

Middle and Upper Mississippian carbonate strata 

consist of a westward thinning wedge composed of the 

following units (in ascending order): (1) limestone, 

mapped as the Greenbrier Limestone in Virginia and 

the Newman Limestone in Kentucky; (2) limestone and 

black shale, mapped as the lower Bluefield Formation 

in Virginia; and (3) gray shale and sandstone mapped as 

the upper Bluefield Formation in Virginia (fig. 2). The 

combined thickness of the Greenbrier Limestone (Newman Limestone) and the overlying Bluefield Formation 

and equivalent strata ranges from about 1,200 ft near 

the Allegheny structural front in southwestern Virginia 

to about 100 ft near its outcrop limit in eastern Kentucky between drill holes 7 and 8. Along the outcrop 

belt of the Middle and Upper Mississippian carbonate 

strata in eastern Kentucky and adjoining subsurface in 

eastern Kentucky, Ettensohn and others (1984, 1992c) 

and Ettensohn, Johnson, and others (2002) proposed 

that the name Newman Limestone be changed to the 

Slade Formation. This suggested revision is followed 

in cross section I–I′, but the Slade Formation usage is 

restricted to the outcrop belt along the eastern flank of 
Stratigraphic Framework 23

the Cincinnati arch and to the nearby subsurface in drill 

holes 8 and 9 north of the Irvine-Paint Creek fault zone.

The Greenbrier Limestone consists mainly of 

very finely crystalline limestone (carbonate mudstone) 

and fossiliferous limestone (wackestone, packstone, 

and grainstone) that is commonly oolitic with minor 

amounts of siliciclastic claystone, gray to grayish-red 

shale, and argillaceous carbonate mudstone (Meissner, 

1978; Evans and Troensegaard, 1991). The Greenbrier 

Limestone thickens significantly to about 3,500 ft in 

the Greendale syncline (fig. 1) in southwestern Virginia 

at the southeastern end of cross section I–I′ (drill hole 

19 and adjoining outcrops), where the strata are named 

the Greenbrier Group (Al-Tawil and others, 2003). On 

the basis of studies by Bartlett and Webb (1971) and 

Al-Tawil and others (2003) and of strata penetrated in 

drill hole 19, the Greenbrier Group is subdivided into 

the following units (listed in ascending order): (1) the 

Little Valley Limestone, which is about 900 ft thick; (2) 

the Hillsdale Limestone, which is about 260 ft thick; 

(3) the Saint Genevieve Limestone, which is about 

1,300 ft thick; and (4) the Gasper Limestone, which 

is a minimum of 1,040 ft thick. The Greenbrier Group 

consists primarily of fossiliferous limestone (carbonate 

mudstone, wackestone, packstone, and grainstone) that 

is commonly oolitic and locally cherty. In addition to 

the dominant limestone units, thick quartzose siltstone 

units are present in the lower 400 ft of the Little Valley 

Limestone and the upper 650 ft of the Saint Genevieve 

Limestone of the Greenbrier Group. The quartzose 

siltstone units in the lower part of the Little Valley 

Limestone are dolomitic and commonly are interbedded with dolomite, whereas the quartzose siltstone units 

in the upper part of the Saint Genevieve Limestone are 

calcareous and commonly are interbedded with gray 

shale. Calcareous quartzose siltstone beds are also 

common in the upper 500 ft of the Little Valley Limestone, where the siltstone is interbedded with brown to 

dark-gray shale and dominant argillaceous limestone. 

Thin red shale units in the lower 200 ft of the Gaspar 

Limestone may be equivalent to the Taggard Shale of 

the Greenbrier Group as recognized in southeastern 

West Virginia and southwestern Virginia by Al-Tawil 

and others (2003) and Stamm (2004).

The Newman Limestone and Bluefield Formationequivalent strata in eastern Kentucky and the equivalent 

Slade Formation in central Kentucky are lithologically similar to the Greenbrier Limestone in Virginia 

(MacQuown and Pear, 1983) but are marked by several 

unconformities near the Cincinnati arch (Ettensohn, 

Johnson, and others, 2002). The lower part of the 

Bluefield Formation in Virginia and the equivalent 

upper part of the Newman Limestone in Kentucky are 

dominated by skeletal limestone (packstone and grainstone) and black shale, whereas the upper part of the 

Bluefield Formation in Virginia is dominated by gray 

shale and sandstone (Maynard and others, 2006). The 

thin dolomite and gray shale unit that is equivalent to 

the Bluefield Formation (between drill holes 8 and 9) is 

included with the Slade Formation. In eastern Kentucky 

and southwestern Virginia, the Bluefield Formation and 

equivalent strata are capped by an unconformity (fig. 2).

The Middle and Upper Mississippian carbonate 

strata are interpreted as having accumulated in several 

depositional environments. The Greenbrier Group 

(Limestone) in Virginia and the equivalent parts of the 

Newman Limestone and Slade Formation in Kentucky 

are interpreted as predominantly shallow-water openmarine to tidal-flat deposits on an east-facing carbonate 

ramp (Carney and Smosna, 1989; Ettensohn and others, 

1992c; Ettensohn, Greb, and others, 2002; Ettensohn, 

Johnson, and others, 2002; Al-Tawil and others, 2003). 

The thick Greenbrier Group in southwestern Virginia 

is interpreted as deeper water deposits of the ramp 

margin, and the calcareous quartzose siltstone units 

in the Greenbrier Group are interpreted as lowstand 

deposits (Al-Tawil and others, 2003). The lower part 

of the Bluefield Formation and the equivalent upper 

part of the Newman Limestone in Kentucky represents 

the waning stages of marine carbonate shelf deposition 

(Maynard and others, 2006). In contrast, the upper part 

of the Bluefield Formation (gray shale and sandstone 

unit) in Virginia represents the initial encroachment of 

nearshore marine and upper coastal plain terrigenous 

sediment from tectonic uplands to the east (Englund, 

1979; Englund and Thomas, 1990).

The westward thinning of the Middle and Upper 

Mississippian carbonate strata resulted from the following events: (1) depositional thinning against the 

Cincinnati arch, which was tectonically active at the 

time of sediment accumulation (Ettensohn, Greb, and 

others, 2002; Ettensohn, Johnson, and others, 2002); 

(2) truncation of the upper part (gray shale and sandstone) of the Bluefield Formation by the post-Bluefield 

Formation unconformity east of drill hole 11 (Miller 

and Eriksson, 2000); and (3) partial truncation of the 

top of the Slade Formation between drill holes 7 and 

8 by the Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity (fig. 2). 

The thick Greenbrier Group in Virginia is attributed to 

increased accommodation space in a subsiding Middle 

to lower Upper Mississippian foreland basin created by 

thrust loading of the continental margin (Al-Tawil and 

others, 2003).

Upper Mississippian and Pennsylvanian 

Siliciclastic Strata

The westward-thinning wedge of Middle and 

Upper Mississippian carbonate strata on cross section 

I–I′ is succeeded by a westward-thinning wedge of 

Upper Mississippian and Pennsylvanian siliciclastic 

strata that is characterized by sandstone, conglomeratic 

sandstone, gray shale, red shale, dark-gray to black 

shale, coal, and limestone (fig. 2). The Upper Mississippian and Pennsylvanian siliciclastic wedge changes 

thickness across cross section I–I′ from about 4,000 ft 

in the vicinity of the Allegheny structural front to about 

300 ft on the eastern flank of the Cincinnati arch near 

drill hole 8.
24 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

In drill holes 15 through 17 (and adjacent outcrops) in southwestern Virginia (fig. 2), the Upper Mississippian strata consist of the Hinton and Bluestone 

Formations of the Pennington Group. The previously 

cited nomenclature applied to Upper Mississippian 

strata in the southwestern Virginia part of cross section 

I–I′ is significantly different from the nomenclature 

applied to Upper Mississippian strata in the eastern 

and central Kentucky parts of cross section I–I′. For 

example, the Hinton and Bluestone Formations of the 

Pennington Group in southwestern Virginia (Miller and 

Meissner, 1977; Meissner, 1978) are not recognized in 

eastern Kentucky, where strata equivalent to the Hinton 

and Bluestone Formations are designated as the Pennington Formation (Ettensohn , Greb, and others, 2002; 

S.F. Greb, written commun., 2010). In addition, the 

westernmost part of the Pennington Formation (located 

approximately between the Irvine-Paint Creek fault and 

its pinch-out edge near drill hole 8) was renamed the 

Paragon Formation by Ettensohn (2009) and Ettensohn 

and others (1984, 1992c).

In southwestern Virginia, the Bluefield Formation is capped by an unconformity, above which lies a 

280- to 760-ft-thick unit of sandstone, red shale, and 

fossiliferous limestone that is mapped as the Upper 

Mississippian Hinton Formation (Miller and Eriksson, 

2000; Maynard and others, 2006). The Hinton Formation is divided into the following four members (in 

ascending order): (1) the Stony Gap Sandstone Member, (2) the middle red member (red shale, siltstone, and 

sandstone), (3) the Little Stone Gap Member (fossiliferous limestone), and (4) the Tallery Sandstone Member 

(Wilpolt and Marden, 1959; Miller, 1974; Meissner, 

1978; Englund and Thomas, 1990).

The Hinton Formation is capped by an unconformity, above which lies the Upper Mississippian Bluestone Formation (Englund and others, 1985; Miller and 

Eriksson, 2000), which in southwestern Virginia consists of a 600-ft-thick unit of black shale and red beds. 

In southwestern Virginia, the Bluestone Formation consists of the following units (in ascending order): (1) the 

Pride Shale Member (black shale), (2) the red member 

(predominantly red shale), and (3) the Bramwell Member (calcareous shale and siltstone), which is probably 

absent in the vicinity of cross section I–I′ (Miller, 1974; 

Englund and others, 1985). In eastern Kentucky, strata 

equivalent to the Pride Shale Member tapers westward 

to a zero edge between drill holes 11 and 12.

In drill holes 15 through 17 (and adjacent outcrops) in southwestern Virginia, the Lower Pennsylvanian strata consists of the following units (in ascending 

order): the Pocahontas Formation, the Lee Formation, 

the Norton Formation, the Gladeville Sandstone, and 

the Wise Formation (Wilpolt and Marden, 1959; Miller 

and Meissner, 1977; Englund, 1979; Meissner, 1978; 

Le Van and Rader, 1983; Mitchell and others, 1984; 

Englund and Thomas, 1990; Greb and others, 2004, 

2009). The combined Pennsylvanian stratigraphic units 

in southwestern Virginia (the Lee Formation, Norton 

Formation, Gladeville Sandstone, and Wise Formation) 

correlate with the Lower and Middle Pennsylvanian 

Breathitt Group in eastern Kentucky (Chesnut, 1992; 

Greb and others, 2004, 2009). The Pennsylvanian 

Pocahontas Formation in southwestern Virginia pinches 

out before it reaches eastern Kentucky (Miller, 1974; 

Englund, Windolph, and others, 1986; Chesnut, 1992; 

Greb and others, 2009).

As shown in figure 2, Upper Mississippian strata 

are separated from Pennsylvanian strata by the regional 

Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity (Wilpolt and 

Marden, 1959; Rice, 1985; Englund and Thomas, 1990; 

Ettensohn, 1994; Greb and others, 2004, 2009). This 

unconformity is referred to as the sub-Absaroka unconformity (Sloss, 1963, 1988; Wheeler, 1963; Swezey, 

2002). To the west across southwestern Virginia and 

eastern Kentucky, this unconformity truncates the lowermost Pennsylvanian Pocahontas Formation and progressively older Upper Mississippian strata (Englund 

and Thomas, 1990; Ettensohn, 1994). Furthermore, 

Pennsylvanian strata that overlie the Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity are arranged in an onlap configuration where progressively younger rocks rest on the 

unconformity toward the Cincinnati arch (Englund and 

Thomas, 1990; Chesnut, 1992; Ettensohn, 1994; Greb 

and others, 2004, 2009).

In eastern Kentucky, the Lower Pennsylvanian 

unconformity is overlain by the Lower and Middle 

Pennsylvanian Breathitt Group, which consists of 

quartzose sandstone, quartzose conglomeratic sandstone, sandy gray shale, gray shale, and coal (fig. 2). 

This interval ranges in thickness from about 2,400 ft 

in front of the secondary footwall ramp of the Pine 

Mountain thrust fault (near drill hole 14) to about 1,500 

ft above the Rockcastle River fault zone (between drill 

hole 11 and 12), and to about 300 ft along the eastern 

flank of the Cincinnati arch in outcrops within 3 to 5 

mi of drill hole 8. Interbedded quartzose sandstone, 

quartzose conglomeratic sandstone, and coal-bearing 

gray shale in the Breathitt Group of central and eastern 

Kentucky are divided into the following formations (in 

ascending order): (1) the Warren Point Sandstone, (2) 

the Bottom Creek Formation, (3) the Sewanee Sandstone, (4) the Alvy Creek Formation, (5) the Bee Rock 

Sandstone, (6) the Grundy Formation, (7) the Pikeville 

Formation, (8) the Hyden Formation, (9) the Four Corners Formation, and (10) the Princess Formation (Chesnut, 1992; Greb and others, 2004, 2009). The Grundy 

Formation consists of an unnamed lower unit of coal 

beds and sandstone and an upper sandstone named the 

Corbin Sandstone Member. The more comprehensive 

sections of the Breathitt Group along cross section I–I′

are present between drill holes 10 and 12 where the 

Four Corners and Princess Formations are preserved in 

a structural sag (Eastern Kentucky syncline of Chesnut, 1992) that approximately overlies the eastern limit 

of the Rome trough and the adjoining Floyd County 

embayment. Many of these strata within the Breathitt 

Group contain coal beds that range from 1 to 12 ft 

thick, but these coal beds are not identified individually 

on cross section I–I′.

In southwestern Virginia, the Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity is overlain by Pennsylvanian quartzose sandstone, quartzose conglomeratic sandstone, and 
Stratigraphic Framework 25

coal-bearing sandy shale that are mapped as the following formations (in ascending order): (1) the Lee Formation, (2) the Norton Formation, and (3) the Gladeville 

Sandstone. The Lee Formation is divided into the 

following three members (in ascending order): (1) the 

Middlesboro Member, (2) the Hensley Member, and (3) 

the Bee Rock Sandstone Member (upper quartzarenite 

member of Mitchell, 1982). The Middlesboro Member 

contains a lower sandstone unit (lower quartzarenite of 

Mitchell, 1982; lower quartzarenite of the Middlesboro 

Member of Nolde, 1994) and an upper sandstone unit 

(middle quartzarenite of Mitchell, 1982; upper quartzarenite of the Middlesboro Member of Nolde, 1994). 

Correlations reported by Chesnut (1992) and made in 

this study indicate that the lower and upper sandstone 

units of the Middlesboro Member of the Lee Formation 

are equivalent to the Warren Point and Sewanee Sandstones, respectively, of the Breathitt Group, whereas the 

Bee Rock Sandstone Member of the Lee Formation is 

equivalent to the Bee Rock Sandstone of the Breathitt 

Group (fig. 2). The Bee Rock Sandstone Member of 

the Lee Formation thins to the east and changes across 

an arbitrary boundary between drill holes 16 and 17 to 

the McClure Sandstone Member of the Norton Formation (Miller, 1974; Meissner, 1978; Mitchell, 1982). 

An unnamed sandstone of the Norton Formation that 

is recognized on cross section I–I′ is correlated with 

an unnamed sandstone of the Grundy Formation that 

is also recognized on cross section I–I′ (fig. 2). The 

Gladeville Sandstone (fig. 2) is the youngest of the 

Pennsylvanian sandstone units in southwestern Virginia and is approximately equivalent to the Corbin 

Sandstone Member of the Grundy Formation (Greb and 

others, 2004).

The major beds of quartzose sandstone, quartzose conglomeratic sandstone, and shale in the Breathitt Group (in Kentucky) and the Lee Formation (in 

Virginia) extend west across large parts of cross section 

I–I′ before they thin, onlap, and terminate against the 

Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity. For example, from 

the St. Paul (Hunter Valley) thrust fault to drill hole 15 

in southwestern Virginia, the lower sandstone of the 

Middlesboro Member of the Lee Formation (equivalent to the Warren Point Sandstone of the Breathitt 

Group) rests on an unconformity above the Lower 

Pennsylvanian Pocahontas Formation. Northwest of the 

Pine Mountain thrust fault, the Lower Pennsylvanian 

unconformity truncates the Pocahontas Formation and 

places the Breathitt Group on top of the red member of 

the Bluestone Formation. In drill hole 14, strata in the 

Pennington Formation that are equivalent to the Pride 

Shale Member of the Bluestone Formation are capped 

by the Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity, above 

which lies the Warren Point Sandstone. Thus, strata in 

the Pennington Formation that are equivalent to the red 

member of the Upper Mississippian Bluestone Formation have been truncated by the Lower Pennsylvanian 

unconformity. Locally (such as between drill hole 14 

and the Pine Mountain thrust fault), the Warren Point 

Sandstone overlies Pennsylvanian shale and silty shale 

of the Breathitt Group that are difficult to differentiate 

from underlying Mississippian shale. In such cases, the 

location of the Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity is 

difficult to recognize. Furthermore, between drill holes 

11 and 12, the Bee Rock Sandstone of the Breathitt 

Group rests on an unconformity above the truncated 

western limit of strata in the Pennington Formation 

that are equivalent to the Upper Mississippian Hinton 

Formation. To the west (between drill holes 9 and 10), 

the Bee Rock Sandstone thins to a pinch-out edge and 

rests on an unconformity above the lower part of the 

Pennington Formation. Finally, between the IrvinePaint Creek fault and the western outcrop limit of the 

Breathitt Group, the Grundy Formation and its Corbin 

Sandstone Member rest on an unconformity above the 

Lower and Middle Mississippian Slade Formation.

The Upper Mississippian and Pennsylvanian 

siliciclastic strata are interpreted as predominantly 

nonmarine sediments (with minor amounts of restricted 

marine sediments) derived from an easterly source and 

deposited in a subsiding foreland basin (Englund and 

Thomas, 1990). This foreland basin and its sedimentary 

deposits are associated with the Alleghanian orogeny 

(Colton, 1970; Milici and de Witt, 1988; Hatcher and 

others, 1989). In contrast, Ettensohn, Greb, and others 

(2002) and Ettensohn (2009) consider the Upper Mississippian deposits to be associated with the final stages 

of the Acadian orogeny. Westward thinning of the 

Upper Mississippian strata resulted from depositional 

thinning and erosional truncation beneath the Lower 

Pennsylvanian unconformity. Furthermore, depositional thinning of Upper Mississippian strata (below 

the Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity) and Pennsylvanian strata (above the Lower Pennsylvanian unconformity) probably was controlled in part by syndepositional uplift of the Cincinnati arch.

The fossiliferous limestone of the Little Stone Gap 

Member of the Hinton Formation is interpreted as a 

shallow restricted-marine deposit (Wilpolt and Marden, 

1959), whereas the black shale of the Pride Shale 

Member of the Bluestone Formation is interpreted as a 

brackish-water lagoonal deposit (Englund and Thomas, 

1990). The remaining strata of the Hinton and Bluestone Formations are interpreted as alluvial plain and 

marginal-marine deposits (Miller, 1974; Englund and 

others, 1985).

The quartzose sandstone and quartzose conglomeratic sandstone of the Pocahontas Formation, Breathitt 

Group, and Lee Formation are interpreted as being 

primarily fluvial (Rice and Schwietering, 1988; Greb 

and Chesnut, 1996; Greb and others, 2004, 2009). In 

contrast, Englund, Windolph, and others (1986) and 

Englund, Gillepsie, and others (1986) interpreted the 

sandstone and conglomeratic sandstone as barrier-bar 

and offshore-bar deposits. Coal-bearing sandstone 

and gray shale in the Pocahontas Formation, Breathitt 

Group, Lee Formation, Norton Formation, and Wise 

Formation are interpreted as alluvial plain, coastal 

plain, and peat swamp deposits (Englund and Thomas, 

1990; Greb and others, 2004, 2009). Thin, commonly 

widespread beds of shale, with marine fauna, near 

the base of the Pikeville, Hyden, Four Corners, and 

Princess Formations of the Breathitt Group probably 
26 Pamphlet A—Geologic Cross Section I–I′ Through the Appalachian Basin

represent brief incursions of the seaway into terrestrial settings (Greb and others, 2009; Work and others, 2009). The low-sulfur and low-ash coal beds in 

the Pocahontas and Lee Formations in southwestern 

Virginia and in the Breathitt Group in eastern Kentucky 

may represent topogenous, planar swamp deposits that 

accumulated under humid climate conditions (Cecil and 

others, 1985).

Acknowledgments

We thank James L. Coleman, Jr., of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for recognizing the scientific 

value of this regional geologic cross section, and for his 

keen interest and enthusiastic support during all stages 

of the investigation. We also thank Robert C. Milici 

(USGS) for his critical geological insights, discussions 

of Appalachian geology, and suggestions regarding 

cross section methodology. Christopher P. Garrity 

(USGS) significantly improved the cross section by 

providing a digital topographic profile based on digital 

elevation model (DEM) data. James L. Coleman, Jr., 

and Robert C. Milici, both of the USGS, and James A. 

Drahovzal, Stephen F. Greb, David C. Harris, and John 

B. Hickman, all of the Kentucky Geological Survey, 

improved the cross section and text through careful and 

thoughtful reviews.

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ISSN 2329-1311 (print)

ISSN 2329-132X (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3343