BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC CORRELATION OF THE MEADVILLE SHALE IN SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO

In northeast Ohio, the Mississippian-age (359.2-324 million years ago) Cuyahoga formation contains multiple shale units of similar lithology, often interbedded, requiring the use of additional methods, such as biostratigraphy. The Meadville shale located in the Richfield area of Summit County, Ohio, was first described in 1863 by Hall. The fossil assemblages were later detailed in 2012 by Kammer and Roeser. The fossils they described narrow the possible age of the shale unit, and through similar methods we set out to achieve one goal. Our objective was to describe the unconformity that lies between the Sharon Conglomerate and the previously undescribed shale unit that lies beneath it at Richfield Heritage Preserve in Summit County, Ohio. Outcrop thickness was measured with a leveling scope and stadia rod. The lithology was then described and recreated in a stratigraphic column which was then correlated with two nearby locations (Lodi Community Park in Lodi, Ohio, and Whipp’s Ledges in Hinckley, Ohio). Finally, the fossils from the shale member were isolated and identified. From our analysis of this unit, we found the shale present is most similar in composition and age to that of the Meadville (Wooster) Shale. Secondly, we found the unconformity that lies between the Sharon and Meadville at this location is likely ranging from 338.1-318 ma or roughly 20 million years of Mississippian age fossils that are absent from the Meadville shale at this particular location.