Dakota Formation widespread in western Iowa, lower sandstone-dominated Nishnabotna Member, upper mudstone/shale-dominated Woodbury Member. Correlative Windrow Formation found as erosional outliers in northeastern and north-central Iowa. Primary lithologies: sandstone, quartzose, very fine to medium grained; mudstone/shale, light to dark gray, variably silty-sandy, noncalcareous (Woodbury Mbr.). Secondary lithologies: sandstone, medium to very coarse grained, part pebbly to gravelly, locally cemented by iron oxides (Nishnabotna Mbr., Windrow Fm.), gravel, quartz and chert clasts; siltstone; mudstone, red, pink, yellow-brown, black (carbonaceous). Minor: lignite; siderite (concretions, pedogenic sphaerosiderite pellets, cemented siltstone); massive iron ore, silty to sandy (Windrow Fm.). Maximum thickness Dakota Fm. 500 ft (150 m), commonly 100-300 ft (30-90 m); Windrow Fm. 40 ft (12 m).
Lower Cherokee Group in southern, central, and western Iowa includes Kilbourn, Kalo, Floris formations (primarily Atokan-lower Desmoinesian, locally Morrowan at base); Raccoon Creek Group in eastern Iowa includes “Caseyville” and Tradewater formations (primarily Morrowan at most localities; locally includes Atokan-lower Desmoinesian Tradewater Formation in upper part). Primary Lithologies: shale/mudstone, light to dark gray, part silty to sandy; sandstone, very fine to medium grained; siltstone, gray. Secondary Lithologies: carbonaceous shale/mudstone, gray to black; phosphatic black shale; limestone, dense, part fossiliferous, part sandy; coal (beds locally > 2 ft). Minor: sandstone, coarse-grained to granular, part conglomeratic; mudstone, red to pink; limestone concretions (may be septarian); cone-in-cone limestone; siderite/ironstone concretions and pellets; pyrite. Maximum thicknesses Raccoon Creek Group in Muscatine-Scott counties: 230-250 ft (70-75 m). Maximum thicknesses Lower Cherokee Group across outcrop belt: 200-370 ft (60-113 m). Maximum thickness in southwest Iowa subsurface: 650 ft (200 m).
Interval includes Little Cedar, Coralville, Lithograph City, and Shell Rock formations; Shell Rock Fm in northern Iowa only. Primary Lithologies: limestone, fossiliferous, variably argillaceous, part biostromal; dolomite, part fossil-moldic to vuggy, variably argillaceous. Secondary Lithologies: limestone, dense, “sublithographic”; dolomite/limestone breccia (evaporite collapse); limestone, sparse to unfossiliferous, argillaceous to shaly; shale, gray to green-gray, dolomitic. Minor: anhydrite/gypsum (outcrop belt only in Grundy, Tama, Poweshiek counties; extensive in subsurface of central and southern Iowa); chert; glauconite; sandy limestone/sandstone. Maximum thicknesses in outcrop belt: southeast Iowa, 80-135 ft (24-41 m); east-central Iowa 130-210 ft (40-64 m); northern Iowa 250-350 ft (76-107 m). Cedar Valley Group thins and is overstepped by Dl westward in Winnebago County.
Interval includes Sweetland Creek Shale in southeast Iowa, and “Amana beds” of Iowa County. Lime Creek Fm onlaps eroded Ordovician surface in northwestern Iowa. Primary Lithologies: shale, gray to green-gray, dolomitic to calcareous; limestone, variably argillaceous, fossiliferous, part biostromal; dolomite, variably argillaceous, part fossiliferous. Secondary Lithologies: limestone, dense, “sublithographic” (upper part of carbonate-dominated facies in central and northwestern Iowa); shale, green-gray to brown, silty (Sweetland Creek Shale). Minor: siltstone; chert; oolitic limestone, carbonate breccia (central to northwestern Iowa). Thickness variations in outcrop belt: Sweetland Creek Shale of southeastern Iowa, 3-30 ft (1-9 m); Lime Creek Fm of southeastern to north-central Iowa, 40-200 ft (12-60 m); Lime Creek Fm of northwestern Iowa, 200-350 ft (60-105 m).
Mosalem Formation infills erosional paleovalleys incised into Maquoketa Shale; absent outside of paleovalleys. Lower Hopkinton Formation locally contains carbonate mound facies in Bremer County. Blanding Formation oversteps Tete des Morts-Mosalem edge in southern outcrop area. Primary Lithologies: dolomite, fossil-moldic to vuggy, fine to coarse crystalline; dolomite, dense to porous, cherty to very cherty, nodular to bedded chert (especially Blanding Fm). Secondary Lithologies: dolomite, dense, sparsely fossiliferous; dolomite, argillaceous, part laminated (Mosalem Fm). Minor: chalcedony, silicified fossils. Maximum thicknesses total interval: 160-330 ft (49-100 m), thickest in Dubuque, Jackson, Jones counties where Mosalem present; southern outcrop total thickness 65-130 ft (20-40 m). Formation thicknesses: Hopkinton, 65-160 ft (20-49 m); Blanding, 25-65 ft (8-20 m); Tete des Morts, 0-35 ft (11 m); Mosalem, 0-100 ft (30 m).
Interval includes Verdigris and Swede Hollow formations; base of map unit drawn at the widespread Whitebreast Coal. Primary Lithologies: shale/mudstone, light to dark gray, part silty to sandy; siltstone, gray. Secondary Lithologies: limestone, part fossiliferous, part sandy; sandstone, very fine to fine-grained. Minor: mudstone, red/maroon to brown; shale, black, phosphatic; carbonaceous shale; coal (beds locally > 2 ft); ironstone/siderite concretions; limestone concretions (may be septarian); pyrite. Average thickness 100 ft (30 m); maximum thicknesses to 130 ft (40 m).
Interval includes Morgan School, Mouse Creek, Labette, Pawnee, Bandera, Altamont, Nowata, Lenapah, Memorial, Lost Branch formations. Primary Lithologies: shale/mudstone, light to dark gray; limestone, fossiliferous. Secondary Lithologies: mudstone, green-gray to red/maroon; shale, black, phosphatic; sandstone, very fine to medium grained. Minor: coal; siltstone, conglomerate. Maximum thicknesses: 125-175 ft (38-52 m).
Interval includes Burlington, Keokuk, and Warsaw formations. Upper Warsaw strata locally preserved at top of interval in extreme southeast Iowa are lower Meramecian age . Primary Lithologies: dolomite, part argillaceous to shaly; dolomitic limestone, fossiliferous; fossiliferous limestone (especially crinoidal packstone-grainstone). Secondary Lithologies: glauconitic limestone/dolomite; shale, gray to green-gray, part dolomitic, part silty; chert, nodular to bedded. Minor: quartz crystals, quartz geodes, chalcedony; phosphatic dolomite/limestone (“bone bed”); siltstone, dolomitic. Lithologies noted only in northern Iowa: oolitic limestone; “sublithographic” limestone; dolomite/chert breccia. Interval is erosionally beveled beneath sub-“St. Louis” and sub-Pennsylvanian unconformities. Maximum thicknesses in northern Iowa: 85-105 ft (26-32 m). Maximum thicknesses in southern Iowa: 155-240 ft (47-73 m).
Interval includes lower “St. Louis” (Meramecian) Croton and Yenruogis members; upper “St. Louis” (lower Genevievian) Verdi and Waugh members (interval does not correlate with type St. Louis of Missouri); Pella Fm (upper Genevievian); base includes Sonora Fm (Meramecian) in parts of southeast Iowa (Lee, Van Buren, Henry, Des Moines, Jefferson counties). Primary Lithologies: dolomite, part silty/sandy, part fossiliferous; limestone, part sandy to fossiliferous; part “sublithographic,” part argillaceous. Secondary Lithologies: dolomite/limestone breccia; shale/marl, green-gray, calcareous; sandstone, fine to medium-grained; siltstone; gypsum/anhydrite (south-central Iowa). Minor: limestone, oolitic; shale, gray; shale, red to pink; chert/chalcedony. Croton Member contains gypsum-anhydrite in subsurface outside of outcrop belt. Interval is erosionally beveled to locally absent beneath Pcl; Pella Formation absent over broader areas. Maximum thicknesses for total interval 60-150 ft (18-45 m); maximum thickness Pella Formation 75 ft (23 m); maximum thickness “St. Louis” Formation 75 ft (23 m); maximum thickness Sonora Formation 35 ft (11 m).
Formation includes Welton, Buck Creek Quarry, Waubeek, Palisades-Kepler, Johns Creek Quarry members; Palisades-Kepler and Johns Creek Quarry members contain carbonate mound facies. Erosionally beveled and truncated beneath Dw. Primarily Lithologies: dolomite, porous, fossil-moldic to vuggy, part very crinoidal (includes Welton Mbr); dolomite, cherty to very cherty, dense (Buck Creek Quarry Mbr). Secondary Lithologies: dolomite, sparsely fossil-moldic, dense, part vuggy (includes Waubeek Mbr); dolomite, coarsely crystalline, part very crinoidal (within Johns Creek Quarry, Palisades-Kepler mbrs); dolomite mudstone, dense. Minor: dolomite, slightly argillaceous; quartz druse, chalcedony, silicified fossils. Maximum thicknesses: 94-240 ft (29-73 m); may reach thicknesses to 300 ft (90 m); beveled and truncated beneath Dw.
Interval includes Prospect Hill, Chapin, Maynes Creek, and Wassonville formations; locally includes basal Crapo (“McCraney”) Formation in southeastern Iowa. Primary Lithologies: dolomite, part cherty to very cherty, part fossiliferous (Maynes Creek-Wassonville formations); limestone, skeletal to oolitic (Chapin Fm; lower Wassonville Fm/Starrs Cave Member; middle Maynes Creek/“Eagle City” member; basal Crapo Fm); siltstone (Prospect Hill Fm). Secondary Lithologies: shale, gray, silty (Prospect Hill Fm of southeastern Iowa); limestone, dense, “sublithographic” to stromatolitic (upper Maynes Creek Fm); limestone and dolomite, dense, nodular to banded, part silty (Crapo Fm). Maximum thicknesses for total interval: 100-175 ft (30-53 m). Thickness variations: Crapo (“McCraney”) Fm, 0-65 ft (20 m); Prospect Hill Fm, 0-90 ft (27 m), generally < 25 ft (8 m); Chapin Fm, 0-30 ft (9 m), generally < 10 ft (3 m); Maynes Creek Fm, 35-155 ft (11-47 m), thickest in central to northern Iowa; Wassonville Fm (southeast Iowa only), 0-70 ft (21 m), replaced to northwest by Maynes Creek and Chapin formations, beveled beneath sub-Burlington unconformity to southeast.
Interval includes Grassy Creek Shale, Saverton Shale, “Maple Mill” Shale, English River Formation, Louisiana Limestone (Lee County only), Aplington Formation (northern and western Iowa only), Sheffield Shale (central and northern Iowa). Famennian strata onlap Lime Creek Fm to the northwest. Primary Lithologies: shale, gray to green-gray, part silty; siltstone (especially English River Fm). Secondary Lithologies: shale, olive-brown and medium to dark brown, part laminated (Grassy Creek Fm, southeast Iowa); dolomite, part fossiliferous, part cherty, part argillaceous (Aplington Fm). Minor: interstratified dolomite and limestone, part fossiliferous (Louisiana Limestone); ooidal ironstone and phosphorite; phosphatic siltstone (“bone bed”); shale, red-brown. Maximum thicknesses in outcrop belt: southeast Iowa, 135-310 ft (41-95 m), thickest in Washington, Louisa, Des Moines counties; northern and central Iowa, 25-135 ft (8-41 m).
Includes Elgin, Clermont, Fort Atkinson, Brainard, and Neda members. Overlain by Silurian strata in east-central Iowa, incised paleovalleys beneath Mosalem Fm.; truncated beneath Devonian strata in northern-most counties. Primary lithologies: shale, green-gray, variably dolomitic, mostly unfossiliferous; dolomite, argillaceous, part shaly, variably fossiliferous (part with common trilobites); dolomite, part argillaceous, part cherty to very cherty (northern Iowa). Secondary lithologies: shale, brown to brown-gray, organic, part graptolitic, part finely laminated (lower strata); dolomitic limestone to limestone, argillaceous, part cherty to very cherty, variably fossiliferous, part crinoidal (northern Iowa); interbedded dolomite and shale, part nodular, part fossiliferous. Minor: phosphorite, granular to massive (basal unit); dolomite, phosphatic to very phosphatic, argillaceous (Elgin Mbr.); ooidal ironstone and red shale (Neda Mbr.); pyrite, finely disseminated to nodular, pyrite cements. Maximum thicknesses: generally 200-275 ft (60-85 m) beneath Silurian, locally 100-200 ft (30-60 m) beneath Mosalem Fm.; 75-180 ft (23-55 m) where capped by Devonian strata in northern Iowa.
Interval includes Pinicon Ridge, Otis, Spillville, and Bertram formations. Otis and Bertram formations restricted to east-central Iowa only; Spillville Formation in northeast Iowa only. Pinicon Ridge Formation oversteps Spillville and Otis edges in Fayette, Bremer, Black Hawk, Buchanan, southern Chickasaw counties to directly overlie Sh, Sw, or Om. Primary Lithologies: dolomite, part laminated, variably argillaceous, part fetid; limestone, dense, “sublithographic”, part laminated to intraclastic; dolomite, fossil-moldic to vuggy (Otis-Spillville fms). Secondary Lithologies: limestone/dolomite breccia (evaporite collapse); dolomitic shale and shaly dolomite, gray to green-gray, part silty-sandy; limestone, part peloidal to fossiliferous (Otis Fm). Minor: chert and chalcedony nodules (Pinicon Ridge Fm); sandstone; oolitic limestone (Otis Fm). Extensive anhydrite/gypsum in subsurface outside of outcrop belt. Maximum thicknesses in outcrop belt: east-central Iowa, 60-160 ft (18-49 m); northern Iowa, 10-130 ft (3-40 m), locally absent in Bremer County beneath Dc.
Interval includes Howard, White Cloud, Scranton, Bern, Auburn, Emporia, Willard, Zeandale, Pillsbury, Stotler, Root formations. Primary Lithologies: shale, light to dark gray; mudstone, gray, part laminated silty to sandy. Secondary Lithologies: limestone, fossiliferous, part coated grain/Osagia; pedogenic mudstone, part red to maroon, part calcareous/nodular; siltstone to very fine sandstone. Minor: black shale; coal. Maximum thickness 320 ft (98 m) in Fremont County.
Interval includes “Graneros” Shale, Greenhorn Formation, Carlile Shale. Primary Lithologies: shale, medium to dark gray, variably silty, calcareous to very calcareous. Secondary lithologies: chalk, marl, argillaceous limestone, with skeletal (inoceramid) packstones; shale, gray, silty, noncalcareous. Minor: siltstone; calcite and siderite concretions. Maximum thickness 265 ft (80 m).
Interval includes Cherryvale, Nellie Bly, Dewie, Chanute, Iola, Liberty Memorial, Wyandotte, Lane formations. Primary Lithologies: limestone fossiliferous; shale/mudstone, light to dark gray. Secondary Lithologies: limestone, coated grain/Osagia. Minor: mudstone, red-brown to green-gray; siltstone; black shale, phosphatic; thin coal, carbonaceous shale. Maximum thicknesses 100-140 ft (30-43 m).
Interval includes lower Marble Valley Member, upper Humboldt Member; “Iowa Falls Dolomite” (dolomite facies); formation shares partial regional facies relationships with Burlington Formation; not present in southeastern Iowa. Primary Lithologies: limestone, primarily coated grain/oolitic to peloidal, variably fossiliferous to intraclastic. Secondary Lithologies: dolomite; dolomitic limestone; limestone, dense, “sublithographic.” Minor: shale, gray, calcareous; oncolitic limestone; glauconite; chert; breccia. Maximum thicknesses in northern Iowa 150-170 ft (45-52 m); interval thins to south and southeast 20-70 ft (6-21 m).
Galena Group includes Decorah, Dunleith, Wise Lake, Dubuque formations; Platteville Formation includes Pecatonica, McGregor members; Glenwood Shale forms thin basal shale unit. Primary lithologies: dolomite, part porous to vuggy, fossiliferous, part cherty; limestone and dolomitic limestone, fossiliferous, part cherty (note: Galena Group entirely limestone to north, entirely dolomite to south, interstratified limestone-dolomite in intervening areas). Secondary lithologies: shale, green-gray, calcareous, with thin to nodular limestone, part fossiliferous (Decorah Sh); limestone, wavy-bedded to nodular, part fossiliferous (Decorah-Platteville); dolomite and limestone, slightly argillaceous. Minor: shale partings and thin beds, green-gray to brown-gray, part fossiliferous (Dubuque Fm); shale partings and thin beds, light to dark brown, part organic-rich (Decorah-Platteville); dolomite, sandy to very sandy (Pecatonica Mbr); shale, green-gray, noncalcareous, unfossiliferous, part sandy (Glenwood Sh); thin sandstone to siltstone (Glenwood Sh); dark phosphatic grains (primarily Glenwood, Pecatonica, Decorah); phosphate-pyrite-iron oxide crusts (on some hardground surfaces); pyrite nodules; thin K-bentonite beds (Galena Gp); ironstone ooids (Decorah Sh). Maximum thicknesses total interval: 330 ft (100 m); Galena Group, 250-280 ft (76-85 m); Platteville Formation, 25-55 ft (8-17 m); Glenwood Shale, 3-10 ft (1-3 m).
Interval includes Oread, Kanwaka, Lecompton, Tecumseh, Deer Creek, Calhoun, Topeka formations. Primary Lithologies: limestone, fossiliferous, part coated grain/Osagia; shale/mudstone, light to dark gray. Secondary Lithologies: pedogenic mudstone, part calcareous/nodular; siltstone to very fine sandstone; black shale, phosphatic. Minor: chert; coal, coaly shale; red-brown mudstone. Maximum thicknesses 190-220 ft (58-67 m).
Interval includes Stranger, Cass, Lawrence formations. Primary Lithologies: shale and mudstone, light to dark gray, part silt laminated. Secondary Lithologies: limestone, fossiliferous, part coated grain; siltstone to very fine sandstone; pedogenic mudstone, part red-brown, part calcareous/nodular. Minor: coal, carbonaceous shale; black shale. Maximum thicknesses 90-135 ft (27-41 m).
Interval includes Pleasanton, Hertha, Elm Branch, Swope, Galesburg, Dennis formations. Primary Lithologies: limestone, fossiliferous; shale/mudstone, light to dark gray. Secondary lithologies: mudstone to siltstone, gray to green-gray; limestone, coated grain. Minor: black shale, phosphatic; red/maroon mudstone; coal; chert. Maximum thicknesses 100-130 ft (30-40 m).
Interval includes Plattsburg, Vilas, Stanton formations. Primary Lithologies: limestone, fossiliferous; shale/mudstone, light to dark gray. Secondary Lithologies: limestone, coated grain/Osagia; mudstone to siltstone, gray. Minor: black shale, phosphatic; mudstone, red-brown. Maximum thicknesses 45-78 ft (14-24 m).
Formation includes Anamosa, Brady, LeClaire (Scott-Muscatine counties) members; Brady and LeClaire members are carbonate mound facies. Erosionally beveled and truncated beneath Dw. Primary Lithologies: laminated dolomite (Anamosa Mbr), part fetid/organic to east (Scott-Clinton counties); dolomite mudstone, dense, featureless. Secondary Lithologies: dolomite, fossiliferous to vuggy, moldic, part brachiopod-rich (Brady Member); dolomite, part coarsely crystalline, vuggy, fossiliferous to sparsely fossiliferous, part crinoidal (LeClaire Member). Minor: chert; intraclastic dolomite. Maximum thickness: 180 ft (55 m); beveled and truncated beneath Dw.
Prairie du Chien Group includes Oneota Fm (Coon Valley, Hager City members) and Shakopee Fm (New Richmond Sandstone, Willow River members); St. Peter Sandstone includes Readstown and Tonti members. Sub-St. Peter erosional surface bevels and locally truncates Prairie du Chien strata. Primary lithologies: dolomite, part cherty, part sandy, mostly unfossiliferous, common voids and vugs (Prairie du Chien); sandstone, quartzose, very fine to medium grained (St. Peter, Shakopee). Secondary lithologies: dolomite, laminated to stromatolitic, part intraclastic; dolomite, fossil molds (primarily mollusks); interbedded very fine to fine sandstone and dolomite (Coon Valley, Shakopee); conglomerate, dolomite and chert clasts in sandy matrix (Readstown). Minor: oolitic dolomite and oolitic chert (Shakopee); shale, green, part sandy (Shakopee); shale, green-brown to gray, part laminated, silty to sandy, part fossiliferous (locally in St. Peter of Winneshiek Co.); coarse sand grains (St. Peter, Shakopee); breccia, dolomite-chert clasts; chalcedony/quartz nodules. Maximum thicknesses total interval: generally 300-400 ft (90-120 m), may reach thicknesses to 700 ft (210 m) (locally thick St. Peter in Winneshiek Co.). Unit thicknesses: Prairie du Chien Group, 225-335 ft (69-102 m), locally thinner where overlain by thick St. Peter; Oneota Fm, 130-225 ft (40-69 m), locally thinned beneath thick St. Peter; Shakopee Fm, 55-100 ft (17-30 m), locally thinned to absent beneath thick St. Peter; St. Peter Sandstone, generally 40-75 ft (12-23 m), varies 25-225 ft (8-69 m), may locally reach thicknesses to 700 ft (210 m) in Winneshiek Co.
Upper Interval (bedrock surface): sedimentary-clast breccia with shaly matrix, clasts and blocks of Cretaceous shale and varied Paleozoic lithologies entrained in silty-sandy clay matrix; minor clasts/grains of Proterozoic “red clastics “ (mudstone/siltstone), crystalline basement rock, devitrified melt rock. Lower Interval (variably present, locally forms bedrock surface): overturned ejecta flap, breccias of Paleozoic lithologies and Proterozoic “red clastics” preserved in general inverted stratigraphic order. Breccias overlie down-dropped blocks (ring graben) of Cretaceous and Paleozoic strata in normal stratigraphic succession. Maximum thicknesses: upper shaly breccia up to 700 ft (210 m); lower interval approx. 1000 ft (300 m).
Primary Lithology: sedimentary clast breccia with shaly matrix; clasts and blocks of Cretaceous shale and varied Paleozoic lithologies in silty-sandy clay matrix. Minor Lithologies: grains or clasts of Proterozoic “red clastics” (mudstone/siltstone), Proterozoic crystalline basement, devitrified melt grains. Maximum thickness unknown, may reach thicknesses to 10,000 ft (3000 m).
Interval is a northwestern limestone facies that correlates with dolomite strata (Tete des Morts, Blanding, lower Hopkinton formations) to the south and east. Sw forms the highest Silurian unit throughout most of its extent, generally overlain by Dw; locally interfingers with Sh dolomite strata to south. Primary lithology: limestone, dense, fossiliferous. Secondary lithologies: limestone, dense, cherty to very cherty; dolomitic limestone, dense; dolomite (locally at base). Minor: dolomite, silty to sandy (locally at base above Om). Maximum thickness, 80 ft (25 m).
Interval is a northwestern limestone facies that correlates with dolomite strata (upper Hopkinton-lower Scotch Grove formations) to the south and east; locally interfingers with dolomite to south; it overlies progressively higher stratigraphic levels southward within the Hopkinton to Scotch Grove formations. Sl forms highest Silurian unit throughout its extent; unconformably overlain by Dw. Primary lithologies: limestone, dense, fossiliferous, part cherty to very cherty. Secondary lithologies: dolomitic limestone, dolomite. Minor: argillaceous to shaly chert residuum at top (may be basal Dw); shale, green-gray. Maximum thickness, 140 ft (43 m); average thicknesses: 20-60 ft (6-18 m).
Surface exposures limited to Allamakee and northeast Clayton counties; subcrops beneath Mississippi River alluvium in southern Allamakee and Clayton counties. Primary lithologies: sandstone, very fine to coarse grained, quartzose to feldspathic (Jordan); silty dolomite to dolomitic siltstone (St. Lawrence); sandstone, very fine to fine grained, glauconitic to very glauconitic, common greensands (Lone Rock). Secondary lithologies: siltstone, part argillaceous (St. Lawrence, Lone Rock). Minor: silty shale partings (St. Lawrence, Lone Rock); dolomite, part sandy; intraclastic dolomite, sandstone, and siltstone. Maximum thicknesses of total interval: 260-310 ft (79-95 m). Formation thicknesses: Lone Rock Fm, 110-140 ft (34-43 m); St. Lawrence Fm, 60-80 ft (18-24 m); Jordan Sandstone, 80-110 ft (244-34 m).
Primary Lithology (at bedrock surface): sedimentary clast breccia with shaly matrix; clasts and blocks of Cretaceous shale and varied Paleozoic lithologies in silty-sandy clay matrix (see above; thickness 0-200 ft; 60 m). Secondary Lithologies: crystalline rock megabreccia (locally forms bedrock surface), fractured and brecciated Proterozoic basement lithologies, dominantly gneiss but including granite and other igneous-metamorphic rocks (maximum thickness unknown). Suevite and impact-melt breccias (locally forms bedrock surface), clasts of Proterozoic crystalline basement rocks, melt-rock, and minor Proterozoic “red clastics” in a matrix of melt-rich material (devitrified) and/or sandy-silty debris (thicknesses to 380 ft; 115 m). Keweenawan shale-clast breccia (locally forms bedrock surface), dominated by gray to black shale clasts (small to large) derived the lower “red clastics” sequence, common melt clasts, minor basement and Phanerozoic clasts, in a silty-sandy shaly matrix or melt-rich matrix (thicknesses to 250 ft, 75 m).
Subcrops beneath Mississippi River alluvium in Allamakee County; surface exposures absent. Primary lithologies: sandstone, very fine to fine grained, part argillaceous; shale, silty, gray to green-gray, part glauconitic. Secondary lithology: siltstone, part argillaceous, part dolomitic. Minor: dolomite. Thicknesses: 120-145 ft (37-44 m).
Present only in Webster County. Primary lithologies: gypsum, mostly alabastrine (lower unit, Gypsum Creek Mbr.); redbeds including mudstone/claystone (red to green-gray), sandstone (very fine to medium and coarse grained) (upper unit, Soldier Creek Mbr.). Secondary lithologies: basal conglomerate and sandstone, carbonate clasts (Shady Oak Mbr.). Minor: quartz crystals. Maximum thicknesses: gypsum bed to 32 ft (10 m), upper redbeds to 52 ft (16 m).
Conglomerate, sandstone, mudstone, shale, marlstone, siltstone, and minor lignite, deposited in marine and non-marine settings; likely Cenomanian to Campanian age. Unit outline is the product of contouring the stratigraphic top and base, from which an isopach grid was created. Because the distribution is patchy, unit boundaries were drawn from the gridded data to represent locations where more than 25 feet (8 meters) of thickness occurs. As a result, many areas outside of the unit boundaries may be overlain by thin Cretaceous strata and the unit is depicted without a contact line.
Primary Lithologies: shale, gray, silty, calcareous to marly. Estimated maximum thickness 50 ft (15 m). Present only in Lyon County.
Surface exposures limited to northeastern Allamakee County; subcrops beneath Mississippi River alluvium in Allamakee County. Includes Ironton and Galesville members. Primary lithology: sandstone, fine to coarse grained, upper part fossiliferous (Ironton). Thicknesses: 125-155 ft (38-47 m).
Limestone, shaley limestone, and dolostone; includes the Maquoketa Formation, and the Stewartville, Prosser, and Cummingsville Formations of the Galena Group. Also includes limestone and dolostone of the Red River Formation, and sandstone and shale of the Winnipeg Formation in northwest Minnesota.
Dolostone, limestone, and shale; Includes the Lithograph City Formation, Coralville Formation, and Hinkle and Eagle Center Members of the Little Cedar Formation.
Subcrops beneath Mississippi River alluvium in northeastern Allamakee County; surface exposures absent. Overlies erosional surface on Precambrian granitic basement rocks. Primary lithology: sandstone, very fine to very coarse grained, part iron-stained. Minor: shale, silty to sandy, gray, red, green; quartz granules; granitic pebbles. Thicknesses: 365-405 ft (111-123 m).
Dolostone, sandy to silty dolostone, and sandstone; includes the Shakopee Formation and Oneota Dolomite of the Prairie du Chien Group.
Crops out in northwestern Lyon County; buried beneath Cretaceous strata to south and east. Primary lithology: quartzite, fine to coarse grained, pink, red, purple (low-grade metamorphic rock). Minor: conglomerate; claystone/argillite, red. Estimated thickness <500 ft (150 m).
Dolostone, sandy dolostone, limestone, and shale; includes the Chickasaw Shale and Bassett Member of the Little Cedar Formation, and Pinicon Ridge and Spillville Formations.
Meppen Limestone, Fern Glen Formation, and Burlington-Keokuk Limestone.
Sandstone with some dolomite and shale, undivided; includes Trempealeau, Tunnel City, and Elk Mound Formations
Orthoquartzitic sandstone with minor limestone, shale and conglomerate; includes Glenwood and St. Peter Formations
Shale, dolomitic limestone, and sandstone; includes the Decorah Shale of the Galena Group, the Platteville and Glenwood Formations, and the St. Peter Sandstone.
Sandstone, siltstone, and shale; includes the Wonewoc Sandstone, Eau Claire Formation, and Mt. Simon Sandstone.
Galena Group (Trenton Limestone), includes Decorah, Dunleith, Wise Lake and Dubuque Formations in northern Illinois.
Shale and limestone. Shale is dark gray to light gray, greenish gray, black, red, silty, sandy carbonaceous, fissile, calcareous; contains scattered limestone nodules. Limestone is medium gray to light gray, red, mottled thin bedded to thick bedded, sandy, shaly, vuggy, fossiliferous. Approx. max thickness 125 ft
Light- to reddish-brown, medium- to coarse-grained quartz and minor feldspar sandstone grading upward to a fine- to medium-grained, quartz and minor feldspar sandstone. Contains a middle, gray silty clay unit, and interbeds of gray to dark-gray shale in the upper portion. Thickness up to 450 ft (137 m).
New Albany Shale, Blocher Shale, Sylamore Sandstone, Selmier Shale, Sweetland Creek Shale, Grassy Creek Shale, Saverton Shale, and Louisiana Limestone.
Sandstone, siltstone, shale, and dolostone; includes the Jordan Sandstone and St. Lawrence Formation, and the Mazomanie, Lone Rock, and Davis Formations of the Tunnel City Group.
Muscatatuck Group, includes Grand Tower Limestone and St. Laurent (Alto and Lingle) Formation in southern Illinois; includes Detroit River Formation, Wapsipinicon Limestone, and Cedar Valley Limestone in northern and western Illinois.
Cyclic deposits, limestone and shale with minor sandstone and coal.
Pink and reddish to tan, siliceous, fine- to coarse-grained, iron-stained orthoquartzite with minor metamorphosed conglomerate and mudstone layers. Estimated thickness greater than 1,000 ft (305 m).
Dark-gray to black, silty to sandy shale with several zones of septarian, fossiliferous, carbonate concretions. Contains up to three sandstone units in the upper portion of the formation and sandy calcareous marl at the base. Thickness up to 330 ft (100 m).
Dominantly shale and sandstone with minor coal.
Cyclic deposits, shale and limestone with sandstone, clay and several coal beds, some workable.
Alluvium - clay, silt, sand, and gravel.
Dolomite with some sandstone and shale; includes Shakopee and Oneota Formations
Limestone and shale. Limestone is dark gray to light gray, brownish gray, very thin bedded to massive, argillaceous, fossiliferous; contains very thin layers of chert, pyrite crystals, and small flakes of mica near base. Shale is dark gray to light gray, greenish gray, red, and black; locally slighty sandy, calcareous, carbonaeous, fissile, and fossiliferous. Approx. max thickness 200 ft
Ancell Group, includes St. Peter Sandstone, Dutchtown Limestone, Joachim Dolomite, and Glenwood Formation; includes Prairie du Chien Group in Jo Daviess County of northwestern Illinois.
Upper part is white, light-gray, brownish-gray, yellow, redish-brown, and red sandstone and shale. Sandstone is very fine to coarse grained, friable, micaeous, crossbedded, and lenticular; locally contains gravel near base. contains numerous zones of ironstone and siltstone concretions of variable thickness. Middle part is light-gray, yellow, red brown and dark-gray, sandy carbonaceous shale; commonly contains a zone of concretions near top. Lower part is sandstone similar to that in upper except there are zones of siderite concretions and, locally a basal zone of chert pebbles. Approx. max thickness 600 ft.
Cyclic deposits of limestone and shale.
Dolomite with some limestone and shale; includes Galena, Decorah, and Platteville Formations
Cyclic deposits, dominantly shale with sandstone, and limestone.
Platteville Group, includes Pecatonica, Mifflin, Grand Detour, Nachusa, and Quimbys Mill Formations; includes Plattin Limestone in southwestern Illinois.
Cabaniss Subgroup - cyclic deposits, shale, sandstone, clay and several workable coal beds. Krebs Subgroup - cyclic deposits, sandstone, siltstone, shale, clay and some workable coal beds.
Cyclic deposits, limestone and shale with sandstone and siltstone.
Shale, sandstone, and interbedded limestone. Shale is light gray to dark gray, greenish gray, red, or black; contains very thin layers of siltstone; locally very fossiliferous, carbonaceous. Sandstone is brownish gray to yellowish gray, or gray, argillaceous , and micaceous. Limestone is dark gray to medium gray, yellowish gray, thin bedded to thick bedded; very fossiliferous. Contains coal beds less than 1 ft. thick. Approx. max thickness 300 ft
Dark-gray, noncalcareous, pyritic, poorly fossiliferous shale, with numerous sandstone layers at the base. Thickness up to 110 ft (36 m).
Cyclic deposits, principally shale, sitlstone, sandstone with thin limestone beds and minor coal.
Limestone and shale. Limestone is dark gray to light gray, very thin bedded to massive, sandy fossiliferous, and cherty. Shale is dark gray to light gray, maroon, black, fossiliferous, and calcareous. Approx. max thickness 75 ft
Gray shale, mudstone, marl, calcarenite, and shaly limestone grading upward into light-gray to tan, alternating marl and thin-bedded, fossiliferous limestone. Thickness up to 40 ft (12 m).
Black opaline spiculite, gray to black shale, yellow-brown to gray chalk, gray silty clay, and pink quartz-rich sandstone. Includes the Split Rock Creek Formation and other near-shore facies of the Dakota Formation, Graneros Shale, Greenhorn Formation, Carlile Shale, Niobrara Formation, and Pierre Shale. Thickness up to 400 ft (122 m).
Maquoketa Formation or Group, includes Cape Limestone, Cape La Croix Shale, Thebes Sandstone, Orchard Creek Shale, Girardeau Limestone, and Leemon Formation in southern Illinois; includes Scales Shale, Fort Atkinson Limestone, Brainard Shale, and Neda Formation in northern Illinois; includes Noix Oolite in western Illinois.
Silurian System undivided, includes Sexton Creek Limestone, St. Clair Limestone, and Moccasin Springs Formation in southern Illinois; includes Wilhelmi Formation, Elwood Dolomite, Kankakee Dolomite, Joliet Dolomite, Sugar Run Dolomite, and Racine Dolomite in northeastern Illinois; includes Mosalem, Tete des Morts, Blanding, Sweeney, Marcus, and Racine Dolomites in northwestern Illinois.
St. Louis Limestone, Salem Formation, Warsaw Formation.
Shale and limestone. Shale is dark gray to medium gray, red , black, fossiliferous, calcareous and locally sandy. Limestone is dark gray to light gray, thin bedded to thick bedded, fossiliferous and locally sandy. Approx. max thickness 100 ft