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Download Guidebook as .pdf (1.8 Mb) - Carolina Geological Society

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OUTLINE OF STRATIGRAPHY AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE<br />

mon, sorting becomes better, pebble content decre<strong>as</strong>es, and<br />

colors become lighter. The presence of a silicified zone at the<br />

top of the Fourmile, and the occurrence of pisolitic structures<br />

near the top in one well, suggest that the contact is unconformable.<br />

The Congaree crops out in stream valleys in the northe<strong>as</strong>tern<br />

part of SRS. Correlative sediments northwest of SRS<br />

have been mapped <strong>as</strong> part of the “Huber Formation”<br />

(Nystrom and Willoughby, 1982). The “Huber” is more<br />

micaceous and poorly sorted in places and indicates more<br />

fluvial and deltaic influence. The Congaree is about 60 ft<br />

thick at the northwestern boundary of SRS and about 80 ft<br />

thick near the southe<strong>as</strong>tern boundary. Across the river from<br />

SRS in Georgia it appears to be thinner and more argillaceous<br />

and micaceous. Sediments downdip from SRS are<br />

more calcareous, and a carbonate occurs in this part of the<br />

section in the deep Allendale well (C 10) where another formation<br />

name would be appropriate. Typical Congaree is<br />

present in well C 6 near Barnwell.<br />

The Congaree w<strong>as</strong> traced in outcrop from its type area in<br />

central e<strong>as</strong>tern South <strong>Carolina</strong> by Sloan (1908) and Cooke<br />

and MacNeil (1952), and h<strong>as</strong> been described at SRS by several<br />

authors including Siple (1967), Denehy and others<br />

(1989), and Nystrom and others (1992). The unit corresponds<br />

in stratigraphic position to part of the lower “Bamberg”<br />

and “Neeses” <strong>as</strong> used by Oldham (1981) and<br />

Colquhoun and others (1983), and to parts of the “McBean”<br />

and “Aiken” formations <strong>as</strong> used by Steele (1985). The Congaree<br />

appears to be units E2 and E3 of Prowell and others<br />

(1985a).<br />

Paleontology, age, and correlation<br />

A few molluscan shell fragments, usually silicified, have<br />

been found in the Congaree at SRS. In the type area of the<br />

Congaree in central e<strong>as</strong>tern South <strong>Carolina</strong>, the pelecypod<br />

Anodontia augustana, an index fossil found in the Tallahatta<br />

Formation of the Gulf Co<strong>as</strong>tal Plain, occurs (Cooke and<br />

MacNeil, 1952; Nystrom and others, 1991). We have a few<br />

palynological dates from the lower and middle parts of the<br />

Congaree; judging from these and by age determinations<br />

from below and above, it is probably in zones NP 12 to NP<br />

14, early Claibornian (late Ypresian and possibly early<br />

Lutetian), equivalent to the Tallahatta Formation. The latter<br />

unit is mostly early Eocene according to Bybell and Gibs<br />

(1985). The upper part of the Congaree may be early middle<br />

Eocene.<br />

Environment<br />

The well sorted sands, the occurrence of glauconite, and<br />

the dinoflagellate <strong>as</strong>semblages indicate shallow marine and<br />

barrier environments.<br />

MIDDLE EOCENE<br />

Warley Hill Formation<br />

Lithology and stratigraphic terminology<br />

A fine to medium, poorly to well-sorted quartz sand and<br />

muddy quartz sand, glauconitic in places and a few inches to<br />

approximately 15 ft thick, occurs above the Congaree in<br />

many cores at SRS. The sand fines upward, and locally a<br />

clay, a few inches to 2 ft thick, occurs at the top. Common<br />

colors are brown, green, gray, yellow, tan, and orange. The<br />

top of the Congaree is picked at the top of a clean sand<br />

sequence. Going upward in many wells, the overlying Warley<br />

Hill sands become coarser, then finer, sorting becomes<br />

poorer, silt and clay content incre<strong>as</strong>es, glauconite becomes<br />

more common, and colors are darker. In some cores, the top<br />

of the Congaree is cemented with silica, indicating that the<br />

contact may be unconformable.<br />

Sloan (1908) apparently <strong>as</strong>signed outcrops along Tinker<br />

Creek within SRS to his “Warley Hill ph<strong>as</strong>e”, correlating<br />

with his type area in central e<strong>as</strong>tern South <strong>Carolina</strong> where it<br />

is very glauconitic. Siple (1967) noted the possible occurrence<br />

of the Warley Hill at SRS. The unit is sporadic and difficult<br />

to identify at SRS. The possible occurrence of<br />

Cubitostrea lisbonensis at Blue Bluff on the Savannah River<br />

indicates that the unit, or a time-equivalent, may crop out<br />

there, although at le<strong>as</strong>t most of that exposure is younger. The<br />

unit is most distinct in cores and outcrops in the central part<br />

of SRS and appears to become calcareous in the downdip<br />

part, making it difficult to distinguish from overlying carbonates.<br />

It appears to be missing from the northwestern part of<br />

SRS. Steele (1985) and McClelland (1987) applied the ter<br />

“Warley Hill” to calcareous facies in the downdip part of the<br />

study area. At le<strong>as</strong>t part of unit E4 of Prowell and others<br />

(1985a) may be the Warley Hill.<br />

Paleontology, age, and correlative<br />

Dinoflagellates, spores, and pollen have been recovered<br />

from the unit at SRS. Samples from two wells have<br />

dinoflagellate <strong>as</strong>semblages indicating a correlation with zone<br />

NP 15 and the lower Lisbon Formation of the Gulf Co<strong>as</strong>tal<br />

Plain, which is middle Claibornian (lower Lutetian).<br />

Environment<br />

Glauconite and dinoflagellates suggest shallow marine<br />

conditions, with the muddier sands indicating lower energy<br />

levels than those prevailing when the Congaree w<strong>as</strong> deposited.<br />

The high mud content could have also been caused by<br />

flocculation at the fresh water/salt water interface.<br />

Santee Limestone<br />

Lithology and stratigraphic terminology<br />

Above the Warley Hill, most of the middle Eocene section<br />

consists of three laterally gradational units: the Santee<br />

27

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