Mancos B interval of Upper Cretaceous Mancos Shale, Douglas Creek Arch, northwest Colorado: a shelf-sand complex
The Mancos B interval of the Mancos Shale, a major gas producer on the Douglas Creek arch is a shelf-sand complex represented by up to 1345 ft (404 m) of thinly interstratified claystone, siltstone, and very fine to fine-grained sandstone deposited approximately 100 mi (161 km) offshore in the Western Interior seaway. In the subsurface, the Mancos B is subdivided into four major units, ranging in thickness from 175 to 480 ft 953 to 146 m). Each unit thins over the arch's crest and, in the process, becomes more sand rich. In outcrops along the southern flank of the arch, the lower Mancos B forms a series of coarsening-upward sequences, 25 to 90 ft (8 to 27 m) thick. A typical sequence begins with silty claystone or bioturbated mudstone at the base, followed upward by bioturbated muddy sandstone, and topped with sandy dolomite (as concretions or thin beds). Sedimentary structures include horizontal lamination, wavy lamination, lenticular bedding, flaser bedding, and ripple lamination. Paleocurrent measurements from ripple foresets have a mean azimuth of 111/sup 0/. Burrows characteristic of the Cruziana ichnofacies are common to abundant in all lithofacies.
- Research Organization:
- Unocal Corp., Brea, CA
- OSTI ID:
- 7229447
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8609129-
- Journal Information:
- Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States), Vol. 70:8; Conference: AAPG Rocky Mountain Section meeting, Casper, WY, USA, 7 Sep 1986
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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