Structures of Southeastern Ohio: ABSTRACT

Abstract

A review of structure data in southeastern Ohio indicates that the Burning Springs anticline and the Cambridge arch are the only valid structures of regional extent in the area. Recent mapping by the authors has clarified the relation between these elements. The Burning Springs anticline previously has been shown to be the result of thin-skinned thrusting on a Silurian salt glide plane. The salt, now identified as the Salina F4, pinches out beneath the structure. The structure follows the western limit of the salt into southern Monroe County and there dies out. The Cambrian arch follows the pinchout of the Salina E salt; east of the pinchout, elevations of the Pittsburgh coal (Pennsylvanian) are about 300 ft higher than in the west. There is only a gentle southeastward dip below the salt. The structure is interpreted to be the result of movement of a southeastward-thickening block of supra-Salina rocks northwestward along a salt glide plane. A postulated near vertical tear fault (or series of faults) marks the western limit of this movement. The Parkersburg-Lorain syncline, often mentioned as lying west of the Cambridge arch, also is not present below the salt in the study area. Production of hydrocarbons from Salina (Silurian), Oriskany (Devonian), and Berea (Mississippian) zones and from several Pennsylvanian sands appears to be associated with the Cambridge feature for at least 75 mi of its extent. The northward extension of the Burning Springs anticline into Ohio apparently localized production from Pennsylvanian and Mississippian sandstones in Washington and Monroe Counties. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1891------------