Skip Links

USGS - science for a changing world

Scientific Investigations Map 3214

Thermal Maturity Map of Devonian Shale in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian Basins of North America

By Joseph A. East, Christopher S. Swezey, John E. Repetski, and Daniel O. Hayba

Thumbnail of report PDF (9.31 MB)

Summary

Much of the oil and gas in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian basins of eastern North America is thought to be derived from Devonian shale that is within these basins (for example, Milici and others, 2003; Swezey, 2002, 2008, 2009; Swezey and others, 2005, 2007). As the Devonian strata were buried by younger sediments, the Devonian shale was subjected to great temperature and pressure, and in some areas the shale crossed a thermal maturity threshold and began to generate oil. With increasing burial (increasing temperature and pressure), some of this oil-generating shale crossed another thermal maturity threshold and began to generate natural gas. Knowledge of the thermal maturity of the Devonian shale is therefore useful for predicting the occurrence and the spatial distribution of oil and gas within these three basins.

This publication presents a thermal maturity map of Devonian shale in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian basins. The map shows outlines of the three basins (dashed black lines) and an outline of Devonian shale (solid black lines). The basin outlines are compiled from Thomas and others (1989) and Swezey (2008, 2009). The outline of Devonian shale is a compilation from Freeman (1978), Thomas and others (1989), de Witt and others (1993), Dart (1995), Nicholson and others (2004), Dicken and others (2005a,b), and Stoeser and others (2005).

Posted December 4, 2012

For additional information contact:
Energy Resources Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
MS 956 National Center
Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.


Suggested citation:

East, J.A., Swezey, C.S., Repetski, J.E., and Hayba, D.O., 2012, Thermal maturity map of Devonian shale in the Illinois, Michigan, and Appalachian basins of North America: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3214, 1 sheet. (Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3214/.)




Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/sim/3214/index.html
Page Contact Information: GS Pubs Web Contact
Page Last Modified: Thursday, 01-Dec-2016 17:28:06 EST