DEPOSITIONAL MODELING AND INTERACTION BETWEEN LITHOFACIES ASSEMBLAGES OF CRETACEOUS-PALEOGENE STRATA OF THE RATON BASIN by Sean Corbett Horne Bachelor of Science in Geology, 2016 Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The College of Science and Engineering Texas Christian University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN GEOLOGY December 2018 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my parents and family for their continual support throughout all my years of schooling. I would like to thank my Dad for brainstorming ideas and always encouraging me to think outside of the box. To my mom, I would like to thank her for her continued support and being a voice of reason. I would like to thank the TCU Geology Department for providing me with an opportunity to learn and grow. A special thanks to Dr. John Holbrook, my thesis advisor, for providing his guidance and expertise throughout this entire process. I would like to thank Dr. Richard Denne and Bo Henk for serving on my committee. I would also like to thank Pioneer Natural Resources for the funding provided for this project. I want to thank Ross Harrison for being an awesome partner on this project. I would also like to thank my fellow graduate students at TCU as well as my friends back home for their continued support and words of encouragement. ii Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. v CHAPTER ONE: Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 Geologic Background ............................................................................................................... 2 Distributary Fluvial System ................................................................................................... 11 Coal Depositional Models ....................................................................................................... 15 Lithofacies ................................................................................................................................ 16 Lithofacies Assemblage .......................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER TWO: Methods and Data ...................................................................................... 23 Well Log Data .......................................................................................................................... 23 Well Log Methods ................................................................................................................... 25 Correlation Methods ............................................................................................................... 27 Mapping ................................................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 3: Results ................................................................................................................. 31 Cross Sections .......................................................................................................................... 31 Coal X to Vermejo Maps ........................................................................................................ 34 Raton Conglomerate Maps .................................................................................................... 36 Lower coal zone Maps ............................................................................................................ 38 Barren Series Maps ................................................................................................................ 46 Coal X to Barren Series Maps ............................................................................................... 55 Chapter 4: Discussion ................................................................................................................. 64 Raton Conglomerate ............................................................................................................... 64 Lower Coal zone ...................................................................................................................... 64 Barren Series ........................................................................................................................... 68 Upper Coal Zone ..................................................................................................................... 71 Paleogeography ....................................................................................................................... 76 Industry Implications ............................................................................................................. 80 CHAPTER 5: Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 82 References .................................................................................................................................... 84 Vita Abstract iii List of Figures Figure 1: Locater map for the Raton Basin. ............................................................................... 1 Figure 2: Geologic map of the Raton Basin ................................................................................ 3 Figure 3: Generalized stratigraphic column of the Raton Basin .............................................. 5 Figure 4: Block diagrams showing the depostion of Raton Basin Strata ................................ 6 Figure 5: Generalized cross-section of the Raton Basin ............................................................ 7 Figure 6: Diagram displaying the depositional environments of the Raton Formation....... 10 Figure 7: Depositional model of a distributary fluvial system ................................................ 12 Figure 8: Diagram of a distributary fluvial system ................................................................. 13 Figure 9: A base map of the study area .................................................................................... 24 Figure 10: Lithological type log of the Raton Formation ........................................................ 27 Figure 11: A type log for Raton Strata ..................................................................................... 29 Figure 12: Cross section across the study area. ....................................................................... 33 Figure 13: Isopach map of the interval between Coal X and the Vermejo top ..................... 35 Figure 14: Isopach map of the Raton conglomerate ................................................................ 37 Figure 15: Isopach map of the lower coal zone ........................................................................ 41 Figure 16: Percent coal map of the lower coal zone ............................................................... 42 Figure 17: Percent sandstone map of the lower coal zone ...................................................... 43 Figure 18: 1 ft to 5 ft sandstone frequency map: lower coal zone .......................................... 44 Figure 19: 5 ft and 10 ft sandstone interval frequency map: lower coal zone ....................... 45 Figure 20: Isopach map of the barren series interval .............................................................. 49 Figure 21: Percent coal map of the barren series .................................................................... 50 Figure 22: Percent sandstone map of the barren series .......................................................... 51 Figure 23: 1 ft and 5 ft sandstone interval frequency map: barren series ............................. 52 Figure 24: 10 ft and 15 ft sandstone frequency map: barren series. ...................................... 53 Figure 25: 15 ft and 20 ft sandstone frequency map: barren series. ...................................... 54 Figure 26: Isopach map of the interval between coal x to the top of the barren series ........ 58 Figure 27: Percent sandstone map of the interval between coal x to the barren series ....... 59 Figure 28: Percent coal map of the interval between coal x to the barren series ................. 60 Figure 29: 1 ft and 5 ft sandstone frequency map: coal x to the top of the barren series .... 61 Figure 30: 5 ft and 10 ft sandstone frequency map: coal x to the top of the barren series .. 62 Figure 31: 10 ft and 15 ft sandstone frequency map: coal x to the top of the barren series 63 Figure 32: Lower coal zone lithofacies assemblage map. ........................................................ 66 Figure 33: The Grijalva river system ........................................................................................ 67 Figure 34: Barren series isopach map with coal abundance overlay ..................................... 68 Figure 35: Barren series lithofacies assemblage map. ............................................................. 69 Figure 36: Blow up of cross section ........................................................................................... 72 Figure 37: Upper coal zone lithofacies assemblage map ......................................................... 73 Figure 38: Hay-Zama Lake System..........................................................................................