Sequence stratigraphy of the Sauk Sequence: 40th anniversary field trip in western Utah

Abstract

The Sauk Sequence comprises more than 5 km of mixed carbonate and siliciclastic strata on the Paleozoic miogeocline of the eastern Great Basin. Rapid, post-rifting subsidence was the single most important factor for providing accommodation for accumulation of sediments. Despite the enormous thickness of strata and the tendency for unconformities to die out toward the margin of the continent, bounding surfaces of the Sauk Sequence and several sequence boundaries within this interval are preserved in mountain ranges of western Utah. The base and top of the Sauk Sequence are thick sandstones. The development of microkarst or truncation surfaces associated with major facies disclocations and deposition of major influxes of siliciclastics are the hallmarks of sequence boundaries and correlative conformities in this setting. The style of sequence boundary development was mostly a function of magnitude and duration of sea-level fall but was also influenced by tectonic features such as the House Range Embayment.

Department(s)

Geography, Geology, and Planning

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1130/0-8137-0004-3.17

Keywords

Cambrian, Ordovician, Sauk Sequence, Sequence stratigraphy, Tectonics, Utah

Publication Date

1-1-2003

Journal Title

GSA Field Guides

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