The 75-mi.-long productive fairway of the Douglas Creek Member of the Green River Formation yields 7 million bbls. of oil and 1 Bcf. of gas annually, largely from two fields. It was not until 13 yrs. after discovery that geologists recognized the broad extent and stratigraphic nature of the accumulation along this trend. A more determined and subjective examination of the specific pay unit, ignoring shows in other Green River members, would have resulted in a much earlier definition of the trend.

Subsidence during Douglas Creek time, transverse to usual northwest-striking Green River stratigraphic trends, caused a temporary but significant shift in shore alignment. The Douglas Creek lake-margin sandstone bodies, which are more "marine" than deltaic in character, trend southwestward.

Recent definitive studies to understand the Douglas Creek trend should hasten new and substantial discoveries along it.

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