Sequence Stratigraphy Condensed Low Accommodation Succession

CONTENTS
Sequence stratigraphy of a
condensed low-accommodation
succession: Lower Upper
Cretaceous Dakota
Sandstone, Henry Mountains,
southeastern Utah
Jonathan Antia and Christopher R. Fielding
ABSTRACT
Cretaceous low-accommodation deposits have been extensively studied in the subsurface of the Western Interior of
North America because of their prolific hydrocarbon production and remaining potential. Understanding the stratigraphic complexities of these deposits in the subsurface relies
strongly on detailed outcrop analogs. In this study, the Dakota
Sandstone was examined along 100 km (62 mi) of semicontinuous outcrop between the towns of Hanksville and Ticaboo
in the Henry Mountains of southeastern Utah. This region
represented a low-accommodation setting located over the
forebulge of the Cretaceous Western Interior Basin during accumulation of the unit. The Dakota Sandstone is 0 to 38 m
(125 ft) thick, of Cenomanian age, and records multiple cycles of sediment accumulation. The Dakota Sandstone is subdivided into two condensed top-truncated stratigraphic sequences, the upper of which contains two parasequences. The
basal parts of both sequences are composed of braided fluvial
conglomerates and sandstone overlain by tidally influenced
fluvial sandstone, inclined heterolithically stratified estuarine
mudstone, carbonaceous shale, and coal. The overlying parasequences consist of coarsening-upward lower to upper shoreface mudstone, sandstone, tidal inlet deposits, and oyster shell
concentrations. These facies define tripartite subdivisions of
depositional environments typical of wave-dominated estuaries.
Copyright 2011. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
Manuscript received November 8, 2009; provisional acceptance January 12, 2010; revised manuscript
received April 3, 2010; final acceptance June 30, 2010.
DOI:10.1306/06301009182
AAPG Bulletin, v. 95, no. 3 (March 2011), pp. 413447
413
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AUTHORS
Jonathan Antia Core Laboratories, 6316
Windfern Road, Houston, Texas 77040;
jonathan.antia@corelab.com
Jonathan Antia received his Ph.D. in geology
from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2009.
He currently works as a staff geologist at Core
Laboratories in Houston, Texas. His academic
research focused on coastal to shallow marine
siliciclastic depositional systems.
Christopher R. Fielding Geociences
Department, 214 Bessey Hall, University of
Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0340;
cfielding2@unl.edu
Chris Fielding holds the Mr. & Mrs. J.B. Coffman
Chair in sedimentary geology at the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln. He received his Ph.D. from
the University of Durham (United Kingdom)
in 1982 and previously worked for BP Exploration and the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. His research interests lie in the
stratigraphy of continental, coastal, and shallow
marine successions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work presented in this article forms part of
a Ph.D. dissertation at the University of NebraskaLincoln, supported financially by the Mr. &
Mrs. J.B. Coffman Endowment in Sedimentary
Geology, and the AAPG Grants-in-Aid program.
We thank Mark Kirschbaum (U.S. Geological
Survey, Denver) for his guidance in the initial
stages of fieldwork, Lauren Birgenheier for
drafting Figure 1, and the editor (Gretchen Gillis)
and referees (Soledad Garcia Gil, Tom Ryer,
Janok Bhattacharya) for their reviews of the
submitted manuscript.
The AAPG Editor thanks the following reviewers for
their work on this paper: Janok P. Bhattacharya,
Soledad Garcia Gil, and Thomas A. Ryer.
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The fluvial deposits may represent lowstand deposits, but overall sediments accumulated during
transgressive systems tracts (TST). The parasequences recorded in the Henry Mountains are similar to the Dakota Sandstone of northwestern New
Mexico and to high-frequency sequences identified in the Kaiparowits Plateau, approximately
80 km (~50 mi) to the southwest, which suggests
eustatic driving mechanisms.
The best potential for hydrocarbon reservoirs
occurs in fluvial sandstones and conglomerates.
INTRODUCTION
Objectives
The Cretaceous Western Interior seaway (KWIS)
of North America represents one of the best studied sedimentary basins in the world, partly because
it contains multiple prolific hydrocarbon-producing
stratigraphic units throughout its geographic extent (e.g., the D and J sandstones and the Fall River
Formation in the Denver-Julesberg Basin of Colorado and Nebraska, the Muddy Sandstone and
parts of the Frontier Formation in basins throughout Wyoming, the Dakota Sandstone in the Uinta
Basin of Utah and the San Juan Basin of New Mexico, the (Ellerslie Member (also known as the Basal
Quartz Member) of the Manville Group and the
Viking Formation in Alberta, Canada). Many of
these units show laterally and vertically complex
stratigraphic stacking patterns because of their accumulation under accommodation-limited conditions. Many studies have characterized these units
in the subsurface of the region (Pattison and Walker,
1994; Peper, 1994; Walker and Wiseman, 1995;
MacEachern et al., 1998; Snedden and Bergman,
1999; Bhattacharya and Willis, 2001; Zaitlin et al.,
2002; Leckie et al., 2004; Ratcliffe et al., 2004; Crerar
and Arnott, 2007; Currie et al., 2008; Feldman et al.,
2008) and fewer others in outcrop (Willis, 1997;
am Ende, 1991; Leckie and Singh, 1991; Ulin,
1999; Holbrook, 2001; Holbrook et al., 2006; Laurin
and Sageman, 2007). However, the complexity
of these units is commonly difficult to fully assess
from subsurface data because of the laterally lim414
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ited nature of core and well-log information. Therefore, well-exposed outcrop equivalents of these
units are crucial to the understanding, exploration,
and development of these units in the subsurface.
The Dakota Sandstone represents up to 38 m
(125 ft; average, 10 m [33 ft]) of the lower Upper
Cretaceous section in exposures around the Henry
Mountains syncline of southeastern Utah (Figure 1).
The unit is predominantly sandstone, lies within
a mudrock-dominated succession, and is hydrocarbon prospective in the nearby San Juan and Uinta
basins (Figure 2). The Dakota Sandstone is superbly
exposed in the study area along both limbs of the
Henry Mountains syncline in an outcrop belt that
extends for approximately 100 km (62 mi) from the
town of Hanksville in the north to Ticaboo in the
south (Figure 1). This area is surrounded by wellstudied areas such as the Kaiparowits Plateau approximately 80 km (50 mi) to the west-southwest
(am Ende, 1991; Ulin, 1999; Laurin and Sageman,
2007), the Uinta Basin nearly 80 km (50 mi) to
the north (Figure 2) (Currie et al., 2008), and the
San Juan Basin 100 to 200 km (62124 mi) to
the southeast (Owen, 1969; Aubrey, 1989; Lucas
et al., 1998). In the Kaiparowits Plateau, multiple
high-frequency cycles have been reported from
the Dakota Sandstone (Ulin, 1999; Laurin and
Sageman, 2007) and interpreted to be approximately 100 k.y. in duration and involving relative
sea level fluctuations of 10 to 20 m (3366 ft). In
the San Juan Basin, the unit also contains multiple
cycles of sediment accumulation. The stratigraphic
complexity observed in the surrounding areas suggests that the stratigraphy of the Dakota Sandstone
in the Henry Mountains may be similarly complex.
Therefore, this unit represents an excellent outcrop
analog for similar units in the subsurface throughout
the Cretaceous Western Interior of North America.
The Dakota Sandstone successions in the Kaiparowits Plateau and in the San Juan Basin are significantly thicker than in the Henry Mountains and
represent higher accommodation settings associated with different tectonic realms. Thus, comparison of the Dakota Sandstone from the Kaiparowits
Plateau, through the Henry Mountains, and into
the San Juan Basin provides a cross-orogen transect
of the KWIS during the Cenomanian.
Dakota Sandstone Sequence Stratigraphy, Henry Mountains, Southeastern Utah
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Antia and Fielding
Figure 1. Location maps showing (A) the Henry Mountains within the state of Utah (left), (B) a close-up of the Henry Mountains including the location of all measured sections (black
dots), and lines of cross sections AA and BB, and (C) a close-up of the Blue Valley area depicting lines of cross section CC and DD. Abbreviations refer to names given to measured
sections and include BC = Bitter Creek; BT12 = Blind Trail 12; BHG12 = Bloody Hands Gap 12; BV1 = Blue Valley 1; CQ 13 = Caineville quadrangle 13; CCB = Cedar Creek
Benches; CC = Clay Canyon; CW = Collie Wash; CB 12 = Copper Creek Benches 12; DC = Dugout Creek; Eg = Eggnog; HC2 = Halls Creek 2; HO = Halls Creek Overlook; HCE or W =
Hansen Creek East or West; JB = Jet Basin; NCR = North Caineville Reef; SP = Saleratus Point; SW = Saleratus Wash; TP12 = The Post 12.
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Figure 2. Index map of

the Western Interior of
the United States of America with reference sites
(gray dots) used for the
regional stratigraphic
framework (Figure 4) of
the Dakota Sandstone as
well as relevant geologic
features. Abbreviations include B = Bighorn Mountains; BB = Bighorn Basin;
BH = Black Hills Uplift;
DB = Denver Basin; FR =
Front Ranges; GRB = Green
River Basin; HM = Henry
Mountains; KP = Kaiparowits Plateau; L = Laramie
Range; MR = Madison
Range; PRB = Powder River
Basin; S = Sierra Madre
Uplift; SJB = San Juan Basin; TCA = Transcontinental
Arch; UB = Uinta Basin;
UM = Uinta Mountains;
WB = Williston Basin;
WRB = Wind River Basin;
WRM = Wind River
Mountains.
The purpose of this research was to develop a

sequence-stratigraphic framework for the Dakota
Sandstone in the Henry Mountains of southeastern
Utah and compare it with adjacent areas to better
understand the patterns of deposition in this unit,
the tectonic configuration of the KWIS, and the
possible factors controlling cycles of sediment accumulation associated with this unit. Such a stratigraphic framework will be based on physical correlation of lithofacies and key surfaces throughout
the study area, with emphasis given to the ichnology of each facies to strengthen the sedimentologic
interpretations.
The main hypotheses to be tested are that the
Dakota Sandstone in the study area (1) represents
low-accommodation depositional settings, (2) has
a condensed and complex record of multiple cycles
of sediment accumulation similar to adjacent regions, (3) preserves both lowstand systems tract
416
(LST) and TST deposits, and (4) contains evidence

of the dominance of a eustatic mechanism driving
cycles of sediment accumulation in the KWIS during the Cenomanian.
GEOLOGIC SETTING
The Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains region preserves a record of middle to late Cenomanian continental and shallow marine sediment
accumulation (Hunt et al., 1953; Lawyer, 1972;
Peterson and Ryder, 1975; Merewether and Cobban,
1986; Cobban et al., 2000). During this time, the
Henry Mountains area was located near the western margin of the North American KWIS, approximately 200 km (124 mi) east of the orogenic front
of the Sevier fold and thrust belt (Figure 3) (Hunt
et al., 1953; Kauffman, 1977; Peterson and Smith,
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Figure 3. Paleogeographic reconstruction of the Western Interior of the United

States during the Late Cenomanian transgression. References used to compile this
figure include Scott (1970), Vuke (1981),
and Laurin and Sageman (2007).
1986; Currie, 2002; White et al., 2002). The KWIS

formed as a retroarc foreland basin by flexural subsidence of the crust caused by thrust loading and
crustal compression associated with the Sevier
orogeny (Armstrong, 1968; Cross, 1986; Angevine
and Heller, 1987). Deformation along preexisting
tectonic trends also occurred and may have influenced sediment dispersal in some areas (Picha,
1986; Currie, 2002). In general, the basin is divisible into four longitudinal realms: the foredeep in
Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming; the forebulge near
the Utah and Colorado border; an axial basin that
at its maximum coverage extended from Texas
through Colorado, Alberta, and the Northern Territories of Canada; and a hinge zone to the North
American Cratonproduced by differential subsidence away from the orogenic front (Kauffman
and Caldwell, 1993; White et al., 2002). During
accumulation of the Dakota Sandstone, the study
area lay within the forebulge realm, where sediment
accommodation was significantly lower in comparison with adjacent areas such as the Kaiparowits
Plateau to the west-southwest, the Uinta Basin to
the north, and the San Juan Basin to the southeast

(Currie, 2002).
Paleogeographic reconstruction of middle to late
Cenomanian places most of the midwestern United
States within 30 to 45N of latitude (Figure 3)
(Laurin and Sageman, 2007). At this time, the
boreal and southern seas of the KWIS were fully
connected and extended between western Iowa
and central Utah (Kauffman and Caldwell, 1993).
The name Dakota Sandstone, in the Colorado
Plateau, refers to a succession of Cenomanian-age
rocks rich in carbonaceous mudstone overlying the
Cedar Mountain Formation on the eastern parts of
the plateau and progressively older units toward
the west, and overlain by the lower Mancos Shale
(Figure 4) (Young, 1960, 1965). In the early stages
of development of the stratigraphic nomenclature
for Colorado, the name Naturita Formation was
proposed by Young (1960) for exposures of the
Cenomanian-age rocks near the town of Naturita
in southwestern Colorado. However, the name was
never adopted widely in the literature. Furthermore, the unit has not been assigned a type section
Antia and Fielding
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418
Figure 4. Regional stratigraphic framework for the Dakota Sandstone and equivalent units throughout the Western Interior of North America. The location of reference sections is
shown in Figure 2. SB = Sequence Boundary. References used to compile this figure include Ellis (1963), Haun (1963), Harms (1966), Merewether and Cobban (1986), Dyman et al.
(1994), Hamilton (1994), Scott et al. (1998), Brenner et al. (2000), Cobban et al. (2000), Scott et al. (2001), Kirschbaum and Roberts (2005), Currie et al. (2008). The time scale used is
that of Gradstein et al. (2004).
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Figure 5. Stratigraphic
column for the Albian
Turonian (Cretaceous)
section in southeastern
Utah, sea level curves
for the North American
Western Interior seaway
(Weimer et al., 1988;
Kauffman and Caldwell,
1993) and eustatic curves
(Haq et al., 1987; used
with permission from Science). In the sea level
curves, deepening is to the
left and shallowing is to
the right. The stratigraphic
column was compiled
with reference to am Ende
(1991), Cobban et al.
(2000), and Currie et al.
(2008). The time scale
used is that of Gradstein
et al. (2004). SB = sequence boundary.
because of marked variations in its stratigraphic

character throughout the Colorado Plateau (Young,
1960). Several authors broadly subdivide the Dakota into three members: a basal chert pebble
conglomerate of fluvial origin; a middle member
consisting of interbedded sandstone, carbonaceous
mudstone, and coal interpreted as deltaic to coastal
plain and flood-plain deposits; and an upper member consisting of sandstone and mudstone that intertongue with overlying marine shale (Hunt et al.,
1953; Young, 1960, 1965; Peterson and Ryder,
1975; Ryer, 1984). Such descriptions are valid from
a lithostratigraphic perspective but do not provide
a sequence-stratigraphic context for the unit and
have been shown to be simplistic in most areas,
including the area of this study (am Ende, 1991;
Ulin, 1999; Laurin and Sageman, 2007; Currie
et al., 2008).
Regionally, the Dakota Sandstone has been
shown to become progressively younger from the
east toward west and northeast toward southwest
across the Colorado Plateau based on relative dating of invertebrate fossil content, including palynomorphs, ammonites, and other molluskan fauna
within it or in adjacent units, and by absolute age
calculations from bentonite layers in overlying units
(Merewether and Cobban, 1986; Cobban et al.,
2000; Currie, 2002; Currie et al., 2008). From east
to west, between the towns of Delta, Colorado,
and Castle Dale, Utah (Figure 2), the Dakota Sandstone has been shown to span the entire Cenomanian stage (Merewether and Cobban, 1986).
Correlation to the east suggests that the Dakota
Sandstone in the Colorado Plateau (Figure 4) is
stratigraphically equivalent to units between the
Horsetooth Member of the Muddy Sandstone at
its earliest and the Thatcher Limestone Member
of the Graneros Shale at its latest, in the Denver
Basin of eastern Colorado (Mellere, 1994; Currie,
2002). Deposition of the lower parts of the Dakota
Sandstone, however, has been interpreted as diachronous and progressively younger from the east
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Table 1. Description of Facies Identified in the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains
Facies
Lithology
Sedimentary Structures
No trace fossils
Massive or planar and trough
cross-bedded with some clast
imbrication. Contain lenses of
planar and trough cross-bedded
coarse- to fine-grained sandstone
with common graded bedding.
F1
Poorly sorted and well-rounded

conglomerate with clasts 0.5
12 cm in diameter, 80% chert,
and minor quartzite, milky
quartz, limestone, sandstone,
and mudstone clasts. Angular
petrified log clasts occur rarely.
F2
Medium- to coarse-grained sandstone Massive, planar, and trough crossstratification. Cross-bed sets
with scattered chert pebbles and
range in thickness between
granule to pebble conglomerate
0.1 and 1.5 m and commonly
lenses. Typically brownish red to
contain graded bedding. Soft
orange on weathering surfaces and
sediment deformation structures
light gray, white, or beige on fresh
are common. Nested channel
surfaces. Mudstone rip-up clasts
forms exist in some areas.
occur sparsely at the base.
Trough and planar cross-bedded,
Light gray and yellow, very fine to
parallel horizontal, current, and
medium-grained sandstone and
climbing ripple-laminated tabular
inclined heterolithically stratified
to lenticular layers. Herringbone
(IHS) or horizontal pinstripecross-stratification, sigmoidal
laminated very fine to fine-grained
bedding, paired mud drapes,
sandstone and carbonaceous
and lateral accretion surfaces
mudstone.
exist in some areas. Syneresis
cracks, root traces, coaly plant
debris, and leaf imprints are
common. Pyrite occurs sparsely.
F3
Ichnology
No trace fossils
Bioturbation is low to moderate

(BI 24), increases toward the
top of the unit, and is typically
higher in mud layers and at
the top of cross-bed sets.
Common trace fossils include
diminutive Teichichnus,
Diplocraterion habichi,
Skolithos, Planolites, and
Chondrites. Stressed variants
of the Skolithos and Cruziana
ichnofacies assemblages.
Facies Associations
Depositional Environment
Erosional lower contact with the Braided fluvial

Cedar Mountain Formation.
Variably sharp or gradational
upper contact with F2 and
typically sharp or irregular
with F3. In some sections,
lenses of conglomerate occur
within F2.
Braided fluvial
Erosional lower contact with
the Cedar Mountain
Formation or variably sharp
or gradational with F1. The
upper contact may be sharp
or gradational with F3.
Tidally influenced estuarine

Sharp basal contact with F1,
channel and basin
F2, or the Cedar Mountain
Formation. Gradational lower
contact with F2 also exists.
Grades upward into or is
overprinted by F4 or is
sharply overlain by F8.
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Antia and Fielding
F4
Dull coal, carbonaceous shale, and

mottled light gray to purplish
siltstone with sparse macerated
plant debris. Cleat fractures are
well developed in the coal. Sulfur
staining occurs commonly.
Leaf imprints and coalified plant

debris are abundant in the
carbonaceous shale. Coaly,
iron-stained root traces and
spheroidal weathering are
common. Root traces up to
50 cm in length and 1 cm
thick exist in some sections.
F5
Horizontal heterolithically stratified

siltstone and very fine grained
sandstone.
F6
Fine-grained sandstone alternating

with siltstone lenses or drapes
in coarsening-upward intervals.
Most commonly low-angle

parallel laminated with sparse
current ripple lamination.
Short carbonaceous root traces
(5 cm) and syneresis cracks
occur sparsely. Minute
carbonaceous debris are
abundant.
Flaser to wavy bedding with
current and combined flow
ripple-lamination and parallel
horizontal bedding.
F7
Medium- to coarse- grained

sandstone with scattered chert
pebbles.
Planar and trough cross-bedding

often associated with lateral
accretion surfaces and channel
bodies. Parallel horizontal and
current ripple-laminated layers
as much as 0.6 m thick exists
in the upper parts. Sparse paired
mud drapes.
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Low bioturbation in the

carbonaceous shale
dominated by Teichichnus
and Planolites. The top of
the coal contains palimpsest
Thalassinoides, Diplocraterion,
and Rhyzocorallium traces
indicative of a Teredolites
ichnofacies assemblage.
Trace fossils are rare in this
facies with diminutive
Planolites and Skolithos
occurring in some areas.
Gradational lower contact with Coastal mire and paleosols

F3 or moderate to intense
overprinting of F3 and F5.
The upper contact is sharp
and erosional with F8.
Moderate to high bioturbation

concentrated on siltstone
layers and the top of bedding
planes. Common traces
include diminutive Planolites,
Thalassinoides, Ophiomorpha,
Diplocraterion, Skolithos,
Teichichnus, Gyrochorte, and
other unidentified locomotion
traces similar to Cruziana or
Protovirularia.
Low bioturbation typically
concentrated on bedding
planes. Identified traces
include Thalassinoides,
Diplocraterion, Gyrochorte,
Palaeophycus, and rare
Rhyzocorallium, Asterosoma,
and Roselia.
Gradational lower contact with Tidal flat

F3 in a coarsening-upward
trend or sharp with F2 or F3.
Sharp upper contact with F3
or F8.
Abrupt lower contact with the

Cedar Mountain Formation
and F2. Interfingers with F2
in some areas. Irregular and
erosional upper contact with
F2 and F7.
Sharp lower contact with

F2, F3, F9, or the Cedar
Mountain Formation.
Sharply overlain by F8.
Flood plain
Tidal inlet
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422
F8
Tan, yellow, and brownish green,

fine- to medium-grained sandstone
with scattered oyster shells and
chert granules. Chert granule to
pebble conglomeratic sandstone
is common at the base of the unit.
F9
Thickly bedded heterolithic brownish

green very fine to fine-grained
sandstone and gray mudstone.
F10
White (fresh) or orange to reddish

brown (weathering) bentonitic
mudstone.
F11
Well-cemented to uncemented
and framework-supported oyster
shell concentrations with a fineto coarse-grained sandstone
matrix grading upward into the
Tununk Member.
Moderate to high bioturbation

(BI 46) dominated by robust
Thalassinoides, Skolithos,
Ophiomorpha, Diplocraterion,
Conichnus, Planolites, and
fugichnia and less common
Rosselia, Cylindrichnus,
Teichichnus, and Asterosoma.
Skolithos ichnofacies assemblage.
Glossifungites ichnofacies
assemblages are common at
the base and top of the unit.
Biotubation is high overall
Massive, parallel horizontal and
current ripple-laminations. Oyster (BI = 46) and concentrated
shells occur sparsely toward the
on the upper parts of
top of the unit.
sandstone layers and within
mudstone layers. Identifiable
traces include robust
Thalassinoides, Teichichnus,
Diplocraterion, and Planolites.
Cruziana ichnofacies assemblage.
Parallel horizontal laminations
No bioturbation within but
palimpsest traces of
Thalassinoides, Planolites,
and Diplocraterion identified
as a Glossifungites ichnofacies
assemblage occur at the top.
Unstratified matrix and randomly
Moderate bioturbation with
oriented shells.
obvious Ophiomorpha traces
in some places. The base of
this unit is often marked by
a Glossifungites ichnofacies
assemblage. Borings exist in
some shells.
Massive, planar and hummocky
cross-stratification within shingled
or horizontal bedding. Oyster
shells become increasingly
common toward the top. Brown,
laterally extensive concretions
are common in the upper parts.
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Sharp lower contact with

F1-4, F6-7, the Cedar
Mountain, or Morrison
Formations. Gradational
lower contact with F9.
The upper contact is often
marked by condensed
deposits of F11 grading
upward into the Tununk
Shale.
Upper shoreface
The unit coarsens upward

into F8 and sharply overlies
F2, F4, F8, or F11.
Lower shoreface
Occurs within F8 or F11.
Volcanic ash
Occurs at the top and within

F8 and grades upward into
the Tununk Member at the
top of the Dakota Sandstone.
Oyster shell concentrations

in the shoreface
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toward the west, from the Denver Basin toward

the Colorado Plateau (Merewether and Cobban,
1986; Mellere, 1994).
In the Henry Mountains, the Dakota Sandstone was mapped and studied by Hunt et al.
(1953) and later considered by Davidson (1967),
Lawyer (1972), Peterson and Ryder (1975), and
Ryer (1984). These authors show that in the study
area, the Dakota Sandstone ranges in thickness
between 0 and 38 m (125 ft), weathers to form a
thin series of ledges at the base of broad slopes of
the overlying Tununk Member of the Mancos
Shale, and was deposited across the beveled Cedar
Mountain Formation or Brushy Basin Member of
the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic). For the
purpose of discussion, these authors subdivide the
unit into a lower or nonmarine member and an
upper or marine member but indicate that no one
section of this unit can be considered as typical.
Overall, these authors interpreted the unit to represent the transgressive littoral deposits that were
formed when the Upper Cretaceous sea first spread
westward across this region (Hunt et al., 1953).
Index fossils indicate that at least the upper
part of the Dakota Sandstone in this area is late Cenomanian in age and spans the ammonite zones between Conlinoceras tarrantense (ca. 95.73 0.61 Ma)
and Vascoceras diartianum (ca. 93.99 0.72 Ma)
(Peterson and Ryder, 1975; Ulin, 1999; Cobban
et al., 2000; Cobban et al., 2006; Laurin and
Sageman, 2007). Corbula, Inoceramus, and the oyster shells Flemingostrea prudentia (White), Pycnodonte newberryi (Stanton), and Exogyra (Costagyra)
olisisponensis (Sharpe) in the upper Dakota Sandstone are characteristic of normal marine inner-shelf
environments (Peterson and Ryder, 1975; Frsich
and Kirkland, 1986; Cobban et al., 2000). Lawyer
(1972) determined that water depths associated
with deposition of the upper Dakota Sandstone
were generally less than approximately 5 m (16 ft)
in the northeastern part of the region (Lawyer,
1972). The lowermost units of the Dakota Sandstone have not been dated in this area, but the occurrence of late Albian palynomorphs in the upper
parts of the Cedar Mountain Formation in the
southern margin of the Uinta Basin suggests that
the Dakota Sandstone is likely contained entirely
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within the Cenomanian Stage (Figure 5) (Currie

et al., 2008).
FACIES ANALYSIS
This study of the Dakota Sandstone involved measuring, describing, and physically correlating stratigraphic sections around the Henry Mountains
syncline. Sections were measured at a variety of locations covering the entire region (Figure 1). Careful consideration was given to the sedimentology,
ichnology, paleocurrent directions, and internal architecture in each section as well as to key surfaces
that could be traced laterally into adjacent sections.
Multiple cross sections were made from north to
south and east to west to constrain the lithostratigraphic and sequence-stratigraphic variations in the
unit along directions approximately parallel to depositional strike and dip.
Eleven environmentally significant lithofacies
were identified throughout the study area (Table 1).
These are interpreted to represent environments
ranging from braided fluvial at the base of the unit,
through estuarine channel and basin, tidal flat, tidal
inlet, and coastal swamp in the central part of the
unit, into upper and lower shoreface sandstones
with condensed oyster shell deposits and sparse
bentonite layers in the upper part.
Facies 1: Fluvial Conglomerate
Conglomerates (Table 1, Figure 6A) occur throughout most of the study area at the base of the Dakota
Sandstone and become finer grained from west
to east. Units are commonly 5 m (16 ft) or less in
thickness, but bodies up to 16 m (52 ft) thick occur
(e.g., southeast of Blue Valley, section 17). Paleocurrent directions measured within this facies show
relatively low divergence about mean directions
and commonly trend toward the east and northeast (Figure 7). Erosional relief of this facies into
the underlying Cedar Mountain Formation locally
reaches up to 6 m (20 ft). However, these conglomerates form laterally extensive sheetlike deposits that appear to be contained within broad
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Figure 6. Photographs of facies identified in the Dakota

Sandstone: (A) conglomerate
(facies 1); (B) trough crossbedding in fluvial sandstone
(facies 2); (C) sigmoidal crossbedding in tidally influenced
sandstone (facies 3); (D) moderate bioturbation dominated by
Skolithos (s) trace fossils in facies 3.
(E) Moderate to intense bioturbation in inclined heterolithic
mudstone (facies 3) dominated
by traces of Teichichnus (T),
Planolites (P), and sparse syneresis cracks (Sy). (F) Pinstripelaminated siltstone of facies 3
sharply overlain by conglomeratic shoreface sandstone.
(G) Coal seam containing palimpsest Thalassinoides (Th) burrows representing a Teredolites
ichnofacies assemblage and a
tightly folded sandstone-filled
fracture (IF). (H) Root traces (rt)
in pinstripe-laminated siltstone
(facies 3).
paleovalleys or channel belts, typically more than

1 km (0.6 mi) in width and showing up to 20 m
(66 ft) of erosional relief.
Rare lenses of coaly and carbonaceous mudstone exist within conglomerates in some sections
(e.g., Blue Valley sections 2 and 15) and are docu424
mented along with facies 4. In general, the dominance of coarse clastic sediments, rarity of fine
sheetlike geometry, and relatively low paleocurrent
variability suggest that facies 1 represents deposits
of braided streams during the initial stages of deposition of the Dakota Sandstone.
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Figure 7. Rose diagrams for different facies in cycles 1 and 2 of the Dakota Sandstone. Statistical data include the number of measurements per diagram (n), mean angle (black arrows), and standard deviation around the mean (gray segments) calculated from
measured orientations of trough cross-bedding (TXB), planar cross-bedding (PXB), ripple cross-bedding (RXB), or imbrication (Imb.).
Facies 2: Fluvial Sandstone

This facies (Table 1, Figures 6B, 8A) occurs
throughout most of the study area, interfingering with or gradationally overlying conglomerates
of facies 1. It exists at two levels within the basal
parts of the Dakota Sandstone and is composed
of nonbioturbated sandstone in both sheet and
multistory multilateral amalgamated channel forms
(Figure 8A). In some sections, these sandstones
form composite channel bodies less than 20 m

(<66 ft) in thickness with individual lenses measuring up to approximately 50 m (164 ft) in width
and 1 to 4 m (313 ft) in thickness (Figure 8A).
Paleocurrent indicators in these rocks typically
show a strong northeastward to eastward mode,
except where the unit grades upward into tidally
influenced sandstone (facies 3) (e.g., at The Post),
where multimodal paleocurrents (Figure 7) and
sparse bioturbation become evident. This facies is
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426
Figure 8. (A) Photomosaic of section 6 in the Blue Valley area showing a composite fluvial channel body. (B) Photomosaic of section 3 in the Blue Valley area showing a cross section of
an estuarine channel dominated by inclined heterolithic stratification sharply overlying conglomerates (facies 1) and abruptly overlain by shoreface sandstones (facies 8).
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Figure 9. Photographs of facies identified within the Dakota Sandstone. (A) Contact zone between the base of cycle 2 and parasequence 1 showing transition from tidally influenced sandstones at the base, paleosols, and coal, abruptly overlain by offshore mudstone
grading upward into shoreface sandstone. (B) Coarsening-upward parasequence at the top of the Dakota Sandstone near a few hundred
meters south of The Post 1 section with thickly bedded heterolithic offshore mudstone and sandstone at the base grading upward into
shoreface sandstone with chert pebbles and sparse oyster shells.
interpreted as braided fluvial deposits because of

its sheetlike and multistorey multilateral amalgamated channel character and close association with
conglomeratescharacteristics that are comparable to those of Mialls (1992) models of alluvial
deposits.
Facies 3: Tidally Influenced Estuarine
Sandstone and Carbonaceous Shale
Cross-sets in this facies (Table 1, Figures 6CF, 8B)
are up to 30 cm (12 in.) thick in the lower parts of
the unit (Figure 6CD), becoming thinner upward
with massive ripple or planar laminations toward
the top. Paleocurrent indicators in this facies typically have a multimodal to broadly bimodal (northwest to southeast) distribution (Figure 7). Channel
forms up to 250 m (820 ft) in width and 5 m (16 ft)
in thickness, filled with inclined heterolithically
stratified (IHS) carbonaceous mudstone and very
fine to fine-grained sandstone, are associated with
this facies in the northern part of the study area
(Figure 8B) (e.g., Blue Valley sections 3 and 11). In
some sections, the upper part of the channel is
filled by sharply based lenses, about 50 m (164 ft)
in width and as much as 1.5 m (5 ft) in thickness, consisting of horizontally to slightly inclined
pinstripe-laminated carbonaceous mudstone and
very fine to fine-grained sandstone (Figure 6F).
Sandstone layers in these lenses are typically less
than or equal to 0.6 cm (0.2 in.) thick and sub-
equal in thickness to mudstone layers. Lateral accretion surfaces are evident in the Blue Valley area
with internal cross-bedding (Figure 7) dipping at
highly oblique angles to the accretionary surface.
Lateral accretion surfaces in combination with
IHS occur continuously over several kilometers,
which suggest that this facies represents intertidal
point-bar deposits in belts of sinuous estuarine
channels (Dalrymple et al., 1992; Boyd et al.,
2006). Sharply based lenses of pinstripe-laminated
sandstone and carbonaceous mudstone are interpreted to represent abandoned estuarine channels.
Bann et al. (2004) have described analogous facies
in the Pebbley Beach Formation in Sydney Basin,
Australia.
Facies 4: Paleosols, Coal, and
Carbonaceous Shale
Paleosols (Table 1, Figure 6GH) typically underlying coal seams or carbonaceous shale (O horizon)
and consisting of moderately to poorly developed
C horizons (parent rock material showing variable
degrees of enrichment of clay material, iron, aluminum, or organic compounds) are preserved in
the northern and central parts of the study area in
the middle of the Dakota Sandstone (Figures 6H,
9A). Coal and carbonaceous shale are common in
outcrops north of the Freemont River in the Blue
Valley area, in North Caineville Reef, and between
Blind Trail and The Post. Typically, only one coal
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Figure 10. Photographs of facies identified within the Dakota

Sandstone. (A) Flood-plain mudstone (facies 5). (B) Wavy to
flaser-bedded sandstone interpreted as tidal flat deposits
(facies 6). (C) Part of a channel
body within the tidal inlet facies
showing lateral accretion surfaces. (D) Internal cross-bedding
within accretionary surfaces in
the panel C. (E) Shoreface
sandstone showing a variable
but high degree of bioturbation
and multiple bedsets. Most
trace fossils visible in this image
consist of long Skolithos (S) and
Ophiomorpha (Op). (F) Conichnus fugichnia (Fm) across
multiple bedding planes in
shoreface sandstone (facies 8).
(G) Oyster shell concentration
(facies 11) at the top of the Bitter
Creek section composed of
Exogyra (Ex) and Pycnodonte
(Pn) oyster shells. (H) Pycnodonte
newberryi oyster shell bed (facies 11) at the top of the Dakota
Sandstone in the North Caineville
Reef section.
seam can be identified and traced laterally for hundreds of meters to several kilometers. The thickness of the coal seam ranges between 0 and 65 cm
(26 in.) with an average thickness of approximately
30 cm (12 in.). Two coal seams, 30 and 15 cm (12
and 6 in.) thick, occur in Jet Basin.
428
The C-horizon part of the paleosols is recognized by root traces (Figure 6H), spheroidal weathering, or complete homogenization of underlying
lithologies (Figure 9A). Commonly, only minute
coaly root traces are present immediately below a
coal seam in carbonaceous shale and heterolithic
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strata (facies 3). More intensely pedogenically

altered C horizons are present near The Post 1
(Figure 9A) and can be traced laterally for a few
hundred meters. Overall, this facies may be as
much as 2 m (7 ft) thick.
The upper contact of this facies is typically
erosional and overlain by granule to pebble conglomeratic fine- to coarse-grained sandstones of
facies 8. Palimpsest trace fossil suites occur atop
the coal and subtend to 5 to 10 cm (24 in.)
(Figure 6G). Severe compaction of traces suggests
that they were made while the coal was uncompacted. For this reason, the palimpsest traces are
interpreted as a Teredolites ichnofacies assemblage
into a transgressed peat substrate.
Lack of further horizonation in these paleosols
suggests that either the soil did not have enough
time to become fully developed or that they represent poorly drained substrates. Because of the
close association of this facies with coal seams and
carbonaceous shale, this facies is interpreted to represent coastal mires, fringing estuarine basins, and
abandoned estuarine channels.
Other coaly and carbonaceous mudstone lenses
and drapes occur within conglomerates and sandstone of facies 1 and 2 (e.g., Blue Valley sections 2
and 15). These lenses are lightly bioturbated, contain
abundant charcoal, and alternate with medium- to
coarse-grained pebbly sandstone layers. The carbonaceous layers in this case range in thickness
between 0 and 30 cm (12 in.) and extend laterally
typically less than 10 m (<33 ft). These occurrences
are interpreted to represent temporarily abandoned fluvial channels and or placid parts of fluvial channels where organic matter and fines could
accumulate.
Facies 5: Carbonaceous Flood-Plain Siltstone
In the southern parts of the study area, between
Eggnog and Hansen Creek East (Figure 1), the basal
part of the Dakota Sandstone consists of purplish
gray carbonaceous mudstone horizontally interbedded with silty to very fine grained sandstone
layers less than 25 cm (<10 in.) thick ( Table 1,
Figure 10A). As a whole, this unit may be as much
as 1.8 m (6 ft) thick, and sandstone layers extend
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laterally for a few tens of meters. These deposits are

typically siltier and contain much less bioturbation than facies 3. In some areas, this unit appears
massive, with a spheroidal weathering texture, suggesting intense pedogenic alteration. In such cases,
the unit is assigned to facies 4. This facies is interpreted to represent flood plains and coastal plain
deposits.
Facies 6: Tidal Flat Wavy-Bedded Sandstone
This facies (Table 1, Figure 10B) is well developed
in the middle parts of the section at Cedar Creek
Benches (Figure 1). Layers of sandstone range in
thickness between 2.5 and 25 cm (110 in.) and average about 3 cm (1.2 in.). Ripple cross-lamination
sets are typically 1 to 2 cm (0.40.8 in.) thick. This
facies is lithologically similar to and occurs in close
association with facies 3 but can be differentiated
by virtue of its typically coarsening-upward grainsize trend, thicker horizontal flaser bedding, and
more sheetlike appearance, as opposed to channel
form, which are characteristics of estuarine tidal
flat deposits (Boyd et al., 2006).
Facies 7: Tidal Inlet Sandstone
This facies (Table 1, Figures 10C, D, 11) is well
developed between Eggnog and Hansen Creek
West and a few hundred meters south of North
Caineville Reef (Figure 1). At Eggnog, this facies
represents close to 8 m (26 ft) of the section and
can be traced for about 10 km (6 mi) eastward
with variable thicknesses near the section at Hansen
Creek West. Inclined accretionary surfaces, internally trough cross stratified at highly oblique orientations to the large-scale dip direction, are common in this facies and define channel bodies up to
60 m (197 ft) in width and 5.4 m (18 ft) in thickness with multiple internal reactivation surfaces
(Figure 11). Planar cross-beds up to 1.2 m (4 ft) in
set thickness also occur. Measured paleocurrent
directions in this unit are multimodal to broadly
bimodal (west-northwesteast-southeast), with a
pronounced west-northwest component (Figure 7).
This facies occurs typically in the upper parts
of the Dakota Sandstone in close association with
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Figure 11. Photomosaic of the canyon face opposite to the Eggnog section showing fluvioestuarine sandstone (facies 3) at the base
sharply overlain by tidal inlet (facies 7) and shoreface sandstones (facies 8). This outcrop shows a cross section of a channel (dashed lines
in the photograph) about 3 m (~9.8 ft) thick and less than 100 m (<328 ft) wide in the tidal inlet facies (facies 7).
shoreface sandstone (facies 8) and has been interpreted as tidal inlet deposits at the outer end of an
estuarine embayment. The deposits are analogous to ancient and modern examples described
by Barwis and Makurath (1978) and Kumar and
Sanders (1974).
Facies 8: Shingled Cross-Bedded
Shoreface Sandstone
This facies (Table 1, Figure 10E, F) is the most
laterally continuous and can be traced throughout
most of the study area at the top of the Dakota
Sandstone. It occurs in intervals commonly 5 m
(16 ft) in thickness and as much as 9 m (30 ft)
thick (e.g., Blue Valley section 18). In some places,
bentonite layers subdivide the unit into as many as
three intervals, each less than 4 m (<13 ft) thick.
Cross-sets range in thickness from 10 to 40 cm (4
16 in.) and form laterally extensive shingled sheets
gently inclined east-northeastward. Paleocurrent
data broadly trend westward and southwestward
(Figure 7). Bioturbation is variable but intense
overall (bioturbation index [BI] = 46) and typically higher at the top of individual cross-bed sets,
along bedding planes, and in the basal parts of the
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unit (Figure 10E). In some areas (e.g., Blue Valley

section 11), escape traces (fugichnia) approximately
1 m (3.3 ft) long can be seen across multiple crosssets (Figure 10F), suggesting rapid and episodic
deposition of the sand.
In the central part of the study area (i.e., Blind
Trail to The Post), this unit forms two coarseningupward intervals from heavily bioturbated mudstone or very fine to fine-grained muddy sandstone
of facies 9 at the base to oyster shell concentrations
(facies 11) at the top (Figure 9A, B).
The dominance of planar cross-bedding and
evidence of rapid and episodic deposition suggest
that this facies represents storm-wavedominated
shoreface sandstones. Examples of modern and ancient analogs have been described by Swift (1968),
Howard and Reineck (1981), Hampson and Storms
(2003), and Clifton (2006).
Facies 9: Heavily Bioturbated Lower Shoreface
Mudstone or Muddy Sandstone
This facies (Table 1, Figure 9A, B) was only observed in the uppermost part of the section between Blind Trail and The Post (Figure 9A, B). It
occurs at the basal part of coarsening-upward trends
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into shoreface sandstone (facies 8). The layers of

sandstone in this facies range in thickness from 5 to
40 cm (216 in.) from the base to the top of the
unit (Figure 9B). The topmost layer of sandstone
contains abundant chert pebbles and oyster shells.
Shells are composed mostly of Exogyra costagyra
(?) and Pycnodonte newberryii. This unit is interpreted to represent lower shoreface environments
of deposition and is similar to examples described
by Bann et al. (2004) from the Pebbley Beach Formation in Sydney Basin, Australia.
Facies 10: Bentonites
Multiple 10- to 20-cm (48 in.) thick layers of white,
silty, reworked volcanic ash fallout (bentonites) occur throughout the Blue Valley area both north
and south of the Freemont River (Table 1). Only
one layer of bentonite occurs in the northern part
of the Blue Valley area extending continuously
between sections 11 and 8 (~1.5 km [0.9 mi]).
Two layers of bentonite were identified south of
the Freemont River between Blue Valley sections
12 and 14 and one at the top of the Jet Basin
section. These layers occur within sandstones of
facies 8 in the Blue Valley area and within oyster
shell concentrations (facies 11) in the Jet Basin
section.
Facies 11: Oyster Shell Concentrations
A bed up to 1.6 m (5 ft) thick of clast-supported
oyster shell breccia (Table 1, Figure 10G, H) exists
at the top of the Dakota Sandstone throughout
the study area. Well-cemented layers of sandstone with 50% or more oyster shells commonly
occur immediately below this layer and at multiple intervals within sandstones of facies 8. The
well-cemented layers range in thickness from 30
to 100 cm (1239 in.). The oyster shells consist
mostly of Pycnodonte newberryi (Stanton), an unidentified pectinoid in the Blue Valley area, predominantly Pycnodonte newberryi in the south (e.g.,
Eggnog to Copper Creek Benches), a mixture of
Pycnodonte newberryi, Exogyra (Costagyra) olisisponensis (Sharpe), and lesser amounts of Flemingostrea prudentia (White) in the central part of the
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study area (e.g., Blind Trail, The Post, Cedar Creek

Benches, and Dugout Creek). Just north of The
Post section, a few articulated shells are present at
the top of the oyster bed, but in the rest of the study
area, very few articulated shells were observed. In
parts of the Blue Valley area and in some sections in
the southern part of the study area, the Pycnodonte
concentrations show paucity of the small caplike
valve and contain abundant chert granules. Overall, any fragmentation of the oyster shells appears
to be caused by compaction, not transport. Many
of the shells are bored.
The almost intact preservation of very delicate
pectinoid shells within the well-cemented layers
in the Blue Valley area and lack of a hydrodynamic
(convex up) orientation of the shells suggest that
deposition occurred in an environment with moderate to low wave energy and cementation likely
occurred rapidly. The large concentration of shells
and abundance of borings suggest that sedimentation rates at the time of deposition must have been
low. However, the moderate degree of sorting,
which resulted in removal of the more delicate
valves of the Pycnodonte shells, and the presence
of chert granules along with the oysters are evidence to more energetic conditions involved in
the formation of these oyster shell concentrations.
This perhaps indicates that the oyster concentrations formed under variable environmental energy regimes or that the environment of deposition changed through time.
Note that Flemingostrea prudentia is typically
associated with lagoonal brackish environments,
whereas Pycnodonte newberryi and Exogyra are
associated with open-marine settings (Frsich and
Kirkland, 1986). The dominance of Pycnodonte and
Exogyra over Flemingostrea suggests that the environment of deposition for this facies was most
likely open marine. Therefore, these deposits are
interpreted as oyster accumulations on the shoreface. However, it is also plausible that fluvial output onto the shoreface promoted brackish water
conditions that allowed Flemisgostrea to temporarily colonize oyster shell lags on the sea floor, as
supported by the presence of oyster shells in growth
position near the top of the section north of The
Post.
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432
Figure 12. Cross sections and stratigraphic interpretations of the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains, southeastern Utah, including (A) cross section AA and (B) cross section BB.
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Figure 13. Cross-sections and stratigraphic interpretations of the Dakota Sandstone in the Blue Valley area in the Henry Mountains, southeastern Utah, including (A) cross-section CC
and (B) cross section DD. Key to symbols in Figure 12.
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Overall, the low percentage of articulated shells,

random orientation, and preferential preservation
of the more robust shells, despite the low degree of
fragmentation, suggest physical reworking of the
shells in situ. As suggested by Frsich and Kirkland
(1986), in the short-term, condensed deposition
like this case is most easily accomplished by storms
and may range from winnowing of finer sediments
between shells, leading to concentration of shell
material to short-term suspension of shells during
storm surges followed by rapid redeposition. In the
longer term, however, this unit is interpreted to
represent condensed deposition caused by continued transgression of the sea and starvation of the
deeper parts of the basin (Kidwell, 1989, 1991;
Frsich and Pandey, 1999).
DISCUSSION
Sequence-Stratigraphic Framework
Several key stratigraphic surfaces were recognized
throughout the study area using the facies scheme
previously developed (Figures 12, 13). Superposition of the Dakota Sandstone on the scoured surface of the Cedar Mountain or Morrison formations
represents a major unconformity and a sequence
boundary. The hiatus associated with this boundary
has been corroborated by other authors using palynomorph biostratigraphy. It has been determined to
span approximately the Late Albian and Early Cenomanian, where the upper Cedar Mountain Formation is present and overall missing time increases
toward the west (Merewether and Cobban, 1986;
Cobban et al., 2000; Currie et al., 2008).
Another sequence boundary is identified in the
middle part of the Dakota Sandstone by the superposition of fluvial conglomerate and sandstone
(facies 1 and 2) over estuarine carbonaceous shale
(facies 3) (Figures 12, 13). Such disjoint superposition of facies is readily observed in the central and southern parts of the study area but is
more cryptic toward the north, where the fluvial
deposits amalgamate, pinch out, or completely
erode underlying deposits at the base of the Dakota Sandstone.
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Three regionally extensive flooding surfaces are

readily recognized in the upper parts of the Dakota
Sandstone where shoreface sandstone, mudstone,
or tidal inlet facies overlie fluvial, estuarine, or
coastal mire deposits, or as coarsening-upward successions passing upward from lower shoreface
mudstone to shoreface sandstone and oyster shell
concentrations (Figures 1214).
The identified key surfaces permit subdivision
of the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains
area into two sequences and three parasequences
(Figures 1214). The lowest sequence (cycle 1)
consists of laterally extensive braided fluvial conglomerates (facies 1), which in parts, grade upward
into fluvial sandstone (facies 2) and fluvioestuarine sandstone and mudstone (facies 3) or are
abruptly overlain by fluvioestuarine facies. Such
change in depositional regime from braided fluvial into fluvioestuarine suggests a changing relative base level, from a stillstand or lowering base
level to a transgressive trend (Figure 14). Therefore,
the conglomerates at the base of this sequence have
been interpreted as LST.
In some areas, erosional relief of as much as
20 m (66 ft) within less than or equal to 10 km
(6 mi) along strike is infilled by fluvial and estuarine facies of the Dakota Sandstone, which suggests that at least parts of the unit represent incised
valley fills (Figure 12B). In other parts, the fluvial
and estuarine deposits of the Dakota Sandstone
have more of a sheetlike cross-sectional geometry,
and incised valleys, if present, are more difficult to
delineate.
Superposition of continental (facies 1 and 2)
over coastal or paralic (facies 3) facies across the
upper sequence boundary indicates a transition
from a transgressive depositional regime to a regressive one (Figure 14). The fluvial sandstones
overlying this sequence boundary are conglomeratic at the base in some areas and transition upward
into tidally influenced sandstones and estuarine
mudstone (facies 3). Similarly to the underlying
sequence, the conglomeratic part of the sandstone in this case may represent LST or early TST
deposits.
Physical correlation of facies from the central
part of the study area toward the north shows that
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Figure 14. Paleobathymetric curve for

the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains showing the position of key stratigraphic surfaces (SB = sequence boundaries; FS = flooding surfaces) compared
with the Bitter Creek and The Post 1 sections. Key to symbols in Figure 12.
the TST part of cycle 1 pinches out between the

sections at Blind Trail 1 and Bitter Creek, and only
sparse remnants are preserved in the northern part
of the study area between Blue Valley sections 4
through 7 (Figure 13A). Such absence of the basal
sequence in the northern part of the study area
may be caused by erosion of the cycle 1 during
deposition of cycle 2 or lack of deposition of cycle
1 in this area.
The TST part of cycle 1 is covered by colluvium or does not crop out south of the The Post
toward Halls Creek Overlook, where only conglomerates are present. Cycle 1 crops out again at
Eggnog as fluvioestuarine deposits at the base of
the Dakota Sandstone (Figure 12A). Eastward,
from Eggnog to Hansen Creek, west cycle 1 becomes progressively thinner, and at Copper Creek
Benches, it is not present.
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Cycle 2 is composed of a basal succession of

fluvial sandstone (facies 2) fining upward into tidally influenced sandstones (facies 3), paleosols,
carbonaceous shale, and coal (facies 4) (LST to
TST), and two overlying parasequences that comprise the highstand systems tract. These subdivisions are only readily recognizable in the central
part of the study area, from where they are correlated both to the north and south. Between Eggnog
and Saleratus Point, the basal part of cycle 2 is
characterized by flood-plain mudstone (facies 5)
at the base overlain by braided fluvial sandstone
(facies 2) and estuarine sandstone (facies 3) toward the top. This cycle is abruptly overlain by
parasequences 1 and 2, which are each composed
of lower shoreface mudstone or muddy sandstone (facies 9) coarsening upward into shoreface
sandstone (facies 8) and oyster shell concentrations (facies 11) at the very top. The bases of
parasequences 1 and 2 are typically marked by
Glossifungites or Teredolites (in coal) ichnofacies
assemblages.
The top of the Dakota Formation represents
the topmost flooding surface associated with the
parasequences of cycle 2, and it is marked by
oyster shell concentrations and a regional change
into the Tununk Member of the Mancos Shale
(Figures 1214). Only the uppermost two flooding surfaces, which enclose parasequence 2, can
be traced throughout the entire study area. The
other (lowermost) flooding surface, at the base of
parasequence 1, is not distinguishable in the northern outcrops. The lack of such flooding surface in
this area could be attributed to local amalgamation
of parasequences 1 and 2, erosion of parasequence 1
before deposition of parasequence 2, or possibly
parasequence 1 being a lateral equivalent of the
basal part of cycle 2 and never having been deposited in the northern parts of the study area.
Root traces at the base of parasequence 1 in
The Post section could be evidence that instead of
a flooding surface, this contact is actually a sequence boundary, yet such evidence is not present
in any of the other measured sections. The presence of such root traces at the base of parasequence 1 at The Post may also be caused by localized erosion of the substrate during marine
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transgression and not necessarily recording relative

sea level lowering throughout the region.
The presence of coal rip-up clasts within the
conglomeratic interval at the base of the shoreface
sandstone in the northern parts of the study area
indicates that there was erosion of underlying lithologies before deposition of the overlying units.
Therefore, the base of the shoreface sandstone
(facies 8) in this area is interpreted as a wave ravinement surface and transgressive surface of erosion. Similarly, in the southern parts of the study
area, the base of tidal inlet deposits (facies 7) is
interpreted as a tidal ravinement surface.
In the Blue Valley area, the sharp superposition of shoreface sandstone over bentonite layers
(facies 10) with firm ground ichnofacies assemblages at the top represents locally preserved wave
ravinement and hiatus surfaces within the shoreface succession. Such surfaces suggest that multiple cycles of shoreface deposition may have occurred during deposition of the upper parts of the
Dakota Sandstone, but they have been obscured
by amalgamation of shoreface sandstone in other
parts of the study area.
The correlation of the identified sequences and
parasequences to the east along cross sections DD
(Figure 12C) is speculative because the units do not
crop out continuously from one section to the next.
Therefore, the correlations shown in Figure 12C
are meant to show the similarities in facies across
the direction of depositional dip. However, comparison with examples from the literature (am
Ende, 1991; Leckie and Singh, 1991; Willis, 1997;
Ulin, 1999; Holbrook, 2001; Holbrook et al.,
2006; Laurin and Sageman, 2007) shows that
such a correlation is likely too simplistic given the
complexity observed within the unit in other parts
of the study area. The facies scheme and sequencestratigraphic considerations above were used to reconstruct the paleogeography of the area for each
depositional cycle as shown in Figure 15.
Nature of the Depositional System

On a broad scale, the parasequences within cycle 2
define a tripartite zonation from predominantly
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Antia and Fielding
Figure 15. Paleogeographic interpretations of cycles 1 and 2 associated with deposition of the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains region. Channel belts depicted in these maps
were interpolated among measured sections given general paleocurrent trends, similarities in lithofacies, and geographic position, but no subsurface data were used to corroborate the
interpretations.
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fluvial deposits at the base, grading upward into

fluvioestuarine sandstone and estuarine mudstone,
which are abruptly overlain by shoreface sandstone and mudstone. Such a tripartite zonation has
been identified as typical of wave-dominated estuaries (Dalrymple et al., 1992; Boyd et al., 2006).
On a smaller scale, the fluvioestuarine sandstones
and estuarine mudstones at the base of cycle 2
show evidence of tidal modulation during sediment accumulation. This indicates that internally, the estuary associated with deposition of
the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains
region was influenced by tidal activity, but overall,
the morphology of the system was dominated by
wave activity.
Paleocurrent directions in the shoreface facies atop the Dakota Sandstone indicate southto-southwestward sediment transport (Figure 7).
Beds have characteristics that suggest deposition
during storm events (e.g., long fugichnia traces and
increased bioturbation at the top of cross-bed sets;
Figure 10E, F). Shingling of the cross-bed sets in
the shoreface sandstone toward the east and northeast in combination with fluvial paleoflow broadly
oriented toward the northeast suggests that the
overall direction of progradation for the Dakota
Sandstone in the study area was toward the east
and northeast (Figure 15). Such a direction of progradation implies that the paleoshoreline associated with the Dakota Sandstone in this area
would have been oriented broadly northwestsoutheast or north-south during cycle 2 (Figure 15).
Therefore, the paleocurrent mode for shoreface
sandstones may represent onshore-directed transport, longshore paleocurrents, or a combination of
both. Analogous modern and ancient examples
were described by Howard and Reineck (1981)
and Clifton (2006).
Climate and oceanic circulation models suggest
that a counterclockwise water circulation gyre was
active within the KWIS during the Cenomanian
Turonian (Slingerland et al., 1996). It has also been
suggested that mean annual wind fields over the
KWIS consisted of easterly winds in the north and
southwesterly winds in the south, with winter storms
tracking far south over the seaway (Slingerland
et al., 1996). Such climate models emphasize the
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Turonian period and not the Cenomanian, but

given the paleocurrents recorded in the shoreface
facies of the Dakota Sandstone in the study area,
these climate models can be considered applicable
to the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains
region.
The abundance of lower shoreface mudstones
between Blind Trail and The Post suggests that
this area may have been at a relatively more distal
location compared with areas to the north and
south (Figure 12B). Therefore, the central part of
the study area may have been part of an embayment in the shoreline.
Comparison with the Kaiparowits Plateau,
Uinta Basin, and Northwestern New Mexico
Recent studies have shown that multiple cycles
of deposition are preserved within the Dakota
Formation in the Kaiparowits Plateau and Uinta
Basin (am Ende, 1991; Ulin, 1999; Laurin and
Sageman, 2007; Currie et al., 2008). In exposures
around the southern margin of the Uinta Basin,
Currie et al. (2008) subdivided the Albian to Cenomanian Dakota Sandstone into two storeys of
fluvial channel sandstone and conglomerate overlain by gray smectitic and carbonaceous overbank deposits, separated by a sequence-bounding
unconformity.
In the Kaiparowits Plateau, Gustason (1989)
first developed a detailed stratigraphic framework for the Dakota Sandstone, which was later
refined by am Ende (1991) and Ulin (1999).
Ulin (1999) divided the Dakota Sandstone into
six units on the basis of recognition of major regionally traceable bounding surfaces (flooding surfaces, sequence boundaries), comprising deposits
of the following depositional environments from
base to top of the unit: braided fluvial (sequence 1),
anastomosed fluvial (S2), tidally influenced fluvial
(S3a), tide-dominated estuarine (S3b), offshore
to shoreface (S4 and 5), estuarine and offshore to
shoreface (S6a), and estuarine and upper shoreface (S6b). Similar depositional environments are
also recognized in the Henry Mountains region.
The framework developed by Ulin (1999) was
later extended into the Paunsaugunt and Markagunt
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Antia and Fielding
Figure 16. Comparison of facies and sequence-stratigraphic interpretations for the Dakota Sandstone in the Kaiparowits Plateau (Ulin, 1999), the Henry Mountains (this study), and
the southern Uinta Basin (Currie et al., 2008), used with permission from the Utah Biological Survey. Note that the side-by-side comparison of the three sequence stratigraphic models is
not meant to imply that the sequence-stratigraphic surfaces are the same age in all three locations. Instead, this figure aims to show the striking similarities among the three sections,
both from a lithostratigraphic and sequence-stratigraphic perspective. FS = flooding surface; SB = sequence boundary; TS = transgressive surface of erosion.
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Figure 17. Comparison of the stratigraphy in the Kaiparowits Plateau (KP), the Henry Mountains (HM), and northwestern New Mexico
(SJ). (A) Isopach map of Lower Cretaceous rocks in Utah and western Colorado and interpreted during the Early Cretaceous forelandbasin system depozone (source: Currie, 2002). (B) Comparison of the stratigraphic characteristics and thickness between the KP (taken
from Ulin, 1999), HM, and San Juan Basin (based on discussions by Owen, 1969; Aubrey, 1989; Lucas et al., 1998). Note that the lines
drawn among the stratigraphic sections are not meant to imply that the sequence-stratigraphic surfaces are the same age in all three
locations. These lines are just meant to show the similarities among the three sections at similar stratigraphic levels. (C) Paleocurrents of
the Dakota Formation in the Colorado Plateau as reported by Mellere (1994), Lucas et al. (1998), Ulin (1999), Currie et al. (2008), and
this study. (D) Time-stratigraphic diagram of the Dakota Sandstone among the KP, HM, and San Juan Basin. (E) Legend of symbols for
diagrams A to D.
plateaus to the west of the Kaiparowits Plateau

by Laurin and Sageman (2007), building upon
the previous work of Elder et al. (1994). These
authors developed a high-resolution time scale for
the unit based on fossil evidence and recognized
Milankovitch band cyclicity of ca. 65 to 160 ka
and ca. 20 to 40 ka periodicities within the Dakota
Formation. Such cyclicity is comparable to cycles
observed in the equivalent Bridge Creek Limestone of the Greenhorn Formation in the Denver
440
Basin far to the east and is interpreted to indicate

orbital forcing of insolation and climate during the
middle Cretaceous (Laurin and Sageman, 2007).
The sequence-stratigraphic facies subdivisions
of the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains
region share significant similarities to the interpretations for the Kaiparowits Plateau about 80 km
(50 mi) to the west-southwest (Gustason, 1989;
am Ende, 1991; Ulin, 1999) and to the San Juan
and Acoma basins 100 to 200 km (62124 mi) to
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the southeast (Figures 16, 17) (Owen, 1969;

Aubrey, 1989; Mellere, 1994; Lucas et al., 1998).
Overall, the identified facies are the same, except
that anastomosed fluvial deposits were not observed in this study and are not clearly delineated
in northwestern New Mexico, and a second story
of braided fluvial deposits, which do not occur in
the Kaiparowits Plateau or in northwestern New
Mexico, is present in the Henry Mountains region
(Figure 16). In this regard, the basal part of the
Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains region
appears to be more similar to exposures in the
southern margin of the Uinta Basin, where two
stories of fluvial deposits overlain by estuarine
and coastal heterolithic carbonaceous mudstones
have been identified (Figure 16) (Currie et al.,
2008).
Ulin (1999) showed that in the Kaiparowits
Plateau, the Dakota Sandstone can be subdivided
into six units, and pointed out that evidence of
subaerial exposure below the surfaces bounding
such units indicates that these are stratigraphic
sequences, not parasequences (Figure 16). Such
evidence of subaerial exposure at the boundaries
of each unit was not detected in the Henry Mountains region. Thus, the units are interpreted as
parasequences, not sequences. Any evidence of
subaerial exposure between these parasequences
may have been erased by erosion during deposition of the overlying parasequence. If this is
the case, then perhaps Ulins (1999) sequencestratigraphic framework can be extended into the
Henry Mountains region.
In this regard, note that the stratigraphic section studied by Ulin (1999) in the Kaiparowits
Plateau measures close to 70 m (230 ft) in the west
and thins down to just more than 20 m (66 ft) in
the east over a distance of about 70 km (43 mi).
The section in the Henry Mountains region, however, measures at its thickest 38 m (125 ft) and
averages about 10 m (33 ft) overall. This shows
that the Henry Mountains region represents a much
lower accommodation setting than the Kaiparowits
Plateau and other areas to the east and southeast
in western Colorado and northwestern New Mexico (Currie, 2002). It also implies that fluctuating
base level would have had a stronger impact on
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the stratigraphy of this area, with less preservation potential of the geologic record. Hence, it
seems likely that evidence of subaerial exposure
between the identified parasequences may have
been eroded away during deposition of the overlying unit.
In northwestern New Mexico, the Dakota
Sandstone is also thicker (~80 m [262 ft]) than in
the Henry Mountains and contains similar deposits
to those in the Kaiparowits Plateau. The sequencestratigraphic framework for the unit is not well
developed in this area. However, the sedimentologic similarities are striking. In the San Juan and
Acoma basins of northwestern New Mexico, the
Dakota Sandstone is subdivided into the braided
fluvial Encinal Canyon Member, overlain by carbonaceous coastal plain deposits of the Oak Canyon
Member, and multiple marginal marine sandstone
bodies, namely Cubero, Paguate, and Twowells
tongues, which interfinger with the Mancos Shale
(Figure 17) (Owen, 1969; Aubrey, 1989; Mellere,
1994; Lucas et al., 1998). It is unclear whether the
Oak Canyon Member contains deposits associated
with anastomosing fluvial systems, nevertheless,
it is obvious that the Kaiparowits Plateau section
and the Dakota Sandstone in northwestern New
Mexico are significantly similar. Furthermore,
Mellere (1994), in a reassessment of the Twowells
Tongue in the Acoma Basin, identified an unconformity at the base of the unit overlain by estuarine
valley-fill deposits that grade upward into marginal
marine sandstone and the Mancos Shale, which is
analogous to the sequences in the upper parts of
the Dakota Sandstone in the Kaiparowits Plateau
described by Gustason (1989), am Ende (1991),
and Ulin (1999).
Two important differences between these areas
are (1) the greater presence of marine shale intertonguing with the Dakota Sandstone in northwestern New Mexico compared with the Kaiparowits Plateau and the Henry Mountains and (2)
diverging paleocurrent directions in the fluvial
facies between the Henry Mountains and adjacent
areas to the east and west (Figure 17). The greater
presence of marine shale intertonguing with the
Dakota Sandstone in northwestern New Mexico
is to be expected because this section would have
Antia and Fielding
441
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been in a more distal setting than the Kaiparowits

during deposition of the unit. The fluvial paleocurrents, however, suggest that there might have
been some structural control to the distribution
of fluvial drainage in the Henry Mountains region
during the time of deposition of the Dakota Sandstone. Fluvial paleocurrents in the Kaiparowits
Plateau and in northwestern New Mexico have
similar northwest-to-southeast trends, whereas in
the Henry Mountains, the trend is predominantly
toward the northeast, parallel to the interpreted
orientation of the forebulge (Figure 17).
Tectonic Configuration of the KWIS around the

Study Area
The variation in thickness of the Dakota Sandstone,
approximately 70 m (~230 ft) in the western parts
of the Kaiparowits Plateau, less than 38 m (<125 ft)
in the Henry Mountains, and approximately 80 m
(~262 ft) in northwestern New Mexico (Figure 17),
along with the distance of these depositional sites
from the orogenic front of the Sevier orogenic belt
(White et al., 2002), correlates with deposition of
the unit in the foredeep, forebulge, and backbulge
basin tectonic realms, respectively. Such interpretation is corroborated by isopach maps of the Dakota Sandstone (Figure 17) (Currie, 2002) across
the western and central parts of the Colorado
Plateau, which show a similar trend in thickness
variation of the unit farther north and south of the
study area.
The observed variations in thickness of the unit
also indicate that the forebulge remained as a relatively elevated and nonsubsiding region compared
with the foredeep and backbulge basins, which resulted in differential accommodation for accumulation of the Dakota Sandstone. The presence of
braided fluvial deposits of similar thickness at the
base of the Dakota Sandstone across all three of
these tectonic realms, however, suggests that differential subsidence of the foredeep and backbulge
in this period did not become significant until after
deposition of these fluvial lithofacies. Differential
subsidence after deposition of the braided fluvial
deposits may explain the presence of anastomosing
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fluvial deposits in the Kaiparowits Plateau and their

absence from the Henry Mountains region because
of lesser accommodation rates or different paleoslopes across the different tectonic realms. The
dominant mechanism driving the general change
from braided to anastomosing fluvial deposits in
the Kaiparowits sections is unclear, but it seems
unlikely that this change would be entirely caused
by base-level rise related to tectonic subsidence.
Eustatic rise may represent a more likely explanation to such change in fluvial character particularly
because a similar transition occurs in northwestern
New Mexico hundreds of kilometers to the east in
the backbulge and axial basin tectonic realm. In
other words, if subsidence was responsible for the
change in fluvial character in the stratigraphy of the
foredeep and backbulge realms, a similar change
should be observed in the forebulge, which should
also have subsided.
Similar interpretations are given to the multiple tongues of estuarine and lower to upper shoreface sandstones observed across all three realms in
the upper parts of the Dakota Sandstone. The evidence of subaerial exposure at the base of these
marginal marine units in the Kaiparowits Plateau (Ulin, 1999) and the short-term over which
they were deposited (hundreds of k.y.; Laurin and
Sageman, 2007) suggests that the more likely
mechanism driving the relative sea level fluctuations associated with these units was eustasy.
In the Frontier Formation of north-central
Wyoming, Vakarelov et al. (2006) interpreted
transgressive-regressive cycles similar to the ones
observed in the Dakota Sandstone as the results
of local reactivation of basement blocks driven by
regional tectonism. However, Gale et al. (2008) have
shown that Cenomanian transgressive-regressive
cycles equivalent to those identified by Elder et al.
(1994) and Laurin and Sageman (2007) in the
Dakota Sandstone in Utah and by Vakarelov et al.
(2006) in the Frontier Formation in Wyoming correlate with globally recognized sea level events.
Therefore, local tectonics in the study of Vakarelov
et al. (2006) may have enhanced the amount of incision associated with the transgressive-regressive
cycles, but eustasy was the principal mechanism
driving them (Gale et al., 2008).
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Characteristics of Potential Reservoirs

No hydrocarbon potential has been reported for
the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains
syncline. However, the well-exposed record of this
unit in the region can be used to guide exploration
in analogous low-accommodation depositional settings throughout the KWIS and around the world.
In this regard, the Dakota Sandstone in the Henry
Mountains has many elements that under the appropriate geologic conditions could result in a successful hydrocarbon play. The carbonaceous mudrocks may be potential source rocks and seals along
with the encasing mudrock-dominated units, Mancos
Shale above and Cedar Mountain Formation below.
Potential reservoirs occur in fluvial conglomerate and sandstone, tidal inlet facies, and shoreface sandstone. The more laterally continuous potential reservoir facies are shoreface sandstones.
These sandstones represent multiple condensed
parasequences and thus are likely to be vertically
compartmentalized. Also, of all the potential reservoirs, shoreface sandstones appear to contain significant amounts of mud in many areas, which
would reduce the potential for desirable permeability in the unit. Tidal inlet facies are less muddy
than shoreface sandstone, but they are typically
enclosed by shoreface sandstone units. Thus, the
trap potential for this facies would likely be low.
Fluvial conglomerates and sandstone, on the contrary, are commonly encased within mudstone facies (e.g., estuarine, coastal flood plain, and the
Cedar Mountain Formation), appear to contain
only small percentages of fines (silt and clay), and
cementation does not appear to be pervasive. This
facies appears to be contained within incised valley or channel belts and thus occurs predominantly
within linear trends oriented broadly southwest to
northeast.
CONCLUSIONS
The Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains
represents a low-accommodation depositional setting on the western margin of the Cretaceous
Western Interior Basin. The unit preserves a record
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of two sequences, the upper one of which contains

two parasequences. These sequences and parasequences are dominated by continental to shallowmarine deposits. The basal conglomerates in these
sequences represent LST deposits, but overall, the
section is dominated by TST deposits.
The units recorded in the Henry Mountains
region are similar to those reported from the
Kaiparowits Plateau by Ulin (1999) and from
northwestern New Mexico (Owen, 1969; Aubrey,
1989; Mellere, 1994; Lucas et al., 1998); root
traces are associated with the flooding surfaces
at The Post, but such evidence of subaerial exposure at the bounding surfaces was not detected in
any other section. Therefore, the two upper units
are classified herein as parasequences and not sequences. However, top truncation by wave and
tide ravinement caused by low accommodation in
the area may have eroded any evidence of subaerial
exposure between the units. Thus, these units possibly are actually sequences as in the Kaiparowits
Plateau.
The Dakota Sandstone in the Henry Mountains preserves a record of multiple cycles of sediment accumulation driven by fluctuations in relative sea level. The presence of similar cycles in
Kaiparowits Plateau and in northwestern New
Mexico, which represent the more rapidly subsiding foredeep and backbulge tectonic realms,
respectively, suggests that the dominant agent
driving such cycles must have been eustatic fluctuations. Such interpretation is reinforced by the
high frequency of these cycles calculated by Ulin
(1999) and Laurin and Sageman (2007), which
correlates to global sea level (Gale et al., 2008).
Cycle 2 in the middle to upper parts of the
Dakota Sandstone can be subdivided into three
parts: fluvial facies at the base, estuarine channels
and basin facies in the middle, and shoreface facies
at the top, which is analogous to facies models of
wave-dominated estuaries. Internally, however, the
unit also shows evidence of tidal modulation of
sediment deposition.
Potential hydrocarbon reservoirs in settings
similar to the Dakota Sandstone may be present
in shoreface sandstones, tidal inlet facies, and fluvial sandstones and conglomerates. However, low
Antia and Fielding
443
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accommodation in this setting resulted in a high degree of compartmentalization and abundant baffle
zones in these potential reservoirs. The best reservoirs would most likely occur in fluvial sandstones
because they are better sorted, are free of detrital
mud, and are encased in mudstones that may act as
sealing lithologies in stratigraphic traps.
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CONTENTS

AAPG Bulletin, v. 95, no. 3 (March 2011), pp. 413447

Dakota Sandstone Sequence Stratigraphy, Henry Mountains, Southeastern Utah

Antia and Fielding

Figure 2. Index map of

The purpose of this research was to develop a

(LST) and TST deposits, and (4) contains evidence

Dakota Sandstone Sequence Stratigraphy, Henry Mountains, Southeastern Utah

Figure 3. Paleogeographic reconstruction of the Western Interior of the United

1986; Currie, 2002; White et al., 2002). The KWIS

the north, and the San Juan Basin to the southeast

because of marked variations in its stratigraphic

Poorly sorted and well-rounded

Bioturbation is low to moderate

Erosional lower contact with the Braided fluvial

Tidally influenced estuarine

Antia and Fielding

Dull coal, carbonaceous shale, and

Leaf imprints and coalified plant

Horizontal heterolithically stratified

Fine-grained sandstone alternating

Most commonly low-angle

Medium- to coarse- grained

Planar and trough cross-bedding

Low bioturbation in the

Gradational lower contact with Coastal mire and paleosols

Moderate to high bioturbation

Gradational lower contact with Tidal flat

Abrupt lower contact with the

Sharp lower contact with

Tan, yellow, and brownish green,

Thickly bedded heterolithic brownish

White (fresh) or orange to reddish

Moderate to high bioturbation

Sharp lower contact with

The unit coarsens upward

Occurs within F8 or F11.

Occurs at the top and within

Oyster shell concentrations

toward the west, from the Denver Basin toward

within the Cenomanian Stage (Figure 5) (Currie

Figure 6. Photographs of facies identified in the Dakota

paleovalleys or channel belts, typically more than

Dakota Sandstone Sequence Stratigraphy, Henry Mountains, Southeastern Utah

Facies 2: Fluvial Sandstone

form composite channel bodies less than 20 m

interpreted as braided fluvial deposits because of

Figure 10. Photographs of facies identified within the Dakota

Dakota Sandstone Sequence Stratigraphy, Henry Mountains, Southeastern Utah

strata (facies 3). More intensely pedogenically

laterally for a few tens of meters. These deposits are

unit (Figure 10E). In some areas (e.g., Blue Valley

Dakota Sandstone Sequence Stratigraphy, Henry Mountains, Southeastern Utah

into shoreface sandstone (facies 8). The layers of

study area (e.g., Blind Trail, The Post, Cedar Creek

Antia and Fielding

Overall, the low percentage of articulated shells,

Three regionally extensive flooding surfaces are

Dakota Sandstone Sequence Stratigraphy, Henry Mountains, Southeastern Utah

Figure 14. Paleobathymetric curve for

the TST part of cycle 1 pinches out between the

Cycle 2 is composed of a basal succession of

transgression and not necessarily recording relative

Nature of the Depositional System