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Reconnaissance Study of Bituminous Sandstone Deposits Trans Dirty

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Reconnaissance Study of Bituminous Sandstone Deposits Trans Dirty RECONNAISSANCE STUDY OF BITUMINOUS SANDSTONE DEPOSITS, TRANS*DIRTY DEVIL WAYNE AND GARFIELD COUNT JES, UTAH by Hellmut H. Doelling November, 1966 ABSTRACT This report is the result of preliminary and reconnaissance investigations of the E1aterite Basin and Te~ot Rock bituminous sandstone ocourrences . Six samples were analyzed for their bitumen content and seven sections were measured in the Teapot Rock area. Up to 200 feet of varying degrees of saturation ~~re noted in both areas. A REPORT OF THE UTAH GEOLOGICAL AND MINERALOGICAL SURVEY 103 Utah Geologioal Survey Building University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 RBCONNAISSANC STUDY OF BITUMINOUS SANDSTONE DEPOSrrS. TRANS-DIRTY DBVIL YNE AND GARFIELD COUNTIES. UTAH by Hellmut H. Doelling INTRODUCT lCN • Bituminous sandstone deposits are located in the extreme northeastern corner of Garfield County and the southeastern cor.ner of ayne County near Canyonlands National Park. The deposits are found below the Orange Cliffs I esoarpment mainly in Townships 30 and 31 south, Ranges 16 and 17 .East. The area is one of the more remote regions of southern Utah and oan be reaohed only by a 75-mile series of dirt roads and jeep trails from Hanksville, Utah. The best aooess is found by traveling Utah Highway 95 south from Hanksville to a point one-half mile southeast of the Dirty Devil River bridge. Here a jeep road ~ads easterly along the rim of Cataraot Canyon skirting the deeply- inoised Cedar Mesa Sandstone of Permian age. large grassy area is enoountered at terhole Flat Where the road branohes. Examination of the maps. figures 4 and 5_ should then aid in finding the deposits. Those t:: deposits looated just north of aterhole Flat will be referred to as the Teapot Rock bituminous sandstone deposits (Garfield County) and t hose further north as the laterite Basin bituminous sandstone de posits ( arne County). The road skirting the ~st side of Teapot Rook trom terhole Flat Aontinues northerly to laterite Basin. This report represents a reoonnaissance type study) 8ACLfield vo rk was oonduoted during the latter part of September 1966 in oonneotion . th a Garfield County study. Tlie author was assisted by K. C. Thomson, M. Fishert'J and C. Se ibert in obtait.D.ing measurements. GENERAL GEOLOGY t Rooks of Permian to Jurassic age orop out in the mapped areas. A generalized list of formations is presented below, the information modifill from Baker, 19461 UTAH GEOLOGICAL SUR VEY 1966 D A H 114' 113' 112' o 42',:/ ~ 'S 17_' '5 " 13 '0 9 I 2 R'W,~ ' E 2 J i~:t 7R6E,:4 2' 13 Hl, ----r---t--1----+-+-+---I---++-+--+----I-I--+-l--+--+-l~\l-Jl------l-'!--+--!----f-,~~ ,r r- N ~~~-+~+-~~~~~~~-/~-+~~\~~~: 1 2 N u T A H " C "A C H EO, " .+-+-+-+-+-+--'t-+-+-+-+-Y--I----+--H 10 11\ 9 ' B o x LOCATION MAP N G 41' 3 o o o pR 12 ¥".!!f--'"" "'.. S+-,-'7'--1-JLJ '" . L5_ · J ~ T,,,-3 t-"+J"--t1"'-+-"-U+-4-'A'-+~~ +-~- "':h!,~ ,l-/;;-<,;+R~IW~I~!<o1 E+'(~_-f:b~'34-4..2-+-1!?j.~+!...7 +-'T+-"-t-"'-i-". +~-"'-t-"'+"'-t~'\. ' ':[.:. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 I I '''\ CAR BON ? : > a::: o ,f:/ - -t- - r-r- - 6 ') 5 . " ~. ~ rv 25 I E R , w 27 I ~ ..J z o Map Area ., • - ,. K A N E L KE j 42jttt---t--lC-+--+--+- +--+--+---l-I "~ ~,\~ w -v ~. I 37'~1H-H-+--t--Jf-J--+--+-+---i-t-.w-1' J-It-t-t-t--t-i-tt--t{rl, ---t--t-dt~~ ~,~w~m ,·'·~l m .. .. :~ ... L--l-I---+--+-~_*__l___t_I -+-+-+-+-+---+-1·:3 37' R I9W II 10 9/19 5 4 1tz 4 2 RIW RIE 2 7 B 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 2 2 2~R26E 114' 113 ° 1120 III ' 110' A R z o N A 10 5 0 10 20 30 4 0 50 1,111111111 I I I I I SC A LE IN MI LES Formation Thiokness Desoription Jurassic Navajo Sandstone Incomplete Massive cross-bedded buff to gray sand- in area stone with a few lenses of sandy lime- stone. Kayenta Formation 280t Irregularly bedded fine- to ooarse-grained red to gray thin-bedded to massive, in part oross-bedded sandstone, locally con­ glomeratio, li. th some red, gray, and green shale. Wingate Sandsto~ 280t Massive cross-bedded buff to bro~ish red medium-grained sandstone, which weathers into oliffs oharaoterized by vertioal joints. Triassio (forms Orange Cliffs). Chinle Formation 400· Variegated shale with some interbedded red , to gray sandstone, oonglomerate, and a few beds of sandy limestone; oontains fossil wood. Shinarump 6onglomarate 60 - 100' Gray medium- to ooarse-grained oross-bedded and irregularly bedded sandstone ~th lenses and streaks of oonglomerate. Contains fossil wood. Forms the Blaok Ledges. Moenkopi Formation 360' Thin and regularly bedded red-brown and greenish-gray siltstone ~th thin beds of Permian ripple-marked gray to red-bro'Wll sandstone. Upper Organ Rock Tongue ~60t Gray to tan, thin- to medium-bedded, medium­ to ooarse-grained friable sandstones ~th some reddish siltstones, sandy shales, arid arkosic sandstones. White Rim Sandstone 0-230' Massive cross-bedded tan to light gray, medium­ to ooarse-grained sandstone. This formation is saturated in part wth bituminous substanoe. Organ Rock Tongue 95-2oo t Red siltstone, silty more or less arkosio sandstone, and sandy shale, weathering into fluted surfaoes. Fraotures often oontain tar. and occasionally the ooarser sands are bituminous. Cedar Mesa Sandstone 750' Light gray to tan friable, fine- to ooarse­ grained thick-bedded and cross-bedded sand­ stone, oooasionally saturated with bituminous substance in its upper part. An exwmination of Figure 4 reveals the geologio situation in Elaterite Basin. The Orange Cliffs indioate the ingate Sandstone and Chinle Formati ons and the Blaok Ledges indioate the Shinarump Conglomerate. The heavy outcrop line and the haohured area indio ate the apIr oximate outorop area of the i te Rim Sandstone and Upper Organ Rock Tongue. Most of the bituminous sandstone in lateri te Basin is found in the Upper Organ Rook Tongue and the ite Rim Sandstone. Minor wmounts are found in the Moenkopi Formation and the Organ Rock ~ :- 0 0 T ", 28 ...... S " " T 29 S D 0 / D D 050 ::;r~- ~-;=.{f~-:~ {l T 30 S o / 50 D 32 S R 16 E R . 17 E. TRANS- DIRTY DEVIL WAYNE AND GARFIELD COS., UTAH State lands Faults White Rim outcrop T hickness of saturation penetrated by well o 2 3 4 5 Miles 14 E R 15 E Figure 3s View looking so th at Teapot Rook. Upper view shmvs stra.tigraphic relationshi ps Figure 6, Jeep trail along the Cedar Mesa Sa.ndstone. The road and outcrops to the left a.re saturated wi th bituminous substance. Tongue. In Elaterite Basin the best exposures oocur near the con taot of the White Rim Sandstom and the Upper Organ Rock Tongue. The beds themselves have a 2 to 4 degree regicnal dip to the north~st end are generally undisturbed by faulting. All post~Fer.mian formations are located in the northwestern part of the Teapot Rock area (see Figure 5) and the Cedar Mesa Sandstone orops out in the southeastern portion. The bituminous sandstone area orops out in a northeast-southwest trending pattern. The post-Permian formations oonsist of a series of oliff and slope~formers; the most prominent cliff is formed by the Wingate Sandstone (Orange Cliffs) which is unsealable in most areas by ncr-mal means . The White Rim Sandstone normally forms a oliff, is thickest in the southern portion and thins rapidly northward. The Organ Rock Tongue forms the base of the same cliff and the Cedar Mesa Sandstone, being espeoially resistant, forms an inoised table-land over the southeastern portion of the map-area. The Upper Organ Rock Tongue was not reoognized in the Teapot Rook area. The formations dip approximately 2 to 3 degrees to the northwest and appear to be essentially flat lying. A series of three east-west trending faults cut the formations to the south. In places up to 100 feet of displaoe~~ oan be noted. The faulting has weakened a portion of the Orange Cliffs in the vioinity forming Sunset Pass and the pioturesque Gunsight Butte (just to the west of the map area). BITUMINOUS SANDSTONE DEPOSITS: At the southern end of the exposures in Elaterite Basin the bitumin­ bearing zone is exposed entirely in a gray to tan sandstone in the Upper Organ Rook Tongue. A minor amount may also be found in the lo~rmost Moenkopi Formation units. This sandstone ismedi um- to coarse-graire d, thin.... to medium.... bedded and friable. The saturation does not seem complete, the biuminous matter merely coating the sand grains. No measurements of sections were made in Elaterite Basin but the zones exposed in Section 17. T. 30 S., R. 17 E. AV6. /96S 1<.16£. R. 17 E. POINt -r. Z9 5 . /" I ,. ~.. l , I ~ T ...- -r: 30 ·i 5. o /0 2tJ 30 ~ So ( , , I , , $C-4Le /111 MILES Outcrop and area underlain by bituminous sandstone. CI iff formed by Wi ngate 5s. T 30% Cli ff formed by Moss Bock 5 . Mbr. of Chinle Fm. CI iff formed by Wh ite Rim s. -4- seem to be the thi nest and those zones in sections 4, 5, md 8 of the same Township seem to be the thickest in Elaterite Basin,. The degree of saturation varies vertically. In Section 33 , T. 29 S., R. 17 E. the bituminous sandstones are located along the White Rim Formation and Upper Organ Rock Tongue contact.
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