ABSTRACT

Seismic and well data at Palestine, Keechi, and Butler Domes in East Texas show a sequence of events for the development of the salt stock that is similar to that described in the literature. However, the salt dome overhang or canopy appears to result from a second period of growth after a cycle of burial. The overhang canopy develops because the stock growth is constrained by overlying beds. The overlying beds are uplifted and the salt spreads laterally along bedding planes that are splayed apart. Canopy growth ends when the underlying salt chamber is evacuated and a block of sediments is down dropped along a "vent closing fault". The sequence of events has been generalized into a model that applies to domes in intermediate depth basins.

Since the salt stock is smaller than previously expected, oil and gas prospects may be made closer to the salt stock beneath the canopy. Better interpretations of the structure below the canopy can be made, and better estimates of the volume of salt involved in the creation of the diapir can be determined.