Title: The Blackwater Draw Formation (Quaternary): A 1-4-plus-m.y. record of eolian sedimentation and soil formation on the Southern High Plains
Abstract: Research Article| December 01, 1989 The Blackwater Draw Formation (Quaternary): A 1-4-plus-m.y. record of eolian sedimentation and soil formation on the Southern High Plains VANCE T. HOLLIDAY VANCE T. HOLLIDAY 1Department of Geography, Science Hall, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information VANCE T. HOLLIDAY 1Department of Geography, Science Hall, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1989) 101 (12): 1598–1607. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1989)101<1598:TBDFQA>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation VANCE T. HOLLIDAY; The Blackwater Draw Formation (Quaternary): A 1-4-plus-m.y. record of eolian sedimentation and soil formation on the Southern High Plains. GSA Bulletin 1989;; 101 (12): 1598–1607. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1989)101<1598:TBDFQA>2.3.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 Southern High Plains of northwestern Texas and eastern New Mexico are mantled by a vast (>100,000 km2) sheet of Quaternary eolian sediment locally as much as 27 m thick and termed the "Blackwater Draw Formation." These sediments generally fine from southwest to northeast, exhibiting a linear relationship of decreasing sand content and sand size and increasing silt content with increasing distance, indicating the source area to be the Pecos River valley. As many as six well-developed buried soils (2.5YR to 5YR hues, Bt horizons 1-2 m thick, Stage II-III calcic horizons), similar to the regional Paleustalf and Paleustoll surface soils, occur in the formation. The buried soils indicate episodic sedimentation separated by long periods of landscape stability. Eolian sedimentation probably occurred during prolonged aridity, and stability and pedogenesis likely obtained during subhumid to semiarid conditions, similar to those of the late Quaternary. The presence of the 0.62-m.y. Lava Creek B Ash and the 1.4-m.y. Guaje Ash in the formation shows that the deposit accumulated throughout most of the Quaternary. Data from paleomagnetic, thermoluminescence, and radiocarbon studies suggest that each cycle of sedimentation-stability lasted for several hundred thousand years and that the last depositional event occurred at least several tens of thousands of years ago. 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.
Publication Year: 1989
Publication Date: 1989-12-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 100
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