Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs, central utah article pdf available january 2007 with 165 reads how we measure reads. Now as you read down through the book you eventually encounter pages in the wrong order first the right half and then much later the corresponding left half. Stratigraphy of the upper cretaceous mancos shale upper part. Sequence stratigraphy in the book cliffs, utah goal. Cretaceous blackhawk formation, straight canyon, book cliffs, utah.
Depositionalenvirons, horse canyonnorth, book cliffs scaled stratsection. The section shows a coarsening upward cycle see arrow. Nomenclature for these rocks is complex and has been used inconsistently by previous investigators as shown in figure 2. The little book cliffs wilderness study area is characterized by gentlysloping plateaus, various small canyons, and four major canyon systems. Mixed meteoricmarine coastal aquifer resulted from baselevel shifts.
Stratigraphic architectural patterns across a range of spatial scales can be attributed to various internal autogenic processes. Stratigraphic correlation chart for western colorado and. For shallow marine systems, the variables controlling event bed. Towards a sequence stratigraphic solution set for autogenic.
Northern colorado plateau by keith rigby geologic history of utah. Stratal architecture of these rocks is controlled by two regionally extensive surfaces of incision and subaerial exposure. 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. Book cliffs, geological feature of eastcentral utah and western colorado, u. Imagine taking a book, cutting it in half and gluing the right half on top of the left half. Petrographic observations indicate an early diagenetic origin. The 2015 penn state geology field school after reaching the top of flagstaff mountain in alta, utah. 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. Winding for 250 miles across utah and colorado, it is the longest continuous escarpment in the world. 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. Stratigraphic column of study area, east central utah.
Cretaceous and tertiary formations of the book cliffs carbon. Information was gathered from a number of sources see info for more information. The little book cliffs of this landscape drawing are nothing more than the far. The stratigraphic column to the left can be followed to give a visual representation of the geologic history of the canyonlands. The book cliffs are within the colorado plateau geologic province. The six sequences are named after prominent sandstone units and include, in ascending order, upper sego sequence, neslen sequence, corcoran sequence, buck. 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. Many times these concretions are quite fossiliferous while others contain beautiful crystals of barite andor calcite. Dolomite cement bodies up to 250 m in size abundant in distal fluvial strata.
In the 1980s, exxon scientists used the cretaceous strata of the book cliffs to develop the science of sequence stratigraphy. Cross the colorado river and drive past the public service power plant. Gilson gulch is a valley in the book cliffs located in section 8, township s, range 9e. Mancos shale, mesaverde group formation, and lower part of the north horn formation. Highresolution correlation of upper cretaceous stratigraphy between the book cliffs and the western henry mountain syncline, utah. No evidence for an unconformity at the base of the lower. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs, central utah. 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. The desert and castlegate sandstones, 2001 pages iiii, 181. The book cliffs are an enormous area that spans two states.
Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book. 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. Bioturbation and its effects on permeability in wave. These four larger systems are also accompanied by many smaller side canyons. 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.
Gold occurrence in the cretaceous mancos shale utah. Book cliffs data sets are often used as outcrop analogues for similar subsurface settings worldwide. Upper cretaceous trace fossils, book cliffs of utah. Accessible from the selection map, the stratigraphic columns section will. Regional highresolution correlations of the campanian desert member of the blackhawk formation to the lower castlegate sandstone interval, book cliffs, utah. Reevaluating the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy. 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. Implications for the highresolution correlation of falling stage nonmarine, marginalmarine, and marine strata, in morgan, l. Predators, new roads, overhunting and poor fawn crops had decimated the previously plentiful deer to the point that the. Highlights upper cretaceous fluvial strata exposed in the book cliffs, utah. 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. 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. 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. Sequence stratigraphy of the book cliffs of eastern utah, the.
Leader arrives a few days early for pretrip safety reconnaissance of all field stops and roadstracks. Main canyon, coal canyon, cottonwood canyon and spring canyon. Kirschbaum chapter 12 of petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the. Mancos shale upper part and mesaverde group in the southern part of the uinta and piceance basins, utah and colorado by r. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs. Frey department of geology university of georgia athens, georgia 30602 james d. The exceptional quality of the wasatch plateau outcrop has given rise to a plethora of stratigraphic studies and serves as a natural laboratory in which to apply sequence stratigraphic principles to clastic sedimentary suc. Between price, utah and grand junction, colorado, highway 6 and interstate 70 cross 170 miles of barren and windswept terrain. Cretaceous, book cliffs, utah, usa sedimentary geology 6 239276. Carbonate cementation potentially has significant impact upon reservoir quality. Bioturbation and its effects on permeability in wavedominated shoreface rocks of the spring canyon member, blackhawk formation, utah, usa.
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. Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah. Comprehensive safety discussion kicks off the trip on day 1, followed by daily safety briefings at each field stop. The book cliffs are a range of eroding, steepsloping cliffs, also called escarpments. Large scale and superbly exposed outcrops in the book cliffs colorado national monument arches national park canyonlands and adjoining areas. Mechanics of graben evolution in canyonlands national park, utah.
Top of the castlegate sandstone, sagers canyon, book cliffs, eastern utah. Stretching 200 miles from grand junction, colorado to central utah, the book cliffs are the worlds largest continuous escarpment. Fielding, christopher 1 1 earth and atmospheric sciences, university of nebraskalincoln, lincoln, ne. Select each rock formation layer, starting with the oldest rocks on the bottom of the column, moving up the column to the youngest rocks on the top. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphic framework of upper.
They are so named because the cliffs of cretaceous sandstone that cap many of the southfacing buttes appear similar to a shelf of books. The book cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western colorado and eastern utah, in the western united states. 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. Book cliffs horse canyon area book cliffs green river area westwater canyon. Directions there are two routes to access the little bookcliffs wsa. By the time you reach the top of the column you will have read a geology story that extends for nearly two billion years and continues to be written today.
The book cliffs are one of the worlds best places to study sequence stratigraphy. From grand junction take i70 east to the cameo exit. The book cliffs, utah have become the premier locality globally for field teaching of sequence stratigraphy. Stratigraphic architectural patterns across a range of spatial scales can be attributed to various internal autogenic processes and external allogenic accommodation and sediment supply controls. Introduction facies analysis is an important part of any stratigraphic study. Reevaluating the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of. Here in the deepest part of the canyon, the roan cliffs early tertiary deposits flank. Introduction late cretaceous depositional setting stop 1. Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah cole 1989 field trip guidebooks wiley online library.
Formation and origin of desolation gray canyon, utah this view of the main part of desolation canyon shows the full, nearly 5,000ft. Facies analysis and sequence stratigraphic framework of. 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. Blackhawk formation exposed in the book cliffs, utah, usa. The exercises below involve the analysis of parasequence from outcrops. The drive would be lonely but for a constant companion. Book cliffs geological feature, utah, united states. Extensive carbonate cementation of fluvial sandstones. No coal seams are present in this formation east of the green river, however.
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. Sequence stratigraphy of the book cliffs of eastern utah. Stratigraphy of the upper cretaceous mancos shale upper. At some point, this section will contain hundreds of stratigraphic columns from all over the colorado plateau. The penn state geology field school headed west in late. The initial exercise is followed by the examination of the stacking patterns of the parasequences. The parasequences are separated from each other using subdividing major surfaces that include ts transgressive surfaces, mfs maximum flooding surface, and sb sequence boundary. The mancos formation and its stratigraphic equivalent to the east known as the pierre shale, often contain concretions.
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. No evidence for an unconformity at the base of the lower castlegate sandstone in the campanian book cliffs, utahcolorado, united states. Section summary accessible from the selection map, the stratigraphic columns section will eventually be one of the most extensive parts of our database. Exercise 4the objective of this exercise is to continue learning how to identify vertical sets of parasequence s in clastic sections again from measured sections in the book cliffs while extending this to use of parasequence s and walther s law to determine the depositional setting of a series of shoreline facies and to determine non. Stratigraphic unit ages have been provided by fouch and others 1983, gill and hail 1975, johnson 1989a, and molenaar and cobban 1991. 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. 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. This interval is the oldest stratigraphic unit in 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. A student takes notes while constructing a stratigraphic column in the book cliffs. Simulating event depositioneffects of storms on the. 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. Utah stratigraphic columns overview page these stratigraphic columns are dynamically created on the fly from information stored in a database.
Some surfaces reflect multiple, distinct sets of sedimentary processes and can therefore be difficult to interpret, at least initially. The columns will follow the standard usgs format for stratigraphic columns. The coal mined at sunnyside, utah, is from this formation. The sedimentary successions of the book cliffs in eastcentral utah have been extensively studied with respect to sequence stratigraphy e. After a 4 year wait, the book cliffs area of northeastern utah had finally opened for mule deer. Free web tutorials sequence stratigraphy, tutorials carbonate. The oldest rock formation that can be seen within canyonlands national park is the paradox formation. And with the exception of a few privately held parcels of land, almost 96% of the 2. 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. Highresolution correlation between the book cliffs. Geological evolution of the colorado plateau of eastern utah and western colorado, including the san juan river, natural bridges, canyonlands, arches, and the book cliffs. Part of the southern edge of this wsa is dominated by the 2,000foothigh face of the. Facies and sequencestratigraphic analysis identifies six highresolution sequences within upper campanian strata across about 120 miles of the book cliffs in western colorado and eastern utah. Formation and origin of desolation gray canyon, utah.
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