Norphlet Formation (Upper Jurassic) - Berg - Hughes Center

Ernest A, Mancini et a! 887%^W^-•••0 1 0 INJ2.5 CM1011 I rj—V2 ; CMFigure 6—Photographs of core slabs illustrating paleoenvironments of Norphlet Formation in southwestern and offshore Alabama.(A) Eolian dune sandstone overlying wadi sandstone, Mosbacher Powell Gas Unit 19-4 1 well, Escambia County, depth 15,473 ft(4,716.2 m). (B) Red-bed sandstone depicting discontinuous laminae, Exxon L&N Railroad 30-3 1 well, Escambia County, depth15,614 ft (4,759.1 m). (C) Playa lake deposits overlying wadi sandstone, Mosbacher Powell Gas Unit 19-4 1 well, Escambia County,depth 15,487 ft (4,720.4 m). (D) Eolian sandstone filling a wadi channel, Louisiana Land & Exploration T. R. Miller 32-3 1 well,Escambia County, depth 15,606 ft (4,756.7 m). (E) Wadi sandstone in Interdune area, Getty Peter Klein 3-14 1 well, Mobile County,depth 18,214 ft (5,551.6 m). (F) Playa lake deposits in interdune area, Getty Peter Klein 3-14 1 well, Mobile County, depth 18,422-18,423 ft (5,615.0-5,615.3 m).lOA), the immature texture (Figure 9A) of the sandstones(poorly sorted and having angular to subangular quartzgrains and high clay-matrix content), the apparent lack ofstratification (Figure lOA), and the deposits being in partmatrix-supported (Figure 9A) suggest debris flow as theprimary transporting mechanism. Modern proximal alluvialfan sediments typically consist of oxidized, texturallyand compositionally immature, matrix-supporteddeposits (Rust, 1979; Nilsen, 1982).Downdip and into Choctaw, Clarke, Monroe, andEscambia Counties, the conglomeratic sandstones of theNorphlet grade to red beds (Figure 12). The red beds probablyrepresent distal portions of alluvial fan systems andof wadi complexes. Braided streams (wadis) intermittently