Eolian sandstone unit of Morrison Formation, central Wyoming
The fine-grained quartzarenite that overlies the Sundance Formation in the southwestern Powder River basin, Wind River basin, and southern Bighorn basin is interpreted as being primarily the result of eolian deposition. This unit, often more than 20 m (65.6 ft) thick, is the probable correlative of the Unkpapa Sandstone member of the Morrison Formation of the southeastern Black Hills region. An eolian interpretation is based on the presence of large-scale sets of high-angle, planar cross-stratification. Observed considerable variation in the thickness of the unit is likely to be an expression of the depositional (dune-form) topography rather than the result of later erosion. Discrete dunes are exposed near Thermopolis along the northern margin of the unit: the transitional marine deposits of the uppermost Sundance formation are the most likely source of the wind-transported sand. Stratigraphic and facies relationships and lithologic similarity support correlation of the eolian unit with the Unkpapa Sandstone. Together, the units represent regions of significant eolian deposition within the predominantly fluvial Morrison depositional environment. The properties of the eolian sandstone, its thickness, its superposition above the marine Sundance Formation, and the possibility of its persistence in the subsurface of the southern Powder River basin give it potential as a petroleum reservoir. These anomalous eolian deposits may record the positions of gentle structures developed in central Wyoming and western South Dakota at the onset of, and in association with, Sevier compression.
- Research Organization:
- Iowa State Univ., Ames
- OSTI ID:
- 6962522
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8609129-
- Journal Information:
- Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) Vol. 70:8; ISSN AAPGB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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