Book cliffs, which expose the same strata in an overall dip orientation fig. Generalized stratigraphic cross section bb consisting of measured sections, one interpreted geophysical log, and core from the western part of the study area. The initial exercise is followed by the examination of the stacking patterns of the parasequences. 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. Thompson canyon, blackhawk formation and castlegate sandstone. Sequence stratigraphic interpretations are tightly constrained along 2d cliff. Vertical facies trends define two sandy intervals separated by a marine shale, that are. 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. The miocene strata exposed in these cliffsthe canonical calvert, choptank, and st.
The exercises below involve the analysis of parasequence from outcrops. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The mancos formation and its stratigraphic equivalent to the east known as the pierre shale, often contain concretions. 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. From the same vantage, the 2nd frame looks up and sw into the heart of the uncompahgre plateau, where the thin, hard triassic. 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. A good appreciation of the nature of reservoir and nonreservoir rocks in the subsurface is of fundamental importance to sound ep decision making.
Marys formations shattuck, 1902, 1904have been the focus of paleontologic and stratigraphic analysis since the late. Digging into the pocket of a nodule in the book cliffs area, working hard trying not to damage any crystals. Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah. The book cliffs are dissected by numerous side canyons and reentrants providing exceptional threedimensional outcrop control, both along depositionaldip and depositionalstrike. Bookcliffs high frequency clastic parasequence sets after coe et al, 2003. 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. Stratigraphic nomenclature of the book cliffs changes with geographic. Photo 31 is the easternmost image and 319 is the westernmost image. Information was gathered from a number of sources see info for more information. 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. 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.
Upper cretaceous strata, book cliffs, utah, usa journal of the. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphic framework of upper. Thus, the existing stratigraphic framework of the shallowmarine blackhawk formation in the book cliffs balsley 1980. A more useful approach is to define a stratigraphic solution set that. 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. In the 1980s, exxon scientists used the cretaceous strata of the book cliffs to develop the science of sequence stratigraphy. 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. The shale and cretaceous sandstone cliffs, formed over time by the uncompahgre uplift, are a remnant of the mancos sea floor. This places the deposition of the sego sandstone in the book cliffs area sometime between, 77 ma and 75. Miocene stratigraphy and paleoenvironments of the calvert. 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. Calculation of the rock fall runout distance for rocks falling from the top of the book cliffs was made along. 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. Highresolution correlation of upper cretaceous stratigraphy between the book cliffs and the western henry mountain syncline, utah.
Stratigraphy is the science of the layered character of rocks, be these sedimentary, volcanic, metamorphic, or igneous rocks. Book cliffs, utah cretaceous prograding coastal barrier depositional system. Stratigraphy and ijtiiology the study focused on the mancos shale. 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. 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. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book. Free web tutorials sequence stratigraphy, tutorials carbonate petrology. Spieker and reeside 1925 named the emery sandstone for a series of prominent, beige and buff sandstones encased by gray siltstones of the blue gate shale at the foot of the wasatch plateau near the town of emery, utah fig.
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. 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. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs. The book cliffs form a large continuous escarpment 250 km that is aligned wnwese, oblique to regional depositional dip figs 2 and 3a. 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. The sedimentary record of sealevel change angela l. Book cliffs data sets are often used as outcrop analogues for similar subsurface settings worldwide. The invasive body of water is called the western interior seaway, or the great cretaceous seaway. Book cliffs geological feature, utah, united states. Additional photos west of 319 are combined into a single photo mosaic 320, part of which is used in. 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. In exercise 2, students work either with polarized microscopic photographs linked online to specific units in their measured section or directly.
Stratal architecture of these rocks is controlled by two regionally extensive surfaces of incision and subaerial exposure. This combined with the nearhorizontal structural configuration makes the book cliffs a worldclass field laboratory for studying clastic sedimentology and sequence. It explains this model from basics and shows how the model can be applied to both siliciclastic and carbonate successions. Many times these concretions are quite fossiliferous while others contain beautiful crystals of barite andor calcite. It is enriched in uranium, copper, silver, vanadium, mercury, arsenic and, to a certain. Reevaluating the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy. Positioned on top of the sandstone, but usually situated back from the edge, are various early tertiary rock units, for example. Learn stratigraphy geology with free interactive flashcards. 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. Oblique aerial photographs taken along the book cliffs from near hunter canyon to near the book cliffs mine measured section.
The book cliffs of eastern utah and western colorado figs. A reservoir geologybased definition of the upper shoreface. A case study in coastal sequence stratigraphy, offered annually through w. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs, central utah article pdf available january 2007 with 165 reads how we measure reads. Sequence stratigraphy of the book cliffs of eastern utah. Hampson 2010 can be extended into the star point sandstone and blackhawk formation of the wasatch plateau to provide a. Discover book depositorys huge selection of stratigraphy books online. In particular, it concentrates on the current sequence stratigraphy model.
The rollins sandstone member contains a thick marineshoreface sandstone that is a cliffforming unit of the book cliffs east of grand junction, colorado. Tectonic control of nested sequence architecture in the. Suu geology field trip to book cliffs near price, utah. Cretaceous alaska, clastic outcrop interpretation sequence stratigraphy exercises of bookcliffs, exercises sequence stratigraphy interpetation.
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. 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. Alternative sequence stratigraphic model for the desert. Introductory presentation for a professional field course titled.
Rock art petroglyphs on several boulders at the base of the book cliffs is from the fremont era of 200 bc to 50 ad. Cretaceous and tertiary formations of the book cliffs carbon. This means that the processes responsible for known portions of a geological section can be. The parasequences are separated from each other using subdividing major surfaces that include ts transgressive surfaces, mfs maximum flooding surface, and sb sequence boundary. They follow instructions to construct a measured section.
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 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. 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. Simon provides expertise in the areas of sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and reservoir geologymodelling and has considerable knowledge of the book cliffs. Gold occurrence in the cretaceous mancos shale eastern utah. 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. 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.
Designed for undergraduate and graduate courses in sequence stratigraphy. 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. Cretaceous shales book cliffs of utah kenilworth member of the blackhawk formation. Stratigraphic cross section aa, based on measured section data for the eastern book cliffs of colorado. Upper cretaceous strata exposed in the book cliffs of eastcentral utah. This unique textbook describes how past changes in sealevel can be detected through an analysis of the sedimentary record. 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. 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 sandstone units capping the cliffs are fractured with vertical joints that reminded some long forgotten person of a row of books.