Fluvial architecture of the Upper Cretaceous Nubia Sandstones: An ancient example of sandy braided rivers in central Eastern Desert, Egypt

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the fluvial architecture and depositional facies model of the Late Cretaceous large sandy braided-river system of the Nubia Formation in the central Eastern Desert of Egypt. Six lithofacies types and two paleosol pedotypes (entisol and vertisol) are arranged in channel and overbank architectural elements that display first- to fifth-order bounding surfaces. Two distinctive fluvial architectural styles are recognized. The Fluvial architecture of the lower member identifies a low sinuous and energetic sandy braided river, in which the channels cover the entire of fluvial landforms with limited overbank areas. The suggested depositional model resembles the classic Platte-type braided river with its broad, low sinuosity streams, rich sand bedload and minor overbank sediments. Recurrent autogenic fining-upward cycles, rarely preserved overbank deposits, dominant entisol pedotype, prevailing trough cross-bedded sandstones, sporadic to absent planar cross-bedded sandstone, and dominant downstream accretion also imply perennial, sandy braided rivers. By contrast, the fluvial architecture of the upper member is characterized by fining-upward cycles, downstream and lateral accretion elements, and commonly preserved overbank deposits (overprinted by the mature vertisol pedotype). This architecture style is ascribed to a perennial sandy braided river characterized by sinuous energetic streams and laterally developed overbank areas, similar to the modern South Saskatchewan River in Canada. The fluvial depositional system and sequences in the Nubia Formation are strongly controlled by Late Cretaceous base-level fluctuations and tectonic pulses of the Laramide Orogeny.