Historical:Lake Michigan Formation

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Handbook of Illinois Stratigraphy
Series Bulletin 95
Author H. B. Willman, Elwood Atherton, T. C. Buschbach, Charles Collinson, John C. Frye, M. E. Hopkins, Jerry A. Lineback, Jack A. Simon
Date 1975
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Lithostratigraphy: Lake Michigan Formation
Chronostratigraphy: Cenozoic Erathem >>Quaternary System >>Holocene Series

Authors

John C. Frye and H. B. Willman

Name Origin

The Lake Michigan Formation (Willman and Frye, 1970, p. 78) is named for Lake Michigan.

Type Section

A cross section of the lake sediments along a line 12-32 miles east of Waukegan, Lake County, is the type locality (Gross et al., 1970).

Extent and Thickness

The formation attains a maximum thickness of more than 60 feet, but generally it is less than 40 feet thick.

Stratigraphic Position

It consists of the surficial lacustrine and beach deposits of the southern part of the lake. The formation also includes the deposits in the basins of other natural lakes in Illinois. It overlies Paleozoic rocks, glacial deposits of Wisconsinan age, or the Equality Formation, and it is overlain only by water or, on the beaches, by air. Seven members have been differentiated in the formation (fig. Q-4), all but one (Ravinia) of which have been defined from cores taken from the southern part of Lake Michigan.

Description

The sediments of the Lake Michigan Formation in the southern part of the lake have been described (Gross et al., 1970; Lineback et al., 1970, 1972; Lineback and Gross, 1972), and the chemical composition and trace element content of the sediments have been analyzed (Shimp et al., 1970, 1971 ; Ruch et al., 1970; Schleicher and Kuhn, 1970; Kennedy et al., 1971 ; Frye and Shimp, 1973). It is composed of clay, silt, a small proportion of sand, and local accumulations of organic matter.

References

FRYE, J. C. , and N. F. SHIMP, 1973, Major, minor, and trace elements in sediments of late Pleistocene Lake Saline compared with those in Lake Michigan sediments: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 60, 14 p.
GROSS, D. L., J. A. LINEBACK, W. A. WHITE, N. J. AYER, CHARLES COLLINSON and, H. V. LELAND, 1970, Studies of Lake Michigan bottom sediments- No. 1. Preliminary stratigraphy of unconsolidated sediments from the southwestern part of Lake Michigan: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 30, 20 p.
KENNEDY, E. J., R. R. RUCH, and N. F. SHIMP, 1971, Studies of Lake Michigan bottom sediments- No. 7. Distribution of mercury in unconsolidated sediments from southern Lake Michigan: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 44, 18 p.
LINEBACK, J. A., 1972, Lateral gradation of the Salem and St. Louis Limestones (Middle Mississippian) in Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Circular 474, 23 p.
LINEBACK, J. A., and D. L. GROSS, 1972, Studies of Lake Michigan bottom sediments- No. 10. Depositional patterns, facies, and trace element accumulation in the Waukegan Member of the late Pleistocene Lake Michigan Formation in southern Lake Michigan: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 58, 25 p.
LINEBACK, J. A., N. J. AYER, and D. L. GROSS, 1970, Studies of Lake Michigan bottom sediments- No. 3. Stratigraphy of unconsolidated sediments in the southern part of Lake Michigan: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 35, 35 p.
RUCH, R. R., E. J . KENNEDY, and N. F. SHIMP, 1970, Studies of Lake Michigan bottom sediments- No. 4. Distribution of arsenic in unconsolidated sediments from southern Lake Michigan: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 37, 16 p.
SCHLEICHER, J. A., and J. K. KUHN, 1970, Studies of Lake Michigan bottom sediments- No. 5. Phosphorus content in unconsolidated sediments from southern Lake Michigan: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 39, 15 p.
SHIMP, N. F., H. V. LELAND, and W. A. WHITE, 1970, Studies of Lake Michigan bottom sediments- No. 2. Distribution of major, minor, and trace constituents in unconsolidated sediments from southern Lake Michigan: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 32, 19 p.
SHIMP, N. F., J. A. SCHLEICHER, R. R. RUCH, D. B. HECK, and H. V. LELAND, 1971, Studies of Lake Michigan bottom sediments- No. 6. Trace element and organic carbon accumulation in the most recent sediments of southern Lake Michigan: Illinois State Geological Survey Environmental Geology Notes 41, 25 p.
WILLMAN, H. B., and J. C. FRYE, 1970, Pleistocene stratigraphy of Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Bulletin 94, 204 p.

ISGS Codes

Stratigraphic Code Geo Unit Designation
0105
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