Relations of Cherts to Stylolites at Carthage, Missouri

Abstract

The cherts of the upper portion of the Boone formation at Carthage have developed largely, if not wholly, by replacement, with frequent preservation within them of fossils and bedding. Their distribution is controlled largely by bedding and not at all by joints or weathering surfaces. Many of them alternate with stylolites along bedding directions, were developed earlier than these particular stylolites, and have been impressed into the limestone above and below by solution of the latter concomitant with the growth of the associated stylolites. Some cherts of otherwise similar appearance show stylolitic borders and have developed after the stylolites by replacement up to the stylolitic partings. Two episodes of chert development are not inferred, but rather an overlap of chert and stylolite formation. Relations of these cherts to mineralization in near-by mines are briefly discussed.