Atlas of Salt Domes in the East Texas Basin

Data collected during the last 5 years on the 15 shallow salt diapirs that extend upward to shallow depths (<4,000 ft, 1,220 m) in the East Texas Basin are presented here in graphical and tabular form. East Texas Basin salt diapirs penetrate and have controlled the deformation of Jurassic and younger units in the central part of the basin. The regional geologic setting of the salt diapirs is summarized, and the meaning and significance of descriptive terms are discussed. This compendium contains both primary and secondary data. Primary data are observations of dome shape, depth, structure, and resources. Examples of primary data are depths to cap rock and salt, cross-sectional area and axial ratio, crestal area and percentage planar crest, axial plunge, tilt azimuth and tilt distance, structural symmetry, side convergence, overhang azimuth and overhang percentage, and a new quantitative classification of dome shape. The structural styles of strata around each dome are also described in terms of the size of the rim syncline and drag zone around the diapir, angular relations between the strata and the salt, and style of faulting. Hydrocarbon production histories, traps, and existing uses of each dome for storage or raw materials are summarized. Secondary data include deductions and inferences based on the primary data. The growth evolution from the pillow stage, through the diapir stage, to the post-diapir stage is described, together with unconformities resulting from erosional breaching of the dome in the past. Structural stability and hydrologic integrity of each dome are assessed in terms of the age of the most recent known deformation. Geomorphic and hydrologic evidence of dome uplift, subsidence, or brine leakage is given, as is a new classification of drainage patterns above domes.