Analysis of the Cache Valley deposits in Illinois and implications regarding the late Pleistocene-Holocene development of the Ohio River Valley

Abstract

Research Article| May 01, 1989 Analysis of the Cache Valley deposits in Illinois and implications regarding the late Pleistocene-Holocene development of the Ohio River Valley Steven P. Esling; Steven P. Esling 1Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar W. Brian Hughes; W. Brian Hughes 1Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Richard C. Graham Richard C. Graham 2RMT, Inc., 1406 E. Washington Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53703 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Steven P. Esling 1Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901 W. Brian Hughes 1Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901 Richard C. Graham 2RMT, Inc., 1406 E. Washington Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53703 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1989) 17 (5): 434–437. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017<0434:AOTCVD>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Steven P. Esling, W. Brian Hughes, Richard C. Graham; Analysis of the Cache Valley deposits in Illinois and implications regarding the late Pleistocene-Holocene development of the Ohio River Valley. Geology 1989;; 17 (5): 434–437. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017<0434:AOTCVD>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The Cache Valley, a prominent physiographic feature connecting the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys across southern Illinois, at one time probably carried discharge from the ancestral Ohio River. The valley is now occupied by two small streams. Core samples from 27 boreholes in the Cache Valley and 25 on the adjoining uplands were described and analyzed in terms of clay mineralogy and texture. The Holocene surficial deposits of the Cache Valley contain predominantly silt with high percentages of expandable and kaolinite + chlorite clay minerals in the clay fraction, a characteristic of the local upland provenance. The surfcial deposits are underlain by predominantly sandy sediment containing a high percentage of illite (35%-70%) relative to the expandable and kaolinite + chlorite clay minerals, a characteristic of Ohio River outwash. Clay content of sediment at depth at the mouths of valleys tributary to the Cache Valley suggests that these deposits accumulated within quiet water impounded by sediment dams within the Cache Valley as the ancestral Ohio River aggraded during late Wisconsinan time. Physical relations between tributary deposits and main valley deposits, plus radiocarbon dates on organic material recovered from the boreholes, suggest that the Ohio River abondoned the Cache Valley after 25ka, but before 8 ka. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.