Kope Formation
Encyclopedia
The Kope Formation is one of the three component bedrock formations of the Maquoketa Group that primarily consists of shale
(75%) with some limestone
(25%) interbedded. In general, it has a bluish-gray color that weathers light gray to yellowish-gray and it occurs in northern Kentucky, southwest Ohio, and southeast Indiana.
of the Kope was shallow marine. The central North American continent was a tropical epeiric sea
at the time.
Jennette and Pryor (1993) interpret the Kope, along with the Bellevue and Fairview formations, as a progradational succession on a carbonate ramp. The Kope is the most distal facies of the ramp complex.
.
The type section of the Wesselman Tongue of the Kope formation is an east-facing embankment on an unnamed creek that is followed by Wesselman Road in Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio
. The embankment is 400 ft south of Zion Hill bridge.
s, trilobite
s, bryozoa
ns, rugose corals
, and echinoderms (including crinoid
s, asteroids
, and edrioasteriod
s) are all present in the Kope. Due to their mid-continent depositional environment, the fossils are almost free of deformation caused by tectonic activity common in the Appalachian Mountains
.
The brachiopods Dalmanella sp., Hebertella sp., Leptaena sp., Petrocrania
sp., Philhedra sp., Platystrophia
sp., Pseudolingula sp., Rafinesquina sp., Sowerbyella sp., Strophomena sp., Trematis sp., and Zygospira sp. have been recorded from the Cincinnatian Series, which includes the Kope Formation.
The trilobites such as Triarthrus eatoni
, Cryptolithus tessellatus, and Proetidella parviusculus have been identified in the Kope, and the Ohio State Fossil, Isotelus maximus
, can most likely be found in it.
The bryozoans Ceramophylla sp., Eridotrypa mutabilis, Peronopera vera, Batostoma jamesi, Dekayia aspera, Heterotrypa ulrichi, Parvohallopora sp., and Amplexopora septosa have been found in the Kope.
Among echinoderms, the crinoids Cincinnaticrinus varibrachialis, Ectenocrinus sp., and Iocrinus sp. are present in the Kope. Edrioasteroids and asteriods (starfish), generally rare, are common in overlying formations, and may be present in the Kope.
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
(75%) with some limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
(25%) interbedded. In general, it has a bluish-gray color that weathers light gray to yellowish-gray and it occurs in northern Kentucky, southwest Ohio, and southeast Indiana.
Depositional environment
The depositional environmentSedimentary depositional environment
In geology, sedimentary depositional environment describes the combination of physical, chemical and biological processes associated with the deposition of a particular type of sediment and, therefore, the rock types that will be formed after lithification, if the sediment is preserved in the rock...
of the Kope was shallow marine. The central North American continent was a tropical epeiric sea
Epeiric Sea
An epeiric sea is a shallow sea that extends over part of a continent.Epeiric seas are usually associated with the marine transgressions of the geologic past, which have variously been due to either global eustatic sea level changes, local tectonic deformation, or both, and are occasionally...
at the time.
Jennette and Pryor (1993) interpret the Kope, along with the Bellevue and Fairview formations, as a progradational succession on a carbonate ramp. The Kope is the most distal facies of the ramp complex.
Notable Exposures
The type section of the Grand Avenue Member is a cliff to the west of Grand Avenue in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, OhioHamilton County, Ohio
As of 2000, there were 845,303 people, 346,790 households, and 212,582 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,075 people per square mile . There were 373,393 housing units at an average density of 917 per square mile...
.
The type section of the Wesselman Tongue of the Kope formation is an east-facing embankment on an unnamed creek that is followed by Wesselman Road in Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio
Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio
Miami Township is one of the twelve townships of Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 13,496 people in the township, 9,093 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
. The embankment is 400 ft south of Zion Hill bridge.
Fossils
BrachiopodBrachiopod
Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection...
s, trilobite
Trilobite
Trilobites are a well-known fossil group of extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period , and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before...
s, bryozoa
Bryozoa
The Bryozoa, also known as Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals, are a phylum of aquatic invertebrate animals. Typically about long, they are filter feeders that sieve food particles out of the water using a retractable lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles lined with cilia...
ns, rugose corals
Rugosa
Disambiguation:The Rugosa Rose is also sometimes just called "Rugosa". For the moon in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, see .The Rugosa, also called the Tetracoralla, are an extinct order of coral that were abundant in Middle Ordovician to Late Permian seas.Solitary rugosans are often referred to...
, and echinoderms (including crinoid
Crinoid
Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea of the echinoderms . Crinoidea comes from the Greek word krinon, "a lily", and eidos, "form". They live both in shallow water and in depths as great as 6,000 meters. Sea lilies refer to the crinoids which, in their adult form, are...
s, asteroids
Sea star
Starfish or sea stars are echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. The names "starfish" and "sea star" essentially refer to members of the class Asteroidea...
, and edrioasteriod
Edrioasteroidea
The Edrioasteroids are an extinct class of echinoderm that lived from the Ediacaran to the Permian periods of geologic time, about...
s) are all present in the Kope. Due to their mid-continent depositional environment, the fossils are almost free of deformation caused by tectonic activity common in the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
.
The brachiopods Dalmanella sp., Hebertella sp., Leptaena sp., Petrocrania
Craniidae
The Craniidae are a family of brachiopods . They are the only members of the order Craniida and the monotypic suborder Craniidina and superfamily Cranioidea; consequently, the latter two taxa are presently redundant and not used very often...
sp., Philhedra sp., Platystrophia
Platystrophia
Platystrophia is an extinct genus of brachiopod that lived from the Ordovician to the Silurian in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.-Sources:* Fossils by David Ward -External links:...
sp., Pseudolingula sp., Rafinesquina sp., Sowerbyella sp., Strophomena sp., Trematis sp., and Zygospira sp. have been recorded from the Cincinnatian Series, which includes the Kope Formation.
The trilobites such as Triarthrus eatoni
Triarthrus
Triarthrus is an Upper Ordovician trilobite found in New York, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, eastern and northern Canada, and Scandinavia. It is the last of the Olenid trilobites, a group which flourished in the Cambrian period. T. eatoni have been found in the Beecher's Trilobite Bed, Rome, New...
, Cryptolithus tessellatus, and Proetidella parviusculus have been identified in the Kope, and the Ohio State Fossil, Isotelus maximus
Isotelus
Isotelus is a genus of asaphid trilobite from the middle and upper Ordovician period, fairly common in the Northeastern United States, northwest Manitoba, southwestern Quebec and southeastern Ontario...
, can most likely be found in it.
The bryozoans Ceramophylla sp., Eridotrypa mutabilis, Peronopera vera, Batostoma jamesi, Dekayia aspera, Heterotrypa ulrichi, Parvohallopora sp., and Amplexopora septosa have been found in the Kope.
Among echinoderms, the crinoids Cincinnaticrinus varibrachialis, Ectenocrinus sp., and Iocrinus sp. are present in the Kope. Edrioasteroids and asteriods (starfish), generally rare, are common in overlying formations, and may be present in the Kope.