11 A High-resolution Record of Deep-water Processes in a

Confined Paleofjord, Quebrada de las Lajas, Argentina

Mason Dykstra1, Ben Kneller2, and Juan Pablo Milana3
1
Institute for Crustal Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA 2Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom 3CEAZA – Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile

Executive Summary Outcrop Summary

Fjords can become so overdeepened below sea level during protracted glaciations that they fill with hundreds of meters (>1000 Quebrada de las Lajas
ft) of seawater when glacioeustatic rise occurs during and following deglaciation. Fjords, therefore, can host true deep-water environ- Location  
ments, which are commonly laterally confined but longitudinally extensive. Outcrops of ancient paleofjord sediments offer three- Specifics 31°34′17S; 68°25′6W
dimensional views of the evolution of these deep-water, confined sedimentary environments, where the factors controlling sediment Province San Juan
supply are both climatic (deglaciation and eustasy) and tectonic (isostatic rebound). Quebrada de las Lajas, near San Juan, western Country Argentina
Argentina, preserves a Pennsylvanian glacial to postglacial succession that was deposited in an over-deepened paleofjord.
Formation Name Jejenes Formation
The sedimentary succession exposed in the paleofjord is divided into four evolutionary stages: Stage I was an ice-contact delta
Age Pennsylvanian
and proglacial lake, Stage II was a relatively quiet, deep-water marine environment punctuated by turbidity currents, Stage III was an
aggradational confined sheet system, and Stage IV was the subaqueous portion of a progradational, coarsening- and shoaling-upward Retro-arc foreland basin on the eastern side of a mountain range that separated the paleo-
Basin Setting valley from the open ocean to the west. Highly confined local setting in an overdeepened
fan delta. The entire sedimentary succession comprises approximately 350 m (1150 ft) of remaining exposed thickness.
paleofjord.
Each of the four evolutionary stages has distinct architectural characteristics associated with its depositional environment. Stage
I is characterized by predominantly lobe-shaped, sheetlike conglomerate and sandstone bodies associated with the ice-contact delta Basin Size Local mini-basin 15 km2 (1.8 mi2)
and a subaqueous fan. Stage I also preserves several small, turbidite channel bodies and a small-scale, highly aggradational channel- Mixed system, with breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and shale present. The
levee system with a conglomeratic channel axis and thin-bedded sandstone and siltstone levees. Stage II is characterized by thin basal deposits (Stage I – S1) consist of proximal conglomeratic fan-delta and distal deep-
beds of shale and siltstone punctuated by medium beds of sandstone and conglomerate. All of these beds have sheetlike, unconfined water shales and sandstone-filled channels, including a small-scale channel-levee system.
Large portions of the deposits of Stage I failed gravitationally at the end of the stage, which
geometries. Several small, locally confined channel bodies within Stage II are characterized by turbidite sandstone fills and commonly
General Outcrop Description and Stacking Pattern is overlain by a package of black, organic-rich, deep-water marine shales (Stage II). Stage
are located on top of Stage I mass-transport deposits. Stage III is characterized by ubiquitous, thick, sheetlike turbidite sandstone
II consists of two thickening-upward thin-bed successions (T1 and T2). Stage II grades
beds with a very blocky character, which thin toward the margins of the paleofjord. Stage IV is characterized by more localized upward into a succession of coarsening- and thickening-upward, confined, turbidite
(lobe-shaped?), sheetlike sandstone and conglomerate bodies. Mass-transport deposits are common throughout the paleofjord fill. sheet-sandstones with basinwide extent (Stage III – S2). These are overlain by submarine,
They include deformed beds, chaotic and mixed gravels, sands, and fine-grained successions, and slumps and slides of various scales, conglomeratic fan-delta deposits (Stage IV – S3).
including slump bodies >500 m (>1640 ft) long and wide, and more than 50 m (164 ft) thick. Mass-transport deposits are present Stage I represents an ice-contact deltaic margin of a glacier, with some minor subglacial
in all stages, but are most abundant in Stages I and IV. The areal extent of the deposit is 6 km (3.6 mi) long with a width of 200 m deformation, extensive proglacial subaqueous fans, and slope channels in an overdeepened
(656 ft) at the fjord head to 1.0 km (0.6 mi) at the fjord mouth. fjord. Ichnofacies indicate Stage I deltaic and fan deposits were lacustrine. Water depths
varied from 10 m (33 ft) near the delta front to >100 m (>330 ft) near the fjord mouth.
Extensive mass transport at the end of Stage I was linked to glacioeustatic rise and a
marine incursion. Stage II was deposited during the sea-level rise and subsequent relative
Depositional Setting Interpretation
highstand. Water depths reached a minimum of 300 m (989 ft), and were possibly deeper.
Stage III consisted of a confined turbidite sheet system that filled the paleofjord. Stage III
represents a rejuvenation of the depositional systems, possibly linked to the initial stages of
isostatic rebound. This sheet system filled the entire paleofjord and individual event beds
can be correlated across almost the entire field area. Stage IV represents a later period of
isostatic rebound, when the paleofjord was lifted up once again close to sea-level.
Overall Outcrop Dimensions in Panel  
Length 600 m (1970 ft)
Figure 1. A) Location map and
Thickness 190 m (623 ft)
B) regional geologic map of the
Average Net-to-gross 50%
Andean Precordillera, western
Grain-size range Clay to conglomerate
Argentina, showing the field
location. C) Geologic map of Large-scale, mass-transport-related faulting (>20 m [>70 ft] offset) is evident on the east
Other
Quebrada de las Lajas, show- end of the mosaic.
ing the four stages of fjord fill.
Figure modified from Dykstra
(2005).

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Studies in Geology 56
Copyright ©2007 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. DOI: 10.1306/1240895St563284

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 Architectural Element Number on Outcrop Photo or Interpretation Panel Thin-bed Architectural Elements T1 T2
Sheetform Architectural Elements S1 S2 S3 Length >500 m (>1640 ft) >450 m (>1476 ft)
Length 200 m (656 ft) 350 m (1150 ft) 45 m (150 ft) Thickness 75 m (246 ft) 61 m (200 ft)
Thickness 31 m (102 ft) 95 m (312 ft) 8 m (26 ft) Net-to-gross 10% 20%
Net-to-gross 80% 90% 100% Texture — grain-size range; average; Clay to fine-grained sandstone, mostly shale, well-
Clay to conglomerate, mostly shale, well-sorted.
sorting sorted.
Outcrop orientation for this element Approximately 45° Approximately 45° Approximately 45° Outcrop orientation for this element Approximately 45° Approximately 45°
Average paleocurrent 50° 60° and 240°
Average paleocurrent 50° 40° 60° Typical facies succession Ta–Te Ta–Te
Normally graded, pebble-cobble Bouma a-d sandstone beds. Normally graded conglomerates; Sand-bed Architecture
Typical facies succession conglomerates; Bouma b-c sand- Bouma b-c sandstones.
Bed-length range >500 m (>1640 ft) >450 m (>1476 ft)
stone beds.
Bed-length average NA NA
Sand/Conglomerate-bed Architecture
Bed-thickness range 0.05–3.8 m (0.15–12.5 ft) 0.05–1.2 m (0.15–4 ft)
Bed-length range 5–60 m (16–197 ft) >350 m (>1150 ft) NA
Bed-thickness average 0.56 m (1.8 ft) 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Bed-length average 10 m (33 ft) >350 m (>1150 ft) NA
Shale-bed Architecture
Bed-thickness range 0.2–3.5 m (0.7–12 ft) 0.05–8 m (0.15–26 ft) 0.5–4.8 m (1.6–16 ft)
Bed-length range >500 m (>1640 ft) >450 m (>1476 ft)
Bed-thickness average 0.9 m (3 ft) NA 1.8 m (5.9 ft)
Bed-length average NA NA
Clay to conglomerate; medium- Clay to medium-grained sand- Medium-grained sand to boulder
Texture — grain-size range; average; grained sandstone; very poorly stone; medium-grained sand- conglomerate; medium-grained Bed-thickness range NA NA
sorting sorted stone; well-sorted sandstone; well sorted to poorly Bed-thickness average NA NA
sorted
Shale-bed Architecture
Bed-length range 1–10 m (3.3–33 ft) 100–350 m (330–1150 ft) NA
Bed-length average 3 m (10 ft) 100–350 m (330–1150 ft) NA
Bed-thickness range 0.05–0.3 m (0.16–1.0 ft) 0.02 m–0.3 m (0.1–1.0 ft) NA
Bed-thickness average 0.14 m (0.5 ft) NA NA

Figure 2. Detail of the very thick-bedded sheet sandstone in the S2 part of the succession.
Figure 3. Stages I and II, showing the succession from the base of the Pennsylvanian paleovalley fill, sit-
ting on the San Juan Formation limestone subcrop, the entirety of Stage I fill in this setting (this is a distal
location, so it is thin), and the lowermost thin-bed succession of Stage II. Note the very well-bedded nature
of the Stage II part of the outcrop and the high degree of lateral continuity, which generally is greater than
the extent of the outcrops.

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A High-resolution Record of Deep-water Processes in a Confined Paleofjord, Quebrada de las Lajas, Argentina

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 Figure 4. Interpreted photomosaic and sedimentary log
through all four stages of fjord fill. Note the large-scale
mass-transport-related thrust faults (black dashed lines).
The base of the succession overlies the lower Paleozoic
San Juan Formation Limestone, and the separation is
shown on this figure by white dashed lines. Sedimentary
log modified from Dykstra (2005).

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