U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Pamphlet to accompany

Scientific Investigations Map 3304

Detailed North-South Cross Section Showing 

Environments of Deposition, Organic Richness, and 

Thermal Maturities of Lower Tertiary Rocks in the 

Uinta Basin, Utah
COVER. Evacuation Creek, Uinta Basin, northeastern Utah. Photograph by R.C. Johnson, 

USGS, 1981.
Detailed North-South Cross Section 

Showing Environments of Deposition, 

Organic Richness, and Thermal Maturities 

of Lower Tertiary Rocks in the Uinta Basin, 

Utah

By Ronald C. Johnson

Pamphlet to accompany

Scientific Investigations Map 3304

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2014

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as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Johnson, R.C., Detailed north-south cross section showing environments of deposition, organic richness, and thermal 

maturities of lower Tertiary rocks in the Uinta Basin, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3304, 

12 p., 1 sheet, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3304.

ISSN 2329-132X (online)
iii

Contents

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Stratigraphic Subdivisions of the Green River Formation.......................................................................1

Variations in Thermal Maturity Using Rock-Eval and Vitrinite Reflectance ........................................7

Fischer Assay Analysis.................................................................................................................................8

Pressure Gradients........................................................................................................................................8

Discussion.......................................................................................................................................................8

References Cited............................................................................................................................................9

Figures

1. Map showing extent of Uinta, Piceance, and Greater Green River Basins, and the 

approximate extent of oil shale in the Green River Formation..............................................2

2. West-east cross section across the Uinta Basin, the Douglas Creek arch, and the 

Piceance Basin showing stratigraphic subdivisions, lithologies and variations in 

thermal maturity measured using vitrinite reflectance..........................................................4

3. Index map showing detailed cross sections of Upper Cretaceous and lower Tertiary 

rocks published by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Uinta and Piceance Basins ..........5

4. Cross section showing oil-yield histograms, members of the Eocene Green River 

Formation, correlation of rich- and lean-oil shale zones of Cashion and Donnell 

(1972), and stages in the evolution of Lake Uinta ....................................................................6

Sheet

1. Detailed North-South Cross Section Showing Environments of Deposition, Organic 

Richness, and Thermal Maturities of Lower Tertiary Rocks in the Uinta Basin, 

Utah ............................................................................................................................................... link
iv

Conversion Factors

Inch/Pound to SI

Multiply By To obtain

Length

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

Volume

gallon (gal) 3.785 liter (L) 

Mass

ton, short (2,000 lb) 0.9072 megagram (Mg) 

Pressure

pound per square inch (lb/in2) 6.895 kilopascal (kPa)

SI to Inch/Pound

Multiply By To obtain

Length

millimeter (mm) 0.03937 inch (in.)

meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) 

kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)

Volume

liter (L) 0.2642 gallon (gal)

Mass

gram (g) 0.03527 ounce, avoirdupois (oz)

megagram (Mg) 1.102 ton, short (2,000 lb)

Altitude, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum.

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

°F=(1.8×°C)+32

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) as follows:

°C=(°F-32)/1.8
Detailed North-South Cross Section Showing 

Environments of Deposition, Organic Richness, and 

Thermal Maturities of Lower Tertiary Rocks in the 

Uinta Basin, Utah

By Ronald C. Johnson

Introduction

The Uinta Basin of northeast Utah (fig. 1) has produced 

large amounts of hydrocarbons from lower Tertiary strata 

since the 1960s (Lucas and Drexler, 1976). Recent advances in 

drilling technologies, in particular the development of efficient 

methods to drill and hydraulically fracture horizontal wells, 

has spurred renewed interest in producing hydrocarbons from 

unconventional low-permeability dolomite and shale reservoirs in the lacustrine, Eocene Green River Formation. The 

Eocene Green River Formation was deposited in Lake Uinta, 

a long-lived saline lake that occupied the Uinta Basin, the 

Piceance Basin to the east, and the intervening Douglas Creek 

arch (figs. 1–3). The focus of recent drilling activity has been 

the informal Uteland Butte member of the Green River Formation (Osmond, 1992) and to a much lesser extent the overlying 

R-0 oil shale zone of the Green River Formation (figs. 2, 4). 

Initial production rates ranging from 500 to 1,500 barrels of 

oil equivalent per day have been reported from the Uteland 

Butte member from horizontal well intervals that are as long 

as 4,000 feet (ft; Durham, 2013). The cross section presented 

here extends northward from outcrop on the southern margin 

of the basin into the basin’s deep trough, located just south of 

the Uinta Mountains, and transects the area where this unconventional oil play is developing. A major fluvial-deltaic system 

entered Lake Uinta from the south (Cashion, 1967), and this 

new line of section is ideal for studying the effect of the sediments delivered by this drainage on hydrocarbon reservoirs in 

the Green River Formation. The Monument Butte Oil Field, 

which is one of the fields located along this line of section, 

has produced hydrocarbons from conventional sandstone 

reservoirs in the lower part of the Green River Formation and 

underlying Wasatch Formation since 1981 (Lomax, 1993). 

The cross section also transects the Greater Altamont-Bluebell 

field in the deepest part of the basin, where hydrocarbons have 

been produced from fractured, highly overpressured marginal 

lacustrine and fluvial reservoirs in the Green River, Wasatch, 

and North Horn Formations since 1970 (Smouse, 1993). 

Datum for the cross section is sea level so that hydrocarbon 

source rocks and reservoir rocks could be integrated into the 

structural framework of the basin. 

Lithologies shown at each drill hole are modified from 

American Stratigraphic Company sample descriptions and 

available mudlogs. Lithologies shown for surface sections on 

the south end of the cross section are modified from Cashion 

(1967). Oil yields, in gallons per ton (GPT), that were measured using the Fischer assay method are available for 7 of 

the19 drill holes. These samples were analyzed in the 1970s 

to evaluate the oil shale resources in the Uinta Basin, and 

were used in the recent assessment of the in-place oil shale 

resources in the basin (Johnson and others, 2010b). Other 

information on the cross section includes: (1) results from 

drill-stem tests and perforations, (2) mudweights used during 

drilling, and (3) and Rock-Eval and vitrinite reflectance (Ro

) 

analyses from Anders and others (1992). The goal of this study 

is to determine if the oil found in the Uteland Butte member 

and R-0 zone was derived locally from mature source rocks or 

migrated into the dolomite and shale reservoirs from deeper, 

more mature source rocks. 

Stratigraphic Subdivisions of the Green 

River Formation

The Green River Formation of the Uinta and Piceance 

Basins was deposited in Eocene Lake Uinta, a large saline lake 

that formed when two much smaller freshwater lakes, located 

in each of the Piceance and Uinta Basins expanded during the 

Long Point transgression (Johnson, 1985) and merged into one 

lake. Lake Uinta increased in salinity through time, ultimately 

precipitating large quantities of nahcolite (NaHCO3

) and halite 

(NaCl). The Uteland Butte member of the Green River Formation was deposited in the earlier freshwater lake, whereas the 

R-0 zone was the first oil shale zone deposited in the newly, 

expanded and increasingly saline Lake Uinta (figs. 2, 4). 
2 North-South Cross Section of Lower Tertiary Rocks in the Uinta Basin, Utah

Oil shale-bearing rocks deposited in Eocene Lake Gosiute

EXPLANATION

Oil shale-bearing rocks deposited in Eocene Lake Uinta 

USGS Uinta-Piceance Province boundary

USGS Southwest Wyoming Province boundary

0 25 50 100 KILOMETERS

0 25 50 75 100 MILES

75

Green River

Colorado River

White River

Yampa 

Green 

 River

Utah

Lake

Great

Salt

Lake

Colorado

River

River

WYOMING

IDAHO

UTAH

COLORADO

Green River Basin

Hoback Basin

Washakie Basin

P i c e a n c e B a s i n

U i n t a B a s i n 

Sand Wash Basin

Great Divide Basin

SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING

PROVINCE BOUNDARY

(GREATER GREEN RIVER BASIN)

UINTA-PICEANCE

PROVINCE BOUNDARY

G r e a t e r

G r e e n

R i v e r

Basin

Rock

Springs uplift

Wamsutter 

Cherokee Ridge

Sandy Bend

arch

White River

uplift

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Rafael

Swell

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Wyoming thrust belt

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River

uplift

Sierra

Madre

Uncompahgre

uplift

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uplift

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orogenic

belt

Park

Range

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arch

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Eagle

Glenwood

Springs

Castledale

Aspen

Grand

Junction

Kemmerer

Moab Gunnison

Montrose

Pinedale Soda Springs

Delta

Lander

Casper

Paris

Vernal

Preston

Logan

Rawlins

Green River

Ogden

Evanston

Coalville

Manila

Price

Provo

Craig Steamboat Springs

Duchesne

Nephi

Meeker

Manti

Green River

Rock

Springs

Rangely

Salt Lake City

Location of

figure 4

Douglas Creek arch
Stratigraphic Subdivisions of the Green River Formation 3

Lake Uinta remained a single lake across both basins and the 

intervening Douglas Creek arch throughout most of its history, 

and as a result most stratigraphic units can be recognized in 

both basins (figs. 2, 4). Formal member subdivisions of the 

Green River Formation recognized in the Piceance Basin and 

eastern part of the Uinta Basin are the Garden Gulch, Parachute Creek, and Douglas Creek Members (figs. 2, 4). These 

units are difficult to trace in the western part of Uinta Basin 

where informal names are generally applied to subdivisions 

of the Green River Formation. Several informal nomenclature 

schemes have been used to subdivide the Green River Formation in the western part of the Uinta Basin including: (1) basal 

member, delta facies, and shaly facies (Bradley, 1931); (2) 

delta facies, and barren and saline facies (Ryder and others, 

1976); and (3) lower, middle, and upper members of the Green 

River Formation (Weiss and others, 1990). Saline Lake Uinta 

persisted much longer in the central and western parts of the 

Uinta Basin than elsewhere in the Uinta and Piceance Basins. 

The informal terms “saline facies of the Parachute Creek 

Member” (Ryder and others, 1976) and “upper saline facies 

of the Parachute Creek Member” (Dyni, 1996; Brownfield 

and others, 2010) are commonly applied to these younger 

lacustrine deposits, which contain a different saline mineral 

assemblage than the underlying Parachute Creek Member 

including eitelite (Na2Mg(CO3)2), shortite (Na2Ca2(CO3)3), and 

wegscheiderite (Na5(CO3)(HCO3)3 (Bradley, 1931; Erickson, 

1952; Milton and others, 1954; Dane, 1955; Milton, 1957; 

Dyni and others, 1985; Dyni, 1996). 

The name Garden Gulch Member is generally applied 

in the eastern part of the Uinta Basin and throughout the 

Piceance Basin to the clay-rich (mainly illite) oil shale interval 

that was deposited in offshore areas early in the history of 

Lake Uinta (Bradley, 1931). The R-0 zone consists of the 

lowermost part of this illitic oil shale interval and the L-1 

zone contains the uppermost part (fig. 4). The name Parachute 

Creek Member is applied in the eastern part of the Uinta Basin 

and the Piceance Basin to the dolomitic oil shale that overlies 

the Garden Gulch Member (Bradley, 1931). As with the term 

Garden Gulch Member, the term Parachute Creek Member is 

not generally used in the western part of the Uinta Basin. The 

name Douglas Creek Member is applied to marginal lacustrine 

rocks in both the eastern part of the Uinta Basin and the western part of the Piceance Basin. In the western part of the Uinta 

Basin, the informal term “black shale facies” is applied to 

the combined R-0 part of the Garden Gulch Member and the 

offshore oil shale interval of the underlying freshwater lake 

phase, known as the Uteland Butte member (fig. 2; Picard, 

1959; Ryder and others, 1976). The name Uinta Formation is 

applied to a sequence of sandstones and siltstones containing 

abundant volcanic debris that interfinger with the upper part 

of the Green River Formation (fig. 2; Cashion and Donnell, 

1974). The name Duchesne River Formation has been applied 

to the fluvial interval consisting of buff and gray sandstone, 

red and pink shale, and conglomerate that overlies the Uinta 

and Green River Formations along the axis of the Uinta Basin 

(Walton, 1944; Cashion and Brown, 1956). 

Cashion and Donnell (1972) recognized that the entire 

oil shale interval in the Piceance Basin and eastern part of 

the Uinta Basin could be subdivided into a series of oil-rich 

zones (R-1 through R-6) and oil-lean zones (L-1 through L-5; 

fig. 4). Subsequently, the names R-0 and L-0 zones were 

applied to the lowest oil shale units in the Green River Formation as shown in fig. 4 (for example, see Johnson and others, 

1988). The R-0 through L-1 zones are generally equivalent 

to the Garden Gulch Member, and the remaining overlying 

oil shale zones compose the Parachute Creek Member. Oil 

shale units above the R-6 zone include—(in ascending order) 

B-groove, Mahogany zone, A-groove, bed 44 interval, and bed 

76 interval. Although the oil shale interval above A-groove 

was not named by Cashion and Donnell (1972), they did trace 

several oil shale marker beds through that interval. Later, 

Donnell (2008) correlated 44 individual oil shale beds (not 

shown on fig. 4) above A-groove across much of the Piceance 

Basin and the eastern part of the Uinta Basin (fig. 4). All of 

Figure 1 (Previous page). Map showing extent of Uinta, Piceance, and Greater Green River Basins, and the approximate extent of oil 

shale in the Green River Formation. Sub-basins in the Greater Green River Basin are labeled in blue. Major uplifts are labeled in black, 

and minor structural arches are labeled in red. Extent of the Uinta and Piceance Basins (dark blue) is the same as the Uinta-Piceance 

Province boundary (U.S. Geological Survey Uinta-Piceance Assessment Team, 2003). Extent of the Greater Green River Basin (magenta) 

is the same as the Southwest Wyoming Province boundary (U.S. Geological Survey Southwestern Wyoming Province Assessment 

Team, 2005). For the extent of oil shale in the Piceance Basin, the base of the Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation 

as mapped by Tweto (1979) was used for all but the northwest part of the basin where the base of the lower member of the Green River 

Formation is used. For the extent of oil shale in the eastern part of the Uinta Basin, the base of the Parachute Creek Member, as mapped 

by Cashion (1973) and Rowley and others (1985), was used. In the western part of the Uinta Basin, the top of the informal Mahogany 

bed of the Green River Formation, as mapped by Witkind (1995), was used. In the northern part of the Uinta Basin, only the area where 

oil shale is at a depth of 6,000 ft or less is shown; this area was outlined by using a structure contour map of the top of the Mahogany 

oil shale bed compiled by Johnson and Roberts (2003). For the Sand Wash, Washakie, Great Divide Basins, and southeastern part of 

the Green River Basin, the base of the Tipton Shale Member of the Green River Formation as mapped by Tweto (1979) and Love and 

Christiansen (1985) was used to show extent of oil shale. For the western part of the Green River Basin, the base of the Wilkins Peak 

Member of the Green River Formation, and for the northern part of the Green River Basin, the base of the Laney Shale Member of the 

Green River Formation as mapped by Love and Christiansen (1985) were used.
Figure 2. West-east cross section across the Uinta Basin, the Douglas Creek arch, and the Piceance Basin showing stratigraphic subdivisions, lvariations in thermal maturity measured using vitrinite reflectance. Modified from Johnson and Roberts (2003).

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RO= 0.75 Mean vitrinite refl

horizons; RO va

Approximate boun

nomenclature rocks of simila

Unconformity—Qu

approximately 

Intertonguing stra

or facies chan

Volcaniclastic rocDolomite-rich oil sClay-rich oil shaleSandstone-rich mCarbonate-rich maFresh-water lacusMarginal fresh-waPaludalFluvial and alluvia

Coastal plain fluvia

mudstone, carbo

Marine and margi

and minor mud

Marine siltstone a

and carbonate 

EXPLANA

0

0 10 20 30 40 50 KILOMETERS

10 20 30 40 50 MILES

FEET METERS

4,0003,0002,0001,000

0 0

1,2001,000

800600400200

Uinta

Base of Formation

R-4 rich

oil-shale 

zone

Base of 

Long Point 

Bed (datum)

Douglas Creek Member

Frontier Formation,Mowry Shale, andDakota Formation

Wasatch

Formation

Ro

=0.75

Blackhawk

Formation

Price River

Formation

Frontier

Formation

Mowry shale

Frontier

Formation and

Mowry Shale

Castlegate Sandstone

Emery Sandstone

Member of 

main body of 

Mancos Group

Main body

of Mancos

Group

Castlegate Sandstone

Mancos B of Kellogg (1977)

Main body of

Mancos Group

Iles Formation

Williams

Fork

Formation

Undivided Tuscher,

Farrer, and

Neslen Formations

Green River

Formation

Green River

Formation

Green River, 

North Horn

and Colton 

Formations undivided

Top of 

Mahogany

oil-shale 

zone

Parachute

Creek Member

ParachuteCreek Member

Tongues ofUinta Formation

Duchesne River

Formation and

Uinta Formation

Garden GulchMember

Fort UnionFormation

Wasatch

Formation

Cow Ridge

Member

Dakota Sandstone and 

Cedar Mountain Formation

Main body of

Mancos Group

Green

River

Formation

Approximate 

present-day land surface Uinta Basin

Douglas

Creek arch

Ro

=1.10

Piceance

Basin

Garden Gulch Member

White River

Uplift

West

East

CastlegateSandstone

1

8

20

Wasatch uplift Uinta Basin

Uinta uplift UT

CO

WY

Douglas arch Price

Vernal

San

Rafael

swell

Unc

39°

40°

41°

111° 110° 109° 

Creek 29

Dakota Sandstone through Cambrian rocksRocks younger than Dakota SandstonePrecambrian rocksBase of Tertiary rocksDrill hole or surface section

EXPLANATION
Figure 3. Index map showing detailed cross sections of upper Cretaceous and lower Tertiary rocks published by the U.S. Geological Survey in the U(in red). North to south cross section of the Uinta Basin presented in this publication are shown in blue. 

 1 E 1 W

94

94

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Book Cliffs

Book Cliffs Book Cliffs

Wasatch Plateau

Provo

Vernal

Grand

Hogback

Base ofMesaverde 

Colorado

River Grand Junction Palisade

Paon

Grand Mesa

Rifle

N

Douglas Creek arch

Price

COLORADO

UTAH

40°

39°

110° 109° 108° 111°

15

70

Uinta

Basin

Basin

Piceance

Green

River

0 10 20 MILES

0 10 20 KILOMETERS

Johnson (1979a)

Johnson (1989)

Johnson (2003)

Johnson 

(1979c, 1989)

Johnson 

(1979b)

Johnson and 

Flores (2003)

Johnson and others(1979c

Johnson and

 others(1979a)

Johnson and

 others(1979b)

Fouch (1981)

This report

Greater AltamontBluebell field

Monument Butte Field

Greater Red 

Wash field

Greater Natural

Buttes field

Oil and gas Cross secti

by the U

Town or cit

EX

Cross sectiOil field—

Tertiary 

Gas field—

Tertiary 
Figure 4. Cross section showing oil-yield histograms, members of the Eocene Green River Formation, correlation of rich- and lean-ozones of Cashion and Donnell (1972), and stages in the evolution of Lake Uinta of Johnson (1985). The rich and lean zone from R-1 and were originally defined by Cashion and Donnell (1972). The R-0 and L-0 zones were added later (for example, see Johnson and others, U-53 is in the northeast corner of the Uinta Basin, C-158 is in the central part of the Piceance Basin, and core holes CO-172 and CO-19southeastern and central parts of the Piceance Basin, respectively.

0 20 40 60 80 100

CO195

Arco-Mobil-Equity,

Figure Four 31–1 

sec 31, T. 3 S., R. 98 W. 

500

1,000

1,5002,000

2,500

500

1,500

0

1,000

0 20 40 60 80 100

0 20 40 60 80 100

C0172

Shell Oil Co., 23X–10,

sec 10, T. 7 S., R. 97 W.

0 20 40 60 80 100

0 20 40 60 80 100

0 20 40 60 80

500

1,000

1,5002,000

0

Mahogany bed

0 20 40 60 80 100

0 20 40 60 80 100

C0158

Shell Oil Co.

Greeno 1–4

sec. 4, T. 3 S., R. 97 W.

TD 2,710 ft

500

1,0001,5002,0002,500

3,000

 U–53

Skyline Oil Co., Watson 1A

 sec. 5, T. 11 S., R. 25 E.

100

Top Bed 44-

top A–groove

A–groove

Mahogany

zone

B–groove

R–6 zone

L–5 zone

R–5 zone

L–4 zone

R–4 zone

L–3 zone

R–3 zone

L–2 zone

R–2 zone

L–1 zone

R–1 zone

L–0 zone

R–0 zone

Garden Gulch Member Parachute Creek Member

Green River Formation

Oil yield (gallons per ton)

Oil yield (gallons per ton)

Oil yield (gallons per ton)

Oil yield (gallons per ton)

Base Porcupine

Creek Tufftop Bed 44

Porcupine Cr. tuff

Top bed 76-top

Porcupine Creek

tuff

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Top B

top A–

A–g

Mah

zo

B–g

R–6 

L–5 

R–5 

L–4 

R–4 

L–3 

R–3 

L–2 

R–2 

L–1 

R–1 

L–0 

R–0 

DATUM

Top of 

Long Point Bed

Volcaniclastic rocks 

Mostly oil shale with some volcaniclastic

material

Carbonate-rich oil shale (>10 gallons per ton) Carbonate-rich oil shale (<10 gallons per ton) Clay-rich oil shale (>10 gallons per ton) 

Clay-rich oil shale (<10 gallons per ton) 

Sandstone, siltstone and mudstone

EXPLANATION
Variations in Thermal Maturity Using Rock-Eval and Vitrinite Reflectance 7

these oil shale beds and zones appear to correlate with timestratigraphic units that reflect changing rates of organic matter 

production and preservation that occurred simultaneously 

throughout Lake Uinta. 

A major north-flowing drainage entered the Uinta Basin 

from the south near the south end of the cross section presented 

herein. The intertonguing relationships between marginal lacustrine rocks deposited in Lake Uinta and fluvial rocks deposited 

by this drainage were mapped in detail by Cashion (1967). 

The Douglas Creek Member was subdivided by Cashion 

(1967) into tongues A through F in this area, and many of these 

tongues are shown on the cross section (sheet 1). The extent 

of the deltaic facies related to this drainage over the course of 

several time periods are shown on a series of paleogeographic 

maps compiled by Johnson (1985). The sandy fluvial and marginal lacustrine facies appear to be confined to the upper part of 

the Wasatch Formation and Green River Formation suggesting 

that the influence of this north-flowing river on sedimentation 

in the basin increased with time.

Variations in Thermal Maturity Using 

Rock-Eval and Vitrinite Reflectance

Two different methods for measuring variations in thermal maturity were plotted on the cross section: (1) Rock-Eval 

pyrolysis (for a summary, see Tissot and Welte, 1984), and 

(2) vitrinite reflectance. In Rock-Eval pyrolysis, the sample 

is heated at 300 oC for 3–5 minutes (min), at which point 

bitumen less than C33 and other volatile compounds that were 

originally present in the sample are released and measured 

(S1 peak). The sample is then progressively heated to 550– 

600 oC, distilling heavy bitumen and releasing hydrocarbons 

generated by the cracking of kerogen (S2 peak). The ratio of 

S1/ S1+ S2 is called the transformation ratio (production index). 

For any given kerogen type, the transformation ratio generally increases with increasing thermal maturity. Anders and 

Gerrild (1984) found that Type 1 organic matter in the Uinta 

Basin has a transformation ratio of greater than about 0.1, 

which indicated that the sample was mature with respect to oil 

generation. Tmax represents the temperature at which kerogen 

in the sample generates the most hydrocarbons, and it has been 

used as a thermal maturity indicator. However, T max for Type 

1 kerogen such as those found in the Green River Formation appears to be relatively insensitive to increasing thermal 

maturity (Espitalie and others, 1986; Anders and others, 1992). 

The hydrogen to carbon ratio (H/C) is an important parameter 

in determining both the hydrocarbon generating potential of 

kerogen and thermal maturity (Waples, 1981; Hunt, 1996; 

Baskin, 1997). For Type 1 kerogen found in the Green River 

Formation in the Uinta Basin, Anders and others (1992, fig. 

6) determined that there was a close relationship between H/C 

ratio and thermal maturity as measured by vitrinite reflectance. 

Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) is a measurement of the percentage of light reflected off the vitrinite maceral at ×500 

magnification in oil immersion, and is commonly used as 

a measure of thermal maturity in organic-rich rocks. The 

vitrinite maceral is formed from woody plant tissue, whereas 

most kerogen found in the Green River Formation in the Uinta 

Basin is derived from algal material. Thus, studying variations 

in vitrinite reflectance is an indirect measurement of thermal 

maturity of the largely Type 1 kerogen in the Green River Formation of the Uinta Basin. For Type 1 kerogen, the onset of oil 

generation is thought to correspond to a vitrinite reflectance 

of about 0.75 percent, with oil generation complete at about 

Ro of 1.2 to 1.3 percent (Baskin and Peters, 1992; Ruble and 

others, 2001). 

Vitrinite reflectance results were published by Anders 

and others (1992) for four of the drill holes used on the cross 

section, and the information is plotted next to these drill 

holes (sheet 1). In addition, Anders and others (1992) published vitrinite reflectance measurements for surface samples 

throughout the basin. Two of these fall close to the axis of 

cross section and are projected onto the section from their 

approximate positions. Anders and others (1992) published 

Tmax values for five samples and H/C ratios for two samples in 

the Sun Oil Co. 1 Daniel Uresk well along the line of section 

(well no. 14), and these values are plotted next to that well on 

the cross section (sheet 1).

The approximate positions of two vitrinite reflectance 

isoreflectance values are shown on the cross section: (1) Ro

0.50 percent, and (2) Ro 0.75 percent, which is correlated to 

the onset of oil generation in Type 1 kerogen (sheet 1). The 

two isoreflectance lines dip markedly to the north, indicating that thermal maturities at any given elevation decrease 

northward and toward the axis of the basin adjacent to the 

Uinta Mountains. This was previously documented by Nuccio 

and others (1992) who suggested that this relationship could 

be in part explained by uplift of the margins of the basin 

bringing rocks with higher maturities to shallower levels 

while the trough of the basin was still subsiding and receiving 

sediments. The decrease in thermal gradients toward the axis 

of the Uinta Basin, noted by Chapman and others (1984) and 

Anders and others (1992), also probably played a role. These 

low thermal gradients near the basin axis are thought to be the 

result of cold meteoric water percolating into faults along the 

basin’s north margin and heat being carried away by the thick, 

highly conductive Precambrian Uinta Mountain quartzite 

that was brought in contact with basin sediments by faulting 

(Chapman and others, 1984; Anders and others, 1992). The 

isoreflectance lines in the cross section are shown to abruptly 

bend upward over Monument Butte field to accommodate the 

comparatively high Ro value of 0.55 percent obtained from 

a surface sample over that field. The suggestion that thermal 

maturities are atypically elevated over Monument Butte field 

is based on a single surface sample located 5,000–6,000 ft 

above the producing interval at that site is tenuous at best.

A detailed vitrinite reflectance and Rock-Eval analysis of 

the Daniel Uresk well about 2–3 miles downdip from Monument Butte Oil Field (well number 14, sheet 1) was published 

by Anders and others (1992). Vitrinite reflectance values 
8 North-South Cross Section of Lower Tertiary Rocks in the Uinta Basin, Utah

increase from 0.54 percent at a depth of 5,035 ft, located 

significantly above the productive Uteland Butte interval to 

0.94 percent at 11,075 ft in the lower part of the Wasatch Formation, which is significantly below the productive interval 

(sheet 1). An Ro of 0.67 percent, or somewhat lower than the 

onset of hydrocarbon generation at Ro 0.75 percent, 

was obtained from the Uteland Butte member at a depth of 

7,805 ft. Tmax values vary irregularly from 446 to 451 oC 

throughout the well (sheet 1), supporting the idea that Tmax is 

an unreliable measure of thermal maturity for Type 1 kerogen. Hydrogen to carbon ratios (H/C) decrease with increasing depth from 1.33 at 5,035 ft, in the R-5 oil shale zone (Ro

0.54 percent), to 1.18 in the Uteland Butte member at 7,805 ft 

(Ro 0.67 percent; sheet 1). Transformation ratios (S1/ S1+ S2) 

increase with depth from a minimum of 0.07 percent at 

5,035 ft to a maximum of 0.43 in the middle of the Uteland 

Butte member, and then decrease to a low of 0.07 percent 

below Uteland Butte at a depth of 11,075 ft (sheet 1).

A vitrinite reflectance of 0.67 percent at 7,805 ft of the 

Uteland Butte member in the Daniel Uresk well indicates that 

the member is immature for oil generation. The unusually high 

production index of 0.43 for the Uteland Butte member in that 

well was attributed by Anders and Gerrild (1984, p. 520) to 

migrated hydrocarbons. The H/C ratio of 1.18 indicates that 

the Uteland Butte member ranges from immature to marginally mature. Thus, thermal maturities must increase markedly 

between the Daniel Uresk well and the updip Monument Butte 

field for the oil in that field to have been generated in situ 

suggesting that the oil produced from that field migrated from 

more thermally mature source rocks elsewhere in the basin. 

Fischer Assay Analysis

The Fischer assay method is a standardized laboratory 

test for determining the oil yield from oil shale, and has been 

almost universally used to determine oil yields for Green 

River Formation oil shales (Stanfield and Frost, 1949; American Society for Testing Materials, 1984). It is a much simpler, 

less rigorous analytical procedure than Rock-Eval. The Fischer 

assay standard method consists of heating a crushed and 

sieved (–8 mesh (2.38 millimeter mesh)) 100 gram sample in 

a small aluminum retort to 500 °C at a rate of 12 °C/min and 

then held at that temperature for 40 min. The volatile vapors 

of shale oil, gas, and water pass through a condenser cooled 

with ice water (about 5 °C) and are collected in a graduated 

centrifuge tube. The oil and water are then separated by centrifugation and weighed. The quantities reported in the original 

sample are the weight percentages of shale oil, water, shale 

residue (containing carbon char), and “gas plus loss” (noncondensable gas yield). The specific gravity of the shale oil is 

measured and used to calculate the oil yield in GPT. 

The Fischer assay method does not determine the total 

amount of hydrocarbons in an oil shale sample nor does it 

measure the amount or composition of the gases released 

during the heating of the sample. These gases—chiefly light 

hydrocarbons, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide—are reported as 

the “gas plus loss.” In addition, it does not distinguish between 

hydrocarbons originally present in the sample (S1 peak of 

Rock-Eval analysis) and hydrocarbons generated from kerogen during pyrolysis (S2

 peak).

Seven of the drill holes had oil yield analyses in GPT 

based on the Fischer assay method. During the 1960s and 

1970s, the U.S. Bureau of Mines ran Fischer assay analysis 

on cuttings from a large number of drill holes in the Uinta 

Basin to evaluate the oil shale resources in the Uinta Basin. 

These analyses were used in the recent reassessment of oil 

shale resources in the Uinta Basin by Johnson and others 

(2010b). The original Fischer assay analysis for all drill holes 

in the Uinta Basin can also be accessed in that publication. 

Histograms showing variations in GPT of oil generated by 

Fischer assay for these seven drill holes are shown in sheet 1. 

Results indicate that productive intervals in the lower part of 

the Green River Formation at Monument Butte field contain 

significant quantities of kerogen and oil, however, only the 

Mahogany zone averages more than 10 GPT. The Mahogany 

zone is probably immature for hydrocarbon generation along 

the axis of section and has not been a target for hydrocarbon 

exploration. 

Pressure Gradients

Pressure gradients, determined from the maximum 

recorded shut-in pressures during drill-stem tests are listed 

in the table of drill hole information on sheet 1 and plotted at 

their proper depth next to the drill holes on the cross section. 

Pressure gradients are calculated by dividing the maximum 

shut in pressure at the depth of the base of the drill-stem test. 

A normal pressure gradient in a reservoir where saline water is 

the pressurizing fluid is about 0.43 pounds per square inch per 

foot (psi/ft). Pressure gradients that are as high as 0.83 psi/ft 

occur in the Altamont-Bluebell field. These high pressure gradients have been documented by many workers in the past (for 

example, see Lucas and Drexler, 1976). Pressure gradients of 

as high as 0.51 psi/ft were recorded in the productive interval 

at the Monument Butte field indicating moderately overpressured conditions.

Discussion

This paper assembles much of the published stratigraphic, 

lithologic, thermal maturity, and geochemistry information for 

a single axis of cross section in the Uinta Basin in an attempt 

to better understand the recent oil production from low permeability dolomite, and tight shale reservoirs in the Uteland Butte 

and R-0 intervals. The information presented here, however, is 

from near the Monument Butte field, but not from within the 

field itself. Based on this information, it appears that thermal 
References Cited 9

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be somewhat higher in Monument Butte field than at the nearest well outside the field with geochemistry downdip from the 

field, and it is possible that thermal maturities within the field 

are within the oil window. Geochemical and thermal maturity 

information from within Monument Butte Oil Field is needed 

to better understand this developing shale oil play.

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Johnson—North-South Cross Section of Lower Tertiary Rocks in the Uinta Basin, Utah—Scientific Investigation Map 3304

ISSN 2329-132X (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3304