The Illinois-Kentucky fluorite district, Hicks Dome, and Garden of the Gods in southeastern Illinois and northwestern Kentucky
The Illinois-Kentucky fluorite district, Hicks Dome, and Garden of the Gods in southeastern Illinois and northwestern Kentucky (in From the Cincinnati Arch to the Illinois Basin; geological field excursions along the Ohio River valley, Anton H. Maria (editor) and Ronald C. Counts (editor))
Field Guide (Geological Society of America) (2008) 12: 11-24
- Carboniferous
- field trips
- fluorspar deposits
- Hardin County Illinois
- Illinois
- intrusions
- lithostratigraphy
- Lower Pennsylvanian
- mineral deposits, genesis
- mineralization
- mines
- mississippi valley-type deposits
- Paleozoic
- Pennsylvanian
- Saline County Illinois
- tectonics
- United States
- Garden of the Gods
- Hicks Dome
- Columbia Mine
- Eagle Valley Syncline
- Illinois-Kentucky fluorite district
- Hastie Limestone Quarry
Minerals have been extracted from the Illinois-Kentucky Fluorite District for over 170 years. Theories concerning the inter-relationship between the fluorite mineralization, tectonism, and igneous activity will be discussed by several geologists during this field trip. The Columbia mine (vein deposit) will be visited in Kentucky, and the only mine currently producing fluorite in this district, the Hastie Limestone Quarry (strata-bound deposit), will be visited in Illinois. The mining history of this region will be explained at the American Fluorite Museum, where numerous mineral specimens can be examined. The Hicks Dome, a Permian crypto-volcanic feature (?) in Illinois, will also be discussed. The trip will conclude with a walking tour at the Garden of the Gods Recreational Area to view the Eagle Valley Syncline and Lower Pennsylvanian units.