Conodont biostratigraphy and facies relationships of the lower Holston Formation (Middle Ordovician) in the thrust belts near Knoxville, eastern Tennessee
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Date
1978-12
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Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
The age of the basal Holston Formation in the various thrust belts surrounding Knoxville, Tennessee have been the subject of considerable controversy and widely different interpretations. New conodont data from the belts southeast of Knoxville show that the base of the Holston occupies the same stratigraphic level, in terms of conodont biostratigraphic units, in all investigated sections of the various thrust belts. A regional comparison of the conodont biostratigraphy in these belts gives conclusive evidence that the Chota Formation, thought by some authors to be an equivalent to the Holston, lies entirely within the Prioniodus gerdae Subzone of the Amorphognathus tvaerensis Zone. Thus, its base is considerably younger than the basal Holston in the more western belts, which has been shown to lie within the upper part of the Pygodus anserinus Zone. A new interpretation of the Middle Ordovician facies relations across eastern Tennessee is presented based on the new data and previously published information.