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    Continental (Terrestrial) Environments 8.1 INTRODUCTION We turn now to the study of continental (terrestrial) depositional systems, Geologists recognize four major kinds of continental environments: fluvial (alluvial fans and rivers), desert, lacustrine (lake), and glacial. Although treated in this book as separate depositional systems, similar kinds of sediments can be generated in more than one of these environments. For example, colian (windblown) sediments can accumulate both in desert environments and in some parts of glacial environments. Lacustrine sediments form in lakes in any environment, including deserts and glacial settings. Fluvial sediments are deposit- ed mainly in river systems of humid regions, but they are generated also in rivers within desert areas and glacial environments. Facies deposited in continental environments are dominantly sili ral scarcity of fossils and complete absence of marine fossils. Nonsiliciclastic sediments such as freshwater limestones and evaporites ‘occur also in continental environments, but they are distinctly subordinate to si deposits, Continental sedimentary rocks are less abundant overall than are marine and marginal marine sediments, but they nonetheless form an important part of the geologic record in some areas. Tertiary fluvial sediments of the Rocky Mountain-Great Plains region of the United States, Jurassic eolian sandstones of the Colorado Plateau, Tertiary lacustrine sediments (Green River Formation) of Wyoming and Colorado, and the late Paleozoic glacial deposits of South Africa and other parts of ancient Gondwanaland, are all examples of continental deposits. Some terrestrial sediments hi ince. They may contain impor. tant quantities of natural gas and petroleum, coal, oil shale, and uranium. We now examine, in turn, each of the major conti rental environments. lastic sediments characterized by fe economic signifi 8.2 FLUVIAL SYSTEMS osits, also referred to as alluvial deposits, encompass a wide spectrum of sediments generated by the activities of s, and associated gravity-flow processes. Such deposits occur atthe present time under a variety of climatic sonditions and in various continental settings ranging from desert areas to humid and glacial regions. Although alluvial set- sings can be classified in many ways (e.g., Collinson, 1996) and many subenvironments of the fluvial system can be recog. sized, most ancient fluvial deposits can be assigned to one of two broad environmental settings: alluvial fan and river. These vironments may be interrelated and overlapping. Shove Fars, DEFINITION AND DEPOSITIONAL SETTING Alluvial fans are deposits with gross shapes approximating a segment of a one and exhibiting a convex-up cross-sectional profile (Fig. 8.1). Many have fairly steep depositional slopes. Sediments on alluvial fans are typically poorly sorted and include abundant gravel-size detritus. Modem alluvial fans are particularly com- mon in areas of high relief, generally at the base of a mountain range, where an abundant supply of sediment is available. In ‘many cases, they form downslope from major fault scarps. They occur both in sparsely vegetated arid or semiarid regions, where sediment transport occurs infrequently but with great violence during sudden cloudbursts, and in more humid areas, where rainfall is intense. In arid or semiarid settings, alluvial fans may pass downslope into desert-floor environments with wage, including playa lake environments. In humid regions, they may merge downslope with alluvial or deltaic plains and beaches or tidal flats, or they may even build into lakes or the ocean. Fans that build into standing bodies of water are called fan deltas (Chapter 9). Along mountain fronts, alluvial fans developed in adjacent drainage systems may merge Jaterally to form an extensive piedmont, called a bajada, FIGURE 8.1. Aerial view of a debris: flow-dominated alluvial fan at the mouth of a canyon in the steep east wall of Death Valley, California. The highway gives the scale [Photograph by John Shelton | Part 4 * Depositional Environments On the basis of depositional process, alluvial fans can be divided into debris-flow= dominated fans and stream-flow-dominated fans (Fig. 8.2). Although modern alluvial fans are ‘common, the features that characterize alluvial fans deposits and that distinguish them from ‘uiner Troviah deposns are controversial. Some authors (e.g., Bliir and McPherson, 19938) regard alluvial fans as relatively small-scale features with steep slopes (between 1.5°-25°) that were de= posited mainly by sediment-gravity flows, particularly debris flows, and upper-flow-regime fluid flows. According to this definition, many fluvial deposits originally considered to be fans are net true alluvial fans. Instead, they would be called distributary fluvial systems or braid deltas (see discussion by Miall, 1996, 246). Stanistreet and McCarthy (1993) propose a broader spectrum of fan types that include large fans with well-defined fluvial channels, such as the giant Kosi Fan of India and the huge Okavango Fan of Botswana, Africa (Fig. 8.3), as well as smaller fans such as the Yana Fan of Alaska (Fig. 8.4), SEDIMENTARY PROCESSES ON FANS As flows emerge from confined channels in a mounta front onto a fan, they are free to spread out, and water may infiltrate ino the fan. Stream power is thus reduced, leading to deposition. Sediment-gravity flows, including debris flows and mud flows, are dominant transport and depositional processes on many fans in both arid-semiarid re gions and humid settings. Debris-flow deposits (c.¢., Fig. 2.11) are characteristically poorly sorted and lacking in sedimentary structures except possible reverse graded bedding in their basal parts. They may contain blocks of various sizes, including large boulders, and they are typ= ically impermeable and nonporous owing to their high content of muddy matrix. Both clast-rich and clast-poor debris flows can be differentiated. Debris flows commonly “freeze up” and stop flowing after relatively short distances of transport over lower slopes on the fan; however, some flows have been reported to travel distances of up to 24 km (15 mi) (Sharp and Nobles, 1953), Mud flows are similar to debris flows but consist mainly of sand-size and finer sediments, Landslides are commonly associated with debris flows, and in many cases landslide deposits form a source of sediment for the debris flows. The surface of debris-flow-dominated fans tends tw be steep with litle vegetation (e.g., Fig. 8.1). Stream-flow (fluid-flow) processes take place on all types of alluvial fans and are the prin cipal transport mechanism on stream-flow dominated fans. Two types of strean are operative: sheetflood and incised channel flow (Blair and McPherson, 1994b). Sheetfood is ‘abroad expanse of unconfined, sediment-laden runoff water moving downslope, commonly pro- duced by catastrophic discharge. Sediment concentration in water flows is typically about 20 percent; flows containing between about 20-45 percent sediment are referred to as hypercon: centrated. Incised-channel flow takes place through channels, 1-4 m high, incised into the upper fan, These channels facilitate movement of sediment-gravity flows and sheetfloods downslope. flow processes : . . L - s i eT Chapter 8 + Continental (Terrestrial) Environments 213, tobe Recent debris tow eens Teveos& lobes 8 _ illustrating the depositional features of (A) debristiow and (6) stream low dominated alta fens egjacent —_ Sctive normal faults. [Modified from Blair and McPherson, 1994, alluvial fans fand their natural datincton from rivers based on merohology.hyraulic races sedimentary procerts, and faces kiran sore: aseonblages: four Sedimentary Si on Research v.34, Fig. 19-455, biotbaton tot Distakfan reproduced by permission of the Society ‘Srrascn” —SandSHFt Atv dapononal be for sedimentary Gelogy! (DEBRIS FLOW FANS: yy LOW SINUOUSITY / MEANDERING > “Sone savant Fa e pemvalien & LUMA FANS YQ . TTROLLHEIM FAN (DEATH VALLEY) FIGURE 8.3. Schematic representation of some Recent ‘subaerial alluvial fan systems [From Stanistreet and McCarthy, } 1993, The Okavango Fan and the ‘OKAVANGO FAN (LW BOTSWANA) (SE ALASKA) kos FAN classification of suberal fan LINO) systems: Sedimentary Geology, S \ SEES 85,Fig.10,p. 127. Reproduced by - permission } 214 Part 4 » Deposttional Environments FIGURE 6.4 Aerial view of the Yana outwash fan, Chugach Mountains, southeast Alaska, [From Boothroyd, . and Ashley, G. Process bar morphology, and sedimentary structures on braided outwash fans, northwestern Gulf of Alaska. SEPM Special Publication 23, p. 196: Fig 38. Reproduced by permission] M, 1975, After deposition by debris-flow or stream-flow processes occurs, subsequent surficial reworking can take place by discharge from rainfall or snowmelt, eolian (wind) activity, and bioturbation by plants and animals DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF ALLUVIAL FANS Alluvial fans are cone-shaped to arcuate in plan view, with network of branching distributary channels that cross the fan (Figs. 8.1, 8.2). The long profile, from fanhead to fantoe, is commonly concave upward; the greatest slope occurs at the fan apex and decreases down the fan. The transverse or cross-fan profi generally convex upward. Alluvial fan sediments are dominated by gravelly deposits, which typically show down-fan decrease in grain size and bed thickness and an increase in sediment sorting. Debris-flow-dominated fans are characterized by lobes of poorly sorted, coarse sedi ment, commonly with a muddy matrix. Stream-flow sediments constitute more sheetlike de- Posits of gravel, sand, and silt that may be moderately well sorted, cross-bedded, laminated, or nearly structureless. Hooke (1967) suggested that runoff in the coarse deposits of the upper fan may percolate through the subsurface and rapidly deposit a gravel lobe as a sieve deposit. Presumably, highly Permeable gravel deposits are generated that allow water to pass through rather than over the de: Posits, holding back only the coarser material. Sieve deposits have long been considered to be distinguishing features of alluvial fans; however, Blair and McPherson (1994b, 376) question the validity of the sieve concept, suggesting instead that most so-called sieve lobes are actually de- bris-flow deposits. Roger Hooke (personal communication, 2004) sees no reason to change his mind about the concept of sieve lobes, and maintains that the concept is still valid and useful Many individual beds in alluvial fans may display no detectable vertical grain-size trends; however, others may become either finer or coarser upward. Overall, alluvial-fan deposits tend. to be characterized by strongly developed thickening- and coarsening-upward successions, caused by active fan progradation or outbuilding. Nonetheless, some fans display thinning- and. fining-upward successions, which indicate relative inactivity of depositional processes or fan retrogradation (retreat) (Nilsen, 1982). The thickness of these fining- or coarsening-upward suc: cessions may be hundreds or even thousand of meters. For example, Miocene alluvial-fan ‘deposits of the San Onofre Breccia near Dana Point, southern California, and Devonian alluvial fan deposits along the northern margin of the Hornelen Basin, Norway. Alluvial fan deposits grade laterally into nonfan deposits such as fluvial-plain sediments, windblown deposits, or playa-lake sediments, ANCIENT ALLUVIAL-FAN DEPOSITS Alluvial fans may have been particularly important in Precambrian and early Paleozoic time, before the appearance of land plants that could provide an adequate vegetation cover to inhibit erosion; however, alluvial-fan deposits have been reported S£ogr eeRaee R TRRORERPO REDE B Chapter 8 + Continental (Terrestrial) Environments 215, from stratigraphic successions of many other ages. Reported occurrences include alluvial-fan de- posits in the Devonian-Hornelen Basin of Norway, the Devonian-Carboniferous of the Gaspé Peninsula, Canada, Permo-Carboniferous successions in England, the Triassic Mount Toby Conglomerate of Massachusetts, and the Jurassic Todos Santos Formation of New Mexico, as well as Tertiary examples in the United States and other parts of the world (see listing by Blair and McPherson, 1994a). See also Harvey et al. (2005) for discussion of numerous Tertiary and Quaternary fans from many continents of the world. The Cannes de Roche Formation (Carboniferous) of the Gaspé Peninsula, Canada, pro- Vides a Paleozoic example (Rust, 1981). A schematic depositional model for this formation is shown in Figure 8.5. The Lower Member of the formation, interpreted as alluvial-fan deposits, consists of coarse red breccia interbedded with silty sandstone and mudstone. The breccia clasts are predominately siliceous limestone, These coarse breccia units are interpreted as debris-flow deposits on the basis of poor sorting and lack of stratification, Interbedded, horizontally stratified and cross-stratified red breccia, sandstone, and mudstone in the Lower Member, as well as the Middle Member, are interpreted to have formed by stream-flow processes, The Middle Member is the finer grained, down-fan equivalent of the coarse proximal deposits of the Lower Member. ‘The Upper Member of the formation consists of bluff to gray conglomerate with rounded cob- bles, sandstone, and mudstone containing abundant plant fragments. This member is considered to be the deposits of a nearby river that flowed across the alluvial plain, king. River Systems nby River systems through time have been more important as sediment transport conduits to lakes and oceans than as sites of deposition. Nonetheless, rivers deposit sediment and some of this sed- iment is preserved under certain conditions to become part of the ancient sedimentary record. To. recognize and understand the deposits of ancient river systems, it is useful to examine the chan- nl shapes, sediment transport processes, and sediment characteristics of modern rivers. CHANNEL FORM According to Leeder (1999, 311), the channel form of rivers can be described in terms of the deviation of the channel from a straight path (sinuosity) the number of channels (single or multiple), the degree of channel subdivision by large bedforms (bars) and accreting islands around which channel reaches diverge and converge (braiding), and more permanent distributive channel subdivision into stationary smaller channels (separated by floodplains) that cach contain their own channels and point bars (anastomosing). (According to Makaske, 2001, an anastomosing river is composed of two or more interconnected channels that enclose floodbasins.) Some of these features, such as the size and shape of bars, vary as a function of river levels; that is, they may appear differently at low-water stage than at flood stage. It has been common practice in the past to classify rivers into three main types on the basis of channel form: meandering (single-channel; e.g., Fig. 8.6), braided (multip FIGURE 8.5 Alluvial fan depositional model, the posits Cannes de Roche Formation (Carboniferous), ts, oF Gaspé Peninsula, Canada, (Redrawn from Rust 1981, Alluvial deposits and tectonic style: Devonian and Carboniferous successions in eastern Gaspé, in Miall, A.D. (ed), Sedimentation ant in and tectonics in alluvial basins: Geological ide an basement ‘Association of Canada Special Paper 23, Fig. 12, (out gry cong Sted ‘sandstone. mone) .65, reproduced by permission. | 216 Part 4 Depositional Environments e., Fig. 8.7), and anastomosing (e.g., Fig. 8.8). Some geologists now suggest that such rigid classification is oversimplified and unsatisfactory because the different classes of channel patterns are not mutually exclusive (c.g., many rivers show combinations of sinuosity and braid ing in different reaches of the river), also, different parameters are used to define the differe patterns (e.g., Bridge, 2003, 147; Leeder, 1999, 311), Even so, geologists continue to refer to rivers by using these channel-form names. CAUSES OF SINUOSITY AND BRAIDING The factors that influence channel sinuosity and braiding have been proposed to include the magnitude and variability of stream discharge, channel slope, grain size of sediment, bed roughness, the amount and kind of sediment load (bedload vs, suspended load), and the stability of the channel banks. These factors are complex, interrelated, and not fully understood. The exact causes of meanglering and braiding ren somewhat obscure. FIGURE 8.6 Meanders in Laramie River, Albany County, Wyoming 1949. Note meander scars formed as the stream ‘migrated across its flood plain. Photograph courtesy of the U. S. Geological Survey Photographic Library. FIGURE 8.7. Braid bars in a braided lower reach of the Kongakut River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, northeastern Alaska, Chapter 8 + Continental (Terrestrial) Environments 217 Bridge (2003, 153) suggests that the geometry of alluvial rivers is mainly controlled by flow and sedimentary processes that operate dur- ing seasonal floods when discharge is maximal. Grains size of transport- ced sediment is proportional to channel slope. In turn, grain size affects channel roughness, which increases with increasing stream power. The degree of braiding apparently increases as water dis- hi ases for a given slope and bed-sediment size, or as slope is, and increased for a given wafer discharge and bed-sediment size. Braiding ‘occurs at lower slopes and/or discharge as bed m load Discharge variability has also been suggested to promote braiding; how- Rex, ever, discharge variability may not actually be a critical factor. Many ain, rivers with constant discharge display along-stream variations in chan- nel pattern ‘Sinuosity of channels increases with their width/depth for low powered, single-channel streams, but decreases with width/depth for ‘multiple-channel rivers. Sinuosity of single-channel rivers also increases, terial size decreases. With decreasing bed-material size for single channel rivers with a le discharge and slope. camel: It has also been su: amounts of (coarse) bedload relative to suspei gested that rivers which transport large Jed load tend to be asso- ciated with easily eroded banks of sand or gravel and that these rivers have large channel slopes and stream power. Such rivers have been as- sumed to be J thus prone to braiding, By contrast large suspended loads were assumed to be characteristic of single-channel rivers of high sinuosity. Such rivers are allegedly associated with stable, cohesive muddy banks and low stream gradient and stream ower. The: Bridge (2003, 157) reports that many braided rivers are sandy and silty (c-g., Brahmaputra in Bangledesh, Yellow in China, Platte in Nebraska), ‘and many single-channel, sinuous rivers are sandy and gravelly (Madison in Montana, South Esk in Scotland, Yukon in Alaska), Bridge also suggests that banks that erode with difficulty, stabilized by vegeta tion or early cementation, may not have an important influ equilibrium channel pattern, as long as the flood flow is capable of eroding banks and transporting sediment. rally unstable generalities are not applicable n many cases. For example, SEDIMENT TRANSPORT PROCESSES IN RIVERS Channel ansport Sediment transport (and erosion) inthe higher raient, proximal reaches of rivers occurs mainly within the river hannels: Downstream flow of water around channe! bends leads to hel ical spiraling of flow, out toward the surface and inward at the bed. The channels are characterized by the presence of bars. Point bars (also re- FIGURE 8.8 Landsat photograph of the Bramaputra River fered 10 as side bars and lateral bars) are attached tothe river bank mediately noth of ts conlence with the Ganges (e4., Fig. 89). The basic dynamics of flow around meanders leads to Shanna patterns eto Breas 1S, 1555: The Interaction sion on the outside parts of bends and deposition on the point bars. between channel geometry, water ow ealment Helical flow transports sediment, eroded from the cut bank, across the _ansport and deposition in braided tives, n Bes. Land stream along the bottom and deposits it by lateral accretion on the _¢-5: Bristow (eds), Braided rivers, Geological Society point bar. The resulting point-bar sediments are characterized by cross (o7don special Publication No.7, Fig. 4p. 21, reproduced bedding and general fining upward toward the top ofthe bar (Fig. 89), In braided rivers, braid bars also called channel, media, longitdinal, and transverse bars, as well as sand flats) are present in midchannel position (e.g, Fig. 8.7). These braid bars can be thought of as double-sided point bars. As the current splits around the upstream end ofthe bar, helical flow causes lateral accretion on both sides of the bat. Because braid bars are free to move, in contrat to point bars, scouring and subsequent dltlike depos ton takes place at Thus, braid bars ean migrate downstream. On the other hand, some braid bars emain stable long enough to be colonized by vegetation, thus forming islands e downstream end of the b 218 Part 4 * Depositional Environments FIGURE 8.9 The morphological elements of a meandering rver system, Note: a thalweg isa line connecting the deepest points along a stream channel; it is commonly the line of maximum current velocity. [From Walker, RG, and D. J. Cant, 1984, Sandy fluvial systems, in R. G. Walker (ed), Facies ‘models: Geoscience Canada Reprint Se. 1, Fig. 1, p. 72, reprinted by permission of Geological Association of Canada.) Floodplain Deposition Floodplains are strips of land adjacent to rivers that are commonly inundated during seasonal floods. Floodplains can be present along both braided and meandering. rivers, although they appear to be particularly common along single-channel rivers. When the stream floods and overtops its banks, deposition of fine sediment occurs on natural levees, in adjacent floodbasins, and in oxbow lakes (Fig. 8.9). Deposition from overbank waters results in ‘upbuilding of the sediment surface and is thus called vertical accretion, in contrast to the lateral accretion that takes place on point bars. Natural-levee deposits form primarily on the concave or steep-bank side of meander loops immediately adjacent to the channel as a result of sudden loss of competence, and they typically contain horizontally stratified fine sands overlain by laminated mud. Floodplain deposits are fine-grained sediments that settle out of suspension from. floodwaters carried into the floodbasin, which may be a broad, low-relief plain, a swamp, or even, a shallow lake. These thin, fine-grained deposits commonly contain considerable plant debris and may be bioturbated by land-dwelling organisms or plant roots, Crevasse-splay deposits may also occur on floodplains where rising floodwaters breach natural levees (Fig. 8.9) Sedimentation from traction and suspension occurs rapidly after breaching as water containing both coarse bedload sediment and suspended sediment debouches suddenly onto the plain, re sulting in graded deposits that may resemble a Bouma turbidite sequence (Walker and Cant, 1979). A river may also abandon its channel and move, relatively suddenly, to another position ‘on the floodplain, This process is termed avulsion, (CHARACTERISTICS OF FLUVIAL DEPOSITS _ I is clear from the preceding discussion that sedi- ‘ments can be deposited in a variety of subenvironments within the fluvial system: on point bars and in channels of meandering rivers, in braid bars of braided rivers, and in natural levees, flood. basins, and oxbow lakes of floodplains. Therefore, itis difficult to generalize about the charac- teristics of fluvial deposits. Nevertheless, fluvial sediments have some common properties. Most fluvial deposits consist of sand and gravel, although mud may be common in floodplain deposits of meandering streams. Some braided channels may also have been formed in muddy sediments ‘on floodplains; however, the mud was probably transported as sand-sized pellets (Bridge, 2003, 157). Sorting of most fluvial sediments ranges from moderate to poor. The deposits of point bars and braid bars generally display fining-upward grain size owing to the helical nature of sediment transport on bars. Migration of meanders also produces a general finjng-upward succession as channel lag deposits are overlain by fining-upward point bar deposits and, in turn, silty and ‘muddy floodplain deposits. Multiple episodes of channel shifting and bar migration in braided rivers produce vertical stacking of bar deposits, perhaps separated by thin mudstones (Fig. 8.10). Multiple episodes of meander migration produce vertical stacking of fining-upward sue ccessions in meandering-river deposits (Fig. 8.10B). See Miall (1996) for additional examples of vertical profiles in fluvial sediments, Fluvial deposits commonly display abundant traction structures, including planar and trough cross bedding, upper-flow-regime planar bedding, and ripple-marked surfaces. Sedimentary structures yield unidirectional, downstream paleocurrent directions that tend to be i g = « s 8 = 4 * > 3 . . . L only ring 1 the ts in teral iden n by Chapter 8 + Continental (Terrestrial) Environments 219 ® Sandy braided Sandy meandering ‘revass splay channels ‘th point bar FIGURE 8.10 Examples of lithofacies and vertical Profiles in sediment from a sandy braided.river (A) ‘and a sandy meandering river (8). (After Miall, A.D. 1996, The geology of fluvial deposits, Fig. 880, p. Prana aminated 208, and 8 86, p. 204, Springer-Verlag, reproduced ‘san by permision) ‘more variable in meandering-river deposits than in braided-river deposits. Fluvial deposits may contain a variety of fossil hard parts of terre nals as well as trace fossils created by both animals and plants (c.g., Bridge, 2003, 374), ial ani FLUVIAL ARCHITECTURE Lateral migration of braided rivers leaves sheetlike or wedge-shaped deposits of channel and bar complexes (Cant, 1982). Lateral migration combined with aggrada- tion leads to deposition of sheet sandstones or conglomerates that enclose very thin, nonpersis: tent shales within coarser sediments (Fig. 8.11). Migration of meandering streams, which are confined within narrow, sandy meander belts of stream floodplains, generate linear “shoestring” sand bodies oriented parallel to the river course. These shoestring sands are surrounded by finer rained, overbank floodplain sediments, Periodic stream avulsion may create new channels over time, leading to formation of several linear sand bodies within a major stream valley (Fig. 8.12) ‘The term fluvial (alluvial) architecture (Allen, 1978) refers to the three-dimensional geom- try, proportion, and spatial distribution of the various types of alluvial deposits in sedimentary basins, as in Figures 8.11 and 8.12. Fluvial architecture concerns the large-scale, long-term as. Pects of alluvial erosion and deposition. The study of three-

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