Paleozoic strata are preserved across about 30% of onshore Western Australia in both the coastal and interior basins. These sedimentary successions are largely unmetamorphosed and little deformed as orogenic events were subdued compared with the Precambrian. A series of Statewide paleogeographic reconstructions paired with isopach images are used to detail the Paleozoic depositional and structural history of these basins. The time slices are based on regional correlations underpinned by biostratigraphic and paleontological studies from more than 800 wells drilled in the Phanerozoic basins.
What is in the book?
The book commences with a brief explanation of the assembly of Gondwana at the end of the Proterozoic and an overview of the distribution and structure of the onshore depocentres. Four main phases of Paleozoic basin development are described: Cambrian intracratonic sag followed by three rift phases of Ordovician – Early Devonian, Middle Devonian to mid-Carboniferous, and latest Carboniferous to Permian age.
Following the Paleozoic, the main depocentres shifted offshore to the present-day northwest for most of the Mesozoic.
The book is full of colourful photos and illustrative figures. It has interesting pull-out boxes with simple explanations and many detailed maps of Western Australia.
This book is published under the banner of Western Australia unearthed, a series that progressively chronicles the geological evolution of Western Australia.
How to access the book
To buy a hardcopy of A Paleozoic perspective of Western Australia by Arthur J Mory, please email bookshop@dmirs.wa.gov.au. You can also download a free PDF from the link below..
A Paleozoic perspective of Western Australia
