Oil and Gas Possibilities in Northern Cumberland Plateau: ABSTRACT

Abstract

The northern Cumberland Plateau is surfaced with sandstones, shales, and coals of Pennsylvanian age which aggregate over 3,000 feet in thickness. The Coal Measures are underlain by 900-1,000 feet of Mississippian rocks which, in turn, rest upon as much as 200 feet of Silurian beds that thin out rapidly to the west where the Chattanooga shale is underlain by Ordovician strata. End_Page 944------------------------------ Structurally, the northern Cumberland Plateau is a monocline dipping gently to the east toward the highly folded and faulted Appalachian structural province. The Plateau is bordered to the northeast by the Pine Mountain thrust block and to the east and southeast by the Cumberland Mountain-Walden Ridge fault system. Strong secondary faults are present in southern Morgan County. Within the Plateau proper gentle dips prevail. The upper and middle Mississippian strata have been productive in the Oneida and Glenmary areas in Scott County, respectively, and the Fort Payne of lower Mississippian age is the producing formation in the Boone Camp pool in northern Morgan County. The subsurface stratigraphy and general structural conditions of the area are discussed and special emphasis is placed upon the pre-Mississippian possibilities. End_of_Article - Last_Page 945------------