ABSTRACT

Depositional systems of Virgilian through Leonardian strata indicate an overall marine regression punctuated by several minor transgressions. Depositional environments ranged from shallow marine to alluvial piedmont. Structural geology was an important influence on sedimentation.

The Wichita Mountain Uplift to the north, the Red River Arch, and probably the Ouachita Folded Belt were primary sources of clastic sediments carried into the study area.

Deformation of strata during the Paleozoic was generally associated with two zones of weakness formed by Precambrian tectonism, the Red River Arch and the Amarillo-Wichita Uplift.

Evidence that conditions may have been favorable for uranium mineralization includes surface and subsurface radioactive anomalies. Also of importance is the abundance of arkosic sandstones and conglomerates, moderate abundance of carbonaceous material in cores and bit cuttings and the presence of faults and oil-productive structural traps. Of primary importance is the proximity of a uranium-ion source, the Wichita Granite.