U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Pamphlet to accompany

Scientific Investigations Map 3427

Structure Contour and Overburden Maps of the Niobrara 

Interval of the Upper Cretaceous Cody Shale in the 

Wind River Basin, Wyoming

Structure Contour and Overburden Maps 

of the Niobrara Interval of the Upper 

Cretaceous Cody Shale in the 

Wind River Basin, Wyoming

By Thomas M. Finn

Pamphlet to accompany

Scientific Investigations Map 3427

U.S. Department of the Interior

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

DAVID BERNHARDT, Acting Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

James F. Reilly II, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2019

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living 

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Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials 

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

Suggested citation:

Finn, T.M., 2019, Structure contour and overburden maps of the Niobrara interval of the Upper Cretaceous Cody 

Shale in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3427, pamphlet 9 p., 

2 sheets, scale 1:500,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3427.

ScienceBase data release files that support this report can be found at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7BZ65CN.

ISSN 2329-132X (online)
iii

Contents

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

Acknowledgments.........................................................................................................................................8

References......................................................................................................................................................8

Figures

1. Map of the Rocky Mountain region showing locations of Laramide basins ......................2

2. Index map of the Wind River Basin in central Wyoming .......................................................3

3. Generalized geologic map and cross section of the Wind River Basin in central 

Wyoming.........................................................................................................................................4

4. Correlation diagram of the Upper Cretaceous Cody Shale and associated strata in

the Wind River Basin, Wyoming.................................................................................................6

5. Type log of Lower and lowermost Upper Cretaceous rocks in the southeastern part

of the Wind River Basin ...............................................................................................................7

Conversion Factors

U.S. customary units to International System of Units

Multiply By To obtain

Length

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

Area

square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer (km2) 

Datum

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).

Altitude, as used in this report, refers to distance above sea level.

Structure Contour and Overburden Maps of the Niobrara 

Interval of the Upper Cretaceous Cody Shale in the 

Wind River Basin, Wyoming

By Thomas M. Finn

Introduction

The Wind River Basin is a large northwest-trending structural depression that is nearly 200 miles (mi) long, 70 mi wide, 

and encompasses about 7,400 square miles (mi2) in central 

Wyoming (fig. 1). The present-day structure of the Wind River 

Basin developed during the Laramide orogeny, a period of 

crustal instability that began during latest Cretaceous time and 

ended in the early Eocene (Gries, 1983; Love, 1988). Many 

of the structures are the result of compressional deformation characterized by Precambrian basement-involved thrust 

faults and strongly folded and faulted anticlines and synclines. 

The north, west, and south margins of the basin are bounded 

by basement-cored uplifts referred to as the Washakie, Owl 

Creek, Bighorn, Wind River, and Granite Mountains uplifts 

(fig. 2). The Casper arch, a major northwest-trending structural 

upwarp with a thrust faulted, steeply dipping west limb forms 

the east margin of the basin (Keefer, 1970) (fig. 2). These 

uplifts are flanked by highly folded and faulted sedimentary 

rocks that range from Paleozoic to Paleocene in age, whereas 

the central part of the basin is covered by nearly flat-lying 

lower Eocene and undifferentiated Tertiary and Quaternary 

rocks that mask the structure of the older rocks in the central 

part of the basin (Keefer, 1966; Keefer, 1970; Love and Christiansen, 1985) (fig. 3).

According to Knight (1897) and Rountree (1984), the 

first documented account of oil in what is now the State of 

Wyoming was discovered at a seep along the banks of the 

Popo Agie River, about 8 mi southeast of the present-day town 

of Lander near the southwestern margin of the Wind River 

Basin (fig. 2). For several decades following its discovery in 

1833, this seep, referred to as the “great tar spring,” was used 

by local hunters and fur trappers for medicinal purposes, and 

later by the military and pioneers for axle grease and lubrication (Knight, 1897; Rountree, 1984). Then in 1884, Mike 

Murphy completed the first commercial oil well in Wyoming 

next to the “great tar spring” establishing the first oil production in Wyoming at the Dallas oil field (Biggs and Espach, 

1960; Keefer, 1969; Cardinal and others, 1989) (fig. 2). Since 

then, many important conventional and unconventional oil 

and gas resources have been discovered and produced from 

reservoirs ranging in age from Mississippian through Tertiary 

(Keefer, 1969; Fox and Dolton, 1989, 1996; De Bruin, 1993; 

Johnson and others, 1996, 2007) (fig. 2). It has been suggested that various Upper Cretaceous marine shales are the 

principal hydrocarbon source rocks for many of these accumulations (see, for example: Meissner and others, 1984; Fox 

and Dolton, 1989, 1996; Johnson and Rice, 1993; Nuccio and 

others, 1996; and Schelling and Wavrek, 1999, 2001). With 

recent advances in horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracture stimulation, equivalent Upper Cretaceous marine 

source rock intervals, in particular the Niobrara Formation, 

have become important continuous (unconventional) shale 

gas or shale oil objectives in other Rocky Mountain Laramide 

basins (Matthews, 2011; Sonnenberg, 2011; Williams and 

Lyle, 2011; Durham, 2012a,b, 2013; Taylor and Sonnenberg, 

2014; Hawkins, 2016). In the Wind River Basin, the Niobrara 

is represented by shales, calcareous shales, marls, siltstones, 

and sandstones in the lower shaly member of the Upper Cretaceous Cody Shale (Finn, 2017) (fig. 4).

The maps presented in this report were constructed as 

part of a project carried out by the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) to better characterize the geologic framework of 

potential undiscovered continuous (unconventional) oil and 

gas resources in the Niobrara interval of the Upper Cretaceous 

Cody Shale in the Wind River Basin in central Wyoming 

(sheets 1 and 2). The structure contour map is drawn at the 

base of the “chalk kick” marker bed, a distinctive zone or 

peak on resistivity logs in the lower 50–300 feet (ft) of the 

Cody Shale that according to Finn (2017) represents the base 

of the Niobrara interval in the Wind River Basin (fig. 5). 

This horizon was selected because it is easily identified on 

most well logs, is present throughout the basin, and has been 

identified by the author in about 630 wells (Finn, 2019). 

Data from an additional 90 wells that penetrated the upper 

part of the Niobrara interval or overlying Cody Shale were 

incorporated by projecting thicknesses from nearby wells and 

estimating a pick for the “chalk kick” marker (Finn, 2019). 

The structure contouring is based on interpretation of the well 

data and surface geologic mapping by Keefer (1970), Keefer 

and Troyer (1964), Love and Christiansen (1985), Green and 

Drouillard (1994), Sutherland and Hausel (2003), and Johnson 
2 Structure contour and overburden maps of the Niobrara interval of the Cody Shale in the Wind River Basin, WY

Figure 1. Map of the Rocky Mountain region showing locations of Laramide basins.

42°

44°

46°

112° 110° 108° 106° 104° 102°

40°

38°

36°

Greater Green

River Basin

San Juan

Basin

Piceance

Basin

Uinta Basin

Paradox Basin

Bighorn Basin

Crazy

Mountains

Basin

Bull

Mountains

Basin

Raton

Basin

Las

Vegas

Basin

Rio

Grande

Rift

Powder River Basin

Denver Basin

Williston Basin

Sevier

thrust

belt

Sevier

thrust

belt

Snake River

Plain

Hanna

Basin

Laramie

Basin

Shirley

Basin

North and

Middle

Park

Basins

South

Park

Basin

Reed Point

syncline

Yellowstone-

 Absaroka

 volcanic

 field

San

 Juan

 volcanic

 field

Wind

 River

 Basin

UTAH ARIZONA NEW MEXICO

COLORADO

UTAH

IDAHO

MONTANA

WYOMING

OKLAHOMA

TEXAS

KANSAS

SOUTH DAKOTA

SOUTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA

NEBRASKA

NEBRASKA

COLORADO

WYOMING

Wind River uplift

uplift

uplift

Granite

Mountains

uplift

Owl Creek uplift

uplift

Bighorn

Casperarch

arch

Hartville uplift

Miles City

Washakie uplift

Uinta

Axial Basinuplift

uplift

Rawlins

uplift

Uncompahgre uplift

San Rafael

Swell

Zuni uplift

Sierra Madre

uplift Park Range uplift

Front

Range

White

 River

 uplift

Sangre

de

Cristo

Nacimiento uplift

Pryor

uplift

Black Hills uplift

Teton

uplift

Douglas Creek arch

Nye-Bowler

lineament Beartooth

uplift

Apishapa arch

Laramie uplift

Las Animas arch

Base from U.S. Geological Survey, 1985, 1:5,000,000

Albers Equal Area Conic projection

EXPLANATION

Sevier fold and thrust

 faulted terrane

Laramide sedimentary and

 structural basins

Undifferentiated deposits

Approximate eastern limit

 of Sevier thrust belt

Tertiary volcanics

Neogene rift deposits

0 50 100 KILOMETERS

0 50 100 MILES
Figure 2. Index map of the Wind River Basin in central Wyoming showing major structural elements, and principal oil and gas producing fields. drawn at base of the chalk kick marker bed of the Niobrara interval of the Cody Shale. Contour interval is 5,000 feet. SL, sea level.

-15,000

−15,000

−10,000

−10,000

-10,000

−5,000

−5,000

5,000

5,0

5,000

5,000

5,000

5,000

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

5,000

SL

Washakie uplift

volcanics

Wind

River

uplift

uplift

Creek

Owl

Bighorn

uplift

Casper

GraniteMountainsuplift

Absaroka

T

40

N

T5

N

R. 110 W. R. 105 W. R. 100 W. R. 95 W. R. 90 W. R. 85 W. 

R 110 W

T

45

N

R 105 W

R 5 W

T1

S

T1

T N

35

N

T

30

N

R 105 W

R 5 W

T

45

N

R 100 W

R 1 W R 1 E

T5

N

T

40

N

R 95 W

R 5 E

T1

N

T1

S

T

35

N

R 95 W

R 5 E

R 100 W

R 1 W R 1 E

R 90 W R 85 W

Base from U.S. Geological Survey, 2010, 1:2,000,000, digital dataLambert Conformal Conic projectionStandard parallels 41° and 45°, Central meridian −107°30’Latitude of origin 41°, metersNorth American Datum of 1983 (NAD83)

43°

43°30’42°30’

110° 109°30’ 109° 108°30’ 108° 107°30’ 107° 

0 10 20 30 40 MILES

0 10 20 30 40 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Tertiary volcanic rocksFrontier Formation outcropPrecambrian rocks

5,000 Chalk Kick contour—Base of

 “chalk kick” marker bed.  Contour interval 5,000 feet. 

SL is sea level

High-angle fault

Oil field 

Gas field 

Wind River Basin Province boundaryThrust fault

—Sawteeth on 

 upper plateNormal fault

—Ball and bar

 on downthrown side

Alkali Butte

Sand Mesa Muddy Ridge

Frenchie Draw

Madden

Pavillion

Riverton Dome

Muskrat

CastleGarden Wallace Creek

Cooper Reservoir

Waltman

Cave Gulch

Tepee Flats

Fuller

Reservoir

Big Sand Draw

Sand Draw South

BeaverCreek

Hells Half

Acre

Boone Dome

Haybarn

Dallas

Lander

Derby

Winkleman

Pilot Butte

SteamboatButte

Sheldon Dome Little Dome

Circle Ridge Maverick Springs

Raderville

Poison Spider West

PineMou

Grieve

Lander Sun Ranch

Dubois

Shoshoni

Riverton
(NO VERTICAL EXAGGERATION)

0 5 10 KILOMETERS0 5 10 MILES

0 10 20 30 40 KILOMETERS0 10 20 30 40 MILES

A

A'

43°

42°30’43°30’

110° 109°30’ 109° 108°30’ 108° 107°30’ 107° 

KJ

KJ

KJ

KJ

Ku

Tel

Tp

Teu

QT

Tmo

Ku

QT

QT

Tmo

Tel

Tp

Ku

QT

Tel

Tmo

QT

QT

QT

Tel

Ku

Tev

Ku

Tev

Tp

QT

Tel

Ku Tel QT

QT Ku

Teu

Tp

KJ

KJ

=

=

=

=

=

=

=

=

=

|

|

|

| |

|

|

}|

}|

}|

}|

}|

−15,000−10,000

10,000

−5,000

−20,000

5,000

−25,000

Sea level

Madden anticline

Bighorn 1-5 Victor 1-14

Moneta Hills

Moneta Hills 1-31

O A B 1-17 Moneta Hills 1-29

Castle Gardens

Castle Garden 1 Federal Hanagan 1-1

1 Horseshoe Creek

Federal-Wolf 1 Unit

Muscrat anticline

1 Govt-Rongis Lowe 1 Unit

A

Conant Creek

anticline

1 State

South

Sage B

NORMAL 

MADDEN THRUST FAULT ? ?

FEET 

Base from U.S. Geological Survey, 2010, 1:2,000,000-scale digital dataLambert Conformal Conic projectionStandard parallels 41o and 45o, Central meridian−107o 30’Latitude of origin 41o, metersNorth American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)
Introduction 5

and Sutherland (2009). Additional sources of geologic data 

include structural cross sections and (or) subsurface maps 

by Biggs and Espach (1960), Keefer (1970), Skeen and Ray 

(1983), Sprague (1983), Ray and Keefer (1985), Dunleavy 

and Gilbertson (1986), Cardinal and others (1989), Blackstone 

(1990), Natali and others (2000), and Montgomery and others 

(2001). The structure contour map is at a scale of 1:500,000, 

the contour interval is 1,000 ft, and the datum is mean sealevel (sheet 1). The overburden map was constructed by using 

the well data (Finn, 2019) and by calculating the difference 

between the surface elevation and the structure contours. This 

map is at a scale of 1:500,000, and the contour interval is 

1,000 ft (sheet 2).

Figure 3. (above and previous page) Generalized geologic map and cross section of the Wind River Basin 

in central Wyoming. Geologic map modified from Love and Christiansen (1985), and Green and Drouillard 

(1994). Cross section segment north of the Madden anticline is modified from Ray and Keefer (1985).

Water features

EXPLANATION

QT Quaternary–Tertiary undifferentiated

Tertiary intrusives

Tmo Miocene–Oligocene sedimentary rocks

Teu Upper Eocene sedimentary rocks

Tev Eocene volcanic rocks

Tel Lower Eocene sedimentary rocks

Tp Paleocene sedimentary rocks

Ku Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks

Lower Cretaceous (cross section only) sedimentary rocks

Lower Cretaceous–Jurassic sedimentary rocks

Mesozoic–Paleozoic sedimentary rocks

Paleozoic sedimentary rocks 

Wind River Basin boundary

Thrust fault—Sawteeth on upper plate. Dashed where concealed

Normal fault—Bar and ball on downthrown side. Dashed where concealed

High-angle fault—Dashed where concealed

Contact

Line of section

Select well locations with name

A A'

Kl

KJ

}|

|

p_ Precambrian crystalline rocks 

1 State
6 Structure contour and overburden maps of the Niobrara interval of the Cody Shale in the Wind River Basin, WY

Figure 4. Correlation diagram of the Upper Cretaceous Cody Shale and associated strata in the Wind River 

Basin, Wyoming. The diagonal lines represent the Niobrara interval in the Wind River Basin, as defined in this 

report. Modified from Finn (2017). CRETACEOUS (part) UPPER CRETACEOUS (part) Lower Lower

Upper Upper Upper Middle

System Series Stage Substage Campanian (part) Santonian

Lower

Middle

Middle

Upper

Coniacian Turonian (part)

Western Wind River

Basin

Eastern and southeastern

Wind River Basin

Southern and central

Wind River Basin

Upper sandy

member

Upper sandy

member

Upper

sandy

member

Mesaverde

Formation

(part)

Mesaverde

Formation

(part)

Niobrara

interval

Niobrara

interval Niobrara

interval

Mesaverde

Formation

(part)

Basal sandstone member Cody Shale

Cody Shale

Cody Shale

Lower shaly member

Lower shaly member

Lower shaly member

Alkali Butte member

Fales Sandstone Member

Wallace Creek Tongue of Cody Shale

Conant Creek tongue

Sage Breaks

interval

Sage Breaks

interval

Sage Breaks interval

Frontier Formation

(part)

Frontier Formation

(part) Frontier Formation

(part)

“chalk kick” “chalk kick” “chalk kick”
Introduction 7

Figure 5. Type log of Lower and lowermost Upper Cretaceous rocks in the southeastern part of the Wind River 

Basin. GR, gamma ray log; Res., resistivity log. Location shown in figure 2. From Finn (2017).

10,000

10,500

11,000

11,500

12,000

12,500

13,000

GR Res.

API 4902522268

Exxon Corp. Poison Springs Unit 1

sec. 33, T. 32 N., R. 83 W.

"chalk kick

marker"

Clay Spur Bentonite

Upper Cretaceous (part)

Muddy Sandstone

Thermopolis Shale

Mowry

Shale

Frontier

Formation

Cody Shale (part)

Lower shaly member

Upper sandy

member

(part)

Sage

Breaks

interval

Upper

siliceous

part

Lower part Niobrara interval

Cloverly Formation

Lower

Cretaceous

?

Sandstone and conglomerate of fluvial origin

Marine and marginal marine sandstone and siltstone

Marine shale

Siliceous marine shale

Calcareous marine shale and marl

Estuarine and fluvial sandstone

Interbedded marine sandstone and shale

EXPLANATION
8 Structure contour and overburden maps of the Niobrara interval of the Cody Shale in the Wind River Basin, WY

Acknowledgments

The manuscript and maps benefited from reviews by 

Ron Drake, Dave Scott, Ofori Pearson, Janet Slate, and Dave 

Ferderer of the USGS and their suggestions and comments are 

greatly appreciated.

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Finn—Structure contour and overburden maps of the Niobrara interval of the Cody Shale in the Wind River Basin, WY—Scientific Investigations Map 3427

ISSN 2329-132X (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3427