Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Stratigraphy And Sedimentology Of The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene) In South-Central Williams County, North Dakota, Wesley D. Peck

Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 163 meters (535 feet) of the Paleocene Sentinel Butte Formation crop out in southcentral Williams county, North Dakota. To determine their mode of deposition and stratigraphic position within the formation, twelve stratigraphic sections were measured. These strata were deposited in alternating fluvial and lacustrine environments as determined by sedimentary structures, lithology, lithologic sequences, and fossil occurrences. A fining upward trend in grain size of the tabular sandstones, and the identification of epsilon cross-stratification in the tabular sandstones support a fluvial origin for some of the strata. The strongest evidence for the interpretation of lacustrine deposition is the presence of …

Depositional Environments Of A Portion Of The Bullion Creek Formation (Paleocene), Western Billings County, North Dakota, Rodney K. Perkins

Theses and Dissertations

The Bullion Creek Formation (Paleocene) in North Dakota is part of an Upper Cretaceous to Eocene wedge of siliciclastic rocks formed during uplift associated with the Laramide Orogeny. The Bullion Creek Formation consists predominantly of mudrocks , with fine-grained sandstone, lignite, and rare limestone lenses . Previous workers have postulated combinations of fluvial and lacustrine depositional environments for the rocks.

The study area covers 15 square kilometres in the badlands of the Little Missouri River in western Billings County, North Dakota, where approximately the upper 75 metres of the Bullion Creek Formation ls exposed. Twenty nine stratigraphic sections were measured …

Petrology Of The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), North Dakota, Nels F. Forsman

Theses and Dissertations

Sedimentary materials of the Sentinel Butte Formation have been petrographically examined using optical and scanning electron micro scope/microprobe techniques. The formation consists of fine-grained materials which generally are classified mineralogically as volcanic litharenites or feldspathic litharenites. Most rock units in the formation are siltstones and mudstones. Multiple source rock types, including volcanic, metamorphic, and sedimentary, are represented by mineralogic constituents, but volcanic rock fragments are most abundant. Petrographic distinctions between basal and uppermost sandstone units suggest that a change in sediment supply took place near the end of Sentinel Butte time. Authigenic cement development appears concentrated in more porous and …

A Survey Of 24 Elements In North Dakota Lignite (Fort Union Group, Paleocene) And Possible Geologic Implications, Susan A. Zimmer-Dauphinee

Theses and Dissertations

Calystone, carbonaceous shale, lignitic shale, and lignite samples were collected from western North Dakota for element analysis during May 1978, April 1979, and August 1979. Lignite was collected from the Sentinel Butte Formatlon--Hagel Bed (Oliver and McClean Counties), Beulah-Zap Bed (Mercer County), Lehigh Bed (Stark County)-- and from the Bullion Creek Formation--Harmon Bed (Bowman County). Claystone samples were also collected from clay partings present in the Hagel Bed and Harmon Bed. Control samples were collected from an outcrop of the marine lower middle Cannonball Formation (carbonaceous shale) south of Mandan, North Dakota and from an outcrop of the brackish oyster …

Distribution And Origin Of Elongate Sandstone Concretions, Bullion Creek And Slope Formations (Paleocene), Adams County, North Dakota, Michael W. Parsons

Theses and Dissertations

Rectilinear patterns in sandstone are visible on aerial photo graphs of Adams County, North Dakota. These patterns result from the differential erosion of elongate, calcareous, sandstone concretions that have formed in fluvial channel sand units.

The distribution and orientation of the elongate concretions were mapped from aerial photographs. The concretions have a strongly east-west orientation. Averages of paleocurrent measurements of the associated sand and sandstone are also easterly.

The elongate concretions occur slightly above and below the Rhame bed (a white marker zone at the top of the Slope Formation), in sand units at the base of the Bullion Creek …