Numerous salt-emission areas exist within the Permian outcrop in the Rolling Plains of Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. Sodium chloride waters underlie the area at relatively shallow depths, discharge from salt springs and salt seeps, and greatly impair the quality of ground and surface waters.

A conceptual hydrogeologic model of the Palo Duro Basin, Texas Panhandle, subdivides the basin into three hydrogeologic units: (1) the shallow Ogallala and Dockum aquifers (Upper aquifer), (2) the Permian evaporite aquitard (Evaporite aquitard), and (3) the deep, confined, underpressured, princip

Although plots of pressure versus depth are useful for understanding the hydrodynamics of ground-water systems, they can be difficult to interpret.

Geologic characterization of evaporite deposits as potential host rocks for burial of radioactive waste must include hydrogeologic investigations at both local and regional scales.

Integrated study of the basin structure, tectonic history, rock physics, physical stratigraphy, hydrogeology, geochemistry, natural resources, and geomorphology of the Palo Duro and Dalhart Basins in the Texas Panhandle is part of a national evaluation of ancient salt basins as potential sites fo

Red beds, evaporites, and carbonates of the upper Clear Fork and Glorieta Formations (Permian) of the Texas Panhandle form an association of facies deposited in nearshore and supratidal environments along an arid coastline.

The San Andres evaporitic sequence in the Palo Duro Basin comprises several thick carbonate units in its lower part and many thin units in its upperpart. To the south, across the Northern Shelf of the Midland Basin, evaporites pinch out and carbonates predominate.

The Palo Duro Basin seemingly has all the elements necessary for hydrocarbon generation and accumulation: reservoirs, traps, source rocks, and sufficient thermal maturity. Porous facies in pre-Pennsylvanian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian strata are potential hydrocarbon reservoirs.

The Texas Panhandle traditionally has been an important source of mineral resources, especially petroleum, and resources will continue to contribute heavily to the economy of the area. The seven cross sections of this report synthesize the subsurface geology of the region.

Pennsylvanian clastic and carbonate strata were deposited in a variety of environments within the Palo Duro Basin. Maximum accumulation (totaling 750 m or 2,400 ft) occurred along a northwest-southeast axis.