stratigraphy of the northern appalachian basin, mohawk valley

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Bruce Selleck Department of Geology Colgate University June, 2010 Stratigraphy of the Northern Appalachian Basin, Mohawk Valley, Central New York State

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Page 1: Stratigraphy of the Northern Appalachian Basin, Mohawk Valley

Bruce Selleck Department of Geology

Colgate University June, 2010

Stratigraphy of the Northern Appalachian Basin, Mohawk Valley,

Central New York State

Page 2: Stratigraphy of the Northern Appalachian Basin, Mohawk Valley

Introduction: This field guide presents an overview of the Paleozoic stratigraphy of the northeastern edge of the Appalachian Basin in New York. The area of interest includes portions of the northern Appalachian Plateau, Onondaga-Helderberg escarpment and Mohawk Valley physiographic province. In this region, Cambrian through Devonian strata are exposed in approximately east-west trending outcrop belts, and units dip gently to the south-southwest at ~1 degree. Natural bedrock exposures are found in stream valleys or along valley walls in steep, glacially-carved terrain. Wisconsin-age glacial deposits are thickest in major valleys and mantle many upland areas. The prominent east-west trending Onondaga-Helderberg escarpment provides the best natural exposures. Road cuts are numerous along major highways including US Route 20 and Interstate Route 90 (although access is limited). Active and abandoned bedrock quarries in the area are reasonably abundant. Bedrock structural features are relatively uncomplicated in the western portion of the area of interest. In the central and eastern Mohawk Valley, approximately north-south trending normal faults are evident and bound horsts that were active during Ordovician and early Silurian time, and acted to control sedimentation patterns during the evolution of the Taconic foreland basin. Associated syndepositional and early post-depositional folding and faulting are common in interbedded limestone-shale facies. In the eastern Mohawk Valley and adjacent northern Catskill Mountains, subhorizontal thrust structures are present as decollement surfaces within ductile dark shale units in the Ordovician and Devonian section. Depositional Sequences: Potsdam-Beekmantown: The basal Paleozoic strata in the Mohawk Valley region consist of subarkosic arenite and quartz arenite of the Potsdam Formation, which rests in profound non-conformity on 1100 ma rocks of the Adirondack Grenville Province. These basal clastics are succeeded by dolomitic limestone and dolostone of the Galway, Little Falls and Tribes Hill Formations. The middle Cambrian to lower Ordovician units, comprising the Beekmantown Group, form a relatively thin (150-600 feet) passive margin sequence in the Mohawk Valley Region. Inliers of Beekmantown units are found within normal-fault bounded valleys of the southern and central Adirondack Mountain, suggesting that the Adirondack uplift was covered by marine waters during Beekmantown Group deposition. The Potsdam Formation and overlying carbonate strata thin to the north and west in the Mohawk Valley region, and are not present in the Tug Hill region, where late Ordovician Black River and Trenton units rest unconformably on Proterozoic basement. Beekmantown strata thicken to the south-southwest of the Mohawk Valley region. Early middle Ordovician Chazy Group strata, present in the northern Champlain Valley and Ottawa-St. Lawrence Lowlands, are absent from the Mohawk Valley. Post-Beekmantown uplift of the region resulted in subaerial erosion and meteoric alteration of the early Ordovician passive margin. This “pre-Black River” or “Knox” unconformity is attributed to progressive east to west regional uplift related to forebulge development during the onset of the 450 ma Taconic Orogeny.

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Figure 1: Generalized stratigraphic column in the Appalachian Basin of New York

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Black River-Trenton-Utica-Frankfort: Limestone strata of the Black River Group are present throughout the Mohawk Valley and represent resumption of carbonate deposition in peritidal and shallow subtidal platform environments during the earliest phases of foreland basin subsidence associated with the onset of the Taconic Orogeny. Volcanic ash beds are widespread in the Black River Group and document eruption of andesitic to rhyolitic stratovolcanoes along the maturing Taconic arc system. The succeeding Trenton Group carbonates accumulated as the Taconic arc margin began to collapse westward onto the Laurentian margin of present-day western Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Early Paleozoic sediments of the old Laurentian shelf and slope were driven westward onto the passive margin platform. Trenton carbonates consist of platform, ramp and foreland basin facies that interfinger with, and are progressively replaced east to west by basinal mud of the Utica Formation. Late Ordovician Frankfort Formation mud, silt and sand represent rapid filling of the Taconic foreland basin. By the end of Ordovician, shallow marine deltaic facies of the Pulaski and Oswego Formations built westward to complete the Taconic tectophase. Oneida-Clinton-Salina: In the Mohawk Valley, latest Ordovician units (Pulaski, Oswego) are absent, and Silurian strata rest unconfomably on eroded Frankfort Formation. The Oneida Conglomerate, Sauquoit Formation, Willowvale Shale, Herkimer Sandstone and Ilion Shale are thinned proximal equivalents to thicker basinal sequences found to the west of the Mohawk Valley region. The Oneida and Herkimer are shoreline facies with local thickness variations that are related to syndepositional faulting. The Upper Silurian Salina Group, hosting thick evaporite deposits in the Finger Lakes region, is represented in the Mohawk Valley by thin peritidal carbonates and dolomitic shale (Cobleskill and Chrysler Formations) in the Mohawk.Valley. Helderberg: Renewed collisional tectonism in Early Devonian time prompted foreland subsidence that accommodated the deposition of platform carbonates of the Helderberg Group. Abundant volcanic ash beds in the Helderberg document eruptive volcanic activity. Helderberg strata are absent west of the eastern Finger Lakes region, and are thickest in the eastern Catskills. Tristates-Onondaga: Clastic units of the Tristates Group are limited to the central and eastern Mohawk Valley and eastern Catskill regions. Shelf-to-basin shaley limestone, calcareous shale, siltstone and sandstone of the Schoharie, Esospus and Carlisle Formations record uplift and erosion of early Acadian orogenic source regions (Phase I Acadian Orogeny). The Onondaga Formation carbonates accumulated as terrigenous clastic input diminished in the early middle Devonian, although widespread volcanic ash input continued. Marcellus-Hamilton: Deposition of Onondaga Formation carbonates ended abruptly with foundering of the platform and termination of carbonate productivity. Basal Marcellus Formation organic-rich mud accumulated as high productivity, density stratified surface waters rained organic matter onto oxygen-deficient substrates that received very limited terrigenous clastic input. The Union Springs Member contains the highest organic

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content. The Cherry Valley Limestone Member represents resumption of carbonate accumulation during an episode of oxygenation of bottom waters. The succeeding Chittenango (=Oatka Creek), Bridgewater-Otsego and Solsville Members of the Marcellus comprise a sequence of dark gray to gray shales packaged in shallowing upward half-cycles capped by silty sandstone in the central Mohawk Valley region. The succeeding formations in the Hamilton Group (Skaneateles, Ludlowville, Moscow) are not clearly separable in the area south of the central Mohawk Valley, but generally consist of gray shale, siltstone and fine sandstone with a normal marine fauna. (Note that this report does not use the stratigraphic revisions of Ver Straetten and Brett (2007) that raise the Marcellus Formation to subgroup status. These revisions are difficult to reconcile with older member-level subdivisions of the upper Marcellus Formation, and hence the older terminology is retained in this report.) Upper Devonian: In the area south of the central Mohawk Valley, dark marine shales, siltstones and sandstones of the Genesee Group overlie sandy upper Hamilton Group facies. The basal Tully Formation consists of calcareous sandstone deposited in a near-shore tide-dominated shelf system. The uppermost Genesee Group consists of non-marine fluvial clastics of the Oneonta Formation. The succeeding West Falls Group is dominated by marine shelf to basin shale, siltstone and sandstone deposited by mixed storm and turbidite processes. Field Trip Stop Descriptions Day 1 Stop 1-1A – Upper Silurian Chrysler Formation and Lower Devonian Helderberg Group (Manlius Formation and basal Coeymans Formation) We will stop briefly at outcrops on Otsego Co. Rt. 32 immediately south of the intersection with US Route 20 to examine tidal flat facies of the Manlius Formation. Key features here include microbial laminites, small thrombolite mounds, prism-cracked laminites and rare casts of gypsum crystals. The upper part of the Manlius consists of bioclastic grainstone tempestites within muddier tidalite facies. The succeeding Coeymans Formation is a coarser, bioclastic grainstone-packstone dominated by criniod and brachiopod debris. Rare tabulate and rugose corals are present. The Helderberg Group carbonate sequence in the Cherry Valley, NY is approximately 300’ thick. The Helderberg thins to the west along its east-west outcrop belt, and west of Syracuse, NY is present only as erosional remnants bounded by disconformities above and below. Stop 1-1B – Lower Devonian Esopus Shale In the Cherry Valley, NY area, the Esopus Shale and Carlisle Siltstone Formations total approximately 40’ in thickness. These marine clastic units are correlative to the thicker Schoharie Formation of the eastern Catskill/Hudson Valley region, and are derived from

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the initial uplift of sources areas to the east during Ettensohn’s (1985). Acadian Tectophase I. The Esopus Shale exposure on NY Route 166 consists of fissile, splintery gray shale with a very limited fauna. Rare brachiopods and occasional pyritized burrows are present. Stop 1-1C – Carlisle Siltstone and Onondaga Formations: Carlisle Siltstone Formation and Onondaga Formation (Edgecliff, Nedrow, Moorehouse and Seneca Members) We will examine the contact of the Onondaga Formation with the underlying Carlisle Siltstone Formation in roadcuts on the south side of US Route 20 immediately east of the intersection of Route 20 and Route 166. The Carlisle consists of bioturbated (“Taonurus”) calcareous and glauconitic siltstone; its upper contact with the basal Edgecliff Member of the Onondaga is disconformable, and is marked by accumulation of phosphate nodules and glauconitic sand. The Oriskany Sandstone interval lies within the Carlisle-Edgecliff contact, but the Oriskany is absent here due to pre-Onondaga erosion, or non-deposition. The Oriskany is sporadically present in outcrops in the Mohawk Valley area, and thickens to the south in the subsurface. The Edgecliff Member of the Onondaga Formation consists of coarse, bioclastic grainstones and packstones with bluish gray to white chert nodules. Chert nodules are often rimmed by dolomitized limestone. Silica for chert in the Onondaga Formation was provided by opaline silica from sponge spicules. Early diagenetic replacement of carbonate sediment by opal-CT and later aging to quartz was accompanied by local dolomitization. Surface waters during Onondaga deposition may have been enriched in silica from widespread deposition of volcanic ash. Coral, crinoid, bryozoan and brachiopod fossils are common in the Edgecliff. The Nedrow Member of the Onondaga is a shaley bioclastic packstone-wackestone-mudstone with a limited brachiopod-dominated fauna. The Moorehouse Member consists of medium bedded packstones and wackestones with thin shale interbeds common. Moorehouse Member chert nodules are dark in color and are rimmed by dolomite. The Seneca Member of the Onondaga is a bioclastic wackestone-mudstone. Chonetid brachiopods in the Seneca are often hematite-stained, suggesting possible subaerial exposure of the Onondaga platform prior to deposition of the Union Springs Member of the Marcellus Formation. Alternatively, the hematite staining may be due to later burial diagenetic processes. The total thickness of the Onondaga Formation in the central Mohawk Valley is approximately 120’. Stop 1-1D – Union Springs, Cherry Valley and Chittenango Members, Marcellus Formation Exposures immediately south of US Route 20 on County Route 34A provide one of the area’s best opportunities to examine the Union Springs Shale, Cherry Valley Limestone and overlying Chittenango Shale Members of the Marcellus Formation. The Union

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Springs hosts a 10-20 cm subhorizontal shear zone consisting of phacoidally-cleaved calcite-veined shale. Depending on the outcrop quality, this shear zone may not be exposed. Fabrics in the shear zone indicate northwest transport of the upper plate. The presence of this shear zone may explain the deformation of the overlying Cherry Valley Limestone and the poor development of tectonic joints in this outcrop. The high TOC Union Springs Member is approximately 25’ thick. The Cherry Valley Limestone at this locality is 5-8’ in thickness, and consists of dark, bituminous limestone and nodular limestone in black shale. The limestone beds contain an abundant but poorly-preserved cephalopod fauna. The Cherry Valley Some beds consist of styliolinid wackestone; rare brachiopods and auloporid corals indicate that bottom waters were, at times, oxygenated during Cherry Valley deposition. The overlying Chittenango Member consists of dark silty shale, and is relatively poorly exposed at this locality.

Figure 2: Cherry Valley Limestone Member overlain by Chittenango (=Oatka Creek) Shale Member at Stop 1-1D Stop 1-2 – Ordovician Utica Shale (Dolgeville and Flat Creek Members) at Town of Minden Highway Garage Bedding plane exposures of the uppermost Flat Creek and overlying Dolgeville Members of the Utica Formation are nicely displayed in the bed of Otsquago Creek immediately northwest of the Town of Minden Highway garage on NYS Route 80. Both units include calcareous shale, and siltstone and dark lime mudstone that emit a hydrocarbon odor

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when broken. The lime mudstone beds of the upper Dolgeville contain laminae rich in pyrite. Of particular interest in this exposure are the numerous fractures and veins. The most abundant fracture sets trend ~N70W and N15E and are often mineralized with hydrocarbon-stained calcite. Note the variation in fracture density in dark limestone versus the silty and shaley lithologies. Fluid inclusion and stable isotope study of calcite veins from nearby localities suggest the vein-mineralizing fluids were derived internally from dewatering of host sediment. Fracture systems in the Utica Shale Formation in the Mohawk Valley and Tug Hill outcrop belts are currently under study. In general, mineralized fractures are limited to the eastern and east-central Mohawk Valley, where E-W Mode 2 (strike-slip) fractures are most common, and veins occupy dilational jogs associated with this E-W fracture system; N-S extensional veins are also common in the eastern Mohawk Valley. Both fracture sets are associated spatially with bedding-parallel thrust faults with calcite-chlorite slickenline surfaces. In the western Mohawk Valley outcrop belt, Mode 1 (extension) fractures in the Utica Shale Formation are less commonly mineralized except in the most carbonate-rich lithologies. In the western Mohawk Valley and Tug Hill Plateau region, the early (J1) joint set in the Utica is ~N50W; the J2 joints are ~N55E. The Utica J2 joints are parallel to the J1 joints in the Devonian of central New York (Engelder, et al, 2009). Stop 1-3 - Ordovician Utica Shale Formation (Indian Castle Member) near Hallsville, NY Road cut outcrops on NYS Route 80 approximately 0.6 miles northeast of the hamlet of Hallsville expose the Indian Castle Member of the Utica Formation. The Indian Castle here is highly fissile, brittle dark gray slightly silty shale. A prominent lime mudstone bed mid-way in the outcrop contains trilobite, graptolite and orthocone cephalopod fossils. Note that the trilobite and graptolite fragments are uncompacted. The lime mudstone bed contains wispy pyrite laminae. Mode 1 unmineralized joints in this outcrop include N60W, N85W and N10E sets. Relative timing of these joint sets has not been established. Day 2 Stop 2-1 - Oriskany Falls, NY, Hanson Aggregates Quarry. Helderberg Group, Oriskany Sandstone Formation, Onondaga Limestone Formation, Marcellus Shale Formation (note that hard hats and safety glasses are to be worn at all times). The Oriskany Falls Quarry at the intersection of NYS Route 26 and Green-Vedder Road exposes the Lower Devonian Helderberg Group (Manlius, Coeymans and Kalkberg Formations), the Oriskany Sandstone (type section; approximately 12 feet in thickness), the entire Onondaga Formation (Edgecliff, Nedrow, Moorehouse and Seneca Members)

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and the basal Marcellus Formation (Union Springs and Cherry Valley Members; exposures depend on state of working at this active quarry). The working face of the quarry consists of Helderberg and Onondaga carbonates separated by the prominent tan-white band of Oriskany Formation. Note the absence of Esopus and Carlisle Formations here. The Oriskany disconformably overlies Helderberg Group carbonates, demonstrated by erosional and solution truncation of bedding at the top of the Kalkberg Formation, and phosphate and glauconite clasts in the basal Oriskany. The Helderberg carbonate sequence thins rapidly to the west from this location. The Onondaga Formation is likewise in disconformable contact with the underlying Oriskany Formation, with the basal Edgecliff Member bearing clasts of phosphatic sandstone. The Oriskany is discontinuous in the east-west outcrop belt from the western Mohawk Valley through the Finger Lakes region of New York. The upper quarry level exposes the contact between bioclastic, slightly shaley mudstones of the upper Seneca Member of the Onondaga Formation and black to brownish black shales of the basal Union Springs Member of the Marcellus Formation. Depending on the current state of stripping of overburden, the contact can be directly observed, and the overlying Cherry Valley Member may also be exposed. Abundant blocks of the units are also available for inspection. Of particular interest here, if exposure permits, is a décollement zone developed within the Union Springs Member, and the fracture systems and mineralization associated with the deformation. Stop 2-2 Bridgewater West roadcut. Bridgewater, Solsville and Pecksport Members A road cut on the north side of US Route 20 near the intersection of Bliven Road and US Route 20 exposes the upper Bridgewater Member and Solsville Member of the Marcellus Formation. The overlying Pecksport Member is exposed in a stream cut in the wooded area immediately north of the east end of the road cut. The sequence here is typical of the upper Marcellus Formation in the central Mohawk Valley region. These shale, siltstone and fine sandstone units thicken rapidly to the east, with the combined Bridgewater-Solsville interval exceeding 500’ in the area south of Cherry Valley, NY. The Bridgewater Member in this outcrop consists of gray, shaley siltstone with abundant ‘Taonurus’ feeding traces. Body fossils are exceeding rare in this interval, possibly reflecting biotic exclusion due to the highly unstable substrate produced by the burrowers. The contact with the overlying Solsville Member is gradational, with subtle but regular increases in grain size and bedding thickness up section. Vertical burrows and larger brachiopods (Spinocyrtia) are characteristic of the calcareous siltstone and fine sandstone of the Solsville. An interval of hummocky cross-stratified fine sandstone with leached shell coquinite occurs 8-10 feet below the summit of the Solsville. The uppermost beds contain rare tabulate corals, large brachipods and bivalves in burrowed muddy sandstone. The upward shallowing and coarsening of the Solsville is terminated by an abrupt transition to fissile silty gray shale of the basal Pecksport Member. The flooding surface at the top of the Solsville is marked by phosphatic debris including phosphatized brachiopod bioclasts and phosphatic intraclasts.

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Fluid inclusion and stable isotopic analyses of primary shell carbonate and void-filling spar cement from the Solsville Member at this outcrop suggest that maximum temperatures during burial reached at least 140 C, based on aqueous fluid inclusion homogenization in calcite. Aqueous fluid compositions were near seawater in salinity during early primatic calcite cementation, but show stable isotopic trends characteristic of basinal fluid evolution (i.e. the waters became isotopically enriched during later burial). Calcite cement in tabulate coral voids is strongly growth-zoned, with hydrocarbon-stained coarse spar cement zones following early prismatic calcite. Later, coarse, clear ferroan calcite spar fills most remaining void space, and poikilitic calcite cement is common in the coarser facies of the Solsville. Joint surfaces in the Solsville Member are nicely displayed at this stop. The J1 (~N60E) J2 (~N15W) joint sets of Engelder, et al (2009) are present. Note the apparent truncation of concretionary masses in the Solsville by J2.

Figure 3. Joints in Solsville Member of Marcellus Formation. Note concretion cut by fracture (red arrow). Stick is 1 meter long. Stop 2-3 Mower Road Marcellus Formation; Chittenango Member (= Oatka Creek Member) Outcrops at the intersection of US Route 20 and Mower Road provided data for the fracture studies of Engelder, et al (2009). The dark to light gray silty shales of the middle

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portion of the Chittenango Member of the Marcellus contain numerous thin (2-5 cm) beds of ripple laminated calcareous siltstones, probably of storm origin. Fossils are exceeding rare, and limited to a sparse brachiopod fauna and occasional orthoconic cephalopods. A zone of fracture intensification is present in the outcrop on the south of Route 20 and east of Mower Road. These joints may represent conjugate shear fractures related to either J1 or J2 events.

Figure 4a. Mower Road joint orientations (from Engelder, et al 2009)

Figure 4b. Zone of fracture intensification, Mower Road outcrop (N60E and N15E orientations). Rod is 1 meter long.

Stop 2-4A - Moyer Creek and South Moyer Creek near Frankfort, NY. Frankfort Formation (‘Upper Utica’) Moyer Creek exposures include upper Utica and Frankfort Formations and the erosional contact between the upper Ordovician Frankfort Formation and overlying Oneida Formation. We will make at least two stops in this interval. The first stop is an informal parking area near the lower bridge over Moyer Creek on NYS Route 171 (Gulf Road). The stream cut immediately adjacent to the parking area exposes Frankfort Formation silty shale with interbeds of ripple cross-laminated fine sandstone of storm-turbidite origin. A north-dipping normal fault with ~2 feet of displacement is well-displayed near the base of the outcrop. Note the fault-related extension fractures in the footwall. Joints in the Frankfort Formation at this site trend ~N50 W and ~N15E, with the NW fractures apparently the earlier set.

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Stop 2-4B – Moyer Creek and South Moyer Creek near Frankfort, NY – Frankfort Formation, Oneida Formation (please be very wary of traffic when crossing roadway) The Silurian Oneida Formation consists of coarse sandstone and conglomerate resting on eroded upper Ordovician Frankfort Formation at this locality. Note the coarse quartz pebbles, and pyritized and phosphatized clasts in the basal Oneida. The contact documents the cessation of foreland basin deposition related to the Ordovician Taconic Orogeny, uplift and erosion of the foreland, and subsequent subsidence and marine onlap during early Silurian time. Upper Ordovician Oswego Sandstone, present in the Tug Hill region to the west, was eroded here, or never deposited, prior to Oneida deposition. The Oneida Formation represents a thinned, eastern shoreline facies equivalent to the Medina Formation in western New York State. The succeeding Sauquoit, Willowvale and Herkimer Formations are nearshore and shoreline facies that are age-equivalents of thicker basinal units of the Clinton Group in west-central New York. Silurian units thin rapidly from to the east, with lower Devonian strata resting on deformed Ordovician rocks in the central Hudson Valley. Joints are well developed in the Frankfort Formation (~N10W and N35E). Did these joints develop prior to uplift and erosion of the Frankfort, and deposition of the overlying Oneida, or was the entire sequence subject to the same fracture history?

Figure 5a. Normal fault in Frankfort Formation at Stop 2-4A.

Figure 5b. Oneida Formation overlying Frankfort Formation at Stop 2-4B

Stop 2-5 Upper Marcellus Formation Pecksport Shale Member near Hamilton, New York

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The Pecksport Member of the Marcellus Formation is exposed in outcrops on the west side of the intersection of NYS Route 46 and NYS Route 12B ~4 miles north of Hamilton, NY. The Pecksport Member at this locality consists of moderately fissile gray to dark gray silty shale and siltstone with a low diversity brachiopod/gastropod fauna. The irregular bedding and lack of lamination suggest that the muddy sediment was intensely bioturbated prior to burial. This exposure presents an opportunity to assess whether one can distinguish between early ‘burial tectonic’ fractures (J1 and J2 of Engelder, et al, 2009) and later fractures related to unroofing. Note the curving patterns formed by what may be the latest fractures. Day 3 Stop 3-1 Swamp Road near Morrisville, NY. Marcellus Formation, (Chittenango Member = Oatka Creek Member) The middle portion of the Chittenango Member of the Marcellus Formation is exposed in this roadcut on Swamp Road approximately 4 miles north of the Village of Morrisville, NY. The basal part of the interval consists of dark, silty shale with a very low diversity brachiopod fauna. The succeeding gray silty shale and siltstone contains a progressively more diverse brachiopod and bivalve fauna. Exceptional preservation of primary fossil microstructure is characteristic of shell material from this exposure. Stop 3-2 - NYS Rt. 13 near Cazenovia, NY. Marcellus Formation (Chittenango Member = Oatka Creek Member) This locality on Route 13 forms the type section of the Chittenango Member of the Marcellus Formation. The gray to dark gray silty shale is moderately fissile and contains a very limited brachiopod-orthocone fauna. Small to medium-size concretions (5-30 cm) are present and show modest septarian fractures filled with calcite and rare sulfide minerals. Note that the concretions are not cut by the regional joints, which includes ~N75E (J1) and N5W (J2) fractures. This locality provided data for the fracture studies of Engelder, et al (2009).

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Figure 6a. Chittenango joint orientations (from Engelder, et al 2009)

Figure 6b. Chittenango Member outcrop on Route 13 near Chittenango Falls. Note curving joint surfaces.

Stop 3-3 Chittenango Falls State Park on Route 13. Salina Group (Syracuse Formation), Helderberg Group, Onondaga Formation The exposures in the vicinity of Chittenango Falls State Park consist of upper Silurian dolostone, dolomitic shale and dolomitic limestone of the Syracuse Formation overlain by Helderberg Group (Manlius and Coeymans Formation) carbonates and the basal Edgecliff Member. The Syracuse Formation thickens rapidly to the west, and includes the evaporite deposits that characterize the Salina Group of central and western New York. The caprock of Chittenango Falls is formed by the Edgecliff Member of the Onondaga Formation.

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Table 1 - GPS Locations of Stops

Stop Number

GPS Easting (UTM Zone 18 WGS84)

GPS Northing (UTM Zone 18 WGS84)

1-1A 521978 4741289 1-1B 521626 4740616 1-1C 522421 4741131 1-1D 524690 4739690 1-2 529231 4753008 1-3 524975 4753741 2-1 462826 4755440 2-2 475799 4748934 2-3 495387 4746874

2-4A 491514 4763795 2-4B 489626 4762799 2-5 453752 4746051 3-1 445888 4753794 3-2 431554 4756140 3-3 431439 4758739

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Bibliography: BOSWORTH, W., 1984, Foreland deformation in the Appalachian Plateau, central New York: the role of small-scale detachment structures in regional overthrusting; Journal of Structural Geology, v. 6, p. 73-81 BRETT, C. and BAIRD, G., 1996, Middle Devonian sedimentary cycles and sequences in the northern Appalachian Basin. Geological Society of America Special Paper, no. 306, p. 213-241. BRETT, C. AND BAIRD, G., 2002, Revised stratigraphy of the Trenton Group in its type area, central New York State: sedimentology and tectonics of a Middle Ordovician shelf-to-basin succession. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, Volume 27, Issues 1-3, p 231-263 ETTENSOHN, F. R., 1985, The Catskill delta complex and the Acadian orogeny: A model, in D. L. Woodrow and W. D. Sevon, eds., The Catskill delta: Geological Society of America Special Paper 201, p. 39–49 ENGELDER, T., LASH, G., AND UZCATEGUI, R., (2009) Joints that enhance production from the Middle and Upper Devonian Gas Shales of the Appalachian Basin; AAPG Bulletin, vol. 93, # 7, p. 857-889 MCCONAUGHY, D. T., AND T. ENGELDER, 1999, Joint interaction with embedded concretions: joint loading configurations inferred from propagation paths: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 21, p. 1637–1652 EVANS, MARK A., 1994, Joints and Décollement Zones in Middle Devonian Shales: Evidence for Multiple Deformation Events in the Central Appalachian Plateau. GSA Bulletin, Vol. 106, pp. 447-460. FAILL, R. A., 1997, A Geologic History of the North-central Appalachians, Part 2, Silurian through Carboniferous; American Journal of Science, vol. 297, p. 729-761 KAY, G.M., 1953, Geology of the Utica Quadrangle, New York; NYS Museum Bulletin #347, 126 pp. LASH, G. G., AND T. ENGELDER, 2005, An analysis of horizontal microcracking during catagenesis: Example from the Catskill delta complex: AAPG Bulletin, v. 89, p. 1433–1449 LINSLEY, D.M., 1994, Devonian paleontology of New York: containing the brachiopods, bivalves, rostroconchs, gastropods, tergomyans, ammonoids, trilobites, eurypterids, and phyllocarids. Paleontological Research Institution, Special Publications, no.21.

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MARTIN, JOHN P., HILL, DAVID, and LOMBARDI, TRACY, 2004, Fractured Shale Gas Potential in New York, Northeastern Geology and Environmental Science, vol. 26, no. 1 & 2, pp. 57-78. NYAHAY, RICHARD E. and MARTIN, JOHN P., 2008, Delineating the Utica Formation From Outcrop to Subsurface, Geological Society of America Northeastern Section - 43rd Annual Meeting, 27-29 March. RICKARD, L.V. AND ZENGER, D. H., 1964, Stratigraphy and Paleontology of the Richfield Springs and Cooperstown Quadrangles, New York; NYS Museum Bulletin #396, 101 pp. SEVON, W. and WOODROW, D., 1985, Middle and Upper Devonian stratigraphy within the Appalachian Basin. Geological Society of America Special Paper, no. 201, p. 1-7. VER STRAETEN, C. A., AND BRETT, C., 2006, Pragian to Eifelianstrata (middle Lower to lower Middle Devonian), northern Appalachian Basin-stratigraphic nomenclatural changes: Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences, v. 28, p. 80–95. WERNE, J. P., B. B. SAGEMAN, T. W. LYONS, AND D. J.HOLLANDER, 2002, An integrated assessment of a “type euxinic” deposit: Evidence for multiple controls on black shale deposition in the Middle Devonian Oatka Creek formation: American Journal of Science, v. 302, p. 110–143, ZENGER, D. H., 1971, Uppermost Clinton (Middle Silurian) Stratigraphy and Petrology, East-Central New York; New York State Museum Bulletin #417, 58 pp.

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