THE MIDCONTINENT RIFT SYSTEM IN IOWA

STRATIGRAPHY by Raymond R. Anderson

The names that identify the rocks (or stratigraphy) of the Midcontinent Rift System in Iowa as first informally applied by Witzke (1990) and then modified slightly by Anderson (1992) are summarized in the table below:

(click for map of location and total thickness of Red Clastics in Iowa flanking basins)

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MIDCONTINENT RIFT SYSTEM ROCKS OF IOWA

Upper Red Clastics Group
Unit H
Unit G
Unit F
Unit E

Lower Red Clastic Group
Unit D
Unit C
Unit B

MRS Volcanic Rocks
Thor Volcanics

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The rocks of the MRS in Iowa are very similar to MRS rocks exposed in the Lake Superior area and seen from subsurface samples from Minnesota.

click for references cited

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