ABSTRACT

Three or more anomalous salt trends are currently being shown on the latest maps of the salt stock at Weeks Island, Louisiana, published by various recent authors, in which the anomalous zones are labeled "shear" zones. These trends are being used to aid in the prediction of mining problems and cavern stability, especially at the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). These zones, like most anomalous zones in Gulf Coast salt domes, are not necessarily associated with shearing or faulting, but generally have various origins.

The present authors, based on extensive mapping of the geology as exposed within the salt mines, believe that the most important (north-south) trend is being minimized, while the evidence for two or three other trends, considered by us to be of only average or misinterpreted importance, is being overplayed. The data for the several zones are examined and corrected alignments for the anomalous zones are suggested; some zones are rejected.