Formation and origin of desolation gray canyon, utah. Cottonwood canyon showing the stratigraphic distribution of facies and gr response for those facies. Variations in wedge geometries provide an opportunity to evaluate controls on foreland basin stratigraphic architecture. Miall, mohamud arush abstract earlier stratigraphic. Highlights upper cretaceous fluvial strata exposed in the book cliffs, utah. The exceptional quality of the wasatch plateau outcrop has given rise to a plethora of stratigraphic studies and serves as a natural laboratory in. Stratigraphy of the upper cretaceous mancos shale upper.
The blackhawk formation is a sequence of cyclic sandstones, siltstones, shales, and coals. Book cliffs horse canyon area book cliffs green river area westwater. Continuous, wellexposed and easilyaccessible outcrops make it possible to analyze facies relationships of stratigraphic sequences in great detail, both in terms of lateral variation systems tracts and vertical stacking patterns. The book cliffs are a range of eroding, steepsloping cliffs, also called escarpments. Middlelate campanian strata of the book cliffs, utah, usa, archive three clastic wedges of the north american cordilleran foreland basin east of the sevier fold and thrust belt. 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. Reevaluating the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy. Cretaceous shales book cliffs of utah kenilworth member of the blackhawk formation. Jan 03, 20 the book cliffs are one of the most recognizable landforms in western colorado and eastern utah. Sedimentology, mineralogy, palynology, and depositional. Bookcliffs high frequency clastic parasequence sets after coe et al, 2003.
Access to scientific forums about tethyan stratigraphy and a list of relevant links are also provided. The framework for a sequence stratigraphic solution set, and its components, is presented for an archetypal succession of marginalmarine and shallowmarine deposits exposed in the book cliffs of eastcentral utah. Geology, stratigraphic concept brigham young university. Sequence stratigraphy of the book cliffs of eastern utah, the. Here in the deepest part of the canyon, the roan cliffs early tertiary deposits flank both sides and rise to over 9,000 feet above sea level. 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. Expression of sequence stratigraphy in outcrop, the book. The book cliffs of eastern utah and western colorado figs. The asphalt ridge sandstone of the vernal, utah area, is considered a blackhawk equivalent.
Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs, central utah article pdf available january 2007 with 5 reads how we measure reads. Extensive carbonate cementation of fluvial sandstones. In this digital exhibit, we will explore the stratigraphic column of the grand valley see. It is bordered on the north by the bookcliffs and on the south by the. Is used in book cliffs of co, piceance basin this report, and adjacent ut for buff to yellowbrown sandstones intercalated with soft gray shale, and bituminous coal present at several horizons. The exceptional quality of the wasatch plateau outcrop has given rise to a plethora of stratigraphic studies and serves as a.
Sections of the san rafael group at bitter spring in hall creek valley, sec. Stratigraphic cross section of measured sections and drill. The book cliffs appear mostly along the southern and. Leader arrives a few days early for pretrip safety reconnaissance of all field stops and roadstracks. Eastward in colorado the two lines of cliffs are poorly distinguished. Using sequence stratigraphic tools to find and develop prospects at both local and basinwide scales. Sequence stratigraphy, paleogeography, and tectonic controls. The shale and cretaceous sandstone cliffs, formed over time by the uncompahgre uplift, are a remnant of the mancos sea floor. 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. A typical stratigraphic column shows a sequence of sedimentary rocks, with the oldest rocks on the bottom and the youngest on top. Accessible from the selection map, the stratigraphic columns section will. 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. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book.
Book cliffs data sets are often used as outcrop analogues for similar subsurface settings worldwide. Stratigraphic architectural patterns across a range of spatial scales can be attributed to various internal autogenic processes and external allogenic accommodation. Stratigraphic rock columns for utah and adjacent areas. Cross section illustrating the sequence stratigraphy of the blackhawk formation, book cliffs, utah. Top of the castlegate sandstone, sagers canyon, book cliffs, eastern utah. Exercise 1 introduction to clastic parasequence identification in outcrop click on thumb nails to expand images.
Winding for 250 miles across utah and colorado, it is the longest continuous escarpment in the world. 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. For the 3 stratigraphic columns and facies descriptions provided. 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. Nichols abstract the upper cretaceous sequence from the buck. The sequence stratigraphy of the book cliffs of eastern utah. The parasequences are separated from each other using subdividing major surfaces that include ts transgressive surfaces, mfs maximum flooding surface, and sb sequence boundary. Comprehensive safety discussion kicks off the trip on day 1, followed by. Implications for the highresolution correlation of falling stage nonmarine, marginalmarine, and marine strata, in morgan, l. Geological survey denver, colorado 80225 introduction the stratigraphic nomenclature applied in various parts of western colorado, northwestern new mexico, and a small part of east central utah is summarized in the accompanying chart fig. See more ideas about grand junction colorado, utah and colorado plateau. Utah stratigraphic columns overview page these stratigraphic columns are dynamically created on the fly from information stored in a database. The little book cliffs of this landscape drawing are nothing more than the far eastern end of the book cliffs landform that stretches from the eastern edge of the grand valley near palisade to the san rafael swell 140 miles to the west in utah.
Book cliffs, geological feature of eastcentral utah and western colorado, u. This video looks at the way in which past sea level changes can be determined. The blackhawk tongues into the mancos shale in the eastern book cliffs, but it is present in the subsurface in most of the uinta basin. Stratigraphic column of study area, east central utah. The mancos formation and its stratigraphic equivalent to the east known as the pierre shale, often contain concretions.
Section summary accessible from the selection map, the stratigraphic columns section will eventually be one of the most extensive parts of our database. And with the exception of a few privately held parcels of land, almost 96% of the 2. 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. Desert member to lower castlegate sandstone stratigraphic interval, book cliffs. Upper cretaceous trace fossils, book cliffs of utah. Stratigraphic cross section aa, based on measured section data for the eastern book cliffs of colorado. Stratigraphic control on laterally persistent cementation. A good appreciation of the nature of reservoir and nonreservoir rocks in the subsurface is of fundamental importance to sound ep decision making. The objective of this exercise is to learn to identify a vertical set of parasequences within a measured section that was previously described by van wagoner et al, 1999. After a 4 year wait, the book cliffs area of northeastern utah had finally opened for mule deer. This page lists some of the literature click on pdfadobe icons to download pdf files of papers on the book cliffs sedimentary record and its sequence stratigraphic character in response to base level change. Cretaceous and tertiary formations of the book cliffs carbon.
Carbonate cementation potentially has significant impact upon reservoir quality. Information was gathered from a number of sources see info for more information. Frey department of geology university of georgia athens, georgia 30602 james d. Box 687 savannah, georgia 31416 abstract about 25 types of trace fossils occur in major marine facies of the star point and blackhawk formations in the book cliffs of utah. 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. Name has been applied at many localities in rocky mountain region to rocks not necessarily equivalent to mesaverde group of southwest co. The sequence stratigraphy of the book cliffs of eastern. Between price, utah and grand junction, colorado, highway 6 and interstate 70 cross 170 miles of barren and windswept terrain. Introduction facies analysis is an important part of any stratigraphic study. Tectonic controls on late cretaceous sediment provenance and stratigraphic architecture in the book cliffs, utah article in geological society of america bulletin 1112 may 2018 with 180 reads.
Stratigraphic control on laterally persistent cementation, book cliffs, utah. Dolomite cement bodies up to 250 m in size abundant in distal fluvial strata. The book cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western colorado and eastern utah, in the western united states. Mixed meteoricmarine coastal aquifer resulted from baselevel shifts. Sequence stratigraphy in the book cliffs, utah goal. Stratigraphic revision and depositional environments of the upper cretaceous toreva formation in the northern black mesa area, navajo and apache counties, arizona.
The drive would be lonely but for a constant companion. Preliminary regional sequence stratigraphic framework and characterization of potential fluvial reservoirs of the upper mesaverde group, uinta basin, utah 7 figure 5. Stratigraphic architectural patterns across a range of spatial scales can be attributed to various internal autogenic processes. Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah cole 1989 field trip guidebooks. The book cliffs are one of the worlds best places to study sequence stratigraphy. Stratigraphic column masystem series and stage map unit notes map symbol plate tectonic setting depositional environment dominant rock type and weathering profile thickness feet meters intrusive units and additional lumped units 40ar39ar ages q u a t e r n a r y h o l o c e n e a n d p l e i s t o c e n e 1. Continuous, wellexposed and easilyaccessible outcrops make it possible to analyze facies relationships of stratigraphic sequences in great detail, both in terms of lateral variation systems tracts and vertical stacking patterns parasequences. Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah cole 1989 field trip guidebooks wiley online library.
Sedimentology, mineralogy, palynology, and depositional history of some uppermost cretaceous and lowermost tertiary rocks along the utah book and roan cliffs east of the green river by karen j. Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah. Regional highresolution correlations of the campanian desert member of the blackhawk formation to the lower castlegate sandstone interval, book cliffs, utahcolorado, show no evidence for a single, throughgoing unconformity separating the amalgamated channel sandstones of the castlegate from the underlying blackhawk formation coastalplain deposits. The book cliffs, utah have become the premier locality globally for field teaching of sequence stratigraphy. Cross section illustrating the sequence stratigraphy of the. This trip allows participants to understand sequence stratigraphic methods as applied in both outcrop and subsurface focusing on alluvial to marine siliciclastic depositional systems.
Pdf the castlegate sandstone of the book cliffs, utah. Gold occurrence in the cretaceous mancos shale eastern utah. Stretching 200 miles from grand junction, colorado to central utah, the book cliffs are the worlds largest continuous escarpment. 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. 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. Sequence stratigraphy, paleogeography, and tectonic controls, authorandrew d. This program takes viewers on a virtual field trip to the book cliffs, in utah the place where sequence stratigraphy was developed and testedto study and interpret the sedimentary record there. The exercises below involve the analysis of parasequence from outcrops. Thus the lower surface of each of the parasequence s cycle is the base of the deeper lithofacies layer that overlies the top of a shallowing upward cycle. 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. Extensive research has been done on the type sections of the castlegate sandstone and sego sandstone members in the book cliffs area in utah and colorado, where they have been interpreted as alluvial deposits, stacked incisedvalley fills, and tidedominated deltas fouch et al. A stratigraphic column is a representation used in geology and its subfield of stratigraphy to describe the vertical location of rock units in a particular area. The first is the roan cliffs and the second, the book cliffs. Tectonic controls on late cretaceous sediment provenance.
Many times these concretions are quite fossiliferous while others contain beautiful crystals of barite andor calcite. Sequence stratigraphy of transitional systems book. Sequence stratigraphy of transitional systems book cliffs, utah this field course aims at teaching sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy at an introductory level and illustrate how this can and should be used as a powerful tool both in reservoir description and prediction at various scales. Continuous, wellexposed and easilyaccessible outcrops make it possible to analyze facies relationships of stratigraphic sequences in great detail, both in terms of lateral variation systems tracts and vertical stacking. A further goal is to contrast the shallowwater delta documented to a comparatively.
For about 200 miles this escarpment extends from where the colorado river descends south through debeque to price canyon near price, utah. Comprehensive safety discussion kicks off the trip on day 1, followed by daily safety briefings at each field stop. The stratigraphic sections measured or otherwise described and calculated during this survey are listed in the following tabulation. Highresolution correlation of upper cretaceous stratigraphy between the book cliffs and the western henry mountain syncline, utah. Left column shows the distribution of lithofacies in a. The initial exercise is followed by the examination of the stacking patterns of the parasequences.
These colorado cliffs look like books on a shelf outthere. No evidence for an unconformity at the base of the lower. Fielding, christopher 1 1 earth and atmospheric sciences, university of nebraskalincoln, lincoln, ne. Earlier stratigraphic work had predicted that at the type section of the castlegate formation, the castle gate, near price, utah, the unit consists of two sequences separated by a sequence boundary representing approximately one million years of unrecorded time. The book cliffs of utah have become the premier locality globally for field teaching of sequence stratigraphy.
Gold occurrence in the cretaceous mancos shale, eastern utah contract report 915 utah geological and mineral survey a division of by. 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. The types of information found in this site include basin reference sections, basin or platform control sections, biostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic data, as well as other data that support and refine correlations. Book cliffs geological feature, utah, united states. Stratigraphy of the upper cretaceous mancos shale upper part and mesaverde group in the southern part of the uinta and piceance basins, utah and colorado. Generalized stratigraphic cross section b b consisting of measured sections, one interpreted geophysical log, and core from the western part of the study area. Predators, new roads, overhunting and poor fawn crops had decimated the previously plentiful deer to the point that the area was closed to hunting 19962000.
The book cliffs of eastern utah are among the most spectacular outcrops of marginal marine strata anywhere in the world. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphic framework of upper. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs. Field data from the upper cretaceous blackhawk formation in the book clitfs utah colorado demonstrate the presence of laterally extensive carbonate cements beneath major marine flooding surfaces.
Stratigraphic relations of the austin, taylor, and equivalent formations in texas. The book cliffs are an enormous area that spans two states. They are so named because the cliffs of cretaceous sandstone that cap many of the southfacing buttes appear similar to a shelf of books. Petrographic observations indicate an early diagenetic origin. Formation and origin of desolation gray canyon, utah this view of the main part of desolation canyon shows the full, nearly 5,000ft. Stratigraphic cross section of measured sections and drill holes of the neslen formation and adjacent formations, book cliffs area, colorado and utah. One powerful method for studying sealevel change in the past is sequence stratigraphy. Geological columns with stratigraphic nomenclature hintze 1988. Stratigraphic correlation chart for western colorado and.
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