Huckleberry Creek Spillway

The Huckleberry Creek Spillway, located in Central Arkansas in the Arkansas River Valley, is part of the Hartshorne Sandstone sequence of Pennsylvanian age. The spillway, which exposes both northern and southern cuts of a deep marine environment plagued by point-bars and interbedded shale/sandstone layers.  This sequence gives a clear view of the three-dimensional aspects of the geologic activity in the area.  Through the use of software created at The University of Texas at Dallas, as well as commercial software, 3-Dimensional photo-realistic models were created, and spatially analyzed using all digital techniques.

Objectives

The goal of this project is to produce an accurate representation of the geology in this part of the Arkansas River Valley.  This unique site is a spillway cut that creates a nice cross-sectional view of the geology, and allows for relatively easy access for digital mapping.  The end-goal is to recreate the environment of the area and simulate the type of deposition environment that would have existed to create the structures present today. 

Study Area

The site is located in Central Arkansas, just outside of Russellville Arkansas, and is often a well visited area by students involved in sedimentology and stratigraphy courses, as well as industry leaders.  The spillway cut is 300 meters in length, spans 70 meters between the two cuts (northern and southern), stands 30 meters in height, and exposes several point bar sequences of interest.  

Regional Setting

The spillway exposes rock of Pennsylvanian age, and contains several geologic markers indicating this was a deep marine environment.   The plethora of point bar sequences in between shale and sandstone deposits are of particular important to sedimentologists and students alike.  With the ease of access and clear 3-Dimesionality of the outcrop, the Huckleberry Creek Spillway proves to be an ideal candidate for a 3D reconstruction of the geologic environment.