Facies

In geology, a facies is a body of rock with specified characteristics is any observable

attribute of rocks such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of
formation, and the changes that may occur in those attributes over a geographic area.
The term facies was introduced by the Swiss geologist Amanz Gressly in 1838 and was
part of his significant contribution to the foundations of modern stratigraphy.
Sedimentary Facies
A facies is a distinctive rock unit that forms under certain conditions of sedimentation,
reflecting a particular process or environment. Sedimentary facies are either descriptive
or interpretative. Sedimentary facies are bodies of sediment that are recognizably
distinct from adjacent sediments that resulted from different depositional environment.
Generally, facies are distinguished by the aspect of the rock or sediment being studied.
Thus, facies based on petrological characters such as grain size and mineralogy are
called lithofacies, whereas facies based on fossil content are called biofacies.
A facies is usually further subdivided, for example, you might refer to a "tan, crossbedded oolitic limestone facies" or a "shale facies". The characteristics of the rock unit
come from the depositional environment and original composition. Sedimentary facies
reflect its depositional environment, each facies being a distinct kind of sediment for that
area or environment.
Walther's Law of Facies
The Walther's Law of Facies was introduced by the German geologist Johannes
Walther (1860-1937) as an important geological principle, after the establishment of the
concept of "facies", one of the foundations of modern stratigraphy. Walther's Law states
that any vertical progression of facies is the result of a succession of depositional
environments that are laterally juxtaposed to each other.

The original definition (Walther, 1894) reads as follows and was translated from the
original German language by G. Middleton in 1973:
The various deposits of the same facies area and similarly the sum of the rocks of
different facies areas are formed beside each other in space, though in a cross section
we see them lying on top of each other. As with biotypes, it is a basic statement of far
reaching significance that only those facies and facies areas can be superimposed
primarily which can be observed beside each other at the present time.- Walther's Law
of Correlation of Facies (1894)
Walther's Law of Facies is applicable only when the sedimentary sequence is
continuous, with no hiatuses or breaks
Walther's Law simply states that both vertical and lateral facies match. A depositional
system may contain several environments. Deltas contain channels, mouth bars, and
pro-delta muds and consequently the sedimentary rock types (i.e. facies) in a
depositional system may be variable, recording the specific characteristics of their
component depositional conditions (e.g. sandy channels and mouth bars, muddy prodeltas). However, these environments can shift laterally causing sediment to stack
vertically. As a depositional environment shifts, so too must the sedimentary facies in
any one location change. As time progresses, the positions of facies also progresses
laterally in space and time, hence the laterally-related environments become
superimposed forming vertical successions. This process results in deposition of time
transgressive sedimentary formations, in which the vertical stacking of facies records
the originally laterally continuous environments (Middleton, 1973; Reading,
1996). Sedimentary environments that were once laying down side-by-side (facies
tracts) will eventually end up overlapping one another over time, forming vertical facies
successions, reflecting successive changes in the environment such as marine
transgressions and regressions
Facies Analysis

Models are idealized simplifications set up to aid

our understanding of complex natural phenomena
and processes. They have been extensively used in
the interpretation of sedimentary rock facies.
The manner in which facies models should be
used has been the subject of considerable debate
(Middle-ton 1973; Anderton 1985; Walker 1979,
1984; Walker & James 1992; Reading 1978, 1986,
1987, 1996; Miall 1999). They are, however,
essentially links between the more descriptive facies
classifications and more interpretative models. They
are used to interpret facies distributions, both lateral and vertical (through sequence
analysis) to predict where as yet undiscovered facies may be found and to indicate the
environment, the tectonics, sea-level position and climate of the time.
The earlier facies models were essentially descriptive classifications, based on
observable and measureable features, but, as time went by, and our understanding of
process and of environment increased, so the word facies came to be used in more
genetic senses, that is for the product of a process by which the rock was thought to
have formed or the environment in which it was deposited. Although all these senses
interlock, it is necessary to be clear of the sense in which the term facies or facies
model is being used, in an objectively defined descriptive sense, as an interpretation of
the generating process or as an interpretation of the environment in which it was
deposited. In addition models have now been extended to those driven by external
controls such as changes in sea level, climate, tectonics and the type of sediment
supplied to the system.

One of the most popular classifications was that of Mutti & Ricci Lucchi (1972) for deep
water facies. This lithofacies model has continued with slight modifications (Stow 1985;
Pickering et al. 1986) to the present day. It was based on observations based on

outcrops of ancient facies at

when

it

was

a time

virtually

impossible to obtain cores

from

modern

sediments.
outcrops

In
in

deep

sea

contrast,
sections

hundreds of meters long

could

be

observed

meticulously

and

measured,

even though their mode of

emplacement, as well as
their

environment

of

deposition, could only be

inferred.

Deep water facies were divided into 7 classes, 15 groups and 59 individual facies.
The 7 classes were distinguished on the basis of grain size (e.g. gravels and sands)
internal organization (chaotic deposits) and composition (biogenic oozes). The 15
groups were distinguished mainly on the organization of their internal structures and
textures. Disorganized facies groups lacked clear stratification and included both
structureless gravels, massive sands and bioturbated, massive silty muds and muds.
Organized facies groups included those with marked grading, regular lamination,
cross-lamination and ripples. The 59 individual facies subgroups were further
subdivided, separated according to their textures, internal structures, composition and
bed thickness.
A comparable facies scheme for alluvial facies, that has been extensively applied, is
that of Miall (1977). It contains three major grain size classes, gravel, sand and fines
(G,S,F), each of which may be further sub-divided according to texture and style of
bedding and lamination (e.g. m, massive; t, trough-cross-bedding; p, planar, i.e. tabular,
cross-bedding; r, rippled; h, horizontal laminated).

Facies Association
A "sedimentary facies", or
simply "facies" is a term
assigned to a sedimentary
rock unit referring to its
distinct and specific
identifiable (i.e. descriptive)
characteristics, produced by
physical, biological and/or
chemical processes, during
formation and from which an
interpretation of its origin
may be made (Middleton
1973; Reading,
1996). Hence, a facies is
generated during specific
sedimentological conditions,
reflecting a distinct depositional environment and associated processes. They can
be single layers (few millimeters-thick) or a series of thick beds (tens to hundreds of
meters-thick).Sedimentary facies can be grouped spatially by associating geneticallyrelated lithologies that reflect linked environments in the stratigraphic record. This is
known as a lateral association or assemblage of sedimentary facies (also called a
facies tract), and is usually a lithofacies (rather than biofacies). Another type of
association is the "facies sequence" which is a term assigned to distinct vertical
stacking, succession or sequence of facies that reflects a particular depositional
environment or linked environments in the stratigraphic record.

The End