Historical:Babylon Sandstone Member
Lithostratigraphy: McCormick Group >>Abbott Formation >>Babylon Sandstone Member
Chronostratigraphy: Paleozoic Erathem >>Pennsylvanian Subsystem >>Atokan Series
Allostratigraphy: Absaroka Sequence
Authors
M. E. Hopkins and J. A. Simon
Name Origin
The Babylon Sandstone Member of the Abbott Formation (Wanless, 1931a, p. 189-190, 192-193), the lowest named member in western Illinois, is named for Babylon, Fulton County.
Type Section
The type locality is half a mile north of Babylon in the west bank of the Spoon River (NE NE 14, 7N-1E) (Wanless, 1957, p. 65, 205).
Correlation
The Babylon is correlated with the Grindstaff Sandstone of southern Illinois.
Extent and Thickness
The Babylon Sandstone is widely present in western Illinois and at its maximum is about 25 feet thick. The Babylon in western Illinois becomes thinner and sporadic in occurrence to the south.
Stratigraphic Position
In many places it is the lowest unit of the Pennsylvanian System and unconformably overlies Mississippian limestones.
Description
The sandstone is made up of relatively pure, subangular, medium to coarse quartz grains, most of which have been secondarily enlarged by quartz overgrowths that sparkle in sunlight (Wanless, 1957).
References
WANLESS, H. R., 1931a, Pennsylvanian cycles in western Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Bulletin 60, p.
WANLESS, H. R., 1957, Geology and mineral resources of the Beardstown, Glasford, Havana, and Vermont Quadrangles: Illinois State Geological Survey Bulletin 82, 233 p.
ISGS Codes
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