Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah cole 1989 field trip guidebooks wiley online library. In geology, the law of superposition suggests that rocks in the deepest layers are older than the rocks near the surface. 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. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphic framework of upper campanian strata neslen and mount garfield formations, bluecastle tongue of the castlegate sandstone, and mancos shale, eastern book cliffs, colorado and utah by mark a. There are currently no active mines within the book cliffs v cia.
These factors become the cardinal focus of this study on the nkporo shale deposit at orekpekpeimiegba area western part of anambra basin figs. Suu geology field trip to book cliffs near price, utah. Free web tutorials sequence stratigraphy, tutorials carbonate petrology. These rocks are important outcrop analogs for fluvial, deltaic and shorefacetoshelf reservoirs worldwide. Designed for undergraduate and graduate courses in sequence stratigraphy. Map of the study area showing the book cliffs and the location of the prairie canyon member outcrop belt south of the cliff line. Book cliffs geological feature, utah, united states. Sequence stratigraphy of the book cliffs of eastern utah. Geological evolution of the colorado plateau of eastern. 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. Leader arrives a few days early for pretrip safety reconnaissance of all field stops and roadstracks.
Book cliffs, geological feature of eastcentral utah and western colorado, u. 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. In particular, it concentrates on the current sequence stratigraphy model. Intermountain assoc, petroleum geologists guidebook 5th ann. Sedimentary sequenceparasequencesystems tracts highstand, lowstand, transgressive, shelf margin. Stratigraphy is the science of the layered character of rocks, be these sedimentary, volcanic, metamorphic, or igneous rocks. Seymour department of earth and atmospheric sciences, university of nebraskalincoln.
A sequence stratigraphic model for the group was developed by nwajide and reijers 1996, on the basis of stratigraphic analysis of a composite section located at leru, near okigwe. 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. 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. Introduction facies analysis is an important part of any stratigraphic study. 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. High resolution correlation of the upper cretaceous. This stratigraphic interval has been documented extensively in the book cliffs area in utah, and its sequence stratigraphy has been interpreted and used as a proxy to trace cretaceous sealevel variations van wagoner 1991. Winding for 250 miles across utah and colorado, it is the longest continuous escarpment in the world. The book cliffs of eastern utah and western colorado figs. Cretaceous shales book cliffs of utah kenilworth member of the blackhawk formation. Their stratal architectures are classically interpreted in terms of accommodation controls that were external to the sediment routing system allogenic, and that forced the. Stratigraphic cross section of measured sections and drill holes of the neslen formation and adjacent formations, book cliffs area, colorado and utah. Sequence stratigraphy in the book cliffs, utah goal.
It extends northwestward into the niger valley, northward to the jos massif and northeastward into lafia. Northern colorado plateau by keith rigby geologic history of utah by lehi hintze purchase information. Blackhawk formation the blackhawk formation overlies the mancos in the study area. Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the nkporo group. Section summary accessible from the selection map, the stratigraphic columns section will eventually be one of the most extensive parts of our database. The exceptional quality of the wasatch plateau outcrop has given rise to a plethora of stratigraphic studies and serves as a natural laboratory in. The anambra basin is situated west of the lower benue trough and is often considered youngest formation of the benue trough. Sedimentary sequenceparasequencesystems tracts highstand, lowstand, transgressive. Pdf lithofacies, palynofacies, and sequence stratigraphy of. The book cliffs v cumulative impact area cia is located in carbon county, utah, south of the town of sunnyside plate 1. Flint strat group, department of earth sciences, university of liverpool, brownlow street, liverpool l693bx, u. High resolution correlation of the upper cretaceous stratigraphy between the book cliffs and the western henry mountains syncline, utah, u. A preliminary evaluation of missing time in the mesaverde group, book cliffs, utah andrew d. A case study in coastal sequence stratigraphy, offered annually through w.
Stratigraphy is the study of rock layers and their relative ages. In this lab, you will put together your knowledge of nearshore facies and sequence stratigraphy to correlate sections and interpret facies changes in the cretaceous stratigraphy of the book cliffs. The division refers to the existing horse canyon mines mining and reclamation plan. Desert member to lower castlegate sandstone stratigraphic interval along the southeastern face of. A preliminary evaluation of missing time in the mesaverde group, book cliffs, utah, u. 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 book cliffs are one of the most recognizable landforms in western colorado and eastern utah. Comprehensive safety discussion kicks off the trip on day 1, followed by daily safety briefings at each field stop. The study area lies within the anambra basin and it is made up of enugu shale, mamu formation, ajali sandstone, and nsukka formation. No evidence for an unconformity at the base of the lower castlegate sandstone in the campanian book cliffs, utah colorado, united states. The lower slope exposes marine shales of the cretaceous mancos shale while interfingering. The colorado plateau is one of the earths most strikingly beautiful geological provinces and one of the most enigmatic.
Basinwide stratigraphic correlation across the anambra basin using base of the. This unique textbook describes how past changes in sealevel can be detected through an analysis of the sedimentary record. Shell petroleum development company nigeria 22 husky energy incorporated canada 6. Stratal architecture of these rocks is controlled by two regionally extensive surfaces of incision and subaerial exposure. Member mancos b and associated strata, book cliffs area, utah. The economic findings and part of the stratigraphic data resulting from the work. Sequence stratigraphy, paleogeography, and tectonic controls article in journal of sedimentary research 714. Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the nkporo. Lithofacies, palynofacies, and sequence stratigraphy of palaeogene strata in. 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. The drive would be lonely but for a constant companion. Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah. Pdf lithostratigraphy of the maastrictian nsukka formation in the.
Therefore rock layers can be thought of as pages in a history book that was written backwards with the most current events in the front and the most ancient. Implications for sequence stratigraphic models simon a. Top of the castlegate sandstone, sagers canyon, book cliffs, eastern utah. It explains this model from basics and shows how the model can be applied to both siliciclastic and carbonate successions. At some point, this section will contain hundreds of stratigraphic columns from all over the colorado plateau. Between price, utah and grand junction, colorado, highway 6 and interstate 70 cross 170 miles of barren and windswept terrain. Pattison continues to actively research the cretaceous strata in utah. The book cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western colorado and eastern utah, in the western united states. Gold occurrence in the cretaceous mancos shale utah. Roadside geology of utah by halka chronic field guide.
The marginalshallow marine nkporo group is the basal lithostratigraphic unit of the late campanianmaastrichtian successions of the anambra basin, nigeria fig. The book cliffs region is often cited as an analog for subsurface exploration, particularly in foreland basins, and sequence stratigraphy has become one of the leading methods for correlating and mapping depositional packages, leading to significant discoveries of petroleum in fields that had been abandoned, as well as new discoveries. It is 650700 feet thick and is subdivided into 5 units. Cretaceous and tertiary formations of the book cliffs carbon. 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. Sedimentology and depositional environments of the. Book cliffs, green river, utah international space station photograph iss018e10341 showing about 20 kilometers 12. The desert and castlegate sandstones, 2001 pages iiii, 181.
In the 1980s, exxon scientists used the cretaceous strata of the book cliffs to develop the science of sequence stratigraphy. Highresolution correlation of upper cretaceous stratigraphy between the book cliffs and the western henry mountain syncline, utah. 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. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphic framework of.
Stratigraphic cross section of measured sections and drill. Introductory presentation for a professional field course titled. The book cliffs are one of the worlds best places to study sequence stratigraphy. And with the exception of a few privately held parcels of land, almost 96% of the 2. The basin is bounded to the south by the niger delta basin hinge line. The shale and cretaceous sandstone cliffs, formed over time by the uncompahgre uplift, are a remnant of the mancos sea floor. The first major work in the bida basin with focus on stratigraphy and sedimentology is that of adeleye, 1973, adeleye, 1974. Millions of years of the planets evolution are recorded in layer after layer of distinctive geological strata, which are remarkably free from the folding and other distortions that scramble the record elsewhere. Sequence stratigraphy and marine to nonmarine facies architecture of foreland basin strata, book cliffs, utah, u. The book cliffs are an enormous area that spans two states.
845 1366 773 1060 1542 864 524 1451 578 66 1178 1132 522 889 680 213 380 1212 1181 958 1064 1352 773 809 1040 328 1493 533 423 841 558