Goat Seep Formation

Goat Seep Formation
Goat Seep Formation
Stratigraphic range: Guadalupian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Formation
Underlies	Capitan Formation
Overlies	Cherry Canyon Formation
Thickness	1,200 ft (370 m)
Lithology
Primary	dolomite, limestone
Other	sandstone
Location
Coordinates	31°54′14″N104°52′50″W / 31.9040°N 104.8805°W
Region	Texas ; New Mexico
Country	United States
Type section
Named for	Goat Seep (spring)
Named by	King
Year defined	1942
	Goat Seep Formation (the United States) Goat Seep Formation (Texas)

Last updated February 15, 2024

The Goat Seep Formation is a geologic formation found in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. It is a fossilized reef dating to the Guadalupian Age of the Permian period.^[1]

Description

The Goat Seep Formation consists of up to 1,200 feet (370 m) of massive to thickly bedded light grey to white dolomite. The lower part of the formation contains some sandstone beds. It grades below into the Cherry Canyon Formation and is overlain by the Capitan Formation, a younger Permian reef. The Capitan Formation and Goat Seep Formation are quite similar, but are separated by an unconformity marked by ledges of dark limestone.^[1]^[2]

The formation represents a fossil reef, and grades laterally into the shelf limestones of the Grayburg and Queen Formations.^[3] It is regarded as a precursor to the Capitan reef.^[4] The reef was built mostly by red ( Solenopora ) and green (Dasycladaceae) algae and cyanobacteria ( Girvanella ) with calcareous sponges, bryozoa, and hydrocorals also playing a role.^[5]

Fossils

Portions of the formation are highly fossiliferous, and these include beds very rich in fusulinids. However, dolomitization (conversion of the original limestone to dolomite) has resulted in very poor preservation of most of these fossils. The fusulinid Parafusulina rothi has been identified in a few locations. Other tentative identifications are of the sponge Guadalupia zitteliana, several genera of brachiopods, some poorly preserved gastropods, and a species of trilobite, Anisopyge perannulata.^[2]

History of investigation

The beds were first described by K.H. Crandall and assigned to the Chupadera Formation, a unit recognized in central New Mexico but since abandoned.^[6] W.B. Land assigned the same beds to the Dog Canyon Limestone,^[7] but P.B. King found this name too similar to that of a unit in the oil fields of Oklahoma, and he renamed the unit as the Goat Seep Limestone.^[8]^[2] N.D. Newell and coinvestigators renamed the formation as the Goat Seep Dolomite, due to its extensive dolomitization, and reassigned the shelf facies originally assigned to the formation to the Queen Formation.^[9]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Permian Basin (North America)</span> Large sedimentary basin in the US

The Permian Basin is a large sedimentary basin in the southwestern part of the United States. It is the highest producing oil field in the United States, producing an average of 4.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2019. This sedimentary basin is located in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. It reaches from just south of Lubbock, past Midland and Odessa, south nearly to the Rio Grande River in southern West Central Texas, and extending westward into the southeastern part of New Mexico. It is so named because it has one of the world's thickest deposits of rocks from the Permian geologic period. The greater Permian Basin comprises several component basins; of these, the Midland Basin is the largest, Delaware Basin is the second largest, and Marfa Basin is the smallest. The Permian Basin covers more than 86,000 square miles (220,000 km²), and extends across an area approximately 250 miles (400 km) wide and 300 miles (480 km) long.

The Delaware Basin is a geologic depositional and structural basin in West Texas and southern New Mexico, famous for holding large oil fields and for a fossilized reef exposed at the surface. Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park protect part of the basin. It is part of the larger Permian Basin, itself contained within the Mid-Continent oil province.

The Cutler Formation or Cutler Group is a rock unit that is exposed across the U.S. states of Arizona, northwest New Mexico, southeast Utah and southwest Colorado. It was laid down in the Early Permian during the Wolfcampian epoch.

The Cherry Canyon Formation is a geologic formation found in the Delaware Basin of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. It contains fossils characteristic of the Guadalupian Age of the Permian Period.

The Bell Canyon Formation is a geologic formation found in the Delaware Basin of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. It contains fossils characteristic of the Guadalupian Age of the Permian Period.

The Bone Spring Formation is a geologic formation found in the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Leonardian Age of the Permian Period.

The Capitan Formation is a geologic formation found in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. It is a fossilized reef dating to the Guadalupian Age of the Permian period.

The Cutoff Formation is a geologic formation in Texas and New Mexico, US. It preserves fossils dating back to the Permian period.

The Hueco Formation is a geologic formation in west Texas and southern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Permian period.

The San Andres Formation is a geologic formation found in New Mexico and Texas. It contains fossils characteristic of the late Leonardian (Kungurian) Age) of the Permian Period.

The Seven Rivers Formation is a geologic formation in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Guadalupian Epoch of the Permian period.

The Tansill Formation is a geologic formation in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas, United States. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Guadalupian Age of the Permian period.

The Yates Formation is a geologic formation in southeast New Mexico and west Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Guadalupian Age of the Permian period.

The Artesia Group is a group of geologic formations found in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. These preserve fossils from the Leonardian to Guadalupian Epochs of the Permian Period.

The Queen Formation is a geologic formation in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Guadalupian Epoch of the Permian period.

The Victorio Peak Formation is a geologic formation found in the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Leonardian Age of the Permian Period.

The Grayburg Formation is a geologic formation in west Texas and southern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Guadalupian Epoch of the Permian Period.

The Castile Formation is a geologic formation in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, United States. It was deposited in the Ochoan Stage of the Permian period.

The Salado Formation is a geologic formation in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. It was deposited in the Ochoan Stage of the Permian period.

The Broken Jug Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico. It was likely deposited in the late Jurassic period.

References

1 2 3 Scholle, Peter. "Permian Reef Complex Virtual Field Trip, Stop I-1: West Face of Guadalupe & Delaware Mountains". New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources. New Mexico Tech. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
1 2 3 King, Philip B. (1948). "Geology of the Southern Guadalupe Mountains, Texas". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. Professional Paper. 215. doi:10.3133/pp215.
↑ Hayes, P.T. (1964). "Geology of the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 446. doi: 10.3133/pp446 .
↑ Crawford, G.A. (1979). "Sedimentology of Goat Seep Dolomite (Guadalupian, Permian), Guadalupe Mountains, West Texas and New Mexico". AAPG Bulletin. 63 (3): 437–437. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
↑ Kuznetsov, V. G. (December 2018). "Reef Construction in the Second Half of the Permian and Biotic Crisis at the Permian–Triassic Boundary". Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation. 26 (7): 755–770. doi:10.1134/S086959381807002X.
↑ Crandall, K.H. (1929). "Permian Stratigraphy of Southeastern New Mexico and Adjacent Parts of Western Texas". AAPG Bulletin. 13 (8): 927–944. doi:10.1306/3D93286C-16B1-11D7-8645000102C1865D.
↑ Lang, W.B. (1937). "The Permian Formations of the Pecos Valley of New Mexico and Texas". AAPG Bulletin. 21 (7): 833–898. doi:10.1306/3D932EDE-16B1-11D7-8645000102C1865D.
↑ King, P.B. (1942). "The Permian of West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico: Part 1". AAPG Bulletin. 26 (4): 535–649. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
↑ Newell, N.D.; Rigby, J.K.; Fischer, A.G. (1953). The Permian reef complex of the Guadalupe Mountains region, Texas and New Mexico, a study in paleoecology. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Co. pp. 42–43.

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[Scholle2022-1] 1 2 3 Scholle, Peter. "Permian Reef Complex Virtual Field Trip, Stop I-1: West Face of Guadalupe & Delaware Mountains". New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources. New Mexico Tech. Retrieved 4 February 2022.

[King1948-2] 1 2 3 King, Philip B. (1948). "Geology of the Southern Guadalupe Mountains, Texas". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. Professional Paper. 215. doi:10.3133/pp215.

[Hayes1964-3] Hayes, P.T. (1964). "Geology of the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 446. doi: 10.3133/pp446 .

[4] Crawford, G.A. (1979). "Sedimentology of Goat Seep Dolomite (Guadalupian, Permian), Guadalupe Mountains, West Texas and New Mexico". AAPG Bulletin. 63 (3): 437–437. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

[5] Kuznetsov, V. G. (December 2018). "Reef Construction in the Second Half of the Permian and Biotic Crisis at the Permian–Triassic Boundary". Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation. 26 (7): 755–770. doi:10.1134/S086959381807002X.

[6] Crandall, K.H. (1929). "Permian Stratigraphy of Southeastern New Mexico and Adjacent Parts of Western Texas". AAPG Bulletin. 13 (8): 927–944. doi:10.1306/3D93286C-16B1-11D7-8645000102C1865D.

[7] Lang, W.B. (1937). "The Permian Formations of the Pecos Valley of New Mexico and Texas". AAPG Bulletin. 21 (7): 833–898. doi:10.1306/3D932EDE-16B1-11D7-8645000102C1865D.

[8] King, P.B. (1942). "The Permian of West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico: Part 1". AAPG Bulletin. 26 (4): 535–649. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

[9] Newell, N.D.; Rigby, J.K.; Fischer, A.G. (1953). The Permian reef complex of the Guadalupe Mountains region, Texas and New Mexico, a study in paleoecology. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Co. pp. 42–43.

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