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Whitesburg Formation

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Whitesburg Formation
Stratigraphic range: Ordovician
TypeFormation
Sub-unitsFetzer member
Lithology
Primarylimestone
Othershale
Location
Region Tennessee,  Virginia
Country United States
Type section
Named forWhitesburg, Tennessee
Named byE.O. Ulrich [1]

The Whitesburg Formation is a dark limestone with interbedded shales geologic formation in Tennessee and Virginia.[1] It preserves fossils dating back to the Ordovician period.

History

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The Whitesburg Formation was formally proposed in 1930, though E.O. Ulrich had used the name prior to the formal proposal.[1] The Whitesburg formation was later downgraded to the Whitesburg limestone, and was considered a basal member of the Blockhouse Shale.[2] The Whitesburg Formation was then elevated back to formation status with the Fetzer member assigned as the basal member.[3] The Fetzer is not considered to be a continuous body of rock, and exists in the Whitesburg formation as lenses.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Ulrich, E. O. (1930). "Ordovician trilobites of the family Telephidae and concerned stratigraphic correlations". U.S National Museum Proceedings. 76: 2. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  2. ^ Nueman, Robert B. (1955). "Middle Ordovician rocks of the type Tellico-Sevier belt, eastern Tennessee" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Shorter contributions to general geology. 274-F: 149–150. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  3. ^ Walker, Kenneth R.; Steinhauff, D. M.; Roberson, K. E. (1992). "Uppermost Knox Group, the Knox unconformity, the Middle Ordovician transition from shallow shelf to deeper basin at Dandridge, Tennessee". Paleosols, paleoweathering surfaces, and sequence boundaries. 21: 13–18.