Abstract
Widespread karst was developed in the upper 400 feet (120 m) of the Madison Limestone (late Osagean to early Meramecian) in Wyoming and adjacent states during an estimated 34 m.y. period spanning Late Mississippian (early Meramecian to Chesterian) and Early Pennsylvanian (Morrowan) time. The karst was then covered by deposits of an eastward-transgress- ing sea (Amsden Formation and Big Snowy Group) during the Late Mississippian and Early Pennsylvanian. Paleokarst features can be distinguished from Tertiary and Holocene solution overprints by fillings of terrigenous sediments related to the overlying transgressive deposits. Madison paleokarst features include enlarged joints (mainly vadose zones), sinkholes (vadose and phreatic), caves (mainly phreatic), and two solution—breccia zones (phreatic). A composite reconstruction of the Madison karst topography in Wyoming reveals a mature landscape having a maximum relief of about 200 feet (60 m) and dominated by three major river systems and low, rounded hills. A highland area in southeast Wyoming was a source for much of the terrigenous detritus deposited on the karst surface. Analysis of the Madison karst bedrock suggests a complex system of block faults that probably represent Precambrian shear zones reactivated by prekarst uplift. The inferred Madison paleoaquifer system was dominated by flow along bedding planes in directions radial from the uplift in southeast Wyoming and through a conduit created by leaching of the lower of the two evaporitic intervals. Because the bedrock was broken complexly by block faults, the distribution of paleo- solution features was controlled by local structural and topographic factors. Madison paleokarst offers excellent opportunities for further research on the karst process and for further exploration for mineral, energy, and water resources localized by the karst.
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Sando, W.J. (1988). Madison Limestone (Mississippian) Paleokarst: A Geologic Synthesis. In: James, N.P., Choquette, P.W. (eds) Paleokarst. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3748-8_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3748-8_13
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