A reservoir geologybased definition of the upper shoreface. Beginning near helper, utah, and joined at green river, utah, by a second escarpment, the roan cliffs, the 2,000foot 610metre tall mountain wall, winds a 250mile 400km course along the tavaputs and roan plateaus, ending near grand junction, colorado. Hampson 2010 can be extended into the star point sandstone and blackhawk formation of the wasatch plateau to provide a. Digging into the pocket of a nodule in the book cliffs area, working hard trying not to damage any crystals. Bookcliffs high frequency clastic parasequence sets after coe et al, 2003. A case study in coastal sequence stratigraphy, offered annually through w. Designed for undergraduate and graduate courses in sequence stratigraphy. This means that the processes responsible for known portions of a geological section can be. The rollins sandstone member contains a thick marineshoreface sandstone that is a cliffforming unit of the book cliffs east of grand junction, colorado. Stratigraphy in the book cliffs during late cretaceous time, a time of worldwide high sea level, the stable cratonic area of north america was inundated by marine waters.
The book cliffs form a sinuous southwardfacing escarpment that extends in a. Free web tutorials sequence stratigraphy, tutorials carbonate petrology, seismic interpretation sequence stratigraphy exercises lower cretaceous south africa, seismic interpretation sequence stratigraphy exercises bahamas miocene, seismic interpretation sequence stratigraphy exercises lower cretaceous alaska, clastic outcrop interpretation sequence stratigraphy exercises of bookcliffs. The book cliffs are one of the worlds best places to study sequence stratigraphy. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The campanian book cliffs strata of eastern utah and western colorado has been used to develop, test and refine sedimentological and stratigraphic ideas and models over the years, including the principles and concepts of sequence stratigraphy. The buck tongue of the mancos shale underlies the sego sandstone member, and the anchor mine tongue divides the lower and upper parts of the sego sandstone member upsection. Choose from 147 different sets of stratigraphy geology flashcards on quizlet. It is enriched in uranium, copper, silver, vanadium, mercury, arsenic and, to a certain. The book cliffs of eastern utah and western colorado figs. Together with his experience from spdc shell nigeria, simon effectively demonstrated both theoretical and applied aspects at all levels in a clear, concise and thoughtful manner.
Tectonic control of nested sequence architecture in the. Vertical facies trends define two sandy intervals separated by a marine shale, that are. During deposition it appears to have acted as a sink for various metals. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphic framework of upper. Book cliffs geological feature, utah, united states. It explains this model from basics and shows how the model can be applied to both siliciclastic and carbonate successions. In exercise 2, students work either with polarized microscopic photographs linked online to specific units in their measured section or directly. Cretaceous shales book cliffs of utah kenilworth member of the blackhawk formation.
This combined with the nearhorizontal structural configuration makes the book cliffs a worldclass field laboratory for studying clastic sedimentology and sequence. A good appreciation of the nature of reservoir and nonreservoir rocks in the subsurface is of fundamental importance to sound ep decision making. The cretaceous books cliffs of utah are best known as the mecca of sequence stratigraphers, but besides excellent exposures that allow tracing of sandstone bodies and sequence boundaries the succession also contains abundant shales and mudstones. Book cliffs, utah cretaceous prograding coastal barrier depositional system. From the same vantage, the 2nd frame looks up and sw into the heart of the uncompahgre plateau, where the thin, hard triassic. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs.
The video shows some of the field evidence for sealevel change and how the sequence stratigraphy model has been applied to this shallowmarine and fluvial succession. A more useful approach is to define a stratigraphic solution set that. Sequence stratigraphy, a branch of sedimentary stratigraphy, is a methodology that uses the order sedimentary strata accumulated within a framework of major depositional and erosional surfaces to interpret the depositional setting of clastic and carbonate. The book cliffs coal field is part of the southern rim of the uinta basin, which is an immense structural trough in western colorado and eastern utah, around whose margin the outcrop of coalbearing.
Cretaceous and tertiary formations of the book cliffs carbon. This video is a virtual field trip to one of the classic locations in the world book cliffs, utah, usa where the sequence stratigraphy method was developed and tested. Sequence stratigraphy is the subdivision of the stratigraphic record on the basis of bounding discontinuities. Simon provides expertise in the areas of sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and reservoir geologymodelling and has considerable knowledge of the book cliffs. Pdf on jan 1, 2007, brian j willis and others published stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs, central utah find, read and cite all. Suu geology field trip to book cliffs near price, utah. Rock art petroglyphs on several boulders at the base of the book cliffs is from the fremont era of 200 bc to 50 ad. The sedimentary successions of the book cliffs in eastcentral utah have been extensively studied with respect to sequence stratigraphy e. Stratal architecture of these rocks is controlled by two regionally extensive surfaces of incision and subaerial exposure. Stratigraphic cross section aa, based on measured section data for the eastern book cliffs of colorado. Stratigraphy and ijtiiology the study focused on the mancos shale. Stratigraphic nomenclature of the book cliffs changes with geographic. Flint, 1999, a sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic reinterpretation of the upper cretaceous prairie canyon member mancos b and associated strata, book cliffs area, utah, u.
The calvert cliffs are a relatively continuous series of natural, 2535 m80120 foot high outcrops along the western shore of the chesapeake bay in calvert county, maryland fig. The book cliffs are dissected by numerous side canyons and reentrants providing exceptional threedimensional outcrop control, both along depositionaldip and depositionalstrike. Highresolution correlation of upper cretaceous stratigraphy between the book cliffs and the western henry mountain syncline, utah. Generalized stratigraphic cross section bb consisting of measured sections, one interpreted geophysical log, and core from the western part of the study area. Named for its similar appearance to a stack of books lined up against a shelf, the book cliffs are one of the most wellknown locations for studying sequence stratigraphy. The book cliffs have preserved excellent strata of the foreland basin of the ancient western interior seaway that stretched north from the gulf of mexico to the yukon in the cretaceous time. A nodule where a pocket of barite and calcite crystals may have been found, in the book cliffs area. The sandstone units capping the cliffs are fractured with vertical joints that reminded some long forgotten person of a row of books. As we approached the east grand junction entrance to the colorado national monument, we left behind the book cliffs, here seen rising in the distance to the ne in the 1st frame. The parasequences are separated from each other using subdividing major surfaces that include ts transgressive surfaces, mfs maximum flooding surface, and sb sequence boundary. Their stratal architectures are classically interpreted in terms of accommodation controls that were external to the sediment routing system allogenic, and that forced the formation of flooding surfaces. Free web tutorials sequence stratigraphy, tutorials carbonate petrology. Marys formations shattuck, 1902, 1904have been the focus of paleontologic and stratigraphic analysis since the late. Thus, the existing stratigraphic framework of the shallowmarine blackhawk formation in the book cliffs balsley 1980.
Reevaluating the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy. At their western limit, the book cliffs pass into the northsouthtrending wasatch plateau, which is oriented oblique to regional depositional strike figs 2 and 3b. Oblique aerial photographs taken along the book cliffs from near hunter canyon to near the book cliffs mine measured section. In particular, it concentrates on the current sequence stratigraphy model. Chapter 2 also describes the internal stratigraphy of the rollins sandstone member and interprets the history of change in sea level during the deposition of this member. Alternative sequence stratigraphic model for the desert. Calculation of the rock fall runout distance for rocks falling from the top of the book cliffs was made along. They follow instructions to construct a measured section. Upper cretaceous strata, book cliffs, utah, usa journal of the. The recurrence of the same types of sequence stratigraphic surface through geologic time defines cycles of change in accommodation or sediment supply, which correspond to sequences in the rock record. The initial exercise is followed by the examination of the stacking patterns of the parasequences. Many times these concretions are quite fossiliferous while others contain beautiful crystals of barite andor calcite. The exercises below involve the analysis of parasequence from outcrops. The mancos formation and its stratigraphic equivalent to the east known as the pierre shale, often contain concretions.
Photo 31 is the easternmost image and 319 is the westernmost image. Miocene stratigraphy and paleoenvironments of the calvert. Stratigraphy is the science of the layered character of rocks, be these sedimentary, volcanic, metamorphic, or igneous rocks. Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah. Book cliffs, geological feature of eastcentral utah and western colorado, u. Sequence stratigraphy of the book cliffs of eastern utah. Information was gathered from a number of sources see info for more information. The invasive body of water is called the western interior seaway, or the great cretaceous seaway. Upper cretaceous strata exposed in the book cliffs of eastcentral utah. In the area of economic geology, the book cliffs contain important reserves of coal. Additional photos west of 319 are combined into a single photo mosaic 320, part of which is used in.
Book cliffs data sets are often used as outcrop analogues for similar subsurface settings worldwide. Sequence stratigraphy is important to study because this approach to stratigraphic correlation helps geologists solve realworld problems in the exploration for and production of resourceswhether the resources be water, coal, oil, or natural gas. The desert member of the blackhawk formation and the castlegate sandstone in the book cliffs of utah and colorado were analyzed to develop a model of sequence stratigraphy and facies architecture in foreland basins. Sequence stratigraphic interpretations are tightly constrained along 2d cliff. In the 1980s, exxon scientists used the cretaceous strata of the book cliffs to develop the science of sequence stratigraphy. Thompson canyon, blackhawk formation and castlegate sandstone. The miocene strata exposed in these cliffsthe canonical calvert, choptank, and st. The shale and cretaceous sandstone cliffs, formed over time by the uncompahgre uplift, are a remnant of the mancos sea floor.
The book cliffs form a large continuous escarpment 250 km that is aligned wnwese, oblique to regional depositional dip figs 2 and 3a. The sedimentary record of sealevel change angela l. This gives a minimum age of the rock falls as 650 years, but they could have fallen as long as 2,200 years or more ago. This unique textbook describes how past changes in sealevel can be detected through an analysis of the sedimentary record. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book. Fielding, christopher 1 1 earth and atmospheric sciences, university of nebraskalincoln, lincoln, ne this study presents highresolution correlations of the upper cretaceous stratigraphy between the book cliffs and the western henry.
Positioned on top of the sandstone, but usually situated back from the edge, are various early tertiary rock units, for example. Upper cretaceous strata exposed in the book cliffs of eastcentral utah are widely used as an archetype for the sequence stratigraphy of marginalmarine and shallowmarine deposits. The desert and castlegate sandstones, 2001 pages iiii, 181. Learn stratigraphy geology with free interactive flashcards. Introductory presentation for a professional field course titled. Gold occurrence in the cretaceous mancos shale eastern utah. This places the deposition of the sego sandstone in the book cliffs area sometime between, 77 ma and 75. Seismic stratigraphy has now become one of the standard tools of the geoscientist, and there is a pressing need for an introductory text on sequence stratigraphy. Utah stratigraphic columns overview page these stratigraphic columns are dynamically created on the fly from information stored in a database. This new book sets out to define and explain the concepts, principles and applications of this remarkably influential approach to the study of sedimentary strata. Cretaceous alaska, clastic outcrop interpretation sequence stratigraphy exercises of bookcliffs, exercises sequence stratigraphy interpetation.
1268 26 1287 477 168 1170 859 711 848 1103 1590 1395 1286 1534 889 1431 1357 961 106 952 368 1276 926 230 1005 1114 531 607 1372 966 343 1441 1075 1464 1291 894 1249 280 766 1034 968 241 1302 466 1168