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ILLINOIS STATE QEOLOOICAL SURVEY
3 3051 00007 0403
GEOLOGY FOR PLANNING IN NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS
VI. GEOLOGY FOR PLANNING IN WILL COUNTY
Jean I . Larsen
OPEN FILE SERIES 1976-6
Illinois State Geological Survey
Urban a, Illinois
December 15, 1976
SURVEY LIBRARY
Prepared for the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
This study has been financed in part by a grant from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under provisions of
PL 92-500. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views and
policies of that agency.
CONTENTS
Vol. VI, Will County
I . INTRODUCTION
A . Acknowledgements
II. GEOLOGY
A. Glacial and Unconsolidated Surficial Deposits
B. Till
C. Glacial Sand and Gravel
D. Glacial Lake and Wind-Blown Sediments
E. Other Sediments
III. TERRAINS
IV. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE
V. DRAINAGE
VI. INTERPRETATIONS FOR PLANNING
A. Waste Disposal and Pollution Potential
1. Land Burial of Waste (including sanitary landfills)
^. Surface Spreading of Wastes
3. Waste Disposal by Septic Systems
4. The Application of Fertilizers and Soil Additives
5 Application of Herbicides and Insecticides
B. Land Utilization
1. Construction Conditions for Community Development
2. Construction Conditions for Roadways
VII. NATURAL RESOURCES
A. Ground-Water Resources
1. The Deep Aquifers
2. The Shallow Aquifers
a. Silurian Dolomite Aquifers
b. Sand and Gravel Aquifers
c. Surficial Aquifers
d. Basal Aquifers
B. Sand and Gravel Resources
C. Dolomite Resources
D. Coal Resources
VIII. GEOLOGIC HAZARDS
IX. UNIQUE GEOIXXJIC FEATURES IN WILL COUNTY
X. REFERENCES
FIGURES, TABLES AND PLATES
(Volume VI)
FIGURES
FIGURE 1: Moraines in Will County (after Willman and Frye, 1970)
FIGURE 2: Locations of operating quarries in 1974 and parts of
Will County unfavorable for quarry development.
FIGURE 3: Strippable Coal Reserves (Smith and Boudreax, 1967).
TABLE
TABLES
Physical and Mineralogical Properties of Geologic Units
Mapped in Will County.
PLATE 1
PLATE 2
PLATE 3
PLATE 4a
PLATE 4b
PLATE 4c
PLATE 4d
PLATE 4e
PLATE 5a
PLATE 5b
PLATES
Geologic Materials to a Depth of 20 feet (6.1 meters)
Principal Terrains.
Poorly Drained Soils.
Land Burial of Wastes (Including Sanitary Landfills).
Surface Spreading of Wastes.
Waste Disposal by Septic Systems.
Application of Fertilizers and Soil Additives.
Application of Herbicides and Insecticides.
Community Development.
Roadway Construction.
INTRODUCTION
Will County is the southernmost and second largest, after Cook, of
the six metropolitan Chicago counties. It has a land area of 845 square
miles (2,110 km^) and a population of approximately 250,000, mostly concen-
trated in the towns and cities along the Des Plaines River. Joliet is the
county seat besides being a large industrial city. The eastern part of the
county is still mainly agricultural and residential, but a number of suburban
towns in this area, located along the major highways and commuter railroads,
are continually growing.
The most striking geologic feature in Will Coianty and its most im-
portant economic asset is the Des Plaines River Valley (Willman, 1973) . This
valley has served Indians, early explorers, and modem man as the major trans-
portation route between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Since the
completion of the Illinois Waterway, which, in Will County, consists of the
Des Plaines River south of Lockport, and of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship
Canal north of there, the strategic role played by the Waterway in the industrial
and agricultural vitality of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, and to the entire
Midwest, cannot be over-emphasized. Barge traffic on the Waterway makes it
one of the busiest in the country and vast tonnages of grain, soy beans, coal,
oil, chemicals, and mineral products are carried on its waters every year.
In addition, several of the major rail lines in the country, on entering and
leaving Chicago, follow the easy grade of the valley on their routes to the
southern and western parts of the United States.
Industrial and residential growth will undoubtedly continue in
Will County and it is important for planners to be aware of the county's
natural assets and limitations. If limiting geologic and hydrogeologic
-2-
conditions are not considered in the planning process, some human activities di-
rectly affecting the physical environment could have deleterious effects on the
resources, industries, residential facilities, and health of the county's
citizens.
To furnish planners with some tmderstanding of the physical environ-
ment of the county, this study presents a basic geologic map of the surficial
materials present to a depth of 20 feet (6 meters). A number of interpretive
maps are also included to facilitate in the evaluation of all areas of the
county for specific land uses and resource development.
In preparing this report, the geologic materials were first mapped
in detail on 7^ minute U. S. Geological Survey Topographic Quadrangle sheets
at a scale of 1:24,000 and then reduced to a 1:62,500 scale county base (plate 1)
generated by the ILLIMAP system. Units less than 40 acres (16 hectares) in
extent were eliminated from the reduced map. Various types of data were utilized
for mapping surficial materials , such as field observations and laboratory study
of samples, logs and sample descriptions of water wells and engineering borings,
test data from engineering borings, previously published and unpublished reports,
and published soil maps. Also included in the report are a terrain map (plate 2),
a map of the poorly-drained soils (plate 3) , five interpretive maps detailing
conditions for various waste disposal practices (plates 4a - 4e) , two maps for
interpretations of land utilization (plates 5a and 5b) , and maps showing
dolomite (figure 2) and coal (figure 3). Criteria and methods for preparing both
the geologic materials maps and the interpretive maps were described in Volume 1.
Acknowledgements
Numerous individuals made significant contributions to the production
of this report and accompanying maps. Basic geology, surficial and subsurface
mapping and soils interpretations: J.I. Larsen with J. P. Kempton, con-
sultant; waste disposal maps: J.I. Larsen and S . A. Specht; terrain map:
-3-
J. P. Kempton; poorly drained soils: J. G. Esch; land utilization: W. G.
Dixon; dolomite resources: J. C. Bradbury. In addition, S. A. Specht aided
in the overall preparation of the report and maps .
GEOLOGY
The present-day drainage, topography, and distribution of surficial
materials in Will County result from the action of glacial ice and running
water. Unlike the other five Northeastern Illinois Counties, consolidated
bedrock is present at or within five feet (1.5 meters) of ground surface in
approximately 50 square miles (125 km^) in Will County. In the remainder
of the county, the layered, consolidated bedrock is covered by unconsolidated
surficial deposits up to 150 feet (45 meters) thick in several small areas
in the eastern part of the county, but generally averaging 50 to 100 feet
(15 to 30 meters) thick.
The bedrock exposed at the surface and underlying most of the drift
in the county is primarily Silurian-age dolomite. Thirty square miles (75 km2)
in the southwestern part of the county, however, are underlain by Pennsylvanian
shales, sandstones, and thin coal beds and there are several small outcrops of
these rocks in the lower Des Plaines Valley. In addition, shale and dolomite of
the Maquoketa Group (Ordovician in age) also form the uppermost bedrock in
several areas in the southwestern portion of the county, outcropping generally
along the Kankakee Valley.
The general stratigraphy and age relationships of both the glacial
deposits and bedrock are shown in Figures 1 and 2 in Volume 1. Detailed de-
scriptions of the bedrock geology can be found in Buschbach (1964) and Willman
(1973) and a summary of both the glacial and the bedrock geology can be found
in Willman (1971) . Some of the data available on the glacial deposits has been
presented by Lund (1966).
-4-
The major topographic features in Will County reflect the influence
of both glacial deposition and erosion. The valleys of the Des Plaines and
Kankakee Rivers are the most striking glacial features in the county. These
valleys were the main drainageways for exceptionally large volumes of glacial
meltwater. Large quantities of sand and gravel were also deposited along these
drainageways as valley trains, and, along the Kankakee River, large quantities
of this sand has since been blown into dunes.
Moraines, or hilly ridges, composed of till deposited directly by
glacial ice are the second most conspicuous topographic features in the county.
Most of the eastern portion of Will County is covered by the Valparaiso Moraine
(figure 1). The Minooka Moraine covers small areas along the western county
line. The Rockdale Moraine is present between the Duitige and Des Plaines
Valleys in the northwestern part of the county, and in the southwestern part,
remnants of this moraine are present east of the Kankakee and the Des Plaines Rivers.
Large areas east and west of the river valleys are flat, rather exten-
sive lake plains, underlain by till. This till is covered by sand in the south-
west, and, in a few other areas, by small, discontinuous deposits of silt.
Detailed descriptions of the formation of all of these features and a discussion
of the geologic history of the region are given by Willman (1971). Older publi-
cations (Fisher, 1925) and (Ekblaw and Athy, 1925) are also excellent sources of
information that detail the glacial history of the county.
Glacial and Unconsolidated Surficial Deposits
On plate 1, the consolidated and unconsolidated surficial geologic
materials are mapped to a depth of 20 feet (6 meters) . These materials exert
the major physical control on human activities within the county. In the legend
on plate 1, the materials are listed in stratigraphic order; that is, the oldest
is at the bottom and the youngest is at the top. For convenience, the materials
are also listed in alphabetical order on Table 1 , Volume I . In this report ,
T
37
N.
36
35
34 IS
33
32
TINLEY
R.9E. 10
Figure I - Moraines in Will County (after Willman and Frye, 1970).
-5-
the deposits are described in groups of similar materials: till, glacial
sand and gravel, glacial lake and wind-blown deposits, and recent deposits.
The available physical and mineralogical properties of the geologic units
in Will County are summarized in Table 1. The character of each individual
geologic unit and the geologic processes which formed it are discussed in
Volume I of this series .
Till
Till is the most abundant glacial material in Will County, lying
from the surface to a depth of 20 feet (6 meters) over approximately 75% of
it. Till is unsorted debris deposited directly by glacial ice and is com-
posed of pebbles, cobbles, and boulders embedded in a matrix of clay, silt,
and sand. Two surficial till units are present in the county — the York-
ville Member of the Wedron Formation and the Wadsworth Member of the Wedron
Formation.
The stratigraphic relationship of the Wadsworth and Yorkville Tills
is discernible from the surficial materials map. The Yorkville is the older
of the two and is present at the surface in the southwestern two-thirds of the
coxmty. The younger Wadsworth overlies the Yorkville in the northeastern third
of the county. The Maiden Till, an older member of the Wedron Formation, occurs
at the surface in Kane County about 10 miles northwest of the Will County line.
The Maiden Till does not occur as the surface till in Will County, but it has
significance here as there is evidence suggesting that the Maiden, and partic-
ularly its characteristic outwash, is present discontinuously at shallow depth
in scattered areas throughout Will County.
Wedron Formation
Wadsworth Till Member (ww) . The material at the surface in the northeastern
third of Will County is Wadsworth Till where it forms the conspicuous Valparaiso
Moraine. This moraine is a 10 mile-wide complex of low ridges and hills form-
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-6-
ing the most rugged topography in the county. Elevations of over 800 feet
(240 meters) above sea level are attained in several small areas just west of
Monee. From this crest, the moraine slopes gradually to the east and west.
The Wadsworth Till is a silty clay which is gray when unaltered and,
when oxidized, varies from yellow to light-brown. It usually contains a small
quantity of dolomite pebbles and black shale fragments. There are also nimerous ,
discontinuous silt and sand lenses of lacustrine origin (ww-1) within it.
Minor variations in the silt to clay ratio are common in the Wadsworth Till,
but these appear to have little stratigraphic significance and are characteristic
of this till whenever it occurs.
Yorkville Till Member (wy) . The Wadsworth Till appears to grade imperceptibly
into the Yorkville in a zone trending northwest-southeast through the center of
the county and there is no topographic indication of this boundary. Furthermore,
the two tills are so similar near the boundary that they cannot be easily
distinguished from each other by visual inspection. Therefore, the boundary
placement is somewhat arbitrary. However, laboratory analyses of samples of
the two tills collected at some distance from the boundary show only slight
differences in mineralogical and physical properties (table 1).
The Yorkville is a dark gray or brownish-gray silty clay till, like
the Wadsworth, only slightly more clayey, with the clay fraction increasing
towards the west. Yorkville Till is also more liable to contain silt lenses
rather than lenses of sand and gravel. Although the Yorkville does not form
a conspicuous moraine immediately west of its boundary with the Wadsworth, in
the western half of the county, the low knolls rising above the level of the
lake plain are remnants of the breached and eroded Rockdale Moraine composed
of Yorkville Till. Immediately west of the county, Yorkville Till also forms
the long, narrow, north-south trending Minooka Moraine. The southern terminus
of the Minooka Moraine swings southeastward into Will County to form the
-7-
Kankakee Bluffs north of the Des Plaines River, three miles south of Channahon.
Yorkville Till also underlies the entire lake plain, but the plain has been
scoured and flattened by wave erosion and displays no morainic topography.
Due to the overall similarities of the Yorkville to the Wadsworth, the Yorkville
Till has not been differentiated where it lies below the Wadsworth.
Glacial Sand and Gravel
Large quantities of sand and gravel occtir at the surface in Will
County, concentrated in the drainageways of the Des Plaines, the Du Page and
the Kankakee Rivers . The areas covered by these sands and gravels total more
than 100 square miles (250 km2) . The glacial events responsible for the accumu-
lation of these vast sand and gravel deposits were regional in scope and perhaps
the most spectacular in the glacial history of the entire Great Lakes area.
Origin of Deposits
The most phenomenal of these glacial events was the Kankakee Flood.
At one time in Great Lakes' history, the meltwaters from three major ice lobes
tilling several Great Lakes* basins were all simultaneously discharging through
the valley of the Kankakee River. The volume of water in this torrent was so
great that not all of it could be accommodated in the Kankakee Valley. Con-
sequently, the water spread over a very large area, including much of south-
western Will County, to form a large glacial lake (Ekblaw and Athy, 1925).
The swiftness of the current had such great erosive power that tremendous
quantities of previously deposited glacial materials were stripped away to
expose the underlying bedrock. Rock outcroppings which occur along the lower
Kankakee were uncovered at this time. This huge flood also deposited large
quantities of boulders, rubble, gravel, and sand, and some of the sand has
subsequently been blown into dunes. Away from the river, the till surfaces
that were flattened by wave erosion, plus the weak topographic expression
of the Rockdale Moraine, which was breached and partially inundated by torrent
-8-
waters, further attest to the tremendous force of this flood.
More or less contemporaneously with the Kankakee Flood, the Val-
paraiso Moraine was being constructed. Along the front of the Valparaiso
ice sheet (the contact between ww and wy on plate 1) meltwater issued forth
from numerous braided channels and flowed toward the southwest, mainly into
the Du Page and Des Plaines River Valleys. Much of the sand and gravel
presently at the surface in these valleys and in the valleys of Lilly Cache
Creek, Mink Creek, Rock Run, Long Run, Fraction Run, Spring Creek, and Hickory
Creek was deposited from this meltwater at this time. Particularly thick se-
quences of these sands and gravels accumulated in the Channahon and Plainfield
areas .
With the retreat of the Valparaiso ice sheet to the north and east
of Will County, meltwater from ancient Lake Chicago (the ancestral Lake Michigan)
cut an outlet across the Valparaiso Moraine to the Des Plaines River Valley,
as the lake*s drainage to the north and east was blocked by ice. Again,
tremendous torrents of glacial meltwater poured through Will County. The
erosive power of the flow removed mvtch of the sand and gravel that had previously
been deposited. At one time, the combined discharge from four Great Lakes'
basins was flowing through the Des Plaines Valley and so much erosion occurred
that the entire stretch of the river in Will County became trenched into the
Silurian dolomite bedrock, as it remains today.
The cutting and trenching power of the water flowing through the
Chicago Outlet also exhisned and exposed older sand and gravel deposits along
the lower valley walls of the Des Plaines River in northern Will County. These
old gravels lie under the Wadsworth and Yorkville Tills and extend beneath them,
away from the valley. These gravels were described by Bretz (1955), who called
them the Lemont Drift, and have been restudied and tentatively identified as
Maiden outwash (wm-o) by Bogner (1973). In the northwestern part of the county.
-9-
west of the Du Page River, a veiy coarse, bouldery gravel is encountered
at shallow depth beneath the Yorkville Till in several areas. This probably
is also Lemont Drift, or Maiden outwash. Other remnants of this outwash may
underlie some areas northwest of the Des Plaines River to the Maiden outcrop
area in Kane County.
Heniy Formation
The foregoing discussion of the sand and gravel in Will County ex-
plains its origin as glacially-derived surficial outwash and it has therefore
been assigned to and mapped as Henry Formation. Although three members of the
Henry Formation are recognized (each distinguished by its lithology and
mechanism of deposition) two of the members, the Batavia (hb) , and the Wasco,
(hw) form no significant deposits in Will County; therefore, neither of these
appears on the map (plate 1) .
Valley Train Deposits (Mackinaw Member, (hm))
As the major sands and gravels in Will County consist of outwash that
was deposited in the river valleys, they have been assigned to the Mackinaw
Member of the Henry Formation (hm) . In various locations, these valley train
deposits may be present in terraces on the sides of valleys and/or beneath the
valley floors. In the Des Plaines Valley, the terrace deposits may also occur
at more than one level, as the river experienced several intervals of cutting
and filling during its complex glacial history.
The valley train deposits are evenly bedded, generally uniform in
texture, and usually consist of pebbly sand or sandy gravel. Between Joliet
and Channahon, as the deposits were related to the high-energy Lake Chicago
Outlet, the gravel is exceptionally coarse. In the Plainfield area, the sand
and gravel averages about 25 feet (8 meters) thick; near Channahon, it is
almost 50 feet (17 meters) thick. In major portions of both of these areas,
the sand and gravel lies directly on bedrock.
-10-
Malden Outwash (wm-o)
As previously noted, some of the gravels outcropping on the lower
walls of the Des Plaines Valley probably are Maiden-associated outwash (wm-o) .
On the map, however, this outwash has not been distinguished from the Henry
Formation, Mackinaw Member (hm) , as time did not allow for the field examinations
necessary to distinguish between the two.
Glacial Lake and Windblown Deposits
The surficial materials of Will County that consist of sediments
deposited in glacial lakes are assigned to the Equality Formation. They in-
clude silts, clays, and sands that were deposited in low energy, relatively
deep, water environments (Carmi Member - ec) , and coarser-grained, high energy,
near-shore deposits, assigned to the Dolton Member (ed) .
In the western part of Will County, both east and west of the major
river valleys, there are extensive areas characterized by flat, level topography.
These level areas are part of an old lake plain produced by glacial Lake
Wauponsee. The only relief on this plain is provided by the low, subdued
knolls of the breached and truncated Minooka and Rockdale Moraines. Lake
Wauponsee came into existence at the peak of the Kankakee Flood when ponded
water spread over the entire area from the Valparaiso Morainic Front to the
Marseilles Moraine, a nvnnber of miles west of Will County.
As Lake Wauponsee was relatively short-lived, the accumulation of
lake sediments on its bottom was not excessive, so the sediments left were
fairly thin and discontinuous. The lake had more of a scouring and leveling
effect on the area rather than a depositional effect. Lake currents smoothed
off the relatively higher areas on the lake bottom and in some places filled
the lower areas with lacustrine sediments. The scattered Carmi deposits thus
occur in small, basin-like fills, not more than 6 feet (1.5 meters) thick, and
are surrounded by and underlain by areas of till. Topographic indications
-11-
of the presence or absence of these sediments on the lake plain are usually
difficult to discern.
Several small areas of fine-grained lacustrine sediments occur in
eastern Will County near Steger and south of Tinley Park. These deposits
accumulated in ice-front lakes between ice pulses of the glacier which deposited
the Valparaiso Moraine.
In southwestern Will County, both east and west of the Kankakee River,
there are extensive areas of sand. These sands were deposited by the Kankakee
Flood and are mapped as the Dolton Member (ed) of the Equality Formation as
they are considered to be near-shore lake deposits. West of the river to the
county line, the sand may be 25 to 40 feet (8 to 12 meters) thick and it forms
a level plain. Near the river, the sand has been blown into numerous dunes which
are mapped as Parkland sand (pi) .
Over parts of the cotinty, a thin veneer of Richland loess (ri) is
present, but as it is generally never more than two feet (0.7 meters) thick,
it has not been mapped for this study.
Other Sediments
In addition to glacial sediments, other recent surficial geologic
materials are present in Will County. Alluvial deposits, mapped collectively
as Cahokia Alluviimi (c) may contain some organic material, silt, clay, sand,
and sometimes gravel. Alluvial deposits are found scattered along the valleys
of the Des Plaines , the Kankakee and the Du Page Rivers , and are present
in almost all of the small valleys draining the Valparaiso Moraine and flowing
toward the southwest. Other recent fine-textured, sediments found in shallow,
poorly-drained, depressions are called accretion-gley (ag) . Fine-textured
materials occurring along stream valleys where they accumulate as a result of
slope wash and downslope gravity movement are called Peyton Colluvium (py) .
A considerable quantity of Peyton Colluvium has been mapped in northwestern Will
-12-
Coimty. It acctmulated in ntnnerous, small, shallow drainageways that flowed
thro\;^h the area during low levels of Lake Wauponsee.
Deposits of Grayslake Peat (gl) are not very abundant in Will County
when cc«npared with other areas of Northeastern Illinois. Small deposits of
peat are found scattered in depressions on the surface of the Valparaiso
Moraine; the three or four largest being in the eastern part of the county.
Spoil piles resulting from coal strip mining in southwestern Will County are
mapped with the designation sm and old quarries and gravel pits along the
rivers are also designated with this symbol.
TERRAINS
A series of morainic ridges, level plains, and extensive river
valleys comprise the landscape of Will County. The complex ridges of the
Valparaiso Moraine, underlain by 100 to 150 feet (30 to 45 meters) of
glacial till trend northwest-southeast across the eastern third of the
county and within this region lie the areas of highest elevation.
Through the central third of the coiuity, also trending generally
northwest-southeast, there is an extensive plain sloping gently to the
southwest. The level character of this plain is interrupted only by low
knolls of remnant moraines and sand dunes. Large portions of the plain
surface have been flattened by the waves and currents of glacial lakes and
floods. For the most part, this plain is underlain by 25 to 50 feet (8 to
15 meters) of till which is overlain in a few scattered areas by lacustrine
silts and clays, or sand.
Three major rivers flow through western Will County -—the Des Plaines,
the Kankakee, and the Du Page. In some areas, the valleys are narrowly
trenched into bedrock. In others, the valleys are wide and contain sand and
gravel deposits up to 50 feet (15 meters) thick.
-13-
For this study, the landscape in Will Cotmty has been subdivided
into three basic terrains: uplands, plains, and lowlands, listed as A, B,
and C respectively, on plate 2. These terrains were identified on the basis
of relative elevation, slope characteristics, and sequence and character of
underlying material.
The areas mapped as uplands (A) on plate 2 are on the highest por-
tions of the Valparaiso Moraine as it crosses Will County. Elevations are
generally 750 feet (225 meters) above sea level and reach over 800 feet
(240 meters) in several small areas southeast of Frankfort.
The plains area, B on plate 2, comprises about one-third to one-
half of the coxinty, trending through its center from northwest to southeast.
The elevation of the plains ranges from approximately 600 to 750 feet (180
to 225 meters) .
The principal river valleys form the lowland areas (C) . The
Du Page and Des Plaines Rivers flow southwest and the Kankakee River flows
northwest. In their lower stretches the rivers flow across the Morris Basin
where elevations range from only 500 to 600 feet (150 to 180 meters) above
sea levels
Numerous long, parallel tributaries of both the Des Plaines and the
Kankakee Rivers flow toward the southwest down the slope of the Valparaiso
Moraine and these drain about two-thirds of the county. In contrast, there
are only short and relatively few tributary streams to the Du Page River
in the northwestern part of the county.
NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE
In Will County, the predominant geologic materials at the surface
are silty clay Wadsworth and Yorkville tills. In these tills, the water
table, or top of the zone of saturation, is normally high and the predominant
-14-
terrain mapped on the tills is plains. On the basis of these considerations,
it could be concluded that there is only limited natural recharge of rainfall
to the ground-water system in these areas. However, based on the hydrogeologic
principles and potentials of the regional ground-water flow systems described
in Volume 1 of this series, all of the area included as upland and portions of
the area mapped as plains in Will County (plate 2) may be contributing signif-
icantly to the natural recharge of the shallow aquifer system.
The preliminary evaluation of the six county Metropolitan Region
suggests that the areas mapped as upland terrains in Kane and McHenry Counties,
particularly those underlain by sand and gravel at shallow depths, may con-
tribute most to regional natural recharge. It is likely that many of the areas
mapped as uplands and plains on the terrain map (plate 2) in Will County may
be considered as potentially contributing local recharge to the shallow aquifer.
Therefore, much of the areas mapped as plains and upland between the Des Plaines
River lowland and Lake Michigan, in effect, may act as a local recharge area
to the shallow aquifer east of the river.
The lowlands (terrains C) , particularly those associated with the
Des Plaines, the Du Page, and the Kankakee Rivers, are underlain by sand,
gravel, and bedrock. These areas may be suitable for artificial recharge
locally in places where there has been extensive ground-water development.
The significance of each terrain in Will County with respect to both
natural and artificial recharge cannot be finalized until all terrains in North-
eastern Illinois have been evaluated.
DRAINAGE
The soil drainage conditions of an area are a major consideration
in interpreting geologic materials for planning purposes. There are many
factors influencing soil drainage in Will County, such as: depth to and
-15-
fluctuations of the top of the zone of saturation (water table) , permeability
of the underlying material, local and regional slope characteristics, position
with respect to local and regional ground-water flow systems and streams.
Plate 3 shows areas of poorly-drained soils in Will County which were inter-
preted frc»n existing soils maps (Wascher et. al., 1962). Areas prone to
flooding were taken from Flood Hazard Maps (U. S. Geological Survey Hydrologic
Atlas Series). Poorly-drained areas have developed in Will County in distinct
areas with specific mappable characteristics. Poorly-drained soil conditions
are common all over the county where the material underlying the surface is
silty clay till or lacustrine sediments. Those areas shown as well-drained
are the sand and gravel areas in and adjacent to the river valleys and sloping
surfaces of finer textured material.
INTERPRETATIONS FOR PLANNING
Waste Disposal and Pollution Potential
Five waste disposal and/or pollution potential maps are presented
for Will County. These maps evaluate conditions relative to:
(1) land burial of wastes (plate 4a)
(2) surface spreading of wastes (plate 4b)
(3) waste disposal by septic systems (plate 4c)
(4) application of fertilizers and soil additives (plate 4d)
(5) application of herbicides and insecticides (plate 4e)
These maps only indicate the probability of finding suitable or
unsuitable waste disposal sites within Will County and they should not be used
as substitutes for individual site evaluation. A detailed discussion of the
factors involved in the limitations in this mapping has been presented in
VoltJrae 1.
-16-
Land Btirlal of Waste (including sanitary landfills)
This map (plate 4a) differentiates areas for the suitability of
burial of all types of waste products in the ground. The state of the waste
has not been distinguished; that is, whether it is solid, semi-solid, or liquid.
Considerations for the burial of both domestic refuse and industrial chemical
wastes have been included in this map. Some of these wastes may be toxic.
On plate 4a, areas A through E are listed in ascending order (least to greatest)
of their capacity to provide protection from pollution for both ground and surface
waters. Assuned conditions are: (1) burial in a trench 20 feet deep: (2)
contact with ground water.
Along the river valleys in Will County there are large areas where
the Silurian dolomite aquifer lies within 25 to 50 feet (8 to 15 meters) of
land surface and these areas, labelled on the map as A and C respectively, have
the most severe limitations for the burial of wastes as ground-water pollution
is most likely to occur here from such practices. This is particularly true
in natural recharge areas on areas of pumpage of the shallow aquifers. Further-
more, the dolomite may be exposed directly at the surface or it may be overlain
by satxirated sand and gravel of high hydraulic conductivity which is then in
hydrologic connection with the dolomite. In the construction of this map, as
shallow bedrock (the A areas) is considered the more critical condition, the
shallow sand and gravel (B areas) are not mapped separately even though the
materials from ground surface to the bedrock surface often consist entirely
of sand and gravel and therefore would fall into the B category. The A and
C areas are located along the Des Plaines, the Du Page, and the Kankakee River
valleys.
In the D area in the southwestern part of the county, 25 to 50
feet (8 to 15 meters) of surficial sand and gravel lies at the surface. As
these sands overlie fairly impermeable shales and sandstones of the Pennsylvanian
Series, which are not considered aquifers, burial of wastes in this area will
-17-
not pollute a bedrock aquifer, but may pollute the surficial drift aquifer.
The remaining areas, labelled E, present the optimim waste disposal
conditions in the county. In these areas, fine-grained impermeable materials
(the Wadsworth and Yorkville Tills) are generally greater than 50 feet (15
meters) thick. These till areas have varying drainage characteristics, depending
upon their position in the landscape, svurrounding topography, and variations
in local materials. Their principal limitations as waste disposal sites are
their poor surface drain^e characteristics which may cause pollutants to return
to or remain on the surface. This condition, however, correspondingly decreases
the potential for pollution of ground-water. Poorly-drained areas are mapped
A', C , D' and E' , respectively, and were generalized from the detailed soil
maps .
In some cases, areas mapped as generally unsuitable for waste disposal
sites can be engineered to conform to State licensing requirements, as the
proper engineering techniques can confine and collect leachate generated at
a landfill.
Stirface Spreading of Wastes
Plate 6 designates areas where there may be pollution problems
resulting from the spreading of waste in Will County on land surface. It is
to be used primarily when considering the spreading of industrial and sewage
wastes by any method. The factors considered in the mapping include the depth
to sand and gravel aquifers, the terrain, the drainage characteristics, the
soil characteristics, and particularly, the hydraulic conductivity.
Areas having the most severe limitations for surface spreading of
wastes are those where bedrock is exposed at ground surface (area A) or where
it occurs within 20 feet (6 meters) of the surface, (Area B) . These areas
occur mainly along the valleys of the Des Plaines, the Kankakee, and the Du Page
Rivers. The potential for ground-water pollution in these areas is very high.
-18-
The C areas shown are poorly-drained lowlands or plains underlain by relatively
impermeable surficial materials. Areas mapped as C include the large portion
of Will County which is underlain by Wadsworth or Yorkville Till. These tills
are clayey and have a low-hydraulic conductivity and are frequently characterized
by poor surface drainage. Locally, slopes may exceed seven percent in the
morainic areas in the eastern part of the county. Since waste materials will
either infiltrate very slowly in areas of low relief or will tend to run off
of steep slopes, acceptability into the ground is the major problem in spread-
ing wastes in the C areas.
There are no areas mapped as E as no areas in Will County are with-
out limitations when considering the spreading of wastes on the surface.
Waste Disposal by Septic Systems
Areas of potential pollution by septic systems in Will County are
shown on plate 4c. The mapping criteria and procedures have been discussed
in detail in Volume I of this report.
Surficial materials with high infiltration rates, primarily sands
and gravels deposited in valley trains, occur mainly in the western portion of
Will County along the Kankakee, Des Plaines and Du Page Rivers. These areas
have been included in Area A and should be avoided due to the high potential
for local ground-water pollution. A large portion of the southwestern corner
of Will County has also been included in this category. The surficial deposits
consist mainly of sands with some silts and clay deposited along shorelines
during flooding of the Kankakee drainageway during late glacial advances.
Although these deposits do not comprise a continuous aquifer system, the
variability and coarse texture of some of the materials place a need for some
precautions for waste disposal and have, therefore, been included in Area A.
Areas with bedrock and sand and gravel aquifers within 20 feet
(6 meters) of the land surface. Area B, have high potentials for grovind-water
pollution. These areas occur mainly along the major drainageways of western
-19-
Will County where channels have cut through the glacial deposits exposing the
underlying sands and gravels, and bedrock formations. Pennsylvanian shales
do occur in some areas of southwestern Will County. Where present, they form
a confining bed for the underlying bedrock aquifers. Local site investigation
is necessary to delineate the occiurrence of the shales.
The majority of Will County is underlain by thick, fine-grained clay
and silty-clay tills. These tills impose acceptance problems for septic systans
due to their low hydraulic conductivity. These areas are classified as Area D.
Areas of exceptional pollution hazards in these tills (Area C) are
formed where poor soil drainage and discharge areas are created and where
moraines form steep slopes.
There are no areas without limitation for septic systems in Will County
The Application of Fertilizers and Soil Additives
Plate 4d indicates conditions for applying fertilizers and soil
additives in Will County. The most severe limitations exist in areas with
surficial sands and gravels (Area A), sand and gravel within 20 feet (6 meters)
(Area D) , and shallow bedrock aquifers (Area B) . Areas with such conditions will
allow fertilizers and soil additives easy access to the local ground-water
system. The A and B Areas are the most critical and occur along the major
drainageways in Will County.
Areas mapped as C are those where rimoff problems or ponding may
occur on surficial materials of low-hydraulic conductivity. In Will County,
these include large areas of Wadsworth and Yorkville Till, where these poorly-
drained materials form moraines and underlie lowlands and former lake plains.
Application of Herbicides and Insecticides
Conditions for application of herbicides and insecticides in Will
County are mapped on plate 4e. The limitations for such applications are
very similar to those for fertilizers and soil additives as both are applied
-20-
at or near grotind surface and are subjected to the same natural processes of
precipitation, infiltration, and rimoff.
Areas with sand and gravel deposits at the surface or within 20
feet (6 meters) of it are mapped as Area A. These occur along the major river
valleys .
Remaining areas in Will County which include moraines, lowlands, and
plains underlain by materials of low hydraulic conductivity are in Area B.
These materials include the Wadsworth and Yorkville Tills, the lake deposits,
alluvial deposits, and the poorly-drained materials in small depressions. Areas
mapped as B occur in the major portions of the county.
Land Utilization
Material properties, such as texture and bearing capacities, terrain
characteristics, such as drainage and depth to the zone of saturation, affect
the suitability of land for varying purposes. Two maps were prepared (plates
5a and 5b) to evaluate both terrain and material characteristics for two
specific land uses — community development and roadway construction. These
maps should be used in conjunction with the USGS Flood Hazard Maps and the
poorly-drained soils map (plate 3) ,
Rigid classifications such as good, fair, or poor were avoided in
the preparation of these maps. Rather, their use should be as one source of
technical information in making planning decisions in conjimction with other
types of non-geological data. It is assvmied that specific constrxiction projects
will include an adequate subsurface investigation program.
Construction Conditions for Community Development
Plate 5a indicates construction conditions for commvmity residential
development. The major problems in Will County associated with such land use
include the presence of bedrock at shallow depths, poor surface drainage con-
ditions, and flooding along the major drainageways .
-21-
In general, the constraints for commuriity development listed on
plate 5a decrease in alphabetical order. However, areas labelled as C or
D that are located along the drainageways may be subject to infrequent
flooding and thus may have rather severe constraints. There are large
areas imderlain by shallow bedrock in Will County. These are located along
the Kankakee and the Des Plaines River valleys. Although areas of shallow
bedrock exhibit very high bearing strength, the bedrock is extremely difficult
to excavate and therefore may limit the construction of septic systems.
Problems of poor drainage and the potential for flooding are not
limited to the valley areas in the western part of the county. In the topo-
graphically higher morainic areas, (the eastern part of the county) these
problems also exist locally due to poorly-developed drainageways and the
presence of surface depressions on predominantly fine-grained materials.
With the exception of the peat areas, bearing strengths of surficial materials
on the moraines are generally adequate for residential construction and can
be easily excavated for foundations and utility trenches. In the undeveloped
areas of the county, acceptance problems with septic systems are likely to be
encountered in both the higher areas, because of low permeability surface
materials, and in low areas, due to the shallow depth of the top of the zone
of saturation.
Constimction Conditions for Roadways
Plate 5b indicates construction conditions for roadways. A major
responsibility of highway planners is to be aware of areas where there is
poor drainage, low-bearing capacity materials, and/or the potential of
seasonal flooding. They must also determine the quantity of material to be
blasted or excavated, to be replaced in cuts and fills, and, finally, must
locate sources of borrow that are close to the proposed construction. In
general, the constraints for roadway construction listed on plate 5b decrease
in alphatetical order. Roadway construction in areas mapped as A may require:
-22-
(1) special treatment to provide proper support where the
surficial material has no strength,
(2) construction of embankments to grades above expected
flood levels,
(3) construction of structures over waterways,
(4) blasting for rock cuts.
In the remaining areas cuts and fills may be needed, but the material from
cuts should be suitable for common backfill.
NATURAL RESOURCES
Ground-Water Resources
Will County obtains all of its water supply from ground-water
sources. This resource is primarily developed from two aquifer systems —
the shallow system and the deep system. The shallow aquifers consist of
dolomite rocks of Silurian Age, dolomite beds in the Maquoketa Group, and
sand and gravel in the glacial drift. The deep aquifers, referred to as the
deep standstone aquifers, are composed of sandstone and dolomite formations
of Cambrian and Ordovician Ages. The principal water-yielding unit in the
deep sandstone aquifer is the Ironton-Galesville. A general description
of these units can be found in Voltmie I of this series.
The Deep Aquifers
Almost all of the major industrial plants and municipalities along
the Des Plaines River obtain their water supply from the deep sandstone
aquifers. Although these aquifers have been extremely dependable sources of
water for many years, water levels in the deep sandstones decline continually
every year, so that this source of supply may become less dependable and more
costly in the future. Detailed information on these bedrock aquifers in Will
County can be found In Suter et. al., (1960) and Hughes et. al.. (1966).
SURVEY Li^R'^^'^ I
-23-
The Shallow Aquifers
Silurian Dolomite Aquifer — All of the public and private wells
in the eastern part of Will County use the Silurian Dolomite for water supply.
On the average, the dolomite is encountered at approximately 100 feet (30
meters) below ground surface and, as the upper 50 feet (15 meters) of the
dolomite is the principal water-yielding zone, most dolomite wells average
between 100 and 150 feet (30 to 45 meters) deep. The dolomite aquifer is
recharged by local precipitation and in Will County is capable of yielding
moderate to large supplies of water. As large portions of eastern Will
County are not as yet heavily urbanized, the dolomite here could sustain
much increased development without seriovisly lowering water levels. In
fact, this part of Will County can be considered a ground-water surplus
area from which water could be piped to other areas in the county.
Sand and Gravel Aquifers — As most of the sand and gravel in Will
County occurs at the surface, and these deposits can be readily identified
on the siurficial materials map (plate 1) , drift aquifer maps have not been
prepared for this study. In addition, interbedded sand and gravel aquifers
within the body of the drift are of such limited extent within the county
that they cannot be utilized for water supply except very locally for individual
homes. Sand and gravel aquifers lying at the base of the drift occur in several
fairly well-defined areas which, therefore, can be easily identified and
discussed.
Surficial Aquifers — The extensive surficial sand and gravel
aquifers occur along the Du Page River Valley, in the Channahon area between
the Du Page and the Des Plaines Rivers, and in the Kankakee River Valley, north
of Wilmington (plate 1) . These deposits vary from 25 to 50 feet thick (8 to 15
meters) and, in large portions of them the sand and gravel is continuous to
the bedrock surface. At present most of the pumpage from these surficial aquifer
is for small, private, domestic wells.
-24-
Basal Aquifers — Trending northeast from the City of Joliet there
is a deep, narrow valley on the bedrock surface. This valley, known as the
Hadley, is filled with thick sands and gravels which are heavily pumped and
supply a number of wells with very large quantities of water.
In the other areas where basal aquifers occur, they are not confined
in bedrock valleys but are sheet-like in occurrence. As they are in hydro-
logic connection with the underlying Silurian dolomite, they contribute to the
productivity of the dolomite and the wells in these areas usually penetrate
into the rock. Such basal sand and gravel aquifers are present in Crete and
Monee Townships (T. 34 N. , R. 13 E. and T. 34 N., R. 14 E.) , New Lenox Town-
ship (T. 35 N., R. 11 E.), and the northern half of Homer Township (T. 36 N. ,
R. 12 E.).
Sand and Gravel Resources
In 1973, Will County ranked fourth in Illinois with a production of
3,313,000 tons of common sand and gravel, a quantity exceeded only by McHenry,
Kane, and LaSalle Counties (Malhotra, 1975, pg. 29). In Will County, the eco-
nomically valuable sand and gravel deposits occur in the valley trains of the
Du Page and Des Plaines Rivers (plate 1) . Their importance as a mineral re-
source depends on the thickness and extent of the deposit, its texture and
minerology, its accessibility, and the thickness of overburden that might be
present .
Five companies are presently operating the major pits in Will County.
The Avery Gravel Company has two near Plainfield and the Elmhurst -Chic ago Stone
Company also operates a pit in this vicinity. The Materials Service Corpo-
ration has a pit in Lockport and Meyer Aggragate has one in Joliet. Vulcan
Materials Company also operates a plant in the Joliet area. Sand and gravel
quite commonly directly overlies dolomite bedrock in Will County. Therefore,
-25-
once the gravel has been r^noved a company may often initiate quarrying oper-
ations at the gravel pit site.
According to Willman (1942) the feldspar content of the dune sands
in southwestern Will County is sufficiently high to justify ccnnmercial recovery.
As there is also a heavy concentration of dunes in several areas in the county
the development of a large-scale feldspar- producing plant could easily be
justified. This resource has not as yet been developed, however, and Hunter
(1965) suggested that the iron content of the feldspar sands may be the in-
hibiting factor.
Feldspar in the dune sands averages about 21 percent of the total
mineral content and the deposits range from 15 to 50 feet thick. The dune
sands are usually non-calcareous.
Willman pointed out two areas in Will County as potential sites for
Feldspar-producing plants:
(1) Section 18, T. 32 N., R. 10 E. (Symerton and Bonfield Quads)
(2) The area between the towns of Braidwood and Godley (Wilmington
and Essex Quads) .
Dolomite Resources
The bedrock of Will County, underlying the glacial drift, is almost
entirely dolomite of Silurian age, except in the southwestern corner of the
county where the Silurian strata have been removed by erosion to expose the
underlying Maquoketa Shale Group. Younger Pennsylvanian strata encroach
from the southwest and overlap the Maquoketa in the extreme southwest corner
of the county.
Most of the Silurian strata in Will County are of a quality suitable
for making most grades of construction aggregate, but certain impure zones,
containing excessive chert or silty or clayey beds, may be found throughout
the Silurian interval. As a general rule, quarries are able to handle the
-26-
lower-quality intervals by blending them with stone from tte better benches,
thus achieving a quarry product that meets the necessary specifications. How-
ever, a small quarry, excavating only a limited thickness of stone, may have
difficulty with the impure intervals because of an insufficient supply of
high-purity stone above or below the impure interval. Also, local increases
in the amount of impurities in any one interval or in the thickness of the
impure interval(s) may make any particular locations unfavorable for quarrying.
Crushed stone production in Will County is reported from nine
quarries, listed below and shown on the accompanying small-scale map. The
last four have not been visited by Survey personnel. These are at the sites
of present or former gravel pits, as in the quarry of Meyer Aggregate Co.
( 7 ) , and are presumed to have been developed in the floors of the pits
following the removal and marketing of the gravel. The numbers of the listed
quarries match the identifying numbers on the map.
^^"'P^"^ Near sec.-twnshp-range
1. Lincoln Stone Quarry joiiet nE 29-35N-10E
2. Material Service Romeoville m 10-36N-10E
3. Vulcan Materials joUet NE 21-35N-10E
4. Vulcan Materials Romeoville NE 26-37N-10E
7. Meyer Aggregate Channohon ne 10-34N-9E
8. Boughton Materials Plainfield nw 26-37N-9E
10. Elmhurst Chicago Stone Bolingbrook SW 3-37N-10E
11. El^urst Chicago Stone Plainfield sw 36-37N-9E
12. Material Service Plainfield SE 35-37N-9E
Areas that may be considered quarryable (less than 50 feet of over-
burden) are common in western Will County along the Des Plaines and Du Page
Rivers. Rock outcrops are numerous, and in the gravel-producing area along
the two river valleys, gravel probably directly overlies dolomite bedrock in
a number of places. Near the western limit of the Silurian strata in the
southwestern comer of the county, variable thicknesses of impure, shaly
dolomite (a few to 40 (12 meters) or more feet), that constitute the basal
part of the Silurian column, may make some areas unattractive for quarry
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development . In eastern and northeastern Will County, generally southeast
of the Des Plaines River and northeast of the CM. & St. P. R. R. tracks, the
glacial drift is excessively thick and appears to preclude any quarry develop-
ment in this part of the county.
Will County
Excessive drift
{>50 feet thick)
Silurian dolomite
eroded
Figure 2. Map of Will County showing locations of operating quarries in 1974
and parts of county unfavorable for quarry development .
Coal Resources
At present, no coal is being produced in Will County (Malhotra
and Smith, 1976). In the past, however, beginning in the late 1800' s, large
quantities of coal were mined here by both undergroimd and stripping methods,
The coal produced in the county was the Colchester (No. 2) which was every-
where less than 100 feet (30 meters) below groimd surface. As shown in
Figure 3, most of the available coal has by now been mined out. A small
reserve (21.6 million tons) of strippable coal still remains in the county
but it has not been mined because it is not favorably located for stripping.
R. 9E.
Will Co.
40'
Overburden thickness line
I ■ '■ .,,1 Mined-out area underground
Approximate boundary of mined-out area
V///A Mined out by stripping
Figure 3- Strippoble Coal Reserves
(Smith and Boudreaux, 1967)
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A detailed description of the strippable coal reserves in Will County can be
found in Smith (1968).
GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS
Regionally hazardous and destructive geologic events are extremely
vmcommon in Will County. However, as a result of natural processes, flooding
of the river valleys does occur periodically. In addition, the presence of
many poorly-drained areas throughout the county can cause vmwelcome property
damage. Flood hazard areas have been identified on the U.S.G.S. Hydrologic
Atlas sheets available for each of the topographic sheets in the county. Ad-
ditionally, for this study, poorly-drained areas have been identified on plate
3 and have been incorporated into the interpretations for community develop-
ment (plate 5a) and roadway constriiction (plate 5b) .
One hazard is present in Will County that is not encountered any-
where else in the metropolitan Chicago area. This is a man-made hazard
caused by the underground coal mining that took place here before 1920. Land
subsidence due to the collapse of roof -supporting timbers in the old mines
has been known to occur. One instance of the failure of a section of highway
pavement due to such collapse was reported to Survey personnel several years
ago. As maps of many of the abandoned underground mines are not available,
it is not possible to predict where such subsidence may occiu* in the mined-out
area .
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1.
2.
UNIQUE GEOLOGIC FEATURES IN WILL COUNTY
Des Plaines River Valley: a transmorainic river with a complicated
glacial history. At one time it carried all discharge from glacially-
ponded water in the Michigan, Superior, Huron, and Erie Basins. The
valley is trenched into bedrock throughout most of Will County.
Kankakee River Valley, T. 33 N., R. 9 E. The Kankakee Flood, or Torrent,
swept through this valley stripping large areas of their glacial over-
burden. Other areas adjacent to the valley were covered with rubble,
gravel, and sand bars. Much of the sand has subsequently been blown
into dunes.
3. Du Page River Valley, T. 36 and 37 N., R. 9 E. Contains extensive
sand and gravel deposits that originated as outwash from the meltwaters
of the Valparaiso Moraine and the Chicago Outlet.
4. Valparaiso Moraine: A wide complex of ridges and hills with the most
rugged topography in Will County. A few small areas are over 800
feet (240 meters) in elevation. (Three miles south of Frankfort,
sections 10 and 11, T. 34 N., R. 12 E. - elevation 805 feet; two
miles west of Monee, Sections 19 and 20, T. 34 N., R. 13 E. - elevation
800 to 830 feet) .
5. The Kankakee Bluffs, Sections 18, 19, 30 and 31, T. 34 N., R. 9 E.:
the southern terminus of the Minooka Moraine near Channahon and north
of the Des Plaines River.
6. Quarries, between Lemont and Joliet: Many abandoned quarries along
the Des Plaines River present the opportunity not only to see out-
croppings of the bedrock but to search for and collect fossils. The
reader is cautioned, however, that quarries can be dangerous. Further-
more, as they are privately owned, permission to enter them should be
sought from the property owner.
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7. Elevations, Section 31, T. 34 N. , R. 9 E. It is interesting to note
that where the Des Plaines River flows out of Will Coxinty, it's
normal pool level is only 505 feet (152 meters) above sea level. This
is 75 feet (22 meters) below the normal level of Lake Michigan, which
is only 40 miles to the northeast.
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REFERENCES
Bogner, J. E., 1973, Regional relations of the Lemont drift: M. S. thesis.
University of Illinois, Chicago Circle.
Bretz, J. H., 1955, Geology of the Chicago Region, Pt. 2, The Pleistocene:
Illinois Geol. Survey Bull. 65, 132 p.
Buschbach, T. C, 1964, Cambrian and Ordovician strata of northeastern
Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 218, 90 p.
Ekblaw, G. E. and L. F. Athy, 1925, Glacial Kankakee Torrent in northeastern
Illinois: Geol. Soc, America Bull., V. 36, No. 2, p 417-427.
Fisher, D. J., 1925, Geology and mineral resources of the Joliet Quadrangle:
Illinois Geol. Svu-vey Bull. 51, 160 p.
Hughes, G. M., P. Kraatz, and R. A. Landon, 1966, Bedrock aquifers of
northeastern Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 406, 15 p.
Hunter, R. E., 1965, Feldspar in Illinois Sands: A further study: Illinois
Geol. Survey Circ. 391, 19 p.
Lund, C. R., 1966, Data from controlled drilling program in Will and southern
Cook Counties, Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Environmental Geology
Note 10, 56 p.
Malhotra, R., 1975, Illinois Mineral Industry in 1973 and Review of Preliminary
Mineral Production data for 1974: Illinois Geol. Survey Illinois
Mineral Notes 62, 48 p.
Malhotra, R. and P. A. Smith, 1976, Directory of Illinois Mineral Producers,
1974: Illinois Geol. Survey Illinois Mineral Notes 64, 119 p.
Smith, W. H., 1968, Strlppable coal reserves of Illinois. Part 6 - LaSalle,
Livingston, Grundy, Kankakee, Will, Putnam and parts of Bureau and
Marshall Counties: Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 419, 29 p.
Smith, W. H., and J. E. Boudreaux, 1967, Plate lA Strippable coal reserves of
Illinois. Part 6 - Colchester (No. 2) and Herin (No. 6) Coals in
Smith, 1968, Strippable coal reserves of Illinois Pt. 6, Illinois
Geol. Survey Circ. 419, 29 p.
Suter, Max, R. E. Bergs trom, H. F. Smith, G. H. Emrich, W. C. Walton, and
T. E. Larson, 1959, Preliminary report on the ground-water resources
of the Chicago region, Illinois: Illinois Water Survey and Illinois
Geol. Survey Coop. Ground-water Rept. 1, 89 p.
Wascher, H. L., P. T. Veale, and R. T. Odell, 1962, Will County Soils: Univ.
Illinois Agr. Expt. Sta. Soil Rept. 80, 108 p.
Willman, H. B., 1942, Feldspar in Illinois Sands - a study of resources:
Illinois Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 79, 87 p.
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Willman, H. B., 1971, Summary of the geology of the Chicago area: Illinois Geol.
Survey Circ. 460, 77 p.
Willman, H. B., 1973, Rock Stratigraphy of the Silurian System in northeastern and
northwestern Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 479, 55 p.
Willman, H. B. and J . C. Frye, 1970, Pleistocene Stratigraphy of Illinois:
Illinois Geol. Sturvey Bull. 94, 204 p.