Alum Bluff Group (FLMIab;0)

Alum Bluff Group - West of the Apalachicola River, the Hawthorn Group is replaced by the Alum Bluff Group. The Alum Bluff Group includes the Chipola Formation, Oak Grove Sand, Shoal River Formation, Choctawhatchee Formation and the Jackson Bluff Formation (Huddlestun, 1984; Braunstein et al., 1988). The formations included in this group are generally defined on the basis of their molluscan faunas and stratigraphic position (Schmidt and Clark, 1980). Puri (1953) described sediment facies as they relate to the formations of the Alum Bluff Group These sediments are lithologically distinct as a group, not as individual units. Brooks (1982) mapped much of the Alum Bluff Group as the Shoal River Formation. The Alum Bluff Group crops out or is beneath a thin overburden in the western panhandle from river valleys in Okaloosa County eastward to western Jackson County. The Alum Bluff Group consists of clays, sands and shell beds which may vary from fossiliferous, sandy clays to unfossiliferous sands and clays and occasional carbonate beds (Huddlestun, 1984). Mica is a common constituent and glauconite and phosphate occur sporadically. Induration varies from essentially nonindurated in sands to well indurated in carbonate lenses. Colors range from cream to olive gray with mottled reddish brown in weathered sections. Sand grain size varies from very fine to very coarse with sporadic occurrences of gravel. These sediments generally have low permeabilities and are part of the intermediate confining unit/aquifer system.

State	Florida
Name	Alum Bluff Group
Geologic age	Miocene
Original map label	Tab
Primary rock type	sandstone
Secondary rock type	claystone
Other rock types	limestone
Lithologic constituents	Major Unconsolidated > Fine-detrital > Clay (Bed)The Alum Bluff Group consists of clays, sands and shell beds which may vary from fossiliferous, sandy clays to unfossiliferous sands and clays and occasional carbonate beds (Huddlestun, 1984). Mica is a common constituent and glauconite and phosphate occur sporadically. Induration varies from essentially nonindurated in sands to well indurated in carbonate lenses. Colors range from cream to olive gray with mottled reddish brown in weathered sections. Sand grain size varies from very fine to very coarse with sporadic occurrences of gravel. These sediments generally have low permeabilities and are part of the intermediate confining unit/aquifer system. Unconsolidated > Coarse-detrital > Sand (Bed)The Alum Bluff Group consists of clays, sands and shell beds which may vary from fossiliferous, sandy clays to unfossiliferous sands and clays and occasional carbonate beds (Huddlestun, 1984). Mica is a common constituent and glauconite and phosphate occur sporadically. Induration varies from essentially nonindurated in sands to well indurated in carbonate lenses. Colors range from cream to olive gray with mottled reddish brown in weathered sections. Sand grain size varies from very fine to very coarse with sporadic occurrences of gravel. These sediments generally have low permeabilities and are part of the intermediate confining unit/aquifer system. Minor Sedimentary > Carbonate > Limestone (Lense)The Alum Bluff Group consists of clays, sands and shell beds which may vary from fossiliferous, sandy clays to unfossiliferous sands and clays and occasional carbonate beds (Huddlestun, 1984). Mica is a common constituent and glauconite and phosphate occur sporadically. Induration varies from essentially nonindurated in sands to well indurated in carbonate lenses. Colors range from cream to olive gray with mottled reddish brown in weathered sections. Sand grain size varies from very fine to very coarse with sporadic occurrences of gravel. These sediments generally have low permeabilities and are part of the intermediate confining unit/aquifer system. Incidental Sedimentary > Clastic > Mudstone > Shale > Phosphatic-shale (Lense)The Alum Bluff Group consists of clays, sands and shell beds which may vary from fossiliferous, sandy clays to unfossiliferous sands and clays and occasional carbonate beds (Huddlestun, 1984). Mica is a common constituent and glauconite and phosphate occur sporadically. Induration varies from essentially nonindurated in sands to well indurated in carbonate lenses. Colors range from cream to olive gray with mottled reddish brown in weathered sections. Sand grain size varies from very fine to very coarse with sporadic occurrences of gravel. These sediments generally have low permeabilities and are part of the intermediate confining unit/aquifer system.
Map references	Scott, T. M., Campbell, K. M., Rupert, F. R., Arthur, J. D., Missimer, T. M., Lloyd, J. M., Yon, J. W., and Duncan, J. G., 2001, Geologic Map of the State of Florida, Florida Geological Survey & Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Map Series 146.
Unit references	Scott, T. M., Campbell, K. M., Rupert, F. R., Arthur, J. D., Missimer, T. M., Lloyd, J. M., Yon, J. W., and Duncan, J. G., 2001, Geologic Map of the State of Florida, Florida Geological Survey & Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Map Series 146. Scott, Thomas M. P.G. #99, Text to Accompany the Geologic Map of Florida, Open-file Report 80, Florida Geological Survey, 2001. Huddlestun, P. F., 1984, The Neogene stratigraphy of the central Florida panhandle: Unpublished Dissertation, Florida State University Department of Geology, Tallahassee, Florida, 210 p. Braunstein, J., Huddlestun, P., and Biel, R., 1988, Gulf Coast region correlation of stratigraphic units of North America: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Correlation Chart. Schmidt, W., and Clark, M.W., 1980, Geology of Bay County, Florida: Florida Bureau of Geology Bulletin 57, 96 p. Puri, H.S., 1953, Contribution to the study of the Miocene of the Florida panhandle: Florida Geological Survey Bulletin 36, 345 p. Brooks, H.K., 1982, Geologic Map of Florida: Center for Environmental and Natural Resources, University of Florida.
Geographic coverage	Bay - Calhoun - Holmes - Jackson - Liberty - Okaloosa - Walton - Washington