STRATIGRAPHY OF FOSSILIFEROUS MEMBERS 29 



Where typically developed in Muskingum County, the Poverty 

 Run limestone consists of several divisions, the lowest of which is an 

 extremely hard, gray, fossiliferous limestone with a maximum thick- 

 ness of 6 inches. It is characteristically affected by two systems of 

 joints causing the limestone to break up into comparatively small 

 blocks. In places concretions of iron ore are present, and on Poverty 

 Run these are especially numerous and resemble the stems of plants. 

 Fossils, although abundant, consist largely of fragments, and it is 

 difficult to find specimens in a condition perfect enough to permit 

 identification. The extreme hardness of the limestone also makes 

 work with the fossils difficult. On top of the limestone, however, 

 there occurs a soft, friable, black, calcareous shale, generally about 1 

 foot in thickness, which contains a wealth of fossils, at least in number 

 of individuals. Collecting is good as the fossils are easily obtained and 

 well preserved. For the most part the shells are white in color and 

 show up remarkably well against the dark background. In some 

 places a thin layer of iron ore not more than 4 inches thick overlies the 

 shale. It is reported to be sparingly fossiliferous, but no collections 

 were made from it. 



In Mahoning County the Lowellville limestone was first referred 

 to by Dr. Newberry as "dark, siliceous limestone" in his section 1 on 

 Grindstone Run at Lowellville, where he ascribes to it a thickness of 

 1 foot. Lamb describes the deposit at Lowellville thus: "The lime- 

 stone is black, very hard, tough, and apparently in one layer. It is 2 

 feet or more in thickness the full thickness not being obtained due to 

 a sharp dip downstream concealing the base. It is very fossiliferous, 

 the white shells and crinoid stems presenting a striking appearance in 

 the black matrix. A few species of brachiopods and fragments of 

 crinoid stems predominate. The latter are often 6 to 8 inches long, and 

 lying horizontally, with the section markings showing plainly, they 

 somewhat resemble worms . . . . " 2 



Description of Geologic Sections and Collecting Localities 



Muskingum County. The type exposure of the Poverty Run 

 limestone is found in Hopewell Township on Poverty Run, a small 

 stream which flows from the southwest into the Licking River. The 

 following section was measured on land of Delia Wise, Section 18, 

 about two miles northwest of Mt. Sterling (Locality 19). 3 Collections 

 were made from the limestone and from the overlying dark, fossiliferous 

 shale, both of which outcrop in the bed of the stream. The shale fur- 

 nishes especially good collecting material. 



dewberry, J. S., Geol. Surv. Ohio, Vol. Ill, opp. p. 804, 1878; Lamb, G. F., Penn- 

 sylvanian Limestones of Northeastern Ohio below the Lower Kittanning coal, Ohio 

 Naturalist, Vol. 10, March, 1910, p. 128. 



2 Lamb, G. F., Idem., p. 128. 



"Stout, W., Geol. Surv. Ohio, Fourth Ser., Bull. 21, 1918. Section given in part 

 on page 62. 



