Geology of Mountrail County North Dakota

Geolog y of

Mountrail County North Dakota

Geology o f Mountrail Count y North Dakota

By Lee Clayton NORTH DAKOTA GEOLOGICAL SURVE Y BULLETIN 55--I V NORTH DAKOTA STATE WATER COMMISSIO N COUNTY GROUND WATER STUDY 14--I V Prepared by the North Dakota Geological Survey in cooperatio n with the North Dakota State Water Commission, the Unite d States Geological Survey, the Mountrail County Wate r Management District, and the Geology Departmen t at the University of North Dakota.

Grand Forks, North Dakota : 1972

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA WILLIAM GUY, Governor GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

E. A. NOBLE, State Geologist WATER COMMISSION

MILO W. HOISVEEN, State Engineer

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA THOMAS J. CLIFFORD, President GEOLOGY DEPARTMEN T E. A. NOBLE, Chairman

Additional copies of this bulletin are available from th e State Water Commission, Bismarck, North Dakota 6 8 601

PREFACE

This is volume IV of a four-volume report on the geology an d groundwater resources of Burke and Mountrail Counties . Volume I is the geology of Burke County, volume II is a basic groundwater and well survey of Burke and Mountrail Counties, and volume III is a discussion of the groundwater resources of the two counties . Similar reports have been published for about half of the other counties in North Dakota .

Fieldwork for this report was completed during the summers o f 1964, 1965, and 1966 . Chester F . Royse, of the University of North Dakota, mapped the geology of seven townships (T . 155 N., R . 88 through 90 W. and T. 156 through 158 N., R . 90 W. and T. 158 N., R . 89 W.) in 1964 . Clayton J. Grove, of Northwestern University, mapped six townships (T. 154 through 156 N., R. 93 W. and T. 155 through 157 N., R. 92 W.) in 1964 . Robert G . Willson, of the University of North Dakota, mapped nine townships (T. 152 N., R. 89 through 91 W. and T. 153 and 154 N., R. 88 through 90 W.) in 1966 . I mapped th e remaining 31 townships during 1964, 1965, and 1966 . The maps an d text were compiled in 1967 and were slightly updated in 1970 .

The maps and several of the figures were prepared by S . R. Deal. In addition, I wish to thank the following people for their contribution s to this report : S . J. Tuthill, J . P . Bluemle, S . R. Moran, B . M . Arndt, and D. E. Deal.

Lee Clayton, 1970

CONTENTS

How to use this report Section A--Descriptive . geology of Mountrail County

Chapter 1--Topography Map units

Chapter 2--Rock and sediment Map reliability Formation A Formation B Formation C: Coleharbor Formation Distribution Pebbly, sandy, silty clay Sand and gravel Silt and clay Identification of Coleharbor Formation Age and origin Formation D Distribution Sand Sandy, silty clay Age and origin Formation E Formation F : Golden Valley Formation Distribution Upper Member Lower Member Age and origin Formation G : Sentinel Butte Formation an d Formation H : Tongue River Formation Distribution Silt and clay Sand Lignite Sandstone Scoria Limestone Distinguishing the two formations Fossils Age and origin Subsurface formations

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