Skip to content
USI campus to reopen, classes resume, January 28

Change is never easy, and we know this is a challenging time as you navigate recent announcements affecting programs and operations at Oakland City University. We want you to know that your educational journey doesn’t have to pause.

At the University of Southern Indiana, we are fully committed to helping you transition seamlessly so you can stay on track with your education journey. We’ve designed this dedicated page specifically for you to explore our programs, access resources, learn about credit transfers and continue your education with minimal interruption.

>> OCU Student Information

Last updated:

Regional Geology

Regional Geology of Southwest Indiana

Southwest Indiana is on the eastern flank of the Illinois Basin at the convergence of the Ohio and Wabash Rivers.  This area has a long history of geologic discovery from early 19th Century studies near New Harmony, to research focusing on the seismic risk along the Wabash Valley Fault Zone.  

Geologic map of southwest Indiana showing the location of New Harmony and the University of Southern Indiana (USI). The bedrock underlying this area is Pennsylvanian in age and consists of alternating beds of sandstone, shale, coal, and limestone. Please also note the location of the southern limit of Illinoian glaciation. Geologic map modified from King and Beikman (1974).

In particular, there are several sites near New Harmony, Indiana with geologic significance. These sites were studied by Edward Travers Cox, Charles Alexandre Lesueur, David Dale Owen, Richard Owen, and Gerard Troost in the 19th Century.  These sites were also visited by Leo Lesquereux and Sir Charles Lyell.  

New Harmony is underlain by sandstones, limestones, shales, and coal of the Bond Formation (Pennsylvanian).  This bedrock unit is overlain either by floodplain deposits of the Wabash River, or wind-blown silt (loess) deposited during the last Ice Age. 

Topographic map of New Harmony and the surrounding area. Modified from the 1903 USGS topographic map (Scale - 1:62,500) of New Harmony.

Important localities for early geologists near New Harmony included:

Erosional remnant of loess and/or marl deposits; may be fault controlled. 

Famous exposures of Pennsylvanian aged stumps of Didymophyllum owenii

Sir Charles Lyell while visiting D.D. Owen recognized this sediment as wind-blown.

Sandstone and limestone exposures studied by D.D. Owen, R. Owen, G. Troost, and E. Cox.  

Plant fossil locality; D.D. Owen visited site with Sir Charles Lyell; collected and studied extensively by J. Sampson, E. Cox, and C.A. Lesueur.

 

Connect With
Geology, Physics and Environmental Science

(812) 461-5326