Stratigraphy and Structure of the Parras and La Popa Basins, Northeastern Mexico

Abstract

Research Article| October 01, 1974 Stratigraphy and Structure of the Parras and La Popa Basins, Northeastern Mexico E. F. McBRIDE; E. F. McBRIDE 1Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. E. WEIDIE; A. E. WEIDIE 2Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70122 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar J. A. WOLLEBEN; J. A. WOLLEBEN 2Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70122 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar R. C. LAUDON R. C. LAUDON 3Shell Oil Company, 1 Shell Square, New Orleans, Louisiana 70160 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information E. F. McBRIDE 1Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 A. E. WEIDIE 2Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70122 J. A. WOLLEBEN 2Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70122 R. C. LAUDON 3Shell Oil Company, 1 Shell Square, New Orleans, Louisiana 70160 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1974) 85 (10): 1603–1622. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1974)85<1603:SASOTP>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation E. F. McBRIDE, A. E. WEIDIE, J. A. WOLLEBEN, R. C. LAUDON; Stratigraphy and Structure of the Parras and La Popa Basins, Northeastern Mexico. GSA Bulletin 1974;; 85 (10): 1603–1622. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1974)85<1603:SASOTP>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The Parras and La Popa basins of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, Mexico, have a composite thickness of about 5.4 km of paralic sedimentary rock (Parras Formation and Difunta Group) deposited during Late Cretaceous to Paleocene time. Detritus of sedimentary, volcanic, and hypabyssal rocks eroded from a highland to the west and southwest of the Parras basin and northwest of the La Popa basin was deposited in deltaic, delta-flank, strand-plain, and marine-shelf environments. Progradation and retrogradation of deltas in each basin in response to basin subsidence and variable sediment influx resulted in a complicated intertonguing of rock units. Using wedge-shaped red-bed bodies and sandstone marker-beds, the Difunta Group is divided into nine formations in the Parras basin and five formations in the La Popa basin. The correlation of stratigraphic units between the basins is uncertain, because only one formation (Muerto Formation) can be mapped across the basin margins, and diagnostic fossils are absent. Fence diagrams and isopach maps document the geometry of the major stratigraphic units.The clastic basin-fill was deformed during a post-Paleocene (Laramide) event that formed the main folds of the Sierra Madre Oriental. Both tight and broad folds, thrust faults of small displacement, and minor tear faults characterize the deformation within the study area.The relations of the stratigraphic units, the geometry of the units, and the internal anatomy of the units suggest that the Parras and La Popa basins acted as subsiding elements on the craton and were filled by deltaic and shelf sediments. The basins were not sites of linear geosynclinal deposition as suggested by some workers, and characterization of the basins as foredeeps is undesirable because of the ambiguous meaning of the term. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.