John Finch’s (1833) and Captain R. H. Bonnycastle’s (1833, 1836) reports of Basaltiform Lithographic Limestone at Murney's Point, Kingston, Upper Canada

 In my last posting I provided numerous references to columnar sedimentary rocks where the columns resemble the columnar structure of basalt.   When I wrote that posting I believed that William Logan (1850, 1863) was the first to report on columnar structures in sedimentary rocks in Canada.  Since then I have determined that both John Finch (1833) and Captain R. H. Bonnycastle  (1833, 1836) reported on horizontal, basaltiform, lithographic limestone at Murney's Point, Kingston, Upper Canada (now, Ontario).   

The word ‘basaltiform’ is not an adjective that is much used these days.  It means ‘like basalt in form: columnar’, and was not uncommon in geological papers in the nineteenth century (e.g., Dawson, 1855, page 63; Gesner, 1836, page 211) .  ‘Lithographic limestone’ was originally defined as a hard limestone that is sufficiently fine-grained, homogeneous and defect free to be used for lithography (a method of printing where an image was drawn with greasy chalk onto the surface of a smooth limestone plate;  the stone was subsequently moistened but only the parts not covered by the grease absorbed the water; an oil-based ink would be applied, repelled by the water, sticking only to the original drawing; the ink would be transferred to a blank paper sheet, producing a printed page).  Today geologists use the term lithographic to refer to carbonate rocks with a grain size under 1/250 mm.  What is interesting about John Finch’s  and Captain R. H. Bonnycastle’s reports is that the columns in the limestone were horizontal and that the stone was used in lithography.

John Finch was an English geologist who visited North America from 1823 to 1831.  In 1833 he published a  book describing his travels in the United States of America and Canada with comments on geology and minerals.   In the book  he mentions that he visited Kingston, Upper Canada, a town of “about five thousand inhabitants,” where he noted:.

“A very remarkable geological fact ..., one mile west of the  town. Limestone of the upper transition formation is crystallized in the form of basaltic columns. The stratum of limestone is three feet in thickness. The columns are usually octagonal, and vary in length from six inches to three feet. It may be called basaltiform limestone. The mountain at Montreal exhibits a similar arrangement, but on a larger scale, and the columns are there vertical. At Kingston they are horizontal.”

Captain R. H. Bonnycastle was a member of the Royal Engineers stationed in Kingston, Upper Canada who had an interest in geology.   He authored a  paper on the geology around Kingston that was published in the American Journal of Science in four parts published in 1830, 1831, 1833 and 1836.   In the third part of this paper, published in 1833, he mentions (at pages 102-104) that Mr. John Finch had been in Kingston “employed on a course of mineralogical lectures” and had discovered that several of the limestone beds of the Cataraqui Formation “were  regularly divided into prismatic forms, by a species of huge crystallization, resembling that exhibited  by basalt, but always in a horizontal position. ... , regularly formed into almost interminable horizontal columns of an hexangular or octagonal shape, not jointed or connected by a cup and socket, as those of basalt often are, but irregularly, disunited only by occasional rents, evidently the result of the action of time, or of unequal coherency.”  

Bonnycastle comments (1833, page 103)  that this occurred  at a number of localities at Kingston, noting that “the octagons, which are the most usual forms, as at Murney's Point, the upper and lower, as well as the vertical sides are straight and almost or quite equal, whilst the angular faces are slightly concave and much less in size.” 

Bonnycastle also notes (1833, page 104) that the  basaltiform limestone “is an excellent lithographic stone for all the common processes of that admirable art, and is now extensively employed in the surveyor general's office at York, under the management of Mr. S. O. Tazewell,  ... This lithographic limestone is darker than the usual beds of the Cataraqui formation, and I have not seen any fossils in  it ; it is very compact and hard, and, if kept at a good temperature, bears the press better than the German stone.”

Bonnycastle  (1836) included a lithograph showing the basaltiform limestone made from two of Bonnycastle’s drawings and printed by Tazewell on lithographic limestone.   He commented (Vol 30, 1836, page 233) “These drawings represent the basaltiform lithographic limestone of Kingston, as viewed at two points, near the western end of the town.  The upper one, shews the beds, as they appear from the edge of  the water forming the bank; the under one, the beds viewed at their extremities, left open by quarrying, and in this view the octagonal figure is completely displayed.”    The drawing is produced below.

The lithograph bears the title of the article “Transition Rocks of the Cataraqui’ above the drawing, and under the drawing bears the words: - From Drawing by Captn. Bonnycastle R. E.;
- Basaltiform Lithographic Limestone of Kingston U.C. near Nickall’s Hop Ground; - Tazewell, lithr from Canadian Stone; - York U.C. 1833.

I have been unable to locate any other reference to Nickall’s Hop Ground, Kingston, Upper Canada, though I did find an 1833 mention of John Nickall’s brewery in Kingston.

Bonnycastle mentioned that the the octagons are the most usual forms at Murney's Point. The location of Murney’s Point will be familiar to everyone who has lived in Kingston, to everyone who has attended Queen’s University, and to many tourist who have visited Kingston, as a Martello Tower was built on the point in 1846, and since 1925 the Murney Tower Museum has been a tourist attraction in Kingston.   I can recall walking across and sitting on the outcrops at Murney’s Point while at Queen’s University and on numerous visits to Kingston.  Below is an extract from Google Maps, Satellite View, showing the location of the Martello Tower and the outcrops.  The outcrops are along the shore of Lake Ontario between the Murney Tower and the Richardson Bath House.

Carson (1982; Map P2496) of the Ontario Geological Survey mapped the Paleozoic geology of this part of Kingston and assigned three outcrops at Murney’s Point to the Ordovician Gull River Formation (middle member).  In the legend to his map he states that “The middle member is characterized by pale to dark grey and medium to dark brown lithographic to sublithographic lime stone interbedded with pale brown and pale green calcareous or dolomitic siltstone that weathers pale green and buff. Stylolites and calcite-filled vugs are common ....  Shaly limestone and silty limestone also occur in minor amounts.”

Should the COVID lockdown be lifted and I visit Kingston again, I will be sure to visit Murney’s Point and look more closely at the outcrops.

Captain R. H. Bonnycastle, Royal Engineers ( 1791 – 1847)

The best descriptions of Captain R. H. Bonnycastle’s life are found in  Chichester (1900) and Raudzens , (1988).   He was a military engineer, army officer, artist, and author, with an interest in geology.

He studied at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, England, becoming a lieutenant of the royal engineers. He served in the Napoleonic Wars and in the War of 1812 acting as engineer in charge of fortifications erected by the British on the Castine peninsula, Maine.   He attained the rank of captain in 1814.  Raudzens (1988) states that “In 1826 he was sent to Upper Canada, serving at Fort George (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and Kingston until 1832, when he was posted to York (Toronto).  ...  In 1837 he was promoted brevet major and placed in command of the engineers at Kingston, with the specific task of completing construction of the new Fort Henry, begun in 1832. By late 1837 Bonnycastle, directing a force of mostly Irish artisans and labourers, had finished work. Almost immediately afterwards came the rebellions in the Canadas.”  Captain  Bonnycastle is credited with assembling and arming a  force of militia and volunteers which deterred an attack.  In March 1840 was knighted for his efforts.  He was promoted a regimental lieutenant-colonel in 1840, did a tour of duty as commanding engineer in Newfoundland,  and retired  in 1847. He died in 1848 at Kingston.    

Bonnycastle published two articles on geology, the one noted above and 1829 article on the rocks and minerals of Upper Canada,  and also described the geology of Newfoundland in a chapter in a book (1842) he wrote on that province.   He was a prolific author, writing two books on Spanish America and numerous books on Canada.  His works are listed below.

John Finch (1791-1854)

The best descriptions of John Finch’s life are found in Neitzke-Adamo et al. (2018) and Rail (2012).

John Finch was an English geologist, not a Scot as stated in various sources.   John Finch was born at Heath-Forge, Wombourne, Staffordshire, and appears to have spent the majority of his life in the West Midlands area of England.

He visited and traveled in North America from 1823 to 1831 (or 1833).   While in North America John Finch gave several series of lectures on geology and mineralogy, including a series in Boston in 1823 (Rail, 2012), at Philadelphia, Pa. in 1823,  in Baltimore, Maryland in 1824 (Rail, 2012),  at Princeton in 1825 (Young,  2019), at Wilmington, Delaware in 1827, at Hartford, Connecticut in 1829, lectures at Columbia and Yale, and  fifteen geological lectures Rutgers in 1829 (Neitzke-Adamo, 2018).   Kuntz (2010) mentions that in 1830 and 1833 John Finch gave lectures on geology  in Montreal and that the 1830 series of sixteen  lectures  on geology were sponsored by the Natural History Society of Montreal  illustrated  by drawings  and specimens,  which was  "fashionably  and numerously attended"  "by  nearly  50  gentlemen  and about  30  ladies”.  Bonnycastle (1833) reports that Finch visited Kingston to deliver lectures on Mineralogy. Based on Gundy’s (2003) history of Tazewell’s use of the Kingston Lithographic stone in 1831, it appears that Finch must have visited Kingston in 1831 or earlier.
 
While John Finch described himself as Fellow of the Philosophical Society of Birmingham, and Professor of Geology and Mineralogy, Rail (2012) notes that John Finch was a  “member of the Birmingham Philosophical Institution, and sometimes, rather grandly, signed himself 'Fellow of the Philosophical Society of Birmingham', and, 'F.B.S.' He was never admitted to a fellowship of the Geological Society.”  I could not find that John Finch was associated with any university or college, and suspect that John Finch employed the term "professor" to mean "one who teaches a branch of knowledge" or “a person who professes to be an expert in some art or science”.  On the title page  his 1833 book he inserted under this name “Cor. Mem. Nat. Hist. Soc. Montreal; Lit. & Hist. Soc. Quebec.  Hon Mem. West Point Lyceum; Delaware, West Chester, &c. &c.”

In the period from 1823 to 1833 Finch authored numerous articles that were published in Silliman's American Journal of Science and Arts, including seven on geology or mineralogy and at least six others.   Finch’s (1833) book ‘Travels in the United States of America and Canada’ also contained comments on the geology and mineralogy of those countries.

Finch is most often mentioned for his “Geological essay on the tertiary formations in America” published in 1823 and for his collection Tertiary fossils collected in North America.    Before Finch’s 1823 paper geologists in the United States referred to the whole Atlantic Coastal Plain as the “Alluvial Formation”.  Finch was the first to suggest that the ‘Alluvial’ was the equivalent to the Tertiary formations of Europe and elsewhere (see Berry, 1916).

Thomas Say (1824) described Finch's collection, identifying forty new species. Kenworthy and Santucci, (2003) note that “Say and the other scientists ... all mistakenly listed the  collecting  locality  for  Finch’s  fossils  as  coming  from  Saint  Mary’s  River,  Maryland” when in fact the specimens were collected from near Yorktown, Virginia.   Kenworthy and Santucci, (2003) identify the locality as the Pliocene Yorktown Formation (approximately 4.5 - 3 million years old).  Bullen (1902) reports that on returning to England “Mr. Finch offered his collection for purchase to the Trustees of the British Museum .... This offer was accepted, and on the conclusion of the usual preliminaries the collection became the property of the Museum at the close of the year 1834.”  As of 1902 only part of the collection could be found. 

Samuel Oliver Tazewell, Lithographer

The best descriptions of  Tazewell’s career as a lithographer are provided by McLeod (2014) and Gundy (2003).   McCleod mentions that “In January 1832, [Tazewell] produced the first map of the Town of Kingston on his lithographic press. .. .The prospect of winning a government contract through Surveyor General S.P. Hurd enticed the lithographer to move to York in late 1832. (York became Toronto in March 1834.) Tazewell received short-term jobs but he met with stiff competition and sharp criticism.  Draftsman James Grant Chewett of the Crown Lands Department drew expensive maps by hand. He considered lithographic maps unworthy, cheap substitutes for his elegant, detailed work. ... No government contracts were offered to the lithographer.”   Gundy notes that “Denied any government contracts .. .by September 1835 [Tazewell] had moved to St Catharines and taken up his old trade of jeweller, watchmaker, and piano tuner. He continued to produce the occasional lithograph”
 
Christopher Brett
Ottawa, Ontario

References and Suggested Reading

Allodi, Mary 1980
 Printmaking in Canada : the earliest views and portraits = Les débuts de l'estampe imprimée au Canada : vues et portraits. Toronto : Royal Ontario Museum.  xxviii, 244 p. : 28 cm
[Catalog of an exhibition held at the Royal Ontario Museum, with biographies of early engravers and printers such as Samuel Tazewell]
https://archive.org/details/printmakingincan0000allo/

Berry, Edward Wilber, 1916
The lower Eocene Floras of Southeastern North America, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 91 , 591 pages  https://doi.org/10.3133/pp91
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/32005#page/609/mode/1up

Bonnycastle, Richard Henry , Captain, Royal Engineers, 1818
Spanish America, Vol. 1 (of 2). London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, Paternoster-row 336 pages
https://archive.org/details/spanishamericao02bonngoog/page/n10/mode/2up

Bonnycastle, Richard Henry, Captain, Royal Engineers, 1818
Spanish America, Vol. 2 (of 2) . London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, Paternoster-row 359 pages
https://archive.org/details/spanishamericao03bonngoog/page/n15/mode/2up

Bonnycastle, Richard Henry , Captain, Royal Engineers, 1819
Spanish America . Philadelphia: Abraham Small, 481 pages
https://archive.org/details/spanishamericaor00bonn 
 
Bonnycastle, R. H., Captain, 1829a
On account of some Meteorological Phenomena observed in Canada, by Captain Bonnycastle, R. E. In the years 1826-27;  Transactions of the Literary & Historical Society of Quebec. Volume 1, pages  47 -52
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54240#page/103/mode/1up

Bonnycastle, R. H., Captain, R. E. 1829b
Desultory Observations on a few of the Rocks and Minerals of Upper Canada, by Captain Bonnycastle, R. E..  Transactions of the Literary & Historical Society of Quebec. Volume 1,  62 -70    https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54240#page/118/mode/1up

Bonnycastle, R. H., Capt. R.E., 1830, 1831, 1833, 1836
On the Transition Rocks of the Cataraqui, American Journal of Science, Vol. 18, 1830, pp. 85-104;  Vol.  20, 1831, 74-82; Vol 24, 1833, 97-104;  Vol 30, 1836, 233-248 .

Bonnycastle, Richard Henry, Sir,  1842
The Canadas in 1841. London, Henry Colburn. Volume 1.
https://archive.org/details/canadasin184101bonn
page 57-59 geological character
  
 Bonnycastle, Richard Henry, Sir, 1842
Newfoundland in 1842: A sequel to “the Canadas in 1841.”  In two volumes, Vol. 1., 367 pages
London, Henry Colburn.  Chapter III, Geology and Geological Relations, pages 179-222
https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Newfoundland_in_1842/24wtAQAAMAAJ
https://archive.org/details/newfoundlandin00bonn/page/n13/mode/2up
Vol. 2, 351pages
https://archive.org/details/newfoundlandin1800bonn/page/8/mode/2up

 Bonnycastle, Richard Henry 1846
Canada and the Canadians, Volume I. London: Henry Colburn, 
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20014/20014-h/20014-h.htm   [this is the new edition 1849]

 Bonnycastle , Richard Henry ,1849
 Canada and the Canadians, Volume II. London.

 Bonnycastle, Sir R . 1852
 Canada , As it was , is, and  may be.  London: Colburn & Co. , vol. 1, 315 pages
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.173206
Volume 2 https://books.google.ca/books?id=eK4NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1

Bumsted, J.M., 2008
Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle. The Canadian Encyclopedia
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-richard-henry-bonnycastle

Carson, D. M., 1982
Paleozoic Geology of the Gananoque-Wolfe Island Area, Southern Ontario, Ontario Geological Survey. Map P 2496. Geological Series - Preliminary Map. Scale 1:50000. Geology 1981.

Chichester, Henry Manners, 1900
Bonnycastle, Richard Henry. In Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 05
London: Smith, Elder & Co.   http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=3257

Dawson, Sir John William, 1855
Acadian Geology.  Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. 388 pages

Finch, John, 1823 
Geological Essay on the Tertiary Formations in America, by John Finch, Fellow of the Philosophical Society of Birmingham, Professor of Geology and Mineralogy. {Read before the Academy of Natural Sciences, at Philadelphia. July 15, 1823.] Am J. Sc. 7, 31-43
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/53598#page/36/mode/1up

Finch, John, 1824a 
On the Celtic antiquities of America; by John Finch FBS, Professor of  Geology and Mineralogy, American journal of science and arts  vii, 149-61

Finch, John, 1824b 
A sketch on the  geology of the country near Easton, Penn.; with a Catalogue of Minerals, and a Map., Am J. Sc.  8: 236-240, map, 1824

Finch, John, 1824c
On the forts around Boston, which were erected during the War of Independence; by J Finch FBS, American journal of science, and arts. Volume viii, 338-48.

Finch, John, 1826a 
 Memoir on the New or Variegated Sandstone of the United States. Am J. Sc.  10, 209-212, 1826

Finch, John, 1826b 
 On the Tertiary formations on the borders of the Hudson River, Am J. Sc. 10, 227-229 1826

Finch, John, 1828a 
 On the geology and mineralogy of the country near West Chester, Penn.,  Am J. Sc. 14 , 15-18 

Finch, John, 1828b 
On the effect of the physical geography of the world, on the boundaries  of empires Pt I; by John Finch, MCS, &c, American journal of science  and arts  , xiv, 18-23.

Finch, John, 1828c
 On the atomic theory of chemistry; by John Finch, M.C.S., &c, American journal of science and arts  , xiv, 24-28.

Finch, John, 1828d
 On the effect of the physical geography of the world on the boundaries of empires Pt II; by John Finch, F.B.S., M.S.D., &c, &c, American journal of science and arts  , xvi, 99-111.

Finch, John, 1830a
Circular scale of equivalents; by J Finch, American journal of science and arts , xviii, 196-7.

Finch, John, 1830b
 Notice of a locality of Arragonite, near New Brunswick, (NJ);  American journal of science and arts, xviii, 197-8.  https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/97096#page/217/mode/1up

Finch, John, 1831
 On the mineralogy and geology of St. Lawrence County, State of New York, Am J. Sc. 19; 220-228  https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54146#page/240/mode/1up

Finch, J., 1833
Travels in the United States of America and Canada, containing some account of their scientific institutions, and a few notices of the geology and mineralogy of those countries.  455 pp,  London:  Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman
https://archive.org/details/travelsinunited01igoog/page/n10/mode/2up


Gesner, Abraham  1836
Remarks on the Geology and Mineralogy of Nova Scotia. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Gossip and Coade,  273 pages @- Page 211

H. P. Gundy, 2003
“Tazewell, Samuel Oliver,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed May 1, 2021 http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/tazewell_samuel_oliver_7E.html

Kenworthy, Jason and  Vincent L. Santucci, 2003
Paleontological Resource Inventory and Monitoring Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network
http://npshistory.com/publications/paleontology/tic-d-340.pdf

Kuntz, Harry, 2010
Science Culture  in English-speaking  Montreal,   1815-1842 .  A Doctoral Thesis  in  The  Humanities ,  Concordia University

Logan William E., 1850
Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1849-50.  Toronto: Lovell and
 Gibson.

Logan, William E.,  1863, 
Geology of Canada. Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress from its Commencement to 1863. Montreal: Dawson Brothers.  983 pages..

McLeod, Susanna 2014
 Tazewell put Kingston 'on the map'. The Whig Standard, March 5, 2014
 https://www.thewhig.com/2014/03/05/tazewell-put-kingston-on-the-map

Neitzke-Adamo, L., Blandford, A.J., Criscione, J., Olsson, R.K., and Gorder, E., 2018,
 The Rutgers Geology Museum: America’s first geology museum and the past 200 years of geoscience education, in  Rosenberg, G.D., and Clary, R.M., eds., Museums at the Forefront of the History and Philosophy of Geology: History Made, History in the Making: Geological Society of America Special Paper 535, p. 217–236, https://doi.org/10.1130/2018.2535(14)
The Geological Society of America.  Special Paper 535
https://geology.rutgers.edu/images/Neitzke-Adamo-et-al_2018.pdf

Newton, R. Bullen, 1902
List of Thomas Say's Types of Maryland (U.S.) Tertiary Mollusca in the British Museum.
Geological Magazine, New Series, Decade 4,  volume 9, 302-305
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/96113#page/347/mode/1up

Rail, Tony  2012
 Biographical notes for William Steill Brown (1800-1836) and his wife Eliza Finch (1795-1835), a granddaughter of Dr Joseph Priestley, with some genealogical notes of their descendants, and some biographical notes for John Finch (1791-1854).  Copy of MSS in Harris Manchester College Oxford, citation: Harris Manchester College Library and Archives, MSS, Biographical notes for William Steill Brown, 2012
https://archive.org/stream/BiographicalNotesForWilliamSteillBrown/WilliamSteillBrown_djvu.txt

Raudzens, G. K. , 1988
"Bonnycastle, Sir Richard Henry". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. VII (1836–1850) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=3257

Say, Thomas, 1824
An account of some of the Fossil Shells of Maryland. By Thomas Say. Read July 20, 1824.
Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, volume 4, 124-155
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/79352#page/134/mode/1up

Torrens, H.S., 1990,
The transmission of ideas on the use of fossils in stratigraphic analysis  from  England  to  America  1800–1840:  Earth  Sciences  History,  v. 9, p. 108–117, [I did not read]
https://www.jstor.org/stable/24137066

Young, Davis A., 2019
Joseph Henry and Geology at Princeton.  Earth Sciences History (2019) 38 (2): 232–275.  https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6178-38.2.232     

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++1

A Rock that Cracked Like Mud Cracks, and Polygonal and Columnar Structures in Sedimentary Rocks

 I suspect that everyone reading this blog posting will be familiar with polygonal mud crack patterns on the surface of sedimentary rocks and with columnar jointing in basalts and other volcanic rocks.  For mud cracks that result from desiccation a similar theory for their formation applies to the formation of columnar jointing in basalts.  When cracks and joints form in contracting layer or substance, whether due to desiccation or thermal contraction, they tend to form rectilinear, T-junction-dominated patterns or hexagonal patterns, with Y-junctions.   The  shape in which cracks intersect reflects the order in which the cracks appeared, as later cracks curve to intersect earlier ones at right angles, with cracks obeying a simple elastic energy balance as they grow, with rectilinear patterns evolving to hexagonal patterns (See Goehring 2013; and Goehring and Morris, 2014; Brooker et al., 2018; Loope et al., 2020).  Interestingly, because of NASA’s Mars probes the study of mud cracking, and the study of rectangular to polygonal rock crack patterns, is back in fashion as scientists try to explain the polygonal patterns on the surface of Mars by comparing the cracks on Mars with examples on earth (for example, Webster et al., 2017; Brooker et al., 2018; Chan et al., 2007, Chan et al., 2008) in part because the  polygonal patterns on Mars may indicate the presence of surface water or terrestrial polygonal  patterns might lead to insights on weathering  processes on Mars.

Below is a photograph of a specimen of  limestone  that I collected in 2019 from Tackaberry’s quarry in Westport and left outside over the winter to weigh down a barbeque covering.  The rock cracked in a pattern reminiscent of mud cracks, and, on a larger scale, of cracks on outcrops.

Polygonal jointing and cracks are common in weathered granite and sandstone.  Leonard (1929) reports polygonal cracking in granite as a weathering phenomena.   García-Rodríguez et al. (2015) discuss polygonal cracking in granite.   Williams and  Robinson (1989) discuss polygonal cracking in granite and sandstone.  Netoff (1971) reported polygonal jointing in sandstone near Boulder, Colorado. Kocurek and Hunter (1986) reported polygonal fractures in the Navajo and  Page sandstones in Arizona.  Loope et al., 2020, for  the Navajo sandstone of south-western USA, reported  polygonal  fracturing, noting that  “On steep outcrops, polygonal patterns are rectilinear and orthogonal, with T-vertices. Lower-angle slopes host hexagonal patterns (defined by the dominance of Y-vertices). Intermediate patterns with rectangles and hexagons of similar scale are common. ... [H]exagons on sandstone surfaces (like prismatic columns of basalt) have evolved from ancestral orthogonal polygons of similar scale.

In the references below I’ve mentioned a few of the more interesting reports of polygonal and columnar rock structures.  Some of the hexagonal patterns in sedimentary rocks are said to have been derived from desiccation and mud cracking , and some from thermal expansion and contraction.   I will first mention the reports of the large desiccation cracks.  While I expect that everyone reading this is familiar with columnar jointing in basalts, one interesting fact that some will have overlooked is that columnar jointing is found in clay,  in sedimentary rocks, and in contact metamorphosed sedimentary rock.    The same theories for formation of columnar jointing in basalts have been applied to columnar jointing in clay, columnar jointing in sedimentary rocks, and columnar jointing in contact metamorphosed sedimentary rock.   Different theories apply to the formation of orthogonal joint sets (e.g., tessellated pavement) formed by stress  (see Li, 2020).

I have not provided references to columnar structures in basalts as I assume the reader has visited the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, or Brier Island, Digby, Nova Scotia, or any of the hundreds of other sites worldwide exhibiting columnar basalts.   Worth noting is that Murchison (1839, page 187) mentions columnar syenite.  

Giant Desiccation Cracks in Sediment and in Sedimentary Rock

Gilbert (1877) reported mudcracks in the Shinarump shale in the Henry Mountains of Utah that penetrate 10 feet downward into the shale.   Grabau (1913) commented that  “where fossil mud-cracks penetrate a formation to the depth of ten feet, as is the case in the upper Shinarump (Jura-Triassic ) shales of Utah (Gilbert), it is difficult to believe that they could be formed under other conditions than those permitting prolonged exposure such as is found only in the playas of the desert, where ten years or more may elapse between rainfalls.”

 Hunt et al. ( 1953) mapped the geology of the Henry Mountains, Utah and reported that “On the west side of Mount Ellsworth mud cracks in the top layers of the Chinle [formation] are filled by sandstone belonging to the Wingate. The wedges of sandstone in the mud cracks project downward as much as 7 in., and the cracks in the Chinle can be traced downward as much as 3 ft.”

Tomkins, (1965) reported large sandstone polygons in the Carmel Formation of Jurassic age and suggested that these were formed by eolian infilling of mud cracks with sand, followed by lithification and partial removal of easily eroded siltstone “mold” material.

O'Sullivan (1965) reported polygonal-shaped features parallel to the bedding and as much as 7  feet  across which he  considered to be casts of large mudcracks, which were formed at the top of a shale bed and later filled with sand.

Neal (1965a) reported giant contraction polygons, up to 3 feet wide and 3 feet or more in depth at Rogers Playa in California. 

Neal (1965b) reported and figured large contraction polygons from the San Augustin Plains, New Mexico, many of which are 200 feet or more across, and from Rogers Playa, California and  Bicycle Playa, California.  He also reported and figured pressure-ridge polygons as much as 100 feet across from the Winnemucca Playa, Nevada.

Neal, Langer and Kerr (1968) reported giant desiccation polygons of Great Basin clay playas, with the polygons of a width of 300 meters. 

Tucker (1981) describes giant polygons (up to 14 m wide) on the bedding surfaces of Triassic salt deposits of Cheshire, England, and suggests thermal contraction as the most likely method of their formation.

Loope and Haverland (1988) reported giant desiccation fissures filled with calcareous eolian sand with the downward-tapering fissures as much as 18 cm wide and 5.7 m deep defining orthogonal polygons 10 m or more in diameter.

Columnar  Structures in Clay

Salisbury (1885) reported on hexagonal columnar structures in a five foot thick clay layer at a railway cut in Wisconsin, noting that “The columns varied in diameter from ten to fifteen or sixteen inches. They were uniformly, but not regularly, six-sided, and could be divided easily across their longer axes, parallel to the bedding planes, so that each column was separable into regular sections.”   Harvey et al. (1977) suggest that Salisbury’s columnar clay structures are synergesis polygons.

Columnar and Polygonal Structures in  Limestone

Lesley (1892),  Van Ingen and  Clark (1903),  Kindle (1914),  Norman (1935), White (1882) and O'Neill (1941), Chadwick (1940) and Wilson (2018)  reported columnar structures in limestone . 

Lesley (1892, page 933) described the Upper Silurian Bossardville Limestone of  Pennsylvania,    noting “It also possesses a genuine columnar structure,...the rock possessing a prismatic structure like the basaltic columns in lava... but confined to certain beds.”

Van Ingen and  Clark (1903)  described similar structures in the Silurian Rondout limestone of   New Jersey.   They reported two beds which break into polygonal blocks: “the “prismatic” or “five point [bed],” 32 inches thick breaks up into mostly pentagonal blocks 4 to 6 inches in diameter;  the "paving block" or "mud crack [bed]," 15 inches thick, breaks into larger polygonal blocks of 6 to 10 inches diameter;”.     They suggested that the structures “formed apparently by shrinkage cracks similar to those seen in drying mud”.   Their  plate 6 shows the  prismatic beds.

 The view is taken from below looking up at the overhanging beds.

Kindle (1914) provides the best description and photographs of columnar structures in a Canadian sedimentary rocks.  He report on columnar structures in the  lower two-thirds of a bed of limestone at the base of Mount Wissick on the shore of Temiseouata lake opposite Cabano, Quebec.    Here is Kindle’s photograph of the columnar bed..  

Kindle reported that the detached columns scattered along the ledge  have a length of 10 to 24 inches.    Kindle notes that “The columnar structure of this bed was first noted by Logan in 1863 (Geol. of Can. p. 421). It was again mentioned by Bailey and Mcinnes in the detailed section of Mount Wissick, published in l889.”   Logan (1850, page 55; 1863, page 421)   noted that “The limestone presents a vertical columnar structure, due to two sets of joints, which divide the beds into irregular rhombic prisms”.  Bailey and Mcinnes state “Grey nodular limestones , conspicuously divided by vertical joints , which often resent curved surfaces and produce an appearance resembling that of fluted columns . ..  The columnar limestones , which contain but few fossils , have a thickness of about 10 feet , and are followed by about the same thickness of finely banded massive limestones , ..  This is capped by more columnar limestone.”

Norman (1935) reported columnar Jointing in a vertically dipping dolomitic limestone found on the North shore of Hood Island, Lake Ainslie Map-area, Nova Scotia.  He  noted that  “In this limestone a very conspicuous columnar structure (See Plate III B) is developed in a 2-foot bed at the base of the limestone and consists of vertical prisms bounded by a variable number of sides, and averaging 5 inches in diameter. ... It is probable, therefore, that the columnar structure was produced by the desiccation of calcareous muds  deposited in shallow water.”

White (1882) and O'Neill (1941) report on columnar Silurian Limestone in Pennsylvania where the rock exhibits a prismatic structure like basaltic columns.

Chadwick (1940) reported columnar limestone produced by sun cracking in the Olney  limestone of New York State. 

Wilson (2018) reports on, and includes a photograph of,  hexagonal columnar joints in a four foot thick carbonate bed in the Jurassic rocks of Utah, noting that the “effect of the repeated hexagonal cracks is that the unit itself develops columnar joints, analogous to those often seen in basalt flows.” .

 Columnar Structures in Metamorphosed Clay, Limestone and Sandstone

Columnar structures are common in contact metamorphosed sedimentary rocks.

Brown (1870) and Arnold-Bemrose (1899) report on a columnar, jointed, baked, indurated red clay in contact with basalt, dolerite and a vesicular and amygdaloidal toadstone, where the columns in the clay “sometimes attained a length of 8 or 9 feet, and a breadth of 6 inches.”

Geikie (1882) mentions that “A columnar structure has often been superinduced upon stratified  rocks (sandstone, shale, coal) by contact with intrusive igneous masses.”  He lists a number of example of prismatic sandstone caused by intrusion of dykes, including sandstone  rendered prismatic by Dolerite at  Bishopbriggs, Glasgow; sandstone altered by basalt, melaphyre, or allied rock, Wildenstein, near Budingen, Upper Hesse; Schoberle, near Kriebitz, Bohemia; Johnsdorf, near Zittau, Saxony.    He notes that “Independently of the lines of stratification polygonal prisms, six inches or more in diameter, and several feet in length, starting from the face of the dyke, have been developed in the sandstone” Geikie also notes that “examples of the production of this structure have been described in dolomite altered by quartz-porphyry (Campiglia, Tuscany); fresh water limestone altered by basalt (Gergovia, Auvergne) ; basalt-tuff and  granite altered by basalt 2 (Mt. Saint-Michel, Le Puy).”

Geikie (1882) also notes that “ Some of the most perfect examples of superinduced prisms may occasionally be noticed in seams of coal which have been invaded by  intrusive igneous material. In the Scottish coal-fields sheets of basalt have been forced along the surfaces of coal-seams, and even along their centre so as to form a bed or sheet in the middle of the coal. The coal in  these cases is sometimes beautifully columnar, its slender hexagonal and pentagonal prisms, like rows of stout pencils, diverging from the surface of the intrusive sheet.”   Geikie says that this structure can be seen in “coal and lignite, with their accompanying clays, altered by basalt, diabase, melaphyre, &c, [at] Ayrshire, Scotland; St. Saturnin, Auvergne; Meissner, Hesse Cassel;  Kttingshausen, Vogelsgebirge ; Sulzbach, Upper Palatinate of Bavaria : Funfkirchen, Hungary: by trachyte, Commentry, Central France; by phonolite, Northern Bavaria.” 

Hume (1908), Beadnell (1926) and T’an (1927a, p. 38, fig. 20) describe columnar Nubian  sandstone in  contact with basic intrusive rocks.  Cílek et al. ( 2015) describe a large outcrop of columnar-jointed Upper Cretaceous “Nubian” sandstone which they attribute to “dynamic fragmentation by expanding liquid and gas phases related to magma emplacement and a subsequent relaxation.”  Splettstoesser and Jirsa (1985) report on columnar jointing in sandstone where it is intruded by dolerite.  Velázquez et al. ( 2008) report and include photographs of dramatic columnar joints (with orthogonal columns  from  3 to 10 cm in diameter, reaching 15 m in length)  in  reddish eolian sandstones adjacent to nepheline dikes.     Blackstone (1963)
reports columnar jointing in sandstone adjacent to sills and dikes where the columnar jointing is  similar in most aspects to columnar jointing described in igneous rocks, with the columns varying  from 3 in. to 5 in. in diameter and are up to 3 ft long.   Mullineux et al. (2020) report on columnar-jointed bentonite below a Doleritic Sill.

Buist  (1980) and  Young (2008) report on columnar jointing in Devonian and Early Carboniferous sandstones at two localities  on the Island of Bute, Scotland.   Buist suggests that the “columnar structure probably developed as a result of the emplacement of a basic dyke via a fissure.”  Young noted “The host rocks are cut by Early Carboniferous volcanic necks or plugs, which acted as heat sources, but development of columnar jointing was strongly controlled by small sills and dikes of a recessive, purple, fine-grained rock.”

Suggestions for the Cause of Other Polygonal Crack Patterns in Rocks

In an earlier blog posting I mentioned that in addition to desiccation  there are a large number of suggestions for the origin of polygonal crack patterns on the bedding surface of  rocks   These include a sub-aqueous origin at the water sediment interface  (synaeresis), a microbial mat origin, organic burrowing, frost wedging, gravitational loading, gravitationally unstable density inversion, sand injectites, seismic shock, interstratal cracking, water- release (interstratal dewatering), and layer parallel contraction resulting from compaction due to burial.   A few of the more interesting additional theories that I’ve noted since I wrote that earlier blog posting are:
- the control of mud crack patterns by small gastropod trails – Baldwin (1974) ;
- the control of mudcrack patterns by the infaunal bivalve Pseudocyrena – Kues  and Siemers (1977).

I will also have to add contact metamorphism which forms columnar-jointed sedimentary rocks adjacent to igneous dikes and sills  (e.g., Mullineux et al. ( 2020), Arnold-Bemrose (1899), Beadnell (1926), Velázquez et al. ( 2008).

Interestingly, for a  particular suite of rocks in Scotland six different theories have  been proposed  in peer reviewed publications to explain the origin of the polygonal cracks  (see Astin and Rogers,  1991;  Barclay,  Glover,  Mendum, 1993; Astin and Rogers,  1993).

Christopher Brett
Ottawa, Ontario

References and Suggested Reading

Arnold-Bemrose, H. H., 1899
On a sill and Faulted Inlier in Tideswell Dale, Derbyshire. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, Vol. 55, page 239-250   https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109883#page/347/mode/1up

Astin, T.R.  And  D. A. Rogers,  1991
Subaqueous shrinkage cracks in the Devonian of Scotland reinterpreted. Journal of Sedimentary Research(1991),61(5): 850-859   http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/jsr.61.850

Astin, T. R. and , D. A. Rogers, 1993
"Subaqueous Shrinkage Cracks" in the Devonian of Scotland Reinterpreted: Reply
Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, Vol. 63 (1993)No. 3. (May), Pages 566-567
http://archives.datapages.com/data/sepm/journals/v63-66/data/063/063003/0566.htm

Bailey, L.W. and McInnes,William, 1989
Report on explorations and surveys in portions of northern New Brunswick, and adjacent areas in Quebec and in Maine, U.S.   Geological  Survey of Canada, Report for 1987-88,  new ser., vol. III, pt. II, Part M., pages  1M-52M  at  p. 31M.” https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100315506

Baldwin, C.T., 1974.
The control of mud crack patterns by small gastropod trails.  Journal of Sedimentary Research. 44, 695–7
https://doi.org/10.1306/74D72ADB-2B21-11D7-8648000102C1865D

 Barclay, W. J. ; B. W. Glover ; J. R. Mendum,  1993
"Subaqueous shrinkage cracks" in the Devonian of Scotland, reinterpreted; discussion and reply;
Journal of Sedimentary Research (1993) 63 (3): 564–567.
https://doi.org/10.1306/D4267B72-2B26-11D7-8648000102C1865D
http://archives.datapages.com/data/sepm/journals/v63-66/data/063/063003/0564.htm

Beadnell, H.J.L., 1926
Columnar Structure in the Nubian Sandstone. Geological  Magazine, vol. 63, p 271-272

Blackstone, D. L., 1963
Columnar jointing in sandstone.  Rocky Mountain Geology (1963) 2 (1): 7–11

Branagan, D.F., 1983
Tesselated pavements. In: Aspects of Australian sandstone landscapes. R.W. Young; G.C. Nanson (eds.). Australian and New Zealand Geomorphology Group Special Publication nº 1,
Wollongong, pp. 11-20.  https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3290100516

Robinson, D.A., Williams, R.B.G.,  1992
 Sandstone weathering in the High Atlas, Morocco. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, 36, 413-429.

Brown, E., 1870
On a Columnar Clay-bed in Tideswell Dale, and on so-called Pholas-borings in Millers Dale. Geological Magazine 7, 585–6.

Brooker,L.M., M.R.Balme. S.J.Conway, A.Hagermann, A.M.Barrett, G.S.Collins, R.J.Soare 2018   Clastic polygonal networks around Lyot crater, Mars: Possible formation mechanisms from morphometric analysis.  Icarus Volume 302, 1 March 2018, Pages 386-406
 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2017.11.022
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103517301975

Buist, DS , 1980
Columnar sandstone, Island of Bute, Scotland. Geological Magazine 117, 381–4.

Campbell, Marius R., 1923
The Twentymile Park District of the Yampa Coal Field, Routt County, Colorado, Bulletin 748, U.S. Geological Survey, p. 8 [plate IV, Polygonal structures on a bedding plane of the Twentymile sandstone and at the edge of the Trout Creek sandstone bed.]

Chadwick, G. H., 1940
Columnar Limestone Produced by Sun Cracking. G. S. A. Bulletin, volume 51, No. 12, p. 1923 [in the Olney limestone of New York State.]

Chan, Marjorie A., W. M. Seiler, R. L. Ford, and W. Adolph Yonkee, 2007
Polygonal cracking and “Wopmay” weathering patterns on earth and mars:  implications for host-rock properties.    Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII (2007)
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2007/pdf/1398.pdf

Chan MA, Yonkee WA, Netoff DI, Seiler WM, Ford RL, 2008
 Polygonal cracks in bedrock on Earth and Mars: implications for weathering. Icarus 194:65–71
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.474.6164&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Cílek,V.,  J Adamovic and Lenka Varadzinová Suková, 2015
Sandstone columns of the 3rd Nile Cataract (Nubia, Northern Sudan). Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Supplementary Issues 59(1)

Crosby, W. O., 1882,
On the classification and origin of joint structures, Proc. Boston Society Natural History, 1882-1883, v. 22, pp. 72-85 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/132041#page/7/mode/1up

Crosby, W. O., 1892 
Dynamical   Geology and Petrography . Boston: Boston Society of  Natural  History. [Joints and Joint structure, p. 263 -; the contraction joints or shrinkage cracks 266 -- p. 269: ...]

Degraff, James M.;  Aydin, Atilla 1987
Surface morphology of columnar joints and its significance to mechanics and direction of joint growth.   Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 99, issue 5, p. 605
10.1130/0016-7606(1987)99<605:SMOCJA>2.0.CO;2
[Columnar joints in basaltic lava flow]
 
Fletcher, Hugh, 1877
Report of Explorations and Surveys in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  Report of Progress for 1876-77, Geological Survey of Canada.  402-456; at  440, 442, 445 “columnar”  limestone

García-Rodríguez, M. , M. Gomez-Heras , M. Alvarez de Buergo, R. Fort J. Aroztegu 2015
Polygonal cracking associated to vertical and subvertical fracture surfaces in granite (La Pedriza del Manzanares, Spain): considerations for a morphological classification.  Journal of Iberian Geology  41 (3) 2015:  365-383
http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/rev_JIGE.2015.v41.n3.48860
https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/130154/1/JIG_2015_GomezHeras.pdf

Geikie, Archibald, 1882
Textbook of Geology.  London,Macmillan and Co., 971 pages
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/126497#page/9/mode/1up

Geikie, Archibald, 1894
 Geology , Chapter in The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and ..., Volume 10, 1894, Ninth Edition, (American Imprint). Philadelphia

Gilbert, G.K., 1877
Geology of the Henry Mountains. U.S. Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, 160 pages     https://doi.org/10.3133/70038096
https://pubs.usgs.gov/unnumbered/70038096/report.pdf

Goehring, Lucas 2013
Evolving fracture patterns: columnar joints, mud cracks and polygonal terrain. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Volume 371, Issue 2004,   Theme Issue ‘Pattern formation in the geosciences’ organised and edited by Lucas Goehring.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2012.0353
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2012.0353#d3e1862

Goehring, Lucas  and  Stephen W. Morris, 2014
Cracking mud, freezing dirt, and breaking rocks .  Physics Today 67, 11, 39 (2014); https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.2584
https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/PT.3.2584

Grab, Stefan,  Andrew S. Goudie, Heather A. Viles, Nicola Webb, 12015
Sandstone Landforms of the Karoo Basin: Naturally Sculpted Rock. In book: Landscapes and Landforms of South Africa (pp.11-21)  DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-03560-4_2

Grabau, A. W., 1913
Principles of Stratigraphy. New York: A. G. Seiler & company
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015023976205&view=1up&seq=9
 
Harrington, B. J., 1878
Notes on Miscellaneous Rocks and Minerals, Report of Progress for 1876-77, Geological Survey of Canada, 465-488 [at page 487-488 “a curious columnar limestone, with columns at right angles to the bedding” in half and inch to an inch thick bands in black shales near the village of Sandy Bay, Quebec along the St. Lawrence ]
http://archive.org/stream/reportprogressg00canagoog#page/n16/mode/2up

Harvey, R. D., White, W.A.,  Cluff, R.M.,  Frost J.K, & Dumontelle, P. B., 1977
Petrology of the New Albion Shale Group (Upper Devonian and Kinderhookiand in the Illinois Basin, A Preliminary Report  , Proceedings First Eastern Gas Shales Symposium, October 17-19, 1977, [EGS-18] p.328-354   
 
Hume, W. F., 1908
Notes on the Petrography of Egypt.  Geological Magazine, New Series, Decade 5, Vol. 5,  pages 500-509,   https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/96686#page/596/mode/1up

Hunt , Charles B.,  Paul Averiti and Ralph L. Miller, 1953
Geology and Geography of the Henry Mountains Region Utah. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 228    http://www.riversimulator.org/Resources/Geology/Hunt/GeologyGeographyHenryMountainsRegion1953Hunt.pdf

Jagla, E. A. , 2004
Maturation of crack patterns.     Physical Review E, vol. 69, Issue 5, id. 056212
DOI:      10.1103/PhysRevE.69.056212

Jukes, J. Beete, 1872 
The Student’s Manual of Geology, 3rd edition, Edited by Archibald Geikie. Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black,778 pages. Chapter 7, Joints, Formation of Rock-Blocks, p. 174-185 @ 180
https://books.google.ca

Jüngst, H., 1934
Geological Significance of synaeresis;  Geologische Rundschau, V. 25, 312-325

Kindle, E. M., 1914
 Columnar structure in limestone; Geological Survey of Canada, Museum Bulletin no. 2, pt. 2,  p. 35-44,   https://doi.org/10.4095/104954

Kindle, E. M.,  1917
Some factors affecting the development of mud cracks. Journ. Geology, vol 25, 135-144
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/96111#page/157/mode/1up

Kindle, E. M.,  1918
Separation of salt from saline water and mud.  G. Soc Am, B 29: 80 (abst). 471-487
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/110877#page/555/mode/1up

Kindle, E. M.,  1923
A note on mud crack and associated joint structure : American  Journal of Science, 5th ser . , vol. 5, pp . 329 - 330 , 1 fig . , April , 1923  DOI: https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.s5-5.28.329

Kindle, E. M.,  1923
Notes on Mud Crack and Ripple Mark in Recent Calcareous Sediments.  The Journal of Geology, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Feb. - Mar., 1923), pp. 138-145
https://www.jstor.org/stable/30079396
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/96115#page/174/mode/1up

Kindle, E. M., 1926
Contrasted types of mud-cracks. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, section IV,  p 71-76,

Kindle, E. M , And Cole, L. H., 1938,
Some mud crack experiments : Geologie der Meere und Binnengewässer , Band 2 , Heft 2 , pp . 278 - 283 , 6 figs. , July 15 , 1938

Kocurek, G., Hunter, R.E., 1986.
Origin of polygonal fractures in sand, upper-most  Navajo and  Page  Sandstones,  Page,  Arizona.  J.  Sediment.  Res.  56, 895–904.

Kues, B.S. and Siemers, C. T., 1977  
Control of mudcrack patterns by the infaunal bivalve Pseudocyrena.  Journal of Sedimentary Research (1977) 47 (2): 844–848.
https://doi.org/10.1306/212F726B-2B24-11D7-8648000102C1865D

Li L.,  Ji S., 2020
A new interpretation for formation of orthogonal joints in quartz sandstone.   Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2020.08.003

Leonard, R.J., 1929
Polygonal cracking in granite.  American Journal of Science 18, 487-492.
https://www.ajsonline.org/content/s5-18/108/487

Lesley,  J. Peter,  1892
A Summary Description of the Geology of Pennsylvania, Volume 2 describing the Upper Silurian and Devonian Formations, at page 933
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015065394523

Logan William E., 1850
Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1849-50.  Toronto: Lovell and
 Gibson.

Logan, William E.,  1863,  
Geology of Canada. Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress from its Commencement to 1863. Montreal: Dawson Brothers.  983 pages.

Mullineux, S.; Sparks, RSJ;  Murphy, MD; MacNiocaill, C.; Barfod, D.; Njorka, J.; Schumacher, JC, 2020
Columnar-jointed bentonite below a Doleritic Sill, Tideswell Dale, Derbyshire, UK: formation during prograde contact metamorphism.  Geological Magazine, vol. 157, issue 7, pp. 1181-1198
doi:10.1017/S0016756819001535

Murchison, Roderick Impey, Sir, 1839
The Silurian system,    Volume: v.1 (1839).  Columnar/prismatic basalt at 71, 126, 137, 138,  270, 274,275, 276, 289 ; 187 [columnar syenite]
 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/165541#page/7/mode/1up

Netoff,  D.I.,  1971. 
Polygonal  jointing  in  sandstone  near  Boulder,  Colorado.  Mountain Geologist 8, 17–24.
http://archives.datapages.com/data/rmag/mg/1971/netoff.htm

Loope , D. B. , And Haverland , Z. T. , 1988 ,
Giant desiccation fissures filled with calcareous eolian sand, Hermosa Formation (Pennsylvanian), southeastern Utah.  Sedimentary Geology, Volume 56, Issue 1, p. 403-413.  [At two stratigraphic intervals within the upper member of the Upper Pennsylvanian Hermosa Formation, calcareous eolian sand fills downward-tapering fissures that are as much as 18 cm wide and 5.7 m deep. Fissure fillings define orthogonal polygons 10 m or more in diameter.]

Loope, David B., Garrison R. Loope, Caroline M. Burberry, Clinton M. Rowe,  & Gerald C. Bryant, 2020
Surficial fractures in the Navajo sandstone, south-western USA: the roles of thermal  cycles, rainstorms, granular disintegration,  and iterative cracking.    Earth Surface Processes and Landforms  45 (2020), pp 2063–2077
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1631&context=geosciencefacpub

Neal, James T., 1965a
Environmental setting and general surface characteristics of playas.  Chapter 1 in Geology, Mineralogy and hydrology of U.S. playas.  U.S. Air Force Cambridge Research Labs, Environmental Research paper 96, AFCRL - 65-266, P. 1-29 
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102197649

Neal, James T., 1965b
Airphoto Characteristics of Playas.  Chapter VI  in Geology, Mineralogy and hydrology of U.S. playas.  U.S. Air Force Cambridge Research Labs, Environmental Research paper 96, AFCRL - 65-266, P. 149-176 

Neal, James T.; Langer, Arthur M.; Kerr, Paul F., 1968
 Giant desiccation polygons  of Great Basin playas: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 79, no. 1, p. 69-90, illus., tables, 1968.
 
Norman , George W. H., 1935
Lake Ainslie Map-area, N.S.,Geological Survey of Canada  Memoir 177,  103 pages  . [ Plate III, B. Columnar Jointing in vertically dipping dolomitic limestone, North shore of Hood Island. [38:

O'Neill, Wayne F.  1941
Columnar Silurian Limestone in Pennsylvania.   Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science Vol. 15 (1941), pp. 75-81 (7 pages)  https://www.jstor.org/stable/44109130 
the rock exhibits a prismatic structure like basaltic columns.

O'Sullivan , Robert B.  1965
Geology of the Cedar Mesa-Boundary Butte Area San Juan County, Utah. USGS Bulletin 1186
 https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1186/report.pdf     
 
Perry, Nelson W. 1889.
The Cincinnati Rocks. What was their Geological History? American Geologist, Vol. IV, pp. 326-336, 2 pls.  Figure 3 - Mud cracks on limestone
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/240889#page/346/mode/1up

Plummer, P.S. and Gostin, V.A., 1981
Shrinkage Cracks: Desiccation or Synaeresis. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, Vol. 51, No. 4, 1147-1145
ttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Victor-Gostin/publication/283827642_Shrinkage_Cracks_Desiccation_or_Synaeresis/links/57ff109408aeaf819a5c36a8/Shrinkage-Cracks-Desiccation-or-Synaeresis.pdf

Roy, Sharat K. 1929
Columnar structure in limestone Science 1929 Aug 9;70(1806):140-1
 DOI: 10.1126/science.70.1806.140
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1654531

Salisbury, R . D., 1885
Columnar structure in subaqueous clay, Science, new ser., vol. 5, 1885, p. 287
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/133112#page/323/mode/1up

Splettstoesser, JF and Jirsa, MA (1985)
 Columnar jointed sandstone in Beacon Supergroup, Britannia Range, Antarctica (Note). New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 28, 761–4 [ A columnar jointed structure occurs in Hatherton Sandstone (Devonian) where it is intruded by Ferrar Dolerite (Early Jurassic) in the Britannia Range, Antarctica. ]

T’an, Hsi C.,  1927a
A Comprehensive Study of Mud Cracks and other similar Features.   A thesis submitted to the University of Wisconsin for the degree of Master of Science

T’an, Hsi C.,  1927b
A Comprehensive Study of Mud Cracks and other similar Features.  Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, Volumes 6-7, 273- ?  [290 “columnar structure in Nubian sandstone are known at several localities in the Sudan.”]

Tanner, P. W. G., 1998
Interstratal dewatering origin for polygonal patterns of sand-filled cracks: a case study from
late Proterozoic metasediments of Islay, Scotland. Sedimentology (1998) 45, 71-89
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b6da/d5dc8f2261f4e954b4f4402480e43c91cc9e.pdf?_ga=2.197764205.39016484.1615151755-1236236589.1614646204

Tanner, P. W. Geoff, 2003
Desiccation structures (mud cracks, etc.), chapter in Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3609-5_65

Tomkins, I. Q. , 1965
Polygonal Sandstone Features in Boundary Butte Anticline Area, San Juan County, Utah
 Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 76, issue 9, p. 1075.

Tucker, Roger M., 1981
Giant polygons in the Triassic salt of Cheshire, England; a thermal contraction model for their origin.  Journal of Sedimentary Research (1981) 51 (3): 779–786.
https://doi.org/10.1306/212F7DA6-2B24-11D7-8648000102C1865D
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.919.7706&rep=rep1&type=pdf
 
Twenhofel ,William H., 1932, 1961
Treatise on Sedimentation , Second Edition, Volume 2, 1932 . Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Company , 926 pages, Mud Cracks at 685-691- reprinted,  1961, Dover Publications, New York
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4151697&view=1up&seq=9 

Van Ingen, Gilbert  and Clark, P. Edwin, 1903
Disturbed fossiliferous beds in the vicinity of Rondout, N.Y.  New York State Museum Bulletin 69, pp 1176-1227, pls. 1-13, 1903 See plate 6 - prismatic bed; p 1185:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/108338#page/376/mode/1up
plate 6: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/108338#page/397/mode/1up

Velázquez, V. F., Paulo César Fonseca Giannini, Riccomini, C.,  A.  Ernandes Martins Sallun, J. Hachiro and C. de Barros Gomes, 2008
Columnar joints in the Patiño Formation sandstones, Eastern Paraguay: a dynamic interaction between dyke intrusion, quartz dissolution and cooling-induced fractures . Episodes, Vol.
31, No. 3 , 302- 308
https://www.geologiadelparaguay.com/Areniscas-Columnares.pdf

Udden, J. A., 1892
Fossil Frost Cracks. Scientific American, vol. 72, p. 102 [February 16, 1895]

Webster, G  , Cantillo, L., and D. Brown, 2017
Mars Rover Curiosity Examines Possible Mud Cracks.  NASA.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/mars-rover-curiosity-examines-possible-mud-cracks

White, I. C.,1882
The Geology of Pink and Monroe Counties; Pennsylvania Second Geological Survey, Vol. G 6, 407 pages   https://digital.libraries.psu.edu/digital/collection/pageol/id/17838/rec/6
 
Williams, R. And D. Robinson, 1989
Origin and distribution of polygonal cracking of rock surfaces. Geografiska. Annaler, Series A, Physical Geography, issues 3-4,  pp. 145-159  https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.1989.11880283
 
Wilson, Mark, Published online on  May 21, 2018
Team Jurassic Utah finishes essential data collection. Columnar jointed limestone 052118 | Wooster Geologists.
https://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2018/05/21/team-jurassic-utah-finishes-essential-data-collection/3-columnar-jointed-limestone-052118/
 
Weinberger, Ram, 1999
Initiation and growth of cracks during desiccation of stratified muddy sediments.  Journal of Structural Geology, Volume 21, Issue 4, p. 379-386. DOI:     10.1016/S0191-8141(99)00029-2

Young, Grant, 2008
Origin of Enigmatic Structures: Field and Geochemical Investigation of Columnar Joints in Sandstones, Island of Bute, Scotland.      The Journal of Geology 116(5)
DOI: 10.1086/590137

Yuse, A. And M. Sano, 1993
Transition between crack patterns in quenched glass plates. Nature 362, 329 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/362329a0  
 

Green’s Creek Fossils

For over one hundred and seventy five years fossils have been reported from concretions in the Leda clay deposits at Green’s Creek, principally at the mouth of  Green’s Creek where it flows into the Ottawa River, but also up to three kilometers eastward along the banks of the Ottawa River, along the creek and along tributary streams flowing into Green’s Creek.   The first reported fossil was the entire skeleton of a fossil fish, and it is fossil fish that are the most heralded and widely known, but Green’s Creek is more than just a source of fossil fish, it has produced fossils of vertebrates, invertebrates, trees, shrubs and plants.  It has been said of Green’s Creek by C.R. Harington (1983), a paleontologist with the National Museum of Natural Sciences, that “Of all fossil localities in Canada, none preserves a better record of life as it was about 10,000 years ago than that at Green’s Creek.”

The Leda clay, a marine clay, locally as thick as 200 feet, was deposited in the Champlain Sea which formed when the glaciers withdrew north of the St. Lawrence Lowland and admitted water from the Atlantic Ocean. The sea existed for about two thousand years and covered  the lower Ottawa River valley, much of Eastern Ontario, the St. Lawrence River valley, and modern Lake Champlain.  While most people think of the Leda clay as a homogeneous unit, geologists who study it tend to break it down into at least three units.  Gadd’s (1986) breakdown consists of  1) regularly laminated varves comprising fine silt and silty clay, with colours of shades of grey;  2)  massive to vaguely stratified silt and silty clay ranging from dark gray to reddish gray, the most fossilferous facies;  and  3) rhythmically to cyclically texture and colour banded of the silt-clay range ,  locally  with  sand   layers  near  or  at  the  top. The units are stacked on top of one another with unit 1 being at the bottom.

The whole of Green’s Creek falls in Ottawa’s Greenbelt and is protected federal land.   Bike and walking paths maintained by the National Capital Commission parallel the creek and the Ottawa River.  In addition, residents of Blackburn Hamlet, which adjoins the creek, have cut paths through the woods, fields and marsh adjacent to the creek.  Everyone that  walks along Green’s Creek will note the stratified bluish-gray clay lining the banks of the creek.  If you look closely you will note that some beds contain calcareous concretions, some round, some sausage shaped, many kidney shaped, most two or three times as long as broad, and most being of a size that can easily be picked up, averaging about 10 to 13 cm in their longest dimension.  They are set free from the clay by the erosion of the banks of the creek and the river, and at one time (before the National Capital Commission reinforced the shoreline of the Ottawa River) were plentiful at the mouth of Green’s Creek  in the spring.   A museum curator that I know has commented that by reinforcing the shoreline the N.C.C. destroyed a world class collecting site, and it is hard to argue with that assessment.

Not all of the concretions in the Leda clay contain fossils, and not all of the clay contains concretions.   The bed of clay that has produced the most fossils is at the highwater mark of the Ottawa River.   Most concretions from other layers are destitute of fossil remains.   I can personally attest to that statement. Thirty-five years ago I looked at concretions along one of the tributary streams, but found no fossils in any of them.

The most abundant fossil fish are a species of capeling, still found in the lower  St. Lawrence, and sculpin.    The Perth Museum has a concretion with a fossil fish from Green’s Creek on display.  (It had two, but one walked.)  Other fossil fish include the lump-sucker, stickleback, lake trout, and smelt.  Rare impressions of feathers, bones of birds and ducks, flying insects, tiny crustaceans, starfish, and worms have been reported.   The bones of a young seal were reported and figured by Leidy (1856) while the teeth and jawbone of a  seal were reported and figured by Dawson (1893).   One concretion contained the skull and forelimb of an American Marten, a land mammal; another, a chipmunk.

Concretions have been found that enclose fragments of wood, leaves of trees, seeds of plants, portions of marine plants, grasses, sedges, mosses, and algae.  Among the trees are the sugar maple, alder, birch and poplar.  An analysis of the flora shows that a third or more are wholly aquatic, and therefore deposited in place, a third are a land plants, drifted in by tributary rivers, and the rest represent semi-aquatic and marsh plants from adjacent land areas. The vegetation is identical to that now found in the Ottawa region, suggesting similar climatic conditions.

Besides the small shell Leda arctica (now Yoldia arctica), a marine mollusc, from which the clay gets its name, other marine and freshwater shells have been found.   Greenbelt land south of Blackburn Hamlet and north of Mud Creek (which  flows into Green’s Creek), exhibits intermittent sand deposits on top of the clay.  These sand  deposits also contain fossil shells.

Early Reports of Fossils in Concretions From Green’s Creek

Sir Charles Lyell, an English geologist, is credited with being the first to report on fossils in concretions from Green’s Creek.  Lyell visited North America in 1841-42 and in his book summarizing his visit (1845, at pages 126-127) mentioned “Mr. Logan obtained near Bytown concretions of clay similar to those called fairy stones, which occur without fossils in the clay at Albany, New York, and at Burlington, Vermont, and in Massachusetts, as described by Professor Hitchcock. In the centre of one of these nodules was the entire skeleton of a fossil fish, allied to, if not identical with, that named Mallotus villosus [ a capelin]  by Professor Agassiz, which now lives in the Greenland seas, and is also found fossil in Greenland.”    While “near Bytown” includes Green’s Creek, and Green’s Creek is the site that has produced the most fossil capelin in concretions, capelin have been found in concretions in clay in other areas around Ottawa.   The ‘Mr. Logan’  that Sir Charles Lyell referred to is William Logan, the founder and first director of the Geological Survey of Canada.

I tried to determine the how Logan obtained the concretions from ‘near Bytown’ but was unable to do so.  The most likely source would have been members of The Royal Engineers stationed in Montreal who mapped the Ottawa River and were involved with the construction of Ottawa River Canals and the Rideau Canal, other members of the Natural History Society of Montreal (e.g. Dr. A.F. Holmes), or  fossil and mineral collectors such as Andrew Dickson of Pakenham, Dr. Van Cortlandt of Bytown , Dr. James Wilson of Perth, or Reverend Andrew Bell.  Both Dickson and Van Cortlandt had collections of fossils from Green’s Creek: – see Dawson, 1859; Dawson, 1868; Ami, 1887.  Reverend Andrew Bell had a large collection of fossils, including plants found in the Leda clay at Green’s Creek, that he bequeathed to Queens, which Dawson, 1868, 1893 reports that he looked at.   Logan was friends with each of Dr. Holmes, Dr. Wilson, Dr.  Van Cortlandt, Andrew Dickson and Reverend Bell.

Harrington (1883) reports that Sir William Logan met Sir Charles Lyell in 1841 when by chance both were in New York City.   The following day William Logan  wrote to his brother James, telling him of Lyell's intended visit to Canada, stating "Lyell will be in Montreal some time in the spring, and if you in your leisure walks will make a collection of all the organic remains you can for him, you will not only be serving  him, but also cause of geology.   ...  The shells in the clay should also be collected, and you should endeavour to ascertain as nearly as possible the height of each locality above the level of the water in the harbour."  Harrington does not mention Logan sending concretions to Lyell.

In the Geological Survey of Canada’s Annual report for 1843, Logan describes the geology of the lands abutting the Ottawa River from Montreal to Bytown, and this appears to be based on personal observation, but he does not mention the clay or concretions at Green’s Creek.  In 1845 Logan traversed and mapped the upper Ottawa, starting at Bytown.  In the Geological Survey of Canada’s Annual report of progress for the year 1845-46, Logan describes the ‘Tertiary  [now Quaternary] Deposits’ along the valley of the Ottawa River, noting that “Along the whole valley of the Ottawa, clays, sands, gravels and boulders are met with in many parts.”  He mentions that “At the mouth of the Gatineau, near Bytown, not only marine shells have been obtained, but, in a nodule of indurated clay found in the deposit there, Mr. McNab, of the Crown Lands Office, some years ago, procured a perfect specimen (now in my possession) of  Mallotus villosus, or common capeling, a small fish, which still frequents the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in vast numbers.”   He does not mention the concretions from Green’s Creek.

The first report by the Geological Survey of Canada on the concretions in Green’s Creek was made by Alexander Murray (1852, pages 76-77), who reported: “but clays occur higher on the Ottawa, in the vicinity of By town, at the mouth of the Gatineau on the north, and of "Green's Creek" on the south side, which in addition to marine shells, of the species Saxicava rugosa, yield in the  latter named locality two species of fish, the Mallotus villosus or common capeling, and Cyclopterus lumpus or lump-sucker, both of which are still inhabitants of northern seas; the capeling still frequents the Gulf of St. Lawrence in great numbers, and the lump-sucker, the northern coasts of Scotland and America. Their fossil representatives are always enclosed in nodules of indurated clay of reniform shapes, and they appear to occupy a  bed nearly on a  level with the water of the Ottawa, ...; the same sort of nodules frequently enclose fragments of wood, leaves of trees, and portions of marine plants; among the last is one of the species of littoral algae still found near the coasts of arctic seas.”  

Where to Find Photographs of Specimens from Green’s Creek

Wagner (1984) contains photographs of concretions bearing fossils from Green’s Creek, namely two of fossil fish (figures 25 and 26), the impression of a feather (figure 33A) and a leaf (figure 33B).  Harington (1983) included photographs of concretions containing a Capelin, a sucker,  a Marchfly, a feather impression, the skull and front leg of an American Marten, a twig, and the tail region of a lake trout.  Kindle (1923, Plate 8, Figures 1 and 2) has an exceptionally clear photo of opposite sides of a concretion showing the skull and other parts of the skeleton of a marten, collected from the Ottawa River below Greens Creek.  McAllister et al. (1981) contains photographs of two fossil fish (a lake cisco and a rainbow smelt) from Green’s Creek.  Champagne et al. (1979) contains photographs of a fossil deepwater sculpin in a nodule from Green’s Creek.  Dawson (1893; pages 266, 268b) contains sketches of a fossil fish (the sculpin pictured above) in a concretion and of the jawbone of a seal in a concretion.  Dawson (1869) contains lithographs of concretions from Green’s Creek containing leaves and one containing a  piece of wood.  Gadd (1980) contains photographs of a concretion containing a  capelin, a concretion containing the imprint of a feather and a concretion containing a piece of Willow wood, all from Green’s Creek. Leidy (1856) figured a concretion found by Billings that contained the bones of a young seal. Below are one of Dawson’s lithographs and Leidy’s lithograph:

A spectacular photograph of both parts of a nodule with a fossil fish from Green’s Greek is on the Geological Survey of Canada’s web site at  http://www.science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/97214.html

The Museum of Nature’s Collection

For over fifty years the Canadian Museum of Nature (the Victoria Memorial Museum at Metcalfe and McLeod Streets, Ottawa) has had on display a few fossils from Green’s Creek, including feather impressions and (if I recall correctly) the American Marten.  The museum provides the ability to search its collections online at http://collections.nature.ca/en/Search/Index
A search for ‘Green’s Creek’ in the Paleobiology Collection reveals over 1,600 specimens, including over 700 specimens of Mallotus villosus, a capelin.  Notably one specimen of Mallotus villosus from Green’s Creek was collected by William Logan and A. Dickson, presumably the Andrew Dickson who founded Pakenham, Ontario. 

The Redpath Museum at McGill in Montreal also has a collection of fossils from Green’s Creek.

Concretion Formation

Various theories have been advanced as to how the concretions at Green’s Creek were formed and why the concretions from Green’s Creek contain fossils but many parts of the Leda clay are devoid of concretions containing fossils.   A number of authors have commented on the topic.   A few are mentioned below.

Logan (1863) commented “About the mouth of Green's Creek, in Gloucester, a bed in the clay, near high-water mark, abounds in nodular masses, which are strewn along the shore of the Ottawa for two miles to the eastward. These seem to have been formed by a process of concretion around various organic remains, which are found on breaking open the nodules.”

Coleman (1901), when discussing concretions from Green’s Creek, suggested that “Similar clay higher up and farther inland seems to be without them, perhaps not containing lime enough to form them.”

Johnston  (1917) and  Kindle  (1923) suggested that the concretions were related to streams cutting the clay as few concretions are found in areas where there are no streams.    Johnston commented: “It is generally held that calcareous clay concretions, such as those found in the marine clay, are formed only in the zone of cementation, above the general permanent level of the ground water, and this appears to be borne out by the mode of occurrence of the concretions in this area.  Hence it is probable that the concretions were formed after the complete withdrawal of the marine waters and largely during the  time since the establishment of the present drainage. The marked oscillations of ground water level in the vicinity of the streams, especially in the lower portion of the Ottawa river owing to the rise and fall of the river, would greatly favour concretionary action and would explain the apparent absence of' the concretions in the clays at some distance from the river courses where the oscillations of ground water level would not be pronounced."  

Kindle (1923) suggested that the difference in temperature between Green’s Creek and the Ottawa River waters favoured the development of concretions, commenting that “These changes of temperature will be transmitted to the ground-waters permeating the clays of the river bank and result in frequent and abrupt changes in the lime-solvent powers of these waters by affecting their CO2 content through increasing or lowering the temperature. Changes of this character, it is believed, would stimulate the development of concretions.” 

Kindle (1923) also suggested that a factor favorable to the formation of these concretions is the diurnal change of temperature of river banks denuded of forests and exposed to the full glare of the sun resulting in the “relatively rapid movement of ground-water toward the exposed section as a result of evaporation and a consequent large transfer of the soluble materials required for the growth of concretions.”

Gadd (1971) found hard, circular, carbonate concretions at the faces of stream-cut banks in Champlain Sea clay along the St. Lawrence river valley, and concretions with a “malleable, putty-like consistency” about 30 inches in from the faces of stream banks.  Gadd (1971) suggested that the induration of carbonate concretions was “related to proximity to the exposure face of the stream-cut banks” and “that evaporation of groundwater at the exposed face of the varved deposits causes crystallization of the carbonates and final hardening of the concretions.”   

Yoshida et al. (2018) studied carbonate concretions from three locations in Japan, some containing well preserved fossils.  They reviewed the generalized conditions of spherical calcium carbonate concretion formation and concluded that concretions form  by reactions between HCO3 - and Ca2+ ions as concretions grow outwards, with carbon supplied by the organic source within the concretion and Ca2+ in the surrounding seawater-derived pore-water. They suggest that concretions “continue to grow until there is no more carbon of organic origin remaining within the concretion.”  They envisage a reaction front at the margin of the concretion characterized by rapid precipitation of CaCO3 due to super saturation and a pH increase at the cementation front.  They suggest that “This front is developed in any kind of carbonate-rich spherical concretion formed syn-genetically during burial of marine sediments with organic carbon sources in the concretions.” 

Assuming that organic decomposition furnished the carbon in the form of HCO3 - while the groundwater furnished the Ca2+ to make the calcium carbonate concretions, then the pH and ions in the water would have been important factors, and Johnston’s  (1917) and  Kindle’s  (1923) suggestion that the formation of  concretions was  related to streams cutting the clay might have been a factor if the streams were higher in Ca2+ or contributed to the adjacent groundwater having a different pH than the groundwater where there were no streams.

A problem with applying Yoshida et al. (2018) study to the Green’s Creek concretions is that there doesn’t appear to be enough organic carbon in many of the concretions (e.g., a concretion containing a leaf)  to generate the volume of carbonate in the concretion.  In addition Gadd’s (1980) report on his examination of numerous concretions does not support Yoshida et al.’s  (2018) suggestion.    In 1961 Nelson R. Gadd of the Geological Survey of Canada made a collection of about 700 concretions from a 30 meter section along the Ottawa River at Green’s Creek.  He split and examined the concretions.  He  reported (1980) that “the largest number of concretions consisted solely of cemented sediment. Fewer than sixty concretions (<10%) had nuclei. Among the nuclei such things as pebbles and mudballs, including till, sand lenses, etc. were common, leaving only about thirty of the concretions that contained organic remains as nuclei. These remains included single marine mollusc shells and groups of typical Champlain Sea shells.... one contained the cast of a feather ... [one] contained a piece of wood large enough for radiocarbon dating.”

Gadd (1962a, b) proposed that  the Champlain Sea clay was deposited in two phases: the original deeper deposit in a brackish or marine environment; the second major deposition or reworking in fresher water, with the freshwater clay outcropping along Green’s Creek from about Montreal Road to the  Ottawa River and along the banks of the Ottawa River (and the marine clay outcropping in the bed of Green’s Creek south of Montreal Road).   Gadd (1980) suggested that the  “Occurrence of complete skeletons of fish and other vertebrates in concretions is related to chemically induced carbonate cementation during early stages of putrefaction of soft-bodied animals. This could preserve skeletal remains through several cycles of erosion. Therefore some concretions carry fossil remains that may be allochtonous to the sediment in which they now occur. “

Christopher Brett
Ottawa, Ontario

Added February 1, 2021:    In 1987 The Geological Survey of Canada branch of Energy Mines and Resources published a brochure with the title ‘Surficial Geology and the Ice Age in the National Capital Region’ which on one side contained a geologic map of the Surficial and Terrain Features of Ottawa-Hull (extracted from GSC Map 1425A), and on the other side contained a synopsis of the Pleistocene Glaciation and the glacial sediments in the National Capital Region.  It also included photographs of five Pleistocene fossils found in glacial sands and clay, plus fossils in three clay nodules from Green’s Creek, plus a separate photograph of a nodule from Green’s Creek and a photograph of the 1971 Castleman landslide in Leda Clay.  The page of fossils is reproduced below in accordance with the permission granted  to reproduce Government of Canada works by Natural Resources Canada.   The reproduction has not been produced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada.

 

Fossil 3 is a barnacle.
Fossils 2, 4, 5, and 6 are Pelecypods (clams) with the most famous being 2 Saxicava (now Hiatella arctica) and 6 Leda arctica (now Yoldia arctica).
Fossils 2, 3, 4, 5 were collected in sandpits near the Ottawa airport.
Fossils 1, 7, 8  are concretions from Green’s Creek.  Photograph 1 shows a concretion containing Mallotus villosus, a capelin; 7, a leaf;  8, a feather.

The fossil Hiatella arctica is so common that early investigators of Quaternary geology (including Dawson, Logan, Ami, Coleman, Johnston)  used  the former species name Saxicava rugosa to designate Champlain Sea sand and gravel as Saxicava sand.   The shell Leda arctica (now Yoldia arctica) was common in the clay.   Those marine shells in  'Saxicava Sand' and 'Leda Clay' indicate a sub-arctic climate.

References and Suggested Reading

Ami, H. M., 1878
The great ice age and subsequent formation at Ottawa, Ontario.
Ottawa Naturalist, Volume 1, 65-74 and 81-88
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/15579#page/89/mode/1up

Ami, H. M., 1897
Contribution to the Paleonology of the post-pliocene deposits of the Ottawa Valley.  Ottawa Naturalist 11, 20-26
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/94746#page/26/mode/1up

Ami, H. M.,   1902
List of fossils to accompany report of Dr. R. W. Ells on the City of Ottawa map. Pages 51G-56G In  Ells, R W, Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report (n.s.) Volume 12 (1899), part G, 77 pages     https://doi.org/10.4095/294885 (Open Access)

Billings, E., 1857
 On the Tertiary Rocks of Canada, with some account of their Fossils.
The Canadian Naturalist and Geologist. Volume: v.1,  321- 346
 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/32713#page/349/mode/1up

Brett, Christopher P.,  2013
Glacial Erratics and Eskers in the Township of Lanark Highlands, Lanark County, Ontario
Blog Posting dated Thursday, 18 April 2013

Brett, Christopher P.,  2014a
Andrew Dickson, a Founder of Pakenham, Sheriff of Bathurst District, and Geologist, Blog posting dated Thursday, 22 May 2014

Brett, Christopher P.,  2014b
Lake Iroquois and the Glaciofluvial Deltaic Deposit at Joes Lake, Lanark Highlands, Ontario.
Blog posting dated Wednesday, 17 September 2014.

Brett, Christopher P., 2015a
Dr. Edward Van Cortlandt, M.D., (1805-1875) of Bytown and Ottawa, Surgeon, Field Naturalist, Museum Curator and Amateur Geologist. Blog posting dated Tuesday, 17 March 2015

Brett, Christopher P., 2015b
Hunting for Whales in Eastern Ontario.  Blog posting dated Friday, 24 April 2015

Brett, Christopher P., 2016
Fluvio-glacial Sculpted Forms in Outcrops Near Newboro, Eastern Ontario.  Blog posting dated
Tuesday, 26 January 2016

Brett, Christopher P.,  2018
A Glacial Sand and Clay Deposit in the Basement of St. Paul's United Church on Gore Street in Perth, Ontario.  Blog posting dated Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Brett, Christopher P.,  2020
Diplocraterion in Dodds and Erwin’s Glacially Polished Sandstone Parking Lot, Lanark County .
Blog Posting dated Friday, 13 November 2020

Champagne, Donald E; C. R. Harington; Don E. McAllister 1979
 Deepwater sculpin, Myoxocephalus thompsoni (Girard) from a Pleistocene nodule, Green Creek, Ontario, Canada.  Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 16 (8): 1621–1628.
https://doi.org/10.1139/e79-147

Coleman, A.P.,. 1901
Sea Beaches of Eastern Ontario,  Ontario Bureau of Mines, 10, 215-227
http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/ARV10/ARV10.pdf

Coleman, A.P.,. 1922
Glacial  and   Post-glacial   Lakes in Ontario. University of Toronto Studies, Publications of the Ontario Fisheries Research Laboratory, No.  10
http://www.harkness.ca/PDFs/OFRL%20Publications/Journal10.pdf

Dawson, J. W., 1857
 On the Newer Pliocene and Post Pliocene Deposits of the Vicinity of Montreal, with notices of
fossils recently discovered in them.  Canadian Naturalist and Geologist, vol. 2, no. 6, p. 401-426   https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109318#page/507/mode/1up
 
Dawson, J. W., 1859
 Additional Notes on the Post-Pliocene Deposits of the St. Lawrence Valley; Canadian Naturalist and Geologist. Volume IV, Article III, at pages 36 and 37

Dawson, J. W., 1869
The evidence of fossil plants as to the climate of the post-pliocene period in Canada.  Canadian Naturalist, New Series, volume 3,  69-76
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31790#page/79/mode/1up

Dawson, J.  W. , 1871
The  post-Pliocene  geology  of  Canada,   Canadian Naturalist,  (n.s.), vol.  6,  p.  116-187,  241-259, 369-416.  

Dawson. J.W. , 1878 
Note on a fossil seal from the Leda clay  of the Ottawa Valley.  Canadian Naturalist,  New Series,  8 , 340-341, Read before the Natural History Society, Oct. 29, 1877.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/32753#page/364/mode/1up

Dawson. J.W. , 1893
The Canadian ice age. Montreal, William V. Dawson. 301 pages
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/38902#/summary

Gadd, N.R., 1962a.
Surficial Geology of the Ottawa Area. Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Paper 62-16, 4 p.
 https://doi.org/10.4095/121219

Gadd, N.R., 1962b.
Surficial Geology of the Ottawa Area. Map 16-1962, to Accompany Paper 62-16.  Preliminary Series. Geological Survey of Canada,

Gadd, N. R. , 1971
Pleistocene geology of the central St. Lawrence Lowland, Ottawa, Geol. Survey of Canada , Memoir 359.

Gadd, Nelson R. 1980
Maximum age for a concretion at Green Creek, Ontario .
Géographie physique et Quaternaire, volume 34  (2), 229–238.
https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/gpq/1980-v34-n2-gpq1496473/1000400ar.pdf

Gadd, Nelson R. 1986
Lithofacies of the Leda Clay in the Ottawa Basin of the Champlain Sea.  Geological Survey of Canada. Paper 85-21.  44 pages.

Harrington, Bernard J., 1883
Life of Sir William E. Logan. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 432 pages.

Harrington, C.R.,  1972
The Champlain sea and its Vertebrate Fauna. Part I. The History and Environment of the Champlain Sea.    Trail and Landscape, volume 5, No. 5, 137-141    https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/268023#page/19/mode/1up

Harrington, C.R.,  1972
The Champlain sea and its Vertebrate Fauna. Part II,   Trail and Landscape 6, No. 1, 33-39
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/268141#page/35/mode/1up

Harrington, C.R., 1981
Whales and seals of the Champlain Sea. Trail and Landscape 15:32-47.

Harington, C. R. 1983 
Significance of the fossil locality at Green Creek, Ontario, Trail and Landscape 17 (3) 164-168
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/202663#page/62/mode/1up

Johnston, W. A., 1917
Pleistocene and Recent Deposits in the Vicinity of Ottawa, with a Description of the Soil
Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 101  https://doi.org/10.4095/101671

Kindle, E. M., 1923
Range and distribution of certain types of Canadian Pleistocene concretions,
Bulletin  Geological Society of  America , 34 (3), p.  609-648. 
https://doi.org/10.1130/GSAB-34-609

Kindle, E. M.,  1928
A crustacean new to the Pleistocene fauna of Canada; Can. Field-Naturalist, vol. vol. 42, No. 9, pp. 211 , 2 12. [ east of Ottawa , on the bank of the Ottawa river, a few hundred yards below the rifle range]   https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/89279#page/293/mode/1up
 
Leidy, Joseph, 1856
Note on Fossil Animal Transmitted by Mr. Billings; Notice of the remains of a species of Seal, from the Post-pliocene deposit of the Ottawa River.  Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol 8, pages 62 and 90-91
 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/18246#page/82/mode/1up
Plate III at : https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/18246#page/539/mode/1up

Logan, W.E., 1845
Geological Survey of Canada. Report of progress for the year 1843. Published in 1845
159 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/123553

Logan, W.E., 1847
Geological Survey of Canada. Report of progress for the year 1845-6. 125 pages
 https://doi.org/10.4095/123555

Logan, W.E.,  1863.
The Geology of Canada, Geological Survey of Canada. Report of progress from its commencement to 1863, 983p, Dawson Brothers, Montreal.
https://archive.org/details/reportofprogress00geolrich

Lyell, Charles, 1845
Travels in North America, in the years 1841-2 : with geological observations on the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia.  New-York :Wiley and Putnam,
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/150023#/summary

Lyell, K. M. (Editor), 1881
Life, Letters and Journals of Sir Charles Lyell, Bart.  Two Volumes.
Cambridge University Press

McAllister, Don E.. Stephen Cumba, and C. R. Harington, 1981
Pleistocene fishes (Coregonus, Osmerus, Microgadus, Gasterosteus) from Green Creek, Ontario,
Canada , Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (1981) 18 (8): 1356–1364.
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e81-125

Murray, Alexander, 1852
Report of Alex. Murray, Esq., Assistant Provincial Geologist Addressed to W.E. Logan, Esq., Provincial Geologist. Geological Survey of Canada, Reportof progress for the year, 1851-52.

Sheldon, J.M. Arms, 1900
Concretions from the Champlain clays of the Connecticut Valley. Boston. 45 pages plus 14 plates, with 160 illustrations 

Wagner, F. J.E.,  1967
Published references to Champlain Sea faunas 1837-1966 and list of fossils. Geological  Survey of Canada Paper 67-16, pp. 1-82.    https://doi.org/10.4095/100919

Wagner, F. J. E, 1970
 Faunas of the Pleistocene Champlain Sea.  Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 181, 104 pages (1 sheet),  https://doi.org/10.4095/102325 

Wagner, Frances J. E., 1984
Fossils of Ontario: Part 2: Macroinvertebrates and vertebrates of the Champlain Sea, with a listing of nonmarine Species.   The Royal Ontario Museum
https://archive.org/details/fossilsofontario02bolt
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6084785.pdf

Yoshida, Hidekazu , Koshi Yamamoto, Masayo Minami, Nagayoshi Katsuta, Sirono Sin-ichi & Richard Metcalfe (2018)
Generalized conditions of spherical carbonate concretion formation around decaying organic matter in early diagenesis | Scientific Reports,  volume 8, Article number: 6308 (2018)
 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-24205-5