Abstract

Based on 23 measured sections and a 177 m core, a model for the Rush Springs Sandstone (Permian; Guadalupian) of western Oklahoma is presented. We interpret the Rush Springs Sandstone as an ancient erg to erg-margin depositional system. Based on facies relationships, the Rush Springs Sandstone can be divided into three paleoenvironmental belts in west-central Oklahoma. These belts are erg-center, erg-margin, and extradune environments. Outcrop observations suggest that the central portion of the Rush Springs Erg was characterized by compound eolian bedforms several tens of meters high with wet or damp interdunal areas. Paleocurrent data from the Rush Springs Sandstone are in agreement with paleocurrent data from upper Paleozoic eolian sandstones in the Colorado Plateau, and the stratification style of the Rush Springs Sandstone indicates that monsoonal atmospheric circulation controlled eolian deposition of the Rush Springs Erg. Paleocurrent data suggests that the net migration direction of eolian bedforms of the Rush Springs Erg was to the southwest (both present-day coordinates and paleocoordinates).