STATE
STATE BOARD
OF
OF
FLORIDA
CONSERVATION
DIVISION OF GEOLOGY
Robert O. Vernon, Director
GEOLOGICAL BULLETIN NO. 49
GEOLOGY
OF
DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
COUNTIES,
FLORIDA
By
Harbans S. Puri, J. William Yon, Jr. and Woodson R. Oglesby
Published for
DIVISION OF GEOLOGY
TALLAHASSEE
1967
C/Cf
V?
.43
Mo. /.1
FLORIDA STATE BOARD
OF
CONSERVATION
CLAUDE R. KIRK
Governor
TOM ADAMS
Secretary of State
BROWARD WILLIAMS
Treasurer
FLOYD T. CHRISTIAN
Superintendent of Public Instruction
EARL FAIRCLOTH
A torney General
FRED O. DICKINSON, JR.
Comptroller
DOYLE CONNER
Commissioner of Agriculture
W. RANDOLPH HODGF S
Director
LETTER OF TRANSMITT AI
division of / geolog r
ai ahad6ee
L .'.
August 16, 1966
Honorable Claude R. Kirk, Chairman
Florida State Board of Conservation
Tallahassee, Florida
Dear Governor Kirk:
The Division of Geology is publishing as Bulletin No. 49, a fairly
comprehensive report on the "Minerals and Water Resources, and
the Geology and Stratigraphy of Dixie and Gilchrist counties,
Florida." The report was prepared over a period of years by Har-
bans S. Puri, William J. Yon, and Woodson R. Oglesby, Geologists
with this division.
This area has large reserves of limestone that are suitable for
use in many manufacturing processes. Clay and sand are available
nearby and together with the development of Cross-Florida Barge
Canal, it is anticipated that some additional industrial development
will follow.
Large resources in potable water are available in both of the
counties, and the recreational potentials of these waters have
never been fully utilized.
The data presented herein will be helpful in further exploitation
of Florida's mineral wealth to the benefit of the State.
Respectfully yours,
Robert O. Vernon
Director and State Geologist
Completed manuscript received
August 16, 1966
Published for the Division of Geology
By Rose Printing Company
Tallahassee, Florida
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction ------ --------- --... ..............................- ----..... ..... ....... 1
Location and description of area -......--.......-- ..--- -... 3
M aps ........- ..._-......-.-....-.. .. .... .. -.. _........._. -- -- .... ._ ._. ._____ 3
Dixie County ..---....... .......-----------.. ... ..-_-_ .. .................. 6
Gilchrist County ----... --..............._-____ ................ ... .-----. ...... .................. 7
Transportation _........-......... .-.. ... ... ....... ......... ...--......--.. ........- 8
I highways ... ___---.. ..... ............... ............... .._ _.............. ...... ___... 8
Railways .... ....-....--....-- -. ....... .. -..... .. ____ ___ ..__ gs
A irw ays .......- -----.................... ...... ------__- 9
W aterways _---- ... ...._. ....._-_ .. ............... --.- .
Climate and vegetation --- --... .......... __..... -._-...................-- .. ........-- 9
C culture -......... ... ............. ............. .......... ... ..... ..................... 11
Drainage .......---- -.. ..---------...... -------- ----.-... .......--.... ...... ........................ 15
Suwannee River drainage basin .. .....-.. .. .. ..........................---------------. 15
Piezometric surface .--.......-- ........ .. .......---.. ............-- ..- -.... ..... .- .. ...- 17
Suwannee River discharge ..........................- .........--..... 17
Santa Fe River discharge -.. -.....--....... -.... ...--...- --..........-----... ---20
Steinhatchee River discharge --........ -- ..-------- 22
Springs -..--------- ..-- ------------ -----... -.. ........- .................. 22
Solution features --...........- ..___-----_.__-.- -.--___--.-..-.. 29
Sum m ary .------------......... .... ____ ._.... ..._............. ..... -. ....... 29
Common sinks and sink-hole lakes -.--..----.....- ... ....... .. 29
Funnel sinks and natural wells ...-...-.. ------------_ -. _.-. ------------- 32
Solution pipes .----..-.. --...-. ... -.. .. .-. ..... ....______ ._ 34
Underground rivers .. --------------....- -.. .. -...... ............................... 34
Springs ........... .... ....._._____... ..... ........ __ --------.. ............. 36
Well and outcrop numbering system .. .............----- .........---- .. 36
Physiography ... ........... ........ __ ..........__ __ ___.... 36
Introduction -.......-----. ... .. ... ............ --. .. ....... ------................. .. 36
Gulf coastal lowlands .-.-_ _...- ....- .__-...-...- .. .......... -----------... ... 37
Modern coast and submarine plain ------...---... -.._.-- ............... 37
Coastal Swamps -----__ __-_-----._---- -----_.--------_---- -----.---------- 38
Silver Bluff Terrace and Shoreline ...-....- ................ ..- ............ 39
Pamlico Terrace and Shoreline .--......... .......................................... 39
Wicomico Terrace and Shoreline ...----...-.---... ....----...... ----.. ..-... 41
W acasassa Flats ...........-... ...... ....-...---........... .............----......... 43
Bell Ridge -- ---.. .......----...-..... ................ ..... -... ...-.......---..--........ ... .. 48
Chiefland Limestone Plain .-- -.-----------.--- .....--. ---49
Brooksville Ridge ....-----... ----------............ ..-. ...-.........-.....- ..... 49
High Spring Gap -----_..... -......---..... ------ ......... -- .____ _______--------- -.. -... 49
Fracturing -...---..-... --------- ------..._.... --.-......-.-.-... -. .......... ... 50
Structure and geologic setting ....---....... ............. .... ... ....................... 53
Stratigraphy _- ..........._-__... .._ .. ...._ ..........--............. ........... ... ..... -. 55
Previous work __.-._ ____-._....... ..--_ ... ... .....-... --........ ._. ....... _..... 55
Gilchrist County .............. ........ ...-. --... ......... .----. ---...------.... 55
Dixieri County -...-.-..-_. ----- --- ----.- .-------- --- 58
Paleozoic Era --...--- ..-.............----- ........--------...... 58
Lower Ordovician -.... .......------........--.. -. -------........ ---.-- ------------------- 58
Mesozoic Era -----....... ----------- -----... ------------- 59
Cretaceous System ... ....--...-......---------------------------------------- 59
Gulf Series -...---- ___ --- ---..... ............ .........-...-- ------59
Atkinson Formation -. ......--..--------- ------------- 59
Beds of Austin Age --..-------.......-. -------- -- 61
Beds of Taylor Age ....- ........---....--------- --- 61
Beds of Navarro Age ...-.....-.. -- ...--...-...-......--...--------------- 61
Lawson Limestone .......--.............-.......- ---------- ------- 61
Cenozoic Era -.... ... .....----------- --- -- -- ------ -- 62
Tertiary System ....---- -------------------- --.------------- 62
Paleocene Series ... .........-.......-------.............. ---------------- -- 62
Cedar Keys Formation .-.....---.-.. .- ....- -------- ----- -------------.---.. 62
Oldsmar Limestone .....-......-.. -------------- ------- ------------ 62
Claiborne Stage .......----- ------------------- ---------- 63
Lake City Limestone .------ ..----------------- ------------------- 63
Avon Park Limestone -..----.....-- --.------------------------- ---- .. 63
Ocala Group .......---------------- --- ---------- 3
Inglis Formation ....- -- -......... --.------------- ---------- 63
Williston Formation ..--...--.....-- ....-.......... .........--------..--------- 64
Distribution ... ......---- -.---------. 66
Crystal River Formation ---- ..... -- .....--..---------------------- ---. 76
Outcrop pattern .....-.----. ------- --- ----- --------- 77
Steinhatchee Dolomite Member .. ... ......-....------------------ 95
Oligocene Series .........-- ... ..... .--...-.....--.-... .. --------- ----- 97
Suwannee Limestone -..........--.------... -- ----------------- 97
Miocene Series -...... .......- ..........-----..-----...- -- -- -------------- 98
Alachua Formation ....--...---..--......----...- --------------- 98
Outcrop pattern ___. ..... ... ..... .... -....-..........-...--------- ---- 100
Quaternary System -........-----.............--.-------. ....---.--..----- -------------.. 126
Pleistocene Series .-........- ... .... .........--- ......--------- ------------ 126
M arine terrace deposits -...... --.... .... ... ..------....--- ---- ..... 126
Recent Series ------... .... .....- .......----.-- --.......-- ------ ----------- 127
Fresh water marl ---- -----------------.- ---------------------- 127
Economic geology .----._...--.-.-.-.-.-_......... ........-- ----------......-.. ------- 127
Gilchrist County ...- ..-......--------. -------------------------------- 127
Lim estone .....--...- ------------ ....-------------- ------ ------ ------------- .127
Phosphate ..-- -- ----- ---------------------------------------- 127
Dixie County ............. .- --- ------ --------- ------------------- 134
Limestone ..............-- .....-.. --- --------------- ..-- ---.... ..--- 134
Dolomite and dolomitic limestone--...-- -- -.- ------. 136
Bibliography .. ..... ......... ------- -----.. ...--..... .- 141
Appendix .-----....... ............ .-.---.-- -......---------.- .-- 147
1. Dixie and Gilchrist location of outcrops ------. .....-------------. 141
Index .. .....---------. ----..... --.......... ....- -- --....----- --------- -- 153
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page
1 Location of Gilchrist and Dixie counties, Florida -. 2
2 Index to Topographic Mapping, in Gilehrist and Dixie counties,
Florida -.. ... ......................... ...----..--- -----. ------.................... _... 4
3 Topographic map, Gilchrist County, Florida _............. .... -- ......__ 5
4 Topographic map, Dixie County, Florida .. .............--- --... 6
5 Total rainfall at Bell, Gilchrist County and Cross City Airport,
Dixie County ........----------.............---------...... ------- --.-............... 10
6 Map of Florida showing portion of the Suwannee River drainage
basin with piezometric contours of the Floridan aquifer (after
Healy, 1962) ---___-- --....___--......._.... -... .... ........ 16
7 Map of the Florida portion of the Suwannee River drainage basin
with piezometric contour of the Floridan aquifer superimposed on
the outcropping formation ..................... ...... ................. .... -18
8 Suwannee River at Rock Bluff, Florida showing the gaging station 20
9 Monthly mean flow of Suwannee River at Branford, Florida. Nor-
mal (median) for 30-year period 1931-1960 (data from U.S. Geo-
logical Survey) .-_----______ ___--------_________ 22
10 Rock Bluff Springs, Gilcbrist County, Florida .. --- 25
11 Hart Springs, Gilchrist County, Florida .-... .......- __._ .....-..........- 26
12 Old Town Springs, Dixie County, Florida ---.....-- ------........................... 27
13 Blue Springs, Gilchrist County, Florida --------------.. 27
14 Trail Springs, Locality 136, Gilchrist County Florida ------- 28
15 Development of a sink at Locality 9, Sheppard's Farm, Gilchrist
County, Florida, A-Incipient sink in the Crystal River Forma-
tion; B-View down natural well; C-Natural well, surface of
ground water table 26 feet below surface ------..... ---........---.....--..... -- 33
16 Physiographic map of Gulf Coastal Lowlands ..... -----_-__....._. Pocket
17 Partially submerged dunes off the coastline at Horseshoe Point ... 38
18 Pamlico Dune near Eugene on U.S. Highway 27 ...__--------------- 40
19 Closeup of Pamlico Dune near Eugene on U.S. Highway 27 ......... 41
20 Topographic map of Gilchrist County. Contour interval, 10 feet 42
21 Aerial mosaic of Gilchrist County showing Wacasassa Flats out-
lines. Width of map is approximately 19 miles --..._. ..---------- 44
22 Swamps in the Wacasassa Flats on State Highway 40 facing east 45
23 Contours showing approximate altitude of top of Williston For-
mation (Upper Eocene), Gilchrist County ...... ...............---.-------- 46
24 West-East profiles showing land forms in Gilchrist County ------. 47
25 Escarpment on State Highway 47, facing north ...... .... ...... 48
26 Fracture pattern of Dixie County, Florida .-.. ... ...... ........ 50
27 Falls on the Santa Fe River, Gilchrist County, Florida .. 52
28 Structure contour map of Dixie and Gilchrist counties, showing
altitude at the top of the Williston Formation --.__-_---.-. ---- .54
29 Geological cross section, Gilchrist County ...........--------..... ... 56
80 Isometric diagram, Gilchrist County _____...------.. ------.... ... 57
31 Geological cross section, Dixie County ........................... ..... .64
32 Stratigraphic nomenclature chart of the Cenozoic (after Puri and
Vernon, 1964) -__--.......------ .. ._ _-- ...... ....-----.--.-- .-- ...------......-- ....... 65
33 Sediments of the Williston Formation as exposed just below con-
fluence of the Santa Fe and Suwannee rivers -..--. ------....-..-----...... 66
34 Panorama of an abandoned quarry on Carl Robert's farm (LGr
10S 14E 9 ba) showing exposures of the Williston Formation 68
35 Limestone of the Crystal River Formation as exposed in a quarry
on State Highway 49 near Santa Fe River, Gilchrist County .---..- 82
36 Exposures of the Crystal River Formation in the Philpot Quarry,
1.9 miles south of bridge on Santa Fe River on State Highway 49,
Gilchrist County __._ _____. ---..-------....--............... 83
37 Exposures of the Steinhatchee Dolomite Member near Cow Creek,
Dixie County Florida ...-. .. ................................. --.......... 96
38 Exposures of a thin veneer of the Crystal River Formation show-
ing honeycomb weathering (beneath hat) which overlies the dolo-
mitic limestone (Steinhatchee Member) near Cow Creek, Dixie
County, Florida .... -- -------._......-...- .- -...... ....-.-......- ..-...-...- ....-.... 97
39 Panorama at Locality 90, an abandoned quarry, Gilchrist County _. 103
40 Panorama at Locality 93, showing pinnacles of the Williston For-
mation and mined-out areas of the Alachua Formation ..... 106
41 Panorama at Locality 278, showing the karrenfeld topography of
the Crystal River Formation on which sediments of the Alachua
Formation were deposited ........- ----.--- -..... .......-.-.... .... .Il
42 Topographic map of the Thomas Farm, Gilchrist County, Florida,
showing location of auger holes (AS-288-AS-310), discovery well
and the various types of sediments exposed in the "dig" (after
Purl and Vernon, 1964) -....------------------. ......... ----........-....... ..--. ..... 116
43 Thomas Farm Quarry, Gilchrist County (April, 1956) .. 117
44 Structure map on the top of the dominantly clayey material,
Thomas Farm, Gilchrist County (after Puri and Vernon, 1964) 118
45 Structure map on the top of the Crystal River Formation, Thomas
Farm, Gilchrist County (after Puri and Vernon, 1964) .......... 119
46 Thomas Farm, north side of the quarry showing clays of the
Alachua Formation overlying the limestone of the Crystal River
Formation _- --......--. -- .........-- -- _.----....~~...--. .. ......-.......... 120
47 Cross-bedded coarse sands and upper boulder bar, Thomas Farm,
Gilehrist County .....-, .... .....- .. .. ..... .. .... 121
48 Mining operations at Philpot Quarry, Gilchrist County 2.... .. 128
49 Distribution of the phosphate, limestones and clays, in Gilchrist
County --- -.... .. 129
50 Mona Plant of the Loncala Phosphate Company -----------.. ........ 132
51 Flow sheet of the Loncala Phosphate Company -...-. ------. -..- 133
52 Distribution of dolomitic limestone, limestone and phosphatic lime-
stone in Dixie County ... ......---- ...... --- 135
53 Typical exposure of the dolomite rock near Cow Creek, Dixie
County, Florida .-................. .......... ........ .. .... ........ 136
54 Location of samples of dolomite and dolomitic limestone in Dixie
County, Florida -----.....- --------.........-.... --.......---... .. ... .137
55 Route of Florida's interstate highway system, waterways, and
natural gas pipeline (after Reves, 1961) --.-..-------... .------------.--- 140
PLATES
1 Geologic Map of Tertiary Formations in Gilchrist County .... Pocket
2 Geologic Map of Tertiary Formations in Dixie County --......_._. Pocket
viii
TABLES
1 Economy of Dixie County .....-.. ...............-.__. -.... ._.... ..._..........._.... 12
2 Economy of Gilchrist County ............ ....... --.......................... .. 12
3 Farm characteristics of Dixie and Gilchrist counties, 1950, 1954,
1959, and 1964 -.. ............-....-------------------------- .. 13
4 Farm Population of Dixie and Gilchrist counties, 1950 and 1955 .__ 14
5 Value of Agricultural Commodities, Dixie and Gilchrist counties,
1949-1964 ..............-- .----------- ...- -... -- -.... ... ....... .._..._. 14
6 Personal Income and Percent from Major Industrial Sources for
1954 and 1960 __ _.- .. ...-----...._......--..---.... .. --... -........ 16
7 Dollar Volume of Retail Sales of Dixie and Gilchrist counties,
(selected years) ........--- ...-..... ....-..........--------.......-...- ._...._.._._.._. 15
8 Monthly and yearly mean discharge (Rock Bluff Ferry) ....... 19
9 Monthly and yearly mean discharge (in cubic feet per second), of
the Suwannee River near Wilcox, Florida -----...--------- 21
10 Monthly and yearly mean discharge of the Santa Fe River near
Fort White, Florida .-----------......--------------------......------......... --.... --- 23
11 Monthly and yearly mean discharge in cubic feet per second of the
Steinhatchee River near Cross City, Florida ----...------------- ..-----24
12 Estimated rate of flow of selected springs in Gilchrist County (by
W R. Oglesby) ...--....... ._-...... ..-- ---. ..-. ---......------... ...... .-- ......... 26
13 Water analysis of Hart Springs, Gilchrist County, Florida --------- 29
14 Water analysis of Rock Bluff Springs, Florida ...-----.-...--- 30
15 Data on wells penetrating Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in Gilchrist
and Dixie counties ----..... ......---. ..........-------.----....... 58
16 Analysis of dry limestone samples from Dixie County, Florida _... 134
17 Analysis of dry samples of dolomitic limestone from Dixie County,
Florida __ ___.-. ----- ...--- ---_. ............... 138
18 Analysis of sandy dolomitic limestone samples from Dixie County,
Florida .........- ...... --.--..----- --- -- ---..-...--..-- 138
GEOLOGY OF
DIXIE AND GILCHRIST COUNTIES, FLORIDA
By
Harbans S. Purl, J. William Yon, Jr. and Woodson R. Oglesby
INTRODUCTION
Dixie and Gilchrist counties adjoin Levy County, the geology
of which was published in Bulletin 33 of the Florida Geological
Survey under the title "Geology of Citrus and Levy Counties,
Florida," by Robert O. Vernon (1951).
A detailed study of these counties that lie to the north of the
area studied by Vernon supplements and extends the work already
accomplished. Field work was done by Woodson R. Oglesby in the
summers of 1950 and 1951, under the auspices of the Florida Geo-
logical Survey. Harbans S. Puri and James William Yon, Jr. spent
the springs and summers of 1956 and 1957 measuring the key sec-
tions in these two counties and checking the outcrop pattern of
the rocks.
Field work in Dixie County was done by Woodson R. Oglesby
in the summer of 1951, when heavy rains made the swamps of
southeastern Dixie County inaccessible, and the outcrops with less
than 5 feet surface elevations were under water. However, the
summer of 1956 was relatively dry and numerous exposures were
found in coastal areas, which previously had escaped attention.
Several new quarries and borrow pits have been opened up since
1951, requiring supplemental field work.
C. W. Hendry, Jr. and E. W. Bishop mapped the Thomas
Farm dig topographically and drilled and examined the samples
from several auger holes in that area. Their manuscript report,
"Geology of the Thomas Farm Area," on file at the offices of the
Division of Geology, has been freely consulted. Simmie L.
Murphy also assisted in the field in 1956 and drilled 40 auger holes
in the two counties. Hal Chittum, Robert E. Dickson, William
Gardner and Tom Ellis assisted in the field during the summers of
1950 and 1951.
Gratitude is expressed to Jon Beasley, photogrammetric engi-
neer, State Road Department, for preparation of the topographic
map of Gilchrist County. R. 0. Vernon visited in the field on
BuL:[llTIV No. 49
2
t
-'' tv E "'*
p^ ftU
4-. I11 + IIIE +
+ Ilo- +
+ I 1OEt+
+ M11i + R1lE
Figure 1. Location of Cilkhrist and Dixie counties, Florida.
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
several occasions and the writers had the benefit of his views on
various geologic problems.
This work would not have been possible without the help and
cooperation of the citizens of these two counties, who freely gave
their time in showing exposures on their respective properties.
LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION OF AREA
Dixie and Gilchrist counties are located in the embayed north-
west portion of the Florida Peninsula, as shown in figure 1.
Dixie County is bounded on the southwest by the Gulf of Mex-
ico. The Suwannee River forms the eastern boundary and the
Steinhatchee River the western boundary of the county. No natu-
ral boundary exists to the north between Dixie and Lafayette
counties.
Gilchrist County is separated from adjoining counties on the
north by the Sante Fe River and on the west by the Suwannee
River. Political boundaries between Alachua and Levy counties
exist to the east and south of Gilchrist County.
The combined distance across Dixie and Gilchrist counties av-
erages about 50 miles in an east-west direction and 21 miles in a
north-south direction. Elevations increase gradually along a tra-
verse starting at Deadman Bay on the western coast of Dixie
County, eastward to Cross City, and continues eastward along
U. S. Highway 19 to the Suwannee River, then along State High-
way 26 to a point about 4 miles beyond Trenton where the eleva-
tion is 70 feet. The relief is more pronounced from this point east-
ward, where ridges and sand dunes mark the forefront of the
Brooksville Ridge. The highest elevation recorded in either of the
two counties, 119 feet, occurs in Gilchrist County in the stretch of
sand hills 3 miles west of the Alachua County line.
MAPS
Thus far, 17 quadrangle maps of Dixie County have been issued
by the U. S. Geological Survey. These are shown in figure 2. The
base map of Dixie County was made from these quadrangles.
These maps cover all of the county except the area adjacent to the
upper reaches of the Suwannee River. The entire area is shown on
the timber type map of Dixie County issued by the Florida Forest
Park Service, and the general highway transportation map of
Dixie County, issued by the Florida State Road Department.
No quadrangle maps showing the topography of Gilchrist
BULLETIN No. 49
Figure 2, Index to Topographic Mapping, in Gilchrist and Dixie counties. Florida,
County have been prepared, although the U. S. Army Corps of
Engineers has issued regional maps (scale 1 : 250,000), on which
the generalized topography of these counties is shown. Figure 3
was prepared from portions of this topographic map series. The
base map of Gilchrist County was made from a photo-mosaic in-
dex compiled by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and the
general highway and transportation map of Gilchrist County, pre-
pared by the Florida State Road Department. Since the photo in-
dices are not corrected mosaics, considerable juggling was neces-
sary to correlate them with other available maps. Strict accuracy
of the location of features, as related to section lines, has been
sacrificed in order to maintain correct relationships between such
features as streams, lakes, islands, etc. The State Road Depart-
ment has issued a new highway map of Gilchrist County prepared
from contact prints of aerial photographs, with control points that
have been checked in the field. This should prove to be an excellent
planimetric map, even though the many trails indicated on the
geologic map accompanying this report are excluded (fig. 3).
Nautical charts and planimetric maps by the U. S. Coast and
Geodetic Survey were used in the coastal areas. An advance copy
of a map of the Suwannee River by the U. S. Army Engineers was
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
CORF OF R4NMEERS
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Figure 3. Topographic map, Gilchrist County, Florida.
used to locate points along the Suwannee and Santa Fe rivers.
This map depicts contours for several miles on each side of the
two rivers, and the control points from this map were added to the
seventeen published quadrangles to prepare a topographic map of
Dixie County, as shown in figure 4. Road profiles by the State Road
Department were useful in establishing elevations in the absence
-.
6 B;LTLETIN No. 49
S *
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-i -.. ." I "* '.'. : '- y' f
*. r.' .' '' "1 "
'As
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Figure. 4. Topographic mp, Dixie Countzy, Florida.
Florida. 1936. Revised Ja.n. 1951. Scale 1 inch = 2 miles
i '. .
.... _. ... *1 /_
-
*,-. D I XIT ." .
..4. T g, Dixe t
obec m A l is giv
below.
DIXIE COUNTY
1. General Highway and Transportation Map of Dixie County,
Florida. 1936. Revised Jan. 1951. Scale 1 inch = 2 miles
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
(printed). (Also available on a scale 1 inch per mile in blue-
print). Prepared by State Road Department in cooperation
with U. S. Department of Commerce.
2. Timber-type map of Dixie County. Scale 1 inch = 1 mile. Pre-
pared by Florida Forest Park Service.
3. Nautical charts by the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Scale
1: 80,000. Coast chart 1259 Crystal River to Horseshoe Point.
Coast chart 1260, Horseshoe Point to Rock Islands. 1943.
4. Topographic map "T" series of the greater part of Dixie County
prepared by the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Scale 1:
20,000. 1940.
5. Aerial photo-mosaic index. U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Production and Marketing Administration. 1944. Scale ap-
proximately 1 inch = 1 mile.
6. Topographic maps of Florida (incomplete) issued by the U. S.
Geological Survey. The following 7.5 Minute Series (Topo-
graphic) quadrangles (scale 1 inch = 2,000 feet) cover most
of Dixie County:
Clara sheet (1954)
Mallory Swamp SW sheet (1954)
Mallory Swamp SE sheet (1954)
Steinhatchee sheet (1954)
Jena sheet (1954)
Cross City W sheet (1954)
Shired Island sheet (1955)
Manatee Springs sheet (1954)
Cross City E sheet (1954)
Steinhatchee SW sheet (1954)
Steinhatchee SE sheet (1954)
Cross City SW sheet (1954)
Eugene sheet (1954)
Horseshoe Beach sheet (1954)
Vista sheet (1954)
Suwannee sheet (1954)
Extra Pass sheet (1954)
GILCHRIST COUNTY
1. General Highway and Transportation Map of Gilchrist County,
Florida. 1936. Revised Jan. 1951. Scale 1 inch = 2 miles (scale,
1 inch = 1 mile in blueprint). Prepared by State Road Depart-
ment.
BULLETIN No. 49
2. Aerial photo-mosaic index, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Production and Marketing Administration. Completed 1949,
Scales 1 inch = 1 mile and 8 inch 1 mile.
TRANSPORTATION
HIGHWAYS
U. S. Highway 19 crosses Dixie County in a southeastwardly
direction from near the northwest corner of the county through
Cross City to the Suwannee River near the junction of Dixie, Gil-
christ, and Levy counties. The towns of Steward, Horseshoe, Su-
wannee, and Hines, in Dixie County, are all served by paved state
roads. Bowlegs Road, which is not paved, connects the town of
Jena with Horseshoe Road. It was named for the Seminole chief
who is said to have retreated along this route following a clash
with U. S. troops during the Seminole wars. State Highway 349
follows the Suwannee River from its junction with U. S. Highway
19 at Oldtown to the town of Suwannee near the Gulf of Mexico.
U. S. Highway 319 traverses Dixie County in an almost north-
south line from its junction with U. S. Highway 19, at Oldtown, to
its intersection with U. S. Highway 27, near Branford, Suwannee
County.
In periods of heavy rainfall, most of the trails in Dixie County
south of U. S. Highway 19 are impassable to conventional automo-
biles, and some of the secondary roads in this section of the county
are also unsuitable for ordinary travel during such times. In Gil-
christ County, because of the higher elevations, the state and
county roads, as well as many of the trails, are open to year-round
passenger-car travel.
The principal highway of Gilchrist County is State Highway
26, which connects interior Florida with U. S. Highway 19 near
the Suwannee River at Fanning Springs. It is an east-west road
that passes through Trenton, eastward to Alachua County. State
Highway 47 starts at Trenton and extends northward across the
Suwannee River to Fort White, in Columbia County. State High-
way 49 traverses Gilchrist County almost in a north-south line
and passes through the towns of Trenton and Bell and finally joins
U. S. Highway 27 in Suwannee County.
RAILWAYS
The Atlantic Coast Line serves Cross City and Trenton and
roughly parallels U. S. Highway 19 and State Highway 26. The
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
Seaboard Air Line maintains a branch from Curtis eastward
through Bell, Williford, and Neals to towns in Alachua County.
AIRWAYS
No commercial air service is available in either Dixie or Gil-
christ counties; however, Dixie County does have a municipal air-
port at Cross City.
WATERWAYS
The controlling navigable depth of the Suwannee River
through the dredged channel of East Pass, Levy County, is 6 feet;
from there to Branford, 5 feet; and to within 21/ miles to Ella-
ville, 31 feet (Report of U. S. Army, Corps of Engineers, District
Office, Jacksonville, 1940).
No survey of the Suwannee River channel has been released
for publication, but it is known that the limestone of the river
bottom is fractured and eroded in a highly irregular fashion. For
example, immediately north of Rock Bluff, the river bottom
deepens to 30 feet below sea level. During normal stages, the
river surface is about 15 feet above sea level at this point, and it
appears that the average depth is thus considerably greater than
the controlling depth.
The Steinhatchee River is not navigable upstream from the
town of Steward. A channel 6 feet deep has been dredged from
Deadman Bay to the harbor at Steward. Docks in this harbor will
accommodate boats up to 100 feet in length.
Because of the shallow water prevalent along the coast, only
small craft can enter the inlets lying between the mouth of the
Suwannee River and Deadman Bay.
CLIMATE AND VEGETATION
In Dixie and Gilchrist counties the average annual temperature
is 79.6, and the mean temperature ranges from 81.4 in August
to 56.6 in January. The counties lie within the frost belt with the
result that tropical fruits and vegetation do not flourish. Aside
from the profusion of grasses and palmettos in the near coastal
areas, the most evident vegetation is cabbage palm, scrub oak, and
turkey oak, together with the hardwoods in the hammocks that
include cypress and magnolia. These trees are in addition to the
commercial pine forests of Dixie County.
BULLET'I No. 49
51rL
LL.LL LL A~ 1. .
3 HJNI
, .. ,
.n
Ln
5a 1
I] HN I
i &r
S
i 0
S 4-
- *C
r
a
s Iz
V
o -,
-
o --
ii
o
a
- U
4-
0
a ^
2 -*-'
i.~
L "
1I
'l I
<'"
/i ^I
S'"" '" .' ,-
A maximum rainfall for the region usually occurs in June and
July (maximum recorded at Cross City Airport was 20 inches)
in July 1964, with minimum rainfall from October to December;
OGOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCIIRIST
however, there are no predictable dry or rainy seasons for the
region. The average annual rainfall for Dixie County is 54.6 inches
and for Gilchrist County it is 51.6 inches. Total monthly rainfall
at Cross City Airport (1942-1964) and Bell (September 1955-
1964) is shown on figure 5. During the summer months rain clouds
form offshore from Dixie County and move inland to precipitate
showers 15 or 20 miles from the coast. In the summer of 1951,
this phenomenon was noticed over a 2-week period when there was
no rain along the coast, but daily showers occurred a few miles
inland.
The mean tidal range from the mouth of the Suwannee River
to Deadman Bay is 2.4 feet and the spring tidal range, which is
controlled by lunar phases is 3.1 feet.
CULTURE
Dixie County was created in 1921 from the southern part of
Lafayette County, and Gilchrist County was formed in 1925 from
part of Alachua County. The area of Dixie County is 710 square
miles; its population was 4,600 in the 1960 census. Gilchrist
County has an area of 351 square miles and had a population high
of 3,499 in 1950, dropping to 2,700 in the next 10 years (1960
census).
The rural population of Gilchrist County depends largely upon
farming for a livelihood. Commercial (salt water) fishing and
forest products are the principal sources of income in Dixie
County. Fishing is enjoyed by sportsmen in the streams and lakes
of both counties, and some excellent hunting preserves are located
in the wooded tracts of Dixie County.
There are approximately 400,000 acres of commercial forest
lands in Dixie County that contain about 21/ million cords of
second growth pine. The virgin forests are gone, but reforestation
programs have been instituted by the owners of large land tracts
and millions of pine seedlings are planted annually. The economy
of Dixie County is shown on table 1.
The majority of the rural population of Gilchrist County is
engaged in truck farming. The economy of Gilchrist County ap-
pears on table 2. Farm characteristics of Dixie and Gilchrist
counties are summarized on table 3; farm population during 1950-
55 appears on table 4. Values in dollars of crops, poultry and dairy
products are shown on table 5. Personal income and percent from
BULLETIN No. 49
TABLE 1. ECONOMY OF DIXIE COUNTY
Population, 1950-3,92S
Populttton. 1956--3,5iX'
PopLulation. 19Gi0-4,600{i
Item
Production
Land area-440,320 acres
Land aren-Tn fariils
In woodland
Value of farrL products sold
Field crop, other than
vegets bles, nuts and fruits
Livestock and livcsto..k
pro iIt.i scid
Foreat products sold
Catt c and elves
Whole milk sold
Houn and pigs
f:Chikens
Corn harvested for grain
Peanuts harvested
LL.jI]inP jeed harvested
Irish potatoes harvested
Sweet potatoes harvested
Tubaco harvested
St.tgareane or arghum syrup
Vegetables harvested iOr mle
Pccans harvested
Watertmelon harvested
1949i
217,873
146 ,1521
$270,354
5 55 ,263
$202 ,103
$ 8,4900
4.793 head
36 ,W74 Ail,
4 ,67 hean]
4,3441
4 ,375 hbi.
15 ,500 Ib,
80w lb.
3r bu.
711 bu.
132,095 Ib.
1 ,2M6 rld.
73 aB.re
215 lb.
:1 ecre'
1954
$]68,850
17 ,390
5421 ,180
$121 ,806
$251,481
$ i ,310
,o093 head
6.237 head
6 ,562
8,06R hu.
14.050 lb.
21,790 1b.
199 h,n
335 bu.
208,344 Lb.
1 ,4210 pj.
532 acres
300 Ib.
513 acres
19591
$168,944
145,911
$433,297
139 ,797
8275,668
$ 7,897
41,430
4,181
7 ,728
10 ,571
16,011
head
head
bu.
Ib.
-
55 bu.
255 bu.
145,607 lb.
t ,438 gal.
133 acres
500 Ib.
130 acres
1964s
8204 ,976
191,903
$373,004
$217 ,213
8149,113
$ 6,359
6 ,337 ihead
S,397 brad
2 ,246
7 ,50 bu.
36 ,144 lb.
1 (hundred
weigh t)
212 bu.
204,32N ]b.
140 gal.
78 acres
30 Ib.
78 acres
SFlorida State Clarrber of Cominjler,, statstical albstiact of Florida counties, Supplement. 1956.
S19 Ce..ns Lkfs of Fopuilation Series PC-8, no. 9.
C. S. Bureau of Census, 2959, Cenlus of Agrilcultuire, Counties and State. economic Ar as. FIlrida.
Washidnwton. U S. Government Printing Office, 1961.
4 U. B, BuLrefll of C Fn.LLS, 1954, Censua of Agriculture, Counties and State Eeonomic Area&, Florida.
Washington, U. S. Government Printing Oioe, 1956,
ULT. & Buretu of C arus, 1964. C'enstft of Agriculture, Counties and State Ecuuorric Ar.eas, Floridla,
Wa&hington, U.. S. Government Printing Office, ]966.
TABLE 2. ECONOMY OF GILCHRIST COUNTY
Population,
Population,
Population,
195f-3 ,4991
19i56-2 ,80t0
1960-2 ,7004
I lem
Land arca-*121 ,960 acres
Land erea-In farms
In woodland
Value of farm prc[-i'ete sold
Field crops, other than vege-
tables, nuta and fru.tea
Livestock and Livestock
products ~sold
Foreft prodiuict sold
Cattle and wolves
W]]lc rrnilk sold
HoR and piga
Chickens
Corn Imrvested for grain
Peanuta harvested
Itupinr ased harvt!stld
IrirlI poitatof JaUlsrtet.d
Swe(t potatoes hrvestcd
Tohae c halirvestte
Sugarcane or aorfhum sy3rt'
Vectable harvested for .ale
Pecans harvested
Watcrmclo;es harvested
19492
173,912
57.055
t889,285
1506,60
350,864
17,432
3,322 head
34,352 gal.
12,365 .w a
10,422
47,820 bu.
165,230 lb,
64,200 lb.
133 bu.
I,279 bu.
331,291 1b.
4,676 gal.
6,135 acres
2,006 lh.
292 acres
1954.
I1080,58
42,714
31,080,312
342,664
453,731
3,985
7,118
19.250
14,580
12,193
88,93
141,827
232,3-8
303
head
Igal.
I ea
bu.
1 h.
Ib.
1l31.
o59 bu.
507,014 bii,
5, 82 ga].
6,648 acres
24,718 lb,
251 acres
1959
. 91.339
2ft,83't
-1,523,114
402,324
612,851
8.942
6.157 head
11,250 head
5,468
116,282 bu.
164 ,48 1b,
247,300 lb.
305 bu.
2,364 bu.
816,393 lb.
4,145 gal.
4,478 acrs
72,810 Ib,
4.117 acrec
79.826
18.512
$t ,951,803
740,219
819,540
9,6811
10,317 head
2 rl.
6,937 head
27,604
376,486 bu,
208,291 bu.
31 (hindied
weight)
345 bu.
356,25 lb.
700 gal.
3,466 a1rce
69,059 lb.
3,315 acres
S19y50 Census of Pop>ulation 'ries PC-B, no. 9.
SU.. H. Bureau of Census. 1954, Cecsus of Agrieulture, Counties and State ELonotnmi Areas, Florida.
Wnahingtun, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1956,
r Ftlrira State Chamber of Commer., statistical abstract of floridA erwmunties, S1.1plleinent 195Is.
L U. Bureau of CensusI, 195.9. CenRLiL& of Agriciulture., Counties and State. t economic A-reas, Florida.
Wr-]lington, U. 86. government Printing Office, 1961.
SI U. S. Bureau of CeBnss, 1964. Cclm~is of Agri clture, Counties and State, L'conomic Areas, Florida.
Washington, U. S. Government Printing Offie, 1966.
Production
TABLE 3. FARM CHARACTERISTICS OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST COUNTIES, 1950, 1954, 1959 AND 1964.1
o
Dixie County iilchrist County
1960 1954 1959 164 1950 19 1959 96 ]94
ToLal Aeres 440 .320 Same Same Stie 216 ,960 Ste Rttwme Same
Fsrn (Tih loansl of Acres) 218 1ig 169 206 114 10g 91 O8
Percent of Total Lanrd n Farms 49.6 38,3 38,4 46.6 62.5 49, 42.1 38,8
Number of Farme 17 214 142 179 426 9 334 296 >
Average Sise of Farms 1,259,4 789.0 J 189.7 1,145.1 267.4 292.8 273.5 269,7
SData from U. S. Bureau ti f C-rnFws, Crnus u{f Agriculture. 0
14 BULLETIN No. 49
TABLE 4. FARM POPULATION OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
COUNTIES, 1950, 1955 AND 1964.?
1950 %of 1955 %of 164
Farm 1950 FarT ]155 Fn
Area op. op Pop, Pop % Changc Pop.
Dixie County 670 1.2 000 15.0 -11.2 549
Gilolrist County 2,083 59.5 1,90(0 6-.2 8.8 918
I Dats from U. S. Bureau of Cenmus. Censon. of Agricultuur
TABLE 5. VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, DIXIE AND
GILCHRIST COUNTIES, 1949-1964.
1949 1 54 ] ,95 1956 1959 19!3
DLJ.IX COUNTYr
Value of Field Crops 5 ,X0 122 ,000 13 .797 207,213
Cotton Prodcrion n Acrcs 5 5 5 33
P LnuLL Produiction in Acres 5 20 21 22
Tombcco Prvduction in Acres 164) 16 130 101 101
Valuc of Livestock Sold 162 ,000 101 ,f0f 231,240 1 42 886
Value of Truck Crops Sold 1 ,CNX 35 ,,[NX 9,640 7 275
Acre Planted 300 700 ]33 78
Value of Poultry and Poultry Pruducts
Sold 20.000 60,000 44,428 6,247
VlU c tf Dairy Products Sold 21.000 -
VaLuc of Fruit and Nuts Sold 295 2,54 4
GILCHRIST COUNTY:
Value of Field Crope 157 ,000 343,00 402.324 740,219
Cotton PodCti in m Acres 4 5 -
Pcanut Production in Acres 270 400 41(K 2 J 174
Tolbcco Production in Acret 545 540 440 275 247
Value of Livestork Rold 302,000 412 572.279 067,928
Value of Trut-k Crops Sold 364,000 283,000 473,350 334,i95
Acrma Planted 8 750 5,8& 0 1 ,476 3,466
Val.ie uf Puultry und Poultry Product*
&Sld 28 ,010 21 ,)00 4 )00 -
Value of Dairy Produ1icl Si id 21 ,00 20.000 3,000 -
Value of Frui, oind Nuts Sold 5,000 25.647 17,463
1 Data from I-. S BLLreau of Ccn'us, Census of Agriculture.
major industrial sources for 1954 and 1960 are summarized on
table 6, and dollar volume of retail sales during 1952, 1955, 1957,
and 1960 are summarized on table 7. Cross City in Dixie County
and Trenton in Gilchrist County are principal towns and county
seats. They serve as centers for county government, communication
and transportation.
Steward, Horseshoe Beach, and Suwannee are small fishing
villages located along the Dixie County coast, while Shamrock,
Oldtown and Hines are interior communities that are centered
about lumber mills. The population of the latter settlements has
declined with the decrease in mill activity. Oldtown, near the
Suwannee River, is of some historical interest and Cash (1938)
stated that "One of the largest Indian towns in Florida during
latter Spanish days was what was known as Suwannee Oldtown,
which occupied nearly or exactly the site of the present village of
Oldtown." The same author wrote that Narvaez and his men
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
TABLE 6. PERSONAL INCOME AND PERCENT FROM MAJOR
INDUSTRIAL SOUCES FOR 1954 AND 1960'
Dixie CoGu[ty
Ind] istry
lfanufactu ring
Agritilt.u re
AMining and Fisheriea
Cinat riur ion
Transportation, Communication and
Utilities
Financ, R-al FAstte and Tnsuranee
Rett ] anil Wholtfeale Trade
Service Trades and ProfeasiLns
Guvcrnlu'c" rt
Unc~1asfied by Indsimtry
1954
Income Percent
5 333,0f00
200 ,000
44,000
14 ,000
74 ,r00
51 ,000
3,50 ,0..
180,000
1 .073 ,(K)0
215,000
13,1
82
1.7
0.0
2.9
2,0
13,8
7.1
42,1
8.5
1060
Income
St41
Percent
(.050 ,00( 28.7
316,000 8.s
97,000 2.7
214 ,00 5.9
142 ,(W0 3.9
11 6,00 3,2
528,00 14.4
21,i,000 60.8
21,0M 0.6
Gilchriet County
Maniifacetl ring 116 ,0W1 4.8 82 ,(00 3.3
AMricultLLre 776,0M) 32.3 966 ,000 37.9
Mining and Fillerie -
Crimst.ruction 32.OL) 13 157,IO 6.1
Transportation, Commnuni'tiion and
Utili tt[ 70,000 2.9 86,OWJ 3.4
Finance, Real Estute and InTurance 51 ,000 2, 42 ,(00 1.6
Retail and Wholesale Trade 28. ,000 11.8 397,000 15.6
Screide T races and Professions 135,000 i5. 6 10 6,000 6,5
(Gvernments 7951,000 33. 1 629,0f0 24.7
Unclaasified by Industry 147 ,In) 6, 23,000 0.9
I PerFonal income antd other statistic for Flcrida countic Burer of Economic and BuisineR Research
University of Floride.
TABLE 7. DOLLAR VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES OF DIXIE
AND GILCHRIST COUNTIES, (SELECTED YEARS)'
1952 1955 1957 1960 1952-57
State af Florida $3,157,4~ 3 4 ,577 023 4 ,892 ,159 $8 ,50 ,000 86, 6
Tliic Cotlntyv 2,128 3,594 3,687 3,717 73.3
Gilchrist County 2.122 2,8S2 2,757 3 .255 29.9
] Ptcrsol income and other ae tistie-9 for Florida countiLe, Bureu of Economia and Buwiness Research,
lUniverity of Florida,
marched through this region in 1528 along a route approximating
the location of U. S. Highway 19.
The town of Bell is the only community in Gilchrist County in
addition to the county seat. Bell is a small farm center served by a
branch of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company. Formerly
Williford, Tyler, and Neals were communities populated by mill
workers; but with the decline of lumbering their inhabitants
moved on to other areas.
DRAINAGE
SUWANNEE RIVER DRAINAGE BASIN
The Suwannee River drainage basin covers an area of 10,000
square miles which is about equally divided between Florida and
I
"~
BULLETIN No. 49
G E OR G I A
Limit oi Suwannee 10 0 I 20 30 40Miles
.. *r. .r rr .. I I "
River drainage area
Datum is mean sea level
CONTOUR INTERVAL 10 FEET
Figure 6, Mip of Ilori a showing portion of tie Suiwannee River drainage basin
with piezomitictrir contours of the Floridan aquifer (after Iealy, 1962).
Georgia. The Florida part of this large drainage basin is shown
in figure 6, which depicts piezometric contours drawn upon the
top of the artesian water of the Floridan aquifer, as well as
streams. The Suwannee River has its source in the western half
of the Okefenokee Swamp, which it partially drains. The principal
tributaries to the Suwannee are the Withlacoochee and Alapaha
rivers, arising in Georgia, and the Santa Fe River, which has its
source in the lake region of central peninsular Florida.
GFLoY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
About one-third of Dixie County and three-quarters of Gil-
christ County lie within the Suwannee River drainage basin. The
southeastern quarter of Gilchrist County is partially drained by
the Wacasassa River. The western two-thirds of Dixie County is
drained by the Steinhatchee River, and by numerous smaller
streams, of which Shired Creek is the most important.
PIEZOMETRIC SURFACE
The effect of surface drainage of the Suwannee and Santa Fe
rivers on the piezometric surface of the Floridan aquifer is shown
in figure 6. The piezometric contours represent the approximate
height, in feet, above mean sea level of static water levels in
tightly cased wells that penetrate the aquifer.
The configurations of the contours are controlled by perme-
ability as well as the recharge and discharge areas. In areas where
the rivers flow over impermeable deposits, such as clays and silts,
that overlie the limestones of the aquifer, the characteristic up-
stream bending of the piezometric contours is absent. However,
where piezometric contours do parallel the rivers by bending up-
stream, the limestone of the aquifer are close to the surface.
The bending upstream of the contours indicates leakage of ground
water into the rivers. In these areas the rivers act as drains and
the flow of the rivers is sustained by ground-water flow from the
aquifer to the rivers.
The contours parallel the Suwannee River as far upstream as
Hamilton County, and the Sante Fe River as far upstream as
southeastern Columbia County. A comparison of contour con-
figurations along the rivers with the geology of the basin, shown
on figure 7, reveals their close correspondence with the exposures
of the limestones of the aquifer.
SUWANNEE RIVER DISCHARGE
Records of stream discharge of the Suwannee River for the
15-year period immediately preceding 1950, taken at Rock Bluff,
show that on the average April is the month of maximum dis-
charge, as shown on table 8.
Figure 8 is a photograph of the U. S. Geological Survey gag-
ing station at Rock Bluff taken August 7, 1950, when the gage
read 5.6 feet at water level. The maximum observed discharge
at Rock Bluff occurred on April 13, 1948, when the stream stage
was 27.43 feet above mean sea level. On this date stream discharge
BULLETIN No. 49
G E 0 R G I A
EXPLANAT I ON 10 0 1i 20 30 d4Miles
]OCALA GROUP Doium .smenan seo level
E- OTHER FORMATIONS
^^- CONTOUR INTERVAL 10 FEET
Fi. rn-' 7, M;p <.i.f 1le FIlrridai portion of the Suwannee Hiver dr1i'nage basin with
ji1' ninFlt 'i[ rn' tourii of tbh Floriinan L qtuifEr supcrinmposd on
the outcropping formation (after Iealy, 1962).
was at the rate of 82,300 cubic feet per second, compared to the
average discharge rate of 14,112 cubic feet per second for the
month of April.
Approximately 90 percent of the stream flow at Rock Bluff
is derived from the Georgia-North Florida portion of the drainage
basin, including the Okefenokee Swamp. The other 10 percent is
contributed by the Santa Fe River drainage area, which covers
18
TABLE 8. MONTHLY AND YEARLY MEAN DISCHARGE (IN CUBIC FEET PER
SECOND), OF THE SUWANNEE RIVER AT ROCK BLUFF, FLORIDA1
C)
Monthly AverCwe Discharge, 15-ycnr period 1935-2150,
Jan Feb March April May
Mean
Max.
Min.
8,400
26,750
3,530
f, 545
21,170
3,730
12 ,62
33,390
4.360
Montlly end Yearly Mcsn Dischrge
19850
1951 ,285 A,162 5,.
1952 ]I1 ,tIr .I ,19 15 ,
1953 4,081 6,435 8,
1954 16,920 10,400 8.
1955 ,2 1J 3,881) 3,
1950 2.S48 3,831 5,
14 ,]17
59,430
4 ,982
S,8]4
12,400
10,52(1
6 ,585
3,882
4 ,0-4 t
508
300
306
010
544
210
9,1-57
20 .050
3,632
6,4R3
7 ,u0
8,823
3 .437
0 .89-5
June
6,0191
10 ,740
3,179
4,382
6 ,669
5 ,fil6
,5,616
.14,485
3,106
-14 310
J.ily
7,060
10,400
3,9-29
3 .920
4 ,839
4,398
2,937
4,547
Aug.
9 ,395
22,260o
4.668
4 ,075
41,399
8,148
4,018
2,870
4 023
Sept.
10,011
19,980
4,188
5,117
4,460
12,680
3,7-17
a3,978
3,348
Oct,
18 550
3 ,i17
7,605
6 ,455
4,650
18,05D
3,5.5
3,720
4 ,370
Nov.
8,106
34,280
3,190
8,227
9,052
4,118
S9,580
3,231
2 ,950
4,026
DTe,
7,383
32 ,-10
3,079
5,a92
3,785
10.960
3.121
2,687
3,277
c-'
Annual
9,223 0
19 ,770 b
4.904
0,390
B ,o310
6 .213
7 ,479
9,](A
8,130
3 ,343
4 ,223
I Data corrpile d by U, S. Groligicel Survey, Divijion of Wntcr Reaources. Location: Ser, 10, TSS, RI4E, at Rock Bluff Ferry, 10 mies rdownitreami from Santa Fe-
BSwannee River junction. Avemns discharge. Disrharti in cubic feet rr rccnd. NMontldy and yearly mean dimhclarge {in Lhlli! fIe t per 2eeo id at Rock Bluff frumi
1951 tuj D"'v!mber 19.6,. No records are available -fter 1950 Ba te KAIagiEYi station has been abandoned.
I
BULLETIN No. 49
Figure 8. Suwannee River at Rock Bluff, Florida showing the gagiing station.
950 square miles, and includes the relatively high central portion
of Florida in Union and Bradford counties.
Table 9 gives the mean monthly and annual discharge at a
recorder located in Sec. 29, T10S, R14E, on the left bank about
400 feet downstream from Fort Fanning Bridge at U. S. 19 over
the Suwannee. Figure 9 shows the mean flow of the Suwannee
River at Branford for a 30-year period (1931-1960).
SANTA FE RIVER DISCHARGE
Stream discharge records of the Santa Fe River for a 20-
month period preceding 1950, taken near Fort White, show that
March is the month of maximum discharge and June is the month
of minimum discharge. Table 10 gives the mean monthly and
annual discharge at a recorder in Sec. 28, T7S, R16E, 5 miles south
of Fort White.
STEINHATCHEE RIVER DISCHARGE
Stream discharge records of the Steinhatchee River, seven
tenths of a mile south of Clara, Dixie County, from October 1950
and September 1965, are given in table 11. The maximum dis-
charge, 4,320 cubic feet per second, was recorded on October 4,
1957.
20
TABLE 9. MONTHLY AND YEARLY MEAN DISCHARGE (IN CUBIC FEET PER SECOND), OF THE SUWANNEE
RIVER NEAR WILCOX, FLORIDA.'
Year
Feb
Mar
Apr
lMay
Jutn
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
(Nov
Dec
Annual
11,300 12,000 11 ,300 10 ,91o
21,470
8,830 7 160 6,270 6,740
No record from Oct. 1931 through Mar. 1942
1 ,780 16,980
14,730
21 ,7,10
16,040
6,040
11,410
7 ,204
11,680
4,541
4,382
3,602
10,920
10,340
11 ,350
10,360
5,698
10,550
17,850
20,000
16,220
32 ,210 57,260
14 ,710 14 ,580
6,045
i;: ,0ao
9,212
2,282
4 ,887
5,582
3 796
15.250
24 ,910
19 ,470
S.087
14 1900
5 ,800
30,300
10 ,430
13,1900
10,600
7,464
4 ,742
-14,631
6.116
19,560
31,220
24 040
13,650
14.730
10,090
17 ,790
20 ,590
22,380
7,142
8,356
9,475
5,955
4,422
7.371
5,691
y ,,41
19.510
16,340
15 800
16,240
9,387
a ,345
23,470
15,740
5.073
7,210
6,132
5,204
4 ,174
4,924
11 ,180
12 ,640
21 ,6)9
9,747
9,132
6,174
5 ,35
13,310
11,550
4 728
5,331
6,401
5 ,0,51
4.104
4 ,924
10,00
16 380
15,480
11 ,210
8.180
5,637
7.304
11 ,630
15 ,320
14.880
20,000
17,380
14,9330
5a 313
s ,88
4 .546
3,9s58
8,690
11.610
13,820
13 ,670
7 ,850
5 ,37
6.739
20 ,00
14,400
5,810
14.220
20 ,30
16,030
17 ,20
5,678
5,023
12 ,80
4 ,.UO
4 644
4,122
7,7954
10,820
] 1 ,MO,50
11,130
6.049
a ,263
27 ,10
11 ,470
8,160
13.540
17 ,790
13 ,870
8,226
5.239
17 r,80
4 ,263
4,244
4,788
12,710
6,074
9.906
1,410
5 ,36m
4 ,85
25,810
7 ,30
8, 320
33.030 32 ,630
9,367
9,905
4,865
11.030
4,128
3,718
4.399
8,266
5,597
10,440
9,524
7 ,458
4 589
4,178
17,350
6,568
10,070
4 155*1
11.790
4,078
3 ,575
3,880
12.270
5,273
8 ,548
7,427
&,RSO
4 ,49
4,153
20 ,970
' Dat from U. Ceological Survey. Divmiai' of Water Resourcea
1930
]131
19142
1943
]1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1051
1980
1954
1056
1957
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
14,300
27,320
15.970
5 ,900
5 ,'goo
32,190
4,662
17,120
4 ,088
3,610
3.799
11 ,220
6,381
9 ,505
1,773
5 ,f519
S,774
21 ,470
7 ,223
6,940
8,154
9.688
6,911
4 .213
4,788
7,904
11,830
14,990
13.120
9.546
6,800
7,054
19 ,320
-- --
BULLETIN No. 49
1961
1960
Figure 9. Monthly mean flow of Suwannee River at. ranford, Florida. Normal
(nimlinn) for 30-year period 1931-1960 (data from U.S. Geological Survey).
SPRINGS
Eleven named springs occur in Gilchrist County, four of which
empty into the Sante Fe River and seven into the Suwannee River.
All of these springs are located within a few hundred feet of
the banks of these rivers. Turbulent boils occur in a number of
places in the beds of the two rivers which are attributed to sub-
channel spring flow. The springs and boils issue from fissures in
the limestone and attest the presence of subsurface streams.
Rock Bluff Spring, shown in figure 10, typifies the springs of
Gilchrist County. Its water is translucent and reflects the cypress
growing along the banks. Schools of mullet swim up from the
Gulf to feed along its sandy bottom. The deepest part of the
spring is about 25 feet, where water issues from a channel in the
Crystal River Formation. The flow of this spring on June 4, 1952,
was calculated at 25 cubic feet per second.
The rates of flow of several other springs in Gilchrist County
are estimated in table 12. Figures 11, 12, 13 and 14 show vari-
ous springs in the area.
D J F M A M J J A S 0 N 0
48 33 48 48 54 59 5-6454 47 47147
44:" *,J rS
: ;: : :: : ;! ; .; : f : : :I :::
.i .. .... .
e '':-"i ::- .. f1:: ; : : :
...57 5555 32 55 55 55- 5443
rr S !
---- I 4 -- 4
"7 "---I ---
56 57 55 55 2 55 55 55 54 54 43 43
TABLE 10. MONTHLY AND YEARLY MEAN DISCHARGE OF THE SANTA FE
RIVER NEAR FORT WHITE, FLORIDA."
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May JLLn July Aug Rept Oet Nov Dec Annual
19Q27 ~I 13 1 ,00)0 70
1928 963 O[ti 995 1 ,900 2.980 1,550 2 ,310 3 ,50 3, ,9610 4 2,260 1 ,61 I 2.264
1929 2,0rJ0 1,840 2,270 2,030 1,400 1,390 1 ,70 2,490 2,680 3,05 I ,970 1 ,580 ,098
1930 1,650
No record fr:m Feb. through May, 1932
1932 800 785 972 1 ,380 1 .080 940 926 t
Iu 846 6'0 1 ,I0o 2,200 1,350 1 ,03J I ,041 1 ,230 1,92 1.220 ,020 939 1,237 0
1934 883 358 877 848 922 3,820 2,270 2,270 1,76f) 1 ,327 1121 997 ,497 g
1935 943 872 785 773 762 731 811 1 .333 4,421 2 ,418 1,580 1,371 ,399 C
R19 1 ,250 1,7~i2 1 ,T7M 1,604 1 ,169 1 ,094 1,112 1,179 1 ,004 1,358 1,185 1,080 1 .313
19W7 1,075 2 ,010 1 ,933 2,39 1 ,637 1,275 1 217 1 ,486 2,178 ,920 1 558 1 ,410 1,776
1938 I 634 I .677 ] .275 1.097 1 ,007 1,000 I ,106 1 ,674 1,298 1 ,610 2 ,415 ,32-1 1 ,398 0
1939 1.172 1,O*C I ,098 038 f21 .174 1 ,809 2.110 1 .61 1,320 1,T53 1,4180. 1 ,293
1940 1,075 1 ,F5R 1 ,338 ,292 1 ,051 98 1 26 1,687 1 ,356 1 ,026 918 914 1,188
1941 1,118 I ,22 1,293 1,170 1,019 1,05 2.029 1.903 1,436 2 ,58 3.298 2,767 1,748
1942 3,415 2,625 4,369 2,758 1 ,885 1,701 1 794 1.834 1 ,792 ,2 1 ,52 1 ,238 2,191
1943 1,147 1,074 1,075 988 99 9 47 9i62 1 ,354 1 ,151 948 860 827 25
1944 836 828 990 2, 37 1, 339 93 1,182 2,727 2,057 3,17 2,283 1,438 1,682 L
1945 1,892 1 ,506 1,255 1,092 1,010 943 1,097 2,178 2.014 1,320 1,095 I ,202 I,3 89
1946 1 ,984 1,451 1,187 1,110 1 ,778 2,020 2,433 3 ,116 2 ,603 2,405 1 ,713 1 ,37(1 1 ,J51 t
1947 1,210 1,4(0 2 ,226 1,,028 1 ,338 1,367 1 ,192 1 ,88 2 ,047 3,906 3,840 2,680 2 ,034
1948 2,452 2,832 $ ,345 4,66. 2, 582 1 .892 ,705 3,087 2,347 3,282 2,030 1,917 2 ,347
1949 1 ,773 2,481 1,390 1,777 1680 1 ,486 1 ,603 1 ,746 3,438 2 ,052 1,924 1 ,74 1 ,37
1950 1 431 I ,284 1,226 1 1, ,I 102 ] ,w3 1,143 ] ,288 3,3 7 3 ,385 2 ,637 1,722 ,7359
1951 1,492 1,346 1I ,2%0 1,287 1,152 1.088 I,066 1 ,17 1, 133 1 ,145 1,266 1,216 1,217 t
1962 1,139 I ,.30 I ,603 1,233 ] .42 996 928 927 1,019 ,109 963 914 I ,104
1053 1.023 992 989 1 ,859 1,321 1 .10i 1,087 1 ,636 3094 3 ,089 1 ,861 2,65r1 ,73I
1954 3, 046 1,835 1 526 1,3C 1 ,2.1f 1,1211 1 ,<] ] ,057 T ,.F0 1,080 925 892 1,354
1955 885 1 ,95 70 909 974 836 882 816 756 730 712 079 844 '
1956 G67 601 673 671 738 679 8,98 811 780 1 ,212 1.115 813 808
191f7 728 703 670 684 tr3G 2,090 1 ,370 I ,6.97 ,256 1 ,632 1 ,1.10 I ,454, ] ,1-11
1958 1 ,051 1,127 2,075 2,1633 1673 1 ,257 I ,68 1 .538 1 28 I ,104 1,110 1,158 1 ,43
1959 1 ,833 1 ,7R8 4.238 3,515 3 ,1409 4.063 2,625 2,031 2 ,211 2 .593 2,031 1 ._53 2 670
196i 1,511 1,658 -3 ,.40 2,822 1.963 1 ,640 2,259 2 .895 2,764 3,095 2,033 1, 68i 2,315
1961 1 ,,126 1,772 1 ,823 1 ,666 1 398 1 ,304 1 ,60 2,290 2 58 1 ,51i5 1 ,308 1,183 1 ,65
1962 1 ,09 1 ,033 1 ,015 983 90,1 881 013 1 ,053 1 ,118 1 ,025 932 904 189
1963 933 1,562 1,739 1,124 932 798 1,181 1,455 1 ,iHi1 1,354 957 839 1.195
1964 1 ,fi2i 2,319 2,464 1,550 2,031 1,308 1,229 2,163 6,344
1965
1 Data from IT. & Geological Sur-ve.y, Surfaace Watefr Bri nchi.
TABLE 11. MONTHLY AND YEARLY MEAN DISCHARGE OF THE STEINIIATCHEE RIVER NEAR CROSS CITY,
FLORIDA1
'Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov De. Annual
1950 227 132 87.4
1951 72.1 SA,5 227 250 23.0 18.6 32.6 437 175 129 1 ,291 400 261
1952 212 808 413 184 26. 2 48.9 31.4 146 402 317 35,5 23.7 221
1958 128 121 53.5 695 96.0 208 476 A50 1 .53 1 ,021 209 q98 506
1954 560 159 103 153 122 16.1 634 105 97.6 66.3 13.0 31.3 173
1955 51.5 329 59.9 30.3 10.5 9.50 22.0 42.0 174 16.0 11,2 7.53 62.3 Z
1955 14.2 56.9 35.3 15.9 89.6 14.4 82. 5W0,8 29.5 262 51.4 22.4 60.8
1957 15.5 13.0 53.9 87.4 137 925 503 478 725 1 ,436 98.5 405 4f Z
1958 396 390 875 677 99.4 174 717 216 P 6,0 97,5 108 07.8 323 C
1959 484 239 1,889 490 611 621 780 58. R8 973 358 259 r4 "
1980 220 630 1.356 525 72.3 55,3 r147 780 437 1 .310 83 45 509
1961 233 476 214 305 47.3 23.9 51.1 78.7 253 18-9 16.9 33.3 143 t
1062 62.2 58.6 76.5 45.0 9.09 22.6 221 220 47[ 90 36,9 111 102
1963 169 716 568 47.8 16.6 35.6 483 217 82,9 205 35 74.3 221
1964 819 972 89s 253 582 37.3 1,305 ,830 3,820,0 423 40.2 530 962
1965 247 275 654 145 94.4 106 321 551 249
I Data from U. S. Geological Survey.
GE:OI.(u) OF D)IXIE AND (ILCIIRIST
Figure 10. Ruck Bluff Springs, Gilrbrist. County, Florida.
The following discharge measurements of some springs in
Gilchrist County are reported in Florida Geological Survey Bul-
letin 31, and in the Water Survey and Research Paper No. 12.
Spring
Blue Springs
Hart Spring
Lumber Camp Spring
Otter Spring
Rock Bluff Spring
Flow in Cubic
Feelt per Second
461
62.1
40
58.6
2.96
5,00
5,43
42.1
Datei
Oct. 9, 1930
_May 12.1932
May 14, 1932
,July 24, 1946
May 12 1932
March 14, 1932
May 12, 1932
Dec. 8. 1942
25
B ( L 1.Er No. 49
During low
charge of Rock
flow investigation of April and May 1956, dis-
Bluff Spring was 23.8 on April 28, and 25.0 on
TABLE 12. ESTIMATED RATE OF FLOW OF SELECTED SPRINGS IN
GILCHRIST COUNTY (BY W. R. OGLESBY)
Flo-v int "1II1hic
Sji'rii n Fret. [wr -irinJd Date- (19;i2)
TJanir- Sprinet; 7-9 [Mav 4
T.il[ Rprjrln. 3:\1) ,lrn lI 31)
(ttLIr Sliuin la 211 Alay 4
Ilfck Bluff T pringnu 23 i .ILn 4
Aiken -priti i) 1 .Imane 4
LiIujlnr Ca(mip Sp]rinl.s 81; Lirw -1
Figure 11. Hart Springs, Gilchrist Couiny, Florida.
26
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCIIRIST 27
Figure 12. Old Town Springs, Dixie County, Florida.
Figure 13. Blue Springs, Gilchrist. County, Florida.
BiLLErTIr No. 49
Figure 14. Trailj Sprinp, Loctlli.y 136, Gilbhlrist County, Florida.
April 19 and discharge of flow at Hart Spring was 58.6 on April
27, (Pride and Crooks, 1962, p. 52).
On the west bank of the Suwannee River, in Dixie County,
there are small springs occurring at the bank of the river, but as
they had no appreciable channels of their own, their flow was not
measured.
Several of the springs in Dixie and Gilchrist counties were
described in Bulletin No. 31 of the Florida Geological Survey,
1947. The descriptions include a photograph of Rock Bluff Spring
and a water analysis of Hart Spring, reproduced as tables 13 and
14.
28
GEOLOGY OF DIXIe AND GiLCHlILST
TABLE 13. WATER ANALYSIS OF HART SPRINGS,
GILCHRIST COUNTY, FLORIDA
April 27, 1f 5)**
Date ,fC collection July 24. ]946* (low flow)
Parif Per Million
,illem (.i0 s) ........................... 5 .20 .3
Iriun (Fe.) .............................. .. 5 0.0
Calcium (C ) -.....-- ..- .....-..... ..--. 67.00 8 .10
Magneaitt~i (Mg) ....................... 4.80 6.4
Sodinun (Na) .................. .... ... 2.0 2.4
PoLat (K) ..... .. ..... ... 0.60 0.1
BieLrbvuate (11CO,).................... 208.00 206 .10
Sulfate (SOi.) ........................... 12.00 101.0
Chloridr' ((1). .. .. .... .. 3, W 5.0
Fluoride (F) ........................... (..L 0,2
Nitrate (NO,).......................... 2- 30 I0.0
Disol ved Solids ........................ 200.00 1991.0
Total Hardant-sn fl (C' COt, ............ 18 C00 196
Carlon Dioxide (CO2)..................... 17
Color ................................... 5.00U 10.0
pl .................., .. ,.... ... .... 7-.30 7.9
]ireciric Conductance (K X 105 sa 25" C.) 3., 350 363.0
Sparing of Florida; Fkvridt GCeo. rurTey Bull a3, p. f ,
Pride and Crooks, 1962, p. 63.
SOLUTION FEATURES
SUMMARY
The solution of carbonate rock is controlled by water-table
fluctuations, topography, rock solubility, relative permeability of
the sediments, rainfall, plant decay and bacterial action (which
furnishes CO, to the ground-air) plus CO2 of the atmosphere, and
finally, temperature and pressure which control the amount of
CO that meteoric waters can absorb.
Factors which influence the form that solution features may
assume include non-homogeneity of rocks, joints, bedding planes,
dipping beds, faults and unconformities. The availability of abra-
sive agents, such as quartz sand, may modify the final form of
solution features.
Solution features are initiated at or near the water table, in
the vadose zone. They are usually modified by normal seasonal
fluctuations of the water table.
Solution features of Florida include 1) common sinks or
sink holes, 2) funnel sinks and natural wells, 3) solution pipes,
4) sink-hole lakes, 5) underground rivers, 6) springs, 7) caves,
and 8) karrenfelds.
COMMON SINKS AND SINK-HOLE LAKES
The prerequisites to the formation of sink holes include car-
bonate rock, which extends above the water table, and rainfall
TABLE 14. WATER ANALYSIS OF ROCK BLUFF SPRINGS, FLORIDA.'
I -..
Rock Bltuff Slring
April 27, 1958
.3
-9
Q
"-
S
3
2:
[lU
5.3 .00 46 2.7 2.0
SPride and Crooks, 192,. p. 63.
,2
o
0
1a
1-13
W
7.0 4-0
i :
G *2
rja
s
*I
Ia~
a-
128]
*-9
*I'
4I
c
.1
z
a
in
-3
.3I
10
z
10
*g
1
1
':3
137
C:d
s^-
CE
r j
250
CI
r
Q3 I
7IJ5
' Pride and C ooks, It G2. 63,
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GIICHRIST
charged with C02, or some other natural acids.
The limestones of Dixie and Gilchrist counties are permeable
and porous, bioclastic, Upper Eocene rocks of the Inglis Forma-
tion, Williston Formation and Crystal River Formation (the Ocala
Group), and older sediments.
Elevations in Gilchrist County range from approximately 10
feet on the west, near the Suwannee River, to more than 100 feet
above sea level on the east, near the Alachua-Gilchrist County
line. The piezometric contours range from less than 10 feet at the
Suwannee River to slightly above 40 feet at the eastern margin
of Gilchrist County. The Chiefland Limestone Plain, the Suwannee
River Valley Lowlands and a portion of the Brooksville Ridge
and High Springs Gap lack impermeable cover above the limestone
interval of the Ocala Group. In the Wacasassa Flats area, lime-
stones of the Ocala Group are overlain by clay, silt, sandy clays,
and phosphorite of the Alachua Formation. A number of shallow
lakes are located in the Wacasassa Flats, of Gilchrist County.
These lakes are perched above the regional piezometric surface of
the county. The limestone aquifer crops out, or is overlain by a
thin veneer of Pleistocene sands and erratic clay lentils, on three
sides of the Wacasassa Flats.
In Dixie County, the same soluble limestones are present at
the surface or are overlain by an even thinner cover of loose
Pleistocene sands. There is also an appreciable amount of dolo-
mitic limestone, of Upper Eocene Age, along the coastal and
western margins of Dixie County. Clay or other impervious man-
tle is practically nonexistent above the Ocala bed-rock of Dixie
County.
Topographic quadrangles of the U. S. Geological Survey,
covering most of Dixie County, disclose that lake surfaces shown
on the Cross City East and Mallory Swamp S. E. quadrangles co-
incide with the regional water table, which ranges up to 58 feet
above sea level, near the Lafayette County line. Elevations of the
surrounding sand hillocks are only a few feet higher, ranging be-
tween 60 and 65 feet. This near coincidence of the land surface
and the water table is confirmed by the water levels standing in
borrow pits along State Highway 357, from Hines northward to
Lafayette County. Elevations along this stretch of road range
between 39 and 42 feet, whereas the water level of the borrow
pits ranges between 37 and 39 feet, as shown on the topographic
sheet designated Mallory Swamp S. W.
Extensive field work in Dixie County revealed only seven
rather shallow dry sink holes in the county. All of these were
IBurLTIIN No. 49
located within a 11/ mile radius, centering along the common line
between Sections 9 and 16, T9S, R13E, approximately 5 miles
west of the Suwannee River, and 8 miles south of the Dixie-
Lafayette County line. This area is included on the topographic
quadrangle designated Cross City East, where the elevations
range between 45 and 50 feet, and the water table, as shown at
Cow Ponds in Sec. 9, T9S, R13E, stands at slightly below 40 feet.
The Crystal River Formation crops out in the area and stood ap-
proximately 8 or 10 feet above the water table at the time of
mapping. The majority of lakes and ponds of this portion of Dixie
County were probably formed by an increase in the height of
water table, which occurred after solution had progressed to an
early stage of karst development.
FUNNEL SINKS AND NATURAL WELLS
Figure 15-A, B, and C illustrate the development of a funnel
sink, in this case a "natural well," because its funnel penetrates
the water table. The ground elevation at the sink, by aneroid
barometer reading, is 401% feet above sea level. The top of the
Crystal River Formation lies 51/ feet below a layer of sand (Pam-
lico Terrace). The water level stood at 26 feet below ground level,
or 141/ feet above mean sea level when the photographs (shown
in figure 15-A, B and C were taken).
Figure 15-A is a photograph of the incipient sink taken July 7,
1950, after a 12-hour rain. Steady rains occurred again on the
evening of July 7 and during the following day. Figures 15-B and
15-C were photographs taken on July 9, after the bridge of loose
sand had collapsed.
The smooth circular base of the natural well shown in figure
15-B extended beneath the water table as of July 9, 1950. If this
feature had formed by solution alone, it would be difficult to ex-
plain its circular regularity, which cuts across fossil shells pro-
truding from the wall, as evenly as it does across the including
matrix of limestone. The sink is located on the Sheppard Farm in
the NE/4 of Section 21, T10S, R14E, on the Chiefland Limestone
Plain. It is one of approximately 70 sinks in this physiographic
province from which samples were collected. The overlying
Pleistocene sand very probably furnished the cutting edge to the
rainwater which percolated down to the underlying limestone.
When a joint or crack in the limestone became enlarged by solu-
tion, percolation increased to free flow downward to the water
table, carrying sand in the eddying swirl imparted to it in ac-
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
FigurLf 15. Development of a sink at Locality 9, ShYt! Iurlds Fann, Gilclhrist. County.
Florida. A-TInvipient sink in the Crystal River Formation; B-View clown natural
well; C-Natural well. surface of ground water table 26 feet below surflrmt..
cordance with Coriolis' law. That corrasion, rather than solution,
is the dominating agent in the formation of funnel sinks is dem-
onstrated by the shells which have been dissected in the soft
limestone walls of the sink. Differential solution either would
leave the shells protruding from the enclosing limestone matrix
or more probably would have dissolved these shells within the
matrix, leaving external molds.
The fact that the bore of this funnel sink extends below the
water table argues for a previously lower stand of the water level,
as effective corrasion would cease once the downward velocity of
the sand-laden water was halted, on reaching standing water.
BULLETIN No. 49
The diameter of funnel sinks in Gilchrist County ranges from
less than 1 foot to about 10 feet. No funnel sinks were found in
Dixie County.
SOLUTION PIPES
Vernon (1951, p. 44) described vertical tubes only a few inches
in diameter, in some cases, that extended 100 feet downward in the
limestone as solution pipes or "natural wells." He attributed their
formation to swirling water, moving upward under artesian pres-
sure, which caused their solution. Bisected shells also occur in the
smooth tubes in Silver Springs (Vernon, 1967, personal communi-
cation). No solution pipes were found in Dixie or Gilchrist counties.
UNDERGROUND RIVERS
The Steinhatchee River, the boundary of Dixie County with
Taylor County, crosses U. S. Highway 19 where its course is
underground, as shown on U. S. Geological Survey topographic
map of the Clara Quadrangle. The underground course of the
stream extends for about 1 mile in Sections 15, 21, and 22, TSS,
R10E, near Tennille. As the map symbols indicate, the stream is
perennial except for the one-mile stretch where an intermittent
surface stream carries drainage during the rainy season only. The
entrance to the underground channel was examined during the
rainy season when it was not possible to explore inside the tunnel.
At a stream gaging station, maintained by the U. S. Geological
Survey, about 1 mile upstream in Section 16, TSS, R10E, recorded
minimum water height was 10.28 feet above sea level in June, 1950,
and June, 1955. The maximum flood stage recorded was 26.74 feet
on September 13, 1964. The average stream flow at this station
was 328 c.f.s. for the period of 1950-1964. The elevation of the
entrance of the underground portion of the stream is between the
10 and 15-foot contours, and where it emerges downstream the
elevation is between the 5 and 10-foot contours. The water level
in a pond 1/ mile to the east of the downstream end of the under-
ground portion stood at 9 feet, when data was taken to prepare the
topographic sheet.
The Steinhatchee appears to be a consequent stream which de-
veloped no earlier than the Late Wisconsin glacial stage, immedi-
ately preceding the present interglacial stage. This is indicated
by the Pamlico Terrace, formed during the Peorian interglacial
stage, which stood at approximately 25 to 30 feet above sea level.
GEOLOc.Y or D)IXIE AND GIICHRIST' 35
The Steinhatchee River banks do not rise above the 20-foot contour
level. The dissected Pamlico Terrace scarp approximates the 25-
foot contour, as shown on topographic sheets entitled Clara, Jena,
and Steinhatchee. Also on these sheets is the outline of the Stein-
hatchee River valley from its source in Lafayette County, almost
to its point of discharge, in the Gulf of Mexico. The Pamlico
Terrace must have been present before the stream drainage dis-
sected it, for if the terrace dissection had occurred prior to the
Sangamon interglacial stage, when the Wicomico Terrace was
formed at about 100 feet above sea level, the dissected Pamlico Ter-
race, which outlines the Steinhatchee River valley, would have
been destroyed by the invading sea.
The subsurface drainage which occurs for almost a mile along
the course of the Steinhatchee River, near Tennille, in Section 21,
TSS, R10E, probably developed subsequent to the development of
the present stream channel. It appears to parallel the course of the
intermittent stream channel. The fact that this section of subsur-
face drainage exists, indicates a lower stand of the water table
than that recorded in modern times. The water level in the river
above and below its underground portion ranges between 9 and 15
feet, which represents the contemporaneous water table. Where a
stream flows at the level of a water table in porous limestone it
may not form a submerged cavern, because the interstices in the
rock underlying its bed are already filled with water; however, it
may cause solution by the exchange of the stream water, which is
charged with C02 and the interstitial water.
If the present interglacial stage continues to melt the polar ice
caps, the attendant rise in sea level, will lead to an increased
height of the water table in Florida. The intermittent stream above
the underground drainage of the Steinhatchee River may become
a permanent surface stream.
Solution plus erosion would eventually breach the cavern roof
of the submerged portion of the stream, thus resulting in a deep-
ened stretch of the stream bed. Subsequently, if sea level rose until
this portion of the Steinhatchee River valley was flooded, the rec-
ord of the once existing subsurface stream could be traced by a
sediment-filled channel, which had been initiated as a solution
feature in the surrounding limestone. On the other hand if the
present trend of rising sea level should be reversed, the attendant
drop in the water table would result in corrasion and solution of
the floor of the submerged section of the stream, leaving a cavern
with a stream flowing through it. A change in course of the river
bed would leave a dry cave.
BULLrETN No. 49
SPRINGS
The physical characteristics of the springs of Dixie and Gil-
christ counties are described in a preceding section, and in Bulletin
No. 31, 1947, of the Florida Geological Survey.
WELL AND OUTCROP NUMBERING SYSTEM
The well and outcrop numbering system used in this report is
based on the location of the well or outcrop and uses the rectangu-
lar system of section, township and range for identification. The
well or outcrop number consists of six parts: W for well or L for
outcrop, county abbreviations, the quarter/quarter location within
the section, the section, township and range.
The basic rectangle is the township which is 6 miles square.
It is consecutively numbered by tiers both north and south of the
Florida base line and is also consecutively numbered east and west
of the principal meridian. In the present numbering system the
T will be left off the township number and the R off the range
number. Each township is divided equally into 36 squares with the
quarters being labeled "a" through "d" as shown on figure 1. In
turn, each of these quarters are divided into quarters with these
quarter/quarter squares labeled "a" through "d."
When there is more than one well or outcrop in a quarter/
quarter section they are identified by a sixth number at the end of
the fifth unit. The abbreviation used for counties in this report are
Dx for Dixie, and Gr for Gilchrist.
Since this report was already in manuscript stage when the
above mentioned numbering system was adopted by the Florida
Geological Survey, the new numbering system appears in paren-
thesis after each location.
PHYSIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
The sediments in the area of this study compose a part of the
Coastal Plain Province (Fenneman, 1938, p. 65-68). The physiog-
raphy in Dixie and Gilchrist counties can be subdivided into two
categories of the four subdivisions erected by Vernon (1951, p.
16), namely the Terraced Coastal Lowlands and River Valley Low-
lands, shown on figure 16. Puri and Vernon (1964, p. 12) changed
the term Terraced Coastal Lowlands to Gulf Coastal Lowlands,
which usage is followed in this report.
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
GULF COASTAL LOWLANDS
The Gulf Coastal Lowlands of the counties under study begin
at the present coastline in Dixie County and extend eastward to
the eastern extremity of Gilchrist County. However, within these
boundaries are found the River Valley Lowlands. The Gulf Coastal
Lowlands in Dixie and Gilchrist counties consist of three Pleisto-
cene surfaces and shorelines and the coast and submarine plain
off the modern coast of Dixie County. The marine surfaces, begin-
ning with the oldest, are called Wicomico, Pamlico, and Silver
Bluff.
MODERN COAST AND SUBMARINE PLAIN
The coastline of Dixie County is a part of a low energy coast
formed on a partly drowned limestone plateau peninsula (Price,
1956). It is marshy and quite irregular with many islets lying just
off shore. Many creeks, of various lengths, originate at the inner
boundary of the marshland and flow in meandering channels
southwestward toward the Gulf. During the course of the field
work, the writers attempted to travel these streams by boat. How-
ever, the water at the mouths of the creeks was very shallow and
travel on many of the creeks was confined to periods of high tide.
It should also be noted that the creeks and the Steinhatchee and
Suwannee rivers carry very little sediment to be deposited in the
coastal waters.
The coastal waters off Dixie County are shallow. The 1-fathom
contour shown on nautical charts 1259 and 1260 lies 1 to 5 miles
offshore; the 5-fathom contour is about 25 miles from shore, in-
dicating a slope slightly in excess of 1 foot per mile. Within a mile
offshore, at low tide, it is not unusual to encounter waters too
shallow to float an ordinary skiff.
Price (1956) remarked that waves moving across such a gently
sloping bottom become deformed and lose most of their energy be-
fore reaching the shore. Consequently, as the waves reach the
shore they are too weak to form a line of breakers, which in turn
would form wave-cut beaches. The lack of wave action near shore
also prevents a longshore current from forming. Consequently
this factor along with the lack of available sediments is the reason
the original or presently forming shoreline irregularities are not
obscured.
Lying just off the coast at Horseshoe Point are several irregu-
larly shaped islands which White, Vernon and Puri (in prepara-
37
BULLETINf No. 49
Figirr, 17. Parliallv subimergedi dunes off tim coastline at Horseshoe Poinr,
tion) believe are partially drowned U-shaped dunes, shown in
figure 17.
Shallow mud-covered banks occur near the river mouths, not
only at the Suwannee and Steinhatchee, but also near the mouths
of numerous small streams discharging into the Gulf of Mexico
between these rivers. In stretches between river mouths, bare rock
and rock with a thin sand cover crop out. Sandbars and oyster
shoals are scattered along the coastal region. However, the oyster
bars tend to accumulate across or near the mouths of rivers and
creeks.
COASTAL SWAMPS
The Coastal Swamps of Dixie County are from 1 to 3 miles
wide; they consist of muds and silts which support a growth of
marsh grasses. However, occasionally there are barren stretches
where rock is exposed. Reentrants of the coastal marshes extend
up the mouths of streams and merge with the alluvial flats, that
border the stream channels. These coastal marshes are very easily
discernible on aerial photographs of the region.
,~,,
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GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GIICHRIST
SILVER BLUFF TERRACE AND SHORELINE
The Silver Bluff Shoreline was named for a wave-cut notch at
Silver Bluff near Biscayne Bay at Miami, Florida (Cooke, 1945,
p. 248). The notch occurs at an elevation of 5 feet.
MacNeil (1950, p. 104) extended the Silver Bluff Shoreline to
other parts of Florida and to north Georgia. He considered that
an elevation of 10 feet marked the approximate toe of the Silver
Bluff scarp. Across the Steinhatchee River, in Taylor County, the
Silver Bluff strand line may be represented by a 15- to 25-foot
escarpment whose toe occurs at the 10-foot contour line. Although
the escarpment is not as conspicuous in Dixie County, it is dis-
cernible, and the 10-foot contour line will be used to mark the
strand line of the Silver Bluff sea.
The gentle slope of the Silver Bluff sea bottom and the poorly
developed escarpment leads to the conclusion that the Silver Bluff
sea bottom and coast may have been subjected to the same marine
environment as the modern, drowned, karst region and low energy
coast. The features, shown on figure 16, facing the coast near the
mouth of the Steinhatchee River may represent dune development.
The width of the Silver Bluff marine plain is 3 to 6 miles, ex-
cept in the embayed areas of the Steinhatchee and Suwannee
rivers where it is wider. An extensive dolomite shelf, which forms
a part of the Silver Bluff surface, crops out at an elevation near
sea level and gradually slopes upward to the Billy Bowlegs Road
to an elevation of 6 feet. On the Steinhatchee River, the dolomite
bench crops out at 10 feet and makes a small fall. South of the
Billy Bowlegs Road, a thin veneer of sand occurs on top of the
shelf in some places.
Inland from the coastal marshes are generally flat sand areas
that support palmettos, cabbage palms, and pine trees.
PAMLICO TERRACE AND SHORELINE
The Pamlico seas formed a poorly developed escarpment in
Dixie County, shown in figure 18, but in Citrus and Levy counties
to the southeast and in other parts of Florida a definite Pamlico
shoreline, at the elevation of 25 feet, has been recognized (Vernon,
1951, pp. 22, 23).
The absence of a well defined wave-cut escarpment in Dixie
County and the gentle slope of the Pamlico sea bottom (fig. 18)
toward the Silver Bluff strand line, indicates that the Pamlico
coast was probably subjected to the same marine conditions that
were prevalent during the Silver Bluff encroachment and also on
BULLETIN No. 49
FigurE: 18. PainlirnO Dutne near Eugene on U.S. Ilighway 27.
the present day coast. The sand hills that occur near the mouth of
the reentrant area of the Suwannee River may represent bars
formed during Pamlico time. A belt of sand hills beginning just
east of the town of Eugene, shown in figure 19, and continuing
northward for approximately 15 miles have the appearance of U-
shaped dunes.
The Pamlico marine plain includes all that area lying between
the 10- and 25-foot contour lines. The surface gently slopes toward
the present coastline and is approximately 6 miles wide. Locally,
limestone shelves are present with little or no sand cover, but
generally the Pamlico surface is composed of sand.
The composition of the Pamlico deposits, as previously men-
tioned, is, for the most part, sand. The plain is, in part, poorly
40
GXLO(;Y OF DixiT AND GIIA-iHRIST
-. *. :. ... .
Figure 19. Closenp of Pamlico Dune near Eugene on ITS. Highway 27,
drained and supports a lush vegetation such as palmettos, cabbage
palms and grasses. However, much of the surface is a hammock
area and, because of better drainage, supports a good stand of
hardwood timber.
WICOMICO TERRACE AND SHORELINE
The Wicomico surface has been reported to occur fairly widely
over Florida by Vernon, Cooke, and MacNeil, and it is agreed by
these workers that this shoreline stood at 100 to 105 feet.
Approximately half of Dixie County lies within the boundary
of the Wicomico marine plain. This extensive area in Dixie County
slopes southwestward and eastward toward the Pamlico shoreline
(fig. 16).
The surface is not connected to its counterpart in Gilchrist
County because of the position of the Suwannee River and its
valley along the eastern side of Dixie County and the western side
of Gilchrist County. Much of the plain in Dixie County is swamp-
lahd. The surface along the eastern side of Dixie County has
BULLETIN No. 49
Figunr 20. Topographic map of Cilehrist County. Contour interval, 10 feet,
shallow, sand-bottom lakes associated with randomly spaced sand
hills that probably represent dune development during the
Pamlico.
The base of the Wicomico escarpment, shown in figure 20, is
readily recognizable. The escarpment forms the northern exten-
sion of the Brooksville Ridge as described by White (1958, pp. 9-
10). The base of the escarpment in Gilchrist County occurs at an
42
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
elevation of 70 to 75 feet above sea level and was mapped pre-
viously by Cooke (1945, p. 289) as the Penholoway shoreline (70
feet).
The concept of solution was used by White (1958, pp. 9-44) to
explain the discrepancies in elevations of apparently related ma-
rine features and he remarked that along the Ocala Uplift the low-
ering of the land surface has been extensive. As an example he
cited the remnants of the highlands in the area between Gainesville
and Lake Tsala Apopka. He (White, 1958, p. 37) stated:
". .. these highlands are most implausible in plan if they
must be explained by any shoreline process. They are quite
obviously the result of a denudational process and in an
area where erosion by surface water is weak, if not nil, the
most plausible conclusion is that they are high spots of a
surface which has been differentially reduced by solution.
This conclusion poses a serious threat to the validity of ter-
race mapping in this area of voluminous solution when it is
undertaken on a basis of elevation alone .
The preceding statement may explain similar discrepancies in
elevations of the base of the Brooksville Ridge in Gilchrist County.
The base of the Brooksville Ridge occurs at 70 feet along part of
the ridge. The topographic map (fig. 20) shows that in the central-
eastern part of Gilchrist County the contour lines fan out and the
escarpment loses its identity. This obliteration may be a result of
collapse due to solution of the underlying limestones, as only a thin
veneer of Pleistocene sands overlie Eocene limestones in this area.
The altitude of the base of the escarpment decreases to the south
and is 50 feet at Bronson in Levy County.
Yon and Puri (1962, pp. 674-689) believe this escarpment is a
result of marine erosion. The variation in elevation of the bottom
of the escarpment between 50 and 70 feet above sea level suggests
that it has been lowered by solution of the underlying limestone.
Therefore, it is possible that the base of this escarpment could
have been at a higher elevation than its present altitude and is
believed to represent the Wicomico shoreline.
WACASASSA FLATS
An integral part of the Wicomico surface in Gilchrist County
is a swampy area 5 miles wide and 25 miles long trending south-
ward from the Santa Fe River to the vicinity of Trenton, then
BULLETIN No. 49
FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
2PVCEt V.s.-PL. oFAGRJTU*CIrh
Figure 21.
Aerial mosaic of Gilchrist County showing Wa'asqaaa Flats outlines.
Width of map is approximately 19 miles.
southeastward, terminating in Levy County, as shown in figure 21.
Vernon (1951, pp. 33-36) suggested the term "Waccasassa Flats"
for this area, as shown in figure 22, and presented two possible ex-
planations for their origin. One explanation was that the "Flats"
G(oEDIOoY OF DIXIE AND C ILCHRIST
Figure 22, Swamps in the VWarasn3sa Flats on State Highway 40 facing east,
might result from the modification of a marine Pleistocene terrace
and an adjoining escarpment and the other was that they may
have been once occupied by a large stream and subsequently be-
headed by stream capture. The stream capture occurred near its
confluence with the Santa Fe River and Vernon considered Cow
Creek, which drains the northern part of the "Flats," to be the
reversed remnant of this ancient stream, and the Wacasassa
River, which drains the southern extension of the "Flats" in Levy
County, to be the beheaded remnant.
Since Vernon's work in 1951 a topographic map (fig. 20) of
the Wacasassa Flats area has been prepared which reveals cer-
tain features that would be very difficult or impossible to recognize
from road profiles, aerial photographs (fig. 21) or by field exami-
nation. Evidence obtained from the topographic map and field
studies indicates a marine origin for the Wacasassa Flats.
Vernon (1951, pp. 33-36) believed the valley extending from
the Santa Fe River into Levy County was too broad to have been
formed by Cow Creek, which occupies its northern extremity. The
appearance of the Wacasassa Flats on the aerial photographs is
misleading because the swampy condition and the presence of the
misfit stream, Cow Creek, give the impression of a broad stream
valley. Underlying the "Flats" is a graben, shown in figure 23,
filled with Miocene and Pleistocene plastics that retard the down-
ward percolation of water and contributes to the swampy condi-
46
RB:LLKTIN No. 49
]. k I 1
II' IMI
A ahlnm
* W IIM 1MHLE
PD MIT
:LT ILTTITK IIREI, PIrTIfllI E
mmTlii iEFTW N ME SEL LEnL
24, LI.II FEIf.MUl EII
U IEE LEIEL
UlI I I L 1IFIT F4
COUNTY
C tAL 4LILE k
Figure 23. Contours showing approximate altitude of top of Williston
Formnation (UTpiwr Eoctelne), Gilehrist. County,
tions, however, the graben was not the dominant factor in forming
the present topography. The fact that the graben and the overly-
ing Pleistocene land forms occur together is perhaps a coincidence.
The topographic map shows the presence of north-south trend-
ing hills of moderate relief and a ridge trending northeast-south-
west. The map also shows that Cow Creek occupies a shallow valley
within the 50-foot contour and together with land surface profiles
1.:. :1. : .-l -- "- L'- Y I I'
GEO]A(X'Y OF DIXiE AND (ILCIIRIsT
SLLlF.I' L',J G _--. :*J lI .: ':fl r-',"F r"-
8,
4
II
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'-LET- -- \
FAL. E A iPP
4
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-"-. _
Figure 24. We*st-East profiles showing land forms in Gilebrist County.
(1 through 4, shown in figure 24), indicate that the elevation be-
comes higher to the south and the valley appears to terminate.
Vernon (1951, pp. 33-36) suggested that during early Recent
time a tributary to the Suwannee River cut headward and cap-
tured the ancestral stream flowing from the valley of Cow Creek
through the Wacasassa Flats. If so, the flood plain of the Santa
Fe River probably would be narrower below the point of capture
than above because of its younger age, but it is the same width.
It would also be reasonable to expect the upper portion of the
Santa Fe River Valley and the present Cow Creek Valley to be ap-
proximately the same width; however, Cow Creek Valley is much
wider.
Based upon an interpretation of the land features described
BULLETIN N0. 49
below the writers believe the Wacasassa Flats were formed by
marine processes.
BELL RIDGE
The two irregularly shaped ridges called Bell Ridge by White,
Vernon and Puri (Puri and Vernon, 1964, p. 14) represent a relict
barrier island that extends along the western side of the "Flats"
for a distance of approximately 20 miles northward from Trenton,
with the crests ranging between 80 and 100 feet. In the vicinity of
Bell, several sand hills occur along the west side of the barrier
island and originally may have formed a part of the barrier island.
These sand hills are underlain by solution-riddled limestones and
because of collapse the sand hills differentially sagged and became
disassociated from the barrier island. A salient feature occurring
adjacent to the south-central part of the barrier island might rep-
resent a submerged bar formed in the lagoon separating the bar-
rier from the coastline. Figure 25 shows State Highway 47, near
Fort White, on the crest of this feature.
The sandhills along the western and southern parts of the area
"'Lb
Figure 25. Escarpment on State Highway 47, facing north.
48
Lk.
If:
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
form a drainage divide. Drainage to the north and east is into the
topographic lows in the Wacasassa Flats. There is a gentle
northerly slope to the "Flats" that causes some surface drainage
to Cow Creek, a tributary of the Santa Fe River.
Ponds, lakes, and depressions occur through the Wacasassa
"Flats," and lakes are more plentiful along the western and east-
ern edges of the area.
CHIEFLAND LIMESTONE PLAIN
This term was first used by Vernon (1951, p. 25) to describe
a limestone shelf associated with the Wicomico terrace. It is a flat
rolling plastic surface lying upon eroded Eocene limestones in
Levy County, and extends into Gilchrist County.
The plain is well marked on the western edge of Gilchrist and
northeastern edge of Dixie counties by a fairly flat, well drained,
sandy soil which is extensively farmed.
BROOKSVILLE RIDGE
The sand ridge on the eastern edge of Gilchrist County is the
north part of the Brooksville Ridge. The ridge is bound on the
west by a well-defined Wicomico escarpment whose base is 70 to
75 feet above sea level. The features along the western edge of the
ridge may represent dune development. From the western edge of
the ridge toward Alachua County, the surface becomes a rolling
plain with sinkhole development. The topographic map (fig. 20)
shows the surface elevations as high as 110 feet on the crest of
the ridge. Lithologically the ridge is composed of Pleistocene
sands, and Miocene Alachua sediments that overlie a very irregu-
lar Eocene limestone surface. Solution of these underlying lime-
stones has been fairly extensive and sinkholes occur along the
ridge.
HIGH SPRINGS GAP
White, Vernon and Puri (Puri and Vernon, 1964), in their
work on the physiographic features of central peninsular Florida,
mentioned a large elongate lowland that they called the Western
Valley. At the northern end of the Western Valley a gap is present
which White named the High Springs Gap. A portion of this gap
falls in the northeastern part of Gilchrist County and is delimited
on the west by the Wacasassa Flats and the northern edge of the
Brooksville Ridge.
BULLETIN NO. 49
FRACTURING
The intricate fracture pattern of northern peninsular Florida
was first depicted by Vernon (1951, fig. 11). The fracture pattern
of Dixie County is shown in detail in figure 26. These fractures
which appear as lineations on aerial photographs were traced from
photo-mosaic indices of the two counties, published by the U. S.
Department of Agriculture. Such fractures are more easily ob-
served on the uncorrected mosaics than on large scale single con-
tact prints, where profusion of detail tends to obscure the faint
but persistent tone changes which may extend for many miles
along a single trend. The fractures are visible to the unaided eye
L A F A Y ET T E COUNTY
FRACTUREPATTERN
DIXIE C (D^^^
Figure 26. Fracture pattern of Dixie County, Florida.
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND CILCHRIST
on photographs that are properly oriented. However, by the use
of a fluorescent lamp having a built-in magnifying lens it is pos-
sible to detect many more fractures than can be found by the
naked eye.
The linears mapped as figure 26 are almost indiscernible in the
field. A fracture was exposed in the Crystal River Formation upon
the removal of topsoil for a limestone quarry (NW/4, Sec. 12,
TSS, R14E, Gilchrist County). The fracture was filled with red
clay, its strike is almost due east curving to the northwest where it
is buried under topsoil.
Fractures can be seen in exposures of the Williston Formation
near the west line of Sec. 12, T11S, R10E [locality 528 (LDx-11S-
10E-12)], immediately south of Bowlegs Road, in Dixie County.
The intersecting fractures at this locality strike N. 70W. and N.
45E., and they conform to the predominating strike of the frac-
tures in the area, shown on figure 26.
Stream meanders on the Suwannee and Santa Fe rivers show
at least partial control by fracturing. Figure 27 is a photograph
of a two to three-foot waterfall on the Santa Fe River. This fall is
located just upstream from the bridge connecting the road from
Gilchrist County to Fort White, in Columbia County (Sec. 36,
T6S, R15E, Gilchrist County). The strike of the falls is approxi-
mately N. 600E. This conforms to the fracture shown on figure 26,
which crosses the river at this point.
Vernon (1951, fig. 15) showed the traces of the Bronson
Graben and the Long Pond Fault extending from Levy County
into Gilchrist and Dixie counties, respectively. Fractures which
are apparently linear continuations of these faults occur in Dixie
and Gilchrist counties. Faulting is postulated to explain the oc-
currence of the Crystal River Formation in juxtaposition with
the Williston Formation in the southwest corner of Gilchrist
County, shown on plate 1. One of the fractures shown on figure
26 corresponds to the Lottieville Fault which strikes northwest-
southeast in T10S, R14E, Gilchrist County. The traces of this
fault extend into Dixie County to the west and Levy County to
the south. However, the portion along which offsetting noticeably
affected the surface formations is confined to the southwest corner
of Gilchrist County. Such offsetting must have been slight, because
only the lowermost portion of the Crystal River Formation, and
the uppermost few feet of the Williston Formation are exposed in
sinks or pits along the strike of this fault. There is no direct field
evidence in support of the indirect evidence presented to show
faulting in this area.
Figuire 27. Falis on the Stnl a F(- Ri%-(,r, iI0ibri.i Cotunry. Florida.
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
The persistence of the general northwest-southeast and
northeast-southwest fracture pattern throughout the Gulf Coastal
plain has long been recognized by Gulf Coast geologists such as
R. J. Russell and the late H. N. Fisk. In localized areas, where
tectonic features such as salt domes control faulting, the general
fracture pattern is modified, but in the main, it is remarkably con-
sistent. It is even more remarkable that these fractures can be de-
tected on aerial photographs, even though the terrain in which
they occur is generally overlain by loose Pleistocene sediments or
Quaternary alluvium.
Two inferences can be drawn from the fracture patterns noted
above: 1
1. There has been movement along the planes of hAese frac-
tures sufficient to effect tone changes in the soil overburden. This
movement may be due to earth tides, which are, of course, world-
wide.
2. Unconsolidated sediments deposited to depths exceeding 50
feet over a previously fractured or slightly faulted area would not
reflect the underlying pattern unless there was continued post-
depositionary movement along the same trends.*
3. Shrinking earth (see Russell, 1954).*
STRUCTURE AND GEOLOGIC SETTING
Gilchrist and Dixie counties are a part of the Gulf of Mexico
Sedimentary Basin consisting of southern Alabama, southern
Georgia, Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas. This sedimentary basin
is divided by Pressler (1947, p. 1851) into two sedimentary prov-
inces (North Gulf Sedimentary Province and Florida Peninsular
Sedimentary Province), separated from one another by the Su-
wannee Straits. The North Florida Sedimentary Province con-
sists mainly of plastic sediments, and the South Florida Peninsu-
R. J. Russell (oral communication) stated that this same fracture pattern
had been observed in the Amazon River Valley of Brazil. At the same time he
expressed the opinion that virtually all the fractures observable on aerial
photographs of the Gulf Coastal Plain were actually faults along which some
degree of offsetting had occurred. Similarity of fracture patterns, on a global
scale, implies crustal adjustments to world-wide stress. Perhaps the same
gravitational forces which produce tides could affect the huge bulk of relatively
weak sediments of the Gulf Coast. The recurrent rise and fall of earth tides
might provide sufficient stress to exceed the elastic limit of the weaker portions
of the earth's crust. Or lastly, it is possible that the earth's rotational
momentum, decreasing under forces of external gravity, may, by consequent
reduction of stress along the polar axis, form a compensating infinite series of
axes of stress along the equatorial plane. Dr. Russell mentioned an un-
published hypothesis of crustal stresses connected with tidal movement.
BITLLITTIN NO. 49
lar Province is characterized by nonclastic sediments, predomi-
nantly carbonates and anhydrites. The South Florida Embayment
is a sedimentary basin in southern Florida with its center of de-
position passing through Sunniland field, in Collier County.
The dominant surface structure in Florida is the Peninsular
Arch which trends south-southeast and extends from southeastern
Georgia into central Florida. The crest of the Peninsular Arch is
in the center of northern peninsular Florida (around Union and
Bradford counties) and this arch forms the axis of peninsular
Florida (Applin, 1951, p. 3). This structure was topographically
high during Cretaceous times, during which sediments of the
Early Cretaceous were deposited around it but did not completely
cover it. Beds of Austin Age (Upper Cretaceous) were deposited
over the crest of these beds and they overlie Early Ordovician
sandstone.
The structural contour map, shown on figure 28, drawn on the
top of the Williston Formation depicts the salient structures in
5UWANNEE
COUNTY
A FAYETTE
WELL OR AUGiR OL1
A OUTCROP
r Q4JUlrY
t FAULT
15 ALTITUDE,IN FEET,ITOPOF WILLiSTON
FOmMATION REFEREDTOMSL
A.90COMTOUR,IN FEET. ERIIMDTO MIL
Figure 28. Structure contour map of Dixie and Gil1hrist. VounLtic., slowing
altitude at the top of the Williston Formiiation.
54
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GuImCRlST
Dixie and Gilchrist counties. The Bronson Graben is the most ap-
parent structure in Gilchrist County. There is a low in the north-
west part of Gilchrist County that may also represent a graben
trending east-west.
The Lottieville Fault in Gilchrist County, shown on plate 1,
figures 29 and 30 is well developed at Lottieville where Williston
is exposed on the upthrown side of the fault. Its throw, however,
is less than ten feet and consequently it is not shown on figure 28
which is contoured at 10-foot intervals. It apparently is absorbed
within the Crystal River Formation on the Gilchrist County side
of the Suwannee River and can not be identified across the Su-
wannee River in Dixie County.
The configuration of the contours in Dixie County as shown on
figure 29 indicates the Williston sediments may be faulted. In fact,
if faulting is present, it could be an extension of the Long Pond
Fault (Vernon, 1951, fig. 5) from Levy County, northwestward
to Dixie County. However, sufficient data are not available to
substantiate this.
STRATIGRAPHY
PREVIOUS WORK
Our knowledge of the geology of Gilchrist and Dixie counties
has mostly been pioneered by Cooke (1929, 1945), who made some
observations on the geology of these two counties while preparing
his "Geology of Florida." A generalized account of scattered out-
crops of the various formations exposed in these counties is given
by him, together with a geologic map of the two counties.
GILCHRIST COUNTY
Cooke (1945, p. 65) mentioned the occurrence of the Ocala
"limestone," "not far below the surface everywhere in Gilchrist
County except in the eastern part, where it is overlain by the
phosphate-bearing Alachua Formation." Numerous articles by
vertebrate paleontologists (Barbour, 1944, White, 1942), on the
Thomas Farm vertebrate beds, have been published. These papers
are summarized by Olsen (1962) and an up-to-date faunal list was
prepared by him. Puri and Vernon (1964) published a hypothesis
for the development of Thomas Farm dig in a paper summarized
on p. 5.
Applin (1951) noted the occurrence of Paleozoic sedimentary
rocks in two oil wells. Puri (1957, pp. 60-65) gives five detailed
BULLETIN No. 49
SECTION -I
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EXPLANATION
g PLEISTOCENE
F... ALACHUA FORMATION
<.a CRYSTAL RIVER FORMATION
WILLISTON FORMATION
I.5 I 2 3 4 l$i
FAULT
Geological cro~t section, Gilchrist County.
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Figure 30.
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Isometric diagram, Gilrhrikt County.
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EXPLANATION
i PLEISfTCEIIE
SALACHIA FIRMATIIH
CRYSTAL RIVEM FOIMITIAN
WILLISTMI FORMATION
---- FAIL EL
- EAN SEA LEVEL
0
5
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cbiv
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BULLETIN NO. 49
sections of the outcrops of the Crystal River Formation and the
Williston Formation in Gilchrist County.
DIXIE COUNTY
Cooke (1945, p. 64) observed a large borrow pit in the Ocala
at the Steinhatchee River and reported seven species of echinoids
from this locality.
Applin and Applin (1944) gave a detailed geologic log of the
Florida Oil and Development Company Putnam Lumber Company
No. 1 well 636, (Sec. 7, T11S, R12E), and reported the occurrence
of the Tuscaloosa Formation, beds of Austin Age, beds of Taylor
Age, the Lawson Limestone, the Cedar Keys Limestone, the Olds-
mar Limestone and the Lake City Limestone. Applin (1951) re-
ported the occurrence of Paleozoic sedimentary rock in three wells.
Puri (1957) examined four wells from Dixie County in connec-
tion with donation of the Ocala Group.
PALEOZOIC ERA
LOWER ORDOVICIAN
Paleozoic sedimentary rocks have been encountered in two
wells in Gilchrist County and three wells in Dixie County. These
sediments are parts of an extensive Paleozoic stratum that oc-
cupies the northern and central part of the Florida Peninsula and
southeastern Georgia. Table 15 summarizes the occurrence of
Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in Dixie and Gilchrist counties (data
from Applin, 1951).
Howell and Richards (1949) described a species of brachiopod
(Lingulepsis floridanus) from fine-grained micaceous sandstone
taken at 3,668 to 3,671 feet in Dixie County, W-1405 (WDx 8S
14E 8). They assigned a Late Cambrian or Early Ordovician age
to this species. Berdan and Bridges (1951, p. 70) studied the 232
TABLE 15. DATA ON WELLS PENETRATING PALEOZOIC
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS IN GILCHRIST AND DIXIE COUNTIES
Div, Geo.
Asmuacio Top of Total Total Nature of
County Well No. Paleoazic Thickneas Depth Sedimtntj
Gilchrist W-1(03 3588 165 3753 quarttitie
Eandzto& & shale
Gilchrist W-1819 3348 18 336 same
Dixie W-1114 5228 2282 7510 quartitic sandstone
Dixie W-1863 5010 88 5104 sandaton & hale
Dixia W-1405 3645 20 3671 quartriic sandatone
and shale
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRTST
feet of Paleozoic sediments cored from the Humble No. 1 Robinson
well in central Levy County. These sediments consist of gray,
quartzitic sandstone and black, micaceous, sandy shale. Linguloid
brachiopods were found in the upper (between 4390 to 4424 feet)
part of the section. Berdan and Bridges correlated these beds with
the Union Producing Company's Kirkland No. 1 well, Houston
County, Alabama, just north of the Florida-Alabama line. The
same type of lithology and types of linguloid brachiopods were
found in the Kirkland well, which also carries a rich graptolite
fauna. On the basis of this graptolite fauna, Berdan (op. cit.)
assigned an Early Ordovician Age to these rocks.
No Paleozoic metamorphic or igneous rocks have been encoun-
tered in either Gilchrist County or Dixie County.
MESOZOIC ERA
CRETACEOUS SYSTEM
GULF SERIES
The Gulf Series in Gilchrist and Dixie counties consists of four
distinct units. These in descending order are: beds of Navarro
Age (Lawson Limestone), beds of Taylor Age, beds of Austin Age,
and beds of Eagleford Age and Woodbine Age consisting of the
Tuscaloosa Formation and its equivalent, the Atkinson Formation.
This section is based on studies by Applin and Applin (1944,
1947), Southeastern Geological Society Mesozoic Committee
(1949), and Vernon (1951). These workers have correlated the
Florida Cretaceous System with that of the standard section of
Texas. Cole (1938, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1945), however, has corre-
lated the Florida section with that of Alabama and has extended
the Alabama nomenclature to Florida.
ATKINSON FORMATION
Applin and Applin (1944) identified the Tuscaloosa Formation
in one well in Dixie County, and correlated it in part with the
Eagleford Shale, and in part with the Woodbine Formation of
Texas. The "Tuscaloosa Formation" in Dixie County (W-636) is
115 feet thick (3626 to 3741 feet). Subsequently, Applin and
Applin (1947) referred Tuscaloosa Age beds to the Atkinson
Formation in peninsular Florida.
The Atkinson Formation was proposed by Applin and Applin
(1947, chart) with a threefold division (upper, middle, and lower)
BULLETIN No. 49
for marine micaceous sales and micaceous sands with thin shaley
limestone beds of pre-Austin Age that overlie the Comanche Series
in southern Alabama, Georgia, and northern Florida.
The Atkinson Formation has been divided by the Southeastern
Geological Society Mesozoic Committee into two faunizones,
faunizone "A" containing an Eagleford fauna, and faunizone "B"
containing a Woodbine fauna.
Faunizone "A" commonly contains, in marine shale beds, a
fauna characteristic of the Eagleford Shale of Texas and includes
Planulina eaglefordensis, Valvulineria infrequens, Gumbelina
moremani, G. reussi, Trochammina wickendeni, Globigerina cre-
tacea and abundant ostracodes.
Faunizone "B" contains, in micaceous, calcareous sands and
sandy limestones, a microfauna characteristic of the Woodbine
Sand of Texas, including Ammobacidites braunsteini, A. compri-
matus, A. advenus, Ammobaculoides plummerae, and Trocham-
mina rainwater.
In general, the upper member of the Atkinson Formation
carries a microfauna of Eagleford Age and is equivalent to
faunizone "A." The middle and lower members of the Atkinson
contain a Woodbine fauna and both of these members are included
in faunizone "B." Applin (1955) has redefined the Atkinson For-
mation to consist of two members, an upper member of Eagleford
Age and a lower member of Woodbine Age consisting of the
former lower and middle members.
Applin (1955) has described the foraminiferal fauna of the
Woodbine biofacies of the Atkinson Formation. The following as-
semblage occurs in one well in Dixie County (Sun Oil Co. Crapps
"A" well 1, depth 3548 to 3556 feet).
Reophax decker Tappan
Haplophragmoides langsdalensis Applin
Haplophragmoides advenus (Cushman and Applin)
Ammobaculites agrestis Cushman and Applin
Ammobaculites junceus Cushman and Applin
Ammobaculoides plummerae Loeblich
Gaudryina barlowensis Applin
Quinqueloculina moremani barlowensis Applin
Trochammina rainwater Cushman and Applin
Acruliammina long (Tappan)
Placopsilina landsdalensis Applin
Robulus munsteri (Roemer)
Lenticulina cyprina (Vieaux)
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
Nodosaris affinis Reuss var.
Citharina recta (Reuss)
Frondicularia barlowensis Applin
PateUina subcretaeea Cushman and Alexander
Discorbis minima Vieaux
Valvulineria infrequens Morrow var.
Globorotalia cushmani Morrow
Globigerina cf. G. cretacea d'Orbigny
Anomalina obesa Cushman and Applin
Anomalina petita Carsey
The predominance of arenaceous microfauna in this as-
semblage and the lithologic character of the sediments indicate an
environment of deposition ranging from very shallow marine to
estuarine and brackish water to weakly saline and poorly aerated
waters (Applin, 1955).
BEDS OF AUSTIN AGE
The following facies are recognized by Applin and Applin
(1964, p. 1715-1716) in the beds of Austin Age: predominantly
shale and sand faces (western and northern Florida), sales and
marly limestone faces (central Florida) and limestone faces
(southern Florida).
The marl faces of the beds of Austin Age consist of gray to
greenish gray marl with thin streaks of limestone. Beds of Austin
Age are identified in the Sun-Crapps well at a depth of 3,365? to
3,626 feet by Applin and Applin (1944, p. 1718).
BEDS OF TAYLOR AGE
Sediments of Taylor Age are hard, white to cream colored,
chalky limestone with thin, irregular streaks of shale and gray
marl occasionally present. Applin and Applin (1944) give the
thickness of beds of Taylor Age in Dixie County to be about 678
feet (Florida Oil and Development Company's Putnam Lumber
No. 1 well, depth 2,683-3,365?),
BEDS OF NAVARRO AGE
Lawson Limestone
The Lawson Limestone (from J. S. Cosden-Lawson No. 1 well,
Marion County) was named and described by Applin and Ap-
BULLETIN No, 49
plin (1944, p. 1708-1711) for a limestone facies of the Upper
Cretaceous beds. A lower and an upper member, each with a dis-
tinctive microfauna, have been recognized. The upper member is
a white to cream colored, gypsum impregnated crystalline calcitic
limestone, which carries a recrystallized microfauna. The upper
member of the Lawson Limestone in Dixie County (Florida Oil
and Development Company's Putnam No. 1) is approximately 300
feet (depth 1,894 to 2,197).
The lower member is white to cream colored, hard, chalky
limestone. Applin and Applin (1944) assigned 476 feet of sedi-
ment in the Putnam No. 1 well (depth 2,197 to 2,683) to the
lower member.
CENOZOIC ERA
TERTIARY SYSTEM
PALEOCENE SERIES
CEDAR KEYS FORMATION
The Cedar Keys Formation was proposed by Cole (1944, p. 27,
28) for a predominantly tan limestone that overlies the Cretaceous
carbonate sand and contains Borelis gunteri Cole and Borelis flori-
danus Cole in its upper portion. So defined, this "formation" is
rather a stage and is synonymous with Midway Stage of the
western Gulf States. The Cedar Keys is used here as conceived by
Cole, though later investigation may indicate it contains more than
one lithologic unit.
The sediments of the Cedar Keys in Dixie County are slightly
over 300 feet thick and were recognized by Applin and Applin
(1944) at a depth of 1561 to 1894 feet in the Florida Oil and Gas
Development Company's Putnam Lumber No. 1 well.
OLDSMAR LIMESTONE
The Middle Eocene sediments consisting of a series of fauni-
zones between the Cedar Keys Formation and the overlying Lake
City Limestone were named the Oldsmar Limestone by Applin and
Applin (1944). Generally the formation shows abundant speci-
mens of Helicostegina gyralis Barker and Grimsdale, and in Dixie
County it is represented by a limestone facies which is prevalent
in northern Florida. Sediments belonging to the Oldsmar in Dixie
County are almost 500 feet thick in the Florida Oil and Develop-
ment Company's Putnam No. 1 well (Applin and Applin).
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
CLAIBORNE STAGE
LAKE CITY LIMESTONE
The name Lake City Limestone was used by Applin and Applin
(1944) for a chalky limestone which underlies the Avon Park Lime-
stone in peninsular Florida. The formation consists of a series of
lithologies described by Vernon (1951). In Dixie and Gilchrist
counties, the Lake City is over 500 feet thick and is represented
by gray fossiliferous limestone, dolomite and gypsiferous dolomite.
This limestone is encountered in four wells in Dixie County,
figure 31.
AVON PARK LIMESTONE
The Avon Park Limestone was proposed by Applin and Applin
(1944, p. 1680, 1686) for the Upper Middle Eocene in Florida.
The type is in a well at Avon Park Bombing Range in Polk
County. This formation in its type area is a cream-colored lime-
stone that contains a very distinct Middle Eocene microfauna. The
surface exposures of this formation have only been found in Citrus
and Levy counties (see Vernon, 1951, p. 95).
This formation underlies Dixie and Gilchrist counties, shown
on figure 32, as revealed by samples from over 20 wells. Generally
the formation is about 300-350 feet thick and consists of very
finely crystalline dolomite, calcitic dolomite, and limestone.
OCALA GROUP
The term Ocala Group was proposed by Puri (1953, p. 130)
to include all calcareous sediments of Jackson Age that occur east
of the Tombigbee River. So defined, the group includes the Crystal
River Formation, Williston Formation, and the Inglis Formation.
INGLIS FORMATION
The name "Inglis member" of the Moodys Branch Formation
was introduced by Vernon (1951, p. 115-116) to include the basal
50 feet of the Ocala Limestone as exposed in the vicinity of Inglis,
Levy County. Puri (1953, p. 130) raised it to formational rank.
The detailed lithology, fauna, and geologic history of the formation
is adequately covered by Vernon (1951, p. 115-140) and Puri
(1957, p. 24-30).
Lithologically, the formation consists of a bioclastic calcarenite
64 BULLETIN No. 49
: y r ... :..:mmmim m. W m I.I
SECTION 1-j'
I1L 1
-k -- uniE H ll
SSUeighL-r
rn- ---- r -
S mm um L
S--
I M' -. .... .. .m o. MN I
WICTITN C O
Nil
Theu omation tk" t.s in fo own of Wii
--2
::i- -tJ-ri 1 1
t e I Ti- .1i itd- y ern
Figure 31, Ge1ologic, croft s section, Dixie County,
with occasional dolomite. In Dixie and Gilchrist counties it is 22
to 52 feet thick.
WILLISTON FORMATION
The formation takes its name from the town of Williston, Levy
County, where about 10 feet of foraminiferal limestone occurs at
the type locality. This name was originally introduced by Vernon
(1951, p. 141) as a member of the Moodys Branch Formation and
it was later raised to formational rank (Puri, 1953, p. 130; 1957,
p. 28). The detailed lithologic character and fauna of the forma-
tion at the type locality and in other areas in the state are given
by Vernon (1951) and Puri (1957).
The Williston Formation is predominantly a white to cream,
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
SI PANHANDLE PENINSULA
lu> 1"
(fa 1 n
? PLIO-
PLEr STOCK EN
S4-
4v-
Unnamehdt SOnd, Polg, *nd Cloy
Ltke Fllrl Marl
Silver BlrFF Fop iallan
CantimpeianoasL
Ramlca Fbrmotoen COrbongru
end
Wicomlica Formath*n $and Dbpositr
Calsahhaltehea Formiaion
OhdD Ik *, FhFmrall. n
Caharid FOrmarian
High Igrwl &ll vvi0 1 d Dildic i DplM I'
Uppr Mio-Cino Cpq C$blwici w.n l
fCMrlfdvw Zanm
Teur maml
F- al an 5lath Area
1ldrI Zian* di WOd p in Soul%
Lupi Zone Em'dpo n norift Embaymitb
Sh-l* i Zan-* mlu e
l \ Shol AnI \ llhua
S .r r P romoo IDn iH
Eacab1 F6bPalrh l Caers e ChipalM HoDWtharn
CsiI 90iO 1 r FormBri-n fvm lim n I on
Langw CUP( ORA EmWO Va11 al
1 SI. 5 r. Mprks J11OoppsieW SM(f(f4rf Z1nt
rFurmg lig n
91. Suo rS D Lnai i sraist,
/^-^.j^'^.^'-. ^^L. ^rj'^j^~._^ -^L _-- -- -- -- -- ---j
Fasmali s
Bymm fdIrm.U.m I a
BrSwlA* Lm*ralon Si LwDotBm
--io O -t /unran Cymth km4 ?
kfriarnjo LinEsIaos
i
*tj.ahl*A m ie r ta. r Egrm lig n |
Will lg r Formalie i
Ingl is formotien
Li ben
Tellhgilla
Ocela Group
Avon Parkl Lmrrstome
Lake City LmieDston
Oldiamrr Umiollne
CIegr 9Kyi Limatlbfl
Un4irfprrontiplid Wiltax
UV dflort*nliir*d Midway
Figure 32, Stratigraphic nomenclature chart of the Cenosoic
(after Puri and Vernon, 1964).
1`4
0
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U
BULLETIN NO. 49
chalky to finely crystalline, soft, porous, finely granular, coquinoid
limestone composed primarily of foraminifers and mollusks. It
crops out around the Wacasassa Flats and also occurs at various
depths in the subsurface. The formation is underlain by the Inglis
Formation and is overlain by the Crystal River Formation. Sedi-
ments as exposed along the Santa Fe and Suwannee rivers are
shown in figure 33.
The Williston has an average thickness of approximately 40
feet in Gilchrist County. The Crystal River Formation is missing
in the central and southern parts of the Wacasassa Flats, and the
top of the Williston has been eroded and is less than 40 feet in
thickness. The top of the Williston in the subsurface of the
Wacasassa Flats area is lower than the top in exposures, quarries,
wells, and auger holes to the west and to the east. In order to depict
this variation graphically, six cross sections, an isometric dia-
gram and a structural map were drawn and are shown as figures
23, 28, 29 and 30.
DISTRIBUTION
Exposures of the Williston are confined to the structurally and
topographically higher areas west and east of the Bronson graben.
Figure 33. Sediments of the Williston Formation as exposed just below
confluence of the Santa Fec and Suwannec rivesr.
66
i~8~
GEO.IoGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRIST
The following section, west of the Bronson graben, illustrates the
typical characteristics of the formation.
Locality 12: (LGr 10S 14E 9 dd) Abandoned quarry on C. L.
McPherson's farm, SE/4, SE/4, Sec. 9, T10S, R14E, Gilchrist
County. Section measured on West Wall of Quarry.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation Elevation 34 feet
2 Limestone, pale yellow orange, recrystallized, honey-
comb weathering, in places a coquina of small forami-
nifera, several large specimens of Lepidocyclina oca-
lana ---_______-- ----_---------- ----------- 0.75
Covered __________---------______----_______---------_--_ 2.0
1 Limestone, very pale orange, massive, almost a co-
quina of Operculinoides moodybranchensis in places,
abundant holothurian-like tubes, casts of mollusks,
Zenophora sp., Operculinoides wilcoxi, Lepidocyclina
ocalana, and var., Operculinoides moodybranchensis,
Amphistegina pinarensis, and Operculinoides ocalana 11.0
Total thickness ..--. --------___ 13.75
Locality 24: (LGr 10S 14E 9 ba) Abandoned quarry on Carl
Robert's farm, shown in figure 34, NW/4, NE/4, Sec. 9, T10S,
R14E, Gilchrist County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation Elevation 36 feet
2 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, with infre-
quent foraminifers, Operculinoides moodybranchen-
sis; upper part of bed slightly chalky, with "holothur-
ians" ---_----- --- ------ -- -- 13.0
1 Limestone, very pale orange, coquinoid, almost en-
tirely an Operculinoides moodybranchensis coquina
with common specimens, of Nummulites wilcoxi 3.0
Total thickness __---- _...... ....... .----- --- ----------- 16.0
Figure 31. Pinorama of an abandoned quirry on Carl Robertis farm
(LGr 108 14E 9 ba) showing expolsures of t.h Williston Formation.
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRTST
Locality 244: (LGr 9S 14E 9 bc) Willie Bryant Farm, SW/4,
NE/4, Sec. 9, T9S, R14E, Gilchrist County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Pleistocene Series Elevation 54 feet
2 Sand, light brown, medium grained, quartz -----_____ 3.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, (weather-
ing honeycomb, case hardened toward top, crystallized
in places), with "holothurians," Glycymeris sp. and a
few Lepidocyclint ocalana .. _----_ -------- 3.0
Total thickness .--_ _---------_ -------- 6.0
In Dixie County, the Williston Formation crops out in a belt
one to eight miles wide along the coast, from the Big Rocky Creek
in the north to the mouth of the Suwannee River in the south.
The formation is mapped upstream along the Suwannee River
to 1/2 mile north of Sunnyvale. In most places the Williston For-
mation occurs as bare rock or is covered by a thin veneer of sand.
Lithologically, the formation consists of pale yellow orange, granu-
lar, slightly chalky limestones studded with molds of mollusks,
larger foraminifers, encrusting bryozoans, and echinoids. In this
outcrop area, the exposures show a thickness of up to 5 feet. The
following sections in the vicinity of Horseshoe Beach and near
Rock Well Camp are characteristic of the formation:
Locality 826. (LDx 12S 10E 14 ac) Horseshoe Point. Limestone
exposed at low tide along the Horseshoe Beach.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, almost a co-
quina of large foraminifers, Lepidocyclina ocalana,
Pecten sp ..--........- ---- ----....-. ...-- --..-.. -. ... .. 0.5
Total thickness ----- ...- --................... ........ 0.5
BULLETIN No. 49
Locality 829. (LDx 11S 12E 24 ca) Hudson Pulp and Paper Com-
pany quarry 4.6 miles south of Cross City towards Horseshoe
Beach on State Road S-351. Take left turn on graded road and
continue for 5.8 miles to quarry. (Private timber road) Six
shallow pits as of July 29, 1956. Dredging down to 10 feet
below water level.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, dark reddish brown, argillaceous, quartz ------ 2.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, slightly
chalky, with molds and casts of mollusks and very few
large foraminifers (up to water level) -----.-------- 5.0
Total thickness ---. ....-------------. -- -------------- 7.0
Locality 830. (LDx 11S 11E 16 ab) Section exposed in a ditch,
four tenths mile toward Rock Well Camp from State Highway
S-351, on the property of the Rock Well Camp, NE/4, NW/4,
Sec. 16, T11S, R11E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, dark gray, medium-grained, quartz ---------------- 2.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, in places a co-
quina of large foraminifers, Lepidocyclina ocalana
and vars., and Operculinoides moodybranchensis com-
mon -- ---- --------------------- ------------- 2.0
Total thickness -------- ---------------------------------- 4.0
Locality 604. (LDx 11S 11E 26 ca) Abandoned quarry, NW/4,
SW/4, Sec. 26, T11S, R11E, Dixie County.
GEOLOGY OF DIXE AND GiLCHRIST
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
3 Sandy loam and soil zone ----------------------___ 1.0
2 Sand, very pale orange, medium-grained, quartz 1.0 O
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, with very few
Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars., and some striated
Pecten sp.; Spondylus sp. ------ -------------- 1.0
Total thickness --_.. ..........................----------------- .--- ..... 3.0
Locality 526. (LDx 11S i1E 17 ad) Abandoned limestone pit.
SE/4, SE/4, Sec. 17, TIXS, RlE, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
3 Sandy loam and soil zone ---------------- 1.0
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, very light gray, white and brown, medium-
grained, quartz ----- _.........-.. .... __________.__ __--__ 4,0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, pale yellowish orange, hard, weathering
conchoidal in places a coquina of Operculinoides;
specimens of Turritella common --________. ------------- 3.0
Total thickness -----__ ----________----......-. -_ ______________ ____-- 8.0
The Williston Formation occurs as two patches in the northern
part of Dixie County, one around the Shamrock-Cross City area
and the other in the vicinity of Holly Hill Tower. The following
sections are representative of the Shamrock-Cross City area:
Locality 828. (LDx 10S 12E 5 ad) Two-tenths mile south of At-
lantic Coast Line and U. S. Highway 19 intersection in Sham-
rock on the north side of the road near the Hudson Pulp and
Paper Company office, Shamrock, Dixie County.
BULLETIN NO, 49
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
3 Sandy loam and soil zone -.-_------------------ .50
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, light brown, medium-grained, quartz _------__ .25
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, coquina of
large foraminifers, Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars.,
and Amusium sp. common .. 3.00
Total thickness ____________ -________________ 3.75
Locality 820. (LDx 10S 12E 8 ba) Outcrop around a pond of the
Suwannee Lumber Manufacturing Company. The company
pumps water out of the pond and there are several canals that
feed the pond. Williston is exposed around the pond and the
canals that feed it, four-tenths mile south from U. S. Highway
19, The same limestone is exposed in canals around Shamrock.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
3 Soil zone ---------_.. -------- ..--- 0.5
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, dark gray, argillaceous, quartz ..-----------_----_ 1.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, soft in places,
coquina of Nummulites moodybranchensis, Amu-
sium sp. and Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars. 3.0
Total thickness ----........ _------------------__ 4.5
Locality 823. (LDx 10S 12E 5 da) Drainage canal behind Shell
Station on U. S. Highway 19, 1.7 miles from Atlantic Coast
72
GEOLOGY OF DIXIE AND GILCHRTST
Line Railroad Crossing (Shamrock). This is the best exposure
in the area.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
3 Sandy loam and soil zone _. 2.0
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, gray, medium-grained quartz ------.....---.. 2.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, coquina of
large foraminifers, Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars.,
Pecten sp. and Turritella sp. common -.... 3.0
Total thickness ---..--------.-_----- ------------------ 7.0
Locality 818. (LDx 10S 12E 4 bb) Borrow pit, 0.9 mile north of
Cross City limits on State Highway S-351, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, in places a
coquina of large foraminifers-Amusium sp., Lepido-
cyclina ocalana and vars. common ---.--------- 4.0
Total thickness .-.- ..- -.-------------------. 4.0
Locality 684. (LDx 10S 12E 10 da) Exposure near a culvert at
Cross City airport, 0.1 mile north of airport building, NW/4,
SE/4, Sec. 10, T10S, R12E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
BULLETIN No. 49
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, with abun-
dant Operculinoides moodybranchens-is and Pecten
sp. ___.------------------ -------------------. -- 0.5
Total thickness .. ____ 0.5
Locality 685. (LDx 10S 12E 15 aa) Exposures in a canal, NW/4,
NW/4, Sec. 15, T10S, R12E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
3 Sandy loam and soil zone ...-------------- .50
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, very light gray, medium-grained quartz .25
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, with casts of
mollusks, and Lepidocyclina oealana and var. --------- 2.00
Total thickness .... .. .............................______ 2.75
The contact of the Williston with the Crystal River is con-
formable and can be seen at the following localities:
Locality 586. (LDx 9S 13E 15 ba) Abandoned quarry, NW/4,
NE/4, Sec. 15, T9S, R13E, Dixie County.
Pleistocene Series
3 Sand, white, medium-grained, quartz .------..-__-_-- 1.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, slightly
chalky, predominantly a coquina of large foramini-
fers with abundant casts of mollusks, and large speci-
mens of Lepidocyclina ocalana, striated Peeten sp. __ 3.0
Williston Formation
(.KOLOGY OF l)DIXIE AND ([IA']HRIST
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, hard, calcitic,
in places a coquina of large foraminifers, some stri-
ated Pecten sp., Nucula sp. 8.0
Total thickness .... .......... .... ............ .... ... ... .... 12.0
Locality 827. (LDx 8S 13E 28 da) Abandoned pit on Carl San-
der's farm, NW/4, SE/4, See. 28, T8S, R13E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
5 Sandy loam and soil zone ...... 1.0
Pleistocene Series
4 Sand, very light gray, fine-grained, quartz 1.3
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
3 Limestone, very pale orange, slightly chalky, soft, in
places a coquina of large foraminifers, with abundant
striated Pecten sp. .... 3.5
2 Limestone, very pale orange, molluscan, Amusium
sp. and Turritella sp. abundant 7.0
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, almost a
coquina of large foraminifers, Heterostegina ocalana,
Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars., molds of mollusks.
This bed has characteristic honeycombed weathering 4.0
Total thickness ..16.8
There are abundant solution holes in this pit, some of them more
than 3 feet in diameter and up to 8 feet deep. One-tenth mile south
of locality 827 is a sink hole where the upper part of the above
section is repeated.
Locality 816, (LDx 9S 13E 16 bd) Quarry SE/4, NE/4, Sec. 16,
T9S, R13E, Dixie County. Three-tenths mile east from junc-
tion of paved State Highway S-351 with dirt road which goes
to Fayetteville. One-tenth mile east of paved road.
lSu.LETI No. 49
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
4 Sandy loam and soil zone .5
Pleistocene Series
3 Sand, light brown, fine-grained quartz ....- 1.5
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, hard, a co-
quina of large foraminifers, mostly Lepidocyclina
ocalaina and vars., "holothurians." and some echi-
noids, and a few striated and smooth Pertens 9.0
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, hard. in
places a large foraminiferal coquina, dwarfed indi-
viduals of Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars. and "holo-
thurian" tubes, filled mostly with small foraminifers 2.5
Total thickness 13.5
CRYSTAL RIVER FORMATION
The name Crystal River Formation was proposed by Purl
(1953, p. 130) for the 108 feet of limestone exposed in the Crystal
River Rock Company quarry in Citrus County, and includes all
calcareous sediments of Late Eocene Age, lying stratigraphically
between the Williston Formation and the Oligocene limestone.
The formation is synonymous with Ocala Limestone (restricted)
of Vernon (1951) and The Upper Ocala Limestone of Applin and
Applin (1944, p. 1683-85). Detailed information on the lithologic
character and fauna of the formation is given in Florida Geologi-
cal Survey Bulletin Nos. 33 and 38.
Purl (1957, p. 48) recognized the following faunizones in
peninsular Florida:
Asterocyclini,-Spirolaea vreroni faunizone
Numm lites vandeprstoki-Hem icythere faunizone
Lepidocyclina-Pae idoph rag m ina faunizone
Spiroloculina ntewberryensis faunizone
GD1( fi .X'-Y OF DIX IE AND G ILCHRiiIST
In Dixie and Gilchrist counties, the Crystal River Formation
consists of cream colored, soft to hard, porous, generally friable,
chalky to crystalline limestone composed mostly of foraminifers,
mollusks, and echinoids.
In most of the wells in the area that penetrated the Crystal
River the thickness of the formation was approximately 20 feet.
However, in well W-2502, located in Trenton, it is only 10 feet
thick. The top of the Crystal River is eroded and highly irregular,
accounting for the absence of the top two or three faunizones as
described by Puri (1953). In the graben, shown in the geologic
map (pl. 1) the Crystal River is missing. However, on the north,
west, and east sides of the graben the formation is present.
The Crystal River Formation lies conformably upon the Willis-
ton Formation and is unconformably overlain by the Alachua
Formation. In the northern and west-central part of Gilchrist
County, Pleistocene sediments unconformably overlie the Crystal
River Formation.
OUTCROP PATTERN
The Crystal River Formation in Gilchrist County crops out in
three areas (see pl. 1): 1) west and north of the Bronson Graben,
2) on the downthrown side of the Lottieville fault, and 3) in a
belt which generally parallels the course of the Santa Fe and Su-
wannee rivers.
West and north of the graben area, the following sections are
typical of the Crystal River Formation.
Locality 198. (LGr 8S 14E 24 ac) Abandoned quarry, about 1
mile north of Bell, SW/4, NW/4, Sec. 24, T8S, R14E, Gilchrist
County, Florida. Section measured on east wall of quarry. (Sec-
tion from Puri, 1957, p. 60).
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Stage
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
6 Limestone, cream to white, granular, with abundant
Lepidocyclinas. Limestone is filled with pockets of
gray and pink to brown sand; solution funnels com-
m on ... ..... ...... 7.7
]BrrTIN No. 49
5 Limestone, hard, granular, with molds of Spondylus
sp., and other mollusks ....-..-- 1.0
4 Limestone, cream to white, granular, almost fora-
miniferal coquina ... 3.0
3 Limestone, hard, white, chalky, with abundant fora-
minifers and mollusks; some of the foraminifers and
mollusks are of brownish color and are embedded in
white, chalky, matrix 2.0
2 Limestone, white, chalky, granular, with some Lepi-
docyclna sp .... .5
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, white to cream colored, chalky, with
abundant foraminifers and mollusks; almost a fora-
miniferal coquina in places; abundant Pecten sp.,
Solen sp., in lower 3 feet .-----.... ---.. 7.0
Total thickness 27.2
Locality 316. (LGr 8S 14E 13 bc) Abandoned quarry just east of
State Highway 49, SW/4, NE/4, Sec. 13, T8S, R14E, about
2.5 miles north of Bell, Gilchrist County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent and Pleistocene Series
Elevation 85 feet
2 Sand and soil zone .... .. .........-.......... .... ----..------ 1.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange to white, chalky, mostly
a coquina of large foraminifers, mainly Lepidocyclina
ocalana and vars., poorly preserved molds of mollusks,
some holothuriann" tubes common 11.5
Total thickness .. .......-...... 12.5
Locality 159. (LGr 9S 15E 31 ac) Abandoned quarry, SW/4,
NW/4, Sec. 31, T10S, R15E, Gilchrist County. Quarry just off
east side of road. Section measured on south wall of quarry.
U(E-OiWiY OF DIXIE AND LACi-likisT
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent and Pleistocene Series
Elevation 50 feet
3 Sand and soil zone ..1.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2 Limestone, white, moderately hard, recrystallized in
places, lower portion a coquina of large foraminifers,
mainly Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars., striated
Pecten sp., and crab claws __- .- 1.50
1 Limestone, very pale orange to white, chalky, with oc-
casional casts of mollusks, in places a coquina of fora-
minifers, with Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars., Het-
erostegina ocalana ...... .... .......... 5.50
Total thickness .... ...9.00
There are pea- to gravel-size pieces of limonite scattered on the
floor of the quarry.
Locality 193. (LGr 7S 13E 36 bc) The following section is ex-
posed in a large sink hole near edge of the road, SW/4, NE/4,
Sec. 36, T7S, R14E, Gilchrist County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series Elevation 50 feet
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2 Limestone, very pale orange, fossiliferous, almost a
coquina of large foraminifers, mostly Lepidocyclina
ocalana, "holothurians," Dentalimn sp. and Pecten
Sp..... 5.0
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, moderately
soft, with few large foraminifers, Lepidocyclina oca.
lana pseudomarginata, Heterostegina ocalana, Gyp-
gina globular common ... .... ... 1.5
Total thickness --..... -- --- -... _._... .. ._ 6.5
Solution funnels are a common feature in this sink hole.
79
l0Bi LrTs Noi. 49
Locality 177. (LGr 9S 14E 10 bd) Two large sink holes at Mr.
Bryant's field, SE 4, NE 4, Sec. 10, T9S, R14E, Gilchrist
County.
Bed
Description
Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series Elevation 49 feet
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, coquinoid, almost a large
foraminiferal coquina, mostly Lepidoeyclina ocalana
and vars.
Total thickness
3.0
3.0
The outcrops of the Crystal River Formation on the down-
thrown side of the Lottieville Fault occur in the southwestern
corner of the county. The following sections are representative of
the area.
Locality 65. (LGr 10S 14E 16 cd) Abandoned quarry in a field
near the community of Wilcox, SE/4, SW/4, Sec. 16, T10S,
R14E, Gilchrist County.
Description
Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
3 Sandy loam and soil zone
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, very pale orange to white, medium-grained,
quartz ---
Eocene Stage
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, with casts of
mollusks, Turritella sp., Mitra sp., and Glycymeris sp.
This bed becomes more chalky toward the top. Lepido-
cyclina ocalana and vars., Rotalia cushmani, Gypsina
globula, Fibularia vaughani, Heterostegina ocalane
and Agassizia cf. A. floridana are common
Total thickness
1.0
1.0
8.5
10.5
There are several solution funnels in this quarry which are
filled with Alachua sediments.
Bed
80
... .
( EOI-.GY OF DI)XIE AN'D GILCHRisT
Locality 179. (LGr 9S 14E 3 dc) Abandoned quarry in Roy
Robert's field, SW. 4, SE 4, Sec. 3, T9S, R14E, Gilchrist County.
Section measured on the east side of the quarry.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series Elevation 54 feet
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, almost a co-
quina of large foraminifers, particularly Lepidocy-
clina ocalana, Lepidocyclina ocalana attennata, Disco-
cyclina sp., Ostrea sp., Pecten ap., Gypsiina globula,
Heterostegina ocalana 9.0
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, massive,
sparse foraminifers, Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars.,
abundant "holothurians" 4.50
Total thickness 13.50
Boulders of Suwannee Limestone occur on top of Bed 2; some
have striated Marianna-type Pecten. None of the boulders are in
situ. Abundant solution funnels occur in the Crystal River Forma-
tion. The top of the Crystal River Formation is denuded and no
Pleistocene sand occurs at this locality.
The exposures of the Crystal River along the Santa Fe River
occur as steep bluffs. Along the Suwannee River, this formation
crops out south of Rock Bluff almost continuously for about four
miles (north of Wannee) where it is replaced by the Williston
Formation on the upthrown block of the Lottieville Fault. The
following sections are typical of this area.
Limestones of the Crystal River Formation as exposed in the
following locality are shown in figures 35 and 36.
Locality 320. (LGr 7S 14E 13 bb) Gordon Philpot's quarry, 1.9
miles south of bridge on Santa Fe River on State Highway 49,
on section line, between Secs. 12 and 13, T7S, R14E, Gilchrist
County, Florida. Section measured on north wall of quarry.
it'Li.i.rix N il. 49
FI"i riur 3. l LiM f.I Isi h 1' iif il C(iry% i I HI itV r F ioi1tI Li 1'.;l|.I"Ni inl :i q{thilrr
[I SI r Icl y 4Sl y 1 .iri tir S nt F I t F -ir .r. (;il r1'lrii ('fPI ryi
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2 Limestone, white, hard, foraminiferal coquina;
weathers yellowish-brown, Pecten ap.; solution fun-
nels common, filled with gray and brown, waxy clay
and sand 7.10
1 Limestone, white, granular, foraminiferal, soft and
friable; lower portion at the base of quarry with large
Ostrea sp. 6.0
Total thickness .. .. 13.10
Locality 72. (LDx 10S 13E 13 bc) Old Town Springs, Dixie
County. Owners: Harrell, Scruggs, Johnson, Burns, etc. Old
82
ma
S- r -rn
.*
i .m
Ilb nl:Ir i1i. 1 ."rii St ( ai 1il V.
4B-uLEKTIN No. 49
Town Springs is a composite spring made up of six springs.
The section was measured near the main spring, about 200
yards from the Suwannee River.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Pleistocene Series
3 Sand, very pale orange to white, medium-grained,
quartz; and soil zone 2.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, a microcoquins
of foraminifers, with Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars.
and occasional casts of mollusks 5.5
Williston Formation
1 Limestone, yellow to light gray, granular microco-
quinoid, with Lepidocyclina ocalana and Operculi-
noides moodybranchensis ...... (below spring level) 4.0
Total thickness 11.5
Locality 328. (LDx 8S 10E 22 ac) Buckeye Cellulose Company
quarry near the Steinhatchee River, SW/4, NW/4, Sec. 22,
TSS, RIOE, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
3 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, pasty, devoid
of large foraminifers, occasional molds of poorly pre-
served mollusks 4.0+
2 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, in places a
nummulitid coquina with a few specimens of Lepido-
cyclina. ocalana 3.5
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular; microcoquina
of nummulitids, studded with Pectenl and large Lepi-
docyclina ocalana and vars. (base of the quarry) 0.5
Total thickness 8.00+
84
:EOLM.c( Y OF DIXIE ANLD IlI'HRIST
Solution pits are common in this quarry and they are filled with
4 probably Hawthorn dark brown to steel gray, waxy clays.
Locality 345. (LDx 9S 13E 23 bb) Abandoned quarry, NE/4,
NE/4, Sec. 23, T9S, R13E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series Elevation 26 feet
3 Sandy loam and soil zone ............ .......... 1.0
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, very light gray to white, fine grained, quartz 2.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, a large fora-
miniferal nummulitid coquina, several large Lepido-
cyclina ocalana and vars., with a striated Pecten, and
some "holothurians" -.. ... --- 4... 4.5
Total thickness .......-.......- ....----- 7.5
Locality 349, (LDx 8S 13E 24 aa) Active limestone pit, NW/4,
NW/4, Sec. 24, T8S, R3IE, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series Elevation 42 feet
4 Sandy loam and soil zone .. 1.0
Pleistocene Series
3 Sand, light brown, fine grained, quartz 4.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, moderately
hard, in places a coquina of large foraminifers, some
large Lepidocyclina ... 10.0
1 Limestone, very pale orange, molluscan, in places a
6MBULLETIN No. 49
coquina of large foraminifers, Crassatillites, Pinna,
Spondylus and Cardium?, Velates, Lepidocyclina oca-
lana and var., Heterostegina ocalana
down to water level 4.0
Total thickness .... .... _- __. 19.0
Active quarry. Abundant solution pits.
Locality 841. (LDx 8S 13E 13 aa) Abandoned quarry on Mr.
Dempsey's farm, formerly used commercially to make chimney
blocks. NW/4, NW/4, Sec. 13, TSS, RISE, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
4 Soil zone and sandy clay .5
Pleistocene Series
3 Sand, light gray, medium-grained quartz ---------_ 2.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2a Limestone, very pale orange, very granular, micro-
coquina; very few mollusks, with a few specimens of
large Lepidocyclina ocalana 15.5
b Slightly chalky towards top (15.5.18 feet)
1 Limestone, very pale orange, coquinoid, mostly large
foraminifers, casts of mollusks common 5.0
Total thickness~ 23.0
A sink hole 300 feet northeast repeats the section exposed at the
abandoned quarry.
Locality 352. (LDx 8S 13E 1 de) Active quarry located on U. S.
Highway 129, 0.8 mile south of Dixie-Lafayette County Line.
SW/4, SE/4, Sec. 1, TSS, R13E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series Elevation 46 feet
3 Sandy loam and soil zone
86
1.0
(loiM)F OF ]IXIz AN ( LIAi'HIRST
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, brownish-gray, medium-grained, quartz
2.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
1 Limestone, very pale yellow, granular, in places a
nummulitic coquina with abundant small specimens of
Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars.; top portion softer
and contains striated Pecten
Total thickness .-- .... .
Locality 383. (LDx 9S 10E 29 ad) Shallow quarry, SE/4,
Sec. 29, T9S, R10E, Dixie County.
Bed
Description
Recent Series
3 Sandy loam and soil zone
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
2 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, soft, with a
few large foraminifers, contains striated Pecten
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, soft, almost a
coquina of Operculinoides moodfybranchensis. Con-
tains echinoids and striated Pecten
Total thickness
8.0
1 .0
NW/4,
Thickness
(feet)
1,0
2.0
1.0
4.0
Locality 683. (LDx 10S 13E 17 dc) The following section was
measured in an abandoned quarry. SW/4, SE/4, See. 17, T10S,
R13E, Dixie County.
Bed
Description
Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
5 Sandy loam and soil zone... ----....-..--...-.........-...
1.0
Pleistocene Series
4 Sand, light brown, medium-grained, quartz ....-.-.-.
2.0
8Bi'LLrTIN No. 49
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
3 Limestone, very light yellow, granular, with some
mollusks, almost devoid of large foraminifers 2.5
2 Limestone, white, hard, somewhat chalky; coquina of
large foraminifers in places 1.0
1 Limestone, very light orange, granular, Lepidocl-
clina; very few large foraminifera .s 1.5
Total thickness .. .. ....... .. .... ... .........8.0
Locality 348. (LDx 9S 13E 2 db) Abandoned quarry, a source of
limestone for building blocks, abundant solution joints. NE/4,
SE/4, Sec. 2, T9S, R13E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series Elevation 40 feet
6 Sandy loam and soil zone ... 1.0
Pleistocene Series
5 Sand, brownish-gray, medium-grained, quartz 2.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
4 Limestone, very light yellow, granular, hard, with
Turritella sp., and several species of echinoids common 5.5
3 Limestone, white, slightly chalky, a coquina of large
foraminifers in places ........ 2.5
2 Limestone, very light orange to white, granular, mili-
olid, very few large foraminifers noticed ........... 3.9
1 Limestone, very light orange, granular, hard, in places
a coquina of large foraminifers; nodular weathering
with large specimens of Lepidocyclina ocalana and
vars., and Ostrea sp. 2.0
Total thickness ----------------------- 16.9
88
(:IEOL;M.; OF D)IXIE: AX) (hL.t'llli'
Locality 790. (LDx 9S 14E 1 ca) Two adjoining pits; section
measured in larger of the two pits. NW/4, SW/4, Sec. 1, T9S,
R14E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
4 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, a coquina of
large foraminifers, abundant molluscan casts, and
large specimens of Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars. 8.5
3 Limestone, very pale orange to white, slightly chalky,
almost devoid of large foraminifers, a few specimens
of large Lepidocyclina ocalana and vars. noticed 6.5
2 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, a coquina of
large foraminifers .2.0
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, with sparse
foraminifers, Lepidocyclina ocalana present .3.5
Total thickness 20.5
The Crystal River Formation occurs very close to the ground
surface. It is difficult to estimate the thickness of Pleistocene sands
because of spoil banks around quarry resting directly on top of the
limestone.
Locality 798. (LDx 8S l1E 26 aa) Exposure in an abandoned
quarry, NW/4, NW/4, Sec. 26, T8S, RIUE, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
3 Sandy loam and soil zone .5
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, light brown, medium grained, quartz 2.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
1 Limestone, very light orange, granular, slightly
chalky, coquina of large foraminifers, mostly Lepido-
0iu'LLETIn, No. 49
cycling ._. ... .. .. 2.0
Total thickness 4.5
Locality 799. (LDx 8S 12E 19 bd) Abandoned quarry, SE/4,
NE/4, Sec. 19, T8S, R12E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Th sickness
(feet)
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, with some
Lepidocyclina, slightly chalky to water level 1.0
Total thickness .. 1.0
There is a thin cover of Pleistocene sand on the top of the
Crystal River Formation. The exact thickness of the Pleistocene
is difficult to measure because of spoil banks around the quarry.
Locality 832. (LDx 8S 12E 19 be) Exposures in an abandoned
quarry, SE/4, NE/4, Sec. 19, TSS, R12E, Dixie County.
Bed Description Thickness
(feet)
Recent Series
3 Muck and soil zone 1.0
Pleistocene Series
2 Sand, gray, medium-grained, quartz ......- 1.0
Eocene Series
Ocala Group
Crystal River Formation
1 Limestone, very pale orange, granular, in places a co-
quina of large foraminifers, mostly Lepidocyclina oca-
lana and vars. The limestone is case-hardened toward
the top ..- ------------------- 3.0
Total thickness 5.0
Locality 817. (LDx 9S 13E 16 bc) Limestone pit, SW/4, NE/4,
Sec. 16, T9S, R13E, 0.2 mile south of Locality 816 and about
0.1 mile west of paved State Highway S-351.
90
