Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Postglacial Sedimentology Of Devils Lake, North Dakota, Edward Callender

Theses and Dissertations

The present sedimentary environment of Devils Lake, a Closed brackish lake in northeastern North Dakota, was investigated, and changes in the Holocene lacustrine environment are interpreted. Sediment samples from Main Bay of Devils Lake were analyzed for their physical, chemical and mineral ogical properties. Analytical data on surface sedimer.t were used to delineate the present sedimentary environment, while data on sediment from three cores were used to reconstruct the Holocene lacustrine history.

The dominant physical processes affecting the surface sediment are wave action and intermittent sediment influx through Big Coulee. The dominant chemical process, precipitation of calcium carbonate, is a …

Stratigraphy And Sedimentology Of The Tongue River Formation (Paleocene), Southeast Golden Valley County, North Dakota, Jack W. Crawford

Theses and Dissertations

The exposed Tertiary rock units in southeast Golden Valley County, North Dakota were measured and described with particular emphasis on the Tongue River Formation. Lithologic samples were collected and analyzed for total carbonate content, particle size, particle roundness, and mineral composition. In the area studied, the Tongue River Formation is 763 feet thick which is considerably thinner than in surrounding areas. The lower member of the Tongue River Formation is 313 feet thick and is composed of yellow-gray, very fine-grained sandstone, siltstone, claystone, shale, and lignite. The overlying Sentinel Butte Member is 450 feet thick and composed of yellow-brown, fine …

A Stratigraphic And Sedimentologic Analysis Of The Tongue River And Sentinel Butte Formations (Paleocene), Western North Dakota, Chester F. Royse Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The Tongue River-Sentirel Butte contact has been regarded by many workers as a vague color boundary of minor extent within a relatively homogeneous sequence of Paleocene strata. Consequently, the Sentinel Butte has come to be regarded as a subordinate unit of the ”Tongue River Formation. As defined in report, the contact is a distinctive horizon between two discrete lithogenetic units. It characterized by three criteria: a horizon (HT Butte bad) &t the top of the Tongue River sequence; a. basal sandy unit in the Sentinel Butte sequence, and a marked change in color between buff yellow Tongue River sediments below …

The Newcastle Formation In The Williston Basin Of North Dakota, Mark Reishus

Theses and Dissertations

The Lower Cretaceous Newcastle Formation of the Black Hills has been traced, through the use of well logs, from near the type section in eastern Wyoming into the subsurface of the Williston Basin. In the Basin, the Newcastle Formation is a very fine to medium grained, gray to white, quartzose sandstone, which overlies the Skull Creek Shale and underlies the Mowry Shale. In area where the Newcastle is absent the overlying and underlying shales cannot be separated and here are referred to as “undifferentiated Mowry-Skull Creek”.

Newcastle deposition occurred mainly in the eastern one-third and western quarter of North Dakota. …

Time And Soil Development On Lateral Moraines, Martin River Glacier, South-Central Alaska, John R. Tinker Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

During the summer of 1966, eighteen soil profiles on a series of 21 lateral moraines, were studied to ascertain the relationship of time to soil development. The moraines are located on Charlotte Ridge on the south margin of the Martin River Glacier in south-central Alaska. The elevation of the highest moraine is approximately fifteen hundred feet and is located 800 feet above the present level of the glacier.

To determine the direct effect of time on soil formation, the remaining soil forming factors were kept constant; the soil pits were located so that relief, exposure, and vegetation of the sites …

Bivalvia And Paleoecology Of The Fox Hills Formation (Upper Cretaceous) Of North Dakota, Rodney M. Feldmann

Theses and Dissertations

The bivalve fauna of the Fox Hills Formation, Maestrichtian, of North Dakota was studied in an attempt to modernize the nomenclature of known bivalves, describe new forms, interpret the relationships of members of the formation, and establish the paleoecological setting in which the Fox Hills was deposited.

The Fox Hills Formation crops out in Logan, Emmons, Sioux, Morton, Burleigh, Kidder, Pierce, McHenry, Bottineau, and Bowman counties in North Dakota. It is best exposed along the Missouri River in south-central North Dakota. Traditionally, the formation has been subdivided into four members, all of which are exposed in the type area of …

The Surface Morphology Of A Small Drainage Basin In The North Dakota Badlands, J. Ladd Hagmaier

Theses and Dissertations

To describe the surface morphology of a fourth order drainage basin located in the North Dakota Badland,, the writer made quanti tative application• of known descriptive techniques and morphological laws.

The surface configuration is a function of the study area's linear, areal, and relief properties and surface elements. The linear and areal properties are determined from maps showing the drainage basin 's surface geometry, the relief properties are determined from large-scale topographic maps of the area, and the surface elements are determined by direct field measurements of the ground slopes, surface materials, and vegetal coverage.

The surface geometry of the …

The Hell Creek Formation In North Dakota, Charles I. Frye

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is a discussion of the surface stratigraphy and petrology of the Hell Creek Formation in North Dakota and eastern Montana. Principal area of study included the Missouri Valley south of Bismarck, North Dakota; the Little Missouri Valley in Slope and Bowman Counties, southwestern North Dakota; the Yellowstone Valley near Glendive, Dawson County, Montana; and the type area of the Hell Creek Formation on Hell Creek and East Hell Creek, Garfield County, Montana on the south shore of the Fort Peck Reservoir.

Two and one-half summers were spent in the field measuring 72 stratigraphic sections, correlating between the measured …

Ore Controls And Formation Of The Ore-Bearing Structures In The Idarado Mines, San Miguel And Ouray Counties, Colorado, S. R. Sanjines

Theses and Dissertations

Two major ore-bearing veins were studied on two levels in the Idarado mine, on the northwestern flank of the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. The Argentine vein, striking N. 10°-20° W. and dipping 75°-85° W., and the Cross vein, striking N. 45°-50° W. and dipping 50° W. represent the two systems to which all productive veins of the mine belong. Although not formed simultaneously, all veins represent mid-Tertiary mineralization associated with volcanism that formed the San Juan Mountains. Vein minerals are galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, silver (probably as sulfides), and gold in a gangue of pyrite, quartz, calcite and epidote. …

The Geology Of The Elliston Area, Western Montana, Thomas R. Walker

Theses and Dissertations

The Elliston area includes four townships located along the continental divide west of Helena, Montana on the northwest margin of the Boulder Batholith and within the Laramide disturbed belt. Strata ranging in age from Precambrian through recent are present, with all but the Ordovician, Silurian, and Triassic System& represented. The sedimentary rocks are mainly marine and continental carbonates, shales, and sandstones typical of a relatively stable shelf. The Precambrian Belt "Series" comprise the oldest rocks. The lower Cretaceous Blackleaf Formation is the youngest pre-Laramide unit. Post-Laramide sediments include fine-grained mid-Tertiary basin fills, terrace gravels, a moraine, and a mantle of …

Hydrogeology Of The Shell Creek Area, Mountrail County, North Dakota, Robert G. Willson

Theses and Dissertations

A field study of the geology and hydrology of the Shell Creek area in southeastern Mountrail County, North Dakota, was made during 1966 in order to determine the hydrogeology of the area. Six lithostratigraphic and lithologic units were mapped. Samples were analyzed for grain size and mineralogy. Those units are the Fort Union Group, the “Lostwood” slightly-gravelly loam, the “Lostwood” sand-gravel, the “Lostwood” silt-clay, the “Little-Knife Formation”, and the “Coteau Formation”. Mine average maximum slope and drainage integration units were used to map the morphology of the area.

There are four magnitudes of flow systems observed in the Shell Creek …

Recent Fluvial Geology In Western North Dakota, Thomas M. Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis here abstracted was written under the direction of Lee Clayton and approved by Walter L. Moore -and John R. Reid as members of the examining connnittee, of which Mr. Clayton was chairman.

In western North Dakota many drainage channels that are incised into valley fill are characterized by steep, unvegetated sides. Many such channels contain actively eroding scarps. The origin of these scarps is most frequently related to increased water velocity causing accelerated erosion on a steepened reach of the valley flat.

The principal mechanism of scarp migration is soilfall which is initiated by undercutting of the scarp …

"Scoria" Of North Dakota, Robert J. Sigsby

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Stratigraphy Of The Sperati Point Quadrangle, Mckenzie County, North Dakota, Michael B. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

The Sperati Point Quadrangle is in McKenzie County, northwestern North Dakota, about 30 miles south-southwest of Watford City, North Dakota. The quadrangle is bounded by Ts. 146-148 N., Rs. 100- 101 W., and encompasses an area of about: 54 square miles. The topography consists of weakly dissected upland plains and, adjacent to the Little Missouri River and tributaries, well dissected, well drained, badland areas characterized by extensive slumping. About 570 feet of the Sentinel Butte Member of the Tongue River Formation of Paleocene age is exposed in the quadrangle. The lower 200 to 250 feet is dominantly grayish, fine to …

Surficial Geology Of The Southern Half Of Griggs County, North Dakota, James C. Merritt

Theses and Dissertations

The southern half of Griggs County, in east-central North Dakota, lies entirely within the Young Drift section of the Central Lowlands physiographic province and is characterized by its undulating surface and nonintegrated drainage. The Kensel, Cooperstown, and Luverne phase of a Late Wisconsinan glaciation are largely responsible for the present appearance of the surface. The tills deposited during glacial stillstands cannot yet be differentiated by texture or X-ray diffreaction analyses, but the average shale pebble content of Kensel till is 16% higher than Cooperstown till.

Synthesis of Pleistocene history is based on the distribution of lithostratigraphic units and glacial geomorphic …

Surficial Geology Of Northern Griggs County, North Dakota, Laverne C. Rude

Theses and Dissertations

Griggs County, situated in the Western Lake section of the Central Lowland province, covers an area of 720 square miles in east-central North Dakota. The surface of the county is mantled with three, or possibly four Pleistocene drift sheets, separated by outwash deposits. These drift sheets lie unconformably on the Cretaceous Pierre Shale which is exposed in the Sheyenne River valley and the Binford Hills. Because the drift sheets have similar lithologic and physical characteristics, and are all late Wisconsin in age, they fulfill the requirements for a lithostratigraphic unit and are being considered for designation as part of the …

Jurassic Stratigraphy Of The Southern Two-Thirds Of North Dakota, Richard A. Salisbury

Theses and Dissertations

Jurassic rocks in the southern two-thirds of North Dakota consist mainly of limestone, shale, anhydrite, and salt of the Piper Formation; shaly limestone, calcareous and non-calcareous shales of the Rierden Formation; shale and sandstone of the Swift Formation; and, at the top, non-marine shale and local sandstones of the Morrison Formation.

The units generally are conformable in the deep part of the Williston Basin, and are unconformable near the edge of the basin in eastern North Dakota. The Poe Member of the Piper Formation, however, unconformably overlies the Spearfish Formation in the western part of North Dakota where Dunham salt …

Relationship Of The Turtle, Forest, And Park Rivers To The History Of Glacial Lake Agassiz, Samuel S. Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis here abstracted was written under the direction of Wilson M. Laird and approved by John R. Reid and Alan M. Cvancara as members of the examining committee, of which Dr. Laird was Chainnan.

During the summer of 1964 a study of the Turtle, Forest, and Park river valleys was undertaken to find evidence of former changes in river regimen. The regimen of rivers once draining into glacial Lake Agassiz was probably affected by changes in base level associated with fluctuations of that lake. The Turtle, Forest, and Park rivers, which presently flow eastward across the bed of Lake …

Glacial Geology Of The North Half Of Barnes County, North Dakota, Douglas A. Block

Theses and Dissertations

The geomorphology and glacial geology of the north half of Barnes County in east central North Dakota is described and interpreted. The area comprised a portion of the Western Lake section of the Central Lowland province and was informally designated the Middle Sheyenne River area without defining its boundaries. Four physiographic subdivisions in the Middle Sheyenne River area were assigned: 1. The Kensal Glacial Plain subdivision that embraces land between the Sheyenne River and the west county boundary. 2. The Sheyenne River Valley subdivision. 3. The Glacial-Lake Plains subdivision that consists of three separate but genetically related areas of lacustrine …

The Physical Limnology And Sedimentology Of Miller Lake, Martin River Glacier, South-Central Alaska, Edward Callender

Theses and Dissertations

Miller Lake is an ice-walled lake located on the terminus of the Martin River Glacier, south-central Alaska. It has an area of 1.36 km² and a mean depth of 25 meters. The lake basin was formed by the coalescence of several ice sinkholes and is characterized by extremely uneven bottom topography.

Analysis of detailed thermal data obtained during the summer of 1963 indicates that the lake is never permanently thermally stratified but does develop some stratification during periods of warm, calm weather. This stratification is easily destroyed by stormy weather. Miller Lake is classified as a subpolar lake due …

Microfacies Analysis Of The Duperow Formation In The Beaver Lodge Field, Williams County, North Dakota, Albert D. Pernichele

Theses and Dissertations

This investigation is a petrographic study of a composite section from the Duperow formation in western North Dakota in which seven cyclic microfacies are described and environmentally evaluated. The microfacies are:

1. Anhydrite-dolomite microfacies. Chemically precipitated cryptocrystalline calcite.

2. Micrite microfacies: Chemically precipitated, structurless cryptocrystalline calcite.

3. Saccharoidal dolomite microfacies. Microgranulor dolomite representin dolonitized limestone .

4. Pelmicrite-pelletiferous micrite microfacies. Pelletoidal grains of cryptocrystalline calcite and small amounts of fossil material in a matrix of cryptocrystalline calcite.

5. Fossiliferous micrite-biomicrite microfacies. Fossil material in a matrix of cryptocrystalline calcite.

6. Pelsparite microfacies. A loo e framework of pelletoidal grains and …

Glacial Geology Of Western Wells County, North Dakota, George A. Faigle

Theses and Dissertations

The landforms of western Wells County were formed during late Wisconsinan glacial activity. Because of the relatively dry climate they have been modified only slightly by post-glacial erosion and mass wasting.

The southern one-third of the area is characterized by randomly-oriented mounds of till or dead-ice moraine. The dead-ice moraine originated when a large mass of stagnant ice ablated after typical glacial depositional features had formed on its drift-covered surface. Complete ablation of the ice resulted in the collapse of the previously formed features.

The remaining two-thirds of the area is characterized by and moraine, ground moraine, outwash, and meltwater …

The Spearfish Formation In The Williston Basin Of Western North Dakota, Wallace G. Dow

Theses and Dissertations

The Spearfish Formation of the Black Hills has been traced into the Williston Basin of western North Dakota. In the basin, the formation can be divided into three members. In ascending order these are: (1) a lower gray shale and red siltstone unit herein named the Belfield Member, (2) a middle salt unit, the Pine Salt Member, and (3) an upper red siltstone and fine grained sandstone unit, the Saude Member. Type sections for all three members are herein established. Isopachous maps and stratigraphic cross sections have been prepared to delireate the thickness and distribution of each of the units …

The Glacial Geology Of Eastern Sheridan County, North Dakota, Thomas C. Gustavson

Theses and Dissertations

During late Pleistocene time two ice advances affected parts of eastern Sheridan County, North Dakota. The first advance deposited the Burnstad, Streeter and Grace City drifts, and covered the whole county. The second advance deposited the Martin drift and occupied only the northern quarter of the county.

The Streeter drift, characterize by dead-ice landforms and nonintegrated drainage, is separated from the Burnstad drift by a large partly collapsed outwash plain on the distal side of a pronounced ground moraine and poorly integrated drainage, is separated from the Streeter drift by the Lincoln Valley and moraine and the Missouri Coteau escarpment. …

The Geology Of Eastern Wells County, North Dakota, Ronald J. Kresl

Theses and Dissertations

Late Wisconsinan (Pleistocene) glaciation was responsible for the varied landforms of eastern Wells County. The Burnstad-Streeter phase advanced from the north-northeast about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago and was obstructed by the elevated Missouri Coteau which caused basal shearing and subsequent movement of subglacial drift into the ice. As this ice stagnated, the resultant drift cover impeded ablation and insulated the waters of superglacial lakes present on the surface of the Coteau at that time. Abundant Pleistocene fossils have been found in the sediments of these former lakes. Upon complete ablation, characteristic dead-ice features resulted on the surface of the …

Lower Paleozoic Chitinozoans And Scolecodents From North Dakota, Douglass H. Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

Chips from cores of the Red River and Stony Mountain Formations of Ordovician age and the Dawson Bay Formation of Devonian age in North Dakota were taken at three-foot intervals, dissolved in acid, and the residue examined for insoluble, pseudochitinous microfossils. Chitinozoa, an extinct order of rhizopod protozoans, were found in abundance along with lesser numbers of scolecodonts, the mouth parts of polychaete worms. Because the study was restricted to the core available at the North Dakota Geological Survey, which rarely included complete sections of the formations, a complete picture of the distribution of these forms must await the more …

Mollusks From Wisconsinan (Pleistocene) Ice-Contact Sediments Of The Missouri Coteau In Central North Dakota, Samuel J. Tuthill

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis here abstracted was written under the direction of Frank D. Holland, Jr. and was approved by Wilson M. Laird and George C. Wheeler as members of the examining committee, of which Dr. Holland was Chairman.

Geologic and paleontologic evidence indicates that numerous mesotropic, temperate, water bodies were present while drift-covered bloacks of stagnant glacier ice, unplaced during Woodfordian (late Wisconsinan, Pleistocene) time, underlay the Missouri Coteau district (approximately 50 by 300 miles in extent) in central North Dakota.

Fossil mollusks, contained in sediments deposited in contact with the stagnant ice at 40 sites, are represented by 23 species …

Glacial Geology Of Western Sheridan County, North Dakota, Neil R. Sherrod

Theses and Dissertations

Western Sheridan County, in central North Dakota, lies within three physiographic districts; The Missouri Coteau district, the Sheyenne River district, and the Martin subdistrict. The Missouri Coteau district is characterized by thick drift, knob and kettle topography, and non-integrated drainage. The Sheyenne River district and Martin sub-district are characterized by flat to gently rolling topography.

The surface deposits of western Sheridan County include the upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, the Tertiary (Paleocene) Ludlow and Cannonball Formations, and the Burnstad and Martin Drifts of late Wisconsinan Age.

Landforms in the Missouri Coteau district include dead-ice moraine, end moraine, disintegration ridges, collapsed …

The Structural And Stratigraphic Relationships In The Paleozoic Rocks Of Eastern North Dakota, Frederick V. Ballard

Theses and Dissertations

The thickness and areal extent of the commonly defined Paleozoic rock units in eastern North Dakota has been determined by a study of mechanical well logs. Isopachous wops of these units reveal several positive areas which persisted and influenced sedimentation and unit thickness throughout most of the Paleozoic Era. Precambrian topographic highs of either erosional or structural origin produced those influences in early Paleozoic time, whereas later effects resulted from periodic structural rejuvenation of the original highs. The activity of those highs appears to be related to the location of the basin depocenter. The most prominent highs were in Cavalier, …

Geology Of The Unconsolidated Deposits Of Lake County, Indiana, Reuben J. Vig

Theses and Dissertations

Lake County is in the extreme northwestern corner of Indiana. The county is divided into three physiographic units: (1) Calumet lake plain, (2) Valparaiso moraine, (3) Kankakee glacioflucial plain.

The Calumet lake plain was covered by glacial Lake Chicago. Beach lines show the areal extent of the various phase of the lake’s history. The Valparaiso moraine, a broad upland, trends east-west across the county. An end moraine on the north side of this upland is correlated with the Tinley moraine in Illinois. The Kankakee glaciofluvial plain, formerly marshland, slopes gently from the Valparaiso moraine to the Kankakee River.

The bedrock …