Monteagle Limestone Oolite Distribution in Northeastern Tennessee

Bill Kerrigan

The Monteagle Limestone of northeastern Tennessee consists of thin (30 ft) elongate oolitic grainstone bodies encased in and sealed by a thick (200 ft) lime mudstone. These oolite bodies are often vertically stacked indicating multiple shoaling-upward cycles during Monteagle deposition. A direct correlation between oolite occurrence and porosity development makes the Monteagle Limestone an important reservoir rock in Tennessee. Abundant geophysical well control, sample cuttings, and core provide an excellent opportunity to study the vertical and lateral distribution of the oolitic facies of the Monteagle Limestone.