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Tiskilwa Formation

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Lithostratigraphy: Wedron Group >>Tiskilwa Formation
Chronostratigraphy: Cenozoic Erathem >>Quaternary System >>Pleistocene Series


Primary source

Hansel, Ardith K., and W. Hilton Johnson, 1996, Wedron and Mason Groups: Lithostratigraphic Reclassification of Deposits of the Wisconsin Episode, Lake Michigan Lobe Area: Illinois State Geological Survey Bulletin 104, 116 p.

Contributing author(s)

Ardith K. Hansel and W. Hilton Johnson

Name

Original description

Tiskilwa Till Member (Willman and Frye 1970).

Derivation

Tiskilwa, a village in Bureau County, northern Illinois.

Other names

History/background

The Tiskilwa Till Member was originally defined by Willman and Frye (1970) and described as the pink till member of the Wedron Formation. The Tiskilwa Till Member has become a fundamental unit in describing and interpreting the geology in the area of the Lake Michigan Lobe. It is readily recognized by its red or pink hues. It is the thickest and volumetrically the most extensive unit of the Wedron in Illinois (Wickham and Johnson 1981, Wickham et al. 1988).

The relationship of the lower tills of the Wedron Group across the Decatur-Peoria Sublobe boundary area stimulated further study in the 1970s, probably in part because Willman and Frye (1970) did not subdivide the Wedron Formation in the Decatur Sublobe area (fig. 4a). With the exception of Chamberlin (1883, 1894), Leverett (1899), and Leverett and Taylor (1915), many geologists (Leighton et al. 1948, Horberg and Anderson 1956, Anderson 1955, 1957, Leighton 1960, Frye et al. 1965, Willman and Frye 1970, Frye and Willman 1973, Dreimanis and Goldthwait 1973) attributed the drift of the Decatur Sublobe area to a more eastern source than the Lake Michigan basin. This interpretation was mainly based on moraine configurations. Studies of the tills across the sublobe-boundary area, however, indicate lithologic similarities between tills of the Peoria and Decatur Sublobes (Wascher and Winters 1938, Newell 1954, Kempton et al. 1971). McKay (1975) and Moore (1981) argued that till members are continuous across the sublobe boundary and were deposited by the Lake Michigan Lobe. A Lake Michigan Lobe source for the till members in the Decatur Sublobe area is also indicated from recent provenance studies (Bleuer 1975, Johnson et al. 1986).

  • Map showing distribution of glacial sublobes and moraines in Illinois.
    Figure 4a -- Lobe and sublobe boundaries in Illinois during the last glaciation (from Willman and Frye 1970). Locations of the ancient Mississippi and Iowa Rivers added.

In the decade that followed the publication of Pleistocene Stratigraphy of Illinois (William and Frye 1970), six till members and one nontill member were differentiated within the Wedron Formation in the area of the Decatur Sublobe. They include the Glenburn, Batestown, and Snider Till Members (Johnson et al. 1971b); the Oakland and Fairgrange Till Members and the Ashmore Member (Ford 1973); and the Piatt Till Member (Wickham 1979a). All of these except the Glenburn and Oakland Till Members and the Ashmore Member were recognized on the state Quaternary map compiled by Lineback in 1979 (fig. 5).

  • Map showing Quaternary deposits across Illinois highlighting glacial units.
    Figure 5 -- Areal distribution of the Wedron Formation till members and the Trafalgar Formation (after Lineback 1979).

In 1976, Johnson correlated the Glenburn, Oakland, and Fairgrange Till Members of east-central Illinois (Decatur Sublobe) with the Tiskilwa and Delavan Till Members of central and northern Illinois (fig. 7). He suggested these units formed a lower, medium-textured group of Wedron Formation till members.

  • Stratigraphic diagram showing correlation of till members across glacial sublobes in Illinois.
    Figure 7 -- History of lithostratigraphic classification of the Wedron Group deposits.

On the basis of the preceding work and in an attempt to simplify the classification system that evolved for the lower part of the Wedron Group, we elevate the Tiskilwa Member to a formation that includes two lithologically related, mappable subunits. They are (1) the Delavan Member and (2) the Piatt Member.

  • Regional diagram showing distribution of glacial deposits across Illinois and surrounding areas.
    Figure 13a -- Areal distribution of moraines and boundaries of formations and predominant members of the Wedron Group and the Trafalgar Formation in Illinois. (Names of formations and members are labeled on 13b.) Sublobe areas of the Lake Michigan Lobe and the Huron-Erie Lobe are shown on inset map: (1) Harvard; (2) Princeton, (3) Joliet; (4) Peoria; (5) Decatur; and (6) Huron-Erie (sublobe areas and moraines are modified from Willman and Frye 1970).
  • Map showing moraine positions and glacial features associated with Tiskilwa Formation deposits.
    Figure 13b -- Names of Wedron Group formations and members in Illinois.

Type section

Type location

Buda East Section, located in a roadcut 5 miles (8 km) east of Tiskilwa.

Type status

No longer exposed.

Reference section

Reference location

Wedron Section; Danvers Section; Higginsville Section.

  • Geologic section showing stratigraphic relationships of glacial deposits.
    Figure 12 -- Intertongued sorted-sediment units of the Mason Group and diamicton units of the Wedron Group at Wedron Quarry pit 1. Mason Group units are shaded.
  • Section illustrating lithology and boundaries of glacial units.
    Figure 14 -- The Yorkville and Batestown Members of the Lemont Formation, Delavan Member of the Tiskilwa Formation, Robein Member of the Roxana Silt, and Glasford Formation at Higginsville Section.

Stratigraphic relationships

The Tiskilwa Formation is the lowermost sequence of red to gray diamicton units of the Wedron Group.

Extent and thickness

The Tiskilwa Formation forms a wedge-shaped deposit and is the largest formation of the Wedron Group in Illinois.

Lithology

Calcareous red gray to gray diamicton with lenses of gravel, sand, silt, and clay.

Contacts

Lower boundary: contact with underlying formations or older units. Upper boundary: contact with Lemont Formation members or younger deposits.

Age and correlation

Deposited during the early Michigan Subepisode.

  • Diagram showing timing of glacial phases and ice-margin fluctuations during late Wisconsin time.
    Figure 10 -- Geochronological units, chronostratigraphic units and diachronic units in the Lake Michigan Lobe in a transect from south of Peoria, Illinois, to north of the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan (geochronologic and chronostratigraphic units are after Frye et al. 1968, as modified by Follmer et al. 1979, Curry and Follmer 1992, and Evenson et al. 1976; upper part of time-distance diagram and phases of the Michigan Subepisode are after Hansel and Johnson 1992).
  • Regional correlation diagram linking glacial deposits across the Midwest.
    Figure 11 Correlation of the Wedron Group formations and members in the Lake Michigan Lobe area (units in Wisconsin from Mickelson et. al. 1984, Mickelson and Syverson, in press; units in Indiana from Bleuer et al. 1983, N.K. Bleuer, Indiana Geological Survey, personal communication, 1994; units in Michigan from Monaghan and Larson 1986, Monaghan et al. 1986, Taylor 1990).

Environments of deposition

Glacigenic sequences including subglacial, fluvial, and lacustrine environments.

Remarks

Revised unit.

References

ANDERSON, R. C., 1955, Pebble lithology of the Marseilles till sheet in northeastern Illinois: Journal of Geology, v. 63, no. 3, p. 228-243.
ANDERSON, R. C., 1957, Pebble and sand lithology of the major Wisconsin glacial lobes of the central lowland: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 68, p. 1415-1449.
BLEUER, N. K., 1975, The Stone Creek Section— Historical Key to the Glacial Stratigraphy of West-Central Indiana: Indiana Geological Survey Occasional Paper 11, 9 p.
CHAMBERLIN, T. C., 1883, General geology, in Geology of Wisconsin: Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, v. 1, p. 1-300.
CHAMBERLIN, T. C., 1894, Glacial phenomena of North America, in James Geikie, The Great Ice Age, 3rd edition: D. Appleton & Co., New York, p. 724-774.
DREIMANIS, A., and R. P. GOLDTHWAIT, 1973, Wisconsinan glaciation in the Huron, Erie, and Ontario lobes, in R. F. Black, R. P. Goldthwait, and H. B. Willman, editors, The Wisconsinan Stage: Geological Society of America Memoir 136, p. 71-106.
FOLLMER, L. R., and J. P. KEMPTON, 1985, A review of the Esmond Till Member, in R. C. Berg, J. P. Kempton, L. R. Follmer, and D. P. McKenna, leaders, Illinoian and Wisconsinan Stratigraphy and Environments in Northern Illinois—The Altonian Revised: Illinois State Geological Survey Guidebook 19, p. 139-148.
FORD, J., 1973, Surficial Deposits of Coles County, Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Open File Report, 73 p.
FRYE, J. C., and H. B. WILLMAN, 1973, Wisconsinan climatic history interpreted from Lake Michigan Lobe deposits and soils, in R. F. Black, R. P. Goldthwait, and H. B. Willman, editors, The Wisconsinan Stage: Geological Society of America Memoir 136, p. 135-152.
FRYE, J. C., H. B. WILLMAN, and R. F. BLACK, 1965, Outline of glacial geology of Illinois and Wisconsin, in H. E. Wright and D. G. Frey editors, The Quaternary of the United States: Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, p. 43-61.
HANSEL, A. K., and W. H. JOHNSON, 1992, Fluctuations of the Lake Michigan Lobe during the late Wisconsin Subepisode: Sveriges Geologiska Undersokning, Series Ca 81, p. 133-144.
HORBERG, C. L., and R. C. ANDERSON, 1956, Bedrock topography and Pleistocene glacial lobes in central United States: Journal of Geology, v. 64, no. 2, p. 101-116.
JOHNSON, W. H., 1976, Quaternary stratigraphy in Illinois—Status and current problems, in W. C. Mahaney, editor, Quaternary Stratigraphy of North America: Dowden, Hutchinson, & Ross, Inc., Stroudsburg, PA, p. 169- 196.
JOHNSON, W. H., L. R. FOLLMER, D. L. GROSS, and A. M. JACOBS, 1972, Pleistocene Stratigraphy of East-Central Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Guidebook 9, 97 p.
JOHNSON, W. H., D. L. GROSS, and S. R. MORAN, 1971b, Till stratigraphy of the Danville region, east-central Illinois, in R. P. Goldthwait, J. L. Forsyth, D. L. Gross, and F. Pessl, Jr., editors, Till, A Symposium: Ohio State University Press, Columbus, p. 184-216.
JOHNSON, W. H., and A. K. HANSEL, 1990, Multiple Wisconsinan glacigenic sequences at Wedron, Illinois: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 60, no. 1, p. 26-41.
JOHNSON, W. H., D. W. MOORE, and E. D. McKAY, III, 1986, Provenance of late Wisconsinan (Woodfordian) till and origin of the Decatur Sublobe, east-central Illinois: Geology Society of America Bulletin, v. 97, no. 9, p. 1098-1105.
KEMPTON, J. P., P. B. DuMONTELLE, and H. D. GLASS, 1971, Subsurface stratigraphy of the Woodfordian tills in the McLean County region, Illinois, in R. P Goldthwait, J. L. Forsyth, D. L. Gross, and F. Pessl, Jr., editors, Till, A Symposium: Ohio State p. 217-233.
LEIGHTON, M. M., 1960, The classification of the Wisconsin glacial stage of the north-central United States: Journal of Geology, v. 68, no. 5, p. 529-552.
LEIGHTON, M. M., G. E. EKBLAW, and C. L. HORBERG, 1948, Physiographic divisions of Illinois: Journal of Geology, v. 56, no. 1, p. 16-33. (Reprinted as Illinois State Geological Survey Report of Investigations 129)
LEVERETT, F., 1899, The Illinois Glacial Lobe: United States Geological Survey Monograph 38, 817 p.
LEVERETT, F., and F. TAYLOR, 1915, The Pleistocene of Indiana and Michigan and the History of the Great Lakes: United States Geological Survey Monograph 53, 529 p.
LINEBACK, J. A., 1979, Quaternary Deposits of Illinois (Map): Illinois State Geological Survey, scale 1:500,000.
McKAY, E. D., 1975, Stratigraphy of glacial tills in the Gibson City reentrant, central Illinois: M.S. thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 59 p.
MOORE, D. W., 1981, Stratigraphy of rill and lake beds of late Wisconsinan age in Iroquois and neighboring counties, Illinois: Ph.D. thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 200 p.
NEWELL, H. A., 1954, Size analysis of tills from some east-central Illinois moraines: M.S. thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 19 p.
WASCHER, H. L., and E. WINTERS, 1938, Textural groups of Wisconsin till and their distribution in Illinois: American Journal of Science, ser. 5, v. 35, no. 205, p. 14-21.
WICKHAM, J. T., 1979a, Glacial Geology of North-Central and Western Champaign County, Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Circular 506, 30 p.
WICKHAM, S. S., and W. H. JOHNSON, 1981, The Tiskilwa Till, a regional view of its origin and depositional processes: Annals of Glaciology, v. 2, p. 176-182.
WICKHAM, S. S., W. H. JOHNSON, and H. D. GLASS, 1988, Regional Geology of the Tiskilwa Till Member, Wedron Formation, Northeastern Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Circular 543, 35 p.
WILLMAN, H. B., and J. C. FRYE, 1970, Pleistocene Stratigraphy of Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Bulletin 94, 204 p.

ISGS Codes

ISGS Code and Symbol
Stratigraphic Code Geo Unit Designation

0470

t



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