DOCSLIB.ORG

Oil and Gas in the Glenwood Springs Field Office Administrative Boundary

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Oil and Gas in the Glenwood Springs Field Office Administrative Boundary APPENDIX S REASONABLE DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO: OIL AND GAS IN THE GLENWOOD SPRINGS FIELD OFFICE ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARY REASONABLE FORESEEABLE DEVELOPMENT: OIL AND GAS IN THE GLENWOOD SPRINGS FIELD OFFICE (GSFO) ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARY AREA CLUSTERED GAS DEVELOPMENT IN THE GSFO PREPARED BY: FRED CONRATH, GEOLOGIST, AND MARTY O’MARA, PETROLEUM ENGINEER, GLENWOOD SPRINGS FIELD OFFICE, GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLORADO TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. SUMMARY........................................................................................................................... 1 2. BACKGROUND................................................................................................................... 2 3. DESCRIPTION OF GEOLOGY ........................................................................................ 3 3.1 General Description of Geology.................................................................................. 3 3.2 U.S. Geological Survey Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Potential in the Uinta-Piceance Province (2002).............................................................................. 5 3.3 Summary of Piceance Basin Plays.............................................................................. 6 3.3.1 USGS CONVENTIONAL OIL AND GAS PLAYS AND ASSESSMENT UNITS .......................... 7 3.3.2 USGS CONTINUOUS OIL AND GAS PLAYS AND ASSESSMENT UNITS.............................. 9 3.3.3 USGS COALBED NATURAL GAS PLAYS AND ASSESSMENT UNITS ................................ 13 4. PAST AND PRESENT OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION ACTIVITY ........................ 17 4.1 Geophysical and Geochemical Surveys.................................................................... 17 4.2 Exploration Drilling and Success Rates ................................................................... 18 4.3 New Field and Reservoir Discoveries ....................................................................... 19 5. PAST AND PRESENT OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY....................... 19 5.1 Leasing Activity, Unit Descriptions, Communitization Agreements, and Spacing Requirements ......................................................................................................... 19 5.2 Drilling and Completion Statistics, Fields, and Development Plans ..................... 22 5.3 Directional and New Technology Drilling Practices ............................................. 233 5.4 Oil, Gas, and Water Production by Formation....................................................... 25 5.5 Oil and Gas Prices, Finding, and Development Costs ............................................ 27 5.6 Compression and Transmission Costs ..................................................................... 28 5.7 Field Production Equipment and Field Operation Practices................................. 28 5.8 Gas Transportation Pipelines ................................................................................. 299 5.9 Gas Compression Facilities ....................................................................................... 29 5.10 Electrical Powerlines, Generators, and Roads ........................................................ 29 5.11 Conflicts with Other Mineral Development ............................................................ 29 5.12 Gas Storage Fields, Operations, and Facilities........................................................ 30 6. OIL AND GAS OCCURRENCE POTENTIAL.............................................................. 30 6.1 Review of RFD Prepared for Areas Adjacent to the Study Area .......................... 30 6.2 Resources, Plays, and Oil and Gas Assessments ..................................................... 31 6.2.1 EAGLE BASIN ............................................................................................................ 31 6.2.2 USGS ASSESSMENT OF UNDISCOVERED RESOURCES................................................. 31 6.2.3 EPCA OIL AND GAS RESOURCES INVENTORY ............................................................ 32 6.2.4 BLM GLENWOOD SPRINGS ENERGY OFFICE GAS RESOURCES ESTIMATES................. 32 7. OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL ........................................................... 36 7.1 RFD Scenarios for Plan Revisions........................................................................... 36 7.2 Proven Reserves, Field Outlines, and Wells by Completion Status....................... 36 7.2.1 RATIONAL FOR SELECTING VALUES FOR DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL AND CERTAINTY 36 7.2.2 DETERMINATION OF REASONABLENESS ..................................................................... 38 8. RFD BASELINE SCENARIO ASSUMPTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS........................ 40 i 8.1 Assumes All Potentially Productive Areas are Open under Standard Lease Terms ................................................................................................................................. 40 8.2 Normalized Decline Curve Analysis for the Piceance Basin (Portion within Glenwood Springs Field Office Jurisdiction)...................................................... 40 8.3 Assumptions Made in Determining the Type and Level of Projected Activity .... 41 8.3.1 INCREASED EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT AS A RESULT OF HIGHER OIL AND GAS PRICES.................................................................................................................. 42 8.3.2 INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT SCENARIOS ....................................................................... 42 8.3.3 AMOUNT OF SURFACE DISTURBANCE ASSOCIATED WITH OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT.............................................................................................. 42 8.3.4 SURFACE AND MINERAL ESTATE OWNERSHIP ............................................................ 43 9. SURFACE DISTURBANCE DUE TO OIL & GAS ACTIVITY ON ALL LANDS......... 44 9.1 Existing and Future Net and Gross Surface Disturbance ...................................... 44 9.2 Seismic Activity Surface Disturbance ...................................................................... 48 9.3 Increases in Compressors and Oil and Gas Activity that Impact Air Quality..... 48 9.4 Produced Water Disposal.......................................................................................... 49 10. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 50 11. APPENDIX.......................................................................................................................... 53 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Geophysical permits involving BLM lands.........................................................................18 Table 2a. Leased and remaining available acres within high potential area of GSFO, including Roan PA ...................................................................................................................20 Table 2b. Leased and available unleased lands within the Roan PA.................................................20 Table 2c. Leased and available unleased lands in high potential area outside Roan PA...................21 Table 3. Oil and gas fields within the GSFO jurisdiction .................................................................24 Table 4. USGS assessment of undiscovered technically recoverable resources in the Piceance Basin............................................................................................................................33 Table 5. EPCA estimates of undiscovered technically recoverable resources for Federal mineral estate lands ...............................................................................................................34 Table 6. BLM natural gas resource estimates for all mineral estates (Federal + private) .................34 Table 7. Development potential for oil and gas, by occurrence potential category ..........................37 Table 8. Number of wells projected to be drilled over the life of the Plan Revision ........................38 Table 9. Surface land ownership/management..................................................................................39 Table 10. Surface land ownership/management................................................................................43 Table 11. Existing surface disturbance, Federal wells ......................................................................45 Table 12. Existing disturbance, non-Federal wells............................................................................46 Table 13. Existing surface disturbance, all wells. .............................................................................46 Table 14. Estimated future surface disturbance, BLM wells ............................................................47 Table 15. Estimated future surface disturbance, all wells .................................................................47 Table 16. Combined existing and future net surface disturbance, BLM wells..................................47 Table 17. Combined existing and future net surface disturbance, all wells ......................................48 Table 18. Estimated future surface disturbance for seismic surveys, all lands .................................48 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Generalized stratigraphic column showing the reservoir rocks that contain significant amounts of oil and gas derived from the five TPSs.....................................................4 Figure 2. Schematic plan view of a TPS, showing a pod of mature source rock, distribution of known petroleum
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cozzette Sandstone, Book Cliffs, Colorado, U.S.A
    Journal of Sedimentary Research, 2015, v. 85, 459–488 Research Article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2015.26 TECTONICALLY CONTROLLED NEARSHORE DEPOSITION: COZZETTE SANDSTONE, BOOK CLIFFS, COLORADO, U.S.A. 1 2 2 ANDREW S. MADOF, NICHOLAS CHRISTIE-BLICK, AND MARK H. ANDERS 1Chevron Energy Technology Company, Houston, Texas 77002-7308, U.S.A. 2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964-8000, U.S.A. e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT: The Book Cliffs of eastern Utah and western Colorado have been pivotal in the development of outcrop-based sequence stratigraphic concepts for nonmarine to shallow marine siliciclastic depositional settings. Prior studies in this area, and more generally in the Cretaceous western interior foreland basin of North America, have concluded that nearshore accumulation is controlled for the most part by the interaction between oscillatory eustatic change and longer-term regional patterns of flexural subsidence. New outcrop and subsurface evidence reported here from the eastern Book Cliffs suggests that three-dimensional tectonic tilting at length scales of up to , 50 km (31 mi) and timescales of less than , 200 kyr also strongly influenced sedimentation. Continental ice sheets are thought to have been small at the time. Documented patterns of accumulation are inconsistent with those expected from interactions of eustasy and regional flexure alone. The upper Campanian Cozzette Sandstone Member of the Mount Garfield Formation consists of twelve lithofacies arranged into six lithofacies assemblages, inferred to have been deposited in shallow marine, marginal marine, and nonmarine depositional environments.
    [Show full text]
  • KENNETH CARPENTER, Ph.D. Director and Curator Of
    KENNETH CARPENTER, Ph.D. Director and Curator of Paleontology Prehistoric Museum Utah State University - College of Eastern Utah 155 East Main Street Price, Utah 84501 Education May, 1996. Ph.D., Geology University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. Dissertation “Sharon Springs Member, Pierre Shale (Lower Campanian) depositional environment and origin of it' s Vertebrate fauna, with a review of North American plesiosaurs” 251 p. May, 1980. B.S. in Geology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. Aug-Dec. 1977 Apprenticeship, Smithsonian Inst., Washington DC Professional Museum Experience 1975 – 1980: University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, CO. 1983 – 1984: Mississippi Museum of Natural History, Jackson, MS. 1984 – 1986: Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Philadelphia. 1986: Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA. 1986: Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman, OK. 1987 – 1989: Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT. 1989 – 1996: Chief Preparator, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO. 1996 – 2010: Chief Preparator, and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO. 2006 – 2007; 2008-2009: Acting Department Head, Chief Preparator, and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO. 2010 – present: Director, Prehistoric Museum, Price, UT 2010 – present: Associate Vice Chancellor, Utah State University Professional Services: 1991 – 1998: Science Advisor, Garden Park Paleontological Society 1994: Senior Organizer, Symposium "The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation: An Interdisciplinary Study" 1996: Scientific Consultant Walking With Dinosaurs , BBC, England 2000: Scientific Consultant Ballad of Big Al , BBC, England 2000 – 2003: Associate Editor, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 2001 – 2003: Associate Editor, Earth Sciences History journal 2003 – present: Scientific Advisor, HAN Project 21 Dinosaur Expos, Tokyo, Japan.
    [Show full text]
  • Mesaverde Group and Wasatch Formation - Piceance Basin, Colorado
    NONTRIBUTARY GROUNDWATER ASSESSMENT: MESAVERDE GROUP AND WASATCH FORMATION - PICEANCE BASIN, COLORADO Submitted to: OXY USA INC. AND OXY USA WTP LP Date: November 4, 2009 Norwest Corporation 950 South Cherry Street, Suite 800 Denver, CO 80246 Tel: (303) 782-0164 Fax: (303) 782-2560 Email [email protected] www.norwestcorp.com 004280 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..............................................................................................................1 1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1-1 2 CONCEPTUAL MODEL .....................................................................................................2-1 2.1 GEOLOGIC SETTING ....................................................................................................2-1 2.1.1 Mancos Shale ..............................................................................................2-1 2.1.2 Iles Formation ..............................................................................................2-2 2.1.3 Williams Fork Formation ..............................................................................2-2 2.1.4 Wasatch Formation......................................................................................2-3 2.2 HYDROLOGIC DATA .....................................................................................................2-3 3 HYDROLOGEOLOGIC PARAMETERS.............................................................................3-1
    [Show full text]
  • Mesozoic Stratigraphy at Durango, Colorado
    160 New Mexico Geological Society, 56th Field Conference Guidebook, Geology of the Chama Basin, 2005, p. 160-169. LUCAS AND HECKERT MESOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY AT DURANGO, COLORADO SPENCER G. LUCAS AND ANDREW B. HECKERT New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 1801 Mountain Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104 ABSTRACT.—A nearly 3-km-thick section of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks is exposed at Durango, Colorado. This section con- sists of Upper Triassic, Middle-Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous strata that well record the geological history of southwestern Colorado during much of the Mesozoic. At Durango, Upper Triassic strata of the Chinle Group are ~ 300 m of red beds deposited in mostly fluvial paleoenvironments. Overlying Middle-Upper Jurassic strata of the San Rafael Group are ~ 300 m thick and consist of eolian sandstone, salina limestone and siltstone/sandstone deposited on an arid coastal plain. The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation is ~ 187 m thick and consists of sandstone and mudstone deposited in fluvial environments. The only Lower Cretaceous strata at Durango are fluvial sandstone and conglomerate of the Burro Canyon Formation. Most of the overlying Upper Cretaceous section (Dakota, Mancos, Mesaverde, Lewis, Fruitland and Kirtland units) represents deposition in and along the western margin of the Western Interior seaway during Cenomanian-Campanian time. Volcaniclastic strata of the overlying McDermott Formation are the youngest Mesozoic strata at Durango. INTRODUCTION Durango, Colorado, sits in the Animas River Valley on the northern flank of the San Juan Basin and in the southern foothills of the San Juan and La Plata Mountains. Beginning at the northern end of the city, and extending to the southern end of town (from north of Animas City Mountain to just south of Smelter Moun- tain), the Animas River cuts in an essentially downdip direction through a homoclinal Mesozoic section of sedimentary rocks about 3 km thick (Figs.
    [Show full text]
  • Stratigraphy, Petrology, and Paleontology of the Late Cretaceous Campanian Mesaverde Group in Northeastern Utah
    Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Plan B and other Reports Graduate Studies 8-2017 Stratigraphy, Petrology, and Paleontology of the Late Cretaceous Campanian Mesaverde Group in Northeastern Utah Christopher Ward Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports Part of the Geology Commons, Paleontology Commons, and the Sedimentology Commons Recommended Citation Ward, Christopher, "Stratigraphy, Petrology, and Paleontology of the Late Cretaceous Campanian Mesaverde Group in Northeastern Utah" (2017). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports. 1049. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/1049 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Plan B and other Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Plan B and other Reports Graduate Studies Fall 8-10-2017 Stratigraphy, Petrology, and Paleontology of the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Mesaverde Group in Northeastern Utah Christopher Ward Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports Part of the Geology Commons, Paleontology Commons, and the Sedimentology Commons This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Plan B and other Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STRATIGRAPHY, PETROLOGY, AND PALEONTOLOGY OF THE LATE CRETACEOUS (CAMPANIAN) MESAVERDE GROUP IN NORTHEASTERN UTAH By Christopher J. Ward A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Applied Environmental Geoscience Approved: ____________________ __________________ Benjamin J.
    [Show full text]
  • THE BIBLIOGRAPHY of HADROSAURIAN DINOSAURS the First 150 Years: 1856 - 2006
    THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HADROSAURIAN DINOSAURS The First 150 Years: 1856 - 2006. complied by M.K. Brett-Surman © Smithsonian Institution 1985-2008 The Department of Paleobiology of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, currently houses approximately 44 million fossil plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate fossils in more than 480 separate collections. In addition, Paleobiology also maintains a reference collection of over 120,000 stratigraphic and sediment samples. This listing represents a service provided to the public as part of our Outreach Program and as part of the Smithsonian Institution’s mission "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge...". Papers are listed by author and year. Author's names are capitalized. The viewer should be aware of any searches that are case sensitive. The papers listed here, in a majority of instances, do NOT contain abstracts, papers on ichnites, or popular articles or books, unless they present new information or cover an aspect of the history of dinosaur paleontology. At present, some of the legacy software that was used to maintain this list only allowed basic ASCII characters, therefore foreign accents (such as in French and Spanish) did not translate. This will be fixed at a later date. The Bibliography of Hadrosaurian Dinosaurs was written, compiled, and maintained by M.K. Brett-Surman, (Museum Specialist), P.O. Box 37012, Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, MRC-121, Washington, DC 20013-7012. He can be reached electronically at: [email protected]., and by FAX at 202-786-2832. Please send all corrections and additions to the e-mail address. This file will be no longer be updated, except for entries prior to 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleontological Resources Technical Report Riley Ridge to Natrona Project DECEMBER 2018
    U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Paleontological Resources Technical Report Riley Ridge to Natrona Project DECEMBER 2018 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Regional Setting .................................................................................................................................. 1 3.0 Inventory Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 1 4.0 Potential Fossil-Bearing Geologic Formations ................................................................................... 4 4.1 Browns Park Formation (PFYC 3) ............................................................................................ 4 4.2 White River Formation or Group (PFYC 5) .............................................................................. 5 4.3 Wind River Formation (PFYC 5) .............................................................................................. 5 4.4 Green River Formation (PFYC 5) ............................................................................................. 5 4.5 Wasatch Formation (PFYC 5) ................................................................................................... 5 4.6 Battle Spring Formation (PFYC 3)............................................................................................ 6 4.7 Bridger Formation
    [Show full text]
  • Upper Cretaceous Stratigraphy of the Uinta Basin, Utah
    BULL. GEOL. SOC. AM., VOL. 55 WALTON, PL. 1 ^ UPPER CRETACEOUS STRATIGRAPHY OF THE UINTA BASIN, UTAH Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/55/1/91/3431325/BUL55_1-0091.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 BULLETIN OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA VOL. 55, PP. 91-130, 10 PLS., 1 FIG. JANUARY 1, 1944 GEOLOGY OF THE CRETACEOUS OF THE UINTA BASIN, UTAH BY PATJL T. WALTON CONTENTS - Page Abstract.................................................................................................................................................................... 92 Introduction............................................................................................................................................................ 93 General features of the area...................................................................................................................... 93 Previous geologic work................................................................................................................................ 94 Present investigation.................................................................................................................................... 94 Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................................... 95 Stratigraphy............................................................................................................................................................ 95
    [Show full text]
  • Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Rocks and the Tertiary Ojo Alamo Sandstone, Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah
    Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Rocks and the Tertiary Ojo Alamo Sandstone, Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 521-E Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of .Indian -L1Jfairs and the Navajo Tribe ;. ~:0 ..J :i.ui._lll{c,/1 II- Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous > Rocks and the Tertiary Ojo I Alamo Sandstone, Navajo and .. .... Hopi Indian Reservations, .. Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah By R. B. O'SULLIVAN, C. A. REPENNING, E. C. BEAUMONT, and H. G. PAGE HYDROGEOLOGY OF THE NAVAJO AND HOPI INDIAN RESERVATIONS, ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, AND UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 521-E Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Navajo Tribe .I .. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1972 ~· ·. UN.ITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. A. Radlinski, Acting Director Library of Congress catalog-card No. 76-180659 ·~ For sale by the Sup~rintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402- (paper cover) Stock Number 2401-1184 CONTENTS Page Page Abst1·act ------------------------------------------ El Upper Cretaceous rocks-Continued Introduction -------------------------------------­ 2 Mesaverde Group-Continued Location and land-net system ------------------ 2 Lower part of the Mesaverde Group in San Present work -------------------------------­ 3 Juan Basin-Continued Previous investigations and nomenclature ------ 5 Crevasse Canyon Formation ---------- E31 Lower
    [Show full text]
  • Mesa Verde National Park Paleontological Resource Inventory (Non-Sensitive Version)
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Mesa Verde National Park Paleontological Resource Inventory (Non-Sensitive Version) Natural Resource Report NPS/MEVE/NRR—2017/1550 ON THE COVER An undescribed chimaera (ratfish) egg capsule of the ichnogenus Chimaerotheca found in the Cliff House Sandstone of Mesa Verde National Park during the work that led to the production of this report. Photograph by: G. William M. Harrison/NPS Photo (Geoscientists-in-the-Parks Intern) Mesa Verde National Park Paleontological Resources Inventory (Non-Sensitive Version) Natural Resource Report NPS/MEVE/NRR—2017/1550 G. William M. Harrison,1 Justin S. Tweet,2 Vincent L. Santucci,3 and George L. San Miguel4 1National Park Service Geoscientists-in-the-Park Program 2788 Ault Park Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45208 2National Park Service 9149 79th St. S. Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 3National Park Service Geologic Resources Division 1849 “C” Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20240 4National Park Service Mesa Verde National Park PO Box 8 Mesa Verde CO 81330 November 2017 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate comprehensive information and analysis about natural resources and related topics concerning lands managed by the National Park Service.
    [Show full text]
  • Geology of Mesa Verde National Park
    National Park Service Resource Brief U.S. Department of the Interior Mesa Verde National Park Geology of Mesa Verde National Park Table of Contents Geologic Features: Regional Geology: · Cuesta · Western Interior Seaway · Alcoves · Dakota Sandstone · Seep Springs · Mancos Shale · Solution Rills · Mesaverde Group · Concretions · Point Lookout Formation · Desert Varnish · Menefee Formation · Turtle Back Weathering · Cliff House Sandstone · Loess · Sea Retreat · Ripple Marks · Volcanism · Popcorn Texture · Laccoliths · Faults · Dikes · Landslides · Uplift and Erosion Introduction The geological history of Mesa Verde National Park is as diverse as the cultural history of the region. The Ancestral Puebloans recognized this diversity and used the geology of the area to create a sustainable and advanced lifestyle. These people thrived in the Southwest, supporting and nourishing their families with the remarkable natural resources on the mesa and from nearby areas. Geologic Features of the Park The first Spanish explorers to the area called it Mesa Verde, or “green table.” This expression is actually a mis- nomer. The correct geological term for the area is a cuesta, not a mesa. Mesas are isolated, flat-topped highlands with steeply sloping sides or cliffs, and are topped by a cap of much harder rocks that are resistant to erosion. The cap protects the softer underlying slopes or cliffs from being quickly weathered away. The only difference between a cuesta and a mesa is that a cuesta gently dips in one direction. Mesa Verde is inclined slightly to the south at about a 7º angle. This cuesta is made up of many separate, smaller “mesas” situated between the can- yons.
    [Show full text]
  • Thesis Sequence Stratigraphic Distribution
    THESIS SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF COAL-BEARING ROCKS FROM THE MESAVERDE GROUP IN THE EASTERNMOST ATLANTIC RIM OF THE WASHAKIE BASIN, WYOMING Submitted by Jeffrey M. Dereume Department of Geosciences In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Science Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Fall 2010 COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY August 25, 2010 WE HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER OUR SUPERVISION BY JEFFREY M. DEREUME ENTITLED SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF COAL-BEARING ROCKS FROM THE MESAVERDE GROUP IN THE EASTERNMOST ATLANTIC RIM OF THE WASHAKIE BASIN, WYOMING BE ACCEPTED AS FULFILLING IN PART REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE. Committee on Graduate work _________________________________________ Joseph C. von Fischer _________________________________________ Dennis L. Harry _________________________________________ Advisor: Sven O. Egenhoff _________________________________________ Department Head: Sally Sutton ii ABSTRACT OF THESIS SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF COAL-BEARING ROCKS FROM THE MESAVERDE GROUP IN THE EASTERNMOST ATLANTIC RIM OF THE WASHAKIE BASIN, WYOMING Coals occur in various levels of the siliciclastic Campanian upper Mesaverde Group in the Atlantic Rim area, Washakie Basin, south central Wyoming. This unit consists of continental, delta, and offshore facies showing several orders of internal cyclic architecture. At least five large-scale cycles form the upper part of the Mesaverde Group, internally arranged in stacks of up to five medium-scale cycles that are in turn subdivided into a maximum of five small- scale cycles. These cycles reflect million-year to Milankovitch-type sea-level fluctuations causing trans- and regression of varying magnitude, within an overall transgressive regime. Coals developed preferentially in paralic and lower coastal plain environments in the Atlantic Rim in relative proximity to a nearby delta.
    [Show full text]