december 2014 outcrop

OUTCROPNewsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 63 • No. 12 • December 2014

December 20142Vol. 63, No. 12 2Than

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uThank you 2014 Sponsors

www.rmag.org3OUTCROP

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists910 16th Street • Suite 1214 • Denver, CO 80202 • 303-573-8621

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President – Matt Silverman [email protected]

President-Elect – Marv Brittenham, [email protected]

1st Vice-President – Michael Dolan [email protected]

2nd Vice-President – Michelle Bishop [email protected]

Secretary – Nick Nelson [email protected]

Treasurer – Reed Johnson [email protected]

Treasurer Elect – Paul Lillis [email protected]

Counselor (2 Year) – Laura L. Wray [email protected]

Counselor (1 Year) – Terri Olson [email protected]

2014 Officers and Board of Directors

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The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists910 16th Street, Suite 1214 • Denver, CO 80202-2997

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k yo

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December 20144Vol. 63, No. 12 4

RMAG October Board of Directors MeetingBy Nick Nelson, Secretary ([email protected])

This month’s board meeting was held on October 21st, 2014. We started the meeting with the financial report, and the organization is still looking good and the entire board hopes to continue this good financial standing into 2015. Every member should have already received the information to renew your membership for 2015. This information was distributed via email and good old snail mail so be sure to check both of your mailboxes and send in your dues before the end of the year. Another important thing to remember is that when you pay your dues you can also add a charitable donation. Those donations go directly to helping RMAG provide all of the programs and publications that you rely on and with tax season just around the corner, remember that all of your contributions are tax deductible.

The next topic of discussion during the board meeting was succession planning. The RMAG 2015 board of directors elections had just opened and the current board members discussed the plans we all have to transition our responsibilities to next year’s board. We are all trying to make the transition as seamless as possible so that the organization can hit the ground running in January. This topic also included the organizations long term planning which is being

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spearheaded by the 2015 RMAG President, Marv Brittenham. The strategic planning documents which include a revolving five year plan are coming together and will be reviewed and finalized by the 2015 board of directors.

With the end of the year just around the corner the board is also looking for anyone who might be interested in joining one of the RMAG committees. These committee positions are a great way to become more involved in the organization and most of them only take a couple hours a month. If you are interested in helping with a specific event, workshop or publication, just let us know. Contact the RMAG office and we will get you in contact with the committee of your choosing.

As for my recommendation for this month’s geologic excursion, I have one word for you, Ooids. These beautiful little carbonate grains are wonderful to look at whether you do so with a hand lens, optical microscope or even a SEM. I don’t know of any ooid rich outcrops in the Denver metro area, so this month I may need to spend some time at the USGS looking at cores. Remember to have fun and be safe, both in the field and the office.

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C O N T E N T S

OUTCROP

Volume 63 • No. 12 • December 2014

Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

COVER PHOTOOne of the travertine deposits associated

with the Pinkerton Springs group of geothermal springs located along a NW-trending fault zone, approximately 12 miles north of Durango, Colorado.

Fall foliage accentuates the rich yellow-gold iron-stained colors of this travertine mound, contrasting with the pure bright white calcium carbonate that forms the left (south) side of the depositional apron.

The hot springs issue from the Mississippian Leadville Limestone, and the surface water temperature is reported at approximately 90° F. Photo Copyright © Carl F. Brink 2014

Reference for further reading:McCarthy, K. P., Zacharakis, T. G., and Ringrose,

C. D., 1982, Geothermal Resource Assessment of the Animas Valley, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Resource Series 17.

Features10 Lead Story: Covenant

Oil Field, Central Utah Thrust Belt: New Interpretation of the Reservoir Stratigraphy

19 SAVE THE DATE! RMAG 1-Day Short Course

association news 2 Thank You to 2014

Summit Sponsors 7 Sporting Clay 2014

Thank You Tournament Sponsors

20 Connect with RMAG Online!

22 2015 RMAG Symposium October 8th Hot Plays of the Rocky Mountain Region

23 September 6th Field Trip29 RMAG Monthly

Luncheons at Maggianos 33 Thank you to 2014

Bakken Petroleum System Core Workshop Participants, Instructors and Host

34 NAPE – It's Not Just About the Rocky Mountains

35 21st Annual 3D Seismic Symposium

36 June 21st 2014 On-the-Rocks Field Trip

38 Thank You to 2013 Foundation Donors

46 2014 Summit Sponsors Interview

47 RMAG 2014 Summit Sponsors

Departments 4 RMAG October Board of

Directors Meeting 6 President's Column18 RMAG Luncheon

Program20 RMAG Luncheon

Program31 Welcome New RMAG

Members32 In the Pipeline49 Advertisers Index49 Calendar of Events

December 20146Vol. 63, No.12

State of the Union

President’s ColumnBy Matt Silverman

This is my final President’s Column, so I thought I would offer you a State of the Association Message. In summary, the state of our RMAG is excellent.

We have a remarkable professional staff, for which I am truly grateful. They have helped me all year, including with the preparation of this message. Our staff includes two full-time employees, Carrie Veatch, our Executive Director, and Hannah Rogers, our Membership and Events Manager. Emily Tompkins and Carol Dalton provide critical part-time services as Project Specialist and Accountant, respectively.

RMAG has an annual budget in excess of $650,000 this year. We operated in the black in fiscal year 2014 and returned $50,000 to our reserve fund. That fund’s assets are managed separately from our operating account and earmarked to see us through any lean years in the future.

Our membership has risen to about 2,100, an increase of about 5% in the past year. RMAG dues have been stable at $41/year for three years. Our online

membership directory has been improved to allow you to provide more information and to search better for your fellow RMAGers. Be sure to update your details if you haven’t done so yet.

I t is only through the susta ined ef for ts o f our members and the generosity of our sponsors that we are able to produce publications bursting with applied science, host challenging and relevant technical talks, and present e n te r t a i n i n g n e t wo r k i n g events.

A few of our 2014 highlights include:

We produced two new publications: • Tectonic GIS Data from the Geological Atlas of the Rocky

Continued on page 8 »

Our membership has risen to about 2,100, an increase of about 5% in the past year.

RMAG dues have been stable at $41/year for

three years.

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SPECIALIZING IN PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, HYDROLOGICAL, GEOTECHNICAL AND PERMITTING SERVICES

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December 20148Vol. 63, No. 12 8

President's ColumnContinued from page 6

Mountain Region and Oil & Gas Fields of Colorado 2014. Both are selling well; get one (or both!) now.

We hosted and managed a terrific AAPG-Rocky • Mountain Section Meeting in July.

We offered talks every month that have attracted • encouraging growth in the luncheon program.

We published four issues of • The Mountain Geologist with papers of great value to a broad range of geoscientists.

We enjoyed the 3-D Symposium in February, • Geolandski Day in March, a Spring Symposium on Geosteering in April, a golf tournament in May, a sporting clays tournament in September, a two-day core workshop in October, and the Rockbusters Ball in November.

Two of our top priorities are to continue to grow • and to make RMAG membership essential to every petroleum geologist in the region. With that in mind, the exciting year ahead includes:

The luncheon program will be moving to downtown • Denver’s Maggiano’s Little Italy, starting on January 7.

The 3-D Symposium that we co-sponsor with DGS • will be held at the Colorado Convention Center on February 5.

Seismic Interpretation for Geologists will be the • topic of our Spring Symposium, on April 16.

RMAG will be the host society for the AAPG annual • meeting on May 31-June 3. We’re going to sponsor short courses and field trips, in addition to the RMAG Night at the Zoo (featuring renowned dinosaur paleontologist Scott Sampson) on June 2.

Our golf tournament will be held at beautiful • Arrowhead Golf Club again, this year on June 17.

The RMAG Fall Symposium will showcase Hot Plays • of the Rocky Mountain Region on October 8.

Looking Even Farther AheadUnder the leadership of incoming president, • Marv Brittenham, we are preparing a Strategic Plan, laying out detailed financial, program and organizational goals and strategies for the next five years.

Papers have been solicited, abstracts submitted • and plans are well underway for a 2016 guidebook, focused on a twenty-first century look at Source Rocks of the Rocky Mountain Region.

Be sure to renew your membership, check the Outcrop and www.rmag.org for our events, and take an active role in RMAG in 2015. I thank all of my fellow board members, our sponsors, speakers, authors, editors, committee chairs, and all other volunteers for their indispensable contributions.

And I offer my thanks to you again for the extraordinary opportunity to serve as your president in 2014. »

December 201410Vol. 63, No.12

LEAD STORY Covenant Oil Field, Central Utah Thrust Belt: New Interpretation of the Reservoir StratigraphyBy Thomas C. Chidsey, Jr., and Douglas A. Sprinkel,Utah Geological Survey; John P. Vrona and Emily E. Hartwick, Wolverine Gas and Oil Corp.; and Martin Lester and Rosella Sbarra, Oolithica Geoscience Ltd.

IntroductionAfter over 50 years of

exploration in the central Utah thrust belt, the 2004 discovery of Covenant oil field proved that the central Utah thrust belt (Figure 1), or “Hingeline," contained the right components (trap, reservoir, seal, source, and migration history) for large accumulations of oil. Since 2004, Covenant has produced nearly 20 million barrels of oil and no gas; the field averages 4,500 barrels of oil and 11,000 barrels of water per day (Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, 2014). The original oil in place is estimated at 100 million barrels; the estimated recovery factor is 40 to 50% (Chidsey and others, 2007). Initially, production was interpreted to be from the Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone (Figure 2A). However, we now believe that Middle Jurassic Temple Cap Formation (White Throne Member) is present and productive as well as the Navajo (Figure 2B).

Regional Jurassic Stratigraphy Based on New Data and Field Observations

The Temple Cap Formation consists of intertonguing beds of marine and eolian origin that lie above the Navajo Sandstone and below the Middle Jurassic

Carmel Formation in southern Utah or the Middle Jurassic Arapien Formation in central Utah (Figures 2B). The term Temple Cap Formation was formerly restricted to areas of southwestern Utah but now is applied to strata in central and south-central Utah (Sprinkel and others, 2011; Doelling and others, 2013). The surface that separates the Temple Cap Formation from the underlying Navajo Sandstone is the J-1 unconformity, and is the second of several named unconformities in the Jurassic System in the region (Pipiringos and O'Sullivan, 1978; Biek and others, 2009). Sprinkel and others (2011) proposed that the Temple Cap Formation in Zion National Park is best characterized by designating three members (Figure 3): (1) the Sinawava, (2) White Throne, and (3) Esplin Point, in ascending order.

Covenant o i l f ie ld in the central Utah thrust belt is located about 120 miles northeast of Zion National Park. The early core and well-log interpretations of the strata that underlie the

Sliderock Member of the Arapien Formation (originally identified as the Twin Creek Limestone) in the Federal No. 17-3 well from Covenant field suggested a

Figure 1. Location of Covenant and Providence fields, uplifts, and selected thrust systems in the central Utah thrust belt, often referred to as the “Hingeline.” Numbers and sawteeth are on the hanging wall of the corresponding thrust system. Colored (yellow) area shows present and potential extent of the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone/Temple Cap Formation play area. Modified from Hintze, 1980; Sprinkel and Chidsey, 1993; and Peterson, 2001.



Lead Story

typical Navajo Sandstone of eolian sandstone with fluvial-lacustrine interbeds (Chidsey and others, 2007). The core and logs indicated that the upper part of the Navajo consists of an upper eolian unit and underlying red-brown to green-gray sandstone and siltstone unit, interpreted as an interdunal deposit. The red-brown siltstone unit rests on a generally thick eolian unit of the main body of the Navajo Sandstone. However, thin dolomitic limestone beds, initially interpreted as lacustrine in origin, are interbedded in the upper eolian unit. These carbonate beds yielded Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) marine d inof lagel late cysts in the Covenant core (Figures 2B and 4A and 4B). In addition, the red-brown to green-gray sandstone and siltstone unit below the upper eolianite contained glauconite (Figures 2B and 4C), another marine indicator. It is clear to us that the upper eolianite and the red-brown sandstone and siltstone units are not the Navajo Sandstone because of their Middle Jurassic age and marine origin. We identify this interval as the Sinawava and White Throne Members of the Temple Cap Formation; the Esplin Point Member is also preserved in the Federal No. 17-3 well but was not cored (Figure 2B). Finally, the thickness of the Temple Cap Formation in Covenant field is comparable to the Temple Cap in Zion National Park.

The White Throne Member and a few very thin beds of the Sinawava Member are now recognized in outcrop in the San Rafael Swell east of Covenant field. Most of the Sinawava and Esplin Point are present in the subsurface in wells at Farnham Dome gas field and in

the northern part of the San Rafael Swell. DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTSNavajo Sandstone

In Early (Pliensbachian/Toarcian) Jurassic time, Utah had an arid climate and lay 15° north of the equator (Hintze and Kowallis, 2009). The Navajo Sandstone and age-equivalent rocks were deposited in an extensive dune field (eolian environment) that extended from Wyoming to Arizona. Dunes were large to small, straight-crested to sinuous, coalescing, transverse barchanoid ridges (Picard, 1975). Regional analyses of the mean dip of dune foreset beds indicate paleocurrent and paleowind

Figure 2. Stratigraphic interpretations of the Federal No. 17-3 well, Covenant field. A – Original interpretation showing upper and lower Navajo Sandstone separated by a high gamma-ray zone. In this interpretation the Navajo is capped by the Twin Creek Limestone. B – New interpretation showing that the upper productive section is the Temple Cap Formation, consisting of three members in ascending order: Sinawava, White Throne (upper gray shading on the log), and Esplin Point. In this interpretation the Navajo is capped by the Arapien Formation. Also note marine indicators: (1) palynology identified Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) marine dinoflagellate cysts and microforam test lining recovered from thin carbonate beds at 6634.7 feet suggesting a marine environment intertonguing with the eolianite in the White Throne Member, and (2) glauconite recovered from the underlying siltstone and sandstone units at 6687 and 6763.5 feet, respectively, in the Sinawava Member. See Figure 4 for close-up images of marine indicators.

December 201412Vol. 63, No. 12

directions were dominantly from the north and northwest (Kocurek and Dott, 1983; Peterson, 1988). Research on the geochronology of detrital zircon grains in the Glen Canyon Group/Nugget suggests that most of the sand was eroded from the ancestral Appalachian Mountains, transported to the west by a continental-scale river system to the western shore of North America during the Jurassic, and then blown southward into the dune field (Dickinson and Gehrels, 2003, 2010; Rahl and others, 2003; Biek and others, 2010).

Temple Cap FormationThe Temple Cap Formation was

deposited when a shallow seaway spread south from Canada to south-central and southwestern Utah during Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) time (Blakey, 1994; Peterson, 1994; Hintze and Kowallis, 2009; Biek and others, 2010). The Sinawava Member represents a brief time of coastal sabkha and tidal flat environments. Wind-blown sand dunes of the White Throne Member signify a return to eolian conditions of a coastal dune field (Blakey, 1994; Peterson, 1994). White Throne dunes were smaller than Navajo dunes (widths up to 1650 feet) (Hartwick, 2010). Regional outcrop and Covenant core analyses of the

mean dip of dune foreset beds indicate paleocurrent and paleowind directions were dominantly from the northeast (Peterson, 1988; Hartwick, 2010). The close proximity to the coast is indicated by the few thin interbedded marine dolomitic limestone beds within the White Throne in the Covenant core (figure 2B), which suggest relatively short-lived, and perhaps local marine incursions into the coastal dune field; the limestone beds contain the marine palynomorphs found in the

Lead StoryContinued from page 11

Figure 3. Jurassic Navajo Sandstone and Temple Cap Formation (view west) at the east gate of Zion National Park. This outcrop serves as an excellent analog to Covenant field reservoir in the central Utah thrust belt.

Figure 4. Close-up images of marine indicators from the Temple Cap Formation of the Federal No. 17-3 well, Covenant field. See Figure 2A for the core depths of these marine indicators. Photomicrograph of glauconite courtesy of David E. Eby (Eby Petrography & Consulting, Inc.). Photomicrographs of palynomorphs from Oolithica.

A B C

A – Photomicrograph of marine dinoflagellate cysts (Gongylodinium hocneratum).

B – Photomicrograph of marine microforam test lining.

C – Photomicrograph (crossed nicols) of a single well-rounded glauconite grain (green) within a matrix of angular to subangular quartz grains surrounded by dolomite cement.


December 201414Vol. 63, No. 12 14

Covenant core discussed previously. The uppermost Esplin Point Member documents a rise in sea level and a return to coastal sabkha, tidal flat, and nearshore marine conditions. At Covenant field, all three members are present based on core and wireline log analysis (figure 2B) (Sprinkel and others, 2009). They are also present at Providence field about 20 miles to the north-northeast (Figure 1) but are non-productive; the field produces from the Navajo Sandstone (Chidsey and others, 2011).

Lithologic CharacteristicsThe productive part of the Navajo Sandstone at

Covenant field is about 240 feet thick; the White Throne Member of the Temple Cap Formation is about 200 feet thick. These units are characterized by thick, large-scale, trough, planar, or wedge-planar cross-beds (35 to 40º) commonly recognized as classical eolian dune features (Figure 5A and 5B); contorted bedding, wind ripples, and small-scale cross-beds are also common (Sanderson, 1974; Dalrymple and Morris, 2007). Massive, homogenous beds with no distinct sedimentary structures or laminations are also recognized in the Navajo and were probably formed by water-saturated

sand (Sanderson, 1974). In general, the Navajo Sandstone and White Throne

Member consist of very well to well-sorted, very fine to medium-grained (1/16 mm to ½ mm), subangular to subrounded, light-yellow-gray sand or silt grains cemented by carbonate cement. However, some intervals show a bimodal grain-size distribution representing silty laminae between sand beds. The typical sandstone is 97% white or clear quartz grains (usually frosted) with some quartz overgrowths, illite, and varying amounts of K-feldspar. Feldspar is more common in the Navajo than White Throne, further indicating a slight variation in depositional environment (Hartwick, 2010).

The Sinawava Member of the Temple Cap Formation is a more heterogeneous, 50-foot-thick section. This unit is characterized by low-angle to horizontal laminae or distorted bedding consisting of red-brown, very fine to fine-grained, thin, poorly sorted sandstone to mudstone, limestone, and gypsum (Figure 5C) (Sprinkel and others, 2009). Horizontal stratification often contains silty laminae between beds. These beds may also display ripples or channel characteristics (scour) suggesting

Lead Story

Continued on page 15»

Figure 5. Core photographs of lithologic characteristics of the Navajo Sandstone and Temple Cap Formation, Federal No. 17-3 well, Covenant field.

A B C

A – Cross -bedding in f ine-grained sandstone deposited in an eolian dune environment of the Navajo Sandstone (slabbed core from 6776 feet). Also shown are early, bitumen and gouge-filled, silica-cemented, impermeable fractures, with slight offsets.

B – Typical White Throne Member of the Temple Cap Formation showing cross-bedding in fine-grained sandstone deposited in a coastal dune environment (slabbed core from 6669 feet).

C – Representative Sinawava Member of the Temple Cap Formation showing siltstone laminae and shale deposited in a coastal sabkha to tidal flat environment (slabbed core from 6752 feet).

Continued from page 12



Figure 6. Northwest-southeast structural cross section through Covenant field (modified from Schelling, and others, 2005; Chidsey and others, 2007). Note small back thrust through the anticline that results in a repeated Navajo Sandstone/Temple Cap Formation section.

December 201416Vol. 63, No. 12 16

tidal flow or flooding events. Again, the presence of glauconite in Sinawava sandstones indicates marine to marginal marine conditions. The Esplin Point Member capping the Temple Cap has lithofacies similar to the Sinawava.

Trapping Mechanism, Hydrocarbon Source, and Reservoir Properties

The Covenant field trap is an elongate, symmetric, northeast-trending fault-propagation/fault-bend anticline (Figure 6), with nearly 800 feet of structural closure and a 450-foot-thick oil column (Strickland and others, 2005; Chidsey and others, 2007). The structure formed above a series of splay thrusts in a passive roof duplex along the Gunnison thrust and west of a frontal triangle zone within the Arapien Formation (figure 6). The Navajo, Temple Cap, and Arapien Formations are repeated due to an east-dipping back-thrust detachment within the structure. The productive reservoirs are on the hanging wall of the back thrust. The Navajo and Temple Cap reservoirs are effectively sealed by mudstone and evaporite in the overlying Arapien. The Covenant oil is likely derived from a Carboniferous source within the central Utah thrust belt (Wavrek and others, 2005, 2007, 2010; Chidsey and others, 2007, 2011).

The Navajo/White Throne oil-filled reservoir covers about 960 acres. There are 24 active producing wells in Covenant field with half completed in each reservoir. The average porosity for the Navajo Sandstone and White Throne Member is 12% (Strickland and others, 2005; Chidsey and others, 2007); permeabilities from the core data are upwards of 100 mD. The initial water saturation was 38%; the initial reservoir pressure was 2630 psi. The drive mechanism is a strong water drive.

ConclusionsA thorough understanding of all the components that

created Covenant field will hopefully lead to additional large oil and gas discoveries in this vast, under-explored region. The 2008 discovery of the small Providence field 20 miles to the northeast confirmed that other hydrocarbons remain to be found and that Covenant field was not just a “one-field wonder.” Covenant field was not only a successful exploration effort but it was a key scientific success in advancing our understanding of the Middle Jurassic in Utah. The presence of the Temple Cap Formation (and its members) at Covenant field and elsewhere in central Utah, both in the subsurface and outcrop, implies a much wider distribution than

previously thought. The eolian beds of not only the Navajo Sandstone but the previously unrecognized White Throne Member are excellent reservoirs, the latter representing a new drilling target for exploration.

AcknowledgmentsFunding for this research was provided, in part, by

the Preferred Upstream Management Program of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Tulsa, Oklahoma, contract number DE-FC26-02NT15133. Support was also provided by the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) and Wolverine Gas & Oil Corp (WGO).

Douglas K. Strickland (formerly with WGO and now deceased) is credited with much of the original discovery. Jake DeHamer, WGO, interpreted core petrophysical data. David E. Eby, Eby Petrography & Consulting, Inc., conducted petrographic analysis of thin sections. Gerald Waanders, Consulting Palynologist, reviewed the palynology data. Liz Paton and Cheryl Gustin of the UGS prepared the figures; Michael Laine and Brad Wolverton of the UGS Utah Core Research Center conducted core photography. David E. Tabet and Robert Ressetar of the UGS improved this article through their careful reviews.

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L.F., Anderson, R.E., and Brown, K.D., 2009, Geologic map of the St. George and east part of the Clover Mountains 30' x 60' quadrangles, Washington and Iron Counties, Utah: Utah Geological Survey Map 242, 101 p., scale 1:100,000.

Biek, R.F., Willis, G.C., Hylland, M.D., and Doelling, H.H., 2010, Geology of Zion National, Utah, in Sprinkel, D.A., Chidsey, T.C., Jr., and Anderson, P.B., editors, Geology of Utah’s parks and monuments (third edition): Utah Geological Association Publication 28, p. 109-143.

Blakey, R.C., 1994, Paleogeographic and tectonic controls on some Lower and Middle Jurassic erg deposits, Colorado Plateau, in Caputo, M.V., Peterson, J.A., and Franczyk, K.J., editors, Mesozoic systems of the Rocky Mountain region, USA: Denver, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology, p. 273-298.

Chidsey, T.C., Jr., DeHamer, J.S., Hartwick, E.E., Johnson, K.R., Schelling, D.D., Sprinkel, D.A., Strickland, D.K., Vrona, J.P., and Wavrek, D.A., 2007, Petroleum geology of Covenant oil field, central Utah thrust belt, in Willis, G.C., Hylland, M.D., Clark, D.L., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., editors, Central Utah—diverse geology of a dynamic landscape: Utah Geological Association Publication 36, p. 273-296.

Chidsey, T.C., Jr., Hartwick, E.E., Johnson, K.R., Schelling, D.D., Sbarra, R., Sprinkel, D.A., Vrona, J.P., and Wavrek, D.A., 2011, Petroleum geology of Providence oil field, central Utah thrust belt, in Sprinkel, D.A., Yonkee, W.A., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., editors, The Sevier orogen—hinterland to foreland evolution of a classic



fold and thrust belt: Utah Geological Association Publication 40, p. 213-231.

Dalrymple, A., and Morris, T.H., 2007, Facies analysis and reservoir characterization of outcrop analogs to the Navajo Sandstone in the central Utah thrust belt exploration play, in Willis, G.C., Hylland, M.D., Clark, D.L., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., editors, 2007, Central Utah—diverse geology of a dynamic landscape: Utah Geological Association Publication 36, p. 311-322.

Dickinson, W.R., and Gehrels, G.E., 2003, U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from Permian and Jurassic eolian sandstones of the Colorado Plateau, USA—paleogeographic implications: Sedimentary Geology, v. 163, issues 1-2, p. 29-66.

Dickinson, W.R., and Gehrels, G.E., 2010, Synoptic record in space and time of provenance relations for Mesozoic strata in south-central Utah from U-Pb ages of detrital zircons, in Carney, S.M., Tabet, D.E., and Johnson, C.L., editors, Geology of south-central Utah: Utah Geological Association Publication 39, p. 178-193.

Doelling, H.H., Sprinkel, D.A., Kowallis, B.J., and Kuehne, P.A., 2013, Temple Cap and Carmel Formations in the Henry Mountains Basin, Wayne and Garfield Counties, Utah, in Morris, T.H., and Ressetar, R., editors, The San Rafael Swell and Henry Mountains Basin—geologic centerpiece of Utah: Utah Geological Association Publication 42, p. 279-318.

Hartwick, E.E., 2010, Eolian architecture of sandstone reservoirs in the Covenant field, Sevier County, Utah [abs]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Rocky Mountain Section Meeting Program with Abstracts, p. 49.

Hintze, L.F., 1980, Geologic map of Utah: Utah Geological Survey Map M-A-1, 2 sheets, scale 1:500,000.

Hintze, L.F., and Kowallis, 2009, Geologic history of Utah: Brigham Young University Geology Studies Special Publication 9, 225 p.

Kocurek, G., and Dott, R.H., Jr., 1983, Jurassic paleogeography and paleoclimate of the central and southern Rocky Mountains region, in Reynolds, M.W., and Dolly, E.D., editors, Symposium on Mesozoic paleogeography of west-central U.S.: Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), Rocky Mountain Section, p. 101-116.

Peterson, F., 1988, Pennsylvanian to Jurassic eolian transportation systems in the western United States, in Kocurek, G., editor, Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic eolian deposits of the western interior of the United States: Sedimentary Geology, v. 56, p. 207-260.

Peterson, F., 1994, Sand dunes, sabkhas, streams, and shallow seas—Jurassic paleogeography in the southern part of the Western Interior Basin, in Caputo, M.V., Peterson, J.A., and Franczyk, K.J., editors, Mesozoic systems of the Rocky Mountain region, USA: Denver, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology, p. 233-272.

Peterson, J.A., 2001 (updated 2003), Carboniferous-Permian (late Paleozoic) hydrocarbon system, Rocky Mountains and Great Basin U.S. region—major historic exploration objective: Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Open-file Report, 54 p.

Picard, M.D., 1975, Facies, petrography and petroleum potential of Nugget Sandstone (Jurassic), southwestern Wyoming and northeastern Utah, in Bolyard, D.W., editor, Symposium on deep drilling frontiers of the central Rocky Mountains: Rocky Mountain Association of Petroleum Geologists Guidebook, p. 109-127.

Pipiringos, G.N., and O’Sullivan, R.B., 1978, Principal unconformities in Triassic and Jurassic rocks, western Interior United States—a

preliminary survey: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1035-A, 29 p.

Rahl, J.M., Reiners, P.W., Campbell, I.H., Nicolescu, S., and Allen, C.M., 2003, Combined single-grain (U-Th)/He and U/Pb dating detrital zircons from the Navajo Sandstone, Utah: Geology, v. 31, no. 9, p. 761-764.

Sanderson, I.D., 1974, Sedimentary structures and their environmental significance in the Navajo Sandstone, San Rafael Swell, Utah: Brigham Young University Geology Studies, v. 21, pt. 1, p. 215-246.

Schelling, D.D., Strickland, D.K., Johnson, K.R., Vrona, J.P., Wavrek, D.A., and Reuter, J., 2005, Structural architecture and evolution of the central Utah thrust belt—implications for hydrocarbon exploration [abs.]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention, Official Program with Abstracts, v. 14, non-paginated.

Sprinkel, D.A., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., 1993, Jurassic Twin Creek Limestone, in Hjellming, C.A., editor, Atlas of major Rocky Mountain gas reservoirs: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, p. 76.

Sprinkel, D.A., Kowallis, B.J., Waanders, G., Doelling, H.H., and Kuehne, P.A., 2009, The Middle Jurassic Temple Cap Formation, southern Utah—radiometric age, palynology, and correlation with the Gypsum Spring Member of the Twin Creek Limestone and Harris Wash Member of the Page Sandstone [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 41, no. 7, p. 690.

Sprinkel, D.A., Doelling, H.H., Kowallis, B.J., Waanders, G., and Kuehne, P.A., 2011, Early results of a study of Middle Jurassic strata in the Sevier fold and thrust belt, Utah, in Sprinkel, D.A., Yonkee, W.A., and Chidsey, T.C., Jr., editors, Sevier thrust belt—northern and central Utah and adjacent area: Utah Geological Association Publication 40, p. 151-172.

Strickland, D., Johnson, K.R., Vrona, J.P., Schelling, D.D., and Wavrek, D.A., 2005, Structural architecture, petroleum systems, and geological implications for the Covenant field discovery, Sevier County, Utah: Online, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Search and Discovery Article #110014, <http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/documents/2005/av/strickland/softvnetplayer.htm, posted August 30, 2005.

Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, 2014, Oil and gas summary production report by field, March 2014: Online, < https://fs.ogm.utah.gov/pub/Oil&Gas/Publications/Reports/Prod/Field/Fld_Mar_2014>, accessed September 22, 2014.

Wavrek, D.A., Strickland, D., Schelling, D.D., Johnson, K.R., and Vrona, J.P., 2005, A major paradigm shift—Carboniferous versus Permian petroleum systems in the central Rocky Mountains, U.S.A. [abs.]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention, Official Program with Abstracts, v. 14, non-paginated.

Wavrek, D.A., Ali-Adeeb, J., Chao, J.C., Santon, L.E., Hardwick, E.A., Strickland, D.K., and Schelling, D.D., 2007, Paleozoic source rocks in the central Utah thrust belt—organic facies response to tectonic and paleoclimatic variables [abs]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Rocky Mountain Section Meeting Official Program, p. 58-59.

Wavrek, D.A., Schelling, D.D., Sbarra, R., Vrona, J.P., and Johnson, K.R., 2010, Central Utah thrust belt discoveries—a tale of two hydrocarbon charges [abs.]: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Official Program with Abstracts, p. 72-73.

Lead Story

»

Black shales are excellent source rocks for hydrocarbons but remain a mystery in terms of the exact environment in which they were deposited. Some geochemical studies argue for an anoxic or even euxinic setting for black shale deposition and typically envision sedimentation in a tranquil environment purely by suspension settling. In contrast, the sedimentological community is becoming increasingly convinced that at least dysoxic conditions prevailed at times during the deposition of black shales, and sedimentation was partly through bed load transport with significantly diminished importance being placed on suspension settling. That dysoxic conditions existed during deposition of black shales is supported by evidence of bottom water currents moving and depositing sediment as well as an abundance of bioturbation/cryptobioturbation. Trace fossil occurrence in black shales is considered crucial as an indicator for some oxygenation of bottom waters.

This study focuses on recognizing depositional events as well as the stratigraphic and spatial distribution of bioturbation within the upper shale member of the Devonian-Mississippian Bakken Formation, an important source rock and potential unconventional petroleum reservoir in the Williston Basin, US and Canada. Facies analysis of the upper shale member reveals that this

December 201418Vol. 63, No. 12 18

RMAG Luncheon Programs – December 3rd

Black Shale Depositional Environments and the Anoxic-Dysoxic Controversy – The Williston Basin of North Dakota, USA, During Upper Bakken Times as a Key ExampleBy Sven Egenhoff, CSU Fort Collins, December 3rd

The December Luncheon will be held at the Marriott City Center at California and 17th St. Please check the event listing in the lobby for the room. Starting with the January Luncheon, all luncheons will be held at Maggiano's Little Italy (500 16th Street Mall #150, Denver, CO, 80202). Check-in/walk-in registration begins at 11:30 a.m., lunch is served at 12:00 noon, and the talk begins at 12:20 p.m. For members the luncheon is priced at $30.00 and starting in January, non-members will be charged $35.00. To listen to only the talk, walk-in price is $10.00. If you make a reservation and do not attend the luncheon, you will be billed for the luncheon. Online registration closes at 4:00 p.m. on the Thursday before the luncheon. Cancellations are not guaranteed after that time.

LunCHeon ReSeRvATionS & infoRMATion

Call 303-573-8621, email [email protected],

or register online.

Your attendance is welcomed and encouraged. Bring a guest or new member!

Trace fossil occurrence in black shales is considered crucial as an indicator for some oxygenation of bottom waters.

depositional system is characterized by at least three distinct facies belts with amorphous organic material occurring in all of them in variable abundance. On a transect from proximal to distal, these facies belts are: (1) a heavily bioturbated mudstone, with scours and local fossil lag deposits, (2) a laminated silt-rich mudstone with horizontal burrows and fecal strings, and (3) a radiolarian-rich mudstone with varying content of silt and clay. The highest amounts of organic matter occur in facies belt #1.

Evidence of event deposition exists in all facies belts, in the form of sub-millimeter-thick fine siltstone laminae interpreted as distal tempestites, and lag deposits from weak currents. The presence of bedding-parallel burrows as well as multidirectional fecal strings in laminated silt-rich mudstones, which forms the bulk of the sediment in the unit, clearly points to the presence of burrowing organisms present during and after deposition, which thereby argues against persistently anoxic conditions even some millimeters below the sediment-water interface. Only some of the most distal radiolarian-rich facies, which contain very limited bioturbation and are largely devoid of tempestite-formed structures, may have been deposited under temporarily anoxic conditions. However, given that even some distal sediment contains ripples indicates bottom current reworking occurred at least during portions of their depositional history.

Burrow and fecal string diversity does show a correlation to grain size and interpreted paleo-basin depth. Proximal sediments containing some sand-size grains show up to four different burrow and fecal string types whereas the most distal facies, composed of clay and fine-grained siltstone, shows nearly exclusively one fecal string type. This well-developed trace-fossil-diversity trend suggests that an oxygen gradient existed during deposition with generally higher levels of oxygen present in proximal settings and relatively lower oxygen levels in distal settings. The very high overall abundance of trace fossils in these rocks suggests that the producers of burrows and fecal strings lived in this environment, at least at times, and could not have been swept in through occasional storm events. Deposition of these organic-rich mudstones must therefore have


RMAG Luncheon Programs

occurred under largely dysoxic conditions and not under persistent anoxia.

Biography Sven was born in Germany, and raised in Germany,

Iran, and Argentina. He studied at the Universities of Clausthal and Heidelberg, Germany, where he finished his Diploma (equivalent to a Masters' degree) on the internal buildup of a fossil atoll in the Italian Dolomites. He received his PhD from Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, in 2000 for a basin analytical study of the Ordovician succession in southern Bolivia. After a five year lecturer position at Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg in south-eastern Germany he was appointed Assistant Professor at Colorado State University in 2006 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2010. Sven's areas of expertise are understanding sedimentary processes in carbonates and shales, and using them to reconstruct fossil depositional environments. His research applies these models to characterize oil and gas reservoirs and to reconstruct fossil habitats of long extinct animal groups such as graptolites. »

December 201420Vol. 63, No. 12 20

RMAG Luncheon Programs – February 4th

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Rhenium–osmium (Re–Os) geochronometry is applied to crude oils derived from the Permian Phosphoria Formation of the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming and Montana to determine whether the radiogenic age reflects the timing of petroleum generation, timing of migration, age of the source rock, or the timing of thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR). The oils selected for this study are interpreted to be derived from the Meade Peak Phosphatic Shale and Retort Phosphatic Shale Members of the Phosphoria Formation based on oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations utilizing bulk properties, elemental composition, stable carbon and sulfur isotope values, and biomarker distributions. Oil was generated in the Phosphoria basin in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming as a result of burial by the subsequent deposition of Mesozoic sediments, although some oil generation

Timing of Generation and Migration of Phosphoria Oils in the Bighorn Basin Using Re–Os Geochronometry By Paul G. Lillis U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25046, MS 977, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO, 80225, [email protected], February 4th

The oils selected for this study are interpreted to be derived from the Meade Peak Phosphatic Shale and Retort Phosphatic Shale Members of the Phosphoria Formation based on oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations utilizing bulk properties, elemental composition, stable carbon and sulfur isotope values, and biomarker distributions.


»

may have been influenced by the development of the Idaho–Wyoming–Utah thrust belt. The oil migrated eastward along regional dip, was trapped in a regional stratigraphic trap (or series of traps) by the up-dip impermeable evaporites of the Goose Egg Formation, and then re-migrated into structural traps formed by the Laramide orogeny. Generation and migration occurred prior to the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous; ~70 Ma) because the tectonic barriers from the Laramide orogeny later blocked the migration pathways into successor basins such as the Bighorn Basin. Proposed timing of the beginning of oil generation and migration from eastern Idaho and western Wyoming ranges from Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous.

The Re and Os isotope data of the Phosphoria oils plot in two general trends: (1) the main trend yielding a Triassic age but with significant scatter (239 ± 43 Ma), and (2) the Torchlight trend yielding a precise Miocene age (9.24 ± 0.39 Ma). The scatter in the main-trend regression is due, in part, to TSR in reservoirs along the eastern margin of the basin. Excluding oils that have experienced TSR, the regression is significantly improved, yielding an age of 211 ± 21 Ma. This revised age is consistent with some studies that have proposed Late Triassic as the beginning of Phosphoria oil generation and migration, and does not seem to reflect the source rock age (Permian) or the timing of re-migration (Late Cretaceous to Eocene) associated with the Laramide orogeny. The low precision of the revised regression (± 21 Ma) is not unexpected for this oil family given the long duration of generation from a large geographic area of mature Phosphoria source rock, and the possible range in the initial Os isotope values of the Meade Peak and Retort source units. Effects of re-migration may have contributed to the scatter, but

RMAG Luncheon Programs

thermal cracking and biodegradation likely have had minimal or no effect on the main-trend regression. The four Phosphoria-sourced oils from Torchlight and Lamb fields yield a precise Miocene age Re–Os isochron that may reflect the end of TSR in the reservoir due to cooling below a threshold temperature in the last 10 m.y. from uplift and erosion of overlying rocks.

The mechanism for the formation of a Re–Os isotopic relationship in a family of crude oils may involve multiple steps in the petroleum generation process. Bitumen generation from the source rock kerogen may provide a reset of the isotopic chronometer, and incremental expulsion of oil over the duration of the oil window may provide some of the variation seen in 187Re/188Os values from an oil family.

Reference Lillis, P.G. and Selby, D. 2013, Evaluation of the rhenium–osmium

geochronometer in the Phosphoria petroleum system, Bighorn Basin of Wyoming and Montana, USA: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v.118, p. 312-330. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2013.04.021

BiographyPaul Lillis is a petroleum geochemist with the Central

Energy Resources Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Denver, Colorado. He received a B.A. in geology from San Jose State University, an M.S. in geology from San Diego State University, and a Ph.D. in geochemistry from Colorado School of Mines. He was a petroleum exploration geologist with Atlantic Richfield for eight years (1978 to 1986) in Colorado, California, and Texas, and has been with the USGS in Denver since 1987. His research focuses on the application of petroleum and source-rock geochemistry to identifying, characterizing, and mapping petroleum systems.

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December 201422Vol. 63, No. 12 22

A call for papers is forthcoming (Spring 2015). If you would like to participate, please email: [email protected]

With all the unconventional activity occurring across the globe, it is time to review what is driving the technical quality of the “Hot Plays” in

the greater Rocky Mountain region. Please mark your calendars for what is sure to be the “HOTTEST” event of the Fall 2015 Technical Season. Geological, Geophysical, Geochemical, Petrophysical, and Structural technical drivers will be presented, describing what the RMAG membership has determined to be the Hottest Plays in the

Rocky Mountains.

October 8th, 2015At the Denver City Center

Marriott

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The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

presents: RMAG Fall Symposium

Hot Plays of the Rocky Mountain Region


A call for papers is forthcoming (Spring 2015). If you would like to participate, please email: [email protected]

With all the unconventional activity occurring across the globe, it is time to review what is driving the technical quality of the “Hot Plays” in

the greater Rocky Mountain region. Please mark your calendars for what is sure to be the “HOTTEST” event of the Fall 2015 Technical Season. Geological, Geophysical, Geochemical, Petrophysical, and Structural technical drivers will be presented, describing what the RMAG membership has determined to be the Hottest Plays in the

Rocky Mountains.

October 8th, 2015At the Denver City Center

Marriott

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September 6th Field TripOn Saturday, September 6, a group of 23 met north of

Denver for a tour of sites in Boulder and Larimer Counties affected by the 2013 floods that had occurred just a year earlier. The field trip was led by Bill Hoyt, Chair of Earth and Atmospheric Science, UNC Greeley, and Bob Jarrett,

During the flood, water topped the 2nd Ave Bridge in Lyons.

Repairs along Highway 36.

Bob Jarrett and Bill Hoyt amid boulders of the Little Thompson River.

The debris flow from Mt. Meeker.

Debris from the Mt. Meeker flow surround St. Malo chapel.

Flood deposition along the North Fork of the Big Thompson River.


December 201424Vol. 63, No. 12 24

who worked for USGS for 40+ years as a hydrologist and now works with Applied Weather Associates out of Monument. Dr. Jarrett has analyzed data from over 120 stream sites affected during the Colorado floods. Field trip participants included geologists and at least one local resident of Lyons, who were interested in seeing the flood damage and as well as learning the hydrometeorological context and the comparison to the 1976 Big Thompson Flood.

The September 2013 flood events were exceptional for the duration and amount of precipitation, areal extent, and record runoffs. Rainfall for that second week of the month ranged from 15 to 20 inches as far south as El Paso County, where Fort Carson received 12 inches of rain in 1 day. Although the field trip examined damage in Boulder and Larimer Counties, flooding occurred as far east as Greeley when the South Platte River topped its banks.

Heavy rains began in northeast Colorado on September 9. By September 11, residents of Lyons noticed that the sound of St. Vrain Creek, generally a pleasant burble, had changed to one of a charging locomotive, as the amplified velocity and volume of the water picked up boulders of increasingly large size. At 2:30 a.m. on September 12th, the flood alarm blared through town, instructing residents to evacuate to higher ground. During peak high water the town was effectively separated into five islands. All utility service was non-functional for a month. A trailer park located near the confluence of the North and South Forks of the St Vrain was destroyed, as were one in eight homes throughout Lyons. Water topped the 2nd Avenue Bridge. Even water wells from homes high up on the hillside, drilled to depths of 300 ft, were contaminated. Buildings within the floodplain with more than 50 percent damage were demolished, per FEMA instruction.

Estimating rainfall frequencies for foothill streams was difficult due to limited gauges, short records, and the extreme nature of the rainfall. Rainfall frequencies (a measure of how rare an event is) exceeded 0.001 (greater than a 1,000-year storm) in large areas of the foothills, according to NOAA Atlas 14 methodologies. The critical-depth method was used to estimate peak discharge in higher gradient foothill streams after the flood. Peak discharge is calculated by width x depth x velocity in cubic feet per second (cfs.) Where gauges were destroyed or not available, water depth could be estimated by high water marks along channel margins, although in very high gradient streams, tree scars from moving rock can occur above the water surface. The height of a fresh flood deposit can also be used as an indicator, as can the exposure of tree roots. Peak discharge was calculated as 9000 cfs on the South St. Vrain and 12,300 cfs on the North St. Vrain. Downstream of

September 6th Field TripContinued from page 23

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the confluence, Bob Jarrett estimated peak discharge to be 23,300 cfs. This contrasts to the peak discharge of 835 cfs during the 1976 flood event. Flood frequencies were not exceedingly rare on many of the small streams for storm durations of several hours or less. However, for longer storm durations on larger streams, flood frequencies exceeded 0.002 (greater than a 500-year flood). The large footprint of the rainstorm produced large peak discharges as contributing drainage area increased, and also was a factor in these small flood frequencies.

Some channel changes occurred in rivers due to the floods. In Lyons a new course of St. Vrain Creek was cut temporarily to the south. Along Highway 36, the channel of the Little Thompson River excavated down to bedrock. In response, CDOT is working to realign and increase the height of the road just west of Pinewood Springs, which was closed except to local traffic for extended periods. Much of the asphalt that broke away from the damaged roads was recycled in the repair work. As CDOT has worked tirelessly to restore connections to the affected communities, they face the question of what size event to design for.

At least five dams failed on the West Fork of the Little Thompson River, although analyses by the Colorado Division of Water Resources showed that the failures did not increase peak flows above what natural runoff would have been. The peak discharges above and downstream of the confluence of the West Fork of the Little Thompson and the main stem of the Little Thompson were 2680 cfs and 14,600 cfs, respectively. At the North Fork of the Big Thompson, just upstream of Glen Haven, the peak discharge was calculated as 1700 cfs, compared to 888 cfs in 1976. Downstream of Glen Haven the peak discharge was 18,400 cfs. Upstream of Drake, the peak discharge into the Big Thompson

River from the North Fork ranged between 5900 and 9600 cfs in 2013, compared to 8710 cfs in 1976. Downstream of the town the peak discharge of the Big Thompson was about 14,800 cfs in 2013 and 30,100 cfs in 1976.

»

September 6th Field Trip

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Fee: $250 (includes food at breaks, workbook, and PDH certificate)

Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Miskimins (Barree and Associates and Colorado School of Mines)

This one-day short course provides a broad, basic understanding of various petroleum engineering topics for non-

engineers. The focus of the course is placed on the design, construction, stimulation, and production of wells.

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Colorado School of Mines, Berthoud Hall room 201

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management may also be reviewed. (This class is designed with professional Geoscientist in mind).

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Basic Openhole Log Interpretation Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, January 27-29, 2015, 8:30 am – 5 pm,

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Limit: 60 persons Offers a “hands-on” approach to basic openhole well log analysis and interpretation;

Focuses on the traditional interpretation targets of lithology, porosity, and fluid saturation;

Introduces a variety of interpretation techniques in the context of the availability of newer, more extensive, data;

Is organized by the targets, or goals of the measurements, rather than by the physics of the measurements.

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situation could worsen. In most cases emergency response agencies were able to alert residents of the danger, and good communications aided heroic rescue efforts. Nine people died in the September floods.

What made the 2013 flood unique was the saturated soils that caused severe erosion and deposition, in some valleys obliterating the entire floodplain. On the south side of Lake Estes, where Fish Creek enters from the south, the failure of small dams and earth embankments exacerbated the flood peak, erosion and deposition, such that the Fish Creek arm of Lake Estes has filled to nearly the elevation of Fish Creek Road. The 2013 peak discharge in Fish Creek was 4800 cfs, compared to 182 cfs in 1976. From 6 to 8 ft of sediment was deposited to 1000 ft upstream of Drake. Finer grained sediments damaged many businesses in Drake, but the upstream end of the flood bar deposit contained boulders 1-2 ft in diameter. The little town of Glen Haven on County Road 43 took a devastating hit when flood flows from West Creek increased to unexpectedly high levels of 11,000 cfs due to the rapid failure of a debris dam. In 1976, the peak discharge was measured at 2320 cfs.

The la rgest debr is f low originated above timberline on Mt. Meeker on September 11. The flow measured 100 yards wide by 30 ft high and extends for 4 miles. The St. Malo Chapel avoided damage because of its elevated rock foundation, but the conference facilities and roads were closed for extensive repairs.

In 1976, the Big Thompson megastorm was pr imari ly a convective event of short duration, dropping 10-12 inches of rain over 4 hours. In a short time the water level in the river rose from 2 to 19 ft, carrying large boulders and killing 143 people. Ironically, the weather conditions in September 2013 that produced the antecedent moisture and saturated ground that contributed to so much erosion also provided a warning to residents that their

»

September 6th Field TripContinued from page 25

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NAPE on the RocksJoin us Wednesday, December 10th, 2014

3:00 pm - 5:00 pmAt the Colorado Convention Center

Brought to you by RMAGWelcome Reception for NAPE Rockies

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Welclome New RMAG Members!Bradley Arnett lives in Schertz, TX.

Ceri Davies works for CGG in Houston, TX.

Mattew Davis is a Senior Geologist for Encana in Denver, CO.

A. Roger Dowell lives in Highlands Ranch, CO.

Scott Gaffri is a self-employed geologist in Parker, CO.

Tad Gladczenko works for International Reservoir Technologies in Lakewood, CO.

Philip Hartman lives in Golden, CO.

Alice Heesacker lives in Lochbuie, CO.

John Humphrey is a Professor for the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO.

Katie Kocman is a Senior Geologist for QEP Energy Company in Denver, CO.

Dawn Krupp works for Comstock Resources.com in Golden, CO.

Michael Leibovitz works for Exxon Mobil in Houston, TX.

Todd Lytle is a Microseismic Sales Manager for Baker Hughes in Denver, CO.

John McLeod is a Geologist for SM Energy in Denver, CO.

Bart Pfeifer lives in Lakewood, CO.

Paul Stiles is a Senior Geologist for Sigmacubed in Littleton, CO.

Mark Tobey is a Petroleum Geochemist for Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. in Castle Rock, CO.

Daniel Wheat is a Sr. Geologist for Noble Energy, Inc. in Denver, CO.

Frederick Witsell is a President for PetroShare Corp in Littleton, CO.

Albert Wylie works for Cabot Oil & Gas in Pittsburgh, PA. »

NAPE on the RocksJoin us Wednesday, December 10th, 2014

3:00 pm - 5:00 pmAt the Colorado Convention Center

Brought to you by RMAGWelcome Reception for NAPE Rockies

Sponsorship Opportunities AvailableContact the RMAG Office

Come Visit RMAG at NAPE Rockies. Located at Booth 135

Robert L. Bayless, Producer

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December 201432Vol. 63, No. 12 32

In the PipelineDecember 2, 2014

DWLS Annual Holiday Party. Lime@Denver Pavillions.December 3, 2014

RMAG Luncheon. Speaker Sven Egenhoff. “Black Shale Depositional Environments and the Anoxic-Dysoxic Controversy- the Williston Basin of North Dakota, During Upper Bakken Times as a Key Example.”December 4, 2014

Oilfield Helping Hands-Bowling and Billiards Bash. Denver Athletic Club.December 5, 2014

PTTC Rockies Short Course. “Petroleum Engineering for Non-Engineers.” Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO.December 10, 2014

RMAG NAPE on the Rocks. Reception held from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Colorado Convention Center.December 10-12, 2014

NAPE Rockies. Colorado Convention Center.December 12, 2014

DIPS Luncheon. Speaker Steve Cumella. “Unconventional Reservoirs.”

January 7, 2015RMAG Luncheon. Pete Stark. "The Exploration

Conundrum - Where Will Tomorrow's Oil Come From?" February 4, 2015

RMAG Luncheon. Paul Lillis. "Timing of generation and migration of Phosphoria oils in the Bighorn Basin using Re-Os geochronometry." February 5, 2015

RMAG/DGS 21st Annual 3D Seismic Symposium. Colorado Convention Center.March 4, 2015

RMAG Luncheon. Dr. Steven A. Tedesco. "Stratigraphy, geochemistry and production from thin carbonaceous mudstones and carbonates of Pennsylvanian Atokan."April 16th, 2015

RMAG Short Course. June 17th, 2015

2015 RMAG Golf Tournament.October 8th, 2015

RMAG Hot Plays Fall Symposium.

If you have any events that you would like to post in this column, please submit via email to Holly Sell at [email protected], or the RMAG office at [email protected].

»

December 201434Vol. 63, No. 12 34

It’s Not Just About the Rocky Mountains

Register Todaywww.napeexpo.com

December 10-12, 2014Denver,ColoradoColorado Convention Center

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It’s Not Just About the Rocky Mountains

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December 10-12, 2014Denver,ColoradoColorado Convention Center

Showcasing Prospects • Building Partnerships • Generating DealsShowcasing Prospects • Building Partnerships • Generating Deals

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December 201436Vol. 63, No. 12 36

June 21st 2014 On-the-Rocks Field Trip

The group approaching an encounter with the Upper Lyons Formation (Permian) which forms the spires in the middle distance. The aeolian crossbeds of the Lyons are here turned upright by backthrusting out of an evolved triangle zone wedge. These monoliths are also deformed by movement along the Hidden Inn fault, which cuts obliquely across the dominantly N-S structural trend of the fore and backthrusts of the triangle zone.

Neoproterozoic to Ordovician: Front Range and Structure Near Colorado SpringsBy Ronald L. Parker, Senior Geologists, Task-Fronterra Geoscience, 700 17th Street, Suite 1700, Denver, Colorado, 80202 [email protected]

The longest day of the year was a perfect setting for the 2nd Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists On-The-Rocks, field trip for the 2014 season. It was also a perfect day for the assembled group to have their collective minds blown by the enigmatic and thought provoking rocks on



Ned Sterne explaining the vagaries of the Rampart Range fault and the influence of the evolved triangle zone model to Bob Knapp.

June 21st On-the-Rocks Field Trip


Chris Siddoway describing curved and segmented faults and the development of relay zones linking en echelon reverse faults. These relay zones create zones of intense wall rock fracturing or deformation bands filled with pulverized cataclasites. Ar/Ar geochronology derived from authigenic illite crystalized during shearing events indicate that the Front Range Monocline developed as a Laramide feature ~ 58±4Ma.

Photo of the Late Cambrian Sawatch sandstone unconformably overlying the Neoproterozoic Pikes Peak Granite (1.08 Ga). The Pike’s Peak granite displays prominent spheroidally-weathered “corestones.” The light-colored Sawatch quartz arenite has laminations that abut the protruding corestones. Thus, spheroidal weathering must have developed at an exposure surface prior to being covered by the transgressing sands.

The group assembled to hear Paul Myrow (yellow vest) describe the transition from the lower Sawatch (light-colored quartz arenites) to the middle Sawatch (dark colored, glauconitic dolostone, sandy dolostone and dolomitic sandstone). Subaerial dessication mudcracks in the lower Sawatch are separated from the base of glauconitic tidal dune crossbeds by ~ 10’ of section. This suggests that the transgression was rapid.

Large tidal dune crossbed forests preserved in the lower portion of the glauconitic middle Sawatch. The glauconite, along with shell fragments of the inarticulate brachiopod Lingula sp, are clear indicators of marine conditions. Based upon the preserved bedform scale, a minimal water depth of at least 60’ is indicated.

display at the stops. This trip, led by Dr. Paul Myrow and Dr. Christine Siddoway of Colorado College, and assisted by Ron Pritchett, brought the group to see some spectacular outcrops recording changes to the planet at the dawn of the Phanerozoic. Included with the visits to world-class exposures of enigmatic rocks were a couple of surprises, too.

The Manitou Springs area is renowned for an almost complete geolog ica l co lumn f rom the Neoproterozoic to the present; only the Silurian is missing. The Colorado College professors have run variations of this field trip on many occasions. In 2013, in association with the 125th anniversary of


June 21st 2014 On-the-Rocks Field Trip

the Geological Society of America and the annual meeting hosted in Denver, details of this field trip were published in GSA Field Guide 33 (Siddoway et al., 2013). The RMAG On-the-Rocks trip visited many of the stops described in the Field Guide publication, although not in sequence.

To start the glorious day, the group collected at the Visitors Center for the Garden of the Gods Park. The first Stop was an overview looking west from the Visitor’s Center. Here soaring fins of Lyons sandstone were perfectly displayed

December 201438Vol. 63, No. 12 38

THANK YOU TO 2013 FOUNDATION DONORS

The Trustees of the RMAG Foundation wish to thank and acknowledge the generous support of the Foundation’s donors in 2013. Over $53,000 was raised for student scholarships and the general fund which supports geologic endeavors within the Rocky Mountain scientific community at large. The Foundation awarded 7 scholarships in 2013 totaling $17,500 and an additional $17,000 was awarded to these deserving organizations:

AAPG Imperial Barrel Award- Rocky Mtn Section AAPG Student Leadership Conference- Rocky Mtn Section Friends of Dinosaur Ridge- Boys and Girl Scout days Morrison Natural History Museum- Inner City School attendance PTTC Futures in Energy- Rocky Mtn Section Colorado State Science Fair winners Golden Pick Award RMAG Guidebook Mineral sets for Denver Public Schools Colorado Science Teacher of the Year

Thank You all for your continued support!

Abbot, William Bailey, RV Barrett, William Bell, Richard Blajszczak, Richard Bollenbacher, John Bortz, Louis Brittenham, Marvin Broten, Jim Brown, Charles "Elmo" Butler, Arthur Charbonneau, Roger Clifford C Clark Collinson, James Conti, Louis Coskey, Robert Covey, Curtis Crouch, Jane Crouch, Marshall Cygan, Norbert Desmond, Robert & Julia Enterline, Ted Eschner, Terence Estes-Jackson, Jane

Flagg Diamond corp Freedom Energy Assoc Fullerton, Tom G & H Production Co Garcia, Carlos Gibbet Hill Foundation Gomez, Ernest Gregg, Clare Grose, Thomas Harris, Sherod Hayes, Kathryn Heath, Edward Hess, Paul Irwin, Patricia Jones, Evan Kamp, Carl Knappe, Roy Kovach, Paul Kreutzfeld, James Krey, Max Larson, Scott LJ Oil, Inc Lowell, James Mark, Anson

Mason, M.Ann McKenna, Donald J McKenna, Elizabeth Meckel, Lawrence Michael, Robert Moore, Clyde Munn, James Nelson, Forrest Obernolte, Rick O'Donnell, Richard Pasternak, Ira Peterson, David Polleys, John RMAG Golf Participants Reed, Don Reid, Chase Reynolds, Mitchell Richards, Gene Roberts, Kimberly Schumacher, Dietmar Selma, Janita Shreve, Mark Sidwell, E.R. Silverman, Matthew

Single, Erwin Skeryanc, Anthony Smith, Gregg Smith, Marlis Smith, William Sonnenberg, Stephen Spelman, Allen Stark, Charles Stark, Philip Strachan, Stephen Sturdavant, Janien Sullivan, Steven Taylor, David Warme, John Wasson, Edward Wehrle, Paul Weiner, Kane West, Valary Wexford Resources Wiley, Bruce Willette, Donna Wray, Laura


beneath the edifice of Pike’s Peak. At this brief introduction to the day, Dr. Siddoway outlined the structural complexity exposed in the Front Range monocline, drawing on the evolved triangle zone model of Ned Sterne. An added bonus was having Ned Sterne along on the trip.

The group piled in to Colorado College vans and we proceeded to the North parking lot at Garden of the Gods for our second Stop. As a first measure, Paul and Christine introduced the group to Colorado College’s safety policy requiring that participants don reflective safety vests and operate in proximity to warning signs. Although this seemed a bit odd in the relatively safe environment of Garden of the Gods, this became a much better idea at the road outcrops. We walked south into the park stopping at several outcrops to look at different features. As we walked through a valley formed by the less resistant middle Lyons, we observed extensive (hydrocarbon - mit igated?) bleaching and concentrated clusters of cataclastic deformation bands in the upper Lyons to the east. A bit farther along we observed the contact of aeolian dune foreset beds of the lower Lyons with channel gravels of the older Fountain Formation. As we continued along trails to the south, we came upon an intensely fractured area displaying the lower, middle and upper Lyons. Here, we discussed the unusual map pattern resulting from the interaction of larger N-S-oriented (bedding parallel) faults with smaller, NE-SW trending (bedding oblique) faults.

After Garden of the Gods, the group drove west through

Manitou Springs and up CO-24 to spectacular outcrops displaying the Great Unconformity for our 3rd Stop. At this locality, Upper Cambrian Sawatch sandstones are displayed in profound nonconformity upon an extensively weathered surface of 1.08 Ga Pike’s Peak granite. The Sauk transgression, observed across the craton, arrived in this part of Colorado during the Upper Cambrian, approximately 490 Ma. The lower Sawatch sandstones that onlap the Pike’s Peak granite are coarse to very coarse quartz arenites with <5% labile grains. The underlying Pike’s Peak granite in this locality is characterized by a highly-weathered surface complete with large, spheroidally weathered “corestones”. The light-colored Sawatch quartz arenite has laminations that abut the protruding corestones, thus, the spheroidal weathering must have formed as a surface of exposure prior to being covered by the transgressing sands.

The lower Sawatch (light-colored quartz arenites) transitions upward into dark colored, glauconitic dolostone, sandy dolostone and dolomitic sandstones of the middle Sawatch. The lower part of the middle Sawatch is characterized by large-scale tidal dune crossbed foresets. Based upon the preserved bedform scale, a minimal water depth of ~21m is indicated. These indicators of deepening water are situated 3.1 m above mudcracks, giving a sense that the transgression was rapid.

T h e u p p e r p a r t o f t h e middle Sawatch is capped by



Reducing fluids have bleached the hematitic cement along fractures in the Tava sandstone.

Outcrop of the Pennsylvanian Fountain Formation added as a replacement for the unsuccessful visit to see the Mississippian Hardscrabble Limestone and Pennsylvanian Glen Eyrie Shale.

This photo displays crosscutting Tava sandstone injectite dikes encased in Neoproterozoic (1.08 Ga) Pikes Peak Granite. The transverse dike is parallel to a fracture fabric evident in the granite at left. The other dike is perpendicular to the fabric. The core points have been used for thin section and detrital zircon geochronology studies. The discovery of sandstone injectites within plutonic rocks is very rare, indeed.


December 201440Vol. 63, No. 12 40

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a disconformity which is overlain by the Ordovician Manitou Limestone. This lithologic sequence: quartz arenites followed by glauconitic dolostones and dolomitic sandstones capped by limestone was observed on the other side of the continental divide. As a result of this similarity in lithologic sequence, the rock between the Sawatch and the Manitou at this locality in the Front Range was misidentified as the Peerless. Myrow et. al., 2003, by detailed biostratigraphic and stable isotope analysis, showed that the Peerless to the west is much younger than the glauconitic unit in Manitou Springs. They renamed this interval the Dotsero Formation. This mistaken stratigraphic identification was a piece of evidence for the existence of the Transcontinental Arch. One implication of the corrected stratigraphy is the the Transcontinental Arch may not have existed, at least not here and not at that time. After pondering these interesting rocks, we drove to our lunch stop at downtown Manitou Springs Park.

After lunch we headed to visit outcrops of the Mississippian Hardscrabble Formation and basal Fountain Formation exposed in Williams Canyon at the terminus of Canon Avenue. It was not to be, however, as access to the locality was blocked by ongoing construction to repair flood damage from the previous catastrophic flooding events in July and August of 2013. On the way to our final stop, we paused for a brief moment to have a look at some outcrops of polymictic conglomerates of the Pennsylvanian Fountain Formation.

For the last stop of the day, we visited a suite of unusual sandstone bodies, including large tabular parent bodies and associated dikes and sills that invade crystalline basement rocks along the footwall of the Ute Pass Fault. The geological implications of sandstones

June 21st On-the-Rocks Field TripContinued from page 39

Angular Pike’s Peak Granite “xenoliths” floating as matrix-supported clasts within the hematite cemented Tava sandstone. This provides compelling evidence that the Tava was injected into fractures within the granite.

Members of the field trip group searching in every direction for an explanation to the conundrum posed by the Tava sandstone injectites.

The perfect conclusion to an excellent field trip was a torrential rainstorm complete with dime-sized hail. This made our return passage through Garden of the Gods especially interesting.


December 201442Vol. 63, No. 12 42


being injected into plutonic igneous rocks poses a unique, peculiar and vexing geological conundrum. Namely, how did the sandstones get there? Did they fall, by gravity – with or without water – into open aperture fractures in the granite? Were they injected under elevated hydraulic pressures, thereby creating the fracture porosity into which they were emplaced? Was seismicity involved? Aliens? These conundrums have been puzzling geologists for over 125 years, as is elucidated in Siddoway et al., 2013. Dr. Siddoway has spent many years working on unraveling the mystery surrounding these strange sandstone bodies and, just recently, has made scientific headlines worldwide for her excellent research. Along the way, she also was able to give these sandstones a name – Tava, an indigenous word for Pike’s Peak. One question has been paramount over the course of time these enigmatic sandstones have been scrutinized: when were they emplaced? The answer to this question has now been answered – mostly. Recently published geochronologic dating of U/Pb from detrital zircons (Siddoway and Gehrels, 2014a and b) has established that the sandstones are most probably of Cryogenian age (~750Ma), a time not represented by any other rock in Colorado. The implication of this age is that the Tava may reflect changes to the continental crust at the time of the rifting of the supercontinent Rodinia. This might indicate that the Ute Pass Fault, known to have a long history, could be a much more substantial crustal feature than previously recognized. One result of this recently published research has been a groundswell of adulation from


Exposure of the transgressive sequence at Stop 3 on the NE side of CO-24. The pink Mesoproterozoic Pikes Peak Granite is overlain by the thin, lighter-colored lower Sawatch sandstone. The lower Sawatch passes upward into the chocolate colored middle Sawatch containing tidal dune crossbeds and tidal channel scours. Overlying the Sawatch is the Dotsero Formation (formerly interpreted to be the Peerless Formation which has been determined to be much younger by Myrow, et. al., 2003). The exposure is capped by the Ordovician Manitou Limestone, which is perched atop a Cambro-Ordovician disconformity.



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the scientific community – and other domains of society - with internet headlines including:

Strange formation on Colorado • Rockies sheds light on Earth’s past (http://news.sciencemag.org/earth/2014/09/strange-formation-colorado-rockies-sheds-light-earths-past)

New rock formation • discovered in Colorado (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140923142703.htm)

The maverick sandstone that • calls a granite home: Strange Colorado sandstone formed in the supercontinent Rodinia. (http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/10/a-maverick-sandstone-that-calls-a-granite-home/)

Colorado College geology • professor makes the discovery of a career (http://gazette.com/colorado-college-geology-professor-makes-discovery-of-career/article/1540460)

Professor and CC Students • Rock the Geology World: Fascinating Sandstone Formation is ‘Backwards’ https://www.coloradocollege.edu/newsevents/newsroom/professor-and-cc-students-rock-the-geology-world#.VFLCCvnF98E)

Colorado Rock Formation May Be • Result of Natural Fracking (http://news.discovery.com/earth/rocks-fossils/colorado-rock-formation-may-be-result-of-natural-fracking-140929.htm)

One thing is certain – the Tava sandstone is unusual. That it has


December 201444Vol. 63, No. 12 44


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created a sensational buzz in the scientific community and elsewhere is testimonial to excellent research conducted by Dr. Siddoway, her students and her collaborators. The members of the OTR field trip, on the longest day of the year, were able to catch a bit of that magic. As a final act of closure, the skies opened up as we drove back to collect our cars at the Visitor’s Center. Dime-sized hail pelted the group and made continued discussion, and even goodbyes, impossible. What started as a nice day with great potential turned into a highly memorable learning experience with impact.

References : Myrow, P.M., Taylor, J.F., Miller, J.F., Ethington, R.L., Ripperdan,

R.L., and Allen, J., 2003, Fallen Arches: Dispelling Myths Concerning Cambrian and Ordovician Paleogeography of the Rocky Mountain Region: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 115, no. 6, p. 695–713

Siddoway, C., Myrow, P., and Fitz-Díaz, E., 2013, Strata, Structures, and Enduring Enigmas: A 125th Anniversary Appraisal of Colorado Springs Geology, in Abbott, L.D., and Hancock, G.S., eds., Classic Concepts and New Directions: Exploring 125 Years of GSA Discoveries in the Rocky Mountain Region: Geological Society of America Field Guide 33, p. 331–356.

Siddoway, C, Shatford, S. and Contreras, A. A. 2013, ARMO Reactivation of Cambrian-Ordovician or Older Structures: Detrital Zircon Evidence from “Structureless” Sandstones of the Souther Front Range in Colorado Springs, GSA Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 45, No.7, p.887. https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2013AM/webprogram/Paper226741.html

Siddoway, C. S. and G. E. Gehrels, 2014a, Basement-hosted sandstone injectites of Colorado: A Vestige of the Neoproterozoic Revealed Through Detrital Zircon Provenance Analysis, Lithosphere, doi:10.1130/L390.1

Siddoway, C. S. and G. E. Gehrels, 2014b, Cryogenian Sandstones in Colorado: A New Terrestrial Record for Laurentia (Rodinia) Revealed Through Detrital Zircon Provenance Analysis, GSA Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 46, No. 6, p.763, https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2014AM/webprogram/Paper246788.html.

Sterne, E.J., 2006, Stacked, “Evolved” Triangle Zones along the Southeastern Flank of the Colorado Front Range: The Mountain Geologist, v. 43, p. 65–92.



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Your support enables the RMAG to provide quality publications and events for members and the broader geologic community. Thank you for a great year!

2014 Summit Sponsors

The RMAG caught up with one of our 2014 Gold Summit Sponsor for you to see why they sponsor.

What is Whiting looking forward to in 2015 with RMAG?

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