Earth Sciences Commons^™

Pleistocene Geology Of The Comstock-Sebeka Area, West-Central Minnesota, Curtis A. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a reconnaissance of the surficial geology and a reconstruction of the late Cenozoic history of an area in westcentral Minnesota. The study area extends eastward from the Comstock area (14 miles south of Moorhead, Minnesota) in the Red River Valley to the Sebeka area (13 miles north of Wadena, Minnesota). The area is about 27 kilometres wide and 140 kilometres long.

Surface materials include Pleistocene glacial sediment and Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial, lacustrine, eolian, and bog sediment.

Four geomorphic districts are recognized. The flat Lake-Plain District is underlain by sand, silt, and clay that was deposited as …

Geology Of The North Beulah, Center, And Glenharold Lignite Mines In Mercer And Oliver Counties, Southwestern North Dakota, Roy E. Kulland

Theses and Dissertations

The geology of the North Beulah, Center, and Glenharold lignite mines in Mercer and Oliver Counties, southwestern North Dakota, were examined. Stratigraphically, all mines lie within the Sentinel Butte Formation. The North Beulah Mine lies 70 m below the top of the Sentinel Butte Formation and the Center and Glenharold Mines lie about 80 m above the base of the Tongue River Formation.

Four sedimentary types are recognized arid common to all mines; these are: silt and clay, silty sand, sand, and lignite. The silt and clay were deposited in floodbasins and shallow lakes occupying the lowest parts of the …

Late Pleistocene And Holocene Geology Of The Moe Site, New Town, North Dakota, Richard W. Kornbrath

Theses and Dissertations

Eight stratigraphic units of Late Cenoioic age are present around the Moe Archeological Site near New Town, North Dakota. Unit Zero is a layer of glacial sediment consisting of grayish brown pebbly clay loam. Unit One consists of fluvial and beach sand and gravel. Unit Two consists of light yellowish brown, offshore lake silt that was deposited into a glacial lake in Late Wisconsinan time. Unit Three is a layer of glacial sediment consisting of grayish brown pebbly clay loam (Late Wisconsinan). Unit Four consists of fluvial sand and gravel (Late Wisconsinan}. Unit Five is a layer of slough sediment …

Petrography Of Precambrian Iron Formation, Pembina County, North Dakota, Ronald E. Richardson

Theses and Dissertations

In October of 1964 the Topographic Branch of the United States Geological Survey reported difficulties in using magnetic compasses while mapping in the areas of Akra and Hensel, Pembina County, North Dakota. University of North Dakota geologists located anomalies of 67,500 gammas 1.6 lon east of Akra and 71,500 gammas 4 km east of Hensel, the normal magnetic field in this area being about 60,000 gammas. The rock bodies producing the magnetic anomalies were drilled and examination of diamond drill core showed them to consist of oxide and silicate facies iron formation interlayered with quartz-biotite schist of Precambrian age. The …

Pleistocene Geology Of The Grand Forks-Bemidji Area, Northwestern Minnesota, Kenneth L. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

This is a report of a reconnaissance study of the Quaternary geology of an area in northwestern Minnesota. Surface geology was studied in an area extending from Grand Forks, North Dakota, in the northwest to Bemidji, Minnesota, in the southeast, an area of 10 723 square kilometres (4140 square miles). Near-surface stratigraphy was studied in the area of surface study and an adjacent area of equal size to the south.

Surface materials mapped range in age from Pleistocene to Holocene and include glacial, glaciofluvial, lacustrine, bog, eolian, and alluvial sediments.

Sixteen power-auger test holes, two measured sections along the Red …

Stratigraphy Of The Upper Part Of The Fort Union Group In Southwestern Mclean County, North Dakota, Leroy A. Hemish

Theses and Dissertations

Southwestern McLean County is an area characterized by glacial topography and glacially-modified bedrock topography, with limited exposures of bedrock. Outcropping bedrock formations include the Cannonball, Tongue River, and Sentinel Butte Formations, all in the Fort Union Group of Paleocene age.

The Cannonball Formation crops out only in the southeastern part of the area studied (at Washburn), where 18 feet of laminated, gray-brown sandy mudstone is exposed. A yellow-brown, cross-bedded sand unit directly overlies the mudstone. I have tentatively selected the base of this sand unit, which is present in the subsurface throughout southwestern McLean County and reaches thicknesses of more …

Glacial Stratigraphy Of Northeastern North Dakota, Howard Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations

Seven lithostratigraphic units (formations} composed dominantly of glacial sediment have been recognized in northeastern North Dakota. Three formations, the Falconer Formation (Harris and others, 1974}, the Dahlen, and Gardar Formations (Salomon, 1975). Have been previously recognized. Four formations, the Hansboro, Vang, Tiber and Cando Formations are newly recognized. Uncorrelated units of glacial sediment are described but not named. The formations are differentiated and correlated primarily by the proportion of crystalline (igneous and metamorphic rock fragments), carbonate, and shale grains in the coarse sand fraction (1 to 2 mm) of the glacial sediment. The proportion of shale grains was. Found to …

The Keller Plan In College Introductory Physical Geology : A Comparison With The Conventional Teaching Method, Robert G. Walsh Sr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to compare the learning and attitudinal changes that took place in a college introductory physical geology class between a self-paced method of instruction called the Keller Plan and the conventional lecture-laboratory method.

The sample population was 56 students enrolled in Earth Science 120, an introductory physical geology course at Minot State College ·~ during the fall quarter, 1973. An experimental section of 20 students experienced the Keller Plan treatment and two control groups consisting of 18 students each received the conventional method of instruction.

Four specific areas of investigation were tested: (1) knowledge of …

Quaternary Geology Of The Southern Part Of The Grand Forks And Bemidji Quadrangles, Donald K. Sackreiter

Theses and Dissertations

Northwestern Minnesota is an area at the southwestern edge of the Canadian Shield that is mantled by thick Pleistocene sediment. The Pleistocene material included a variety of glacial, shoreline, offshore, fluvial, and eolian sediment.

The lithology of the glacial sediment reflects the rock and sediment over which the depositing glacier flowed. Glaciers that advanced from the northeast (Canadian Shield) deposited sandy, granitic-rich material. Glaciers that advanced from the north· (Manitoba Lowland) deposited loamy, calcareous-rich material. Glaciers that advanced from the northwest (eastern North Dakota and southwestern Manitobal deposited clayey, shale-ridt material. A variety of fluvial and lacustrine sediments are typically …

Stratigraphy Of Offshore Sediment Of Lake Agassiz, North Dakota, Michael B. Arndt

Theses and Dissertations

Lake Agassiz occupied the Red River Valley between about 13,800 and 9,000 years ago. The Late Wisconsinan ice sheet that covered the Red River Valley retreated far enough to expose the drainage divide in northern South Dakota and south-central Minnesota sometime after 14,000 B.P. and meltwater ponded behind this divide in Richland County. Before 13,800 the ice readvanced over this area and then retreated again. As the ice margin retreated northward, deposition of the Argusville and Wylie Formations took place. Sometime before 12,800 the ice advanced again into the Red River Valley as far as Traill County; the terminus of …

Natural Science Of The Great Plains As It Relates To The American Indian : A Syllabus And Sourcebook, Mary E. Bluemle

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation, which includes a sourcebook of pertinent reference materials, sample lesson plans, and natural science roadlogs, is an initial attempt at providing an Indian Studies field course in natural science. It also includes a syllabus which stresses natural science processes and serves as a unifying factor for field work, lecture, and course discussions. The dissertation stresses geographical and ecological concepts, climatic and geological processes, and the natural habitats of North Dakota. It includes discussions of North Dakota vertebrates and early man and his relation to his environment; discussions of_ the geologic features, geologic history, vegetation and animal life of …

Petrology And Geochemistry Of The Killdeer Carbonates, John J. Delimata

Theses and Dissertations

The strata of the proposed Killdeer Formation (Stone, W. J., 1972) in the Killdeer Mountains of Dunn County, North Dakota is composed of a sequence of tuffaceous, calcareous, dolomitized and silicified flat lying sedimentary rocks of Tertiary age. It is the purpose of this report to describe and integrate the petrology and geochemistry of these sediments.

Fieldwork was conducted during the summer of 1972. Forty-three stratigraphic sections were measured and representative samples of each were collected for further analysis. Seven section were selected as representative of the area, and samples from these were studied in thin section with the petrographic …

The Physical And Petrographic Characteristics Of Formcoke Produced Experimentally From Lignite And Subbituminous Coal, Bruce L. Ramsey

Theses and Dissertations

Formcoke was produced experimentally from a North Dakota lignite and a Wyoming subbituminous coal. The effect of initial charring temperature (600°C or 900°C), of char grain size (less than 18 mesh, less than 35 mesh, or less than 60 mesh), of briquetting pressure (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000 or 10,000 psi) of binder percentage (5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 per cent), and of final carbonization heating rate (18°C/:min, 12°C/min or 6°C/min) on formcoke briquet com pressive strength was studied.

A final carbonization heating rate of 6°C/min produced uniform shape briquets. Rates of 12°C/min and 18°C/min …

Paleontology Of Brackish-Water Faunas In Two Tongues Of The Cannonball Formation (Paleocene, Danian), Slope And Golden Valley Counties, Southwestern North Dakota, James B. Van Alstine

Theses and Dissertations

In June and July, 1972, four stratigraphic sections were mea sured and described in Slope and Golden Valley Counties, southwestern North Dakota. Within the sections, the Cannonball and Ludlow Formations are recognized. The Cannonball consists of two tongues in the upper part of the Ludlow (perhaps equivalent to the Lebo Member), separated stratigraphically by about 30 roof Ludlow. The U tongue (upper tongue in the study area) is up to 11. 7 m thick. The L tongue (lower tongue. in the study area) is up to 3.8 m thick. The Cannonball is composed mostly of mudstones and the Ludlow consists …

The Foraminiferids Of The Cannonball Formation (Paleocene, Danian) And Their Paleoenvironmental Significance : Grant, Morton And Oliver Counties, North Dakota, William E. Fenner

Theses and Dissertations

Two hundred-forty samples (of which fifty-five contained micro fossils) were collected from six measured sections in the Cannonball Formation (Paleocene, Danian) in Grant, Morton and Oliver Counties, North Dakota. Twenty-six species of benthonic foraminiferids were identified from these samples: 6 textulariines, 2 miliolines and 18 rotaliines. No planktonic foraminiferids were found. The fauna is characterized by a predominance of individuals of textulariines, especially the lituolids. Although the Cannonball Formation is characterized by an alternating sequence of sandstones and mudstones> the foraminiferid fauna was restricted to the mudstone facies in the upper and upper-middle part of the formation. Two characteristic assemblages …

A Mechanical Well Log Study Of The Popular Interval Of The Mississippian Madison Formation In North Dakota, C. W. Cook

Theses and Dissertations

The Poplar interval of interbedded evaporites and carbonates forms the uppermost part of the Mississippian Madison Forr.1ation in western North Dakota. A detailed mechanical well log study of the Poplar interval in North Dakota was conducted to interpret the Poplar's regional geology and to attempt to locate areas with potential for petroleum production. Limestone, dolomite, anhydrite and salt were differentiated using mechanical well logs.

The complex facies of the Madison are subdivided into para-time rock units (the Poplar interval is one) on the basis of extensive thin anhydrite beds which are considered time-parallel.

The base of the Poplar interval is …

Quaternary Geology Of Sargent County, North Dakota, Dennis N. Neilsen

Theses and Dissertations

Sargent County, in southeastern North Dakota, was glaciated during the Pleistocene Epoch. Objectives of a study of Sargent County were to (1) describe the surface sediment and interpret its origin, (2) correlate, where possible, this sediment with that of adjacent areas, and (3) recon struct the general geologic history of the county for the Quaternary Period.

A geologic map of the county was prepared using field data, topo graphic maps, aerial stereopairs, and soil maps. A map showing surface sediment origin was subsequently made using the available field and laboratory information.

Most of Sargent County is typical rolling prairie underlain …

Heavy Minerals Of Glacial Sediments In The Area Of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, Howard Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations

Pleistocene lithostratigraphic units containing glacial sediments in the Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, area and adjacent areas were studied to determine their heavy-mineral assemolages. Seventy-two samples of fine sand were studied by optical grain-count methods and 77 samples of fine sand were studied by x-ray diffraction methods. Most formations contain a hornblende-garnet-pyroxene-epidote assemblage; the Gervais Formation contains a pyroxene-hornblende assemblage. The mean proportion of the constituent minerals is different in each formation; however, there is overlap in the ranges of heavy mineral proportions among the formations. The Red Lake Falls Formation can be subdivided on the basis of garnet abundance.

Description And Origin Of Carbonate Minerals In The Upper And Lower Cherty Members Of The Biwabik Formation, Minnesota, Leslie R. Honeyman

Theses and Dissertations

This study was done for the Erie Mining Company after periodic problems with the quality of pellets from taconit2 of the Biwabik Formation had been linked to the presence of carbonate minerals. The carbonates found in the cherty members of the Precambrian Biwabik Formation are predominantly siderite, ankerite, and calcite. Siderite is the only primary carbonate mineral and occurs in three forms: microgranular, granular (oolitic), and crystalline aggregates (recrystallized). Ankerite is a secondary mineral occurring as crystalline aggregates and alteration rims on granular siderite. Calcite is found only in fractures and fault zones. Siderite formed from the original precipitate and …

Depositional Environments Of The Upper Part Of The Sentinel Butte Formation, Southeastern Mckenzie County, North Dakota, Robert Post Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The depositional environments of a 40 meter thick interval in the upper part of the Sentinel Butte Formation in southeastern McKenzie County, North Dakota have been determined from the sedimentary structures, geometry, distribution of grain· sizes, and stratigraphic relations of cyclic lithostratigraphic units. The top of the study interval is the top of the upper yellow marker bed.

An elongate, tabular sand bed was studied in detail. It is 12 meters thick and 3 kilometers wide and it is interpreted to have been deposited by lateral accretion in a high-sinuosity stream. Paleo current indicators are parallel to the long axis …

Depositional Environments Of The Lower Tullock Formation (Paleocene), Slope County, Southwestern North Dakota, William K. Hickey

Theses and Dissertations

The lower Tullock Formation (Paleocene), which consists of a section 5 to 30 feet thick, was studied in Slope County, southwestern North Dakota to determine its depositional environments. The lithol ogies present are sand, silt, clay and lignite. A bed of lignite or yellow silt marks the base of the Tullock Formation throughout the study area.

The silt beds are interpreted as having been deposited as natural levees because they are wedge-shaped and contain climbing ripple cross-stratification, interbedded sand lenses and lignitized paleo-raot systems. Well-drained swamp deposits are difficult to distinguish, but are probably located in the silt beds.

There …

Latest Cenozoic Stratigraphy Of Lake Sakakawea Area, Northeast Mercer County, North Dakota, Donald Kieth Sackreiter

Theses and Dissertations

The latest Cenozoic in northeast Mercer County, North Dakota, is represented by five formations. They are, from bottom to top: the Charging Eagle Formation, the Medicine Hill Formation, the Snow School Formation, the Coteau Formation, and the Oahe Formation.

The Charging Eagle Formation is mainly fluvial sediment. Most of the sediment was derived from the west with only minor amounts from the northeast. It contains the first evidence of glaciation in the area.

The lower Medicine Hill Formation is mainly sediment deposited by a northeast-flowing ancestor of the Missouri River and by melt-water streams. The upp.er Medicine Hill Formation is …

Quaternary Stratigraphy Of The Lake Sakakawea Area, Mclean County, North Dakota, James H. Ulmer

Theses and Dissertations

The Quaternary stratigraphy of central North Dakota is best exposed along the nearly continuous, 20-meter-high, vertical bluffs of Lake Sakakawea in the Missouri River trench. The following lithostratigraphic units (in ascending order) are exposed just north of Riverdale, North Dakota, and can be correlated for tens of kilometers along the bluffs: (1) Sentinel Butte Formation (lignite-bearing sediment of Paleocene age), (2) lower Medicine Hill Formation (fluvial sand and gravel), (3) upper Medicine Hill Formation (massive pebble loam with silt and gravel inclusions> glacial sediment), (4) lower Horseshoe Valley Formation (fluvial sand and gravel), (5) upper Horseshoe Valley Formation (jointed pebble-loam, …

Stratigraphy And Sedimentary History Of Middle Cenozoic (Oligocene And Miocene) Deposits In North Dakota, William J. Stone

Theses and Dissertations

Middle Cenozoic (Oligocene and Miocene) continental deposits of North America have been most studied in southwestern South Dakota and western Nebraska where the White River Group constitutes a fairly complete Oligocene record, and the Arikaree Group of early Miocene age is commonly the sole remaining record of that epoch. Isolated outcrops in adjacent states also offer opportunities for studying the middle Cenozoic history of the Midcontinent but disagreement as to the physical stratigraphy of such deposits has hindered further work in these areas. The main purpose of this study is to present a viable stratigraphic framework for the middle Cenozoic …

Hydrogeology Of A Sanitary Landfill, Mandan, North Dakota, Raymond D. Butler

Theses and Dissertations

The data from this study can be applied to much of southwestern North Dakota because the geologic and climatic conditions are similar.

The Mandan landfill is on the Heart River floodplain and next to the river on the north and steep valley wall on the south. The sanitary landfill bas been used for over 20 years.

The only pre-Pleistocene unit exposed is the Cannonball Formation, which is interbedded sand, silt, and clay. Quaternary units consist of till, fluvial sand, silt, clay, and gravel, and eolian sand and silt.

A local flow system recharges on the upland next to the valley …

High- And Low-Sinuosity Stream Deposits Of The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene) Mckenzie County, North Dakota, Victor B. Cherven

Theses and Dissertations

High-sinuosity channel deposits in the Sentinel Butte Formation occur as elongate, tabular beds of sand that fine upward from an erosional base. The sand beds contain epsilon cross-stratification, within which stratification changes upward from large-scale trough crossstratification to horizontal stratification and small-scale crossstratification, indicating upward decrease in flow regime due to accretion of laterally-migrating point bars. Inset in the sand beds are channelplug deposits that are narrow and arcuate in map view and asymmetrically trough shaped in cross-section, and consist of sandy silt and clay. Lowsinuosity channel deposits occur as elongate, trough-shaped sand beds that fine upward from a deeply-channeled …

Pleistocene Stratigraphy Of The Red Lake Falls Area, Minnesota, Kenneth L. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Seven formations are present along a 50-mile stretch of the Red Lake River in Pennington, Red Lake, and Polk Counties, Minnesota. Five formations are largely glacial, sediment, and two are largely lacustr1ne sediment deposited during phases of Lake Agassiz.

The Gervais Formation (pre-Wisconsinan or early Wisconsinan) is mostly fluvial or lacustrine sediment modified by glacial ice of unknown source. The Marcoux Formation (pre Wisconsinan or Wisconsinan) is largely sediment deposited by glacial ice that advanced from the northeast over the Canadian Shield. The St. Hilaire. Formation (Wisconsinan) is mainly sediment deposited by glacial ice that advanced from a western or …

Ordovician Corals Of The Williston Basin Periphery, Frank P. Caramanica

Theses and Dissertations

Tabulate and rugose corals are described from the Ordovician Red River) Stony Mountain, and Stonewall Formations in southern Manitoba and the Ordovician Bighorn Formation in northern Wyoming. Fifty-four species, 12 of which are new, are distributed in 20 genera. The Flower Model of coral evolution, based on wall microstructure of colonial corals, is extended to include the septa! Microstructure of colonial and solitary corals. "Primitive" corals are characterized by non t-rabeculate walls and septa whereas "advanced" forms are characterizedby trabeculate walls and septa. "Mid-range" corals are those with intermediate stages of trabecular development in walls .and septa. Corals in the …

Septic Tank Nutrients In Groundwater Entering Lake Sallie, Minnesota, David Robert Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The nutrient contribution of septic tanks to a lake was evaluated at Lake Sallie, in glacial outwash terrain of northwestern Minnesota. Groundwater entering the lake was collected by covering 0.258 m2 of lake bed with a bottomless cylinder vented to deflated plastic bag. Inflow velocity ranged from 0.01 to 2.5 micrometers per-second along 30% of the lakeshore. Groundwater inflow along an 800 m segment of shore amounted to 4.50 x 105 m3/year, and was uniformly distributed along the shore, but decreased exponentially away from shore.

Effluent from a heavily-used lakeside septic tank fanned out along the surface of the water …

The Stratigraphy And Economic Potential Of Permo-Pennsylvanian Strata In Southwestern North Dakota, Harold C. Ziebarth

Theses and Dissertations

This study of the Fermo-Pennsylvanian Minnelusa Group in North Dakota was designed to clarify the stratigraphy, illustrate association of depositional environments, and to relate the geologic history and economic potential of these strata.

The Minnelusa Group is defined here to include strata above the unconformity on the Madison and Big Snowy Groups and below the Opeche Formation. The Minnelusa Group in North Dakota contains the Tyler, Alaska Bench, Amsden and Broom Creek Formations. The Amsden has been divided into three marker defined lithozones designated, in ascending order, Medora, Dickinson, and Bismarck.

Drill and core samples were examined and described interpretively …