Abstract: Natural Gas Prospects in Southern Idaho as Deduced from Regional Framework Exploration

Mont M. Warner

Regional tectonic framework synthesized from plate tectonics concepts implies a genetic relation in a system of large lateral rifts in the western United States. One of these rifts extends through the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho. The Idaho rift indicates structural-basin relations, which in turn reveal local stratigraphic and structural conditions favorable to natural gas prospecting. Furthermore, these conditions would not be evident without the rift concept. In other words, the rift concept derived from regional framework studies acts as a guide to local prospect possibilities, which otherwise could not be postulated at the present time.

The specific entities of significance revealed by the regional studies are: (1) subsurface stratigraphic and structural correlation, (2) structural basin configurations and geologic history, (3) significant structural offsets, (4) source material distribution, (5) distribution of reservoir beds, and (6) probable migration paths.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90971©1976 AAPG-SEPM Rocky Mountain Sections 25th Annual Meeting, Billings, Montana