Discovery of the Permian Basin, early field discoveries, red bed map, and core workshop

In the 1850’s expeditions to the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico discovered that the mountain range was composed of Permian age strata (Shumard, 1858), with regional dip of strata to the east. In Central Texas, Permian age strata were identified, with regional dip of strata to the west (Figure 1). Between the Guadalupe Mountains and Central Texas, it was realized that the area hosted a depositional basin of Permian age. However, the basin was covered by younger Late Permian, Triassic, Cretaceous, and Cenozoic strata (Figure 2). Initially the basin was called the West Texas Permian Basin, which was later shortened to Permian Basin. Now the basin is referred to as the Permian Super Basin, due to its high productivity of hydrocarbons.