Upper Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene deposits in the subsurface of the central Coastal Plain of Texas were subdivided into six operational units comprising the surface-defined Fleming, Goliad, Willis, Lissie, and Beaumont Formations.
The Salado-Tansill and Alibates Formations are the youngest evaporite and carbonate facies within a thick Permian sequence of evaporites, carbonates, and red beds in the Texas Panhandle.
The third year of research was highlighted by the integration of regional basinal studies with growth histories for specific domes, studies of cap-rock diagenesis and salt deformation, preliminary studies of ground-water flow and geochemistry around Oakwood Dome, and preliminary studies of microseismicity in the Mount Enterprise fault zone.
Oakwood Salt Dome in Leon and Freestone Counties, East Texas, is under consideration as a nuclear waste repository. The surficial geology above the dome provides information needed to evaluate the last stages of salt growth in Oakwood Dome and has a bearing on studies of ground-water flow patterns.