STEINHOFF, DOERTE
The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas
Abstract: Sedimentation Patterns and Sequence
Stratigraphic Interpretations of Lower Cretaceous
Depositions (Finley Formation) in Hudspeth County, Texas
The Lower Cretaceous Finlay Formation has been studied in the Fort Hancock area in several sections to the northeast of the Finlay Mountains, Hudspeth County, Texas. Tethyan carbonate platforms formed in this area in Late Aptian, through Albian to early Cenomanian time. Concurrently the Chihuahua trough formed a fully marine basin to the west, extending from Texas into Sonora. Sedimentation in this area was dependent upon the location on the marginal shelf of the trough.
The middle Albian Finlay Formation shows predominantly platform carbonates. These
platform carbonates can be studied along the rimrock escarpment. Several profiles, which
were measured at the southwest and west side of the escarpment show that the fossil rich
limestone benches of the Finlay Formation as well
as the sandstone layers of the
underlying Cox Formation extend over a distance of some kilometers. They can be correlated
over long distances for purposes of
sequence
stratigraphic
analysis
.
Global sea level fluctuations can be recognized in this area in lowstand systems
tracts, transgressive systems tracts, as well
as highstand systems tracts. Proposed
sequence
boundaries indicate a possible correlation to Upper Zuni A
sequence
boundaries,
which HAQ et al. established in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic cycle chart in 1988.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90928©1999 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas