Relation of Buried Tishomingo Uplift to Ardmore Basin and Ouachita Mountains, Southeastern Oklahoma

Abstract

The eastern prolongation of the Tishomingo horst in Atoka and Bryan Counties, Oklahoma, is bounded by two large northwest-trending faults. The Sulphur fault bounds the northeastern side and the Washita Valley fault-complex zone the southwestern side. The two faults, which define and control the structural boundaries of the uplift, terminate on the east against the Broken Bow anticlinorium. All of the faults of the Arbuckle Mountains are deep-seated, surficially overturned, normal faults, which are essentially vertical at depth. The most striking feature of the fault pattern is the intersection of the Arbuckle and Ouachita fault systems, where a close interrelation of different fault types generated by a system of basement faults is revealed. The faults of the Ouachita front that bound the Arbuckle buttress have been interpreted in the past to be a result of large-scale low-angle thrusting, although seismic data indicate moderately dipping thrust or reverse faults. The eastern part of the Ardmore basin is dominated by three major faults, the Cumberland, Aylesworth, and Southeast Madill. Four prolific oil fields are located in the basin area. The Meers Valley-Criner fault delineates the southern boundary of the Ardmore basin.