Sedimentology of the Castner Marble, Franklin Mountains, El Paso County, Texas
- Univ. of Texas, El Paso (United States)
The Castner Marble occurs within roof pendants in the Red Bluff Granite complex, and is the oldest Proterozoic unit exposed in the Franklin Mountains. This contact-metamorphosed metasedimentary unit consists of six lithologies: (1) stromatolitic limestone, (2) cryptalgalaminite, (3) massive limestone, (4) hornfels, (5) rhythmite, and (6) flat-pebble conglomerate. Based on the distribution of these lithologies, the Castner Marble can be divided into three distinct intervals: (1) lower section, consisting of stromatolitic, cryptalgalaminite and massive limestone, (2) middle section, characterized by thick hornfels and massive limestone beds, and (3) upper section, consisting of interbedded rhythmite and flat-pebble conglomerates. The lower section represents a shallow-water, intertidal to subtidal deposit, whereas the upper section was deposited in deeper water (below wave base) by turbidite or storm-related processes. The middle section may be a transition between the two, in that it contains lithologies found in the upper and lower sections. These three sections appear to record a transgression on a low-energy, carbonate ramp/platform. The contact between the Castner Marble and the overlying basaltic Mundy Breccia marks a catastrophic event or series of events in which megabreccias of deep-water, subtidal carbonate facies were deposited onto underlying rhythmite intervals.
- OSTI ID:
- 6951542
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9204139-; CODEN: AABUD
- Journal Information:
- AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 76:4; Conference: American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Southwest section meeting, Midland, TX (United States), 21-24 Apr 1992; ISSN 0149-1423
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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