Sedimentary environment and palaeogeography of the ?Palaeocene-Middle Eocene Kashkan Formation, Zagros fold-thrust belt, SW Iran
PDF

Keywords

Kashkan Formation
Zagros fold-thrust belt
trace fossils
facies architecture
braided river
shoreface
Palaeocene
Eocene
Iran

How to Cite

Yeganeh, B., Feiznia, S., & van Loon, A. (Tom). (2012). Sedimentary environment and palaeogeography of the ?Palaeocene-Middle Eocene Kashkan Formation, Zagros fold-thrust belt, SW Iran. Geologos, 18(1), 13–36. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10118-012-0002-4

Abstract

The Kashkan Formation (?Palaeocene to Middle Eocene) in the Zagros fold-thrust belt, SW Iran, which is intercalated between to marine limestone formations, consists of conglomerates, sandstones and siltstones. The sedimentology and the palaeogeography of the Kashkan Formation had not received any attention thus far, but have now been studied in seven sections, situated in the province of Lorestan. The sediments form twelve lithofacies, three ichnosubfacies and seven architectural elements, which are described, depicted and analysed. The analysis leads to the conclusion that most sediments accumulated in a low-sinuosity, low-gradient braided-river system (characterised by mainly unidirectional palaeocurrent directions, and by sheetfloods), that occasionally showed meandering characteristics (represented by overbank deposits and large bars). The deposits of this system closely resemble those of the South Saskatchewan River in Canada, which is considered as the classical example of a sand-bed braided river. The river flowed roughly from North to South, as deduced by palaeocurrent indicators such as imbrication and large-to medium-scale trough cross-stratification (direction measured in the trough axes). This current direction is supported by the southward to south-westward thinning of the formation and by the diminishing average grain size in the same direction. The trace fossils in the Kashban Formation fit all in the Skoyenia ichnofacies, which has here three ichnosubfacies which allow a more detailed palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, indicating that the braided stream passed into the low-energy shoreface zone of a tidally-influenced sea.

https://doi.org/10.2478/v10118-012-0002-4
PDF

References

Alavi, M., 2004. Regional stratigraphy of the Zagros fold-thrust belt of Iran and its proforeland evolution. American Journal of Science 304, 1-20.

Allen, J. R. L., 1964. Studies in fluviatile sedimentation: six cyclothems from the Lower Old Red Sandstone, Anglo-Welsh Basin. Sedimentology 3, 163-198.

Allen, J. R. L., 1983. Studies in fluviatile sedimentation: bars, bar-complexes and sandstone sheets (low-sinuosity braided streams) in the Brownstones (L. Devonian), Welsh Borders. Sedimentary Geology 33, 237-293.

Allen, J. R. L., 1984. Parallel lamination developed from upper stage plane beds: a model based on the larger coherent structures of the turbulent boundary layer. Sedimentary Geology 39, 227-242.

Allen, J. R. L., 1986. Earthquake magnitude-frequency, epicentral distance, and soft-sediment deformation in sedimentary basins. Sedimentary Geology 46, 67-75.

Anderson, B. G. & Droser, M. L., 2000. Ichnofabrics and geometric configurations of Ophiomorpha within a sequence stratigraphy framework: an example from the Upper Cretaceous US western interior. Sedimentology 45, 379-396.

Bhattacharayya, A. & Chakraborty, C., 2000. Analysis of Sedimentary Successions, a Field Manual. A. A. Balkema Publishers, Dordrecht, 408 pp.

Bridge, J. S., 1985. Paleochannel patterns inferred from alluvial deposits: a critical evaluation. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 55, 579-589.

Bridge, J. S., 1993. Description and interpretation of fluvial deposits: a critical perspective. Sedimentology 40, 801-810.

Bridge, J. S., 2006. Fluvial facies models: recent developments. In: Posamentier, H. & Walker, R. G. (Eds), Facies Models Revisited. SEPM Special Publication, 84, p. 85-170.

Brierley, G. J., 1996. Channel morphology and element assemblages: a constructivist approach to facies modelling. In: Carling, P. A. & Dawson, M. R. (Eds), Advances in Fluvial Dynamics and Stratigraphy. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, pp. 263-298.

Cant, D. J., 1978. Bedforms and bar types in the South Saskatchewan River. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 48, 1321-1330.

Cant, D. J. & Walker, R. G., 1978. Fluvial processes and facies sequences in the sandy braided South Saskatchewan River, Canada. Sedimentology 25, 625-648.

Capuzzo, N. & Wetzel, A., 2004. Facies and basin architecture of the Late Carboniferous Salvan-Dorénaz continental basin (Western Alps, Switzerland/France). Sedimentology 51, 675-697.

Collinson, J. D., 1996. Alluvial sediments. In: Reading, H. G. (Ed.), Sedimentary Environments: Processes, Facies and Stratigraphy (3rd ed.). Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, p. 37-82.

Collinson, J. D. & Thompson, D. B., 1989. Sedimentary Structures (2nd ed.). Unwin Hyman, London, 207 pp.

Crimes, T. P. & Droser, M. L., 1992. Trace fossils and bioturbation: the other fossil record. Annual Review of Ecological Systems 23, 339-360.

D'Alessandro, A., Ekdale, A. A. & Picard, M. D., 1987. Trace fossils in fluvial deposits of the Duchesne River Formation (Eocene), Uinta Basin, Utah. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 61, 285-301.

Doe, T. W. & Dott, R. H. Jr., 1980. Genetic significance of deformed cross-bedding-with examples from the Navajo and Weber sandstones of Utah. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 50, 793-812.

Eriksson, P. G., Condie, K. C., Tirsgaard, H., Muller W. U., Altermann, W., Miall, A. D., Aspler, L. B., Catuneanu, O. & Chiarenzelli, J. R., 1998. Precambrian clastic sedimentation systems. Sedimentary Geology 120, 5-53.

Falcon, N. L., 1967. The geology of northeast margin of Arabian basement shield. Advances in Science (Sept. 1967), 31-42.

Frey, R. W., Howard, J. D. & Pryor, W. A., 1978. Ophiomorpha: its morphologic, taxonomic, and environmental significance. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 23, 199-229.

Frey, R. W. & Pemberton, S. G., 1984. Trace fossil facies models. In: Walker R. G. (Ed.), Facies Models. Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1, p. 189-207.

Friend, P. F., 1983. Towards the field classification of alluvial architecture or sequence. In: Collinson J. D., Lewin, J. (Eds), Modern and Ancient Fluvial Systems. Special Publication International Association of Sedimentologists, p. 345-354.

Fürsich, F. T., 1974. On Diplocraterion Torell 1870 and the significance of morphological features in vertical, spreite-bearing, U-shaped trace fossils. Journal of Paleontology 48, 952-962.

Ghazi, S. & Mountney, N.P, 2009. Facies and architectural element analysis of a meandering fluvial succession: the Permian Warchha Sandstone, Salt Range, Pakistan. Sedimentary Geology 221, 99-126.

Ghent, E. G. & Henderson, R. A., 1966. Petrology, sedimentation and palaeontology of Middle Miocene graded sandstones and mudstone, Kaiti beach, Gisborne. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand (Geology) 4, 147-169.

Harms, J. C., Southard, J. B. & Walker, R. G., 1982. Structures and Sequences in Clastic Rocks. SEPM Short Course Notes 9, 851 pp.

Hasiotis, S. T., 2006. Continental Trace Fossils. SEPM Short Course Notes 51, 134 pp.

Hein, F. J. & Walker, R. G., 1977. Bar evolution and development of stratification in the gravelly, braided Kicking Horse River, British Coloumbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 14, 562-570.

Hjellbakk, A., 1997. Facies and fluvial architecture of a high-energy braided river: the Upper Proterozoic Seglodden Member, Varanger Peninsula, northern Norway. Sedimentary Geology 114, 131-141.

Jackson II, R. G., 1981. Sedimentology of muddy fine-grained channel deposits in meandering streams of the American Middle West. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 51, 1169-1192.

James, G. A. & Wynd, J. G., 1965. Stratigraphic nomenclature of Iranian oil consortium agreement area. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 49, 2182-2245.

Jo, H. R. & Chough, S. K., 2001. Architectural analysis of fluvial sequences in the northwestern part of Kyongsang Basin (Early Cretaceous), SE Korea. Sedimentary Geology 144, 307-334.

Jones, S. J., Frostick, L. E. & Astin, T. R., 2001. Braided stream and flood plain architecture: the Rio Vero Formation, Spanish Pyrenees. Sedimentary Geology 139, 229-260.

Leturmy, P. & Robin, C. (Eds), 2010. Tectonic and stratigraphic evolution of Zagros and Makran during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic. Geological Society, London, Special Publication 330, 376 pp.

López-Gómez, J., Martin-Chivelet, J. M. & Palma, R., 2009. Architecture and development of the alluvial sediments of the Upper Jurassic Tordillo Formation in the Cañada Ancha Valley, northern Neuquén Basin, Argentina. Sedimentary Geology 219, 180-195.

Mack, G. H. & James, W. C., 1992. Paleosols for Sedimentologists. Geological Society of America Short Course Notes, 127 pp.

Maizels, J., 1993. Lithofacies variations within sandur deposits: the role of runoff regime, flow dynamics and sediment supply characteristics. Sedimentary Geology 85, 299-325.

Mazumder, R. & Sarkar, S., 2004. Sedimentary history of the Palaeoproterozoic Dhanjori Formation, Singhbhum, India and its implications. Precambrian Research 130, 267-287.

Meyer, R., Krause, F. & Braman, D., 1998. Unconformities within a progradational estuarine system: the Upper Santonian Virgelle Member, Milk River Formation, Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. In: Alexander, C. R. & Henry, V. J. (Eds), Tidalites: Processes and Products. SEPM Special Publication 61, p. 129-142.

Miall, A. D., 1985. Architectural-element analysis: a new method of facies analysis applied to fluvial deposits. Earth-Science Reviews 22, 261-308.

Miall, A. D., 1988. Reservoir heterogeneities in fluvial sandstones: lessons from outcrop studies. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 72, 682-697.

Miall, A. D., 1994. Reconstructing fluvial macrofrom architecture from two-dimensional outcrops; examples from the Castlegate Sandstone, Book Cliffs, Utah. Journal of Sedimentary Research 64, 146-158.

Miall, A. D., 1996. The Geology of Fluvial Deposits, Sedimentary Facies, Basin Analysis and Petroleum Geology. Springer- Verlag, Berlin, 582 pp.

Miall, A. D., 1997. A review of the braided-river depositional environment. Earth-Science Reviews 13, 1-62.

Motiei, H., 1993. Stratigraphy of Zagros. Treatise on the Geology of Iran. Geological Survey of Iran, Teheran, 536 pp. [in Persian].

Murris, R. J., 1978. Hydrocarbon habitat of the Middle East. Shell Internationale Petroleum Maatschappij B. V., Exploration and Production, 179.

Murris, R. J., 1980. The Middle East: stratigraphic evolution and oil habitat. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 64, 597-618.

Narbonne, G. M., 1981. Stratigraphy, reef development and trace fossils of the Upper Silurian Douro Formation in the southeastern Canadian Arctic Island. Ph.D. Thesis University of Ottawa, 259 pp.

Olsen, H., 1988. The architecture of a sandy braided-meandering river system: an example from the lower Triassic Solling Formation (M. Buntsandstein) in W-Germany. Geologische Rundschau 77, 797-814.

Pemberton, S. G., Spila, M., Pulham, A. J., Saunders, T., MacEachern, J. A., Robbins, D. & Sinclair, I. K., 2001. Ichnology and sedimentology of shallow to marginal marine systems. Geological Association of Canada Short Course Notes 15, 343 pp.

Pisarska-Jamrozy, M., Machowiak, K. & Krzyszkowski, D., 2010. Sedimentation style of a Pleistocene kame terrace from the western Sudety Mountains, S Poland. Geologos 16, 101-110.

Reineck, H. E. & Singh, I. B., 1980. Depositional sedimentary environments (with reference to terrigenous clastics) (2nd ed.). Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, 549 pp.

Retallack, G. J., 1997. A Colour Guide to Paleosols. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 175 pp.

Rust, B. R., 1978. A classification of alluvial channel systems. In: Miall, A. D. (Ed.), Fluvial Sedimentology. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 5, p. 187-198.

Salamon, T. & Zielinski, T., 2010. Unusual development of sandur sedimentary succession, an example from the Pleistocene of S Poland. Geologos 16, 83-99.

Scholle, P. A. & Spearing, D., 1982. Sandstone Depositional Environments. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 31, 410 pp.

Setudehnia, A., 1978. The Mesozoic sequence in southwest Iran and adjacent areas. Journal of Petroleum Geology 1, 3-42.

Simpson, E. L., Dilliard, K. A., Rowell, B. F. & Higgins, D., 2002. The fluvial-to-marine transition within the post-rift Lower Cambrian Hardyston Formation, eastern Pennsylvania, USA. Sedimentary Geology 147, 127-142.

Soegaard, K. & Eriksson, K. A., 1985. Evidence of tide, storm, and wave interaction on a Precambrian siliciclastic shelf: the 1700 m.y. Ortega Group, New Mexico. Journal of Sedimentary Research 55, 672-684.

Stocklin, J., 1968. Salt deposits of the Middle East. Geological Sociey of America Special Paper 88, 157-181.

Stocklin, J., Ruttner, A. & Nabavi, M., 1964. New data on the Lower Paleozoic and Pre-cambrian of North Iran. Geological Survey of Iran, Reports 1, 29 pp.

Stow, D. A. V., 2005. Sedimentary Rocks in the Field, a Colour Guide. Manson Publishing, 320 pp.

Szabo, F., 1977. Permian and Triassic stratigraphy of Fars area. Proceedings of the Second Geological Symposium ‘Southwest Iran’ (Tehran, March 1977). The Iranian Petroleum Institute.

Szabo, F. & Kheradpir, A., 1978. Permian and Triassic Stratigraphy, Zagros basin, Southwest Iran. Journal of Petroleum Geology 1, 57-82.

Tucker, M. E., 1991. Sedimentary Petrology - An Introduction on the Origin of Sedimentary Rocks. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 260 pp.

Tucker, M. E., 2003. Sedimentary Rocks in the Field (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, 234 pp.

Van Loon, A. J., 2009. Soft-sediment deformation structures in siliciclastic sediments: an overview. Geologos 15, 3-55.

Webby, B. D., 1968. Devonian trace fossils from Beacon Group, Antarctica. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 11, 1001-1008.

Weckwerth, O., 2011. Palaeoslopes of Weichselian sand-bed braided rivers in the Torun Basin (Poland): results of a palaeohydraulic analysis. Geologos 17, 227-238.

Willis, B. J., 1993. Ancient river systems in the Himalayan foredeep, Chinji Village area, northern Pakistan. Sedimentary Geology 88, 1-76.

Williams, P. F. & Rust, B. R., 1969. The sedimentology of a braided river. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 39, 649-679.