The Rhinestreet Shale is a

geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

in the

Appalachian Basin The geology of the Appalachians dates back more than 1.2 billion years to the Mesoproterozoic era when two continental cratons collided to form the supercontinent Rodinia, 500 million years prior to the development of the range during the form ...

. It dates back to the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

. The Rhinestreet is an organic or

Black Shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...

found on from the approximately the middle of the Appalachian Basin. Near the Middle of Ohio and Kentucky it reaches the surface on the flank of Cincinnati and Findlay Arches.

Description

The Rhinestreet is composed primarily of black shale because of its organic content. Upwards of 85% of the total formation is made up of black shale. There are thin beds of non-organic gray shale as well as

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

concretions A concretion is a hard and compact mass formed by the precipitation of mineral cement within the spaces between particles, and is found in sedimentary rock or soil. Concretions are often ovoid or spherical in shape, although irregular shapes a ...

interbedded throughout the formation. Duning the Alleghanian orogeny regional uplifting caused the first set of fracturing. Later during rapid burial from

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to th ...

the next set of fractures were caused by natural hydraulic-fracturing.

References

Devonian geology of New York (state) Devonian geology of Pennsylvania Devonian southern paleotemperate deposits Frasnian Stage Shale formations of the United States Devonian Ohio Geologic formations of New York (state) Geologic formations of Ohio Geologic formations of Pennsylvania {{NewYork-geologic-formation-stub