Site: PGHBW 3-2:
Saltsburg Sandstone Outcrop on Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA
Latitude: 40° 28' 36"N
Longitude: 80° 01' 52"W
Quadrangle: Pittsburgh West 7 1/2'
Age: Pennsylvanian
Formation(s): Conemaugh Group, Glenshaw Formation, Saltsburg sandstone.
Purpose:
This site provides a close-up view of a large sandstone channel in the Conemaugh Group.Access and Parking:
Park near 3204 Brighton road. Outcrop is across street. Parking available for motor coach (find ahead of time, busy business district). Recommended for all age groups.
Mass Transit Directions:
(Make sure you get an up-to-date PAT Transit schedule:
From Oakland, take any bus to downtown Pittsburgh. Then take 16D and get off on McClure avenue near Woods Run Avenue. Walk to site. Return.
Driving Directions:
From the Cathedral of Learning, Drive 0.7 mi. west on Fifth Avenue. Make a Left on Craft Av. Go 0.1 mi., then make a right onto Blvd. of Allies, go 0.3 mi. then bear right onto entrance ramp to I-376. Go across Duquesne Bridge and follow exit to Rt. 65 (Ohio River Boulevard). Follow Rt. 65 to exit for Rt. 19N. Take exit and follow Rt. 19N for 0.6 miles. Make a left onto Brighton Road. Follow Brighton road for 0.6 miles. Park as directed above.
See map and figures.
What you will see:
The Saltsburg sandstone is a fully developed sandstone channel with good cross-bedding and a fining upward sequence. The erosional base is not exposed here.
Geologic History: Environment of Deposition:
The Saltsburg sandstone represents a brief regression as a distributary channel prograded out into the shallow Woods Run sea.
Distributary Environment (from Horne and others, 1978).
Click on the thumbnails below for pictures of the outcrops:
| A view of the outcrop from across Brighton Road. |
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| A closer view of the outcrop showing some of the internal structure of the sandstone. |
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Fossils:
No fossils here.
References:
Edmunds, W. E., Skema, V. W., Flint, N. K., 1999, Pennsylvanian, in Shultz, C. H., ed, The Geology of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Geological Survey Special Publication 1, p. 149-169.
Harper, J. A., 1990, Fossil Collecting in the Pittsburgh Area, Pittsburgh Geological Society Guidebook. 50 pages.
Horne, J. C., Ferm, J. C., Caruccio, F. T., and Baganz, B. P., 1978, Depositional models in coal exploration and mine planning in Appalachian region: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 62, p. 2379-2411.
Johnson, M. E., 1928, Geology and Mineral Resources of the Pittsburgh Quadrangle, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Geological Survey Bulletin A 27, 236 p.
Leighton, H. 1945, The Geology of Pittsburgh and its Environs: A Popular Account of the General Geological Features of the Region: Carnegie Institute Press, 2nd edition, Pittsburgh, PA , 80p.
Shaw, E. W., and Munn, M. J., 1911, Geologic Atlas of the United States: Burgettstown-Carnegie Folio, United States Geological Survey Folio 177 Field Edition, 123p.
Wagner, W. R., and others, 1970, Geology of the Pittsburgh Area: Pennsylvania Geological Survey General Geology Report G 59, 145p.
Click here for an image of the County Geologic Map (1880)