The dissertation area lies on the western flank of the Ozark uplift between Lebanon and Camdenton, Missouri. In the northwestern corner of the study area a portion of the Decaturville cryptoexplosive structure is exposed. The dominant structure outside the disturbed zone is a northwest-trending asymmetrical anticline with a subsidiary normal fault dipping southwest on the steeper southwest limb.
The area is mapped in considerable detail in order to describe subtle structural features. To overcome a problem of poor exposures, new key beds are defined which greatly increase structural control. Significant structures recognized as a result are the Dry Auglaize anticline, the Dry Auglaize fault and the outer acruate anticline and syncline of the Decaturville structure.
Interesting aeromagnetic anomalies occur in the study area. Pre- cambrian topography inadequately explains the dominant magnetic anomaly. The origin of this anomaly is considered to be a plate roughly 2,300 feet thick with the susceptibility of diorite on the upthrown side of the Dry Auglaize fault zone.
The Decaturville structure is an astrobleme. It has no clear relationship to regional structure, exhibits a circular symmetry, and shows a unique style of brecciation and internal structures that are difficult to reconcile by normal tectonic means. Other corroborative evidence is the presence of shatter cones, crystal lattice degradation, and the absence of volcanic rock --Abstract, page iii
