ERSC 3P12 Lecture 22: 22. The Book Cliffs of Utah, U.S.A.
5 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
The book cliffs of utah, u. s. a. a prime example of siliciclastic sequence stratigraphy. A late cretaceous shallow-marine/alluvial siliciclastic foreland basin succession is superbly- exposed in the book cliffs, eastern utah. Peter vail and colleagues worked out the sequence stratigraphy here and developed the concept of depositional sequence stratigraphy using the book cliffs as a field laboratory. Bestexposed shallow-marine and coalbearing coastal deposits in the world! Cliff up to 300 m high, extending almost continuously for 300 km. Book cliffs are classic example of shoreface and wave-dominated delta system. Sevier orogeny associated with cretaceous opening of n. atlantic and subduction of. Western interior foreland basin caused by subsidence (flexural loading of crust) plus high global sea levels in cretaceous caused flooding of basin western interior seaway. Erosion of sevier orogenic belt supplied sediment to the basin. Overall regressive pattern of deposition, progradation from west to east.
