Sedimentary environment of the La Rosa Formation, Maracaibo Basin
The La Rosa formation, Miocene consists of three facies: basal sand, the Santa Barbara, a middle shale, and the upper La Rosa Sand. The sands are variably productive. Paleontologic studies by others have shown the La Rosa Formation to be of marine origin. The shape of the SP curve of the Santa Barbara in bell shaped, caused by fining upward of the sand. This shape is typical with a beach deposit formed during transgression. The shale, because of its lithology and fossil content, represents shallow marine origin. The wine glass shape of the SP of the La Rosa sand is a beach sand, the result of a coarsening upward grain size during regression. An isopach of the La Rosa Formation and isoliths of the two sand units show a thickening trend from northeast to southwest. The thickest area trends diagonally across the center of the Basin. The study shows that the Miocene sea entered the basin from the northeast, transgressed southwesterly depositing the Santa Barbara sand on top of the unconformity as it went. The movement was constricted by the highlands on three sides of the basin. The shale was then deposited in the resulting shallow marine environment. As the highlands gradually rose, the sea regressed to the northeast depositing the La Rosa sand as it went.
- OSTI ID:
- 6102371
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-930306-; CODEN: AABUD2
- Journal Information:
- AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 77:2; Conference: International congress of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Caracas (Venezuela), 14-17 Mar 1993; ISSN 0149-1423
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
58 GEOSCIENCES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
ORIENTATION
SAND
ORIGIN
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
GEOMORPHOLOGY
VENEZUELA
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
FOSSILS
GRAIN SIZE
LITHOLOGY
PALEONTOLOGY
SEDIMENTATION
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
GEOLOGY
LATIN AMERICA
MICROSTRUCTURE
PETROLOGY
SIZE
SOUTH AMERICA
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
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580000 - Geosciences