Rocks, minerals, and fossils
found on the surface of Dallas and Tarrant Counties were
deposited in the Mesozoic Era and Cenozoic Era. (See
Time
Chart) The resulting formations are either
of
Cretaceous
Age, 66 to 144 million years ago (ma) or Quaternary Age,
present day to 10,000 years ago (Dates are approximations.) In Dallas County, the Cretaceous ranges from about
75 ma to
90 ma. In Tarrant County, the Cretaceous ranges from 90 ma to
115 ma. In other parts of Texas more of the Cretaceous Era is
represented. For instance, the Cretaceous/Tertiary
(K/T) boundary.
Cretaceous deposits in North Texas are mostly marine in
origin. The Western Interior Seaway at its greatest extent
spanned the the North American continent from the Artic Circle
to the present day Gulf of Mexico. Although this was the Age of
the Dinosaur, their habitats were sparse in Tarrant County and
non-existent in Dallas County. The most abundant
habitat was marine. The depth of the ocean rose and fell many
times. In doing so, the sediments deposited varied from
generally sandy shorelines and deltaic complexes to low energy,
deeper water.
Quaternary sediments
were deposited in areas
adjacent to the Trinity River and its tributaries. As the
Trinity winnowed over time, it would leave terraces covered with
sand and gravel. These river
deposits range in age from 1.8 ma. to recent. Mammoth and bison
bones are sometimes found along the Trinity and its tributaries.
To understand the sedimentary
rock record there are three fundamental ideas to grasp: Time
units, Rock
units, and Time-rock units.
Formation
nomenclature is colloquial in nature. Formation names commonly come
from their general make-up, the location where it was first
described, or the person whom first discovered the layer. This
can lead to some confusing names until you learn your way around
- for instance, we have the "Austin Chalk" in Dallas County! Recognizing formations
will assist in finding fossils, identifying them, and recording
them for study. Construction of most geologic maps is at the
formation level. In addition to maps, observations of the rock
types, the fossils, and even the vegetation can help identify
the formation. For example, the cedar trees around Cedar Hill
prefer limy soil; Post Oak trees prefer sandy soil. More
detailed information on the formations comes later in this
document.
Here is an example of Rock
units, Time-rock units and Time units.
Arlington, Texas was once
the setting for a delta on the eastern shore of the Western
Interior
seaway. Sands, and clays are the individual beds
that comprise the three Members , Rush Creek, Dexter,
Lewisville and Arlington of the Woodbine Formation .
They are in the Woodbine Group. These are the rock units.
Time-rock units and Time units can be confusing because the
same name often applies to both.
The Time-rock units of the
Woodbine Formation place it in the Cenomanian Stage. The
stage tells you the Woodbine is in the lower part of the
Gulf Series in the Cretaceous System. These are all relative
times because they differ according to geographic location.
Deposition of the Woodbine did not occur at the same time in
all the same places. It took millions of years for the delta
to advance out into the sea way.
Time units
give us a specific measurement in millions of years. The
Cenomanian Age (91 to 97.5 ma) is in the Late Epoch (66.4
to 97.5 ma) of the Cretaceous Period (66.4 to 144 ma).
TOPOGRAPHY AND FORMATION EXPOSURES
During the Cretaceous Period, the seas rose and fell
leaving multiple layers of deposits with various compositions. These formations represent
several deposition environments: shallow marine, deltaic, and coastal. Ancient land
deposits to deeper-water sediments provide a rich variety of fossils: vertebrate specimens
include marine reptiles, sharks, turtles, fishes and rarely dinosaurs. There are also plenty of
invertebrate fossils: sea urchins, shells of clams, snails, and ammonites (related to the
Nautilus).
After the Cretaceous
Period the area tilted slightly resulting in a 1/2 degree dip due east. This slight dip across the thin deposits causes many
formations to outcrop on the surface - much like slicing an onion. The exposures form
bands that run generally north-south. Since the various rock units are
deposited one on top of another, the oldest is on the bottom and
youngest on top. The tilting exposes the oldest rocks in the western
part of the area and the youngest in the east.
During the Quaternary Period, the Trinity
River carved out terraces through the Cretaceous deposits. The river left behind clays,
sands, and gravel that are of economic value. Today, the Trinity River headwaters form in
western Tarrant County, fed by the many creeks flowing from Parker, Jack and Denton
Counties. The river causes a
dendritic drainage pattern across most of western Tarrant
Country. Fossil mammoth, bison and other mammal bones can be
found along the Trinity River.
Dallas County has six formations represented on the
surface. Tarrant County has fifteen formations on the surface. The list below is from most
recent to oldest.
FORMATION
DESCRIPTIONS and INFORMATION
Quaternary alluvium
and terrace deposits - Dallas and Tarrant Counties
The Quaternary period has two subdivisions.
The Holocene Epoch ranging the present to about 12,000 years ago and the
Pleistocene from 12,000 to about 1.8 ma. Although the Pleistocene is
referred to as the Ice Age, none of the ice sheets extended as far south as
Fort Worth or Dallas. The maximum extent, 18 to 20 thousand years ago, of the
Laurentide ice sheet was barely touching northeast Kansas.
The ecology of DFW area was
somewhere in the transition zone with respect to vegetation. A broadleaf forest
(included: chestnut, Paw Paw or "Prairie Banana", Osage Orange) was present
in eastern North Texas (Is that why they call it the Eastern Cross Timbers?)
which gave way to open
woodlands (include: juniper and mesquite) to the west. The boundary is
likely close to where it is today because, in part, the soils becomes more
rocky to west and the climate is dryer.
Alluvial deposits of clay,
sand, and gravel are found in the flood-plain areas. They are the youngest
deposits in the area. Some deposits are present day as the result of storms
moving large volumes of water requires high energy. Subsequently there is
enough energy to erode and move sediments as large as gravel and boulders.
Gravel bars are a good place to look for fossils.
Terrace deposits outcrop
adjacent to and outside of the immediate channels the Trinity River and its
tributaries. Their composition is that of alluvium. Terraces were formed
when the river changed course, abandoning the previous flood-plain, and the
new channel cuts deeper into the earth.
Fossils of mammoth
(Mammuthus columbi), Bison (Bison bison and
Bison antiquus),
camel, horse and other mammal bones are can be found in these
Quaternary deposits.
Quaternary deposits
unconformably overlie the Ozan formation. The hiatus lasted about 70 million
years.
Ozan Formation -
Dallas County
The Ozan is also referred
to as the Lower Taylor Marl. The Ozan unconformably overlies the Austin
Chalk. Descriptions of color and composition vary widely because often
the descriptions are either state wide summaries or of particular
localities. The Geology of Texas Volume 1, Stratigraphy by Sellards,
Adkins, and Plummer describe the Ozan as a dark gray marl. The marl can
be sandy, chalky or glauconitic and can be mostly sand. Its generally a
calcareous micaceous clay that coarsens upward though the
section with increasing proportions of calcareous silt and sand.
Occasionally present are glauconite, hematite and pyrite in nolular
form, and phosphate pellets. When
weathered, it is a brownish gray color. The clay in this formation contains the clay mineral
montmorillonite that expands when wet.
Montmorillonite is descused in more detail in the section on the Eagle
Ford. The Ozan was deposited in a deep
marine, low energy, environment.
The bivalve
Inoceramus is much smaller than those found in the Austin Chalk.
Other fossils include shark's teeth and microfossils. Trace fossils
being burrows of
Ophiomorpha (shrimp),
Thalassinoides
(arthropod) and
Planolittes (worm) can be found while vertebrate fossils are close to
nonexistent. Although not in Dallas or Tarrant Counties, probably the best
exposure and fossil collecting is in the North Sulphur River. The Society's
Occasional Papers Volume 4,
Fossil Collector's Guidebook to the North Sulphur River, by Mark
McKinzie, Ron Morn and Ed Swiatovy, 2001 is an excellent resource.
Austin Chalk -
Dallas County
The Austin Chalk is
considered by many to be a group of formations. The Austin Chalk has
five members. From bottom to top is the Atco Member, the Austin Chalk,
Blossom Sand, Brownstown Marl and Gober Chalk. In Dallas County, the
Geologic Atlas of Texas, Dallas Sheet has not differentiated mapped
area. Specifically, the condensed section at the base of the Atco Member
and known as the Fish Bed Conglomerate is present where the Austin
Chalk-Eagle Ford Group contact outcrops. The Fish Bed Conglomerate
is a light greenish sandy calcareous clay. Phosphate nodules are
abundant. However, the reason for the name is the extreme abundance of
small to microscopic fish teeth. The easiest way to collect from the
Fish Bed Conglomerate is to submerse large chunks of material in a weak
acid bath like vinegar for a few days then wash the material through a
fine sieve to catch the teeth. The acid bath and wash may have to
be repeated several time. the There used to be a great
exposure along FM 1382 west of Clark Road in Cedar Hill, Texas.
Unfortunately, a retaining was was erected prevent erosion and rock
falls along the sharp and tall roadcut.
The western extent of the
Austin Chalk is sometimes referred to as the White Rock Escarpment. The
contrast between the chalk and the underlying Eagle Ford is striking.
Looking east from
locations in Grand Prairie and Irving, the Austin Chalk raises out of
the plains and appears white overlying the dark
gray or black Eagle Ford. Composition of the chalk is primarily coccolithophores
from
foraminifera.
Coccoliths are calcareous plates found on the surface of some flagellate
microorganisms. Austin Chalk covers one-third to one-half of the surface of Dallas County. Cedars prefer
limy soil and are prolific.
The chalk
dips at a rate between 15
and 40 feet per mile to the east or southeast.
has many normal faults and fractures, all inactive so don't worry. This is the
same formation that made horizontal drilling famous. Oil companies use the faults and
fractures to their advantage, especially in Brazos and Burleson Counties, Texas. Oil
companies bore vertically to the target depth then bore horizontally through the chalk. A
horizontal boring encounters more oil filled faults and fractures a vertical
boring. So, the horizontal well produces much more oil or gas. Several quarries
located near Midlothian, Texas mine the chalk
for use in cement. The quarries occasionally grant permission for members of this Society
to enter the quarries and collect fossils. Fossils are generally sparce in
the Austin Chalk. A shark and a few mosasaur skeletons have been found.
Eagle Ford Formation or
Eagle Ford Group - Dallas and Tarrant Counties
The gently
rolling hills are referred to as the "Black Prairie" and the
residual soil as "black gumbo." The Eagle Ford contains bentonite, an
impure clay that is a product of weathered volcanic ash. Bentonite consists mainly of the clay mineral montmorillonite.
Differential swell/contraction of montmorillonite as it absorbs or
looses water can be as much as seven inches causing problems for
foundations and roads.
Bentonite occurs in the Eagle Ford in layers up to ten
inches thick. The good news is that
the bentonite layers are good sources of samples for radiometric age dating.
The Eagle Ford is a bituminous shale with calcareous concretions and large
septaria; sandstone and sandy limestone in the upper parts; and bentonitic
in the lower part. The
laminated bedding structure and dark
color makes the Eagle Ford easy to identify.
The
Eagle Ford has four members: the basal unit is Tarrant Beds or Six Flags
Limestone, Britton Shale, the Kamp Ranch Limestone and the Arcadia Park
Shale, top member. The Tarrant Beds is dark gray shale that weathers to
brownish or bluish-gray. It also includes small lenses of either calcareous
sandstone or fossiliferous limestone covering a few feet laterally and
approximately two inches thick. Overlying the basal unit is the Britton
Formation consisting of dark gray, silty shale that grades laterally into
gray and tan shale. A thin limestone, flaggy, layer above the Britton is
named the Kamp Ranch Limestone. Depositional environment of the Kamp Ranch
was in shallow water with moderate to high energy. The abundance of shell
fragments aid in the determination of the energy level. Overlying the Kamp
Ranch is the Arcadia Park shale. The Arcadia Park and the Britton are very
similar in appearance and were deposited in low energy waters with depths
between 120 and 600 feet which is part of the controversy as whether the
Eagle Ford is a single formation or a group.
The Eagle Ford
produces quality specimens: ammonites with shells composed of the original mother of
pearl; shark teeth of Leptostyrax and Ptychodus, fish and other marine
vertebrate skeletons. Dallas Paleontological Society member Arlene Pike was
honored for her fossil crab find which was named
Homolopsis pikeae.
Society members Van Turner was also honored for his find
Dallasaurus turneri,
and Mark Cohen for
Russelosaurus Coheni,
D. turneri and R. Coheni are the
two the oldest known specimens of mosasaur-like marine reptiles in
North America.
Woodbine Formation
or group
- Dallas and Tarrant Counties
As a group, the Woodbine consists of the Rush Creek
Member, Dexter member, Lewisville Member and the Arlington Member
The Woodbine
was a fluvial deltaic system consisting of both marine and non-marine
facies. The
Woodbine Formation consists of mostly fine grained sandstone with clay
and shale.
The basal unit, Rush Creek Member, is composed of marine
prodelta clays, silts and sands. The overlying Dexter Member is
predominately sandstone with clay and sandy or carbonaceous shales
interbedded. Features include large scale cross-bedding, ripple marks, and large
discoid concretions. The Dexter Member is interpreted to be
deposited from both marine and non-marine sediments. The Lewisville
Member is a marine shale with various quantities of sand, silt and
carbonaceous clays. The Arlington Member is composed of sandstone and
calcareous sand lenses interbedded with sandy shales.
Beds of ironstone and ironstone
conglomerate also occur in the lower part. Sandstones are
occasionally conglomeritic and contain occasional to abundant oyster
shells. The Woodbine unconformably overlies the Grayson Marl.
The Woodbine provides soil for a wooded region called the
Eastern Cross Timbers where Post Oaks are common. The Woodbine is a sandy soil, rich with
iron. Iron nodules litter the ground. Iron nodules form when solutions deposit around a
"seed" or nucleus of sand or organic material. These concretion nodules look
like iron meteorites but are distinguishable because they do no have the magnetic properties. Iron
mineral mostly limonite and
hematite give the Woodbine a characteristically reddish-brown any yellow
hues.
The Woodbine Formation, a secondary aquifer in North Texas.
To the east, the
Woodbine produces hard-water as a result of the iron. Many water wells
produce from the Woodbine aquifer. Pesticides, herbicides and petrochemicals on spilt onto
surface exposures have the potential to seep down into this aquifer and pollute water
wells down dip (to the east.) Tan colored clays are interbedded in the Woodbine, and used
by companies in Denton County to make brick. In east Texas, the Woodbine is the largest
oil and gas producing reservoir rock in the state.
Fossils from the Woodbine include the
ammonite Acanthoceras, the oyster
Gryphea, dinosaurs include
an unnamed nodosaurid, an unnamed nodosaurid and an unnamed hadrosaur and
various mollusks. Society member Bill Lowe was honored by having a trace
fossil footprint of a theropod dinosaur named after him,
Magnoavipes lowei. Also, member Gary Bird was honored with his
discovery, Protohadros byrdii.
Grayson Formation
- Tarrant County
The Grayson Formation is a chalky, yellow-white to gray
marl with gray shale beds. The transition from Grayson to overlying Woodbine represents a withdrawal
or regression of Cretaceous seas.
Fossils include ammonites:
Scaphites subevolutus, Turrilites bosquensis, T. brazoensis,
Adkinsia sp.; pelecypods, Exogyra arientina (also known
as "rams horn") and
E.plexa.
Trace fossils include
Thalassinoides (arthropod) and
Serpula (worm
tubes).
Main Street Formation
- Tarrant County
The Main Street formation overlaying the Paw Paw is a
resistant limestone formed from supersaturated lime mud. The contact between the two
formations represents a transgression of the Cretaceous oceans. The Main Street weathers
to a white or grayish white color. was a deeper water environment than the Paw Paw.
Paw Paw Formation, Denton Clay, Weno Limestone, Fort Worth
Limestone and the Duck Creek Formation - Tarrant County
In Tarrant County, these formations are
mapped undivided on the Geologic Atlas of Texas.
The Paw Paw's type
locality is Paw Paw Creek which begins in Dennison and flows generally
northeast to the Red River. The clay is dark gray or blackish and
somewhat lustrous when fresh and weathers red-brown to yellowish.
Shales and clays with some sandstone ledges comprise the formation.
Particularly in northern Tarrant County, concretions and iron nodules
are
abundant. The Paw Paw is a ferruginous clay of shallow marine origin.
Rocks here represent the transgression of Cretaceous seas.
Fossils include a unique miniature fauna such as
ammonites less than one inch in diameter; frequently pyritized with intricate detail.
Other genera also exhibit dwarfism but the reasons for the dwarfism are unknown. Shark's teeth are common fossil in the Paw Paw.
The area north of Loop 820
and North Beach Street and the community of Fossil Creek was productive
until development covered the site. Typical fossils include shark teeth and
vertebrae and cartilage, crab claws and carapaces fragments, and dwarf
ammonites, and the pelecypod, ostrea quadriplicata. This area has
also produced some unusual finds for a marine depositional environment.
A
nodosaur,
Nodosauridae indet, was found by
then 12-year old Johnny Maurice the
son of Society member. John Maurice. Unfortunately, it was not named in his
honor. Another nodosaur,
Pawpawsaurus campbelli was found by then 19-year old Cameron
Campbell. Society affiliation unknown. Member Robert Reed found a (unnamed)
turtle associated with nodosaur bones.
Weno Limestone has three units. The upper unit is chiefly limestone.
It varies from hard and massive to soft and chalky. When fresh it is
light gray to yellowish gray and weathers gray to yellowish brown. Hard
limestone will form topographic benches. The middle unit is
generally a calcareous clay with occasional lenses of sand-sized shell fragments.
Color varies from olive brown to olive gray. The lower unit is
predominantly
limestone with some sand. This fossiliferous formation is light gray, except
where it is sandy it is medium gray. The lower unit weathers to a yellowish
brown. Echinoids
Macraster
obesus,
Tetragramma;
worm tubes
Serpula;
gastropods
Gyrodes Conrad,
Leptomaria
austinensis can be found.
Denton Clay has alternating layers of calcareous clay with marl and
limestone weathers dusky brown. At the time of the
Denton Clay, deeper water covered the area. The calcium carbonate deposits
hardened into a micritic limestone. Clay units have abundant shell debris
and some burrowing is evident. Marl beds vary from argillaceous limestone to
calcareous clay. Limestone units are dark gray when fresh and can have thin
(<0.6 ft.) Gryphea beds. Fossils include pelecypods: Anomia,
Pectin, Gryphea and Alectryonia;
echinoids: Heteraster and Macraster; ammonite:
Pervinquieria
The Fort Worth
Limestone and the Duck Creek Limestone are
both grayish to yellow-gray or yellow-brown. Both formations are limestone and difficult
to differentiate.
Fort Worth Limestone is a limestone with alternating thin layers of marly
clay. The upper 40 feet are cream-colored. The lower 10 to 15 feet has
alternating layers of grayish-blue clay/marl with yellowish-white limestone. Pecten are more abundant in the Fort Worth Limestone while Gryphea
are more abundant in the Duck Creek Fm. They are generally prairie land.
Fossils include echinoids: Holaster
simplex, Macraster; ammonites: Pervinquieria, Mortoniceras; pelecypods: Exogyra, Gryphea and Alectryonia; brachiopod: Kingena wacoensis,
and nautiloids
Goodland Limestone
Formation - Tarrant County
The Goodland is a white, fossiliferous, micritic,
coarsely nodular,
limestone. Bedding is massive with some thin clay beds. The upper 5 feet is
a fossiliferous, massive, limestone
with oolites. Depositional environment is
interpreted as shallow, warm water, marine (not necessarily near shore),
and within the forces and actions of waves. Oolites are formed around a
nucleus where aragonite
crystals grow in layered rings as a result of the back and forth action
of the waves. Since aragonite is a polymorph of and is less stable than
calcite, over, geologic, time will
convert to calcite. The fragmentation of the
shells indicates an erosional energy source (waves) and the intraclasts
also indicate waves as an erosional agent.
The formation is medium to dark gray when fresh and weathers to a
yellowish brown. This unit has a low clay content making it a good support for buildings.
Fossils include
the ammonite Oxytropidoceras acutocarinatum, pelecypods Protocardia,
Pinna and Lima wacoensis, heart-shaped urchins in abundance, and miscellaneous gastropods.
Kiamichi Formation
- Tarrant County
The Kiamichi has
alternating layer of clay and limestone with units generally not
exceeding 5 feet in thickness. Sandstone is a minor component. olive
brown flaky shale that weathers to tan. Unconformities bound the Paluxy above and below. A
transgressing sea deposited clays to form the Walnut Clay formation. Oyster reefs of Gryphea mucronata create
resistant, cliff forming benches over the underlying Walnut Clay.
Walnut Clay Formation
- Tarrant County
Calcareous clay and
limestone interspersed with Gryphea beds. Some of the beds form topographic benches.
Clay units are fossiliferous. Limestone units when fresh, the color is
dark gray and weathers to a yellowish brown. Clay units are olive brown
and weathers to a yellowish brown.
Paluxy Formation -
Tarrant County
Characteristically, the Paluxy Formation is a reddish
sandstone and shale unit that supports Post Oaks. The environments of deposition were coastal streams and beach environments. Ancient beach deposits form
localized dunes of white, well rounded, friable sand. Some iron stains are present in
these dunes. These clean beach sands are unmistakable - miles away from the present day
ocean. Although not from Tarrant County, dinosaurs like the Tenontosaur at the
Dallas Museum of Natural History are found in the Paluxy Formation in Parker and Jack
Counties.
REFERENCES
(not referenced by hyperlinks)
Caldwell, B., and Brogdon, L., 1995,
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County. (Publisher not listed.)
Dawson, W. C., McNulty, C. L., Reaser, D. F., Leaders,
1979, Fieldtrip Guidebook for Stratigraphy and Structure of Selected Upper Cretaceous
Rocks in Northeast Texas. (Texas Academy of Science 82nd Annual Meeting, Arlington, Texas.)
Fisher, W. L., Director, 1972, "Geologic Atlas of
Texas, Dallas Sheet": Bureau of Economic Geology, (The University of Texas at Austin,
Austin, Texas.)
Graham, A. 1999.
Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic history of
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Hagland, J., McKinzie, M.G. and Wilson, M.,
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http://users.tamuk.edu/kfjab02/dinos/vptexas.htm
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The Collector's
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Winton, W. M., Adkins, W. S. 1919, The Geology of Tarrant
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