James C Slone¹, Jim Mazzullo¹
(1) Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Abstract: Facies and depositional environments of the Permian Queen Formation, Howard Glasscock Field, Glasscock and Sterling Counties, Texas

The Queen is part of a suite of siliciclastics, evaporites, and carbonates deposited in the Late Permian Midland Basin. A core and log study of the lithology, stratification, and depositional environment of the formation was undertaken to develop a model for clastic deposition in the eastern Midland Basin.

Four facies were identified in the Queen. Facies 1 was divided into two subfacies (A and B). Subfacies A consists of thin beds of very well-sorted, fine to very fine-grained subarkosic sandstones and siltstones. The beds contain subparallel wavy laminae, tabular and cross-laminae, and dewatering features. Subfacies A represents deposition by small migrating dunes on an eolian sand sheet. Subfacies B is characterized by thin beds of well-sorted, medium to very fine-grained subarkosic sandstones intercalated with muddy sediments. The sandy beds contain cross-laminae and millimeter-scale scour and fill features . Subfacies B represents deposition in an eolian sand sheet setting. Facies 2 consists of thin beds of subarkosic and quartzose siltstones and some claystones. The beds contain subparallel wavy laminae, dewatering and load structures, and very fine and highly contorted laminae. Facies 2 represents deposition in a clastic-dominated sabkha. Facies 3 consists of thin beds of nodular mosaic anhydrite and silty anhydrite. The beds contain subparallel wavy laminae, millimeter-scale cross-laminae, and adhesion ripples. Facies 3 represents deposition in an evaporite-dominated coastal sabkha. The repeated occurrence of coastal sabkha (clastic and evaporite dominated) deposits as sediments accumulate represents a continual rise in the water table coinciding with a relative sea level rise.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90914©2000 AAPG Annual Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana