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Stratigraphy of the De Ckelly Sandstone of Arizona And Stratigraphy of the De Chelly sandstone of Arizona and Utah Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Peirce, H. Wesley (Howard Wesley) Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 06/10/2021 04:13:05 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/565596 • • • ' ' ft-'. : STRATIGRAPHY OF THE DE CKELLY SANDSTONE OF ARIZONA AND UTAH /*• - - Hoc Wesley Peirce A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1962 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by H, Wesley Peirce entitled ^Stratigraphy of the De Chelly Sandstone of Arizona and Utah” be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, After inspection of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:* /kIa Qizm. ,______ //A/ / v / / / * / £ ^ / / > 7 ™ ^ /V . 1% "lAy • c'^W -JuR _$V v l ! / (a / ^ 2 — *This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examina­ tion* The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dis­ sertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examina­ tion. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of require­ ments for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is de­ posited in The University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in their judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholar­ ship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: I STRATIGRAPHY OF THE DEC KELLY SANDSTONE OF ARIZONA AND UTAH by H. Wesley Peirce ABSTRACT The Permian De Chelly Sandstone of Gregory can be subdivided, on the basis of contrasting depositional environments, into five members no one of which is coextensive with the De Chelly Sandstone as a whole. The distribution of these members reflects instability in part of the area formerly occupied by the earlier Paleozoic Defiance Positive ele­ ment. The various members.of the De Chelly are believed to correlate with: (1) the uppermost evaporitic and dark detrital sediments of the Supai Formation found in the subsurface to the south of the Defiance Plateau, (2) the Coconino Sandstone of the Grand Canyon region, and (3) the San Andres Formation of the Zuni area in New Mexico. Emphasis is placed on: (1) the distribution and nature of sedimentary structural types such as cross stratification, stratification, channels, and ripple marks, and (2) modification of sandstone characteristics by secondary solution and cementation processes. TABLE OF CONTENTS.......... .................. ......................... » .... ., . Page INTRODUCTION ....................... ....................................................... 1 General Statement,........... ...................................................... 1 . Purpose ............................................................. ....................... 1 Description of Areas........... .................................... .................. 2 Defiance Plateau .............. 2 Monument V alley ............................. 5 Methods of Study ................................................ 6 Acknowledgments ................................. 6 HISTORICAL SKETCH ....................... 9 General Statement .................................................. 9 Previous Workers and Nomenclature .................................... 9 STRATIGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 16 Definition of the De Chelly Sandstone......... .............................. 16 Contacts ........................................................................................ 27 Upper Contact.......................................................... 27 Defiance Plateau ................................................ 27 Monument Valley ...••.............................................. 32 Lower.Contact ................................................................... 32 Defiance Area ...................................................... 32 Monument V a lle y .......................................... 34 Age................................................................... 40 Sedimentary Structures ...................................................... 43 General Statement .... ..... .... ... 43 v Page Stratification ..V................................. 44 : : Cross .Stratification............................................. 51 ! White House Member . •...................... 51 Black Creek Member ............................................ 67 'a--' - Hunters JPouxt.A4ember ....................... 78 Texture ............................................................. 86 '' ' ' V Grain S iz e ................................................................................... 86 Grain Roundness, Shape, and Surface Character­ istics ......................................................................... 96 Composition ......................................................................................... 99 General Statement........................ ....... 99 Depositional Components..................................... 101 Post-Depositional Components................................ 106 Cementation ........................................ 114 General Statement............................... 114 Carbonates ............................................................................ 115 Quartz ............................................ 120 Stylolites ................... 129 Regional Correlation .................................................... 132 Paleogeography......................................................... 143 Conditions of Deposition ............... ..................................... 144 Hunters Point Member ................................................... 144 Oak Springs Member...................................... 146 White House,Member................................................... 147 Black Creek Member................................................. 148 Fort Defiance Member ....................... 149 SUMMARY.......................................................................................... 151 APPENDIX A— DEFINITIONS OF SOME STRATIFICATION TERMS ..................................................................................................... 157 vi Page APPENDIX B— CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFICATION OF CROSS STRATIFICATION ........................................ ... ................................. 158 APPENDIX C— DESCRIPTION OF MEASURED SECTIONS .... 160 REFERENCES CITED................................ 204 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Index map showing location of Defiance Plateau and Monument Valley areas ..................... ............................ 3 2. Percentage distribution of types of stratification in • the De Chelly Sandstone of the Defiance Plateau area.......................................................................................... 45 3. Percentage distribution of types of stratification in the De Chelly Sandstone of the Defiance Plateau area ...................................................................... 46 4. Relative numbers and average .thicknesses of units with contrasting types of stratification found in the White House and Black.Creek Members of the . Defiance Plateau ........... ...................................... 49 5. Relative numbers and average thicknesses of units with contrasting types of stratification found in the Hunters Point Member of the Defiance Plateau ....... 50 6. Direction of dip of cross strata ............................................. 69 7 . ; Dip angles of cross s tr a ta .................................................... 70 8. Histograms showing average grain-size distribution in the De Chelly Sandstone ............................................... 89 9. Histograms showing average grain-size distribution in the De Chelly Sandstone ...................................................... 90 vii Figure Page 10. Histograms showing average grain-size distribution in the Be Chelly Sandstone .......................... 91 11. Classification of the Be Chelly Sandstone based upon composition........................... .............. .............. ...................... 100 12. Correlation chart—Befiance Plateau to Zuni Moun­ tains. Comparing Baars, Read, and this paper............. 134 13. Correlation of prominent Permian sandstones of northeastern Arizona with White House and Black Creek Members of the Be Chelly Sandstone ..................... 138 14. Correlation chart of upper part of exposed Permian section, east
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