Environmental Significance of Certain Yellow-Brown Dolomites, Great Basin, California and Nevada: ABSTRACT

Abstract

Within the dominantly gray limestone and dolomite sequences of the Great Basin, sporadic yellow-brown dolomite is present as discrete beds, lentils, or wisps--the latter imparting a mottled or pseudobrecciated appearance. These distinct deposits, studied in Ordovician, Devonian, Pennsylvanian, and Triassic formations, are fine grained, are usually unfossiliferous, and posses a less than 5 percent terrigenous fraction of well-rounded quartz and sparse feldspar. Laminations, desiccation polygons, and possible relict bird's-eye structures also are apparent. Stratigraphically, these deposits commonly overlie dolomite sequences several hundreds of feet thick and are in turn overlain by limestone sequences of varied thicknesses. The persistent occurrence of these yellow-brown dolomites at the top of dolomitized sequences possibly indicates that the yellow-brown lithology represents supratidal or penecontemporaneous dolomitization from which seepage-refluxion brines ultimately descend. The underlying rocks commonly are coarser grained, contain normal marine fossils, and reveal gravity-controlled dolomitization structures. In some cases where yellow-brown deposits are incorporated in a completely dolomitized interval, the beds below the lowest yellow-brown horizon reveal multiple dolomitization. End_of_Article - Last_Page 770------------