Reexamine the map on the left side of Figure 5.24. Rocks of this age in southern Michigan and northwestern Ohio provided large quantities of oil and natural gas in the early 1900s
However, no oil is found in rocks of this age in eastern Pennsylvania. Use the information in the map to propose a hypothesis for why oil and natural gas are found in rocks of this age in one location but not the other.
What will be an ideal response?
The rocks from southern Michigan and northwestern Ohio are limey shale while those from eastern Pennsylvania are sandstone. Limestone and shale (mudstone) tend to form in shallow marine environments in quiet waters. Oil and gas are formed from aquatic microscopic organisms, which mean a marine environment. This means that the oil and gas could have formed in the limey shales of southern Michigan and northwestern Ohio. Sandstone tends to form in more energetic environments, closer to land (e.g., along a beach), and probably would not incorporate aquatic microscopic sea life, so it would not produce oil and gas resources.
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