Influences of structure on Jurassic depositional patterns and uranium occurrences, northwestern New Mexico

Summary of the geology and resources of uranium in the San Juan Basin and adjacent region, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado

“…In the southwest part of the basin it (Harshbarger and others, 1957;Huffman and Lupe, 1977). The sandstones are lenticular and exhibit low-angle wedge and tabular type cross…”

“…• stratification typical of fluvial processes. Some of the sandstones, however, are considered to be eolian in origin (Harshbarger and others, 1957, p. 53; Huffman and Lupe, 1977). Deposition of this facies is considered to have taken place at the toe of an alluvial fan that extended northward from west-central New Mexico (Craig and others, 1955;Saucier, 1967).…”

“…These tectonic movements caused folding and flexing in the basin, especially around the southern margin (Hilpert and Moench, 1960). The presence of folds and flexures no doubt influenced the course of sedimentation in the basin (Hilpert and Moench, 1960;Huffman and Lupe, 1977). The effect of these structural features on the localization of uranium deposits in the Morrison Formation is more important in the Laguna District and less so in the Ambrosia Lake District (Hilpert, 1969, p. 68, 75).…”