The Chattanooga Shale is a
geologic formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...
in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. It preserves
conodont
Conodonts (Greek ''kōnos'', "cone", + ''odont'', "tooth") are an extinct group of agnathan (jawless) vertebrates resembling eels, classified in the class Conodonta. For many years, they were known only from their tooth-like oral elements, which ...
fossils
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
dating to the
Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
Period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
.
[ It occurs mostly as a subsurface geologic formation composed of layers of ]shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
. It is located in Eastern Tennessee and also extends into southeastern Kentucky, northeastern Georgia, and northern Alabama. This part of Alabama is part of the Black Warrior Basin
The Black Warrior Basin is a geologic sedimentary basin of western Alabama and northern Mississippi in the United States. It is named for the Black Warrior River and is developed for coal and coalbed methane production, as well as for convention ...
.[
The Chattanooga Shale of east Tennessee is reported to be an extension of or correlates with the ]Marcellus Shale
Marcellus may refer to:
* Marcellus (name)
* Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Roman commander
Places
* Marcellus, Lot-et-Garonne, France
* Marcellus Township, Michigan
** Marcellus, Michigan, a village in Marcellus Township
** Marcellus Community Sch ...
of the Appalachian region to the east. Exploratory drilling of the Chattanooga Shale in east Tennessee indicates that it contains significant amounts of natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
. This has resulted in interest in and attempts to use hydraulic fracturing
Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...
to exploit the resource.
File:Chattanooga Shale (Upper Devonian; Burkesville West Rt. 90 roadcut, Kentucky, USA) 22 (40541682240).jpg, Chattanooga Shale in Kentucky
File:Chattanooga Shale (Upper Devonian; Burkesville West Rt. 90 roadcut, Kentucky, USA) 17 (40541683280).jpg, Chattanooga Shale
File:Pyrite concretion (Chattanooga Shale, Upper Devonian; Burkesville West Rt. 90 roadcut, Kentucky, USA) 1 (42300453012).jpg, Pyrite concretion in Chattanooga Shale
See also
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Alabama
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of Alabama, U.S.
Sites
See also
* Paleontology in Alabama
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Alabama
Alabama
Stratigraphic u ...
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Georgia (U.S. state)
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Indiana
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of Indiana, U.S.
Sites
See also
* Paleontology in Indiana
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana ...
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Kentucky
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of Kentucky, U.S.
Sites
See also
* Paleontology in Kentucky
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Kentucky
Kentucky
Ken ...
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Missouri
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of Missouri, U.S.
Sites
See also
* Paleontology in Missouri
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Missouri
Missouri
Stratigraphi ...
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Ohio
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of Ohio, U.S.
Sites
See also
* Paleontology in Ohio
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. stat ...
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Tennessee
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of Tennessee, U.S.
Sites
See also
* Paleontology in Tennessee
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Tennessee
Tennessee
Stratig ...
References
Devonian geology of Tennessee
Devonian System of North America
Devonian Alabama
Devonian Arkansas
Devonian Georgia (U.S. state)
Devonian Indiana
Devonian Kentucky
Devonian Missouri
Devonian Ohio
Shale formations of the United States
Oil shale in the United States
Oil-bearing shales in the United States
Oil shale formations
Devonian southern paleotemperate deposits
{{Missouri-geologic-formation-stub