GEOLOGY
CMU
Bill Palmer
Lecture 16
Missouri Geology
GEOLOGY
Goals
 Learn
about Missouri Geology.
 Learn
about some cool places you might want to visit.
GEOLOGY-Rocks
Igneous Rocks-Rhyolite
 Earth
is 4.6 BYO
 Oldest rocks in MO are Rhyolite-2-3 BYO
 Rhyolite-cooled at two different rates
 Found in St. Francois Mtns.
 Pyroclastic -Volcanoes (think Mt. St. Helens)
GEOLOGY-Rocks
Igneous Rocks-Granite
 After the Rhyolite there were intrusions of magma
 The magma cooled slowly forming Granite
 Most MO granite is pink-red
 Several periods 1.2-1.5 MYO
GEOLOGY-Rocks
Igneous Rocks-Basalt
 After the granite, Basalt dikes cut through the granite
 Much younger-only 1 MYO
GEOLOGY-Rocks
Igneous Rock Characteristics
 Weather slowly
 This slow erosion forms mountains, hills, and knobs
 These ancient igneous rocks plunge deep into the earth
and are thought to lie under the entire state at great
depths
GEOLOGY-Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
 Composed of fragments of previously existing rocks or
chemical deposition
 Many sedimentary rocks in MO
 MO alternately submerged and exposed many times
 500 MYA
 Limestone, dolostone, shale, sandstone
 Most natural rocks N of MO river are sedimentary
GEOLOGY-Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
 Formation is a uniform rock unit that can be recognized
over a large area
 “Type Section” is locality where a formation is first
described
 This allows a geologist to go to the original site to
compare to a known standard
GEOLOGY-Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
 Missouri has several type sections:
 Jefferson
City Dolomite-found on MO River bluffs on N side
of river
 Bonneterre Dolomite-host rock for most of MO lead
 Gasconade Dolomite-Rich in caves
 Eminence Dolomite-Rich in caves
 Burlington (IA) Limestone-Crushed Rock
 Warsaw Limestone-cut and sold as Carthage Marble
GEOLOGY GEOLOGY-Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
 Forget it!
Zero!
Nada!
None!
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
 Missouri
 1.
has four main Natural Divisions:
Ozarks
 2. Southeast Lowlands
 3. Western Plains
 4. Northern Glaciated Plains
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
Ozarks
 Rugged hilly Country
 Rock layers are relative flat, tipping gently away from
the St. François Mtns.
 Repetitive uplift and erosion
 About 1,000-1,200 ft. above sea level
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
Ozarks
 Deep valleys
 Good for building reservoirs-Lake of the Ozarks
 Old river meanders give these lakes long shorelines
with many coves
 Rejuvenated Rivers
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
Ozarks
 Great MO Unconformity-100 MY of rocks missing
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
Southeast Lowlands
 “Bootheel”
 Flat as a board
 Lowest point in state-St. François River leaves the state
at 230 ft. above sea level
 Big Oak Tree State Park is characteristic
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
Big Oak Tree State Park
Southeast Lowlands
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
Western Plains
 Layers of sandstone, shale, coal, petroleum bearing
sandstone
 Flat topography
 Springfield Plateau, Osage Plains
 Prairie State Park is in this area
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
Western Plains
Prairie State Park
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
Northern Glaciated Plains
 Fairly flat topography
 Most of MO N of MO River
 Covered at least twice by continental glacier ice sheets
 Glacier meltwater carved much of path of MO River
 Left behind rock and boulders know as glacial till
GEOLOGY-Natural Divisions
Northern Glaciated Plains
Great farmland due to till left by
glaciers.
GEOLOGY-Igneous Features
Igneous Features
 Taum Sauk Mtn.
 Elephant Rocks
 Johnson’s Shut-Ins
 Basalt Dikes
GEOLOGY-Rocks
Taum Sauk Mtn. Taum Sauk State
Park is highest point in state-1,772 ft
above sea level.
GEOLOGY
Taum Sauk Power plant is
really on Proffit Mountain.
 This Dam failed and
trashed Johnson’s Shut-Ins
State Park.
 The case is still in court.
 Watch news for settlement
details.

GEOLOGY-Rocks
Granite Boulders
about 1.5 MYO
Elephant Rocks State Park
GEOLOGY-Igneous Features
Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park
Rhyolite about 2-3 BYO
GEOLOGY-Igneous Features
Basalt dike in MO road cut.
The basalt is only 1 BYO.
GEOLOGY-Waterfalls
Waterfalls
 Westin Crown Center Waterfall
 Mina Sauk Falls
GEOLOGY-Waterfalls
Westin Crown Center
Waterfall, Kansas City,
MO
About 50 ft. High.
Visit this geologic
feature in air
conditioning and no
bugs.
GEOLOGY-Waterfalls
Upper Mina Sauk Falls
Lower Mina Sauk Falls
Highest waterfall in
Missouri. 132 feet.
GEOLOGY-Rocks and Bluffs
Rocks and Bluffs
 Loess Hills
 Pinnacles-Boone Co.
 Slave Rock-I-70, Montgomery Co.
GEOLOGY-Rocks and Bluffs
Loess hills are formed from
wind blown particles at
the end of the last ice age.
Some in Boone Co; Most
in NW MO.
Loess Hills in NW MO
GEOLOGY-Rocks and Bluffs
Pinnacles-N of Columbia
70 feet High
Burlington Limestone
Crinoids
GEOLOGY-Rocks and Bluffs
Slave or Picnic Rock
 I-70 Montgomery County
 Windblown sand filled a
sinkhole and then softer
rocks eroded leaving a big
round sandstone rock.
 Slaves were sold here in
1800s

GEOLOGY-Karst
Karst
 Karst-an area of caves, springs, sink holes, natural
bridges all formed by the action of water dissolving
rock.
 Karst is an area in Yugoslavia.
 HaHaTonka State Park
 Rock Bridge Memorial State Park
GEOLOGY-Karst
HaHaTonka Spring
HaHaTonka is said to mean “Laughing
Waters.”
HaHaTonka State Park
GEOLOGY-Karst
Scottish Castle
Natural Bridge
A wealthy Kansas City man built a
Scottish Castle here. Burned in
1917. Only walls remain.
GEOLOGY-Karst
Devil’s Icebox Cave at
Rockbridge Memorial State
Park. This cave is in
Burlington Limestone.
GEOLOGY- Caves
Show Caves
 Onondaga Cave State Park
 Meramec Caverns
GEOLOGY-Caves
Queen’s Canopy
Lilly Pad Room
The Twins
Onondaga Cave State Park.
State operated on Meramec
River
GEOLOGY-Caves
Meramec Caverns
Commercial cave;
famous throughout
USA due to “barn
signs.”
Frank and Jesse James
GEOLOGY-Great Springs
 Geologic
Wonders and Curiosities-Springs
 Big Spring
 Alley Spring
 Greer Spring
 Blue Spring
GEOLOGY-Great Springs
Big Springs feeds
water to the Current
River.
Big Spring
Largest in State
840m gal/day
GEOLOGY-Great Springs
Big Spring
Enough dolostone is dissolved by
the spring each year to make a
cave passage 30ft high, 50ft wide,
and 1 mile in length.
Our descendants will have a
tremendous cave to explore
when the Current River drains
the spring.
GEOLOGY-Great Springs
32 ft deep
Alley Spring
685m gal/day
GEOLOGY-Great Springs
583m gal/day
Greer Spring
2nd Largest
100+ ft deep
GEOLOGY-Great Springs
Deepest spring-256 ft.
Blue Spring
6th Largest
90m gal/day
Geology-Great Rivers
 Great
Rivers
 Current
and Jack’s Fork
 Meramec
 Eleven Point
 Missouri-Mississippi
Geology-Great Rivers
Caution-Don’t Flip
Current RiverOzark national
Scenic Riverways.
NPS-operated
Eminence Dolostone
Geology-Great Rivers
Gasconade
Dolostone Bluff
Meramec RiverMostly private
land.
Green’s Cave
Geology-Great Rivers
Eleven-Point River
USFS operated
Geology-Great Rivers
Missouri River
KATY Trail
Canoeing MO River
Big Manitou Bluffs
Pictographs
Les Bourgeois Winery
GEOLOGY
Geologic Trivia-The Devil must have loved MO
 80+ place names feature “Devil”
 25 Devil’s Backbones
 8 Devil’s Den
 4 Devil’s Boot
 2 Devil’s Cave
 Devil’s Icebox
 Devil’s Sugar Bowl
 And about 40 more
GEOLOGY
Geologic Trivia
 Highest Point=Taum Sauk Mtn. 1772 feet
 Lowest point=St. Francois River-230 ft
 Deepest Road Cut=150 ft. Hwy, 65, 8 ml. North of
Branson
 State Rock=Mozarkite
 State Fossil=Crinoid
 State Mineral=Galena
 Chert is probably Missouri’s most common rock
GEOLOGY-Wrap Ups
 1.
How old are the oldest rocks in Missouri and
where are they found?
 2. Which has the older rocks-Johnson’s Shut-Ins
SP or Elephant Rocks SP?
 3. Where are the St. Francois Mountains of MO?
 4. What is the highest point in Missouri?
Elevation?
 5. Give an age for sedimentary rocks in Missouri?
GEOLOGY-Wrap Ups
 6.
Where do you find most of the sedimentary
rocks in Missouri?
 7. Name four sedimentary rocks found in
Missouri.
 8. What is a “type section?”
 9. What kind of rock is found in the Jefferson City
Formation?
 10. What rock section provides high quality
crushed limestone?
GEOLOGY-Wrap Ups
 11.
Where are metamorphic rocks found in
Missouri?
 12.What are the four Main Natural Divisions of
Missouri?
 13. Name a site associated with each Natural
Division.
 14. What is a “Shut-Ins?” Name one.
 15. Name the highest waterfall in MO, its height,
and location.
GEOLOGY-Wrap Ups
 21.
Who operates the Ozark National Scenic
Riverways?
 22. What is the lowest point in Missouri and where
is it?
 23. What is the state rock?
 24. What is the state mineral?
 25. What is the state rock?