Permian Basin Area example essay topic

Historical Geology of The Permian Basin One of the largest oil producing areas of the world is located in West Texas. This area is known as the Permian Basin. Most of the oil is being produced from rocks formed in the Permian Period. The largest amounts of these rocks are located in the Permian Basin and southeastern New Mexico. That is why this area is known as the Permian Basin. The main features of the Permian Basin was formed in the early part of the Paleozoic area but it wasn't until the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian Periods that the folding occurred in which formed the outlines of the basin as it is presented to us today.

(Intro to Petroleum Geology of the Permian Basin) Our basic composition of the Permian Basin is made up of sand, distance, and mountain regions. We also have the desert region in which tons of Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic rocks can be found. There are also a lot of crusted plates, and violent volcanoes that are located in our region. In our Big Bend and Fort Davis areas, when traveling down the highway you may find many sedimentary deep filled basins and uplifted landscapes where you can tell erosion played a huge part in their current forms.

(Roadside Geology of Texas) The earth as we know it can be divided from the center outward into three concentric shells. These shells are known as the Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, and the atmosphere. Basically these are the general features of the Earth and I am going to give you a description in which you may be able to define the uses of these in our every day life. The Lithosphere: (rock sphere) is the solid sphere in which we live, farm and build our buildings of our cities. It is 8,000 miles in diameter and 26,000 miles in circumference. The outer few miles of lithosphere is made up of rock called crust.

Hydrosphere: This is where the water sphere is located. It is made up of everything that contains water: Oceans, Rivers, Lakes, as well as the groundwater. The main purpose we use this for is to drill wells into so that we may obtain the water that we use in our homes. Atmosphere: This is the outer shell and it is made up of the air.

It extends outward at least 200 miles from the surface of the crust, but half of its mass is within 12 miles of sea level. The atmosphere is important to all living things because it gives us oxygen which is the important factor to process life. (Intro to Petroleum Geology of the Permian Basin) The feature that makes up our lovely West Texas region A.K.A. the Permian Basin, is three rock types. These are found exclusively in the Big Bend, and Marathon regions. These rock types are Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic. These are found throughout most of the Permian Basin area.

Here are some brief definitions in which you may define these rock types. These definitions come from the book (Intro to Petroleum Geology of the Permian Basin). Igneous Rocks: formed by the cooling and solidification of molten material called magma. Sedimentary Rocks: formed from particles that were deposited by water, air, or ice.

Metamorphic Rocks: formed from sedimentary and igneous rocks, but altered by heat, pressure, and fluids to a different form and mineral composition. Erosion as mentioned earlier has played a huge role in defining and shaping our scenic view and landscapes of West Texas. When looking up at one of these magnificent ancient volcanoes, you can estimate pretty much exactly how much rock has been weathered, eroded and removed from this part of the country. Another example of erosion is pretty much given at the bottom of every mountain found in West Texas.

You can see it in the talus piles and even in the dry climate of this part of the state. (Roadside Geology of Texas).