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The Salina Group or Salina Formation is a
Late Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
-age,
stratigraphic unit A stratigraphic unit is a volume of rock of identifiable origin and relative age range that is defined by the distinctive and dominant, easily mapped and recognizable petrographic, lithologic or paleontologic features ( facies) that characteriz ...
of
sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...
that is found in Northeastern and Midwestern
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. Named for its
Halite Halite ( ), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...
beds, the phrase "Salina Group" was first used as a descriptive term by James D. Dana in 1863. The Salina is an extensive formation. It ranges from
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
up through
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
into
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
and then
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
in the United States, and from Pennsylvania into
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. It is also found in the
Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. (See Figure 1.) The thickness of the Salina Group varies greatly within the two basins, ranging from 84 feet in the southwestern corner of Michigan to an estimated 5,000 feet in that state's Gladwin County. This formation is of economic importance for
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
,
oil reservoir A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in Porosity, porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by t ...
creation,
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
mining, and potential
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
storage. Research has also been done on the viability of storing
radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
in the salt beds of the Salina.


Description

The Salina Formation is composed chiefly of dolomite and
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...
, interbedded with
anhydrite Anhydrite, or anhydrous calcium sulfate, is a mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4. It is in the orthorhombic crystal system, with three directions of perfect cleavage parallel to the three planes of symmetry. It is not isomorphous with the ...
,
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
, and
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
.


Stratigraphy

Stratigraphically Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostrati ...
, the Salina is placed in the
Late Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
age and is the lower member of the Cayugan Series. It overlies predominantly the Lockport; in parts central to northeast Pennsylvania it overlies the
Bloomsburg Formation The Silurian Bloomsburg Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Maryland. It is named for the town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, in which it was first described. The Bloomsburg marked the first occurrence of red ...
. It also underlies the
Helderberg Group The Helderberg Group is a geologic group that outcrops in the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia. It also is present subsurface in Ohio and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia. It preserves fo ...
.


Appalachian & Michigan Basins

Being a thick formation, the Salina has subunits, as well as letter designations for the different formations. The letters originate at the base (oldest) with the A unit to the stratigraphic top H unit (youngest) made up of
Anhydrite Anhydrite, or anhydrous calcium sulfate, is a mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4. It is in the orthorhombic crystal system, with three directions of perfect cleavage parallel to the three planes of symmetry. It is not isomorphous with the ...
. During an extensive study in the state of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, each unit was mapped. Unit A consists of dolomite and shaly dolomite, and is the bottom of the Vernon. Where the formation thickens, there may also be one or two large salt beds within the unit. Anhydrite can be found throughout this unit. Due to unit A having two salt or anhydrite beds, it is often divided into the A1 and A2, with A1 being the basal unit. Unit B is another salt unit and marks the Middle Vernon. The percentage of salt can range from 90% to 100%. Thin dolomite beds run through this unit. In comparison, Unit C marks the top of the Vernon Formation. It is a shaly dolomite; however, it can range from pure shale to pure dolomite beds within the unit. Anhydrite can be prevalent within this unit as well. Unit D, the bottom of the Syracuse formation, is almost pure salt. Some dolomite may also occur within this unit. It is the thinnest unit of the Salina, and is not always present. Unit E consists of shale, but can include dolomitic shale and dolomite. Anhydrite may also be present within this unit and is also part of the Syracuse. Unit F is the youngest and largest salt in the group, also known as the Syracuse Formation. Where thicker, the F has beds of salt separated by rock grading from shale to dolomite, often with anhydrite present especially in the shale. Unit G is the Camillus, which consists of dolomite and anhydrite while unit H is known as the
Bertie Formation The Bertie Group or Bertie Limestone, also referred to as the Bertie Dolomite and the Bertie Formation, is an Silurian, upper Silurian (Pridoli epoch, Pridoli, or Cayugan) geologic Group (stratigraphy), group and Lagerstätte in southern Ontario, ...
. In the Michigan Basin, the Bertie is pinched out; the Bass Islands Formation makes up the upper most Salina.


Illinois Basin


Wabash Formation

Wabash Formation made up of the Liston Creek Member, Kenneth Limestone Member, Kokomo Limestone Member and the Mississinewa Shale member.


Pleasant Mills Formation

The Pleasant Mills Formation is made up of the Louisville Equivalent Member and Waldon Equivalent Member and Limberlost Dolomite Member. The Pleasant Mills Formation is equivalent to the entire "A Unit" in the Appalachian Basin.


Economic Resources


Salt

Salt mines and brine wells are located in Western New York, Northeast Ohio and Detroit, Michigan with Ohio's salt production predating European settlement of the area as Native Americans collected and processed brine from springs in several locations, including "salt licks" where minerals were deposited by brine seeping out of the ground. Licking County was named for this natural phenomenon. Mahoning County's name is derived from a Native American term "ma-hon-ink" meaning "at the lick." Throughout the early 1800s, Ohio's salt demand exceeded its production from brine wells and licks. Oil and gas exploration facilitated the discovery of salt during the 1860s; however, it was not until 1886 when the
Cleveland Rolling Mill The Cleveland Rolling Mill Company was a rolling steel mill in Cleveland, Ohio. It existed as an independent entity from 1863 to 1899. Origins The company stemmed from developments initiated in 1857, when John and David I. Jones, along with Hen ...
was drilling its second natural gas well that it hit brine. The salt was located at a depth of approximately 1,900 feet. By the 1890s, brine wells were drilled and operating in Cleveland. During this period, five salt-producing companies operated in Northeast Ohio.
Sterling Morton Julius Sterling Morton (April 22, 1832 – April 27, 1902) was a Nebraska newspaper editor and politician who served as President Grover Cleveland's secretary of agriculture. He was a prominent Bourbon Democrat, taking a conservative position on ...
built a salt mine at a depth of 1800 feet on Cleveland's east side and Clarence Foster examined drilling records from
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...
along
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
.


Gypsum

In 1827, Gypsum was first identified in Michigan, near Grand Rapids. An
Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...
man discovered it in a rock outcrop along Plaster Creek where it enters Grand River. In 1838, Michigan's first state
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
,
Douglass Houghton Douglass Houghton (September 21, 1809 – October 13, 1845) was an American geologist and physician, primarily known for his exploration of the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. It was the site of a copper boom and extensive copper mining beginning ...
, arrived to select a site for salt mining and reported an abundance of gypsum in the area. That same year, he and
Bela Hubbard Bela Hubbard (April 23, 1814 – June 13, 1896) was a 19th-century naturalist, geologist, writer, historian, surveyor, explorer, lawyer, real estate dealer, lumberman and civic leader of early Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States. Hubbar ...
discovered an outcrop of gypsum at the mouth of the
Au Gres River The Au Gres River is a river in Michigan. Its mouth is at Lake Huron in the city of Au Gres, Michigan. It flows through Arenac, Iosco and Ogemaw counties. It formerly had an eastern branch, which was severed from the parent river and rerouted ...
in
Saginaw Bay Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan's Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is in area. It is located in parts ...
. In 1841, Daniel Ball and business partner Warren Granger built a mill to process gypsum in 1841; a mill built by Houghton and Hubbard in Alabaster, Michigan became operational in 1862.


Oil and Gas

The Salina serves as an oil reservoir formation along the Findlay Arch from Southwestern Michigan down into Northwest Ohio. Salt is not present along the Arch System.


Fossils


Algae

''Medusaegraptus'' ''graminiformis'' (Ruedemann 1925)


Brachiopoda

''Orbiculoidea bertiensis (Ruedemann)'' ''Lingula semina (Ruedemann)''


Coral

''Cyathophyllum hydraulicum (Simpson)''


Eurypterida

''Eurypterus remipes (DeKay, 1825)'' ''Archaeophonus eurypteroides (Kjellesvig-Waering 1966)'' ''Proscorpius osborni (Whitfield 1885)'' ''Paracarcinosoma scorpionis (Grote & Pitt)'' ''Eurypterus lacustris (Harlan, 1834)'' ''Erettopterus waylandsmithi (Kjellesvig-Waering & Caster 1955)'' ''Waeringopterus cumberlandicus (Leutze, 1961)'' ''Waeringopterus apfeli (Leutze, 1961)'' ''Dolichopterus herkimerensis (Caster and Kjellesvig-Waering 1956)''


Graptolithina


Ostracodes

''Leperditia scalaris (Jones 1856)''


Mollusca


Bivalvia

''Megalomus canadensis (Hall, 1852)''


Gastropoda


References

Silurian United States Silurian Ohio Silurian New York Silurian West Virginia Silurian Canada Silurian Ontario Silurian geology of Pennsylvania Silurian geology of New York (state) Silurian Michigan Geologic groups of the United States Geologic groups of Ontario Dolomite groups Shale groups of the United States Shale groups of Canada {{Silurian footer, state=expanded