Peace River Formation (Florida)

Location

The Peace River Formation appears as an outcropping or is beneath a thin overburden from Hillsborough County to Charlotte County on the southern part of the Ocala Platform. extending into the Okeechobee Basin. It is widespread in Florida and part of the intermediate confining aquifer system.

Lithology

The formation is composed of sands, clays and carbonates which are interbedded. The sands are light gray to olive gray and poorly consolidated. They are clay-like with some dolomite with a very fine to medium grained phosphate component. Carbonates are usually light gray to yellowish dolomite found in outcroppings. The dolomites are soft to hard with variably sandy, clay-like, phosphate components with opaline chert often found. The phosphate content is high enough to warrant mining.

Three sequences of sediment deposition were defined in 1998. Five lithofacies were identified in 2000 (upper part of the formation).

• Diatomaceous mudstone
• Terrigenous mudstone
• Clay-rich quartz sand
• Quartz sand
• Pelecypod-rich quartz sand or sandstone

Fossils

• Mollusks occur as reworked casts, molds, and limited original shell material.
• Vertebrate fossils
• Shark's teeth
• Silicified corals and wood

Members

The Bone Valley Member (originally the Bone Valley Formation) is a subunit of the Peace River Formation and occurs in a limited area on the southern part of the Ocala Platform in Hillsborough, Polk County, and Hardee County. (Webb & Crissinger). It is consistently clastic with sand-sized grains and larger grains of phosphate in a mixture of quartz sand, silt and clay. The consolidation is poor and colors range from white, light brown and yellowish gray to olive gray and blue green.