Dornick Hills Research Articles

AN EDRIOASTEROID-DOMINATED ECHINODERM ASSEMBLAGE FROM A LOWER PENNSYLVANIAN MARINE CONGLOMERATE IN OKLAHOMA

Abstract Four species of isorophinid edrioasteroids, Ulrichidiscus forbesi n. sp., Neoisorophusella whitesidei n. sp., Postibulla westergaardi n. sp., and Parapostibulla graysoni n. sp., are described from unnamed unit 1 of the Golf Course Formation, Dornick Hills Group, Lower Pennsylvanian (Morrowan), at Forbes Ranch, north of Marietta, southern Oklahoma. This locality is the first report of edrioasteroids attached to extraformational clasts, and they exhibit extremely high specimen density and the highest taxonomic diversity known from the post-Ordovician. The associated fauna consists of the stemless crinoid Paragassizocrinus tarri, serpulid worm tubes, and the acrothoracic barnacle boring, Rogerella, along with a few brachiopods, rugose corals, and other open marine organisms. Edrioasteroids show no preference for clast type, size, or shape. Intraspecific spatial competition is shown by polygonal specimen outlines in highly crowded conditions, whereas interspecific competition results in specimen over...

Stratigraphy of Deeper Marietta Basin in Oklahoma and Texas: ABSTRACT

The Marietta basin is in southern Oklahoma between the Muenster arch on the southwest and the Criner Hills uplift on the northeast; it extends from Love County, Oklahoma, southeastward through Cooke and Grayson Counties, Texas, the deepest part being known as the Gordonville trough. The folded and faulted buried ridge (mid-basin ridge) on which the Southeast Marietta field is located has a more southward strike than the present basin axis, and divides the basin into two parts. The thickest sections of Atoka and older sediments were deposited north of the ridge. The Gordonville trough developed in Late Mississippian End_Page 193------------------------------ or Early Pennsylvanian time from a gentle downwarp into a deep, relatively narrow trough with steep, commonly faulted sides, growing progressively as it received up to 5,000 feet or more of sediments of Atoka, Morrow, and possibly Springer (Goddard?) ages. The Atoka and Morrow boundaries are indefinite on the basis of present knowledge. Some geologists place the top of the Atoka at the base of the Davis Sand (Grayson County, Texas). The writer has placed the top at an oolitic limestone (Lester?) midway between the Baker and Davis Sands. Westheimer believes the sand in the Ardmore basin Dornick Hills correlates with the Hartshorne Sandstone of the Arkoma basin and the Davis Sand of Grayson County. The sandstone correlated as Davis or micaceous in the Southeast Marietta field is several hundred feet higher stratigraphically than the Davis Sand of Grayson County. A thick section of pre-Atokan appears northward as well as eastward from the mid-basin ridge. This is believed to be mostly Morrowan-lower Dornick Hills, Springer (Goddard?), and Caney. The boundaries are indefinite and based on electric-log characteristics, related to early sample work. More qualified determinations are necessary in samples from later wells. Post-Atokan Dornick Hills also thickens eastward and northward in Grayson County, but thins and disappears southwestward against the lower faulted margin of the Muenster uplift. The same components may be noted in the Des Moines or Strawn (Deese), although the thickening here may be more related to the development of the present Gordonville trough by foundering and filling during erosional destruction of the Ouachitas. More intense folding and thrust faulting, even deep within the basin, complicate considerably the development of structure and stratigraphy because of the loss of section (a loss which is not the result of depositional factors). End_of_Article - Last_Page 194------------

Oil Accumulation Related to Geologic History of Muenster Arch and Associated Basins in North Texas: ABSTRACT

The chief geologic asset of the region is the thick sedimentary section of Ordovician and Pennsylvanian deposited on the flanks and adjacent to the Muenster arch in the Marietta and Fort Worth basins. These beds contain ample reservoir rocks and abundant source materials for petroleum and natural gas. The dominance of progressive onlap over the arch during the majority of Pennsylvanian time is the second most important feature. A third important factor is the orogenic history. The extensive and complex faulting may be ascribed to four dominant periods of movement. 1. There was widespread block faulting of probable late Morrowan age, associated with the transformation of the Arbuckle sedimentary basin into partly separated troughs. 2. After erosion had truncated the Ordovician deeply on the Muenster arch and even on fault blocks now low in the adjacent basins, subsidence allowed the Dornick Hills (Bend) beds to overlap the fault blocks with subsequent and sometimes contemporary rejuvenation of some of the faults. (On the northeast flank and in the Gordonville trough area, normal sands were deposited on buried hills like the Sherman and Big Mineral highs and as updip pinch-outs like Sadler field. On the southwest side of the uplift in the Fort Worth basin, beds of this early transgression contained numerous lenses of conglomerate which are prospective for oil and gas in most any structural situation.) 3. Uplift of the Ouachitas, regional westward tilting, tremendous subsidence of the Marietta basin, Gordonville trough, and to less extent, the Fort Worth basin, produced foundering of grand proportions along the trough margins. The long period of progressive inundation of the Muenster arch and its final burial by detritus, chiefly derived from the Ouachita uplift on the east, was probably responsible for much of the oil accumulation in the abundant Pennsylvanian sands. Many stratigraphic traps were formed due to the lenticularity of the sands and updip porosity terminations, where structure may play only a minor role in accumulation. Some of these onlapping beds likewise seal the truncated edge of the Oil Creek (Simpson) sand on the north flank of the arch, where aided some by faulti g, three commerical accumulations have been found. 4. A final period of folding and faulting took place during the late Pennsylvanian-Arbuckle compressional movement which resulted in overturning and thrusting in some places. Oil accumulation at Big Mineral and Sherman was aided considerably by this crustal movement. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1775------------

Pre-Deese Paleogeography of Part of Ardmore Basin, Southern Oklahoma: ABSTRACT

The part of the Ardmore basin discussed in this paper includes the area south and west of the Arbuckle Mountains, east of the Cruce-Velma trend, and north of the Loco-Criner Hills area; it includes parts of Bryan, Marshall, Johnston, Love, Carter, Stephens, Grady, and Garvin counties. A small part of the Anadarko basin is discussed showing the onlapping of the Deese beds on older Pennsylvanian and pre-Pennsylvanian of the Pauls Valley uplift. In the Ardmore basin the Deese lies unconformably on top of beds from the Arbuckle to Dornick Hills age. The area of greatest pre-Deese truncation is the Healdton-Criner area. A large part of the basin has Permian beds and Cretaceous beds lying unconformably on Pennsylvanian and pre-Pennsylvanian rocks. A considerable part has Pennsylvanian beds at the surface. The only pre-Pennsylvanian beds exposed in the basin area are on the Mannsville anticline in Marshall County. There are pre-Pennsylvanian rocks cropping out in the Arbuckle Mountains on the north flank of the basin and in the Criner Hills area on the south side of the basin. The Deese has a maximum thickness of 8,000 feet, Dornick Hills 3,000, Springer 6,000, Caney shale 500, Sycamore 600, Woodford 700, Hunton 400, Sylvan 400, iola 1,100, Simpson 2,400, and Arbuckle 7,300 feet. These are maximum thicknesses and are probably not reached in any one place. Probably the greatest thickness of both the Pennsylvanian and pre-Pennsylvanian is in the area of Ardmore, Oklahoma. End_of_Article - Last_Page 425------------

Oil Development and Possibilities of Springer Sandstones: ABSTRACT

The Springer sandstones of the Ardmore and Anadarko basins have attained in recent years a prominence previously held only by the Wilcox sands in the oil industry of Oklahoma. This paper is given in recognition of this current interest, and is intended as a progress report on those aspects of the Springer which are pertinent to oil exploration. The Springer formation is composed of fine grained sandstones and dark gray to black fissile shales in the Morrowan series; overlain by the lower Dornick Hills formation and underlain by the Mississippian Caney formation. The present subsurface distribution of the Springer was determined by erosion which took place during the Wichita orogeny and the Arbuckle orogeny. The truncated boundaries of the formation, as shown, represents the outcrop pattern of these strata previous to the deposition of younger Pennsylvanian, Permian, and Cretaceous beds. The Springer formation or its stratigraphic equivalent is present in the Ardmore, Anadarko, and McAlester basins and the Ouachita Mountains. As shown by local conditions in typical fields, the Springer sandstones are oil productive from both anticlinal and stratigraphic traps and often associated with complex systems of faults and tightly folded beds. A brief discussion of the reservoir characteristics including ultimate oil recoveries reveals the motivating force for the intensive search for Springer oil. Geological comparison of oil producing fields with unexplored areas indicates that vast oil accumulations are undiscovered. These Springer sandstone potentialities are of a sufficient magnitude to insure Oklahoma of much additional exploration and production activities for many years. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1672------------

A Study of the Dornick Hills-Springer Sand Reservoir, Velma Pool, Oklahoma

Abstract This paper presents a summary of the results of a study of the DornickHills-Springer sand reservoir of the Velma Pool, Stephens County, Oklahoma. Thedata are of interest because this type of reservoir is unusual in themid-continent area. The reservoir is characterized by very steep dips and a relatively thickproducing section. Its up-dip productive limit is defined by truncation of theproductive sands, and the down-dip limit is defined by deterioration of sandquality rather than by the presence of an oil-water contact. The crude oil isof 29' API gravity, is relatively viscous and was saturated with dissolved gasat the original reservoir pressure. Consideration of the physical characteristics of the reservoir indicatesthat natural water encroachment will be negligible, and that the producingmechanism will be a dissolved gas drive augmented by gravity drainage.Performance to date tends to confirm this. Introduction It is the purpose of this paper to present some of the features of theDornick Hills - Springer sand reservoir which are unusual in mid-continentoperations. The study was undertaken in an attempt to define the producingmechanism or mechanisms that will control reservoir performance, as an aid indetermining well completion and production practices. Geology The reservoir under consideration is a series of sand bodies ofPennsylvanian age found in the Lower Dornick Hills and/or Springer formations.For the purpose of this paper, the sand series is referred to as the DornickHills-Springer sand. This sand series lies on the northeast flank of the Velma anticline, and dipsvery sharply to the northeast in TWP 1S-5W, the average dip being about 45'.However, as shown in Fig. 1, the trend of the pool swings eastward in TWP 1S-4Wwith a coincident decrease in dip angle. In this portion of the pool theaverage dip is about 25'. T.P. 2999

Stratigraphic and Structural History of Sholem Alechem Oil Field, Southern Oklahoma: ABSTRACT

Although southern Oklahoma geology has received considerable study, little is actually known regarding subsurface details of local geologic structures such as the Sholem Alechem structure. This oil field was discovered in December, 1923, on a northwest-southeast trending anticlinal fold in the trough of the Anadarko-Ardmore geosyncline. It extends from Carter County into Stephens County. Prior to August, 1947, Sholem Alechem was classed as a minor southern Oklahoma oil field. However, the discovery and subsequent development of the deeper Springer sandstone production has increased the total yearly output of the field from 706,853 barrels in 1947 to 4,989,845 barrels in 1948, thus ranking Sholem Alechem as second only to the Velma pool among Oklahoma's biggest and most active producers. Rocks below the Pennsylvanian sequence of Springer shales have not been penetrated by the drill in this field; therefore, no evidence of the lower Wichita orogeny was found. It is believed, however, that deposition continued uninterrupted from Mississippian until after Springer time. Thickening northeastward, the Springer sandstones show no indication of thinning on structure, thus suggesting that the anticlinal fold was not present in Springer time. The folding of the Sholem Alechem structure is believed to have been initiated by the post-Morrowan main Wichita orogeny, with the post-Springer pre-Deese unconformity caused by this movement, being partly equivalent to the widespread post-Mississippian pre-Deese unconformity of northern Oklahoma. Emergent conditions are indicated by the absence of Dornick Hills rocks over the structure, with Deese sediments of a mixed lithologic character being deposited on the Springer. A minor emergence at the close of Deese deposition, before the initiation of Hoxbar sedimentation is indicated by the disconformity below the County Line limestone. This limestone implies a restricted reef facies of local limestone deposition because it is well developed on the structurally high areas. Thrusting and compression from the south, suggested by the steeper dips on the north flank, occurred during the Arbuckle uplift of late Pennsylvanian time causing the final folding of the Sholem Alechem and other local structures. End_of_Article - Last_Page 624------------

Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy and Structure, Velma Pool, Stephens County, Oklahoma

About 4,340 feet of marine strata, the Springer, Dornick Hills, Deese, and Hoxbar formations were deposited during the Pennsylvanian. The area was then subjected to folding and thrusting. An eastern block was complexly folded, overturned, and upthrust southwestward against a similar deformed but structurally higher autochthonous mass. Subsequent erosion of highs was followed by burial under 1,000-2,000 feet of Permian redbeds.

Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy and Structure, Velma Pool, Stephens County, Oklahoma

About 4,340 feet of marine strata, the Springer, Dornick Hills, Deese, and Hoxbar formations were deposited during the Pennsylvanian. The area was then subjected to folding and thrusting. An eastern block was complexly folded, overturned, and upthrust southwestward against a similar deformed but structurally higher autochthonous mass. Subsequent erosion of highs was followed by burial under 1,000-2,000 feet of Permian redbeds.

Atoka Ostracodes in Glen Eyrie Formation, Colorado: DISCUSSION

McLaughlin recently suggested (FOOTNOTE 3) that a fauna found in the lower part of the Glen Eyrie formation in the Colorado Springs Quadrangle is Marmaton, upper Des Moines, in age. This fauna consists of about twelve species of ostracodes and eight of conodonts. McLaughlin was kind enough to send the writer the ostracodes, a beautiful fauna of many well preserved specimens. He did not, however, agree with the conclusions about their age. It is the writer's belief that they are much older than Marmaton and probably Atoka-Lampasas in age; they could only be older, or slightly younger, Morrow or earliest Cherokee in age. Although the fauna is for the greater part undescribed, it is not unknown, for almost every one of the Glen Eyrie species is identical with, or close to, such Oklahoma Atoka or Wapanucka species as Monoceratina ventrale Roth, Bairdia dornickhillensis Harlton, Amphissites wapanuckaensis Harlton, and A. rugosus Girty. Another Glen Eyrie Amphissites is clearly the forerunner of A. pinguis (Ulrich and Bassler) (A. geneae Roth) of Marmaton and later age: the nodes which persist from the early to the late molts of the Glen Eyrie and similar pre-Des Moines specimens are lost in the latest molts of their Marmaton descendants. The Glen Eyrie species identified by McLaughlin with the upper species Glyptopleura spinosa Harlton (now called G. coryelli Harlton) shows a striking resem lance to G. coryelli in the rib arrangement and is undoubtedly related to it, but both the Glen Eyrie and certain pre-Marmaton specimens now being examined consistently show small but important differences from G. coryelli: besides differences in size and spine development the rib of the Glen Eyrie species is well arched above the muscle scar while this rib is bent downward on G. coryelli. Geisina arcuata (Bean) is probably correctly identified by McLaughlin but the given range is inaccurate as Bradfield found it to be characteristic of lower Dornick Hills beds of pre-Des Moines age. Headia formosa Harlton found in the Glen Eyrie is a much misunderstood species, Marmaton forms commonly referred to this species being much smaller and with much shorter spines, and in most cases referable t the Marmaton species Healdia limacoidea Knight. The type of H. formosa is probably not from Gaptank sediments, but, as suggested by Harlton in a footnote to his original description, it is probably Dimple (Morrow) in age. The Wapanucka-Johns Valley fauna contains many large, fancifully ornamented ostracode species, of which the slightly more conservative descendents are found in Atoka faunas. Few of these species occur in the Marmaton, and this latter formation contains many Kansas City-Canyon species, so that the contrast between the two faunas is more marked than is ordinary between faunas of so nearly the same age. The Marmaton ostracodes are among the best known faunas, assemblages of this age having been described from Nebraska, Illinois, and Missouri, and down through Oklahoma and into Texas. Most if not all of the common and typical Marmaton species are absent in the Glen Eyrie formation; also absent is the Des Moines ostracode fauna (and significantly FOOTNOTE 3. Kenneth P. McLaughlin, Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy of Colorado Springs Quadrangle, Colorado, Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol., Vol. 31, No. 11 (November, 1947), pp. 1982-2020. End_Page 129------------------------------ all fusulinids) found in the McCoy formation of Colorado and described by Roth and Skinner. An Atoka age for the Glen Eyrie beds is not surprising in view of the thick pre-Des Moines beds described by Maher and others from deep wells in westernmost Kansas and eastern Colorado. These beds are not lithologically unlike the Glen Eyrie, and they also contain early ostracodes. End_of_Article - Last_Page 130------------

Correlation of Pennsylvanian Rocks of New Mexico

A typical section of Pennsylvanian rocks in central New Mexico is 1,500-1,800 feet thick. The lowest beds lie below the zone of Fusulina and contain Chaetetes milleporaceous, Spirifer rockymontanus, Spirifer occidentalis, Cleiothyridina orbicularis, and Mesolobus mesolobus. These beds are considered to be younger than Bend, Morrow, or lower Pottsville, and are believed to be correlative with the lower Cherokee, lower Atoka, upper Dornick Hills, lower Deese, lower Millsap Lake, lower Hartville, upper Pottsville, and lower Allegheny. The zone above this contains Fusulina euryteines, Wedekindellina euthysepta, W. excentrica, Chaetetes milleporaceous, Cleiothyrodina orbicularis, and Mesolobus mesolobus. These beds are correlated with the upper Cherokee, McCoy, upper Hermosa, middle Hartville, upper Millsap Lake, Haymond, upper Atoka, middle Deese, Boggy, Wetumka, Carbondale, and upper Allegheny. The equivalent of the Marmaton and Wewoka has not been recognized but is believed to be present. The succeeding zone is the equivalent of the Kansas City and Lansing, upper Hartville, middle Gaptank, middle Canyon, middle Hoxbar, and lower Conemaugh. It is characterized by Triticites nebraskensis, Echinoconchus semipunctatus, and Neospirifer latus. Next above is a zone containing numerous advanced species of Triticites, Enteletes hemiplicatus, Marginifera hystricula, and Chonetes transversalis. This zone is the equivalent of the lower Virgil, lower Cisco, upper Gaptank, and Vamoosa. Finally, the highest beds contain Triticites ventricosus and are probably the equivalent of a part of the Wabaunsee and the upper part of the Cisco (restricted).

Correlation of the Pennsylvanian Rocks of New Mexico: ABSTRACT

A typical section of Pennsylvanian rocks in central New Mexico is 1,500-1,800 feet thick. The lowest beds lie below the zone of Triticites and Wedekindellina and contain Chaetetes milleporaceous, Spirifer rockymontanus, Spirifer occidentalis, Cleiothyridina orbicularis, and Mesolobus mesolobus. These beds are considered to be younger than Bend, Morrow, or lower Pottsville, and are believed to correlate with the lower Cherokee, lower Atoka, upper Dornick Hills, lower Deese, lower Millsap Lake, lower Hartville, upper Pottsville, and lower Allegheny. The zone above contains Fusulina euryteines, Wedekindellina euthysepta, Wedekindellina excentrica, Chaetetes milleporaceous, Cleiothyridina orbicularis, and Mesolobus mesolobus. These beds are correlated with the upper Cherokee, McCoy, upper Hermosa, middle Hartville, upper Millsap Lake, middle Haymond, upper Atoka, middle Deese, Boggy, Wetumka, Carbondale, and upper Allegheny. The equivalent of the Marmaton and Wewoka has not been recognized but is believed to be present. The succeeding zone is the equivalent of the Kansas City and Lansing, upper Hartville, middle Canyon, middle Gaptank, middle Hoxbar, and lower Conemaugh. It is characterized by Triticites nebraskensis, Echinoconchus semipunctatus, and Neospirifer latus. Next above is a zone containing numerous advanced species of Triticites, Enteletes hemiplicatus, Marginifera hystricula, and Chonetes transversalis. This zone is the equivalent of the lower Virgil, lower Cisco, upper Gaptank, and Vamoosa. Finally, the highest Pennsylvanian beds in New Mexico contain Triticites ventricosus and are probably the equivalent of at least a part of the Wabaunsee and the upper part of the lower Cisco. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1705------------

Carboniferous Stratigraphy of the Ouachitas with Special Study of the Bendian

On the basis of paleontological and diastrophic evidence a new period is proposed under the name Bendian to include that part of the section between the Chester group of Mississippian age and the Des Moines series of Pennsylvanian age. The Bendian period in the Mid-Continent is divided into Lower Bendian, Middle Bendian, and Upper Bendian. In the Ardmore basin, where the micro-fauna is profuse, the Lower Bendian is represented by the basal Springer formation, the Middle Bendian by the middle and upper Springer formation, and the Upper Bendian by the lower and middle Dornick Hills formation. To these formations are correlated definitely the Hot Springs sandstone, Stanley shale, Jackfork sandstone, and Johns Valley shale, the Bendian representatives in the Ouachita Mountains. The Carboniferous stratigraphy of the Ouachita Mountains is made up of the Mississippian portion of the Arkansas novaculite, the Bendian Hot Springs sandstone, Stanley shale, Jackfork sandstone, and Johns Valley shale, and the Pennsylvanian Atoka formation. These formations are described with special emphasis on the micro-faunal data by which correlations have been made with other Bendian localities in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas, and the collections from all these places were minutely scrutinized.

Correction to Stratigraphy of Hoxbar Formation, Oklahoma: ERRATUM

Correction to Stratigraphy of Hoxbar Formation, Oklahoma: ERRATUM