Age:

Pennsylvanian

Type designation:

Type locality: The name “Providence Limestone” was first used by Glenn (1922, p. 98) in describing exposures of a 1- to 4-ft (0.3- to 1.2-m) limestone bed near Providence, Webster County, Kentucky (Burger and Wier, 1970, 1986).

History of usage:

This limestone had been called the Main Newburg Limestone in Indiana by Owen (1839, p. 40), but as recommended by Wier in an unpublished manuscript, the term “Providence Limestone Member” has been given preference in Indiana because of its more frequent use (Wier and Powell, 1967; Burger and Wier, 1970, 1986).

Description:

The Providence Limestone Member of the Dugger Formation lies stratigraphically between the Herrin and Hymera Coal Members (Burger and Wier, 1970, 1986). It is actually a sequence of one to five beds of blue-gray to brown finely crystalline fossiliferous limestone and intervening shales (Burger and Wier, 1970, 1986). The unit, including the shales, is more than 50 ft (15 m) thick in some places but is more commonly about 20 ft (6 m) thick (Burger and Wier, 1970, 1986). Limestones in only a few places make up more than 20 ft (6 m) of this interval, and most of them are about 5 to 10 ft (1.5 to 3.0 m) thick (Burger and Wier, 1970, 1986). Fusulinids, including Fusulina girtyi, the coral Chaetetes, brachiopods, and crinoid columnals have been found in this limestone in Pike and Warren Counties (Burger and Wier, 1970, 1986). A thin coal lies between two of the limestone beds at one locality in Posey County (Burger and Wier, 1970, 1986).

Distribution: The Providence is thick in Posey, Warrick, Pike, and Gibson Counties but is thin or absent north of these counties (Burger and Wier, 1970, 1986).

Correlations:

Brown, Rexroad, Eggert, and Horowitz (1991) reported that the lower part of the Providence Limestone Member equates with Brereton Limestone Member of the Carbondale Formation in Illinois. They noted that assignment of the Providence conodont fauna to the Neognathodus dilatus-N. roundyi zone indicates a middle Desmoinesian age for the Providence Limestone Member in the southern part of the Illinois Basin.

Regional Indiana usage:

Illinois Basin (COSUNA 11)
Supergroup: none
Group: Carbondale Group
Formation: Dugger Formation
Member: Providence Limestone Member

Misc/Abandoned Names:

Main Newburg Limestone

Geologic Map Unit Designation:

*dp

Note: Hansen (1991, p. 52) in Suggestions to authors of the reports of the United States Geological Survey noted that letter symbols for map units are considered to be unique to each geologic map and that adjacent maps do not necessarily need to use the same symbols for the same map unit. Therefore, map unit abbreviations in the Indiana Geologic Names Information System should be regarded simply as recommendations.

COSUNA areas and regional terminology

Names for geologic units vary across Indiana. The Midwestern Basin and Arches Region COSUNA chart (Shaver, 1984) was developed to strategically document such variations in terminology. The geologic map (below left) is derived from this chart and provides an index to the five defined COSUNA regions in Indiana. The regions are generally based on regional bedrock outcrop patterns and major structural features in Indiana. (Click the maps below to view more detailed maps of COSUNA regions and major structural features in Indiana.)

COSUNA areas and numbers that approximate regional bedrock outcrop patterns and major structural features in Indiana.

Major tectonic features that affect bedrock geology in Indiana.

References:

Brown, L. M., Rexroad, C. B., Eggert, D. L., and Horowitz, A. S., 1991, Conodont paleontology of the Providence Limestone Member of the Dugger Formation (Pennsylvanian, Desmoinesian) in the southern part of the Illinois Basin: Journal of Paleontology, v. 65, no. 6, p. 945–957.

Burger, A. M., and Wier, C. E., 1970, Providence Limestone Member, in Shaver, R. H., Burger, A. M., Gates, G. R., Gray, H. H., Hutchison, H. C., Keller, S. J., Patton, J. B., Rexroad, C. B., Smith, N. M., Wayne, W. J., and Wier, C. E., Compendium of rock-unit stratigraphy in Indiana: Indiana Geological Survey Bulletin 43, p. 135.

Burger, A. M., and Wier, C. E., 1986, Providence Limestone Member, in Shaver, R. H., Ault, C. H., Burger, A. M., Carr, D. D., Droste, J. B., Eggert, D. L., Gray, H. H., Harper, Denver, Hasenmueller, N. R., Hasenmueller, W. A., Horowitz, A. S., Hutchison, H. C., Keith, B. D., Keller, S. J., Patton, J. B., Rexroad, C. B., and Wier, C. E., Compendium of Paleozoic rock-unit stratigraphy in Indiana–a revision: Indiana Geological Survey Bulletin 59, p. 120.

Glenn, L. C., 1922, The geology and coals of Webster County, Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, ser. 6, v. 5, 249 p.

Hansen, W. R., 1991, Suggestions to authors of the reports of the United States Geological Survey (7^th ed.): Washington, D.C., U.S. Geological Survey, 289 p.

Owen, D. D., 1839, Second report of a geological survey of Indiana, made in the year 1838, in conformity to an order of the legislature: Indiana Senate Journal for 1838-39, p. 198–241: Indianapolis, Osborn and Willets, 54 p.

Shaver, R. H., coordinator, 1984, Midwestern basin and arches region–correlation of stratigraphic units in North America (COSUNA): American Association of Petroleum Geologists Correlation Chart Series.

Wier, C. E., and Powell, R. L., 1967, Distribution, structure, and mined areas of coals in Knox County, Indiana: Indiana Geological Survey Preliminary Coal Map No. 12, scale 1:126,720.