2019 Mississippi River

[angeleast]

Thanks to all contributing to this thread. Makes me wish I would have paid attention in geology class in college.. Very informative thread.

[Cajunfanatico]

Land building in south Louisiana has gone on for eons. Regularly during the course of drilling water wells we produce wood chips from over one hundred feet deep. I recently was involved in a water well near Ville Platte. We hit wood chips from 135 ft to about 150 feet with very little if any sand. We came to the conclusion that we drilled straight down through a tree. I have the e-log and chip samples on my desk at the office to prove it. (strangest e-log you will ever see.) It must have been some significant event that caused that tree to be buried. Probably a flood of cataclysimic proportions at the end of the last Ice Age because the elevation of the bottom of that tree was at minus 100 by present day datum (give or take). It was about two miles from the crest of the Coteau Ridge so it was probably a Red River flood.

Interesting story about the wood chips. Could another explanation be that you guys drilled through an ancient buried log pile? If you'll recall, in the early years, the Atchafalaya almost captured the Mississippi River when a huge log jam was dynamited somewhere near Three Rivers.

[HelmutVII]

Interesting story about the wood chips. Could another explanation be that you guys drilled through an ancient buried log pile? If you'll recall, in the early years, the Atchafalaya almost captured the Mississippi River when a huge log jam was dynamited somewhere near Three Rivers.

I doubt it as these wood chips are over 10,000 years old. Kind of strange that I have some of that stuff on my desk in my office I will take a photo of it tomorrow and post.

[Cajunfanatico]

I doubt it as these wood chips are over 10,000 years old. Kind of strange that I have some of that stuff on my desk in my office I will take a photo of it tomorrow and post.

No, you missed my point. Instead of drilling down the bore of a tree standing upright, could you not have drilled through an ancient log pile that was tightly stacked 15 or 20 feet high? Log jams obviously can occur naturally, especially during time of heavy flooding.

[HelmutVII]

I doubt it, as there are two other wells within 100 feet of this one that did not have the same issue. There was either overburden and then sand the entire depth of the well with very few if any wood chips with the other wells.

[SlickRick]

Land building in south Louisiana has gone on for eons. Regularly during the course of drilling water wells we produce wood chips from over one hundred feet deep. I recently was involved in a water well near Ville Platte. We hit wood chips from 135 ft to about 150 feet with very little if any sand. We came to the conclusion that we drilled straight down through a tree. I have the e-log and chip samples on my desk at the office to prove it. (strangest e-log you will ever see.) It must have been some significant event that caused that tree to be buried. Probably a flood of cataclysimic proportions at the end of the last Ice Age because the elevation of the bottom of that tree was at minus 100 by present day datum (give or take). It was about two miles from the crest of the Coteau Ridge so it was probably a Red River flood.

The Wilcox formation near pine prairie is approximately 10,000' deep. The same Wilcox about 150 miles offshore is over 30,000' deep below water line. Water depth over 5,000' deep. Can't remember more accurate depth details, just approximations.

[SlickRick]

Thankful to be in the current, interglacial period.

[RedTails]

This thread had me putting everyone at risk on I-49 looking for signs of the Coteau Ridge the previous weekend as I drove north.

[VObserver]

The Wilcox formation near pine prairie is approximately 10,000' deep. The same Wilcox about 150 miles offshore is over 30,000' deep below water line. Water depth over 5,000' deep. Can't remember more accurate depth details, just approximations.

The Wilcox is about 4000-5000 feet in the Natchez area, and 6000 feet or so across much of Mississippi south of Jackson and north of Hattiesburg. Also approximations from a rusty memory.

[Turbine]

Go to my post 35 in this thread where I try to the best of my ability to describe land formation in Lafayette parish. the link to the NRCS soil survey has tons of very interesting information. Go to post 106 where I try to describe the location of the Coteau Ridge.

The maps in the NRCS soil survey will show ancient Ox Bows and river scars if you know what to look for.

You posted while I was editing.

Amazing stuff.

Sae type of thing is real evident south of Abbeville along the Vermilion.