Sedimentology and depositional environments of part of the Walden Creek Group, central east Tennessee

Conference · Mon Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:6119339

Lewis, III, R F ^[1]; Miller, J M.G. ^[2]

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1. Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (United States). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
2. Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States). Dept. of Geology

Recent questions concerning the age of the Walden Creek Group (WCG), Ocoee Supergroup have increased interest in the depositional history of these rocks. This study focuses on the sedimentology and local stratigraphy of rocks in exposures of the lithologically diverse late Precambrian and/or lower Paleozoic WCG occurring within the Kinzel Springs and Wear Cove quadrangles. Units exposed in the structurally complex Alleghenian thrust setting include the Licklog, Shields, and Wilhite formations. These rocks are divided into twelve lithofacies composed of shale, siltstone, sandstone, conglomerate and carbonate rock. The lithofacies are grouped into seven facies associations indicating deposition below storm wave base in a deep-water, probably marine, environment. Within the study area, rocks of the Wilhite Formation represent deposition in basin plain, lower slope, slope, base of slope, and sandy channel environments. Rocks of the Shields Formation are coarse channel and related overbank deposits of the inner to middle parts of a deep water fan environment. The Licklog Formation contains rocks deposited as lobe and outer-fan or fan-fringe deposits in a middle- to lower-fan environment. These formations can be placed within a single depositional system composed of a submarine slope transitional with a basin plain, and of proximal channels and distal lobes in a sand-rich submarine fan system. Inferred depositional components (associations) compare well with general models of deep-water deposits associated with high gradient fan-delta-fed margins. The basin was bounded by an uplifted, most likely block faulted, margin composed of crystalline basement located to the northwest. Local sedimentologic and stratigraphic relationships suggest an overall progradational sequence during the deposition of these rocks.

• OSTI ID: 6119339
• Report Number(s): CONF-9304188--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 25:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
AGE ESTIMATION
ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
LITHOLOGY
MINERALOGY
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLOGY
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SEDIMENTATION
STRATIGRAPHY
TENNESSEE
USA