Kittatinny Formation
| Kittatinny Formation Stratigraphic range: Early Cambrian to Middle Ordovician | |
|---|---|
| Type | sedimentary |
| Underlies | Jacksonburg Limestone |
| Overlies | Hardyston Quartzite |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | limestone |
| Location | |
| Region | Appalachian Basin |
| Extent | Pennsylvania, New Jersey |
| Type section | |
| Named by | H. D. Rogers, 1840[1] |
The Ordovician Kittatinny Formation or Kittatinny Limestone is a dolomitic limestone formation in New Jersey.[2] The Kittatinny Limestones are located primarily within the long valley running from Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township, southwest toward Chester Township.[2] It overlies the Cambrian Hardyston Quartzite.[3]
The Kittatinny is now usually considered a Supergroup, rather than a Formation, as it includes several other Groups and Formations. Drake and Lyttle made this revision in 1980.[4] The Supergroup includes the Leithsville Formation, Allentown Dolomite, and Beekmantown Group (which in turn includes the Stonehenge Limestone, Rickenbach Dolomite, Epler Formation, and Ontelaunee Formation). Richard Dalton[5] wrote a more recent review of the stratigraphy of the Kittatinny.
The Kittatinny Limestone in New Jersey locally contains hydrocarbons and numerous accessory minerals including fluorite, sphalerite, arsenopyrite, galena, quartz, albite, and others.[3] The Kittatiny is an exception to the general rule that Paleozoic rocks in this area are generally poor aquifers, since wells drilled into it produce relatively large flows of water.[2]
References
- ↑ Rogers, H. D., 1840, Description of the geology of the State of New Jersey: New Jersey Geological Survey Final Report, no. 2, 301 p.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Buried Valley Aquifer System : Support Document : Western Essex and Southeastern Morris Counties New Jersey". United States Environmental Protection Agency. April 1980.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dunn, Pete J. (1995). "MAJOR FORMATIONS Chapter 8. Regional and local geology of the Franklin-Sterling Hill area". Franklin and Sterling Hill, New Jersey: the world’s most magnificent mineral deposits. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
- ↑ Drake, A.A., Jr., and Lyttle, P.T., 1980, Alleghanian thrust faults in the Kittatinny Valley, New Jersey, IN Manspeizer, Warren, ed., Field studies of New Jersey geology and guide to field trips: New York State Geological Association Guidebook, 52nd Annual Meeting, Newark, NJ, no. 52, p. 92-114.
- ↑ Dalton, Richard, 1989, Stratigraphy of the "Kittatinny Limestone", IN Grossman, I.G., ed., Paleozoic geology of the Kittatinny Valley and southwest Highlands area, New Jersey; field guide and proceedings: Geological Association of New Jersey Annual Field Conference, 6th Annual Meeting, October 20–21, 1989, v. 6, p. 59-94. (Table of Contents)