VILLE PLATTE1:I00,OOO-SCALE GEOLOGIC

QUADRANGLE
compilers

John 1. Snead, Paul V. Heinrich, and Richard P. McCulloh

Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge

1999

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LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY TO ACCOMPANY MAP-

~I LOUISIANA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY VILLE PLATTE GEOLOGIC QUADRANGLE

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VILLE PLATTE1:100,OOO-SCALE GEOLOGIC QUADRANGLE

compilers

,.,. John 1. Snead, Paul V. Heinrich, and Richard P. McCulloh

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Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge

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1999

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.-• Originally prepared for the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, under
cooperative agreement No. 1434-94-A-1233.

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4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CONTENTS

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~ INTRODUCTION, LOCATION, AND GEOLOGIC SETTING ....................... 1

,.,. PREVIOUS WORK .......................................................... 2

METHODS ................................................................. 2

..-... ALLOSTRATIGRAPHIC APPROACH TO UNIT DEFINITIONS ..................... 3

,.. RESULTS .................................................................. 4

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Upland Allogroup ......................................................... 4
Intermediate Allogroup ..................................................... 4
Prairie Allogroup ......................................................... 4
Deweyville Allogroup ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5

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,.. Mississippi River Meander Belt 3 .............................................
East-West Trending Scarps ..................................................
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•,..,.. CONCLUSION .............................................................. 6

,..,. CORRELATION OF MAP UNITS .............................................. 9

DESCRIPTION OF MAP UNITS .............................................. 10

•.- BIBLIOGRAPHy ........................................................... 13

.-.- ILLUSTRATIONS

.-.- Figures
1. Location of Ville Platte 1: 100,000-scale quadrangle .............................. 8

~ "" Plates
1. Ville Platte, Louisiana, 30 x 60-minute geologic quadrangle, 1999 .................. 17

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2".2."~~I!I!I"cll""III!II"1IIIIII!II!IIIIIIII!IIlIIIIII--------=----~-~~~~"~·~~·"~~~~"~------------------

......"" Acknowledgments

.-.,.. This map was originally prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey,
Department of the Interior, as part of its STATEMAP program under Cooperative Agreement
No. 1434-94-A-1233. The Louisiana Geological Survey gratefully acknowledges the Louisiana
Department of Natural Resources, Office of Mineral Resources, for support for the final
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production and printing of this published edition under DNR Contract No. 2400-99-01,
"Provision of Technical Services to the Office of Mineral Resources-Task 4." Gus C .
Rodemacher, Assistant Secretary, and William E. Marsalis, Geologist Administrator of the
~ Office of Mineral Resources were instrumental in the formulation and acceptance of this

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contract.
R. Hampton Peele and Robert Paulsell of the LGS Cartographic Section performed the
Geographic Information System (GIS) tasks and the cartographic production and design tasks,

--,..-- respectively.
Whitney J. Autin of the State University of New York, College at Brockport, reviewed and
provided valuable comments on the Quaternary correlation effort.

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•• VILLE PLATTE 1: 1DD,DDD-SCALE GEOLOGIC QUADRANGLE
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,.. compilers

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John I. Snead, Paul V. Heinrich, and Richard P. McCulloh

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Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge
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Introduction, Location, and Geologic Setting

Louisiana's surface geology is dominated by units of Quaternary age whose noteworthy variety
~. and complexity has presented chronic problems for previous attempts to correlate and classify
them. A preliminary draft of a workable statewide classification of the Quaternary, recently

"" formulated by Snead and others (1998), forms the primary basis for this presentation of the

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correlation and classification of units mapped in the Ville Platte quadrangle.
The Ville Platte 1: 100,000-scale quadrangle covers a region lying between 31 °00' and 30°30'
north latitude, and between 93°00' and 92°00' west longitude (figure 1). This is a region of
moderate relief in which the altitude ranges from less than 10m above sea level within the Red
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River and Mississippi River valleys to 80+ m on the Pleistocene uplands of the coastal plain in
~ the northwestern comer of the quadrangle. The region includes Holocene and Pleistocene fluvial
~ deposits of the Red, Calcasieu, and Mississippi rivers; Pleistocene coast-parallel terrace
~ compiexes, interpreted here as allogroups; loess-covered surfaces adjacent to the Mississippi
River valley; a network of relict Pleistocene channels; and an active, but aseismic fault system.
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A small outcrop of limestone caprock atop the Pine Prairie salt dome is also noted, one of only
~ two exposures of salt-dome caprock known in Louisiana.
~ The northeastern portion of the quadrangle encompasses the western valley wall of the
~ Mississippi River flood plain where it is joined from the northwest by that of the Red River, not
far below the present-day confluence of the channels of the two rivers. Most of the remainder of
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the quadrangle encompasses the eastern portion of the middle Calcasieu River drainage basin, on
~ the west, and the headward reaches of streams of the Mermentau Bayou drainage basin, on the

---- south. Also encompassed is the transition in Pleistocene strata from the fluvial terrace-associated
deposits of these rivers and streams to their coast-parallel terrace-associated deposits of the south
Louisiana coastal plain. A pattern of relict channels on the older Prairie surface gives evidence
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that the Red River once flowed independently into the Gulf of Mexico west of its modem
confluence with the Mississippi River. This transitional setting and the confluence of the two
~ large river systems greatly increase the potential for complexity in the number and interrelations

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of the units recognized and mapped in the area.
A distinct semicircular ridge associated with the outcrop of limestone caprock, mapped-
stream captures, and several distinct, low scarps offsetting the Pleistocene terrace surfaces give
evidence of active Late Quaternary neotectonics within the Ville Platte quadrangle.

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Previous Work
~ Different portions of the Ville Platte quadrangle were geologically mapped at a scale of
~ 1:62,500 in parish geological investigations in the 1940's and 1950's (Fisk 1940; Welch 1942;
111ft Holland et al. 1952; and Varvaro 1957). Until recently, reassessment of this mapping had been
done only in conjunction with recompilations at much smaller scales, e.g., 1:500,000 (Snead and

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McCulloh 1984) and 1:1,100,000 (Saucier and Snead 1989).
Since the late 1980' s the Louisiana Geological Survey (LGS) has attempted to sustain an

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ongoing effort to remap the state's surface geology at intermediate scale, and has done so almost
entirely via cooperative agreements with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). These agreements
were initially under its COGEOMAP program, which later became the STATEMAP program
following authorization by Congress of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program in
~ 1992.
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These projects have permitted LGS to undertake the systematic and comprehensive new
~ mapping of the geologically youngest river and delta deposits that underlie three-fourths of
~ Louisiana, and to complete initial compilation of new, intermediate-scale coverage of the state's
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upland landscapes and alluvial bottoms above the coastal zone. The STATEMAP project for
fiscal year 1994-95 entailed the geologic mapping of the De Ridder and Ville Platte 1: 100,000
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quadrangles (Snead et al. 1995a, b); the mapping of the Ville Platte geologic quadrangle (1995b)
~ for that project is here presented within the framework of the recent formulation of a preliminary
~ statewide classification of Quaternary units by Snead and others (1998).
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Methods
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~ For the preliminary mapping of the geology of the Ville Platte quadrangle (Snead et al.
~ 1995b), draft geologic maps were prepared for each of the thirty-two 7.5-minute USGS
topographic quadrangle maps composing it and recompiled at the 1: 100,000 scale. The draft
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maps consisted of vellum overlays registered to 7.5-minute quadrangles, many of which are
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.. recently published provisional editions previously unavailable to geologic mappers. Alluvial and
terrace-unit contacts, and escarpments associated with known and hypothesized surface faults of

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the coastal plain, were delineated on the overlays using these new, high-quality 7.5-minute
topographic quadrangles. These were checked by comparison with and analysis of published and
unpublished geologic mapping, aerial photographs, other types of imagery, and soils information .
The above included geotechnical data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the

.• Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), and soil surveys and data of
the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) [formerly Soil Conservation Service
(SCS)]. These interpretations were then spot-checked in the field .
Published geologic mapping and aerial photography and imagery were extensively consulted.

•• The published geologic mapping consulted in this study included Fisk (1938, 1940, 1944),
Welch (1942), Jones et al. (1956), Doering (1956), Varvaro (1957), Saucier (1974), Smith and
Russ (1974), Russ (1-975), Snead and McCullop. (1984), and Saucier and Snead (1989). Aerial

•• photography and imagery used in the mapping came from Edgar Tobin Aerial Surveys! (ETAS),

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! P.O. Box 839905, San Antonio, TX 78283-9905
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.- the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Agricultural Stabilization
and Conservation Service (ASCS). The primary aerial photography consisted of 1:2,000 black

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and white ETAS aerial photography flown between 1939 and 1942, and 1:20,000 black and

,"".. white ASCS aerial photography flown at various times between 1939 and 1962. NASA 1:80,000
color-infrared aerial imagery flown in 1978 supplemented the ETAS and ASCS aerial
photography in the geologic mapping. Field work was used to verify the mapping.
~ Once finished, the 1:24,000 overlays were recompiled onto an overlay of the USGS

• 1: 100,000 quadrangle map. This draft map was then edited, reviewed, and redrawn to produce
the final (preliminary) map, from which the digital cartographic product was prepared.

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~ Allostratigraphic Approach to Unit Definitions

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Most previous approaches to the correlation and mapping of Pleistocene units in Louisiana

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regarded the sequences underlying terrace surfaces as mappable units of formation rank. In the
intermediate-scale geologic compilations undertaken in previous LGS-USGS cooperative
agreements, these formations became replaced by informal units called complexes. Problems

...... with the traditional terrace concept had led Autin and others (1991) to introduce complexes as
groupings of temporally related surfaces, the associated sedimentary sequences of which were
assumed to comprise related allostratigraphic units, or litho somes distinguished by their
bounding unconformities (Autin 1996).
~ This approach was prompted by the general lack of diagnostic or distinct lithologic
~ characteristics within Pleistocene sediments made similar to a considerable degree by their
~ overall textural heterogeneity. The treatment given by Snead et al. (1998) was a provisional first

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attempt at an allostratigraphic approach to statewide classification and correlation within the
Pleistocene of Louisiana, with subdivision into constituent informal allounits; in this schema, the
complexes of earlier usage survived as the major unit groupings.
The unit names in this map and report have been revised to fit that classification. It is hoped
~ that this approach will evolve into formal allostratigraphic nomenclature as the units become
~ better defined.

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Although the nature and variety of the different sources of information and types of criteria
employed in the classification of map units are not sufficient for formal definition of allounits,
allostratigraphic criteria are incorporated wherever possible in the manner recommended by

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Autin and others (1991) and employed by Snead and others (1998), to formulate provisional or
informal unit definitions, with the different criteria prioritized and hierarchically ordered as
follows:
1. Characteristics of a unit's bounding unconformities, including associated paleosols
~ 2. Identification of geomorphological/depositional surfaces associated with the unit
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3. Summary of the depositional environment(s), including subunits reflective of depositional
e morphology, with associated constituent lithologies.
~ The major groupings of units (Deweyville, Prairie, Intermediate, Upland) were treated as
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groups in a generic. stratigraphic sense, with allostratigraphic thinking and precepts applied to
~ whatever degree the data permit; they are here'designated as allogroups. This treatment reflects
the operational correlations that have remained broadly consensual among investigators as

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,... thinking has evolved in the years since the release of the first published Geologic Map of
Louisiana (Snead and McCulloh 1984) and in the last ten years of intermediate-scale map
compilations under USGS-LGS cooperative agreements. Loesses-comprising eolian silt
veneers over earlier Pleistocene and older deposits-are important markers useful for the
.- correlation of underlying map units, somewhat analogous to the paleosols. Two distinct loesses,

•...,.. Sicily Island (possibly early to middle Wisconsinan) and Peoria (late Wisconsinan), are
recognized in Louisiana. Their distributions, from Miller (1983), have not been revised since the
1984 Geologic Map of Louisiana .

•• Results

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• The process of compiling the map revealed and substantiated significant geological features
within the Holocene and Late Pleistocene alluvial valleys of the Mississippi and Red rivers, the

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Late Quaternary coast-parallel terrace surfaces, and the small stream valleys traversing this area.

Upland Allogroup
The Upland Allogroup crops out only in the northwestern corner of the Ville Platte geologic
~ quadrangle. It consists of the Willis Formation, which is correlative with the Willis of Texas and

•,.. equivalent to the Citronelle Formation of eastern Louisiana and Mississippi. For this
investigation the Willis was not differentiated.

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• Intermediate Allogroup
The Intermediate Allogroup mapped in the Ville Platte Geologic Quadrangle corresponds to
the Intermediate Complex of Saucier and Snead (1989), and is differentiated into three
constituent units. The principle units mapped are the Lissie Formation and the Oakdale
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alloformation. The Lissie, equivalent to the Lissie Formation of Texas, forms an extensive
surface encompassing the area around De Ridder, Louisiana, and is approximately equivalent to
4 the Bentley terrace of Fisk (1938, 1940) and Welch (1942). The surface associated with the

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Oakdale alloformation is approximately equivalent to the Oberlin terrace of Doering (1956). A
younger unit, the Elizabeth alloformation, is marked by a lower surface discontinuously exposed
over a much smaller area along the Calcasieu River and areas to the west.

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Prairie Allogroup
.- The Ville Platte geologic map shows Prairie Allogroup deposits associated with each of the

•• major rivers (Calcasieu, Red, Mississippi) as well as coast-parallel equivalents created by

ancestral streams and coalescing alluvial fans. The principal expanse of Prairie deposits in the

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map area is equivalent to the Beaumont formation of Texas and is here mapped as Prairie,
Beaumont allomember. This unit exhibits the clearly discernible relict channels of the
Pleistocene Red and Calcasieu Rivers. Two previously undifferentiated Prairie surfaces appear

•,..,. topographically below this unit along the valley wall of the Mississippi River. The most
extensive of these surfaces exhibits the scrolls and channels of the Pleistocene Mississippi River
and correlates with the Avoyelles prairie to the north and the Lafayette meander belt to the south.
The unit underlying this surface is here mapped as Prairie, Avoyelles allomember. A still lower,

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.. discontinuous surface that exhibits meander bights, channels, and loops proportional in width

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and radii to the modem Red River was also recognized. The unit underlying this surface is here
mapped as Prairie, Big Cane allomember. This surface, exposed over a relatively small area, is
at approximately the same elevation as adjacent Holocene Red River meander belts, but it is
covered by Peoria Loess, so the unit apparently represents remnants of Late Wisconsinan

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meander belts of the Red River, making it the lowermost surface of the Prairie.

Deweyville Allogroup
~ Small surfaces representative of the Deweyville Allogroup on the Calcasieu River are
identified in two levels. The Deweyville (lower) surface is near the elevation of and sometimes
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overlapped by Holocene alluvium. Terraces on upper tributaries of the Calcasieu previously
~ mapped as Deweyville (Snead and McCulloh 1984) are here identified as undifferentiated Prairie

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Allogroup alluvial terraces.

Mississippi River Meander Belt 3

.... The Ville Platte 1: 1OO,OOO-scale geologic map differentiates Mississippi River meander belt
3, as mapped by Saucier (1974) and Saucier and Snead (1989), into two meander belts as
~ suggested by Saxon (1986), Heinrich (1991, 1993a), and Heinrich, Snead, and Autin (LGS
~ 1994). The oldest of these meander belts, the "Pre-Teche-Mississippi meander belt" of Saxon
~ (1986), is mapped as meander belt 3 (lower). Overlying and incised into the lower meander belt
is the younger unit, a later occupation of meander belt 3, here mapped as meander belt 3 (upper).
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The lower meander belt differs in several ways from the upper meander belt. Its ridge and
~ swale topography lies about 3 m (9 ft) below the level of the ridge and swale topography in the
~ upper meander belt. Also the channel loops of meander belt 3 (lower) are considerably more

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~ developed than the relatively simple meander loops of the later, meander belt 3 (upper), although
they occupy the same area. The channel loops of the lower meander belt are comparable in
channel width and radius of curvature to those of the modem Mississippi River. As mapped,
~ these lower belt meander loops are concave toward the upper meander belt. This pattern indicates
~ that the abandoned river course with which they are associated lies buried beneath the upper
~ meander belt (Heinrich 1991, Saxon 1986).
Within the upper meander belt, the Ville Platte geologic map also shows a small area of
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meander belt and natural levee deposits composed of reddish colored alluvium of the Red River.
~ The distinctive red color of this alluvium is derived from the Permian red beds of Oklahoma and
IlfI\ northeast Texas. This alluvium was deposited by the Red River while it was active in the
~ Mississippi River meander belt 3 course, subsequent to the Mississippi River occupations. This

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@ map unit also includes the historically active, narrow natural levee associated with the modem
channel of Bayou Teche (Autin et al. 1991).

East to West-Trending Scarps

@ The Ville Platte geologic quadrangle shows a series of east to west-trending linear
~ escarpments that have a distinctive topographic expression. They consist of strike-oriented slope
.- breaks with strike-parallel continuity on the order of several kilometers and are marked by

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elevation contours that may change spacing along strike, but have uniform spacing in a given
location. The scarps break individual terrace surfaces and, in a number of places, very nearly
coincide with the bounding scarp separating different terraces. The escarpments are interpreted

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as the residual fault-line scarps associated with Tertiary growth faults that have been reactivated

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'I'; during the Pleistocene (Heinrich 1994). The association of similar scarps with known Tertiary
growth faults has been documented by Heinrich (1988) near DeQuincy, Louisiana, and is similar

•.... to that characteristic of fault-line scarps associated with faults of the Baton Rouge system in
southeastern Louisiana (Durham and Peeples 1956; McCulloh 1991, 1992, 1996). The faults of
the Baton Rouge system do not produce detectable earthquakes, but are known to be active

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because of the cumulative damage done to structures located on and near certain fault segments
over periods of years and decades.
~ The same geomorphic surface has been mapped on both the updip and downdip side of some
~ of these escarpments. For these escarpments, the presence of the same surface unit on either side
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of the escarpment indicates displacement by a fault rather than the incision of the deposits
~ forming an older terrace before the deposition of the younger terrace. If present, the
~ / identification of constructional landforms, e.g., ridge and swale topography and fluvial channels,
~ that are contiguous across the slope break would also identify certain escarpments as the surface
~ expression of faulting. However, such features thus far have yet to be found within the Ville
Platte quadrangle because of the age and dissected nature of the dominant surface units.
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Some of the escarpments interpreted as residual fault-line scarps virtually coincident with
~ contacts separating different terraces also form the southernmost contact of the adjacent
~ Pleistocene units updip. An examination of the contact between the Prairie Allogroup and the
~ Holocene chenier and deltaic plains south of the study area shows that it is extremely irregular
and embayed, reflecting the uneven onlap of Holocene sediments over the eroded downdip edge
~ of the Prairie because of slight but significant variations in the topography of the latter. In
~ contrast, the only east-west trending linear segments of Prairie and Intermediate contacts
~ depicted on published maps occur in the Florida parishes east of the study area, where Holocene
~ deposits have accumulated against residual fault-line scarps associated with faults of the Baton
Rouge system (Snead and McCulloh 1984, Mossa and Miller 1989). Using these linear contacts
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associated with known residual fault-line scarps as an analogy, some bounding escarpments of
~ similar appearance in the Ville Platte quadrangle are here tentatively interpreted as residual
~ fault-line scarps. This interpretation is further supported by the presence of major Tertiary
~ growth faults that parallel these escarpments in the subsurface at an appropriate downdip depth
and distance.
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•• Conclusion

•• The Ville Plattel:l00,OOO-scale geologic quadrangle map and the draft 7.5-minute mapping
conducted for this investigation provide a detailed overview of the surface geology within the

•• project area. The Ville Platte quadrangle is underlain at the surface entirely by units of
Quaternary age. It is distinguished by the notable variety and complexity of these units,

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predisposed by its position at the confluence of the flood plains of the Red and Mississippi rivers,
and spanning the transition between fluvial and coast-parallel terrace-associated units. The
allostratigraphic approach to the interpretation of these Quaternary units has proven fruitful and

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appears to hold the most promise for devising a meaningful correlation and classification of
surface Quaternary strata that is workable statewide, although formal allounit definition within

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•..,....."'" the Quaternary of Louisiana is generally not yet possible. The geologic map illustrates
subdivisions within the Upland, Intermediate, and Deweyville allogroups and Mississippi River

..,.•,. meander belt 3; lower surfaces representative of the Prairie Allogroup near the Mississippi River
western valley wall; residual fault-line scarps in Pleistocene sediments; and fragments of a Late
Wisconsinan Red River meander belt that appear to form the lowermost Prairie surface .

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~ 94' 92' 90'

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LOUISIANA
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50 miles

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~ 30 X 60 Minute Geologic Quadrangles

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Published (1999)
in production
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~ Figure l. Location of Ville Plattel:l00,OOO-scale quadrangle.

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11ft Correlation of Map Units

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11ft

,... Hua
Hb
Hrm
Backswamp deposits
Red River meander-belt deposits
HOLOCENE

Undifferentiated deposits of small upland streams

... Hrl Red River natural levee deposits

~ Hrs Red River crevasse splay deposits
Hrd Red River distributary deposits
Hrc Red River channel remnants
~ Hmm3u Mississippi River meander belt 3-upper deposits
Hmm3 l Mississippi River meander belt 3-lower deposits
~ Hm l 3u Mississippi River levee deposits (meander belt 3-upper)
Hmbl Mississippi River levee deposits (meander belt 3-lower)
~

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Hs Small river deposits, undifferentiated (Calcasieu River)

~ PLEISTOCENE

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• LOESS
[pattern] Peoria Loess (shown where the total thickness is I meter or greater)

•-- [pattern] Sicily Island Loess (shown where the total thickness is I meter or greater)

DEWEYVILLE ALLOGROUP
Pd Deweyville Allogroup, undifferentiated
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,..,.. PRAIRIE ALLOGROUP
Pp
Pdl
Pdu
Deweyville Allogroup, lower surface
Deweyville Allogroup, upper surface

Prairie Allogroup, undifferentiated

~• Ppl Prairie Allogroup, Late Sangamon

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~ Ppe
Ppav
Ppbc
Avoyelles alloformation (includes Lafayette meander belt)
Big Cane alloformation

Prairie Allogroup, Early Sangamon

Ppbe Beaumont alloformation

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,.. INTERMEDIATE ALLOGROUP
Pi Intermediate Allogroup, undifferentiated

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~ UPLAND ALLOGROUP
Pou
Pie
Pio
Pi!
Elizabeth alloformation
Oakdale alloformation
Lissie Formation

Upland Allogroup, undifferentiated

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Pouw Willis Formation

..••...
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 Description of Map Units

HOLOCENE

Hua Undifferentiated deposits of small upland streams-alluvial deposits of minor streams and creeks filling
valleys cut into older deposits. The modem flood plain within these valleys constitutes the surface of these
deposits. The lithology of these alluvial deposits reflects the lithology of their source.

Hb Backswamp deposits-Holocene backswamp deposits of the Red River and, in the eastern part of the
quadrangle, mixed Red and Mississippi river deposits. They underlie flood basins between meander belts.
These sediments consist of dark reddish brown to dark gray or black silty clay or clay.

Hrm Red River meander-belt deposits-point bar and associated overbank deposits underlying meander belts of
the Red River. The surface of the meander belt characterized by ridge and swale topography. These
deposits typically consist of red to reddish brown sand, silt, silty clay, and sandy clay.

Hrl Red River natural levee deposits-natural levee deposits ofthe Red River that comprise low natural levees
that flank the meander belts of the Red River. These sediments typically consist of yellowish red to
reddish brown silt, silty clay, sandy clay, and some sand.

Hrs Red River crevasse splay deposits-Red River sediments that form fan-like crevasse splays that originate
from the Red River. Typically they consist of reddish yellow to reddish brown silt, silty clay, sandy clay,
and some sand.

Hrd Red River distributary deposits-silty to clayey, reddish brown sediments that form the narrow natural
levees of distributaries that extend from Red River meander belts into the adjacent backswamp.

Hrc Red River channel remnants-sinuous tonal patterns interpreted to be abandoned Red River channels,
buried beneath backswamp deposits.

Hmm3u Mississippi River meander belt 3, upper deposits-point bar deposits of the youngest level of Mississippi
river meander-belt 3, buried by a thin layer of overbank sediments. The surface is characterized by ridge
and swale topography and minor natural levees. It consists of thick, sandy point bar deposits covered by a
thin layer of silt and silty clay.

Hmm31 Mississippi River meander belt 3, lower deposits-point bar deposits of an older level of Mississippi river
meander-belt 3, buried by a layer of overbank sediments. The surface is characterized by ridge and swale
topography and minor natural levees. It consists of thick, sandy point bar deposits covered by a variable
thickness of silty clay and clay.

Hmbu Mississippi River levee deposits (meander-belt 3, upper)-Mississippi River deposits compnsmg
prominent natural levees flanking the younger of two meander belts within Mississippi River meander-belt
3. They consist of silt, silty clay, clayey silt, and some sand.

Hml31 Mississippi River levee deposits (meander-belt 3, lower)-Mississippi River deposits compnsmg
prominent natural levees flanking the older of two meander belts within Mississippi River meander-belt 3.
They consist of silt, silty clay, clayey silt, and some sand.

Hs Small river d~posits, undifferentiated (Calcasieu River)-undifferentiated alluvial deposits consisting of

natural levee, overbank, and abandoned channels within the Calcasieu River valley.

10
 PLEISTOCENE

LOESS
[pattern] Peoria Loess-Eolian silt veneer of late Wisconsin age mantling Pleistocene strata. Loess is shown where
the total thickness is 1 meter or greater.

[pattern] Sicily Island Loess-Eolian silt veneer, possibly of early to middle Wisconsin age, mantling Pleistocene
strata. Loess is shown where the total thickness is 1 meter or greater.
~
~ DEWEYVILLE ALLOGROUP
Pd Deweyville Allogroup, undifferentiated-alluvial deposits of ancestral late Pleistocene coastal plain
~ streams and certain Mississippi River tributaries. In the Ville Platte quadrangle, the latter include the Red,
~ Sabine, and Calcasieu river valleys. Multiple levels are locally recognized and delineated where
applicable. Surface deposits are generally sandy and grade to sandy and gravelly channel and point-bar
~ deposits. Surface morphology can be veneered by younger alluvium. The Deweyville geomorphic surface
~ is topographically inset into the Prairie Allogroup or older deposits, and is characterized by meander scars
substantially larger than those of modem stream flood plains.
~
~ Pdl Deweyville Allogroup, lower surface-stratigraphically higher sequence associated with the lower of two
sets of fluvial terraces that compose the Deweyville Allogroup.
~
~ Pdu Deweyville Allogroup, upper surface-stratigraphically lower sequence associated with the upper of two
sets of fluvial terraces that compose the Deweyville Allogroup.
~
~ PRAIRIE ALLOGROUP
~
Pp Prairie Allogroup, undifferentiated-a diverse depositional sequence of late to middle Pleistocene deposits
of the Mississippi River, its tributaries, and coastal plain streams; includes terraces, fluvial (meander-belt,
backswamp, and braided-stream), colluvial, estuarine, deltaic, and marine units deposited over a
considerable part of the late Pleistocene (Wisconsin to Sangamon). Surfaces generally show little
dissection and are topographically higher than the Deweyville. Multiple levels are recognized along
alluvial valleys and coast-parallel trends. The Prairie is locally mapped as undifferentiated alluvial
terraces, especially where discontinuous surfaces are incised into older complexes within valleys.

Ppl Prairie Allogroup, Late Sangamon-alluvial deposits of ancestral late Pleistocene streams. In the
coast-parallel Prairie the unit consists of meander-belt deposits of the late Pleistocene Mississippi River,
and west of the Mississippi River deposits the unit consists of the ancestral coastal plain deposits of late
Pleistocene streams. Deposits associated with these valleys are commonly found within the upper portions
of the drainage basins. The surface is blanketed by Peoria Loess near the loess source (the Mississippi
River flood plain), and the sediments at the top of the unit range from sand to clay. Includes the Avoyelles
Prairie of central Louisiana and the Lafayette meander belt of southwestern Louisiana.

Ppbc Big Cane alloformation-Peoria Loess-covered surface that lies below the level of the A voyelles and
Lafayette Prairies, and is partially buried by Holocene Red River alluvium. Possibly meander-belt deposits
of a late Pleistocene Red River.

Ppav Avoyelles alloformation-meander-belt deposits of the late Pleistocene Mississippi River terraced above
and parallel to its alluvial valley in central Louisiana. Remnants of constructional meander-belt
morphology are preserved. The surface is blanketed by Peoria Loess, and the sediments at the top of the
unit range from sand to clay.
Includes the Lafayette meander belt, meander-belt deposits of the late Pleistocene Mississippi River
terraced above and parallel to its western valley wall and cut into the Prairie Alloformation, Early
Sangamon, Beaumont allomember in southwestern Louisiana. This subunit is characterized by preserved
remnants of constructional meander-belt morphology. Two flood plain levels are locally recognized. The
11
 surface is blanketed by Peoria Loess near the Mississippi River flood plain, and the sediments at the top of
the unit range from sand to clay.

Ppe Prairie Allogroup, Early Sangamon-older of the Prairie Allogroup surfaces; an equivalent of the
Beaumont of Texas and Eunice Terrace of southwestern Louisiana. A diverse depositional sequence of
flood plain, meander-belt, and backswamp deposits of the of the middle Pleistocene ancestral Mississippi
River, Red River, local fluvial equivalents of tributary streams, and coastal plain streams. Where this unit
is mapped near the Mississippi River flood plain, it is blanketed by both Peoria and Sicily Island Loess or
loess-derived colluvium. The unit dips into the subsurface beneath the Pleistocene Prairie Alloformation,
Late Sangamon in the coast-parallel region, but is commonly terraced above the Prairie Alloformation,
Late Sangamon in stream valleys. The sediments are generally clay, silty clay loam, or sandy clay loam
and grade to sand and gravel. Includes the Beaumont surface in southwestern Louisiana.

Ppbe Beaumont alloformation-oldest and topographically highest of the Prairie surfaces of southwestern
Louisiana. It exhibits the relict channels of the Red and Calcasieu River, and includes deposits of the
Ingleside barrier trend to the southwest of the Ville Platte quadrangle. It is composed of coastal plain
deposits of late to middle Pleistocene streams.

INTERMEDIATE ALLOGROUP
Pi Intermediate Allogroup, undifferentiated-fluvial deposits of the Mississippi River, its tributaries, and
coastal plain streams; includes terraces locally designated as Lissie, Elizabeth, and Oakdale. The
Intermediate is commonly topographically higher than the Prairie Allogroup, and lower than the Upland
Allogroup and Tertiary formations, and is generally dissected and lacks distinct constructional topography.
Where mapped near the Mississippi River flood plain, the unit is blanketed by Sicily Island Loess, which is
overlain by less than 1 m of Peoria Loess in places southwest of where the flood plain is joined by that of
the Red. The sediments are generally silt loam or loam.

Pio Oakdale alloformation-alluvial deposits of middle Pleistocene streams in southwestern Louisiana. It lies
in elevation between the higher surfaces- of the Intermediate and Upland allogroups and the Prairie
Alloformation, Early Sangamon. The surface is highly dissected and lacks any constructional topography.
Previously the Oberlin surface of southwestern Louisiana.

Pie Elizabeth alloformation-alluvial deposits of middle Pleistocene streams in southwestern Louisiana that
are older than and lie above the Oakdale surface. The surface is highly dissected and lacks any
constructional topography.

Pil Lissie Formation-dissected alluvial deposits of early Pleistocene streams. Previously the Bentley Terrace
in southwestern Louisiana. The regionally extensive Upland geosol occurs at the top of the unit. The unit
is bounded updip by the Willis surface and downdip by younger subunits of the Intermediate Allogroup.

UPLAND ALLOGROUP
Pou Upland Allogroup, undifferentiated-alluvial deposits of early Pleistocene and Plio-Pleistocene streams
from both glacial and nonglacial sources. Includes higher fluvial terraces previously designated as Bentley
and Williana as well as the Pliocene Lafayette and Willis formations. The regionally extensive Upland
geosol occurs at the top of the allogroup. Where mapped near the Mississippi River flood plain, the unit is
blanketed by Sicily Island Loess, which is overlain by less than 1 m of Peoria Loess in places southwest of
where the flood plain is joined by that of the Red. Sediments are generally tan to reddish clay loam or
sandy loam that grades to sand and gravel. Local stringers and lenses of clay are present.

Pouw Willis Formation-deeply dissected alluvial deposits of Pliocene streams originating from nonglacial
sources. Previously designated as the Williana Terrace in southwestern Louisiana. The unit is
unconformably underlain by Tertiary formations of Miocene to Eocene age updip of the Ville Platte
quadrangle to the north, and is bounded down dip by the Lissie surface. The regionally extensive Upland
geosol occurs at the top of the unit.
12

..I
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13
 - - - 1994. Surface residual fault-line scarps of the Lake Charles quadrangle, southwestern Louisiana.
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~
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S
"j

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Louisiana Geological Survey 1993. Alexandria geologic quadrangle map plus explanation and notes. Prepared in

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~,.'.!
,
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=t.····.·.·
.. ·."

>~ 14
 - - - 1992. Geomorphic expression of Quaternary surface faults of the Baton Rouge fault system, East Baton
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system in relation to their fault-line scarps. Open-file series no. 96-01. Baton Rouge: Louisiana Department of
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Arkansas Archaeological Survey. 26 pp.

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station. Volumes 1(364 pp. plus appendices) and II (28
oversized plates).
•.•. '.'.'.•.
Saucier, R. T., and J. 1. Snead (compilers) 1989. Quaternary geology of the Lower Mississippi Valley. Plate 6 in
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<"\
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K-2. Boulder, Colo.: Geological Society of America. Scale 1:1,100,000.
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r- Saxton, D. C. 1986. Quaternary and Environmental Geology of North Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. M.S. thesis.

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Station.

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geologic quadrangle (preliminary) map plus explanation and notes. Prepared in cooperation with the U.S.
Geological Survey, STATEMAP program, under cooperative agreement no. 1434-94-A-1233. Baton Rouge:"
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Louisiana Geological Survey. Scale 1: 100,000.

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Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, STATEMAP program, under cooperative agreement
no. 1434-94-A-12-33. Baton Rouge: Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Louisiana Geological Survey.
1: 100,000-scale.

15

~
111.
~
~

•
~
~
- - - 1997a. Lake Charles [Louisiana portion] 30 x-60 minute geologic quadrangle (preliminary) map plus
explanation and notes. Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, STATEMAP program, under
cooperative agreement no. 1434-HQ-96-AG-01490. Baton Rouge: Louisiana Department of Natural
Resources, Louisiana Geological Survey. Scale 1:100,000.
~
•
~
- - - 1997b. Crowley, Louisiana 30 x 6O-minute geologic quadrangle (preliminary) map plus explanation and
notes. Prepared in cooperation with U.S. Geological Survey, STATEMAP program, under cooperative
agreement no. 1434-HQ-96-AG-01490. Scale 1: 100,000.
~ Snead, 1. I., P. V. Heinrich, R. P. McCulloh, and W. 1. Autin (compilers) 1998. Quaternary geologic map of
~ Louisiana. Unpublished map plus 12 pp. expanded explanation and notes. Prepared in cooperation with the U.S.
~ Geological Survey, STATEMAP program, under cooperative agreement no. 1434-HQ-97-AG-01812. Scale

~
~
• 1:500,000.

Varvaro, G. G. 1957. Geology of Evangeline and St. Landry Parishes. Geological bulletin no. 31 (includes one
1:62,500-scale geologic map). Baton Rouge: Louisiana Department of Conservation, Louisiana Geological

,.
~
Survey. 295 pp. plus plates.

Welch, R. N. 1942. Geology of Vernon Parish. Geological bulletin no. 22 (includes one 1:62,500-scale geologic

•• map). Baton Rouge: Louisiana Department of Conservation, Louisiana Geological Survey. 90 pp. plus plates.

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t
 Vll.l.E PlATTE, LOUISIANA
30 x 60 MINUTE GEOLOGIC QUADRANGLE SERIES Description of Map Units

-
H{)L()C£NE
UudJf'~«Id ..ed ~ of . malJ uplend .tr___.bokl dtpoIb of mhlr
B .~lIndo..tJ~~a.ltrfO~~1Nrn:.denloodp/.o"'u.O!hh
It- ~'1 <DWih.fe the - ' _ J "-- cI.pgab..
~rwkt'I""~&h:IIowg/tlft~~
n. ~ of I t - ......-w

~~ ~bD-..p~alrn.It.jRMr""""'I""
-«np.o"ofd.. q.yd""""""'.".....R..d ..... M iMIIooippI'"""d.pmb.~...s.rllI
&::.oJ '-b _ _ I-a"~bIb. n- ~con.iIlol~ NddWllrcM.nlo
d.arkIP\fOl'IMdc~dayOlld.;.

Red Rho ... ..............-bcll d.po.U.---pon;·b." ...t ....""ed _rbenkdcpcIU

...d~ lM.,.$cr t.I~ 01 1M Ka:I Rt.eo. lb • ...-f.ca cI d.. .......d.. boll '"
char.dertr.d b,I ~ and ...... ,OpCIognphy. n- Hpc.b~JIbIY CO"II6oI 01""'0
..dd;.n~-.d,NI,~d.J,...d-V;cJ.y.

R.ciRJ_ nltur"ln'e. dtpOf;lI~".rr-bclltwR.dru.-lMlcunpriw

bun.olunlw..-IhM ..... Ihoo--.:l.. bodI,oIlhiRedru...,..n- ... "-bf)...,aI1y
~cJ~W.ndlO~br004n.,.ayd ...,~cWI.Md_..-d.

-
RldRJtoaD"evUH .pla\t ct.pD&"--.R.:IRIwr .... n-...,Nc'.,.,." ,...... ~
.p.y.u...origNI.,oc-nIlvRod~. Tn.bfyllwy-m. 01 rwddWlY*w lor.ddat.
brv.o.n·.IA},cWt.~dI!.',en:I.:;rrwfilnll.

RedRh.... dt.trloutU)1dopol...........aryIo~,..u .... ~...&nortaI"-1om.

1lw ...--.-. .....nI--gj~.hllCldadfromR.dRN.r~.. blbr.o
tlwailjlaa1l~.

R.tru...... m.~ r~l ....... p.llcmoWftprCled.obo~R.d

ru- c:horo-Wr., wn.t t.r-h --""l' dcpatb..
M'II.'~ RIve- ......",.... t..11 3 .
Uppn" d.".. lb-poW-liu. ........' 01 .n.
~'-'oI M -....,p;u...~3,la.Wbj.ttml¥rol~

-
~n.uf.IClI.dllTlderir.byr\:foo.,..j....,.Iopog..pi,.,o..-.f...--norun.I
w..-..1I~dlhi::ll,-.6,Ipohbtn...........tby.atw.ly-rcl.and.eydooJ.
Ml,....IppIIlh-uQOl.UJd ... bUl3 . Io\I.WcMp(M1h---1lCtnI·CoIidc;lclbol.,ddcr
lNIIoIM~RMr~ 3.bun.d ly.loo,_elo...t-it*~ Tho
surI..... chuxteri;udly~ond ..... ,gpoy,.~...d...-..:.r...rur.lw.-.'consiIU
r.J'IUd..~pan_-...'~bv .... rw.~cI.ay~ ..... dIy.
JoU.. lnlppl R Iv ... .. .... . d.po.IU (meaad.1'"""b.J1 15, uPPor}---M.IooIaoI",,1 ro.......
ckpools~proriw-a"""'""-~Itw~cllWDoc:o.cwtlmlof
M~I\t.In-~J.l"hIya:rukcl·,·ltymv.doo,..,NI, ..... ...d.
MI .. ltllppl RJvcr I",.. d.po. lto (mlO.ndcr-bdt 3, l--.r)--Mt.hllppI Rlwr
~g;mpdm,jP~nIhnIlr..alllMrvtt.oUotrol'"MlOXllpOlIamQf
M~Ri.wIfMW"ld....w] .n..,.---"'ol., .Iryd.J.~dt,-.d_--.d.
s ..... riwr ~Ih, tIDdIlJor...u.I -t-wdln~lu.:l IIu\.ioI d~1 d .nil
~~",ol~boJI_~r"l\nll_, .... rtu:Irift,and

PLEISTOCENE

~
l.....o-=-J
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. Loa.

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D ~PInwo.rw."'" u- .....~IlMe'holdol~ .. lmdft"'"

DEWEYIIlI.llAUDGllOOP
~. ASI"""""t.a:IW!'uenllal """""'-Wd~d~1t.t.~
COdAl p!,h 1lfUrTW, .. nd omle Mlaioalppl RM' lobAl ......... lho V. PI.. I.
~,thoo;td.d.thr~ ,s.tho,on;jc.a.-.. rtucro.dt!,... MIj;IPe\co..lllll.A'
kxoIy~"'~ed .... "",",.~.Surt.a&.po.it~_~......-dy
.-.:I;..a.'Q .......... .m~chanMlardpOint:-btrckpo.b.Surfou~COlI
bc ............ btY"U"l9'• ..a...un..l'hIO""'.... ~...t_isIOpClgrl~
NIl r.olhe PtaIrM Aiogroupordd...-d.poo.h. ..... lr.chtnrc:trrb.:l bt ____ n
..a.....Wyl.rgn ,.....,,"- almodcm.ramBoodpioolm.
O'.."lV'iIl·AUogJQUP. I_ a urfK ......... ntlRnphbD,ohl;..... ~...a.t.".j
\j:lh IMlo.wro/ """0 III~ 01 ftu..W 1m--. thtt ttnIpOIoI ln. 0-.,..... AIogroup.
Dw....,..i.U.AJ~p, ~ aaf---.,. . ~~~ ~..adat.,;
"" h lhellppCl"ofr.r.oMl~oIl\P... l fTrCathal.tcmr--,he~..... AIogr..up.

prah1eAAotrrOUp. undlJfUUltW _ _ .,."-~~oILoc.I~ri:la.

~dop.:..hol , n. M lIoDo/ppiRlwr.... Irb.a"'"".-.drouuolpW.... Ilrumt.;
kdudo 'orar;ft., I'aMaJ I~, 1:iI(br,'8mP •• rd tlrlidal • ......). cofu..oI.oI.
allIOm.. dcbk: • ......J marine tnb "'-PoIi. _ • ~ ...KaIC pi " 01 !hi t.t.
~~IO~~. SurfK.avmcr~tI'w::III"lIlMds-tlcn.-.:l.,.
lopogn.~h~lhon lt.o.r-,.'• • MIhlpIo: ......,.f"CC9'ir.:lolong ....""
~.. ..dCOHl"f"l...... ,...... n..Pn.Irie .. k>caIy""'pped ... .nd .. ~\oIIod ...."\.II
1..-.-...t.aedilr;onln.:;......t_""~no~~ ....fIfm~... n.
PralrirlldJ.~edr.olllQlernponIdrp:.otbwl~

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