The South Verkhoyansk Sedimentary Basin: An Example of a Huge Late Paleozoic Submarine Fan

Andrei K. Khudoley, Georgiy A. Guriev, Viktor G. Ganelin

The South Verkhoyansk sedimentary basin is located on the southeast passive margin of the Siberian paleocontinent. During late Paleozoic a sedimentary succession of fine-grained terrigenous rocks approximately 10 km thick was formed. The following lithological associations are recognized: 1) parallel stratified shales and siltstones; 2) lenticular stratified shales and siltstones; 3) graded stratified sandstones, siltstones and shales; 4) lumpy shales; 5) poorly stratified shales and siltstones; 6) structureless mudstones; 7) massive sandstones and 8) chaotic complexes. The main process of deposition was sedimentation from turbidity currents, although fluidized flows, uniform bottom currents and hemipelagic sedimentation are, at times, important.

Sedimentary succession coarsens and shoals upward. Geometry and sedimentology of sedimentary units implies deposition in a submarine fan environments. All the lithological associations may he interpreted in terms of Mutti and Ricci Lucchi facies scheme with predominance of facies D and E and minor facies B, C, F and G. A delta fed the submarine fan slowly progradated to the north and by the end of Permian shallow water environments dominated over all the region. According to composition and volume of terrigenous sediments and shape and dimensions of the sedimentary basin the late Paleozoic South Verkhoyansk basin is similar to the Mississippi delta-submarine fan system in the modern Gulf of Mexico.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91020©1995 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, May 5-8, 1995