Berea Sandstone
Berea Sandstone Stratigraphic range: Late Devonian | |
---|---|
Type | Formation |
Unit of | Waverly Group |
Underlies | Sunbury Shale |
Overlies | Bedford Shale and Ohio Shale |
Lithology | |
Primary | sandstone, siltstone |
Location | |
Region | Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Berea, Ohio |
Berea Sandstone, also known as Berea Grit, is a sandstone formation in the U.S. states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky. It is named after Berea, Ohio. The sandstone has been used as a building stone and is a source of oil and gas.
Description
In the Appalachian Basin, Berea Sandstone is present in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, western West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky.[2] In the Michigan Basin, the sandstone is present in the eastern part of the state, thickest near Michigan's Thumb.[3][4] The two deposits are separated by the Cincinnati Arch and are disconnected from each other.[3] The sandstone overlies the Bedford Shale and the Ohio Shale and underlies the Sunbury Shale.[2] Berea Sandstone is light gray to buff-colored in the form of siltstone and fine- to medium-grained sandstone. In places it is hard to distinguish from the underlying Bedford Shale.[5] Berea Sandstone is classified as a member of the Waverly Group.[6] Berea Sandstone is up to 72 meters (236 ft) thick in Lorain County, Ohio,[7] and up to 79 meters (259 ft) thick in Huron County, Michigan.[4]
The sandstone was named "Berea Grit" by Ohio geologist J. S. Newberry in 1874. He named it after Berea, Ohio, for its extensive quarries of the stone.[8]
In Michigan, the petroleum industry has referred to the Ellsworth Shale as "Berea", but this formation is distinct from Berea Sandstone and is laterally separated by Antrim Shale.[9]
Age and formation
Berea Sandstone was formed in the Late Devonian period.[10][11] Prior to the 1970s, it was assigned a Mississippian age.[10] The Devonian-Carboniferous boundary was realigned based on research from Europe, but various geologists were not aware of the changes and so incorrectly assigned Berea Sandstone to the Kinderhookian (early Mississippian).[10][12]
The majority of the sand which formed the Berea Sandstone came from the north, flowing in a river from the highlands of eastern Canada.[13][14] It was deposited in a river delta environment.[15] Pepper, et al., hypothesized that the river flowed first into the Ohio basin before switching course to the Michigan basin, thus the Michigan Berea Sandstone would be slightly younger.[14] There is a downwarp in the Cincinnati arch, called the Ontario sag, that if it was present at the formation of Berea Sandstone, could mean that it formed a continuous belt of sediment between the Appalachian and Michigan basins. Nevertheless, subsequent erosion disconnected the two deposits.[3]
Fossils
Berea Sandstone is generally unfossiliferous.[16][17] However some fossils have been found, including fish of the genera Ctenacanthus and Gonatodus, plants of the genus Annularia, and some brachiopods.[18]
Uses
Buildings constructed of Berea Sandstone include the Johnson County Courthouse in Iowa[19] and the Brown County Courthouse in South Dakota.[20] The Centre Block building of the Parliament of Canada, both before and after reconstruction, uses Berea Sandstone as window and door trim.[21]
Berea Sandstone has been used as flagstone and for paving. Fine grained stone has been used for grindstones and whetstones.[22]
Industry
Quarrying
Quarrying of Berea Sandstone began in 1830. Until around 1840 or 1845, only grindstones were produced before diversifying into building and flagstones. More than a dozen different companies quarried the sandstone, before all consolidating into the Cleveland Stone Company by 1893, which was the largest sandstone producer in the United States at the time.[23]
Oil and gas
Berea Sandstone is a source of oil and natural gas. Commercial gas development began in 1859–60 with a well at East Liverpool, Ohio. Oil was discovered in the Berea Sandstone in 1860 in Mecca Township, Trumbull County, Ohio.[24] In Michigan, Berea Sandstone oil was first discovered in 1925 at Saginaw; this field accounted for the entirety of Michigan's oil production until 1927.[25] By 2011, oil production from Berea Sandstone led northeastern Kentucky to be the most productive region of that state.[26]
See also
References
- ↑ Pepper, De Witt & Demarest 1954, p. 71.
- 1 2 Pepper, De Witt & Demarest 1954, p. 1.
- 1 2 3 Pepper, De Witt & Demarest 1954, p. 97.
- 1 2 Catacosinos & Daniels 1991, p. 211.
- ↑ Collins 1979, p. E12.
- ↑ Collins 1979, pp. E4–E5.
- ↑ Collins 1979, pp. E12–E13.
- ↑ J. S. Newberry (1874). Report of the Geological Survey of Ohio. Nevins & Myers.
- ↑ Catacosinos & Daniels 1991, p. 212.
- 1 2 3 Catacosinos & Daniels 1991, p. 165.
- ↑ Fitch, Harold (2000). "Stratigraphic Nomenclature for Michigan" (PDF). Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Geological Survey Division.
- ↑ De Witt 1970, p. G1.
- ↑ Pepper, De Witt & Demarest 1954, p. 95.
- 1 2 Pepper, De Witt & Demarest 1954, p. 98.
- ↑ Ells 1979, p. J7.
- ↑ Pepper, De Witt & Demarest 1954, p. 34.
- ↑ De Witt 1970, pp. G5–G6.
- ↑ Collins 1979, p. E17.
- ↑ Alan L. Rossmann (March 27, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Johnson County Courthouse" (pdf). National Park Service.
- ↑ Edith M. French (June 3, 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Brown County Courthouse" (pdf). National Park Service.
- ↑ Lawrence, D. E. (March 2001). "Building Stones of Canada's Federal Parliament Buildings". Geoscience Canada. 28 (1). Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ↑ Wilson, Stella Shoemaker (1902). Ohio. The Macmillan Company. pp. 47–48.
- ↑ Rowley, Ira P. (1893). "Sandstone Interests of Northern Ohio - IV". Stone; an Illustrated Magazine. D. H. Ranck Publishing Company. pp. 200–203.
- ↑ Collins 1979, p. E23.
- ↑ Ells 1979, pp. J14–J15.
- ↑ "Final report of the Berea Sandstone Petroleum System Consortium released by KGS". Kentucky Geological Survey. 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
Bibliography
- Pepper, James F.; De Witt, Wallace, Jr.; Demarest, David F. (1954). "Geology of the Bedford Shale and Berea Sandstone in the Appalachian Basin" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- De Witt, Wallace, Jr. (1970). "Age of the Bedford Shale, Berea Sandstone, and Simbury Shale in the Appalachian and Michigan Basins, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
- Collins, Horace R. (1979). "The Mississippian and Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous) Systems in the United States – Ohio" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
- Ells, Garland D. (1979). "The Mississippian and Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous) Systems in the United States – Michigan" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
- Catacosinos, Paul A.; Daniels, Paul A. (1991). Early sedimentary evolution of the Michigan Basin. Geological Society of America. ISBN 9780813722566.