The Devonian Harrell Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Quick Facts Type, Sub-units ...
Harrell Shale Group
Stratigraphic range: Frasnian
TypeGroup
Sub-unitsBurket Shale[1]
UnderliesBrallier Formation, Sonyea Formation, Trimmers Rock Formation
OverliesMahantango Formation, Millboro Shale, and Tully Limestone
Lithology
Primaryshale, sandstone
Location
RegionAppalachian Mountains
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named byCharles Butts, 1918[2]
Close

Description

The Harrell Formation was first described by Charles Butts in 1918. Hasson and Dennison (1978) state "The Harrell Shale consists of very dark gray, thinly laminated, platy- to sheety-weathering shale underlain in certain areas by the grayish black shale of the Burket Member."[3]

Fossils

Hasson and Dennison reported the following fossils from several outcrops of the Harrell:[3]

  • Bivalvia: Buchiola livonae (?), B. retrostriata, Paracardium doris, Pterochaenia fragilis, Lunlulicardium (?)
  • Cephalopoda: Bactrites aciculum, Probeloceras lutheri
  • Cricoconarida (class of Mollusca): Styliolina fissurella

Notable Exposures

Type locality is at Horrell Station, Blair County, Pennsylvania (40°27′N 78°17′W).[2] In 1918, when Butts described and named the type section, the USGS topo map spelled the location "Harrell", [4] but the local spelling was "Horrell".[5][6]

Age

Relative age dating places the Harrell in the late Devonian.

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.