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Regional distribution of wave- and fluvial-dominated deltaic deposits of Olmos formation (upper Cretaceous) in Maverick basin, southwest Texas

Conference · · Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6609391
Regional subsurface analysis in southwest Texas indicates that the Olmos Formation (Gulfian) was deposited by a complex of wave- and fluvial-dominated delta systems in two depocenters. Sediment influx was from the north and northwest. Five deltaic submits, A through E, were deposited in the western depocenter. Three other deltaic wedges (F, G, H) formed the second depocenter farther east in present-day Frio and LaSalle Counties. Subsidence was greater in the western half of the Maverick basin where thickest (1,300 ft; 395 m) deltaic sediments were deposited. Lower Olmos strata represent a succession from wave-reworked, strike-elongate deltas of subunit A, similar to those of the underlying San Miguel Formation, to fluvial-dominated, dip-elongate deltas of subunits B and C. Extensive (1200 mi/sup 2/ or 3100 km/sup 2/ in Texas) aggradational floodplain deposits of B and C are characterized by diverse electric-log patterns; variation in log character is a response to complex depositional facies on the delta platform. Downdip, toward the Cretaceous shelf edge, delta-plain facies merge with upward-coarsening delta-front sandstones. Uppermost subunits D and E were deposited by a prograding barrier-island system in an interdeltaic embayment marginal to high constructive deltas of the easter depocenter. Lagoonal and fluvial-channel deposits are recognized from cores. Eastward migration of deposition was accompanied by an abrupt change of depositional style in the western depocenter from deltaic to coastal-interdeltaic.
Research Organization:
Univ. of Texas, Austin
OSTI ID:
6609391
Report Number(s):
CONF-8405216-
Conference Information:
Journal Name: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) Journal Volume: 68:4
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English