New Douglas Dome (Discarded)

Location

Near the common comer of Bond, Madison, and Montgomery Counties

References

Bell 1926c, 1941, Allgaier and Hopkins 1975, Bristol and Howard 1976, Stevenson et al. 1981

Description

The New Douglas Dome, as named by Bell (1926c), represented the western part of Blatchley's (1914) Sorento Dome. Bell's structural interpretation was based on borehole data on the Herrin Coal Member. His map depicted a roughly elliptical dome that was elongated from northeast to southwest and about 6 miles (10 km) long by 3 miles (5 km) wide. Indicated closure is about 50 feet (15 m); however, the mapping of closure depends on interpretation of one well where the Herrin Coal Member is missing as Bell had noted. Absence of coal here is due to erosion or nondeposition in what is now called the Walshville channel (Allgaier and Hopkins 1975). Bell estimated the position of the Herrin Coal in the key well by matching younger strata with nearby wells. The correlations employed by Bell appear less than convincing. Moreover, even if the higher strata are correctly correlated, their arching may be due to differential compaction across the Walshville channel fill and not to tectonic movements.

Bell's (1941) revised structure map of the Herrin Coal shows the channel cutting through the area where the anticline had been mapped. The elevation contours of the coal on either side of the channel do not support the existence of a dome or anticline, so Bell did not label the New Douglas Dome on his 1941 map.

The Beech Creek ("Barlow") Limestone (ISGS open files) is not present, and the Ste. Genevieve Limestone (Bristol and Howard 1976) is not mappable in the New Douglas area. The Stevenson et al. (1981) structure map of the New Albany Group indicates a small high near the common comer of Bond, Madison, and Montgomery Counties. Because the existence of the New Douglas Dome as originally defined on the Herrin Coal is questionable, this name should not be attached to the high on the New Albany.

See also PANAMA ANTICLINE (discarded) and SORENTO DOME (discarded).