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