Bodenschatz-Lick Fault Zone (New Name)

Old Name: Bodenschatz-Lick Fault

Location

Jackson County, Illinois; Cape Girardeau and Perry Counties, Missouri (J-4, 5)

References

Flint 1925, Bristol and Buschbach 1973, Nelson and Lumm 1985

Description

The Bodenschatz-Lick Fault Zone in Perry County, Missouri, was named and defined on the basis of information from surface mapping (Flint 1925). Flint showed a single fault striking northeast and downthrown about 100 feet (30 m) to the southeast. Recent mapping in Missouri (Middendorf et al. 1988, Whitfield and Middendorf 1989) revealed a complex zone of faulting as much as 3.5 miles (5.5 km) wide. The zone is composed of individual faults having diverse trends, but the net displacement is down to the southeast. In Missouri, Ordovician through Lower Devonian rocks are offset by these faults. Missing section in well bores is evidence of normal faulting (Nelson and Lumm 1985).

Using borehole data, Nelson and Lumm (1985) demonstrated that the Bodenschatz-Lick Fault Zone extends northeastward into Illinois. Displacement on the Beech Creek Limestone (Mississippian) is as great as 600 feet (180 m) down to the southeast. Limited data suggest even larger displacements of older strata. Pennsylvanian rocks are not faulted but are folded into an east-facing monocline having maximum dips of 12° to 14°. These findings suggest progressive growth of the structure during the late Paleozoic.

A fault that corresponds with the northeastern portion of the Bodenschatz-Lick Fault Zone appears on a structure map of the top of the Galena (Trenton) Group (Ordovician, Bristol and Buschbach 1973).

The Bodenschatz-Lick Fault Zone crosses the more extensive Ste. Genevieve Fault Zone at roughly a right angle. The relative ages and structural relationships of the two fault zones are not understood.