Abstract

The tectonic events of the Pennsylvanian Period, and the resulting patterns of deposition, caused major changes in the paleography of the southern Mid-Continent. Principal among these events was the development of the Anadarko basin as a sediment trap. A major change in regionwide depositional patterns resulted from the shift of the principal sediment source from north to south in the Desmoinesian to Missourian.

The cyclic nature of Pennsylvanian deposits is particularly apparent in the southern Mid-Continent and reflects rapid, widespread but repetitive changes in depositional environments.

During the Pennsylvanian, the southern Mid-Continent was a region of active tectonic elements that was being subjected to a major marine transgression. Pennsylvanian history of the region can best be characterized as the development of a deep-water basin and its filling by westward-prograding sediments south of a stable shelf.