Citronelle field, one of Alabama's largest oil fields, was created by one of the many salt structures that occur throughout the southern Mississippi salt basin.

The history of domal movement was determined using computer techniques of conventional mapping and trend-surface analysis based on structural tops and thicknesses of 22 lithostratigraphic field units. Unique statistical parameters for each trend surface were then compared using cluster analysis. The definition of three major episodes of domal movement resulted.

The first episode occurred in the Cretaceous during Tuscaloosa deposition. The second occurred in the Paleocene during Midway deposition, and the third occurred in middle Eocene during Claiborne deposition. A similar history of structural development was determined for two other salt structures along the southern margin of the southern Mississippi salt basin.

This genetic relationship appears to reflect subsidence characteristics within the southern Mississippi salt basin. As such, this relationship may be valuable in better understanding the occurrence of oil and gas reserves in the basin and in future exploration efforts in this mature area.

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