Environmental Geology of the Yegua-Jackson Lignite Belt, Southeast Texas

RI0129. Environmental Geology of the Yegua-Jackson Lignite Belt, Southeast Texas, by M. L. W. Jackson and L. E. Garner, assisted by R. D. Sharpe. 36 p., 15 figs., 4 tables, 5 map sheets, 1982. ISSN: 0082335X: Print.


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ABSTRACT
Environmental geologic maps of the Texas lignite belt were prepared in response to renewed production of lignite in Texas and enactment of Federal and State laws governing coal and lignite surface mining. The map area of this report encompasses the outcrop of the Yegua Formation and Jackson Group from south-central Texas to the Texas-Louisiana border. Yegua sediments are fluvial in outcrop, and deltaic in the deeper subsurface. Jackson deposits are predominantly of deltaic origin.

Mapping involved interpretation of black-and-white, large-scale aerial photographs and extensive field work. Each of the 32 map units is defined in terms of substrate, soil, geomorphology, geologic process, vegetation, and land use. Additional information presented on the maps includes active and abandoned lignite mines and lignite resource blocks mapped by Kaiser and others (1980). Floodprone areas, vegetation assemblages, and soil types presented on the maps provide basic data useful in mine planning. Correlation of sand outcrops with subsurface sand maps helps locate hydrologically sensitive areas that need careful consideration during lignite development. Environmental geologic maps can also aid public and private agencies in land use planning and land resource management.


Keywords: coal, environmental geologic maps, environmental geology, geologic maps, Jackson Group, mapping, land resources, land use, southeast Texas, Yegua Formation


Contents

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

PREVIOUS WORK

PHYSICAL SETTING

Physiography

Geology

Topography and geomorphology

Climate

Soils

Vegetation

Hydrology

Land use

Lignite resources

Structural geology

MAPPING PROCEDURES

ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGIC UNITS

Definition

Geomorphic units

Bottomland units

River terrace units

Miscellaneous geomorphic units

Substrate units

Sand and mud units

Mud unit

Sand units
Blacksoil units

Miscellaneous substrate units

Man-made units

Modifications of environmental geologic units

Additional information presented on environmental geologic maps

Mines

Lignite resource APPLICATIONS OF IMPORTANT

ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGIC UNITS

Laws governing surface mining of lignite

Recognition of flood prone land

Native vegetation and reclamation

Distribution of topsoil and prime farmland

Hydrology and environmental sensitivity

State law and applications to hydrology

Surface geometry of water-bearing units

Correlation of sand outcrops with subsurface sand trends

Additional applications

SUMMARY

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

Figures
1. Environmental geologic maps by the Bureau of Economic Geology

2. Physiographic regions of Central and East Texas

3. Generalized geologic section, Yegua-Jackson interval

4. Geologic map of the Yegua-Jackson trend

5. Relation between topography and geology along the Yegua-Jackson outcrop

6. Climatic data for Central and East Texas

7. Vegetation assemblages of southeast Texas

8. Major aquifer zones in southeast Texas

9. Schematic diagram showing the interchannel swamps from which Yegua lignite formed

10. Schematic diagram showing a marsh, from which Jackson lignite formed, overlying an abandoned deltaic lobe

11. Regional structural features in East Texas

12. Jordan Creek-Cummins Creek lignite surface mine area, proposed by the Lower Colorado River Authority

13. Sand outcrops and near-surface lignite resources in the Yegua-Jackson trend, southeast Texas

14. Sand outcrops and subsurface sand percent of the Yegua Formation, southeast Texas

15. Sand outcrops and subsurface maximum sand-body thickness of the Jackson Group in southeast Texas, excluding the Whitsett Formation

Tables

1. Characteristics of environmental geologic units, Yegua-Jackson trend, southeast Texas

2. Environmental geologic units and alphanumeric symbols used in the Yegua-Jackson trend, southeast Texas

3. Abandoned, active, and proposed lignite mines and lignite-fired power plants in the Yegua-Jackson trend, southeast Texas

4. Prime farmland soils in the Yegua-Jackson trend, southeast Texas

Maps (in envelope accompanying book version): Southeast Texas lignite belt environmental geology, Yegua-Jackson trend, map sheets 1 through 5


Citation
Jackson, M. L. W., and Garner, L. E., 1982, Environmental Geology of the Yegua-Jackson Lignite Belt, Southeast Texas: The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, Report of Investigations No. 129, 36 p.