Utica Shale
Encyclopedia
The Utica Shale is a stratigraphical
unit of Middle Ordovician age
in the Appalachian Basin. It
underlies much of the northeastern United States and adjacent parts of Canada.
It takes the name from the city of Utica, New York
, as it was first described as an outcrop along the Starch Factory Creek east of the city by Ebenezer Emmons
in 1842.
It occurs in outcrops in the state of New York
and in the subsurface in the provinces of Quebec
and Ontario
.
It has recently become the target of gas and oil exploration in eastern Ohio and Pennsylvania where it is around 8,000 feet deep. In 2011 drilling and permits for drilling in the Utica Shale in Ohio have reached record highs
It reaches a thickness of up to 1000 feet (304.8 m) and can be as thin as 70 feet (21.3 m) towards the margins of the basin. 250 feet (76.2 m) are exposed in the type section.
Oil and natural gas have been found as of 2011. Exploration companies continue to drill wells in order to determine the potential of the Utica Shale.
in the Utica area and the Canajoharie shale in Mohawk River
Valley.
The Utica Shale is divided into the Nowadaga Zone, Loyal Creek Zone and Holland Patent Zone.
It lies a few thousand feet under the Marcellus Shale.
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
unit of Middle Ordovician age
Geochronology
Geochronology is the science of determining the age of rocks, fossils, and sediments, within a certain degree of uncertainty inherent to the method used. A variety of dating methods are used by geologists to achieve this, and schemes of classification and terminology have been proposed...
in the Appalachian Basin. It
underlies much of the northeastern United States and adjacent parts of Canada.
It takes the name from the city of Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
, as it was first described as an outcrop along the Starch Factory Creek east of the city by Ebenezer Emmons
Ebenezer Emmons
Ebenezer Emmons , was a pioneering American geologist.Emmons was born at Middlefield, Massachusetts, on May 16, 1799, son of Ebenezer and Mary Emmons....
in 1842.
Distribution
The Utica Shale lies under most of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia and extends under adjacent parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada and Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee, and Virginia in the United States.It occurs in outcrops in the state of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and in the subsurface in the provinces of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
It has recently become the target of gas and oil exploration in eastern Ohio and Pennsylvania where it is around 8,000 feet deep. In 2011 drilling and permits for drilling in the Utica Shale in Ohio have reached record highs
It reaches a thickness of up to 1000 feet (304.8 m) and can be as thin as 70 feet (21.3 m) towards the margins of the basin. 250 feet (76.2 m) are exposed in the type section.
Oil and natural gas have been found as of 2011. Exploration companies continue to drill wells in order to determine the potential of the Utica Shale.
Relationship to other units
The Utica Shale underlies the Lorraine Group and overlies the Trenton Group limestoneLimestone
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....
in the Utica area and the Canajoharie shale in Mohawk River
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
Valley.
The Utica Shale is divided into the Nowadaga Zone, Loyal Creek Zone and Holland Patent Zone.
It lies a few thousand feet under the Marcellus Shale.
External links
- Utica Shale, Next Major Oil Discovery in the US? at OilShaleGas.com
- Utica Shale - The Natural Gas Giant Below the Marcellus? at geology.com
- Utica Shale, A Major Oil Discovery at TheInfoMine.com