Age:

Pennsylvanian

Type designation:

Type section: The name “Shady Lane” was first applied by Hutchison (1960, p. 12) to the coal exposed in the stream valley in the SE¼ sec. 23, T. 13 N., R. 6 W., near Shady Lane on U.S. Highway 40, Clay County, Indiana (Hutchison, 1970; Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986).

History of usage:

The Shady Lane was assigned member rank by Powell (1968) (Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986).

Description:

Shady Lane coal is shiny and pyritiferous, ranges from 0.5 to 3.0 ft (0.2 to 0.9 m) in thickness, breaks into small regular cubes when mined, and is iridescent on fractured surfaces (Hutchison, 1970; Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986). Its iridescence has led to the trade name "Peacock Coal" (Hutchison, 1970; Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986). The Shady Lane lies 20 to 40 ft (6 to 12 m) below the top of the Mansfield Formation and some 10 ft (3 m) above what is probably the equivalent of the Ferdinand Bed of the Lead Creek Limestone Member (Hutchison, 1970; Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986). The roof is generally tan to yellow sandstone that is ferruginous and carbonaceous, but in places it is gray shale that is soft, carbonaceous, and slightly sandy (Hutchison, 1970; Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986). The floor of the coal is shale, dirty ferruginous sandstone, or gray to light-gray underclay that is shaly, somewhat plastic, and carbonaceous (Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986).

Correlations:

The Shady Lane Coal Member can be traced from its type locality only with difficulty, because much of the distribution is in lenses and discontinuous beds (Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986). A coal bed at about its stratigraphic position, however, is present in much of the northern part of the coalfield (Hutchison, 1970; Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986). This position is thought to correlate with the Manley Coal Member of the Tradewater Formation in Illinois (Hopkins and Simon, 1975, p. 182; Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986). The Shady Lane coal is one of several coal beds identified in different places as Coal I (Ashley, 1909, p. 60-61; Hutchison, 1970; Hutchison and Hasenmueller, 1986).

Regional Indiana usage:

Illinois Basin (COSUNA 11)
Supergroup: none
Group: Raccoon Creek Group
Formation: Mansfield Formation
Member: Shady Lane Coal Member
Illinois Basin Margin (COSUNA 12)
Supergroup: none
Group: Raccoon Creek Group
Formation: Mansfield Formation
Member: Shady Lane Coal Member

Misc/Abandoned Names:

Coal I, Peacock Coal

Geologic Map Unit Designation:

*msl

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:

Ashley, G. H., 1909, Supplementary report to the report of 1898 on the coal deposits of Indiana: Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources Annual Report 33, p. 13–150.

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.

Hopkins, M. E., and Simon, J. A., 1975, Pennsylvanian System, in Willman, H. B., Atherton, Elwood, Buschbach, T. C., Collinson, Charles, Frye, J. C., Hopkins, M. E., Lineback, J. A., and Simon, J. A., Handbook of Illinois stratigraphy: Illinois State Geological Survey Bulletin 95, p. 163–201.

Hutchison, H. C., 1960, Geology and coal deposits of the Brazil quadrangles, Indiana: Indiana Geological Survey Bulletin 16, 38 p.

Hutchison, H. C., 1970, Shady Lane Coal 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. 163–164.

Hutchison, H. C., and Hasenmueller, W. A., 1986, Shady Lane Coal 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. 141.

Powell, R. L., 1968, Distribution, structure, and mined areas of coals in Parke County and southern Vermillion County, Indiana: Indiana Geological Survey Preliminary Coal Map No. 13, scale 1:126,720.

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.