HGS Bulletin Volume 8 No.4 (December 1965) · THE BULLETIN THIS MONTH VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 Meeting...

B U L L E T I N

HOUSTON GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Houston, Texas

Volume 8, No. 4

December, 1965

%oustoh Cjeo~ogica! Society

OFFICERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President J . Ben Carsey . . . . . . . . . . . . CA 2-6976

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st Vice President M . Stephen Kovac . . . . . . . . CA 4-7591 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd Vice President Thomas M . Burke . . . . . . . . CA 5-0331

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Secretary Fred L . Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . CA 5-5757 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Treasurer Jed B . Maebius . . . . . . . . . . CA 8 9 3 6 1

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEMEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hillord Hinsorz. Ex-Officio CA 8-9455

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E . H . Rainzuater CA 9-5 123 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lawrence J . Vittrup FA 3-8553

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wendell L Lewis CA 4-59 1 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . De Witt C . Van Siclen CA 4-168 1

COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finance James W . Roach . . . . . . . . . CA 5-081 1

Distribution & Publication . . . . . . . . John I< . Rabenold . . . . . . . . CA 7-3317 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Technical Program Thomas M . Burke . . . . . . . . CA 5-0331

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Awards & Loans R . S . Parratt . . . . . . . . . . . . . CA 2-9481 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Research & Study Martin M Cassidy CA 7-4371 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HGS Membership A H . Wadsworth CA 7-8151

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Personnel Placement George Sealy CA 1-3312 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Remembrances Donald I Gahagan CA 9-271 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public Relations James S . Critz H 0 5-6572

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Entertainment George K Harcourt RI &ZOO0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AAPG Membership Hal H By bee CA 5-151 1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ballot Donald L Krone CA 5-071 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertising A . E . Woodard CA 4-6071

. . . . . . . . . Exhibits, GCAGS-AAPG Curtis W . Burgess, J r . . . . . . CA 4-7591 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . Transportation Carleton D Speed, J r CA 4-2523

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Library Z . 1 X "Jack" Falcone . . . . . . CA 4-2934 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boy Scout Albert R Mincher CA 1-3201

Special Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Academic Liaison Orville G . Lundstrom . . . . . . CA 7-6015

Submarine Geology & Advisor to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Museum of Natural Science Harold L . Geis CA 5-1 396

REPRESENTATIVES . . . . . . . . . . . G . C.A.G.S. Representative Raymond E . Fairchild M 0 4-3401

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alternate Harold E . Voigt CA 4-5 1 1 1

T H E B U L L E T I N

THIS MONTH

VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4

Meeting Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President 's Corner

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I tems F rom Edi tor ' s Desk

Committee Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . News of Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . News of Other Societies

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Professional Directory

In Memoriam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distaff Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In Memoriam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advert isers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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THE B U L L E T I N OF THE HOUSTON GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Office -234 Esperson Bldg . . Houston 2. Texos . FA 3-9309

Subscription Price $3.00 per year .

Published monthly. September to June by

CARDINAL PRINTING AND L E T T E R SERVICE. INC .

Editor .............. Richard L . Denham. Humble Oil . . . . . . CA 1-3515 Associate Editors . . .

Committee Reports . Phillip M . Jones. Union Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Petroleum J A 9-3271

News of Members .. E . H . Heider. Schlumberger Well . . . . . . . . . . . . Surveying Corporation CA 5 - 1607

In Memoriam . . . . . . Donald 1.Gahagan. T e m e c o Oil Company ........................ CA 9-2711

News of Societies .. Fred h$ . Schall. Texas Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exploration Company CA 2-9481

GeoScience Notes . . Walter Sadlick. Department of Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . University of Houston CA 4-1681

Vol. 8, No. 4

M E E T I N G N O T I C E

December, 1 9 6 5

FOURTH REGULAR MEETING - DECEMBER 13, 1965

T h e fourth r egu la r meeting will be held Monday evening, December 13, 1965 on the 10th floor of the Houston Club Building. The social hour will begin a t 5:15 p . m . , dinner a t 6:00 p . m . and the p rog ram a t 7:00 p .m .

Our gues t speaker will be Mr . Michel T . Halbouty a Consultant Geologist and Petroleum Engineer, Independent Operator and Producer, and l ec tu re r sponsored by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Mr . Halbouty will lec ture on "Economics - - T h e New Dimension in Geological Thinking."

T h e following i s the biographical data of Mr . Michel T . Halbouty:

1930 - B. S. Texas A&M University 1931 - M. S. Texas A&M University 193 1-35 Geologist and petroleum engineer for Yount-Lee Oil Company, Beaumont,

Texas . 1935-37 - Chief geologist and petroleum engineer, vice-president and general

manager for Glenn H. McCarthy, Inc. 1937-41 - Consulting geologist and petroleum engineer, Houston, Texas 1941-45 - Army-Navy Petroleum Board and Chief of the Petroleum Production

Section of the Board. 1945 - present - 1956 received the Professional Degree in Geological Engineering

f r o m Texas A&M University. Presently i s consulting Geologist Petroleum Engineer, Independent Producer and Oil Operator of Houston, Texas .

Publications - "Petrographic and Physical Charac ter i s t ics of Sands f rom Seven Gulf Coast Producing Horizons"; co-author of the bes t -se l le r "Spindletop".

Memberships - T h e American Association of Petroleum Geologists Geological Society of Amer ica American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME American Association for the Advancement of Science Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Society of Exploration Geophysicists Seismological Society of Amer ica Amer ican Institute of Professional Geologists Houston Geological Society

We a r e very proudand fortunate to have a man of Mr . Halbouty's capability to lec ture t o u s on such a n important subject .

We urge al l member s and their gues ts to attend th is meeting

PRESIDEiW'S CORNER

It may be recalled that during our recent meetings we have welcomed new members to the Houston Geological Society. A total of 67 new members were listed in the last three Bulletins of the Society, and 35 or more additional members a r e listed in this current copy. We are , of course, very happy to have these new members and extend a warm welcome to them. In this connection, one o r two of my geologist friends have told me that some of the geologists who have recently transferred toHouston have complained that they do not know what the Houston Geological Society does for them or what it does for the geologic fraternity. It i s therefore advisable a t this time to briefly review some of the activities of this organization.

The work of the Houston Geological Society is carried on by five officers, five executive committeemen, 18 o r 20 committee chairmen and a number of geologists working under the committee chairmen. A meeting of the officers and the executive committee i s held on the f i rs t Monday of each month. Except during the summer when no sessions a re held, meetings for the membership at large a r e scheduled for the second Monday of each month. The most important activity of our organizationmay be the planning and holding of the monthly meetings. The second Vice-president is program chairman and much time and effort i s spent in securing the best possible speakers considering interests of the local group and technical contribution to the geologic science. Of possible equal importance to the monthly meetings i s the publication of technical geologic papers. A number of these publications a r e still available and can be secured from the Society's office a t 234 Esperson Building, Houston. One of our most important publications i s the 1953 A. A.P.G. -S. E.P. M. -S. E. G. Guide Book which includes general discussions, cross sections and structural maps of 23 Gulf Coast fields. Another equally important publication, entitled "Geology of the Gulf Coast and Central Texas and Guide Book of Excursions", was published in 1962. Of definite import was the publication, also in 1962, of the volume, "Typical Oil and Gas Fields of Southeast Texas," which included 66 field papers. A number of other publications including guide books, s t r ip maps and cross sections, a r e available and well worth the study of any geologist active in this a rea .

Special attention is called to the work of the Society's study groups. Geologic papers, cross sections and other material which emanate from these groups a r e definite contributions to the geologic l i terature of the area . It will be remembered that one of the papers, which was prepared under the guidance of the study group now active received the best paper award of the recent G.C. A. G.S. meeting here in Houston.

Field trips sponsored by the Society make available first hand observation of local and regional geology. Dr. De Witt Van Siclen and other local geologists merit particular praise for the field trips held here in recent years.

The granting of loans to deserving geologic students in universi t ies in this pa r t of the Southwest has been sponsored by the Society during the l a s t severa l y e a r s . These loans a r e made without in teres t and s o far without l o s s . It i s believed that this i s a unique function for a geologic society. Cash awards a r e a l so made each yea r for the most outstanding students studying geology in universi t ies in this region. These awards a r e presented a t the l a s t meeting of the Society just pr ior to the summer break . In recent yea r s , some Society member s have given lec tures on geology to science teachers of the local high schools. Fur thermore , geologists for the judging of papers presented in high school sc ience annual projects have been furnished through the Society.

The Society maintains a n act ive l ibrary committee. Largely a s a resul t of the work of this group and i t s predecessors , in cooperation with the head of the local Houston Library , the Public L ib ra ry hasan outstandinggeologic section encompassed in i t s technical branch. The geologic l i b r a r i e s of D r . Donald Barton, D r . E. T . Dumble, D r . Frank De Wolf, Mr . T . E . Morrison and others have been donated in their entirety t o the Houston L ib ra ry and fo rm the neucleus for i t s geologic sect ion. F o r the past severa l y e a r s the Soicety has had rec ip- roca l agreements to t rade publications with foreign countries, and, a s a resul t , a number of foreign publications a r e now in the l i b r a ry . Recently a n index to the geologic mater ia l in the l ibrary was completed by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Society under the direct ion of M r s . Ralph Taylor . At the present t ime a special H. G.S. committee under the direct ion of Frank Hardin i s attempting to r a i s e money to match funds contributed by a chari table foundation in o rde r to purchase over 500,000 d r i l l e r ' s logs of Texas wells dating back to the ear ly 1920's. If secured, these logs will be placed in the Houston Library making them available to the public.

T h e personnel placement work of the Society i s now under the direct ion of George Sealy who succeeded Olin Bell in this assignment. These men have been successful in ass is t ing unemployed geologists in finding positions and in some instances have encouraged men to r e tu rn to school for additonal study. Work of the Committee publishing the Bulletin, the Boy Scout Committee, the Finance Committee, the Public Relations Committee, the Membership Committee, the Entertainment Committee, the Transportat ion Committee, the Academic Liaison Committee, the advisor to the Museum of Natural Science and the Submarine Geology should not be overlooked.

Perhaps I have failed to mention other worthwhileendeavors of the Society but this will give the newcomer a n insight into what it offers . T o g e t the most out of the organization, a n individual shouldjoin the Society, attend the meetings, r e a d the monthly bulletins, volunteer for work on the committee, and purchase and study the past publications.

. . . J. Ben Car sey

Is Tulsa Doing More Than Houston?

H. G. S. President Carsey recently received this note from Morgan Davis, J r .

"Recently we received some notes from the Mid-Continent Regional Meet- ing in Tulsa, Oklahoma which r e fe r red to some geologic activities ca r r i ed on by non-professionals. Dad and I both thought that you would probably like to s e e the enclosed references showing what some of the people in Tulsa a r e doing to indoctrinate the pre-college crowd.

Maybe one of these days we could get somethmg like this s tar ted in Houston."

Attachment No. 1: A p r e s s re lease regarding a special display of precious and semi-precious stones, superb fossils , c rys ta ls and objects of lapidary a r t pre- - pared by the Tulsa Rock and Mineral Societyand located in Tu l sa ' s City-County Library during the Mid-Continent A. A. P. G. meeting las t October. It included this statement, "TRMS i s a group of families, very proud that s o many of i t s sons and daughters have grown into college geology and geophysics majors, aiming now to be professional rockhounds. "

Attachment No. 2: A clipping from the Tulsa Daily Worldabout a l ec tu re se r i e s for the science teachers of the Tulsa a r e a public, private and parochial schools offered by the Tulsa Geological Society. The sessions cover the history of the ear th and of life, the surface and subsurface of the earth, tools used to study the earth, and economic geology, mining geology and ear th science today. The s e r i e s ends with a field t r ip . All the lec turers a r e members of the Tulsa Geological Society.

All comments pro, con o r netural will be appreciated. Send them to m e a t Box 2180, Houston, Texas 77001.

. . . Dick Denham

Do you need a se t of A. A. P. G. Bulletins from January 1951 through

January 1965? If so, contact Jim Condon a t 1206 C & I Life Building

CA 7-9181. He has this se t for sa le .

2

5

COMMANDER M. SCOTT CARPENTER, USN will add res s theAmericansocie ty for Oceanography a t a cocktail-dinner meeting, 7:00 P.M. December 8 in the Regency Room - Shamrock Hilton Hotel.

Commander Carpenter will speak on Oceanography and his experience in SEA LAB 11, perhaps with the f i r s t public showing of the f i lm of that famous long dive. Admittance p r i ce i s $4.50 pe r person, a low pr ice , possible because cocktails will be sponsored.

Attendance t ickets may be secured a t the Houston Chamber of Commerce , Mr . R. H. Brewer ' s office; a l s o application blanks if you want them. We hope you will join the Society, a s well a s attend the meeting with your wife and fr iends. A very few t ickets may be available a t the door.

C O M M I T T E E R E P O R T S

COMMITTEE ON SUBMARINE GEOLOGY AND ADVISOR T O THE HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE

One of the cu r r en t pro jec ts of this committee i s a Western Gulf mollusk p o p u 1 a t i o n study which was organized by Chairman, Harold L . Geis and coordinates the act ivi t ies of the Bureau of Commercia l F i she r i e s , the Houston Museum of Natural Science and a group of local mallacologists headed by Dr . T . E. Pulley. T h e Committee 's s e a r c h for microscopes for pro jec t workers has yielded s ix s o f a r , and they st i l l need three more . The Committee i s very grateful for the microscopes which have beendonated to the Houston Museum of Natural Science for this project and would likewise be appreciat ive of anyone who can help in obtaining the remaining three new o r used microscopes .

A s d iscussed in l a s t month 's Bulletin, Mr . Geis has a l so been very instru- mental in the oceanography manpower survey conducted through the Houston Chamber of Commerce and in the subsequent organization of the American Society for Oceanography. An announcement regarding the f i r s t meeting of this Society appears e l sewhere in this i ssue of the Bulletin.

Research and Study Committee T h e Research and Study Committee i s continuing work on both the Delta

Symposium volume and the Delta Data volume. The Delta Symposium a t the G.C. A. G. S. went well, and the display a r r anged for the H. G. S. Booth was well received.

That display i s being kept in shape to t ranspor t to other geological meet - ings if that i s des i red . It will a l s o b e possible, if called on to s e t the display up for non-geological groups (Science f a i r s , e tc . ) a s a public education serv ice . T h i s a s sumes , of course, some help on the pa r t of the persons request ing such an exhibit.

We a r e happy with the p rog res s that the committee i s making, however, we a r e st i l l in teres ted in new workers who would l ike t o join the committee. If interested, please call the Chairman Martin Cassidy a t CA '7-4371, Ext. 296.

Local Geologists Present Papers a t Annual Meeting of Geological Societv of Amer i ca

Two University of Houston faculty member s presentedpapers a t the recent Annual Meeting of the Geolocial Society of Amer ica in Kansas City. D r . Max F. C a r m a n spoke on "The nature of chlori te f rom some low g rade metavolcanic rocks in New Zealand, " and D r . Walter Sadlick described "The Mississippian Chainman Formation of Western Utah and Eas t e rn Nevada: A c las t ic wedge de- posit of the Cordi l le ran Geosynclinal Complex." D r . Sadlick a l s o s e rved a s co-chai rman of the Stratigraphy sess ion .

We a r e glad to hea r RALPH WOODWARD with British American i s slowly recuperat ing f rom a recent t r i p t o the hospital.

Woodham Consulting Company wishes to announce the addition of JOHN W. TICE, SR., a s a.Staff Geophysicist. M r . T i c e was former ly with State Explora- tion Company.

Humble 's reorganizat ion has resul ted in the following new assignments for H. G. S. personnel . In Exploration Headquarters: W. A. BRAMLETTE, Opera- tions Manager; J. L. LOFTIS, JR., Operations Manager; P. H.OIBANNON, Chief Geologist; 0. D. BROOKS, Chief Geophysicist; D. C. FRANSEN, Chief Scout; J. R. JACKSON, JR., Information Sys tems Coordinator; W. M. RUST, Adminis- t ra t ive Coordinator. In the Eas t Texas Division (including the Houston and T y l e r Districts): W. W. TURNBULL, D i v i s i o n Manager; J. P. LEONARD, Division Geophysicist. Other announced c h a n g e s i n c 1 u d e F. C. ACKMAN, R. E. TAYLOR, and R. D. WOODS assigned to the Chief Geologist 's staff; H. G. PATRICK to the Chief Geophysicist 's staff; E. H. BESCHER, JR. and A. G. STARR t o the Administrative Coordinator 's staff; and J. R, KYLE to the Exploration Analysis Manager 's staff. T r a n s f e r s include R . E . MEGILL, being t r ans fe r r ed t o c o r p u s Chr is t i to be Planning Manager of the South Texas Division, and R. K. STEER to Los Angeles a s Division ProductionGeologist in the Western Division Production Department.

T h e Houston Geological Society welcomes the following new members :

Henry A. Campo Joe R. Klutts L a r r y E. Marland John C. Wyeth Cha r l e s A. Norman Cecil C . Rix John L. Loftis, J r . Vincent A. Robinson Ar thur F . Woeber George S. Buchanan R. A. Baile

Atlantic Refining Co. Atlantic Refining Co.

Consultant Continental Oil C o. Continental Oil Co.

E s s o Production Research Co. Humble Oil & Refining Co. Humble Oil & Refining Co. Humble Oil & Refining Co.

Husky Oil Company Independent Exploration Co.

Gene M. Rohr Edgar K. Mar t in Ben L. Olsen John B. Wright W. Wesley Ogden Phillip J. O'Brien Thomas W. Rollins Richard W. Wallace C. M. "Mark" Kilgore M. C. MacMurrough T . W. Oppel Howard G. Schoenike William F. Eldridge War ren M. T r i m m Laurence H. Hawes Stewart J. Car lson G a r C. Willis Harold B. Watt J. Mayo Waggoner Ralph H. Akin, J r . Cully H. Hedge

NEWS . . .

On Friday night,

Pan American Pet. Corp . Pan Amer ican Pet. Corp.

Shell Oil Co. Shell Oil Co. Shell Oil Co. Shell Oil Co. Shell Oil Co. Shell Oil Co.

Sohio Petroleum Co. Standard of Texas

Tenneco Oil Co. Consulting Mining Geologist

Gulf Oil Corp . Atlantic Refining Co.

Sinclair Oil & Gas Co. Sinclair Oil & Gas Co.

Shell Oil Co. Lane Wells Co.

Humble Oil & Refining Co. Apache Oil Corp .

Pan American Pet. Corp .

October 29, the l a s t day of the highly successful Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies' convention, two noteworthy events took place in the Emera ld Room of the Shamrock-Hilton Hotel. Serving a s a prelude to the entertainment feature of the evening, "Show Spots of Houston", we re the recognition and honoring of this yea r ' s distinguished geologist and the presentat ion of the awards for the best pape r s .

Alan Lohse, General Chai rman of the convention, introduced to the near capacity crowd of over 400, the honoree of the convention, D r . Henryk B. Stenzel, in recognition of his contributions to the geology of Texas . As further recognition, this y e a r ' s Transac t ions were dedicated in his name.

D r . Stenzel, who i s well known to many of us , i s currently visiting l ec tu re r in Geology a t Rice University and has had a long and distinguished geological c a r e e r , devoted in l a rge p a r t to the geology of the Coastal Plain of Texas .

Many hundreds of geologists have been taught by Dr . Stenzel whose teach- ing c a r e e r began a t Texas A&M University in 1925. His academic c a r e e r was interrupted f rom 1934 to 1948 when he did outstanding work for the State of Texas a s a n employee of the Bureau of Economic Geology. He taught a t the Uni- vers i ty of Texas f rom 1948 to 1954, a f te r which he resigned toaccep ta position a s Professor and Chai rman of the Department of Geology of the University of

Houston. T h i s t enure w a s i n t e r r u p t e d hy a m a j o r h e a r t a t t ack in 1902. Af te r r e c u p e r a t i n g he h a s been a consul tant a t Shell Developnlent and h a s c a r r i e d on h i s l e c t u r e ac t iv i t i es a t Rice Universi ty .

In a second ceremony, M r . Morgan Davis , C h a i r m a n of the Awards C o m m i t t e e , announced that t h e f i r s t p r i z e fo r the b e s t paper p r e s e n t e d a t the Convention, w a s a w a r d e d t o C h a r l e s R . Kolb of the U. S. A r m y Engineers Waterways E x p e r i m e n t Stat ion i n Vicksburg, Miss i ss ipp i , and Jack R. Van Lopik with T e x a s Ins t ruments , Inc. , Da l las , T e x a s . T h e t i t l e of the i r p a p e r , which w a s a p a r t of t h e Delta Sympos ium p r e s e n t e d F r i d a y af ternoon, i s "Depositional Envi ronments of the M i s s i s s i p p i River Del ta ic Plain - Southeas te rn Louisiana."

T h e second p r i z e was a w a r d e d t o M r s . Gene R o s s Kellough of the Univer - s i t y of Houston f o r h e r p a p e r , "Paleo-ecology of the F o r a m i n i f e r i d a of the Wil ls Point fo rmat ion (Midway group) i n Nor theas te rn T e x a s " .

Raymond H. Fa i rch i ld , the Pres iden t of t h e Gulf C o a s t Assoc ia t ion of Geological Societ ies , h a s announced the s l a t e of o f f ice rs e lec ted t o s e r v e f o r t h e next y e a r . Pres iden t of t h e g r o u p i s Allen M . Borland, a consul t ing geologist of Lafayet te , Louisiana; Vice Pres iden t , J i l s o n H . Hensley, Midwest Oil C o r p o r a - tion, San Antonio; T r e a s u r e r , John Schoelen, T e x a s E a s t e r n T r a n s m i s s i o n Corpora t ion , a n d S e c r e t a r y , Wi l l i am A . Robbins, J r . , C o r e L a b o r a t o r i e s , I n c . , Lafayet te , Louis iana .

Next y e a r ' s convention will be held i n Lafayet te , Louis iana , October 26-28, 1966.

T h e T e x a s Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, T e x a s announces the following new publication:

Geologic Quadrangle Map No. 29. GEOLOGY O F T H E ROCKY CREEK QUADRANGLE, BLANCO AND GILLESPIE COUNTIES, TEXAS, by Vi rg i l E . B a r n e s . Map with 12-page tex t . Scale: 1:24,000. O c t o b e r 1 9 6 5 . . . . . . . $ 1 . 5 0 + 3 $ s a l e s t a x .

T h i s geologic m a p of the Rocky C r e e k quadrangle is one i n a s e r i e s of C e n t r a l T e x a s geologic quadrangle m a p s being i s s u e d b y the Bureau.

E leva t ions in the Rocky C r e e k quadrangle r a n g e f r o m 1, 200 feet in w e s t e r n Blanco County to 1, 880 fee t in e a s t e r n Gi l lesp ie County. Minera l r e s o u r c e s of t h e a r e a c o n s i s t of construct ion m a t e r i a l s (dimension s t o n e , c r u s h e d s tone , sand a n d g r a v e l , a n d r o a d m a t e r i a l ) and w a t e r . L e a d a n d z i n c minera l iza t ion o c c u r s a r o u n d a g r a n i t e d o m e in Pederna les R i v e r , a n d t h e r e i s a possibi l i ty tha t s u b s u r f a c e o r e bodies a r e p r e s e n t .

Evening Gradua te C o u r s e s i n Geology

T h e Universi ty of Houston 's Geology D e p a r t m e n t will offer the following evening c o u r s e s , for which gradua te c r e d i t m a y be obtained, i n the Spr ing S e m e s t e r 1966.

Optical Mineralogy 7- 10 p . m . Monday a n d Wednesday ( D r . C a r m a n )

Geochemistry I1 5x30-7 p. m . Monday and Wednesday. Laboratory to be ar ranged (Dr. Short)

Subsurface Geology 7-9:30 p. m . Monday and Wednesday (Dr . Bishop)

Carbonate Petrography 7- 10 p . m . Tuesday and Thursday (Dr. Blatt)

Paleontological Taxonomy 6-7 p . m . Tuesday andThursday, Laboratory 9-12 a . m . Saturday (Dr. Sadlick)

Deadline for filing application to en t e r Graduate School for the Spring Semester i s January 1, and Registrat ion for the preceeding courses extends from January 31 through February 3, with c l a s se s beginning on February 7.

NSF ACADEMIC YEAR INSTlTUTE FOR EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS AT UNIVERSITY O F HOUSTON IN 1966-67

Next yea r twenty secondary school teachers of Ea r th Science will take one y e a r of full - t ime course work in geology, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy a t the University of Houston under a grant of $133, 100 from the National Science Foundation. The teachers will c a r r y approximately 30 hours of science courses during the school year , and a number of them will be able to continue the i r s tudies in a summer school field tr ip, a l so supported by the NSF . Those who complete the program sat isfactori ly will qualify for Master ' s degrees . Each par t ic ipant rece ives $3,000 for the year , plus $350 for each dependent, and allowances for t ravel and books. The University of Houston i s one of four schools having NSF Academic Yea r Institutes in Ear th Science, the c loses t being the University of Oklahoma. D r . Margare t S. Bishop, of the Department of Geology, will be Direc tor .

HGS INVITES NEW MEMBERSHLPS

The Membership Committee extends a n invitation to a l l geological and

al l ied scientific personnel t o apply for membership in the HGS. We have

no way of knowing when new people a r e t r ans fe r r ed o r move into Houston.

If someone in your company o r of your acquaintance i s new in town and

would like to joinus, p lease have himcontact theHGS officeat FA 3-9309

o r the m e m b e r s h i p chairman, A. H. Wadsworth, J r . a t CA 7-8151.

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY Space for Professional Cards of Members

JOSEPH L. ADLER

Geologist & Geophysicist Chamber of Comnierce Bldg.

CA 2-7925

Houston, Texas 77002

R. P. AKKERMAN Geologist EXPLORATION Engineer

Review of Subsurface Data 3425 Bradford Place MO 8-4327


ALLEN & GlLKlSON Oil and Gas Consultants

Harris H. Allen and D. C. Gilkison

963 San Jacinto Bldg. CA 8-9329 Houston, Texas 77002

JOY J. ANNELER Consulting Geophysicist

and Geologist 7054 Hendon

PR 4-3917 Houston, Texas 77036

E. J. BARRAGY

lndependent Geologist

JA 2-4644

3005 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas

A. I. BARTOW

Geophysical Consultant

2315 Watts Road

Phone: MO 8-3306

JOHN L. BIBLE BIBLE GEOPHYSICAL CO., INC.

Gravity - Magnetic Surveys Interpretations

236 Esperson Bldg. CA 2-6266 Houston, Texas 77002

LESLIE BOWLING

Oil and Gas Consultant

536 California Bldg. JA 2-0432

New Orleans, Louisiana

WAYNE F. BOWMAN lndependent Geologist

1314 Niels Esperson Bldg. CA 2-0279


ORVAL L. BRACE

Geologist

2206 South Coast Bldg. CA 8-5404


IRA BRINKERHOFF

Petroleum Consultant

822 Americana Bldg.

CA 4-2656

RALPH B. CANTRELL

Petroleum Geologist and Engineer

4005 Bellaire Boulevard

Houston, Texas 77025 MO 8-0471


GEORGE H. CLARK Petroleum Geologist

404 First City National Bank FA 3-1187

Houston, Texas

JACK COLLE & ASSOCIATES Consulting Geologists and Paleontologists 817 C & I Building

Houston, Texas 77002 Associate CA 7-6266 E. H. Stork, Jr. SU 2-4555

ERNEST A. ELWOOD, JR.

Prudential Drilling Company

1418 Bank of the Southwest Bldg.

CA 4-7741 Houston, Texas 77002

PAUL FARREN

Geophysical Consultant

Geodata Building MO 7-3317

5603 S. Rice Ave. (77036)

KENNETH L. GOW Geologist and Engineer

531 Capital National Bank Bldg. CA 4-6584


MICHEL T. HALBOUTY Consulting Geologist Petroleum Engineer

Independent Producer and Operator The Michel T. Halbouty Bldg.

5 1 11 Westheimer NA 2-1 130 Houston, Texas 77027

ED J. HAMNER Consulting Geologist

5060 Navarro Lane, Apt. B

SU 2-0732 CA 8-8278 Houston, Texas 77027

FRANK R. HARDIN

Petroleum Geologists

1108 First City National Bank Bldg. Houston, Texas 77002 CA 7-9325

HILLORD HINSON Consulting Geologist

CA 8-9455 2138 Bank of the Southwest Bldg.


GENTRY KlDD and

SHIRLEY L. MASON Geologists

813 Esperson Bldg. CA 7-8231

ORVILLE G. LUNDSTROM

Geologist

889 Houston Club Building

Houston, Texas 77002 CA 7-6015

GEORGE N. MAY & ASSOCIATES Consulting Geologists and

Paleontologists P. 0. Box 2052 Nat Mouton Bldg.

Lafayette, Louisiana CE 4-3379

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY Space for Professional Cards oi Members

W. B. McCARTER C. E. McCARTER

Independents 2522 Hazard JA 3-5733

JA 9-1881 Houston, Texas 77019

GEORGE I. McFERRON

Consulting Geologist

Room 5, 1973 W. Gray JA 2-2627

Houston, Texas

C. MILLER ASSOCIATES, INC. Petroleum and Mineral Consultants

3810 Westheimer P. 0. Box 36173

713 - MO 7-7166 SU 1-0538 Houston 77036

R. B. MITCHELL

Geologist

2801 First City National Bank Bldg.


JOHN C. MYERS Consultant in Oil, Gas and Sulphur 1207 Bank of the Southwest Bldg.

CA 5-4133 and CA 5-4559 Houston, Texas 77002

KENNETH DALE OWEN

Geologist

Esperson Building


ROLAND B. PAXSON Consulting Geologist

Oil and Sulphur 3524 Sunset Blvd. MO 8-9196


WALLACE E. PRAlT

Geologist

Box 1209, Carlsbad, New Mexico

RAYMOND D. REYNOLDS Geologist

436 Bankers Mortgage Bldg. Houston, Texas 77001

CA 7-5309

A. L. SELlG Geologist

1907 Bank of the Southwest Bldg. CA 4-9774


FRED L. SMITH, JR. Consulting Geologist

Paleontologist 1226 Bank of the Southwest Bldg. Houston, Texas 77002 CA 5-5757

CARLETON D. SPEED, JR.

Geologist - Oil Producer

71 1 Houston Club Bldg. CA 4-2523



H. C. SPOOR, JR. HARRY KlLlAN

Geologists 2130 Chamber of Commerce Bldg. Houston, Texas 77002 CA 4-9624

D. C. STALLWORTH, INC. Engineering and Geological Drafting

Surveying and Mapping Planimetering and Acreage Calculations

1210 Bank of the Southwest Bldg. Houston, Texas 77002 FA 3-7343

LAWRENCE J. VITTRUP Petroleum Geologist

Representing Goodale, Bertman & Co., Inc.

1925 Bank of the Southwest Bldg. FA 3-1 191 Houston, Texas

J. C. WALTER, JR. Geologist and Petroleum Engineer

3055 Humble Bldg. CA 7-1246 Houston, Texas 77002

Home Phone: HO 5-9773

S. BROOKS STEWART Geophysical Consultant

320 Bankers Mortgage Bldg. FA 3-4966


GEORGE F. WATFORD

Consulting Geologist

1420 Bank of the Southwest

Houston. Texas 77002 CA 7-6935

HAROLD VANCE Petroleum Investment Counselor Petroleum Evaluation Engineer

CApitol 7-3949 11 19 Bank of the Southwest Bldg.


JAMES A. WHEELER Consulting Geologist

C.P.G. No. 109 1910 Esperson Bldg. FA 3-1618


GENE VAN DYKE

Van Dyke Oil Company

Bank of the Southwest Bldg.

CA 8-8174

WOODHAM CONSULTING CO. Geological-Geophysical Consultants

Bill Woodham - H. R. Warren 1200 C & I Building

CA 7-4138

MERLIN J. VERRET Geologist

Route 2, Box 109 Lake Charles, Louisiana

Phone: 477-1477-8

JOHN C. WORLEY

Geologist

906 Vaughn Plaza TU 3-4315

Corpus Christi, Texas

IN MEMORIAM

KARL A. SCHMIDT(1900 - 1965)

Karl A. Schmidt, more familiarly and affectionately known as "Gus", diedOctober 27, 1965, in Hermann Hospital, Houston, Texas. His brief illness anduntimely death was a great shock to his family and many friends, and closeassociates. The cause of his death was a massive heart attack suffered in the

office just at the close of the work day on October 26, 1965.

Funeral services were held in the Chapel of SettegastKopf, Houston, October 29, 1965. Interment was inMemorial Oaks Cemetery, Houston.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs .Ebbye MartinSchmidt;son, Karl A. Schmidt, Jr., Houston, Texas; Daughter,Mrs. Rose Mary Lambert, Port Gibson, Mississippi;and four grandsons, Kristofer, Mark and NicholasSchmidt, Houston, Texas; and Ronald Lambert, PortGibson, Mississippi.

Gus was born in Springfield, Missouri, on November 2;1900, to Pauline Kubler Schmidt, (Deceased) andC. Schmidt, (Deceased). He had no brothers or sisters.

Gus became a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologistsin 1925, and was also an active member of the Houston Geological Society.

He attended elementary and high school in Springfield, graduating fromhigh school in 1919. In the summer of 1919, he participated inan ROTC summerfield trip sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers at Camp Humphrey,Virginia, now known as Fort Belvoir. The following fall he entered the MissouriSchool of Mines as a freshman. Gus majored in Mining Engineering and alsowas an active member in the Sigma Nu Fraternity. Although devoted to hisstudies at the "School of Mines", he did find time to become almost as equallydevoted to playing second base for his Sigma Nu Fraternity baseball team. Thisexperience left him a life long ardent baseball fan. As a means of both furtheringhis education in Mining Engineering ahd helping finance it, heworked during thesummer months of 1921 in the copper mines in Jerome, Arizona. Again, in thesummer of 1922, Gus worked in the mines for the Butte and Superior MiningCompany in Butte, Montana. Hearing him recall some of his experiences in therough life of these mining camps it is not at all difficult to see that the seed ofreceptiveness to the petroleum industry was then planted. This probablyhappened when the first 200 pound wheel barrow of ore became uncontrolled byhis own 130 pounds.

Gus completed all of his academic work for a B.S. Degree in May, 1923.At that time he accepted employment with Tidewater Oil Company, (then TidalOil Company) at Dallas, Texas, and being so anxious to go to work, he left

15

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school before the graduation ceremony. His Bachelors Degree in Mining Engi- neering was mailed to him the following month. His first assignmentwas instru- ment man for a geologist doing surface work under supervision of J. H. Jenkins in the vicinity of Cross Plains, Coleman and Brownwood, Texas. During this first year he also did scouting and subsurface geology in the Powell Field area in Navarro County, Texas. In 1924, Gus did surface geology in the Wichita Falls, Texas, area and scouting and subsurface work in the Richland and Worthan Fields of East Texas. From 1925 to 1932 he was the DistrictGeologist in Cisco and Fort Worth, Texas. In 1932 until 1936 Gus was in charge of the geological exploration of East Texas for the Tidewater-Seaboard joint account with headquarters in Forth Worth and Palestine, Texas. From 1936 to 1939 helived in Shreveport, Louisiana, and also took under his direction the North Louisiana and South Arkansas Districts for the Tidewater-Seaboard joint account.

In 1939, Tidewater assigned him to the Houston office a s Regional Geologist supervising the geological programs in Indiana, Oklahoma, and North Central Texas Districts. He moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1943 a s District Geologist supervising North Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Gus returned to the Houston office in May, 1948, a s Regional Geologist and was promoted to Assistant Chief Geologist in March, 1953. In May, 1954, h e became the Acting Division Geologist and Geological-Geophysical Coordinator for Tidewater's Southern Division. In October, 1954, Gus was assigned to the offshore operation a s Division Offshore Geologist, representing Tidewater in the CATC Group. Gus held the position until the time of his death. He had worked continuously over 42 years for Tidewater 'Oil Company.

His influence with those under his supervision and those associated with him and also his own supervisors was profound. Gus was known a s an oil finder of the first order, gentle, kind, patient, and a gentleman. He always had time to talk to anyone that had a problem to discuss with him. To quote a most distinguished personof the oil industry that had the r a r e perspective of a super- visor to know Gus from the day he started to work until the time of his death.

"He was indeed a gentleman. I do not believe he was given full credit for some of his accomplishments. As an example after the East Texas field was developed and the Woodbine Basin was practically surrounded by oil fields, Gus thought there should be some oil trapped in the basin. He gathered all of the subsurface information available, some of which seemed to point to high spots.

It was agreed that geophysical studies would be required to locate such high spots and a s our company had had no geophysical experience we were at a disadvantage. We thought it advisable to invite someone with this experience to join us. We approached Seaboard, and they welcomed the opportunity. An agreement was made to jointly survey the Woodbine Basin. Apparently others did not consider this a s good huntinggrounds a s we encountered but little competition. Several structures were mapped, leased, and tested and a s a result the Long Lake, Cayuga, Opelika and New Hope Fields were discovered.

If and when the story is written of the very important part played by the Mid-Continent division in bringing the company to life, a chapter should be devoted to themen whose thinkingresulted in the discovery of new oil fields and to which Gus and several other men have never beengiven the credit they deserve. "

Because of his years in petroleum exploration and his respected reputationof an "oil finder", Gus was known well by many of those people that have risenmuch further up the executive ladders of the smallest as well as the largest ofoil companies. With his abilities and understanding, such achievements wouldhave been his also had he directed himself in that course. For Gus the rewards

were the romance of the search and the success of finding oil. In this endeavor,few men were his equal and none superior.

. . . D. W. Love

HOMER A. NOBLE(1893 - 1965)

Homer A. Noble, who had retired from Magnolia Petroleum Company inMay of 1959, died of a heart attack in Houston on October 13, 1965. He issurvived by his wife, the former Elizabeth Hart; a son, Robert Noble of Dallas;two daughters, Mary (Mrs. Charles Sanderson of Omaha).and Margaret who isa senior at Sophie Newcomb in New Orleans.

Homer was born in Valparaiso, Nebraska, on December 1, 1893. Hisfamily moved to Lincoln and it was in this city that Homer attended school and"the University of Nebraska, graduating in June 1916 with degrees in geology andforestry. F or the next two years he was engaged in surface mapping in thewestern part of the country, notably in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado.

The war interrupted his career and after his dischargefrom the Army in 1919, he worked in Washington,D. C., for the Oil Section of the Internal Revenue

Bureau, collecting valuation data on oil and gas proper-ties in the Mid-Continent. It was at this time that the

Bureau was de vel 0 pin g the depletion all owance forpetroleum.

This was followed by a year's work for the NationalOil Company in North Louisiana and Mexico. Hisinterest in the oil industry was increased by thisexperience and he took a year's graduate work ingeology at the University of Chicago during the schoolyear 1921-22, andanotheratJohnHopkins from 1922-23.

Homer then accepted a job in Mexico with the Marland Oil Company inMay 1923. He returned to marry Elizabeth Hart in 1924. They had met whenhe worked in Washington. They lived in Tampico until July 1926 at which timethey returned to the United States. After a brief stint with W. Armstrong Price,Homer worked for the Shell Oil Company on surface mapping in the Texas,Louisiana and Mississippi Coastal areas until 1931.

During the depression, the Shell Oil Company cut back their explorationand from 1931-33, Homer, Dr. J. Bryan Ely and Mr.Bob Milner were associated.

17

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It was at this time Homer did the surface work that eventually resulted in the discovery of West Ranch and Mauboro Fields in Jackson County, Texas.

In 1933, Mr. Henry Cortes persuaded Homer to join the Magnolia Petro- leum Company organization. At this time, Magnolia was entering the Gulf Coast aggressively and expanding their program in this area. It was in large part due to Homer's knowledge and efforts that Magnolia established their position in the coastal a rea at the West Ranch, Lolita, andNorth La Ward Fields.

Homer continued with Magnolia until his retirement in 1959. In spite of a physical disability in the latter years of his career, his acumen and ability were major factors in contributing to Magnolia's success in the coastal a reas of Texas and Louisiana.

The outline of Homer's career does not convey his intelligence, intellectual honesty, integrity and cheerhtl courage. It was these qualities that won him his many friends and influenced the younger geologists who worked withand for him.

06 7& D4&# scac

Be sure to mark January 12th on your calendar; because it 's our next party and what an elegant party i t will be! It's to be a t HoustonCountryCluband Alene Williams reports that work will begin on invitations right after Thanksgiving - they a r e to be hand painted. Committee enthusiasm is such that Helen Tar t t plans togive up golf (temporarily) in order to attend work sessions. Wow's that for loyalty?

Speaking of loyalty - Trippie Gilkison, Theresa Van Dyke, Laurabeth Souther and husbands were seen cheering on the Oilers this season. Could it be that this cheering is faulty?

The Adolphe Gueymards recently celebrated their silver wedding anni- versary; and the A. M. Tolberts celebrated their twenty-first. Congratulations.

The Geo-Wives made a nice profit on their theater party. Their next party will be held at Sharpstown C. C. on December 15th; with each guest bringing a gift for a needy child. These gifts will be takento hospitals anddistributed there.

Penny Broussard reports that Lloyd is now able to go to his office some, and is slowly improving. It 's been a long, hard road and everyone really wishes them a happer new year!

Karen Puny, daughter of the Clark Edgecombs, was seriously ill following the birth of her baby; but she is completely recovered. In fact she brought the baby to Houston for a few days visit.

Olga Colle, who is still living in Tucson for her health, is showing some improvement. However, she and the two children a r e presently recovering from the "flu". Jack plans to see them during the holidays. Olga's address is: 3731 East 4th Street. Tucson, Arizona.

Hope everyone had a delightful Thanksgiving. . . . Grace Chambers

6 N O T E S

ECONOMICS - THE KEW DIMENSION IN IN GEOLOGICAL THINKING

Michel T . Halbouty (Speaker a t the December 13, 1965 Meeting)

A B S T R A C T

The current problems of expensive exploration, impor ts , overcapacity in production and refining, and the continued los s of investment capital through increased government control have brought about reducedmargins of profits and steady declines in drilling, discoveries, r e se rves and employment to the United States petroleum industry in recent yea r s . The average petroleum geologist knows little about these ma t t e r s . He has limited his interest to geology-- period! The geologist has not concerned himself with these complexities and, therefore, knows very little of the many difficulties the petroleum industry con- tinually faces.

The geologist must come out of hibernation and look a t the industry a s a whole. His knowledge must expand beyond his own science. He has to broaden his thinking into the a r e a of economics more than ever before. The geologist must keep up with the changes in every phase of the industry.

The geologist must look outward--not just straight ahead but in al l d i rec- tions. He must be aware of what i s happening in today's new technology, the ever changing economic conditions, new political concepts, the intense fuel competition, world petroleum outlook and world markets--but above a l l , he must l ea rn what significance a l l of these things have on his industry, his company and on his own future a s an explorationist.

The geologist should rea l ize that the petroleum industry must prosper within al l of i ts phases if he, himself, i s to prosper . He, therefore, must take a more direct and positive interest in the four dominant problenls which con- stantly confront the industry: geological, technological, economic and political. T h e geologist has an inherent knowledge of the f i rs t , knows a little about the second and is completely oblivious of the third and fourth. T o become more effective a s an explorer o r developer he must become m o r e involved and astute in al l of these challenges.

The economic factor i s the most important to management; therefore, the geologist must begin to make economics the new dimension in h is geological thinking. The growing p ressu re onmanagement to produce profits demands that the geologist prepare a comprehensive economic assessment of his exploratory planning ef for ts , and recommendations. Such appraisals will surely sharpen and upgrade theexploratory effort and will domuch toward bringingaboutgreater success in the explorer ' s search for petroleurn to meet the demands of the future.

MECHANISM OF TRANSVERSE PETROLEUM MIGRATION

Henry David Olson

Rice University M. A. thesis, 39 p . , May, 1965

A B S T R A C T

The transverse, "vertical, " migration of petroleum i s investigated to determine a mechanism which explains the occurrence of barren (water- filled) reservoirs interspersed between hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs within the same oil o r gas field, especially when the intervening shales a r e not petroleum source rocks.

Application of fundamental hydrodpnamic theory to observed subsurface conditions discloses that a rectilinear increase of hydrostatic pressure with depth does not usually exist- -pressures appreciably above and below the nominal hydrostatic pressure may occur in different subsurface formations. The subsurface fluids a r e flowing very slowly in a complex, dynamic, three-dimensional pattern; water in response to pressure gradients and hydrocarbons in response to potentiometric gradients.

Geochemical evidence and physical considerations indicate that transverse migration of hydrocarbons through the bulk of low-permeability beds is quite unlikely. Therefore, the migration must occur principally along fractures and faults. Fractures and faults, a common and abundant feature of the ear th 's crust, a r e indeed observed to be avenues of migration and accumulation of subsurface fluids, both water and hydrocarbons, although in some cases faults a r e a lso ba r r i e r s to fluid migration.

A barren reservoir will occur if it i s a t a higher potential than the hydrocarbons migrating through a conduit in a fault or fracture intersecting the reservoir . The hydrocarbons will just pass on through the reservoir and continue along the conduit until they a r e trapped a t a location of minimum potential energy, o r until they reach the ear th 's surface a s a seep.

GENESIS OF RECENT LIME MUD IN SOUTHERN BRITISH HONDURAS

Robley Knight Matthews

Rice University, Ph. D. thesis, 139 p. , May, 1965

In view of the abundance of l ime mud in the geologic record it is paradoxical that studies of Recent carbonate sediments generally have concentrated on the origin of sand-size carbonate part icles ra ther than on the origin of the finer- grained constituents. Only on the Great Bahama Bank has the genesis of l ime mud r e c e i v e d ser ious attention; s o much attention, in fact, that the words "aragonite needles" have become virtually synonymous with "l ime mud" in the minds of many geologists. Preliminary investigation of Recent l ime mud from Southern British Honduras, however, revealed a paucity of aragonite needles. An investigation was therefore undertaken to ascer ta in the nature and origin of the l ime mud in this a r e a .

Mineralogical, chemical, and petrographic point-count data were gathered. The strontium content of the carbonate mud fraction of lagoon samples increases systematically toward carbonate shoals. The mineralogical composition of the carbonate mud fraction of lagoon samples averages 25% high- strontium aragonite, 24% low-strontium aragonite, 44% high-magnesium calcite, and 7% low-magnesium calcite. Petrographic data suggest that the high-strontium aragonite is primarily coral debr is admixed with l e s s e r amounts of Halirneda debris. Similary, low- strontium aragonite consists primarily of mollusc debris; and high-magnesium calcite, of Foraminifera debr is . The data suggest that the Shelf Lagoon mud consists of transported shoal-derived debr is somewhat diluted by in situ-produced -- mollusc debris and hyaline Foraminifera debr is .

Physical breakage and abrasion in agitated environments is considered the dominant process of l ime mud production on the carbonate shoals; whereas the major factors in the in situ production of lagoonal l ime mudappear to be: (1) t h e -- inherently fragile nature of the shel ls of molluscs and t e s t s of h y a 1 i n e Foraminifera of the lagoon environment, (2) the rernoval of binding organic mat ter from mollusc shells , (3) the weakening of l a rge r skeletal part icles by the activity of boring micro-organisms, and (4) the mastication, ingestion, and perhaps even simple movement of sediment by the vagrant benthos.

The resul ts of this study indicate tha t l ime mud may originate in a variety of ways. While i t may be difficult o r impossible in the geologic r ecord to recognize ancientanalogues of the various types of l ime mud that can be recognized in the Recent, an awareness of the possible multiple origins of l ime mud se rves to increase our understanding of the genesis of ancient l ime mudstones.

STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY OF THE GASS PEAK AREA, LAS VEGAS RANGE, NEVADA

by

William James Ebanks, J r .

Rice University, M. A. thesis, 56 p . , May, 1965

ABSTRACT

A field-mapping study of the a r e a around Gass Peak, L a s Vegas Range, Clark County, Nevada, has demonstrated the presence of a thick sequenceof Paleozoic and Precambrian rocks overthrust on younger, Upper Paleozoic beds along the Gass Peak Thrust .

Formations recognized in the upper plate of the thrust a r e the Precambrian Stirling Quartzite, the Precambrian Stirling Quartzite, the Precambrian and Cambrian Wood Canyon Fomation, the Cambrian, C a r r a r a , Bonanza King, a n d Nopah Formations, and the Ordovician lowermost Pogonip Group. Rocks in the lower plate a r e the DevonianSultan Limestone, MississippianMonte Cr i s to Lime- stone, and the Permo-Carboniferous Birdspring Formation. The MioceneHorse Spring Formation unconformably overlies the Paleozoic rocks.

Faulting on the Gass Peak Thrus t resulted in approximately 18,000 feet of strat igraphic displacement from west-to-east. Several la rge folds and many high angle r eve r se faults a r e associated with the thrust fault.

All of these features, the major thrust and smal ler related s t ructures , have been rotated westward through 90 degrees by right-lateral str ike-sl ip movement on the adjacent Las Vegas Valley Shear Zone. The "drag" structure and a unique set of faults in theGass Peakareaa re re l a t ed toeas t -west extension and north-south compression caused by the rotation.

Strata above and below the Gass Peak Thrus t a r e s imi lar to s t ra ta in the Wheeler Pass Thrus t , suggesting the two thrusts a r e offset equivalents. This implies more than 25 miles of relative horizontal shift between the two faults. Many details of s t ructure a r e d iss imi lar between the Wheeler Pass and Gass Peak Thrus ts , and if they were once the same feature, they have developed independently af ter being separated. Structural evidence indicated that displacement on the Gass Peak Thrus t occurred before movement along the Las Vegas Valley Shear Zone.

There i s little evidence in the mapped a r e a for Te r t i a ry block faulting.

THE TERTIARY GEOLOGY AND IGNIMBRITE PETROLOGY OFTHEGRANT RANGE, EASTCENTRAL NEVADA

by Robert B . Scott

Rice University, Ph.D. thesis , 116 p . , appendix of 49 p . , March, 1965

A B S T R A C T

Ter t i a ry rocks in the Grant Range in the eas t e rn Great Basin, Nevada consist of 5, 000 to 15, 000 feet of rhy olitic ignimbrite sheets, non- mar ine sediments, and siliceous flows. F r o m oldest to youngest the major units a r e the 1) Sheep Pass Formation, lacustr ine limestone, Middle to Upper Eocene; 2) Railroad Valley Rhyolite, 36 m . y .; 3) Calloway Well Formation, ignimbrites; 4) Stone Cabin Formation, ignimbrites; 5) Windous Butte Formation,ignimbritcs, 33 m . y . ; 6) Currant Tuff, tuffaceous sediment; 7) Needles Range Formation, ignimbrites; 9) Horse Camp Formation, tuffaceous fluvial and lacustr ine scdi- ments, Mio-Pliocene; 10) local andesite and dacite flows, Upper P 1 i o c ene- Pleistocene; 11) Quaternary t e r r aces , lake sediments, and alluvial deposits.

Mesozoic thrusting associated with the Sevier Orogeny in the Grant Range was confined to decollement-like shea r zones charac ter ized by omission instead of repetition of s t r a t a . Te r t i a ry units were deposited nearly parallel t o the underlying Upper Paleozoic s t r a t a . Volcanic activity began about 5 m . y . a f ter initial Te r t i a ry normal faulting. T h e f i r s t two ignimbrite formations inundated. topographic i r regular i t ies ; the upper units covered large regions with thin con- tinuous sheets. T h r e e sma l l ignimbrite vents a r e present , but nu ca ldera o r major dike sys tems were located. La rge scale, north-south trending, normal . faulting (Miocene to Recent) has crea ted sedimentary basins, t r iggered l a rge sca le gravity sliding, and formed the range boundaries. East-west s t r ike-s l ip faulting has offset the ranges. Progressive tilting from the Pliocene to Recent has caused s t r a t a above a n incompetent Carboniferous shale to s l ide variable distances to the eas t .

Deuteric al terat ion and, to a l e s s e r degree, weathering controlled the ver t ica l chemical variat ion i n ignimbrite cooling units. A potassium-sodium exchange was the most distinctive deuteric al terat ion phenomenon.The magnesium and i ron distributions were a l so greatly controlled by deuteric al terat ion. Weathering affected the chemistry pr imar i ly by leachingsodium. Hydrothermal alterationaddedpotassiumand removed sodium inplagioclases andvolcanicglass.

Compositions of bulk ignimbrite samples indicate that anatectic formation of ignimbrit ic magmas occur reda t undersaturatedvapor p r e s s u r e s in excess of 500 t o 2000 ba r s , and s t ra t igraphic relationships imply that anatexis occurred a t depths onthe o rde r of 11 to 15 kilometers. Compositions of ignimbri teglasses and coexisting crys ta ls show that eutectic crystallization of this ignimbrite magma occurred under vapor p re s su res on the o rde r of 3000 to 5000 bars , which correspond to a n overburden p r e s s u r e of 11 to 17.5 kilometers.

The variety of tectonic environments of ignimbrite regions throughout the world show only one common feature, tensional o r extensional faulting. The coincidence of extensional s t r e s s e s and a granit ic magma under high water p r e s s u r e i s probably necessary for the formation of ignimbrites.

GEOPHYSICAL SERVICES

APACHE EXPLORATION CO., INC.

C & I Life Bldg.


A. L. Ladner CA 2-9649

NATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL COMPANY, INC.

2345 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas 75235

2425 Brun St., Houston, Texas 77019

H. L. Johnson, Houston W. R. Mitchell, Dallas

JA 6.1721 FL 2-2671

SIDNEY SCHAFER AND COMPANY

2200 Welch Avenue


Sidney Schafer JA 9-8789

SEISMOGRAPH SERVICE CORP.

1229 Capital National Bank Bldg.


Robert B. Baum CA 2-9071

ELECTRIC AND WELL LOGGING

BAROID DIVISION, NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY

Well Logging and Mud Company

P. 0. Box 1675 JA 4-6381

LANE WELLS COMPANY

416 Main Building

J. L. P. Campbell CA 2-9771

W. D. Bishop or

Division Sales Engineers WA 8-3331

PAN GEO ATLAS CORPORATION

P. 0. Box 14524


George Morris RI 7-1300

SCHLUMBERGER WELL SURVEYING CORP.

906 Bank of the Southwest

Houston. Texas 77002

R. K. Thies

E. H. Heider

Kenneth S. Howell CA 5-1607

CORE ANALYSIS

CORE LABORATORIES, INC.

3615 Gulf Freeway

Core Analysis and Mud Logging

John E. Furen CA 3-4193

EMRACO PRODUCTION LABORATORIES, INC.

4928 Griggs Road


Tom Runyon, Mgr. ID 3-5778

John Lacy, Lab MI 5-1141

Randy Cockrell, Pres. -

GEOPHYSICAL INSTRUMENTS

DRESSER SIE

10201 Westheirner Road

P. 0. Box 2928, Houston, Texas 77001

E. A. Pratt

General Marketing Mgr. SU 2-2000

OIL PRODUCERS -

JOHN W. MECOM

and

U. S. OIL OF LOUISIANA, INC.

1500 Gray Street P. 0. Box 2566

Houston, Texas 77001 CA 5-0331

GEORGE MITCHELL & ASSOCIATES, INC.

12th Floor, Houston Club Bldg.


George Mitchell CA 5-0161

RAYMOND D. REYNOLDS, GEOLOGIST

436 Bankers Mortgage Bldg.


CA 7-5309

SOUTHERN NATURAL GAS COMPANY

Esperson Bldg. P. 0. Box 1513


J. K. Larsen CA 8-9681

OIL FINANCING

BANK OF THE SOUTHWEST, N.A.

P. 0. Box 2629


Frank McGonagill, Vice President CA 5-1551

Manager, Oil & Gas Department Ext. 481

DRILLING COMPANl ES

BAY CITY DRILLING COMPANY

Box 1389 Bay City, Texas

R. Q. McSwane CI 5-8389

BIG "6" DRILLING COMPANY

225 Oil & Gas Bldg. Houston, Texas 77002

Weldon Smith CA 5-6576

SAN IACINTO DRILLING COMPANY

412 San Jacinto Bldg. Houston, Texas 77002

Ben Schnapp CA 7-5354

OTIS RUSSELL DRILLING COMPANY

2916 7th Street Bay City, Texas

Otis Russell CA 8-7919

LOG LIBRARIES

CAMBE LOG LIBRARY 718 Milam Street


John Todd B. W. Bown CA 8-3494 - - - -

SEISMOGRAM LIBRARY CORPORATION GULF COAST DIVISION

Texas - Louisiana - Mississippi

3815 Richmond Ave. Houston, Texas 77027 T. Pope MO 7-0916

REPRODUCTION COM PAN1 ES

CARDINAL PRINTING & LETTER SERVICE, INC.

234 Esperson Bldg.


Mrs. Pollyann Howe FA 3-9309

Mrs. Julie Green FA 3-9300 -

HOUSTON BLUE PRINT & STATIONERY CO.

700 Walker


H. H. Yarberry

H. H. Yarberry, Jr. CA 3-4358

RAPID PHOTO COPY COMPANY

417 Gulf Bldg.


J. T. Dillon CA 4-1626

WORKOVER COMPANIES

S & S WELL SERVICE COMPANY

1921 Bank of the Southwest Bldg.

Houston. Texas 77002

(PARTICIPATION IN WORKOVERS AND RE-ENTRIES)

Gene A. Smitherman CA 7-2321

alfouaton 9rol)ogica.L' Socizttj 234 ESPERSON BUILDING

HOUSTON. TEXAS

J . A . WHEELER 1910 MEILS ESPERSON BLDG. BOUSTON, TEXAS

BULK RATE

U. S. POSTAGE P A I D

Houston, Texas Permit No. 5872

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HGS Bulletin Volume 8 No.4 (December 1965) · THE BULLETIN THIS MONTH VOLUME 8 NUMBER 4 Meeting...

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