Sedimentary Geology, 53 (1987) 123-179

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

123

Review Paper
INCLINED

HETEROLITHIC

DESCRIPTION,

STRATIFICATION--TERMINOLOGY,

INTERPRETATION

AND SIGNIFICANCE

RICHARD G. THOMAS 1, DERALD G. SMITH 2 JAMES M. WOOD t, JOHN VISSER s,

E. ANNE CALVERLEY-RANGE 4 and EMLYN H. KOSTER 5

l Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta. T2N 1N4 (Canada)
2 Department of Geography, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta. T2N 1N4 (Canada)
3 Pan Canadian Petroleum Ltd., P.O. Box 2850, Calgary, Alta. T2P 2S5 (Canada)
4 lntera Technologies Ltd., 1200-510-5th Street S.W., Calgary, Alta. T2P 3S2 (Canada)
5 Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, P.O. Box 7500, Drumheller, Alta. TOJ OYO (Canada)
(Received April 8, 1986; revised and accepted November 4, 1986)

ABSTRACT
Thomas, R.G., Smith, D.G., Wood, J.M., Visser, J., Calverley-Range, E.A. and Koster, E.H., 1987.
Inclined heterolithic stratification--Terminology, description, interpretation and significance. Sediment. Geol., 53: 123-179.
Parallel to sub-parallel strata possessing original (depositional) dips occur within both lithologically
"homogeneous" and "heterogeneous" units of water-lain, siliciclastic sedimentary sequences. Most such
inclined strata form as a result of the lateral growth of "active", large-scale "bedforms" such as point
bars or Gilbert-type deltas. The confusing diversity of terms previously used to describe inclined
stratified deposits is reviewed. Virtually all these terms, including epsilon-cross-stratification and its
derivatives are unsatisfactory because they are non-descriptive a n d / o r communicate an overt genetic
bias. The names Inclined Heterolithic Stratification (IHS) and Inclined Stratification (IS) are proposed as
replacements.
To facilitate comparison of IHS deposits a "standard" descriptive nomenclature is also proposed.
IHS may occur as solitary sets or show vertical or lateral stacking forming cosets. Co-directional laterally
stacked sets constitute an imbricate coset. Composite sets are those in which IHS sequences gradationally
overlie inclined-stratified lithofacies units (typically sandstones). Individual inclined units comprising IHS
sets may be either normally graded or (more commonly) consist of two distinct lithological members
arranged as a coarse-to-fine couplet. Inclined units are separated by inclined surfaces indicative of
non-deposition or erosion.
Published examples of modem and ancient IHS deposits are known or inferred to occur in a variety
of environments, but the overwhelming majority are products of point-bar lateral accretion within
meandering channels of freshwater rivers, tidally influenced rivers and creeks draining intertidal
mudflats. Descriptions are given of the most characteristic and important (from an interpretation
standpoint) physical features of point-bar IHS deposits and their probable modes of origin. Deposits
predominantly composed of sand and mud layers arranged as coarse-to-fine couplets are emphasized.
Factors thought to control the formation and preservation of sand-mud couplets in the tidally
influenced river point-bar depositional environment are described and their probable effects evaluated.
Several potentially useful criteria for the differentiation of ancient freshwater versus tidally influenced
river point-bar IHS sequences are discussed.
0037-0738/87/$19.95

9 1987 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

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The significance of IHS deposits for : (1) palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic interpretation;
(2) reconstruction of palaeocharmel morphological characteristics; and (3) economic geology is outlined.
Future recognition of tidally influenced river point-bar IHS in the rock record should furnish valuable
information regarding shoreline proximity, possible palaeotidal ranges, etc. Much additional work is
required on IHS deposits of modem point bars in general, and tidally influenced river point bars in
particular, before satisfactory process-response depositional models of their formation can be developed.

INTRODUCTION

Based upon their original attitude with respect to the horizontal/palaeohorizontal,

three fundamental stratification types are recognized in modern and ancient silicielastic sedimentary sequences, viz. flat, inclined and cross-strata. Of these, inclined
strata are both the least common and least understood. From published descriptions, the ranges of original dip values generally ascribed to Recent flat, inclined
and cross-strata are 0-2 ~ 1-30 ~ and 1-34 ~ (subaqueous) or 1-45 ~ (subaerial),
respectively. Dip values for ancient examples may be lower due to compaction, or
higher (particularly in the case of certain cross-strata) due to oversteepening
produced by soft sediment deformation. On occasion, the large overlap between the
dip values of inclined and cross-strata has led to their misidentification or confusion
concerning appropriate terminology. Although average set thicknesses for ancient
examples of inclined strata are considerably greater than those of cross-strata,
numerous exceptions dictate that their differentiation be based on thorough analyses
of geometry and internal structure.
Clastic sediments may be deposited as inclined strata either "passively" i.e. from
suspension onto an existing slope, or (much more commonly) by the "active" lateral
accretion or progradation of large-scale "bedforms" such as point bars or Gilberttype deltas. Lithologically, inclined-stratified sequences may be classified as predominantly homogeneous ("homolithie") or heterogeneous ("heterolithic"), although genetically the two types are often intimately related. Numerous examples of
both forms are documented in the literature. A large majority of these descriptions
refer to ancient deposits interpreted to be products of point-bar lateral accretion
within relatively high-sinuosity channels from a variety of environments. The
description and interpretation of Recent and fossil, waterlain, siliciclastic, heterolithic, originally inclined sequences of observed or inferred point-bar origin forms
the core of the present paper. (No discussion of inclined strata of volcaniclastic
origin is attempted herein.)
Our collective experience with such deposits derives from work on modern
examples in Ecuador and Willapa Bay, Washington (Smith); the Athabasca delta
(Calverley-Range); and the Columbia River, British Columbia (Smith, Visser); and
ancient examples in the Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation, Dinosaur Park,
Alberta (Koster, Wood, Visser, Thomas); Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation,
Alberta (Smith); and Lower Devonian (Old Red Sandstone) of Wales and Spitsber-

125
gen (Thomas). As a consequence of this research, it was jointly concluded that the
bewildering variety of published terms used to name and describe such sequences
required rationalization and simplification in order to facilitate the adequate description, classification and interpretation of the growing spectrum of heterolithic
inclined-stratified deposits being discovered.
The aims of this study are, therefore, to:
(1) introduce a single, new, non-genetic term, i.e. "Inclined Heterolithic Stratification" (IHS), to replace the confusing multitude of names presently applied to
lithologically heterogeneous siliciclastic sequences that possess original dips,
(2) briefly review previous terminology related to IHS deposits,
(3) suggest a series of "standard" descriptive terms for use with all types of IHS
deposits in order to expedite their comparison and interpretation,
(4) document and clarify the relationships between IHS and the inclined surfaces
--herein termed Inclined Stratification (IS)--present in lithologically homogeneous
deposits (typically sandstones),
(5) present an inventory of known IHS varieties and the known or inferred
environments in which they formed,
(6) discuss the processes responsible for the formation of IHS sequences upon
point bars within wholly fluvial, tidally influenced and marine channels, and
(7) outline the potential significance of IHS deposits in terms of palaeoenvironmental interpretation and palaeogeographic reconstruction, and their relevance to
economic sedimentary geology.
PROPOSEDNEW NOMENCLATURE
It is proposed that the terms Inclined Heterolithic Stratification (IHS) and
Inclined Stratification (IS) should be used to characterize modern and ancient
large-scale, waterlain, lithologically heterogeneous and homogeneous (respectively)
siliciclastic sedimentary sequences, whose constituent strata are inclined at an
original ("depositional") angle to the horizontal or palaeohorizontal. Deposits of
such strata typically range in thickness from 1 to 30 m, exhibit initial dips of 1-36 ~
and, given suitable exposure, may be traceable along their strikes for many tens of
metres.
The phrase Inclined Heterolithic Stratification was chosen to describe such
deposits because it is non-genetic and embraces three of their most obvious and
distinctive qualities, viz. (1) their initial or depositional dip (relative to original
horizontal), (2) their lithologically heterogeneous composition, frequently expressed
as an alternation of coarser- and finer-grained units, and (3) the intercalation within
them of depositional units showing a wide variety of thicknesses ranging from
decimetre-thick beds to millimetre- or submillimetre-thick laminae or partings.
The term IHS is not meant to be applied to those rare examples of heterolithic
cross-strata such as bundle beds (cf. Visser, 1980). Bundle bedding is generated by

126
sandwave migration within estuarine channels or tidal inlets. It commonly consists
of groups of foreset laminae (the "bundles" of Boersma, 1969) bounded by thin
drapes of fine sediment deposited during slack water intervals. Neap-spring tidal
cycles are reflected in the sinusoidal pattern of bundle thickness variation (see
Visser, 1980; Boersma and Terwindt, 1981; Allen and Homewood, 1984; De
Mowbray and Visser, 1984; and others).
Generally, differentiation between inclined heterolithic strata and angle-of-repose
cross-strata is relatively straightforward. A few small-scale examples of inclined
bedding may superficially resemble planar cross-strata. In most such cases, however,
the lateral-accretion origin of the inqlined beds will be confirmed by the presence
within them of cross-laminae whose foreset dip directions approximately parallel the
inclined beds' strike.
Given the proliferation of sedimentological nomenclature over the last 15 years,
some resistance to the introduction of yet another new term (with its nowadays
near-obligatory acronym) is inevitable. However, it is anticipated that widespread
usage of "IHS" would actually serve to simplify description and comparison of such
deposits by rendering obsolete the innumerable other genetic, non-descriptive or
otherwise inappropriate terms currently entrenched in the literature.
DESCRIPTIVETERMINOLOGYFOR IHS SEQUENCES
Important characteristics to document during detailed description of IHS deposits include: (1) the overall size, shape and thickness (and variations thereof) of
the deposit; (2) its relationships with the overlying, underlying and laterally adjacent
units in the context of the overall lithofacies architecture of the study sequence; (3)
the nature and shape of its upper and lower bounding surfaces, and the presence or
absence of a hierarchy of internal bounding surfaces; (4) its overall lithological
composition and variations in the same, both along strike and up- and down-dip;
(5) the compositions, thicknesses, internal structures and geometry of its individual
inclined strata and variations thereof; (6) the presence of any vertical (or lateral)
trends in terms of bed thickness or grain size in the arrangement of its constituent
strata; (7) the nature of the contacts between individual inclined units and subunits;
(8) modes of occurrence and identities of any fossils present within the deposit; (9)
the (true) dip values and dip directions of the inclined strata and any down-dip or
lateral variation in these values; and (10) the shapes (in both true-dip section and
plan-view) of the major inclined surfaces ("master bedding" of Allen, 1982) and
their contact relationships with the upper and lower bounding surfaces of the
deposit.
It should be emphasized that the availability of good quality outcrops (preferably
containing both true-dip and strike sections) of IHS deposits is an essential
prerequisite to their successful identification and detailed sedimentological analysis.
Regarding the latter, we consider the construction of "lateral profiles" [as urged by

127

Miall (1985a) and undertaken by such workers as Allen (1983) and Wood (1985)] to
be a vital component in any field study of the lithofacies architecture of IHS-bearing
deposits.
IHS may go unrecognized in strike-section exposures because of its lack of
apparent dip. The same is true of inclined stratification in sandstones, and even in
dip sections many examples of the latter are probably overlooked because they
frequently possess very low (2-3 ~ dips (cf. Allen, 1970).
The following descriptive terminology is applicable to a greater or lesser extent to
all known forms of IHS but is primarily designed to facilitate analysis of those
deposits generated by the lateral migration of point bars. Its development has
largely been based upon our work with IHS sequences in the Alberta Cretaceous
and Old Red Sandstone of Britain and Spitsbergen.

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Fig. 1. Proposed nomenclature for the description of inclined heterolithic stratification (IHS). (Note: IHS
sets as shown in A, C, D and E may range in thickness from < 1 to 30 m.) (A) IHS coset consisting of
three vertically stacked IHS sets (see Fig. 3). (B) Lithologically, individual IHS inclined units typically
consist of a normally graded bed or a coarse-to-fine couplet. Inclined units may be from 1-2 cm up to
several metres in thickness. (C) Imbricate IHS coset formed by three laterally stacked, codirectional sets
(see Fig. 4). (D) A composite set. This example comprises a set of sand-mud IHS that grades down-dip
into an inclined-stratified sand body. (E) Dip-section view of a point-bar IHS set showing the three basic
types of fine member down-dip continuity viz.: (1) discontinuous, up-dip attached; (2) continuous; (3)
discontinuous, irregular. (F) Plan section of a point bar showing possible variations in 1HS fine member
along-strike continuity viz.: (1) discontinuous, irregular; (2) discontinuous, distal attached; (3) continuous. (Note, relative thickness of mud layers is highly exaggerated.)

128
One of the simplest types of IHS sequence consists of a solitary package of
uniformly inclined strata composed of two alternating coarser and finer lithologies.
Such an I H S sequence is herein termed a SET (Fig. 1). This n a m e is preferred
despite its cross-bedding connotations (cf. McKee and Weir, 1953). However, we
endorse Land and Hoyt's (1966) opinion that an inclined stratum formed by lateral
accretion should not be termed a cross-bed sensu Wright (1959). A set of I H S m a y
overlie a basal erosion surface or pass gradationally down-dip into, for instance, an
inclined-stratified sandstone. In the latter case such combined (and genetically
related) IHS and IS sets are said to constitute a C O M P O S I T E SET (Figs. 1 and 2).
The upper contact of IHS sets is typically either a lithological gradation or another
scour surface. Two or more I H S sets may be superimposed in either a vertical
a n d / o r lateral sense and these "stacked" deposits are termed COSETS (Fig. 1). In
cosets, the dip directions of the individual I H S sets m a y be parallel or sub-parallel
(codirectional) or divergent (bi- to poly-directional) (Fig. 3). Laterally stacked
codirectional sets constitute an I M B R I C A T E COSET (Fig. 4). Since they already
possess specific meanings in terms of sandstone-body geometry, the terms multistorey and multilateral have not been utilized. The basic lithological building blocks
of IHS sequences are I N C L I N E D U N I T S which m a y be separated by I N C L I N E D
S U R F A C E S of erosional or non-depositional origin (Fig. 1). Individual heterolithic
inclined units typically fine upward. They consist of a normally graded bed or of
distinct coarse- and fine-grained M E M B E R S that together constitute a coarse-to-fine
C O U P L E T (Figs. 1 and 5). Both the coarse and fine members of these couplets m a y

Fig. 2. Composite set composed of sandstone (light)-mudstone (dark) IHS gradationally overlying a
thick inclined-stratified sandstone body. IHS-IS transition occurs in sequence immediately underlying
arrow. Inclined units within the sandstone are trough cross-bedded. Regional tectonic dip is negligible.
Staff (right of arrow) is 1.5 m long. Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation, Dinosaur Provincial Park,
Alberta.

129

Fig. 3. Complex coset consisting of four, polydirectional, sandstone (light)-mudstone (dark) IHS sets.
Note abundant ball-and-pillow structures in the uppermost set. Height of view is 8 m. Formation/location
as for Fig. 2.

be either homolithic or heterolithic, but in a majority of the examples familiar to the

authors, the coarse member is homolithic whereas the fine member is heterolithic.
Fine members of IHS couplets are commonly composed of mud, silt or clay and in
the literature have often been referred to as mud (etc.) drapes. It is important to
record IHS fine-member continuity (in both strike and dip sections) since this
parameter can yield important clues to these deposits' modes of origin. In dip

Fig. 4. Imbricate coset consisting of three laterally stacked, co-directional, sandstone (light)-mudstone
(dark) IHS sets (cf. Fig. 14, 2). Bulk of oldest set is out of view to right. Erosion surfaces marking the
bases of the second and third sets are arrowed. Metre rule for scale. Lower Devonian Wood Bay
Formation, Kapp Kjeldsen, Svalbard.

130

Fig. 5. Close-up of part of IHS set at the centre of Fig. 4. Note the sharp bases and tops of the sandstone
members (light) of the coarse-to-fine couplets. These sandstones are parallel laminated or medium-scale
trough cross-laminated. Sinuous gutter casts (arrow) on some of their bases may represent fills of
drainage runnels cut during point-bar emergence. Flow in the parent channel of this small-scale IHS
deposit was probably ephemeral. Scale is 25 cm.

section, fine members may be described as complete (continuous) or discontinuous

--with or without up-dip attachment (Fig. 1).
Also, in true-dip section, the overall profile of the inclined strata can be
characterized as straight (usually asymptotic at base), sigmoidal, concave-upward,
convex-upward or (rarely) "terraced". It is not uncommon to observe inclined strata
whose dip-section profile is a combination of two of the above-listed shapes or
which consists of two straight segments possessing different dips. The latter is
especially true of composite IHS-IS sets. With an incomplete outcrop, care should
be exercised in the identification of concave-upward IHS, since the exposed set
often may only represent part of the fill sequence of an abandoned channel whose
constituent strata were laid down approximately parallel to its cross-section profile
(cf. Gradzinski, 1970, fig. 23).
PREVIOUS T E R M I N O L O G Y APPLIED TO IHS A N D IS DEPOSITS

Over the last sixty years numerous varieties of modem and ancient inclinedstratified homo- and heterolithic deposits (from a diverse suite of environments)
have been reported in the literature. Concomitantly, an equally diverse assortment
of names and descriptive terms has been erected for such deposits by the many
authors who have studied them. Historically, the development of this nomenclature
falls naturally into two well-defined phases, namely pre- and post-1963.

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Prior to 1963, modern examples of IHS and IS had been illustrated and (less
frequently) described from the point bars of gravelly meandering rivers and
meandering channels draining German and Dutch North Sea intertidal mudflats.
Useful reviews of the evolution of our understanding of lateral accretion and its
products during this period are provided by Miall (1978) and Allen (1982). In 1954,
with reference to intertidal creek point bars, Van Straaten (according to Allen and
Friend, 1968, p. 43) "applied the term 'lateral deposit' to a lithologically heterogeneous bed formed of inclined sediment layers deposited by currents that flowed
approximately parallel to the strike of the layers". Similar deposits formed by Van
Straaten's (1954) "lateral sedimentation" were described as "longitudinal oblique
beds" by Reineck (1958; subsequently termed "longitudinal cross-bedding" by
Reineck and Singh, 1975, pp. 89-91). Building upon this work, Wright (1959)
postulated that a structure he termed "meander-bank or point-bar cross-bedding"
could form by deposition on the banks or bars of both meandering and braided
streams. Wright suggested that the "foresets" of this type of cross-bedding would
dip at right angles to the main current direction and "thus represent successive
positions of the depositing bank of a meandering stream". These ideas provided an
important impetus to the subsequent development of the now familiar, meandering
river point bar, fining-upward cyclothem, depositional model (Miall, 1978; Allen,
1982). Evolution of both this model and the terminology applied since 1963 to
heterolithic deposits of inferred lateral-accretion origin are inextricably interlinked.
In 1963 Allen published a descriptive classification for "fifteen distinct kinds of
cross-stratified unit" which were each assigned letters from the Greek alphabet.
Only one of Allen's (1963) categories, i.e. "epsilon-cross-stratification" which was
based upon Reineck's (1958, fig. 1) intertidal creek, point-bar stratification, has
since enjoyed widespread usage. Since 1963, epsilon-cross-stratification (frequently
abbreviated to "ECS") has been the term most commonly applied to deposits herein
designated as IHS. "ECS" has played an important role in the sedimentological
interpretation of ancient point bar deposits and the reconstruction of the morphological characteristics of their parent palaeochannels (see discussions in Allen,
1965a, 1970, 1982; Miall, 1978; Jackson, 1978; Collinson, 1978; Ethridge and
Schumm, 1978; and many others).
The first genuine, ancient examples of ECS (complete with schematic block
diagrams illustrating their lithological characteristics and sedimentary structures)
were described by Allen (1965a) from the ?Lower Old Red Sandstone, Porth y Mot
Beds of Anglesey, NW Wales. By 1970, Allen reported that only four definite
instances of ECS were known from the stratigraphic record. Today, however, that
figure has increased dramatically but, unfortunately, many purported published
examples of ECS do not conform to Allen's (1963, 1965a) original definitions of the
structure and refer only to inclined-bedded sandstones. With this in mind the key
points from Allen's definitions bear reiteration. According to Allen (1963, pp.
102-104), ECS units usually occur as large-scale, solitary, lithologically heteroge-

132
neous sets composed of "alternate layers of clayey silt and sand". In true-dip
section such "cross-strata" varied from straight to "convex-upward in the majority"
and were often curved in plan. These ECS sets were of tidal-current origin. Allen
(1965a, pp. 151-155) noted that his Lower Devonian examples of ECS were
"heterolithic" and their major bedding planes had a sigmoidal form in vertical
section. He interpreted these units as being the "product of lateral sedimentation in
meandering channels".
In relevant accounts published from 1965 to date, epsilon-cross-stratification and
its derivatives (such as "epsilon crossbed sets"--Tyler and Ethridge, 1983; or
"epsilon bedding"--Peterson, 1984; etc.) constitute the most popular group of
names applied to IHS and IS sequences. Another major group of terms utilized for
IHS and IS deposits has emphasized their large scale, their sigmoidal profile in
true-dip section (cf. Allen, 1965a) and involved their designation as cross-strata or
foresets. Such terms include "large-scale sigmoidal cross-statification" (MoodyStuart, 1966; Steidtmann, 1969); "large-scale sigmoidal cross-bedding" (Cherven,
1978); "sigmoid sedimentation units" (Beutner et al., 1967); "sigmoidal cross-bedding" (Karl, 1976); "low angle foreset beds" and "low-angle cross-strata" (Dodson,
1971); "large scale cross stratification" (Evans, 1965); "large scale cross beds"
(Cotter, 1971); "planar-tabular cross-stratified set" (Williams, 1966); "large-scale
fore-set bedding" (McLean, 1971); "megacross-stratification" (Arche, 1983) and
"foreset bedding" (Maberry, 1971).
A majority of published ancient examples of I H S / I S have been interpreted to be
products of the migration (lateral accretion) of various kinds of point bars, and the
preponderance of genetically specific terms in the literature strongly reflects this.
For example: "lateral accretion surfaces" a n d / o r deposits (Leeder, 1973; Elliott,
1976a; Ryer and Langer, 1980; Allen, 1982; Legun and Rust, 1982; Flores, 1983);
"lateral accretion bedding" (Bridge and Diemer, 1983; Stear, 1983); "point bar
lateral accretion bedding" (Rahmani, 1983); "point bar (lateral accretion) surfaces"
(Gardner, 1983). Many authors use two or more such terms to describe a single
deposit a n d / o r use combinations of the above groups of terms such as: "sigmoidal
dipping sets of lateral accretion bedding" (Nami and Leeder, 1978); "lateral
accretion foresets" (Blakey and Gubitosa, 1984) and "point bar cross bedding"
(Miall, 1984). Very few authors have initially restricted themselves to purely
descriptive terms, although Gradzinski (1970)--"composite inclined stratification",
Moore and Nilsen (1984)--"1ong inclined surfaces", and Taylor and Walker (1984)
- - " l o w angle dipping surfaces", are some of the exceptions.
With specific regard to ECS, which is the best known and arguably most misused
of these names, the writers' objections to its continued use are as follows: (1) ECS is
essentially a non-descriptive term which has now unfortunately become imbued
with strong genetic connotations; (2) Allen's (1963, 1965a) original definitions of
ECS are too restrictive to encompass the many new types of IHS now known; and
(3) classification of IHS as a form of cross-stratification is inappropriate since the

133
mechanisms responsible for its formation (such as point-bar lateral accretion) differ
radically f r o m the well-accepted b e d f o r m migration and flow processes involved in
the genesis of genuine cross-stratified deposits.
TYPES OF IHS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS OF FORMATION

General introduction
Space constraints preclude detailed description of m a n y I H S examples k n o w n to
the authors via their o w n fieldwork or literature review. Those briefly m e n t i o n e d
below were selected to illustrate b o t h the diversity of I H S compositional types and
their range of observed or inferred environments of formation. C o m p i l a t i o n of an
adequate catalogue of I H S "species" was h a m p e r e d by the general lack of t h o r o u g h
sedimentological analyses of specific I H S sets within published accounts of IHSbearing sequences. Inclined strata are also discussed where their occurrence has
direct relevance to the character and origin of associated IHS.
Of all the m a n y forms of m o d e r n and ancient IHS, the c o m m o n e s t and best
k n o w n are those associated with point-bar deposition. M o s t such deposits, whether
c o m p o s e d of normally graded inclined units or of coarse-to-fine couplets exhibit an
overall fining-upward. Within point-bar generated I H S sequences it is potentially
possible to detect seven main types of grain-size fining trends (Fig. 6). Careful

Fig. 6. Schematic illustration of a hypothetical point bar showing seven possible grain-size fining trends
associated with IHS deposits. (See Fig. 1 for key to symbols.) 1 = overall vertical fining upward;
2 = lateral fining (away from channel) into an overbank sequence; 3 = lateral fining into the channel
where latter has been abandoned and plugged with shale (cf. Fig. llB); 4 = along-strike (down-flow)
proximal-to-distal fining; 5 = up-dip fining within individual inclined units; 6 = fining perpendicular to
inclined bounding surfaces within individual inclined units (cf. Fig. 1B); 7= fining-upward rhythms
within the fine members of individual inclined units (cf. Figs. 12 and 13).

134

documentation of such trends is a vital aid to any interpretation of the processes

responsible for IHS deposition.
Lithologically, coarse members of those IHS sequences arranged as coarse-to-fine
couplets typically consist of one or more of: cobble- to granule-grade extraformational conglomerate, boulder- to granule-grade intraformational conglomerate, pebbly or clast-free, very coarse- to very fine-grained sandstone, or coarse siltstone.
Couplet fine members generally comprise one or more of: coarse to very fine
sandstone, coarse to fine siltstone, mudstone, claystone, or interlaminated sandstone
a n d / o r mudstone a n d / o r siltstone a n d / o r claystone a n d / o r highly organic-rich
layers. Changes in the grain sizes of coarse or fine members, both along strike or upor down-dip, are common and may even result in local grain size "reversals". For
example, the mudstone members of sandstone/mudstone couplet-dominated IHS
sets in the Judith River Formation of Dinosaur Park, Alberta, can commonly be
traced down-dip into intraformational conglomerate.
Sedimentary structures common in sandy IHS coarse members include mediumscale trough and planar cross-stratification, graded bedding, parallel lamination and
small-scale (ripple) cross-lamination. Most coarse members possess irregular or
planar basal erosion surfaces and sharp or gradational upper boundaries. Fine
members are typically parallel, linsen, flaser, wavy, or small-scale cross-laminated,
or may show normal or (rarely) reverse grading. Desiccation cracks, trace fossils and
rhizotubules may also be present. Both coarse and fine members may appear to be
structureless ("massive" of many authors). Penecontemporaneous deformation features are common and affect all portions of IHS deposits. Most commonly encountered are those structures related to downslope movement of sediment.

Modern examples
In a perceptive discussion of the reliability of ECS (sensu Allen, 1963, 1965a) as a
diagnostic criterion for the recognition of meandering stream (point-bar) deposits,
Jackson (1978, pp. 565-568) noted that although at least eighteen examples of ECS
in ancient fluvial deposits were known, he could find only two unpublished accounts
of ECS in modern meandering streams. This situation has since improved somewhat
due to the studies of Shepherd (1978), Jackson (1981), Arche (1983) and Calverley
(1984) up on wholly fluvial meandering channels, and work by Smith (1985) from
tidally influenced river systems. Nevertheless, the bulk of our knowledge concerning
modem examples of IHS is still drawn from the point-bar deposits of small-scale
meandering channels draining intertidal mudflats.
IHS sets formed by migration of intertidal creek point bars are generally < 1 m
thick but in rare instances attain thicknesses of almost 4 m (Evans, 1965), frequently
overlie shell lags and are far more heavily bioturbated than their fluvial counterparts
(Barwis, 1978; Allen, 1982). Important recent studies of intertidal creek point bars
include those of Bridges and Leeder (1976) and (in particular) De Mowbray (1983).

135
IHS deposits of lateral-accretion origin described by De Mowbray (1983) from the
Solway Firth (U.K.) consisted of finely interlaminated (on mm-to-cm scales) fine
sand and coarse silt layers dipping at 5-15 ~ toward the thalweg, forming < 0.5 m
thick wedge-shaped sets bounded by more steeply inclined erosion surfaces. De
Mowbray (1983, p. 434) was unable "to detect any significant regularity in the
thickness variations of successive layers" in the IHS sequences she studied.
Larger-scale, but otherwise closely similar, IHS sequences are also known from
the point bars of some estuarine tidal channels (Tucker, 1973; Clifton and Phillips,
1980). Clifton and Phillips (1980, pp. 62 and 68; figs. 18 and 19) described IHS
deposits consisting of "gently inclined alternations" of fine sand, silt and clay,
produced by lateral migration of the "accretionary banks" of both the main (tidal
estuarine) and tributary (intertidal runoff) channels in Willapa Bay, Washington.
According to these authors, such IHS sequences in the "upper estuary" overlie
bioturbated channel-lag deposits and are succeeded by "bioturbated mud flat
deposits".
Smith (1985) studied IHS sequences within point bars of the mesotidally influenced portion of the Willapa River upstream from Willapa Bay (Fig. 7). He
found that the point-bar facies was dominated by sand-mud couplets extending the
full (i.e. down-dip) length of these bars, and that the IHS was dominated by a
"rhythmic style thickness and stratigraphic interval of mud beds". Smith (in press)
also noted that "mean grain sizes fine both up-section and downstream around a
point bar (proximal to distal at ebb flow)".

Fig. 7. IHS consistingof sands(light)and organic-richmudsand organiclitter layers(both dark) exposed

in the uppermostportion of a point bar from the mesotidaUyinfluencedWillapaRiver, near Raymond,
Washington State (cf. Smith, 1985). Inclinedlayersdip at 12~ towardschannel.Vertical scale is part of
metre rule.

136

Fig. 8. Vibracore of an IHS sequence consisting of cm-scale couplets of organic-richsand (s) and mud
(m) layers, taken from the upper level of a point bar in the mesotidally influenced reach of the Daule
River, Ecuador (cf. Smith, 1985). Note the sharp tops and bases of both lithologicalunits. Core barrel is
5 cm wide.

In addition, using vibracores, Smith (1985) investigated the lithostratigraphy of

point bars within both the fluvial microtidal- and mesotidal-influenced reaches of
the Daule and Babahovo rivers in Ecuador. Upper portions of point bars in
upstream mesotidal (2-3 m range) reaches of the Daule River were found to contain
IHS sequences consisting of irregularly spaced sand and mud layers, whereas IHS
sequences of rhythmically arranged sand (15 cm average thickness) and mud (4 cm
average thickness) beds occurred in the upper sections of point bars from mesotidal
(3-4.5 m range) reaches further downstream (Fig. 8). Smith's (in press) proposed
three-fold classification of point-bar deposits (based upon these and other data) and
its potential relevance to the use of IHS in palaeoenvironmental/palaeogeographic
reconstructions is discussed later.
IHS sequences have also been documented from point bars within wholly fluvial
channels of "coarse grained" (bedload-dominant), mixed load, and high suspended
load, meandering rivers. Shepherd (1978, figs. 5 and 8) described inclined, basalt
clast gravel-sand couplets from an ephemeral meandering tributary of the Rio
Puerco in New Mexico. Arche (1983) reported up to 2.5 m thick units of "megacross-stratified" (dips of 10-20 ~ quartzite gravels with interbedded lenticular sands
from the meander lobe deposits of the Jarama River, Spain. Examples of IHS are

137
also known from the "inner accretionary banks" (steeply dipping alternations of
rippled sand and silty vegetation horizons) and bar heads (gravels with sand lenses)
of gravelly point bars of the meandering River Endrick in Scotland (Bluck, 1971).
Jackson (1981) studied point bars in a number of small (1 to < 4 m deep)
"muddy fine-grained meandering streams" in the American midwest. Cores through
point bars of the Little Sugar and Baraboo rivers revealed an overall fining-upward
sequence, with a lower coarse member consisting of very fine to medium-grained
sands (inferred to be trough cross-stratified), and an upper fine (heterolithic)
member comprised of cm-scale intercalations of sand, muddy-sand, mud and plant
detritus-rich mud. Although (for a Baraboo point-bar fine member) Jackson (1981,
p. 1184) found "no vertical trend exists in the frequency of occurrence of the sand
beds", he noted a general tendency for mud-bed thickness to increase upward within
upper point-bar sequences. Jackson's (1981) study is regarded by most workers as
the first unequivocal documentation of modern, wholly fluvial, sand-mud sequences
directly analogous to Allen's (1963, 1970) concept of ECS.
In another important recent study, Calverley (1984) reported the presence of
"large-scale cross-strata" (which she identified as epsilon cross-strata) consisting of
sand-mud couplets within point bars from muddy, mixed-load meandering channels of the Athabasca upper delta plain, NE Alberta (Fig. 9). According to
Calverley, point-bar sequences exhibited an upward-fining trend (expressed as an
increase in overall mud content) but no obvious upward increase in either mud-bed
thickness or numbers. Although no rhythmic vertical pattern in sand-mud couplet
thickness variations was detectable, Calverley found that the point bars showed a
proximal-to-distal fining trend, as evidenced by a downstream increase in the
number and thickness of mud members. Most sand-mud couplets were arranged as
cm-to-dm scale fining-upward rhythms, with only a few coarsening upward. Sand
members were typically medium to very fine grained and possessed sharp bases and

Fig. 9. Point-bar IHS consisting of sand (light)-mud (dark) couplets exposed in a cut-bank of the
Embarras Channelon the upper deltaplain of the AthabascaRiver,Alberta(cf. Calverley,1984). Staffis
2 m long.

138
sharp or rapidly gradational tops. Common lamination types within couplets were
ripple, parallel, flaser, wavy and lenticular. Mud members were often discontinuous
and variable in thickness, both down-dip and along strike. They dipped at angles of
0-21 ~ (average 12.5 ~ and in some cases possessed a sigmoidal profile (Calverley,
1984, p. 56).
Unusual examples of IHS have been described from channel-bank "bench
deposits" of the suspended load, very low gradient, sluggish Barwon River in New
South Wales by Taylor and Woodyer (1978) and Woodyer et al. (1979). Sand-mud
IHS sets up to several metres in thickness constitute Member 2 of the Barokaville
Formation which is "intimately related" to the present Barwon channel (Woodyer
et al., 1979, p. 107). According to these authors, Member 2 consists of "interlaminated" 0.1-16 cm (average 5 cm) very fine grained sands and 0.1-14 cm
(average 2 cm) muds. Within Member 2 the dominant sedimentary structure is
normal a n d / o r reverse graded bedding. These sand and mud layers may be inclined
at up to 36 ~ towards the channel.
Rare examples of IHS occur within the uppermost portions of a few channel-fill
sequences associated with the anastomosed Columbia River near Golden, British
Columbia. During the late stages of their filling and eventual abandonment, small
meandering streams sometimes develop in the anastomosed-channel reaches. Visser
(1983) studied a fining-upward sequence capped by a 1 m thick IHS set deposited
by a point bar of one such stream. This set consisted of alternating dm-cm-scale
thick layers of sand and mud typically arranged as fining-upward couplets, and
inclined at angles of 0-30 ~ towards the channel (Fig. 10). Couplet coarse members
were medium-grained sands with sharp bases and gradational tops, while most fine
members graded normally upward from muddy sand at their bases to silty clay (Fig.
10). Fine members varied little in thickness along the set strike but pinched out
rapidly when traced down-dip.
Finally, a number of modern deep-sea fans--including the Amazon Fan (Damuth
and Flood, 1985) and Mississippi Fan (Stelting et al., 1985)--are traversed by
meandering channel systems. Morphological similarities between these submarine
high-sinuosity channels and their subaerial counterparts include the presence of
point bars, meander cut-offs and levees (cf. Lonsdale and Hollister, 1979; Damuth
and Flood, 1985; Stelting et al., 1985; and other authors). Examples of point-bar
and levee IHS a n d / o r IS sets should be present within the lateral-accretion deposits
(cf. Stelting et al., 1985) formed during the migration of these deep-sea channels.

Ancient examples
Published reports of ancient examples of IHS and IS far outnumber those
concerning their modern counterparts. Unfortunately, very few such studies have
been specifically directed toward the sedimentological analysis of individual IHS
a n d / o r IS deposits. Notwithstanding this problem, a considerable variety of en-

139

Fig. 10. Sand (light)-mud (dark) couplets comprising a point-bar IHS sequence within an abandoned
reach of the anastomozed Columbia River, near Golden, British Columbia. Sands are small- to
medium-scale trough cross-laminatedand possess scour bases and gradational tops. Muds are rooted and
contain organic-richinterlaminae (cf. Fig. 5). Metre rule for scale.

vironments and processes have been invoked in explanations of the origin of ancient
IHS sequences. However, the bulk of such interpretations involves lateral accretion
of point bars within high-sinuosity palaeochannel systems of diverse scale, discharge
characteristics and dominant sediment load. One striking contrast between published accounts of ancient versus m o d e m examples of IHS is that numerically, the
former are almost exclusively concerned with reports of wholly fluvial, meandering
channel IHS deposits--as opposed to those of inferred intertidal mudflat channel
origin--whereas for the latter (as outlined above), the reverse holds true. Indeed,
Allen (1982, p. 100) could only list one definite fossil example of a "tidal lateral
accretion" deposit. The complete explanation for this situation is presently unknown, although it seems probable that at least some small-scale examples of IHS
have previously been misinterpreted to be of freshwater--rather than tidally influenced point bar--origin.
A complete review of published descriptions and interpretations of ancient IHS
deposits is beyond the scope of this present paper. The following account con-

140
centrates upon a few well-described examples considered most representative of
basic "trends" in terms of IHS varieties' composition and structure, and most
informative regarding their sedimentological interpretation. This discussion (and
later interpretive section) is biased toward sand-mud dominated IHS sequences of
inferred meandering river, point-bar origin but will commence with a brief overview
of less common IHS types of different lithological composition a n d / o r environment
of deposition. Details of inclined-stratified units are included for those IHS sequences to which they are closely related in terms of both physical proximity and
presumed mode of origin.
Deltaic distributary channels
Small- and large-scale examples of IHS have been reported by Elliott (1976a, b)
from Carboniferous fluvio-deltaic sequences in northern England. Within the coarse
member of an 8 m thick, erosively based, fining-upward fill of one fluvial distributary channel, Elliott (1976a) recognized a three-tier lithofacies succession. At the
base were: (1) medium-scale (20-40 cm set size) trough cross-bedded sandstones
which were overlain by (2) low-angle (5-6 ~ dip) inclined-bedded sandstones with
some finer grained interbeds. These sandstones showed "concordant sigmoidal
bedding planes" which occurred in packages of eight to twelve bounded by
discordant erosion surfaces whose maximum separation (perpendicular to bedding)
was 4 m. All surfaces dipped into the channel. Present at the top of the coarse
member was (3) a gently inclined unit of interbedded (on a 5-10 cm scale)
current-tipple laminated sandstones and siltstones (Elliott 1976a). These three facies
displayed lateral intergradation.
Elliott (1976b) also noted two ca. 1.75 m thick, erosively based, fining-upward
(both overall and up-dip) IHS sets consisting of sandstone accretion beds separated
by thin siltstones. Elliott observed these sandstone beds to lens out up-dip and
found siltstone drapes and rootlets at the top of each set. He interpreted these
sequences as crevasse-splay channel fills.
Fielding (1984, fig. 7, p. 555) illustrated a "laterally accreted claystone-filled
minor distributary channel" from the Upper Carboniferous of NE England. This
channel, which appears to show sandstone-shale IHS is, according to Fielding, one
of several which contain "mixed fills" of up to 6 m thickness.
Cherven (1978) has described a number of large-scale "sigmoidal cross-bedded"
sandstone bodies from the Palaeocene fluvio-deltaic Sentinel Butte Formation of
North Dakota. In his distributary channel facies, Cherven (1978, pp. 163-164, figs.
8, 9A and B) observed common "low-angle ( < 15 ~ planar cross-bedding" (inclined
stratification of present authors) but only one (8-10 m thick) example of sigmoidal
cross-bedding (IHS). The latter was present in the upper half of a ca. 16 m thick,
erosively based, fining-upward channel deposit. Bedding planes, many showing
original dips of over 10 ~ were indicated by clay beds or oxidized plant debris
(Cherven, 1978, p. 164). The lower portion of the channel fill consisted of trough

141
cross-bedded sandstones and within such sandstone bodies Cherven noted an
overall upward decrease in cross-bedding scale.
Fining-upward, erosively based fill sequences of upper delta-plain channels have
also been described by Hobday (1978) from the Permo-Triassic Ecca Group in
South Africa. These channel fills, which are up to 15 m thick, fine upward from
conglomerates through sandstones to sandy siltstones with rootlets, and show a
concomitant upward reduction in the scale of their sedimentary structures. According to Hobday (1978, fig. 6, p. 419) they contain "side-fill structures" (i.e. concaveupward inclined strata with original dips of up to 40 ~) which he interprets as "point
bar lateral accretion structures". The uppermost portions of such sequences contain
ripple-drift cross-laminated fine silty sandstones and "alternating subhorizontal
laminae of carbonaceous siltstone and sandstone" (Hobday, 1978, p. 417).
An IHS complex filling a large (240 m wide, 14 m deep) deltaic distributary
channel has been reported by Hopkins (1985) from the Lower Cretaceous Kootenai
Formation in northern Montana. The fill sequence consists of several superimposed
concave-upward mudstone-sandstone sequences, and Hopkins (1985, pp. 46 and 48,
fig. 9) notes that (1) some inclined sandstone-mudstone sequences pass into thicker
sandstone beds near the channel base, and (2) inclined alternating sandstone-mudstone beds "overlie and roughly parallel the channel margin". The latter observation
is important since channel-filling IHS sequences may represent: (a) the lateral
accretion and aggradation of "bedforms" (e.g., point bars) during a channel's active
phase, (b) plugging of the channel during a n d / o r following its abandonment, or
(commonly) (c) various combinations of (a) and (b). Distinction of genuine "pointbar IHS" from that of "passive" channel-plugging origin can often be based upon
the conformity of the latter's concave-up strata to the shape of the parent channel.
However, in incomplete exposures of large-scale channel fills these two types may
not be safely distinguishable.
A highly unusual form of inclined stratification has been described from mediumto fine-grained sandstone bodies of the Carboniferous, Upper Haslingden Flags of
the Pennine Basin (U.K.) by Collinson and Banks (1975, p. 445). These sandstones
contain up to 27 m thick sets of "large-scale inclined bedding" with original dips of
up to 14 ~. Within the sets, which are wholly ripple cross-laminated and show no
obvious upward trends in sandstone grain size, occur infrequent siltstone beds of up
to 2 m thickness. Ripple foresets indicate that palaeocurrents flowed parallel to the
strikes of the inclined surfaces. Collinson and Banks (1975) suggest these IS and
IHS sets might represent lateral accretion of side bars within the distal reaches of
fairly straight deltaic distributary channels. Alternatively, as proposed by Elliott
(pp. 455-456, in Collinson and Banks, 1975) they may have formed at the margins
of distributary mouth-bar (ultimately bar-finger) sand complexes.
One other form of IHS sequence associated with deltaic deposits has been
reported by Home et al. (1978, p. 2386, fig. 7) from the Carboniferous of eastern
Kentucky. These sequences, which consist of "poorly sorted, irregularly bedded,

142
partially rooted siltstones and sandstones", attain thicknesses of up to 1.5 m and
occur on the flanks of lower delta plain distributary channel fill sequences. They
show original dips of up to 10 ~ directed away from the channels and have been
interpreted by Horne et al. (1978) as levee deposits.
Estuarine channels
Plint (1983, pp. 637-638, fig. 10) has described a distinctive example of IHS
comprising a 10 m thick, fining-upward sequence from the Eocene Bracklesham
Formation of southern England. Strata within the "oblique bedded" set show a
depositional dip of 5 o and consist of cm-scale, sharp-based, graded beds of very fine
ripple-laminated sand or silt fining up to a structureless silty clay. Each bed
becomes more sandy down-dip. Plint (1983) considers that this oblique bedding
"may represent the accretion surface of a large muddy point-bar in an aggrading
estuarine channel".
Rahmani (1983, pp. 4, 5, 31 and 32, fig. 12) has documented a complex imbricate
IHS coset from the Late Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation near Drumheller, Alberta. This 14 m thick deposit consists of gently inclined sandstone-shale
couplets which overlie a scour-based trough cross-bedded sandstone unit. Within
the deposit occur at least eight concave-upward erosion surfaces which, although
slightly steeper than the IHS couplets, possess the same sense of dip. As emphasized
by Rahmani (1983) the couplets' fine-member mudstones can be traced down-dip to
near the base of the deposit--which he interprets as an estuarine (mesotidal)
channel point bar.
Low-sinuosity stream systems
It is now known that occurrences of I H S / I S within fluvial environments are not
restricted to the deposits of meandering rivers. Wright (1959) was among the first to
suggest that "cross stratification" orientated at high angles to mean current directions might also be formed in braided streams. More recently, Long (1978, p. 333)
noted that some large-scale fluvial accretion sets " . . . may have been generated in
braided stream environments by lateral migration of side- and inchannel bars". In
similar vein, Jackson (1978, p. 568) has discussed the possibility that ECS is not
unique to meandering channel point bars and could be formed by the "large lateral
shifts in various sorts of 'braid' bars observed in many decidedly non-meandering
streams". Some of the other workers who have described the process a n d / o r
products of lateral accretion within low-sinuosity sandy or gravelly river systems are
Allen (1965b, p. 144, 1983, p. 287), Cant and Walker (1978), Miall (1979, 1985a) and
Ori (1982).
Extraformational conglomerate-sandstone IHS sets have been observed in gravel
sheets composing the Permo-Triassic Buntsandstein in Spain by Ramos and Sopefia
(1983, p. 304, fig. 3). These authors describe < 2 m thick units of "lateral accretion
conglomerate" containing thin (cm-scale) sandstone interbeds draping "internal

143
surfaces" with original dips of 8-15 ~ The internal surfaces, spaced 20-70 cm apart,
are orientated at fairly high angles ( < 90 ~ to the general trend of associated
channels. Ramos and Sope~aa (1983) believe that these deposits formed by the
lateral accretion of longitudinal bars--probably during their modification under the
influence of waning-flow stage.
Well-developed, erosionally based sets of "epsilon (sigmoidal) cross-stratification"
with dips of 5-13 ~ have been described by Ori (1982) from extraformational gravel
sections comprising part of the Quaternary Reno Fan in the Po Basin, northern
Italy. These sets are 1-4 m thick, 10-50 m wide and exhibit no upward trend in
grain size. They are interpreted by Ori (1982) as braided-stream lateral-bar deposits.

Submarine fan deposits

Concluding this list of unusual or uncommon I H S / I S sequences are three of the
best documented, published examples of IHS sets associated with submarine-channel deposits.
In the Cretaceous Cerro Torro Formation of southern Chile, Winn and Dott
(1979, figs. 11, 13, and 14) found several units consisting of large-scale "gently
inclined alternating conglomerate and sandstone strata". These exotic conglomerate-sandstone IHS sets, which attained thicknesses of at least 2 m, were interpreted
by Winn and Dott (1979) to have been deposited, both within channels and as
levees bordering (and dipping away from) channels, upon deep-water submarine
fans.
Hein (1984) has interpreted extraformational conglomerate, pebbly and massive
sandstone sequences comprising the Cambro-Ordovician, Cap Enrag6 Formation of
Qurbec, Canada, as a deep-sea, braided channel-fill complex. Within the "main
channel" conglomerates of her "coarse, channelled (facies) association", Hein (1984,
p. 46, fig. 20) identified both braid-bar and point-bar deposits. The latter consist of
low-angle inclined, intercalated, graded beds of conglomerate and pebbly sandstone
that constitute up to 5 m thick sets of IHS. According to Hein (1984, p. 46), in these
lateral-accretion point-bar deposits "beds are usually scoured at the base and the
internal fabric within individual beds indicates a transport direction perpendicular
to the angle of inclination of the beds".
Finally, Miall (1985b) has described two IHS sets--interpreted by him as
submarine point-bar deposits--from the early Proterozoic Gowganda Formation of
the Elliot Lake area, Ontario, Canada. According to Miall (1985b, p. 776) the first,
4.5 m thick point-bar sequence consists of "accretion sets" with lengths of at least
25 m and an average dip of 10 ~ (range 0-40~ These sets are composed of 0.2-1 m
thick beds of "muddy, sandy siltstone" and "fine grained quartzose sandstone". No
grain size fining-upward trend was evident in this sequence. Regarding the second
point bar, Miall (1985b; p. 777) states: "it is encased within massive diamictites, and
the foresets of medium grained laminated sandstone interfinger with lenses of
massive to stratified diamictite". "Foresets" within a pebbly sandstone "accretion-

144
ary unit" at the base of this sequence dip at ca. 20 o. Both point bars are interpreted
by Miall as products of lateral accretion in sinuous submarine channels that
traversed (and were incised into) continental slope deposits.

Meandering fluvial channel point-bar deposits

Reports of ancient IHS of inferred meandering river origin outnumber those for
every other category of ancient and modern IHS described in the literature.
Generally, however, the increasingly frequent discovery of inferred fluvial IHS since
1965 has not been accompanied by a commensurate growth in our detailed
understanding of the processes and environments of its formation. This has largely
been due to: (1) many authors' perfunctory treatment of such IHS sequences in
their accounts, or (2) their tendency to concentrate solely upon the use of IHS in
reconstruction of palaeochannel dimensions and hydrological characteristics, and
(3) our lack (until recently) of well-studied modern analogues. The following
synthesis has been distilled from fifteen or so of the most thorough analyses of
ancient fluvial IHS known to the writers. These examples, which were chosen for
their degree of descriptive and interpretive detail a n d / o r high exposure quality, are
taken from the Devonian (Old Red Sandstone) of NW Wales (Allen, 1965a),
Spitsbergen (Moody-Stuart, 1966) and New York State (Allen and Friend, 1968);
Permian of north-central Texas (Edwards et al., 1983); Middle Jurassic Scalby
Formation of Yorkshire (Nami, 1976; Nami and Leeder, 1978); Lower Cretaceous
McMurray Formation of Alberta (Mossop and Flach, 1983; Flach and Mossop,
1985); Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of southern England (Stewart, 1981,
1983); Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation, Alberta (Wood, 1985); Upper
Cretaceous, Upper Nemegt Beds, Mongolia (Gradzinski, 1970); Palaeocene Sentinel
Butte Formation, North Dakota (Cherven, 1978); Eocene Simsboro Sandstone,
Texas (McGowen and Garner, 1970), and several Tertiary formations in Spain
(Puigdefabregas, 1973; Nijman and Puigdefabregas, 1978; Puigdefabregas and Van
Vliet, 1978; Van der Meulen, 1982). Together, these examples embrace the known
diversity of ancient fluvial point-bar IHS sequences particularly in terms of physical
scale, lithological composition and complexity of internal organization. The accounts
of Puigdefabregas (1973), Nami (1976), Nami and Leeder (1978), Nijman and
Puigdefabregas (1978), Puigdefabregas and Van Vliet (1978) and Van der Meulen
(1982), plus that of Padgett and Ehrlich (1976), for a Late Carboniferous sequence
in southern Morocco, deal with exhumed point bars--spectacularly exposed in three
dimensions--that show arcuate accretion (ridge and swale) topography in plan
view. No attempt is made herein to provide individual detailed descriptions for all
the above-listed examples. Instead they are used to illustrate a number of important
characteristics and "trends" (common to a majority of IHS sequences generated by
meandering river point bars) whose recognition the writers consider critical in the
detailed interpretation of such deposits.
The range of set thicknesses reported for ancient IHS examples of presumed

145
meandering river origin varies from a minimum of ca. 0.5 m (Moody-Stuart, 1966)
to a maximum of ca. 25 m (Mossop and Flach, 1983). A convenient, although
arbitrary, three-fold size subdivision of the parent channels of such IHS sets
encountered in the literature is suggested by their calculated bankfull depths viz.
small-scale (i.e. < 3 m; cf. Allen, 1965a), medium-scale (> 3 to < 10 m; cf. Nami
and Leeder, 1978) and large-scale (> 10 m; cf. Flach and Mossop, 1985).
These IHS sets are frequently solitary (Allen, 1965a; Moody-Stuart, 1966;
Mossop and Flach, 1983; and many other authors) but may also occur as cosets and
can be stacked either vertically (Cherven, 1978; Wood, 1985; Fig. 3) or laterally
(Allen and Friend, 1968; Stewart, 1983; Fig. 4).
Typically, these fluvial IHS sets are erosionaUy based except where they overlie
trough cross-bedded sandstones when the contact is frequently gradational (e.g.
Mossop and Flach, 1983; Wood, 1985; Fig. 2; and see below). Erosional bases may
be planar-horizontal, planar'inclined (Fig. 3), irregular or concave-upward and the
topographic relief associated with them varies from less than a few centimetres up to
at least 22 m (Mossop and Flach, 1983, fig. 6). Upper bounding surfaces of sets may
be erosional or gradational and show a range of morphological characteristics
similar to set bases. The commonest form of set upper boundary is a near-horizontal, planar, gradational contact with an overlying mudstone.
Within IHS sets the inclined units (sedimentation- or accretion-units of various
authors) may be bounded either by depositional (concordant, bedding plane)
surfaces or erosional (discordant) surfaces (cf. Allen, 1982, p. 96). The latter are
commonly inclined at somewhat steeper angles than the former. When viewed in
true-dip sections, inclined unit boundaries exhibit a variety of profiles of which the
sigmoidal type (cf. Allen, 1965a; Moody-Stuart, 1966; Gradzinski, 1970; Karl, 1976;
Nami and Leeder, 1978; Cherven, 1978; and others) is perhaps the best known.
However, straight (planar) and concave-upward profiles are more common (see, for
example, Wood, 1985; and many others) (Fig. 3). Sigmoidal profiles give the
"classic" lateral-accretion offlap sequence which Allen (1965a; 1982, fig. 2-23) has
incorporated in his point-bar, fining-upward cyclothem, depositional model. Inclined
units' boundaries show arcuate patterns when exposed in plan view (see references
to exhumed point-bar deposits given above).
True-dip values for the inclined-unit boundaries within different IHS sets vary
greatly. For example, Mossop and Flach (1983) report an original-dip value range of
4-22 ~ for their McMurray Formation IHS sets. Generally, IHS sequences with the
highest mudstone contents exhibit the" steepest dips (Van der Meulen, 1982, p. 219;
cf. Edwards et al., 1983; Visser, 1986; Fig. 11A). The highest dip value known to the
present authors from ancient fluvial IHS deposits is that of 29 ~ (uncorrected for
compaction) recorded by Visser (1986) from a mudstone-dominated IHS set in the
Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Dinosaur Provincial Park, SE Alberta (Fig.
llA). Dip values of individual inclined surfaces within IHS sets can frequently be
observed to change as they are traced down-dip. This is especially true for

146

Fig. 11. (A) Base of sequence shows a steeply dipping (up to 29 ~ mudstone-rich IHS set. Regional
tectonic dip is negligible. Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta.
Staff (parallel to IHS dip) is 1.5 m long.
(B) View of sequence located ten metres to the right of (A). Note the decrease in dip of the
mud-dominated point-bar IHS as it grades laterally into the shale sequence filling an abandoned channel
(arrow). Staff (in foreground) is 1.5 m long.

composite I H S - I S sets where dips of the stratigraphically higher I H S sequences

invariably show a greater average than those of the underlying inclined-stratified
sandstones (Nijman and Puigdefabregas, 1978; V a n der Meulen, 1982; E d w a r d s et
al., 1983; Wood, 1985; and others).
Point-bar sequences f r o m m o d e m meandering rivers are n o w characteristically
subdivided into coarse-grained or b e d l o a d (cf. M c G o w e n and Garner, 1970) and
fine-grained or m u d d y (cf. Jackson, 1981; W o o d y e r et al., 1979) types. A n a l o g o u s

147
ancient point-bar deposits containing IHS sequences have similarly been described
as coarse grained (Nijman and Puigdefabregas, 1978) and fine grained or suspended
load (Stewart, 1983; Edwards et al., 1983). In toto, ancient fluvial IHS sets exhibit
great lithological diversity although a number of common characteristics and basic
grain-size trends are discernible.
The lithologies most often reported from ancient fluvial IHS deposits are
intraformational or (less commonly) extraformational conglomerates, sandstones
(all grades), siltstones a n d / o r mudstones. In those sets possessing basal erosion
surfaces, the latter are typically overlain by an intraformational (rarely extraformational or mixed derivation) conglomerate lag composed of mudstone intraclasts or,
less frequently, carbonate nodules reworked from calcritic palaeosols (cf. Allen,
1965a; Edwards et al., 1983). Almost all IHS sets exhibit some type of overall,
fining-upward grain-size trend although the actual form of the upward fining varies
considerably. For instance, some sets show an overall fining either perpendicular to
palaeohorizontal, or perpendicular to their inclined bedding a n d / o r in an up-dip
direction within all of their constituent inclined units (cf. Fig. 6). In addition, fining
trends--parallel to palaeohorizontal--both toward and away from the palaeochannel, may be present. Overall upward-fining trends may be expressed as a normal
gradation within the IHS set as a whole, e.g. from conglomerates at the base to
mudstones at the top via sandstone and siltstones (cf. Allen, 1965a; Edwards et al.,
1983). Alternatively they may appear as an upward decrease in the mean grain size
of the inclined units' coarse members (Mossop and Flach, 1983; Wood, 1985) or as
an increase in the frequency (Mossop and Flach, 1983) a n d / o r thickness (Gradzinski, 1970; Nami, 1976) of the inclined units' fine members (cf. Fig. 6). Combinations
of these types of fining-upward trend are often exhibited by a single IHS set (cf.
Tunbridge, 1984, p. 701, fig. 4). Individual inclined units also typically manifest a
rhythmic upward fining in the form of either a normally graded bed (Allen, 1965a)
or as a coarse-to-fine couplet of, for example, sandstone/mudstone (cf. Mossop and
Flach, 1983; Wood, 1985; Figs. 3, 5 and 12), or intraformational conglomerate/
sandstone (Wood, 1985), etc. Thicknesses of both coarse and fine members of these
couplets typically range from several cm up to a few dm. A hierarchical arrangement of fining-upward rhythms may be present within some IHS sets. For instance,
fining-upward sequences on at least four different scales (i.e., sub-mm/mm; cm;
dm and m) occur in several of the Judith River Formation sandstone/interlaminated
sandstone and mudstone-couplet dominated IHS sets described by Wood (1985;
Figs. 12 and 13).
In many ancient deposits of inferred fluvial point-bar origin, genuine IHS sets
are confined to the upper portions of the deposit and interdigitate, both down- and
up-dip, with relatively homogeneous lithologies (typically sandstones and mudstones, respectively; see Allen and Friend, 1968; Karl, 1976; Puigdefabregas and
Van Vliet, 1978; Stewart, 1981; Edwards et al., 1983; and many other authors).
When followed down-dip, fine members (e.g. mudstones, sittstones) of the inclined

148

1
A

;:Fig; 13!

Fig. 12. Detail of a point-bar IHS sequence composed of sandstone (ligh0/interlaminated sandstone and
mudstone couplets that exhibits a four-fold hierarchy in the scale of its constituent fining-upward
rhythms. Arrows marked 1 and 2 show first-order (m to dm scale) and second-order (dm to cm scale)
couplets, respectively. Interval A contains eleven third-order (cm scale) couplets. For fourth-order
couplets see Fig. 13. Scale is 25 cm. Formation/location as for Fig. 11A.

Fig. 13. Cut and polished sample taken from part of the fine member of one of the second-order
coarse-to-fine IHS couplets shown in Fig. 12. Note the fourth-order (mm to sub-mm scale) sandstone
(light)-mudstone (dark) couplets, and the horizontal, linsen, wavy and small-scale cross-laminae.

149
units' coarse-to-fine couplets may thin a n d / o r eventually terminate gradually or
abruptly or even, in some sets, be "replaced" by intraformational conglomerates
(Lerand et al., 1983; Wood, 1985). Within some composite (IHS-IS) sets (cf. Fig. 2),
the inclined surfaces of the heterolithic portion of the deposit can be traced for
varying distances into the underlying sandstone body (Nijman and Puigdefabregas,
1978; Puigdefabregas and Van Vliet, 1978; Stewart, 1981, 1983; Van der Meulen,
1982; Mossop and Flach, 1983; Edwards et al., 1983; Wood, 1985). Such inclined
surfaces tend to "flatten out" further down-dip and if continuous, terminate
asymptotically against the basal erosion surface of the set. In a minority of IHS
examples, couplets' fine members are present along the complete or near-complete
lengths of the inclined strata (cf. Puigdefabregas, 1973, as discussed by Puigdefabregas and Van Vliet, 1978, pp. 480-481; Mossop and Flach, 1983; Wood, 1985).
IHS deposits vary markedly in terms of the complexity of their internal lithologica1 organization. Lithofacies units within IHS sets which possess an overall finingupward trend may exhibit the kinds of complex intertonguing relationships reported, for example, by Alien (1965a, pp. 151-155) from the Devonian Porth y Mor
Beds of Anglesey. In general, the least complicated types of IHS are those consisting
of alternating coarser and finer units (commonly sandstone and mudstone) arranged
as fining-upward couplets, such as the examples described by Mossop and Flach
(1983). However, even the most structurally "straightforward" sandstone/mudstone
IHS sequences sometimes show a surprisingly high degree of organization such as
the grouping of "the accretionary units...in alternating muddier and sandier
bundles" observed by Puigdefabregas and Van Vliet (1978, p. 473, fig. 5B).
Sedimentary structures described by various authors from ancient fluvial IHS
deposits include medium- to small-scale (ripple) trough and planar cross lamination,
horizontal and parallel (inclined) lamination for the coarser members of each
inclined unit, and parallel, small-scale cross, flaser and linsen lamination for the
finer members (Fig. 13). Alternatively, either or both members may appear to be
structureless or to be graded. Grading is usually normal but Wood (1985), for
instance, found all four of the grading types recorded by Taylor and Woodyer
(1978) from modern Barwon River bank-bench IHS deposits in the fine members of
some Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation IHS sets he studied in Dinosaur
Park, SE Alberta.
In the case of composite IHS-IS sets the inclined-stratified sandstones forming
the lower portions of the sets are typically large-to-medium scale, trough crosslaminated (cf. Fig. 2). Palaeoflow directions determined from the latter and from
cross-beds in the overlying IHS (and in almost all other occurrences of "ancient
fluvial" IHS) characteristically lie parallel or near-parallel to the strikes of their
parent, inclined strata (Allen, 1965a; Gradzinski, 1970; Cotter, 1971; Karl, 1976;
Cherven, 1978; Nami and Leeder, 1978; Koster, 1983; Stewart, 1981, 1983; Mossop
and Flach, 1983; Wood, 1985; and many other authors). However, in several
instances, cross-bed foresets record flows oriented at oblique angles up the inclined

150
strata (Puigdefabregas, 1973; Edwards et al., 1983; and others) to almost directly
up-dip (cf. Ori, 1982, p. 240, fig. 8; personal observations).
A number of workers including Allen (1965a), Cherven (1978), Stewart (1981,
1983) and Wood (1985) have described an upward decrease in the scale of the
sedimentary structures (especially, for example, cross-bed set thicknesses) within the
IHS sets they analysed. Trace fossils (principally burrows) and rhizotubules are
common in some IHS deposits (cf. Edwards et al., 1983; Puigdefabregas and Van
Vliet, 1978), particularly in their upper portions. Mossop and Flach (1983) found
that the intensity of burrowing increased upward in McMurray Formation IHS sets.
Stewart (1981) observed the upward appearance of color mottling and rootlets and
an increase in mudcracking within heterolithic point-bar deposits of the Wessex
Formation. He also reported (Stewart, 1983, p. 379) the "occurrence of mudcracks
and plant rootlets at all levels" in some other related Wealden Group "point-bar
units". Similarities between the latter units and the recent Barwon River IHS
deposits described by Taylor and Woodyer (1978) and Woodyer et al. (1979) were
discussed by Stewart (1983). Soft-sediment deformation structures including load
(density reversal), slump and injection features are also common in some IHS sets
(cf. Koster, 1983; Stewart, 1983; Wood, 1985; Visser, 1986), as are small-to-medium
scale sandstone-filled scours ( personal observations).

I H S and IS deposits of non-channel-bar origin

Although primarily products of point-bar lateral accretion, IHS and IS may also
form as a result of delta progradation. For completeness, several ancient and recent
examples of such deposits are briefly described below.
Stanley and Surdam (1978, fig. 7, p. 562) interpreted spectacular 10-25 m thick
sequences of IHS from the Laney Member of the Eocene Green River Formation,
Wyoming, as the foreset deposits of lacustrine Gilbert-type deltas. This "foreset
bedding" shows original dips of up to 20 ~ and consists of sandstone-mudstone
couplets which are continuous down the length of the foresets. Each couplet
probably records the passage of a storm- a n d / o r flood-induced density underflow
down the delta front. These foreset deposits, which grade into top- and bottom-sets,
form part of an overall coarsening-upward sequence (Stanley and Surdam, 1978).
Inclined stratification within a 12 m thick sandstone body interpreted as a delta
front (coalesced distributary mouth-bar) facies has been described by Cotter (1975)
from the Upper Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone in Utah. The sandstone sequence as a
whole coarsens upward from very fine to fine or medium-grade sand but contains a
few intercalated thin siltstone beds. Primary dips of up to 15 o occur (Cotter, 1975,
figs. 4, 5 and 6).
Inclined-stratified very fine to medium-grained sands forming Gilbert-type deltaic foresets (dipping at 23-29 ~ and bottom-sets (1-3 ~ have been reported from
the Quaternary Athabasca delta complex in NE Alberta by Rhine (1984). Inclined

151
gravel-sand and sand-silt couplets believed to represent similar foresets and
bottom-sets, respectively, are present within the Quaternary fluvio-glacial sequence
exposed at Golden, B.C. (personal observations).
On occasion, the superficial similarities between large-scale I H S / I S deposits of
meandering-channel point-bar and Gilbert-type deltaic origin have created confusion regarding their differentiation. For example, thick IHS sets of the Lower
Cretaceous McMurray Formation of northern Alberta and the Upper Cretaceous
Judith River Formation of southern Alberta, now interpreted as point-bar deposits
(Koster, 1983; Mossop and Flach, 1983; Wood, 1985; and see below), were
previously described as foresets of Gilbert-type deltas (Carrigy, 1971; McLean,
1971). However, although heterolithic Gilbertian foresets may be organized as
coarse-to-fine couplets, they form part of an overall coarsening- (and often, thickening- ) upward sequence and their dip directions approximately parallel the trends of
associated major flow indicators. Point-bar IHS sequences, on the other hand,
typically fine (and couplet coarse members thin) upward and possess dip directions
orientated at high angles to predominant flow directions.
INTERPRETATIONOF IHS DEPOSITSOF FLUVIAL,AND INTERTIDALCREEK, POINT-BAR
ORIGIN
Introduction

The following section concentrates upon the sedimentological interpretation of

modem and ancient IHS deposits known, or believed to be, the products of
point-bar deposition within the meandering channels of freshwater rivers and
intertidal mudflat creeks. Emphasis is given to a discussion of the more important
sedimentary characteristics common to the ancient, ?fluvial examples of IHS
described above. In this regard, particular attention is focussed on those processes
believed responsible for the accumulation of IHS sequences composed (predominantly) of sandstone and mudstone strata arranged as coarse-to-fine couplets.
As previously noted, most examples of ancient IHS described in the literature
have been identified as the epsilon-cross-stratification of Allen (1963) or variants
thereof. Since 1965, when Allen published the first account of fossil "ECS",
evolution of ideas regarding the interpretation of such deposits has been completely
interwoven with the early development and subsequent refinement of the well-known
("classic") meandering river point-bar, fining-upward cyclothem, depositional model
(Allen, 1965a, 1965b, 1970; and see reviews in Miall, 1978; Jackson, 1978; and
Allen, 1982). As a consequence of the widespread acceptance and application of this
model, the idea that the occurrence of "ECS" is synonymous (in terms of environmental significance) with point-bar growth by lateral accretion in laterally migrating, high-sinuosity river channels (cf. Miall, 1984; Peterson, 1984; and many others)
has become firmly entrenched in the literature. Unfortunately, this concept is now
so familiar that the description/identification and interpretation phases of "ECS"

152
deposit analysis have now become near-inseparable, or even reversed. For example,
Allen's (1970, p. 312) perception that "the best direct evidence for lateral deposition
is... epsilon-cross-stratification" has "evolved" into Van der Meulen's (1982, p. 217)
assertion that "during the lateral migration of a meander the succession of point-bar
layers constitutes... ECS". In addition, it appears that some students of ancient
fluvial sequences increasingly regard the genesis of "ECS" to be sufficiently well
understood as to merit only cursory attention.
Recently, however, the assumption that the presence of "ECS" is a criterion
diagnostic of meandering river deposition has been challenged by Jackson (1978).
Among his many concerns Jackson cited the paucity of modern, meandering river
examples of "ECS"; major differences between the vertical sequences predicted by
the "classic" point-bar fining-upward model and those actually encountered within
coarse-grained point bars; and the probability that varieties of "ECS" could be
formed in braided (cf. Allen, 1965b, 1983; Miall, 1979, 1985a; Ori, 1982; Ramos
and Sopefia, 1983; etc.) and other fluvial (e.g. ephemeral--cf. Tunbridge, 1984)
regimes. Jackson's (1978) cautionary sentiments have been amplified by Bartow
(1978), Miall (1979, 1985a) and Ori (1982), and echoed by Blakey and Gubitosa
(1984) amongst other authors.
Whilst providing much-needed valuable information, recent important studies of
modern examples of point-bar IHS by Jackson (1981), Calverley (1984) and Smith
(1985) have also served to emphasize how much yet remains to be learned about the
detailed processes involved in the accumulation of large-scale IHS sets in meandering channels.

Physical scale of IHS sets

It is generally accepted that the magnitude of fully preserved, solitary IHS sets
generated by point-bar migration is proportional to the widths and depths of their
parent channels. Specifically, Allen (1965a, p. 176) proposed that the thickness of an
"ECS" unit corresponded to "the stream channel depth at bankfull stage". However, during the infilling phase of major channels, small-scale IHS sets may form
with dimensions bearing no relationship to those of the original active channel (cf.
Hopkins, 1985). Likewise, IHS sets can also originate as accretionary bank or bench
deposits on the upper levels of point bars in both "coarse grained" (Bluck, 1971;
Bridge and Jarvis, 1976) and "fine grained" (Taylor and Woodyer, 1978) meandering streams. Insufficient data are available to determine whether a statistically
significant quantitative relationship exists between the sizes of such deposits and
that of their associated channels.

Basal intraformational conglomerate

The basal erosion surfaces of solitary "ECS" sets have long been held to record
channel-floor scouring at the outer bank of a migrating channel (Allen, 1963,

153
1965a). Where the cutting and filling episodes in the history of a given channel are
widely separated in time (cf. Hopkins, 1985), some IHS sets may overlie non-contemporaneous erosion surfaces. Mudstone clasts within the intraformational conglomerates that characteristically overlie the basal erosion surfaces of IHS sets of
point-bar origin are derived from: cut-bank caving and rotational slumping; reworking of desiccated mud drapes previously deposited on the point bar; and, less
frequently, the undercutting and consequent wholesale downslope slippage of large
sheets or "rafts" of inclined units' fine members.

Vertical and lateral stacking

Allen (1965a) regarded a fining-upward rhythm (containing "ECS") as representing "a meander belt which was abandoned because of stream avulsion".
Depending upon the original number of meandering channels constituting an
aggrading meander belt, the frequency of meander-loop abandonment, and the
relative rates of sedimentation vs. subsidence, vertical superimposition of individual
IHS sets within an ancient fluvial sequence can range from rare (cf. Moody-Stuart,
1966) to common (cf. Wood, 1985). In the Judith River Formation in part of
Dinosaur Park, SE Alberta, vertical stacking of IHS may take the form of the
superimposition of solitary sets (due to the chance overlap of individual point-bar
deposits, cf. Fig. 3) or the occurrence of an IHS coset in which a basal, larger-scale
IHS set is overlain by several smaller, erosion-bounded, wedge-shaped IHS "subsets". These "subsets" are believed to have been deposited upon the upper levels of
the point bar following its erosion-modification and "reactivation" as a result of a
series of major flood events. They appear to represent different localized phases
(and often directions) in the growth history of a single point bar.
Laterally stacked, imbricate IHS sets (Fig. 4) are typically separated by discordant erosion surfaces that probably record large-scale flood (and associated scour)
events. They may represent successive major "unidirectional" growth phases during
the life of a point bar. Alternatively, they may form during repeated episodes of
meander-loop cut-off and subsequent reworking of older point-bar sediments as the
newly dominant channel migrates and deposits its own set of IHS (Fig. 14). In the
latter scenario, abandoned-channel fill sequences are associated with each IHS set.

Discontinuity surfaces
Several "orders" of (internal and external) bounding surfaces are commonly
found associated with most ancient and modern IHS deposits of point-bar origin
(cf. Allen, 1982, p. 96). Such surfaces can be ranked according to their scale and
cross-cutting relationships with respect to one another and the inclined (sedimentation) units. The latter may be bounded by concordant scour surfaces or major
bedding planes indicating periods of non-deposition. More substantial erosion

154

PLAN VIEW

PLAN VIEW

AC

ACTIVE CHANNEL

\,Z2
A

DIP SECTION

DIP SECTION

Fig. 14. Schematic representation of the two main ways in which imbricate point-bar IHS cosets may
develop. (1) Large-scale coset formed by successive episodes of meander loop cutoff and subsequent
lateral migration of the newly dominant channel. IHS sets are separated by abandoned channel fills.
(Meander loop pattern drawn from an aerial photograph.) (2) Smaller-scalecoset (cf. Fig. 4) formed by
episodic growth of a single point bar. IHS sets are separated by erosion surfaces formed during major
flood events. In both examples, arrows 1 to 4 represent the oldest to youngest sets of IHS, respectively.

surfaces and "master" (cf. Allen, 1982) bedding planes bounding or cross-cutting
the inclined units at comparatively low angles constitute the "discontinuity surfaces"
of various authors. Major examples of such discontinuity surfaces (" set boundaries"
of present paper) have been reported bounding "bundles" of inclined units within
ancient IHS sequences consisting of imbricate sets by Allen and Friend (1968) and
Elliott (1976a), amongst others. Allen and Friend (1968, p. 47) interpreted these
surfaces to indicate that point bar growth was discontinuous and channel discharge
varied over time. Elliott (1976a) reasoned that discontinuities in point-bar sequences
could be produced by low- and falling-stage effects as well as high-stage flow
processes. He suggested that major and minor examples of discontinuity planes
might represent "exceptional" and " n o r m a l " flood events, respectively. Puigdefabregas (1973) considered that "pronounced discontinuity planes" within the IHS
sets he studied indicated "distinctly episodic deposition". In her study of modern
intertidal meandering creek point bars, De Mowbray (1983) found that wedge-shaped
sets of summer-deposited layers were cross-cut (in the lower parts of the point bars)
by erosion surfaces formed during high winter discharges. Regarding the significance of erosion surfaces described by Allen and Friend (1968) and Elliott (1976a),

155
De Mowbray (1983, pp. 434-435) thought it "reasonable to infer a hierarchy of
discharge fluctuations of different scales". Bridges and Leeder (1976) also studied
small-scale intertidal creek IHS deposits and reported that spring ebb tides boosted
by rainwater runoff generated steep (35-40 ~ erosion surfaces cutting the point
bars. However, Bridges and Leeder (1976) noted that following the waning of such
flows, sedimentation resumed to produce new IHS sets (dipping at 7-15 ~ that
"annealed the eroded point bar". At present, although there is general agreement
that discontinuity surfaces within ancient fluvial IHS sequences represent episodes
of erosion or non-deposition, too little is known about IHS formation in modern
river channels to predict the frequency or duration of such events (cf. De Mowbray,
1983). Nonetheless, many workers would probably agree with Bridge and Diemer
(1983, p. 605) who, in their study of Upper Devonian-Lower Carboniferous IHS
sets at Kerry Head, Eire, concluded that each "lateral-accretion stratum" ("inclined
unit" of this paper) "lying between minor erosion surfaces was probably deposited
during a single major flood event".
Profiles and attitudes of inclined strata

Radial, dip-section profiles and true-dip values of point-bar inclined strata are
dependent upon the dimensions (particularly width:depth ratio), dominant sediment load, degree of sinuosity and discharge characteristics (including presence or
absence of tidal influence) of their parent meandering channels. It should be noted
that the maximum dip angle of IHS is usually more closely related to the "scoured
shape" of a point bar rather than to its radial, surficial depositional profile
(" transverse slope" of Allen, 1970) at any given time (Bridge, 1975). From published
observations of modem and ancient fluvial- and intertidal-channel point bars it is
apparent that I H S / I S dip values generally increase in response to a decrease in
channel width : depth ratio and an increase in mud content (Allen, 1970; cf. Bridges
and Leeder, 1976; Jackson, 1981; De Mowbray, 1983). Higher-energy conditions on
the lower portions of "mixed-load" fluvial point bars result in the down-dip
transition from sand/mud IHS to more gently dipping, inclined-stratified sands.
When traced laterally into abandoned channel-fill sequences, steep, mud-rich IHS
sets (cf. Fig. 11A and B) generated by active point bars show a marked lateral and
gradual upward-decrease in dip angle (reflecting increasing deposition from suspension) as the strata first conform to the concave-upward palaeochannel profile and
then become more nearly horizontal, upward (personal observations; cf. "degenerate point bar" of Stewart, 1981; Fig. 11B).
Although many modem point bars do indeed show the sigmoidal profiles thought
to be prevalent in nature (cf. Leeder, 1973, p. 269) and predicted by "idealized"
point-bar depositional models, many others from bedload- or suspended-loaddominated streams consist of a series of platforms or benches (McGowen and
Garner, 1970; Bluck, 1971; Taylor and Woodyer, 1978; Nanson, 1980; and cf.

156
Nanson and Page, 1983). In their study of relatively narrow and deep, mud-rich,
intertidal flat channels of the Solway Firth, Bridges and Leeder (1976) found
sigmoidal-profile point bars were associated with gently curved meanders, whereas
point bars from tight bends in the same channel possessed pronounced lower
platforms. Fossil examples of I H S / I S with sigmoidal dip-section profiles are
comparatively common (Allen, 1965a; Cherven, 1978; and many others). Such
sequences characteristically show a gradual overall fining-upward from channel
floor, through point-bar, into overbank deposits. However, within many IHS sets
composed predominantly of alternating sandstone and mudstone layers, the inclined
strata appear straight (Fig. 3) or slightly concave upward. This might be due, in
part, to the inclined units being bounded by discontinuity (scour) surfaces steeper
than the original point-bar profiles (cf. Bridge, 1975). Strongly concave-upward IHS
units are typically deposited as part of abandoned channel-filling sequences.
Overall upward fining and decrease in scale of sedimentary structures
As stated by Tyler and Ethridge (1983, p. 75), "fining-upward grain size
accompanied by a progressive decrease in the scale of sedimentary structures is
characteristic of the classic point-bar cycle". According to Allen's (1965a, 1970)
model, these trends result from a decrease in flow velocity (and depth) encountered
as one ascends the point-bar slope. This energy gradient is a function of the
presence of a helicoidal flow system within the meander bend and its attendant
decrease in flow energy from the channel's outer (concave) margin toward its inner
(accretionary) bank. Establishment and maintenance of fully helicoidal flow conditions depend upon critical combinations of channel width and depth, bend curvature and discharge rates (for review, see Allen, 1982, pp. 71-100). Analysis of
velocity-texture-bedform patterns from Wabash River (Illinois/Indiana) meander
bends enabled Jackson (1975) to identify three separate zones of differing hydraulic
conditions (i.e. transitional, intermediate and fully developed), and subsequently
(Jackson, 1976) to recognize the three distinctive point-bar facies sequences (Of the
same name) deposited within them. According to Jackson (1975, p. 1521), "only in
the fully developed zones do velocity magnitude, intensity of spiral motion, depth,
mean particle size, and dune height increase from the inner bank to the thalweg". As
a result, only the fully developed depositional facies closely resembles the fining-upward sequence predicted by "standard" point-bar depositional models (Jackson,
1976). In the Wabash, the fully developed facies is most prevalent on the downstream (distal) "halves" of point bars within"moderately curved" (defined in
Jackson, 1976) bends. During the migration of such bends, preferential preservation
of this facies, and hence (in "muddy streams", cf. Jackson, 1981) associated IHS
deposits, is favored by all three major modes (i.e. rotation, translation and expansion) of meander-loop "growth" (see Jackson, 1976, fig. 18).

157

Palaeoflow directions associated with I H S units

Numerous authors of ancient "fluvial" IHS studies have reported near-orthogonal (to "high-angle") relationships between the dip directions of the inclined
units and palaeoflow trends determined from structures such as trough cross-bedding, etc., present within the sets or immediately subjacent sandstone bodies (e.g.
the rose diagrams of Gradzinski, 1970; Mossop and Flach, 1983; Koster, 1983;
Wood, 1985). This relationship has been described by Stewart (1983, p. 374) as "the
best proof of a point-bar and meander-belt system" when combined with "the
overall wide scatter of cross-bedding current directions within a meander belt"
(derived from the combined data of several point-bar deposits). In the case of
large-scale IHS sets deposited by Gilbert-type deltas, most palaeocurrents should be
directed down the depositional dips of the inclined foresets (Stanley and Surdam,
1978). Investigations of flow patterns in modern meander bends indicate that
averaged near-bed current directions approximately parallel the strikes of the
associated point bars' slopes (cf. Allen, 1970; Jackson, 1975; Bridge and Jarvis,
1976). With only a few exceptions (most notably, Puigdefabregas, 1973), it is this
relationship--rather than the innate tendency of fully developed spiral flow conditions to drive bedforms obliquely up a point-bar slope--that is reflected in the
majority of palaeocurrent analyses for ancient point bars. In the remarkable
Miocene point-bar deposit (from Murillo el Fruto, Spain) he studied, Puigdefabregas (1973) found that the internal structure of the inclined units was dominated by
trough cross-strata with foresets dipping away from the palaeochannel axis. Scattered
examples of upslope directed flow indicators within ancient point-bar IHS deposits
have been reported by many other workers including Hobday et al. (1981, fig. 9),
Mossop and Flach (1983) and Stewart (1983). Upslope directed bedforms ought to
be most common on the distal portions of point bars in meander bends where flow
separation (cf. Bridges and Leeder, 1976, fig. 8) is strongly developed.
Edwards et al. (1983) have cautioned that (especially in the case of ripples under
shallow flows) upslope directed foresets may not reflect true near-bed flow orientations, but instead may be the products of bedforms whose crests migrated at oblique
angles to the general near-bed current direction. Within sandy meandering rivers,
the same could hold true for larger-scale straight-crested mid-channel bedforms
such as transverse bars. Such bars could be "captured" by a point bar at their
shallower ends and, as a consequence, become "turned" so that their downstream
migration was directed obliquely up the point-bar slope (cf. Allen, 1983, p. 286).
This process would be analogous to the manner of growth of emergent sand flats in
the South Saskatchewan River recorded by Cant and Walker (1978).
The presence of numerous types and scales of flow indicators within fossil fluvial
IHS sets reflects bedform migration under a wide variety of flow types, magnitudes,
depths and durations. Many such IHS deposits are believed to have been deposited
in discharge regimes that experienced considerable fluctuation (see below) as a

158
result of seasonal and other changes. Authors such as Edwards et al. (1983, p. 1266)
and many others have described erosional and depositional features whose origin
they ascribe to the various flow stages of flood cycles. However, the question of the
relative preservation potentials of stratification types produced by bankfull versus
falling stage, etc., bedforms migrating on modern point bars depositing IHS
sequences, is complex and as yet, unresolved.

Coarse-to-fine rhythms and fine member deposition

Two of the most intriguing questions that confront any attempt to erect a
process-response depositional model for fossil point-bar IHS sets are: (1) how do
the various types and scales of internal fining-upward rhythms originate?; and (2)
what factors contribute to the deposition, preservation and continuity (both downdip and along strike) of the inclined units' fine members?
As noted earlier, the inclined units of the IHS sets may consist of single, normally
graded beds that fine upward perpendicular to their bounding surfaces; or be
arranged as fining-upward couplets composed of a distinct coarse and fine member,
whose mutual contact may be a sharp non-deposition or scour surface, or gradational over a thickness of a few mm or cm. Such coarse-to-fine couplets may be
lithologically "simple"--i.e. composed of dm to cm thick layers of relatively
homogeneous sandstones and mudstones (Figs. 4, 5, 9 and 10), or "complex"-wherein their largest-scale fine members themselves consist of cm to mm scale,
coarse-to-fine couplets, whose fine members might in turn show alternating mm to
sub-ram thick laminae of sandstone and mudstone (Figs. 12 and 13).
Clearly, the superimposition of large numbers of normally graded inclined units
of "simple" coarse-to-fine couplets within ancient "fluvial" IHS sets suggests the
repetitive occurrence of a common, autocyclic depositional mechanism. As suggested by numerous authors, in a fluvial setting the most obvious candidate for the
required, recurrent depositional process is some type of flood event. Thus, individual normally graded, inclined units (cf. Allen, 1965a) and each "simple" coarse-tofine couplet can both be envisaged as the products of single, major flood events--see
Bridge and Diemer (1983) and Mossop and Flach (1983), respectively. The normally
graded units may be indicative of rivers characterized by "flashy" discharge with
rapid "dumping" of sediment occurring during a short-lived waning flood stage.
Erosion surfaces separating these inclined units would form during the rising stage
of the next flood cycle. By contrast, rivers depositing "simple couplets" would
probably, in general, be lower gradient, more distal and mature, mixed- and
suspended-load systems with better differentiated sediment transport populations
and longer-duration flood cycles. Some "simple couplets", however, appear to have
been deposited by ephemeral or quasi-ephemeral streams (cf. Puigdefabregas, 1973;
Stewart, 1981; and see below). In the case of IHS sets composed of more complex
types of coarse-to-fine couplets, the hierarchical arrangement of their differing

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scales of fining-upward rhythms argues strongly for the repeated superimposition of
several distinct types of depositional event. It is tempting to directly equate the
thickness of a sandstone-mudstone couplet with the magnitude, duration and
frequency of the sedimentary process responsible for its formation. For instance,
couplets of dm-, cm- and mm-scale thickness from a hypothetical point bar (cf. Fig.
12) might represent the products of exceptional (100-year?) floods, seasonal discharge fluctuations and a diurnal tidal cycle, respectively. Studies of sedimentation
processes and rates of modern, tidally influenced fluvial point bars depositing
sand-mud couplets (cf. those described by Smith, 1985) are urgently needed in
order to evaluate the validity of this type of interpretational approach.
Within the more detailed available accounts of ancient IHS sequences, much
interest has centred upon the marked fluctuations in energy levels (and hence of
flow velocities and ?flow stages) implied by the occurrence of sandstone-mudstone
couplets (cf. Figs. 5 and 10). Genesis of these inclined units' fine members ( = "mud
drapes" or similar, of many authors), together with the environmental significance
of their down-dip and along-strike continuity (or lack thereof) has attracted particular attention. Depending upon their grain size and the flow-regime conditions
indicated by their internal stratification, the coarse-member sandstones of the
couplets are generally interpreted as the current-lain products of traction carpet
(bedload) a n d / o r suspended-load deposition. Overlying mudstone fine members are
usually regarded as indicating fines settling out from suspension clouds under
conditions of much-reduced velocity and probable falling water levels. Gradational
contacts between coarse and fine members suggest their accumulation occurred
during one "continuous" depositional event, whereas sharp contacts imply more
episodic sedimentation with aggradation being interrupted by intervals of non-deposition or erosion.
The consensus that emerges from a review of published interpretations of dm to
cm scale thickness sandstone-mudstone couplets (having either type of intermember
contact) is that individual couplets are thought to be deposited during a single flood
cycle. Representative of this body of opinion is Mossop and Flach's (1983, p. 503)
analysis of sandstone-mudstone IHS from inferred high-suspended-load, McMurray Formation channels, in which they contend that: "deposition of sand beds
occurred in association with flood stage flow in the channel, with the silty partings
accumulating as mud drapes during the remainder of the cycle". Credence is lent to
this type of interpretation by Bridge and Jarvis' (1976, pp. 327-328) study of a point
bar in the modem South Esk River (Scotland). These authors noted that "every
flood period" resulted in the accretionary bank IHS deposit receiving an additional
coarse-to-fine couplet (consisting of a lower sand- and upper organic-rich layer) of
up to ca. 5 cm total thickness. In other interpretations of ancient IHS deposits, the
presence of "mud layers" has been associated with periods of "sluggish flow"
(Nami, 1976), highly discontinuous point-bar growth and alternating wet and dry
periods (Puigdefabregas and Van Vliet, 1978), and conditions of "prolonged low

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velocities or flow stagnation possibly combined with low water stands" (Nijman and
Puigdefabregas, 1978). Mossop and Flach (1983) speculated that in perennial, very
low gradient, high suspended-load rivers where water levels remained near bankfu11
even at "low stage" flow, mud-drape deposition could occur over submerged point
bars provided flow rates did not exceed appropriate critical threshold values.
Deposition of mud drapes on modern fluvial point bars occurs primarily on their
upper portions during falling flow stages (Levey, 1978; Stewart, 1981; Calverley,
1984) (Fig. 9). Unfortunately, detailed observations concerning the rates of mud
sedimentation and durations of mud-depositing intervals involved in the formation
of such drapes have not been published. In her study of IHS in Athabasca River
upper delta-plain channels, Calverley (1984, p. 75) observed that a "drop in stage
invariably produced a mud drape on the point-bar surface", and suspected that
"even minor stage fluctuations can be responsible for producing mud beds". The
downstream increase in inclined mud-layer frequency and thickness noted by
Calverley (1984) is presumably a function of the effects of fully developed flow (cf.
Jackson, 1975, 1976) and flow separation (cf. Bridges and Leeder, 1976, p. 551) in
the distal portions of the point bars. However, in the case of Calverley's examples
the (possibly significant) influence of hydraulic backwater effects (induced by
storms over Lake Athabasca) in promoting mud deposition are unknown.
McGowen and Garner (1970) proposed that on point bars in channels of
fluctuating discharge, mud drapes would occur between the bankfull and low-flow
stage water levels related to seasonal and other types of flood cycle. This idea has
been adopted and expanded by Puigdefabregas and Van Vliet (1978) and Stewart
(1981) amongst others, to explain down-dip termination of inclined mudstone
layers. During a waning flood, the primary locus of mud deposition on the point bar
will lie just below the water line (Mossop and Flach, 1983, p. 507) and will descend
the point-bar slope in response to a continued drop in water level Stewart (1983)
cited the presence of desiccation cracks in mud drapes on the lower levels of
Wealden Group (Cretaceous, Isle of Wight) point bars as proof of subaerial
exposure resulting from such inferred, drastically reduced water levels. Cracking
may develop in mud drapes after only a few hours' exposure (Levey, 1978, p. 118).
Consolidation induced by partial drying (i.e. minor desiccation cracking, as opposed
to intense cracking or curling) can considerably enhance the preservation potentials
of mud drapes. Woodyer et al. (1979) considered the protection from erosion
afforded by such drapes to be akin to "armour plating". In high suspended-load
ephemeral streams one might expect mud layers to drape the complete down-dip
length of the point bars (cf. Puigdefabregas, 1973). Perennial-channel, point-bar
mud drapes will terminate at the level below low-stage waterline where current
velocities are sufficient to prohibit mud accumulation, or the mud layer is eroded by
wind-generated wave attack (cf. Bridges and Leeder, 1976; Calverley, 1984). Alternatively, drapes may be removed or ripped up and redeposited as intraformational
conglomerate during the next flood cycle. The along-strike continuity of mud drapes

161

may be interrupted by small-scale, sand-filled runoff channels cut by floodwater

drainage off the emerging bar (Calverley, 1984; personal observations; cf. Fig. 5).
Tension cracks (developed approximately parallel to the strike of the point-bar
slope) (cf. Calverley, 1984) and, in some cases, associated slippage of sediment
sheets or rotational slumping of blocks toward the thalweg, cause additional
disruption of IHS sequences. As a result of the upward-decreasing energy gradient
on point bars, IHS couplet fine members frequently thicken up-dip and interdigitate
with overbank deposits (Nami, 1976; Stewart, 1983; Calverley, 1984; and many
other authors).
IHS DEPOSITION ON TIDALLY INFLUENCED RIVER POINT BARS

Processes and products (with special emphasis on the formation and preservation of
mud layers)
Excluding Rahmani (1983) and Plint's (1983) accounts of "estuarine" point bar
IHS, relatively few of the many authors describing ancient "fluvial" IHS deposits
(EUiott, 1976b; Van der Meulen, 1982; Mossop and Flach, 1983; Koster, 1983;
Stewart, 1983; Wood, 1985) have mentioned the possibility that tidal processes
might have been involved in their formation. However, Smith's (1985) recent
discovery of inclined sand-mud couplets in the point-bar deposits of several
modern mesotidally influenced rivers (Figs. 7 and 8) should stimulate a reappraisal
of the environmental settings of a number of IHS-bearing sections previously
inferred to be of wholly fluvial origin.
Fundamental questions raised by Smith's (1985) work include: (1) what are the
processes responsible for the deposition of sand-mud couplets on tidally influenced
fluvial point bars, and what factors influence their effects? (2) does the tidally
influenced river channel environment impart distinctive sedimentological characteristics to the IHS deposited within it? and (3)if so, what are they and which are the
most useful for its differentiation in the rock record from IHS sets of wholly fluvial
origin? In terms of its effect upon our comprehension of the mode(s) of formation
of IHS on point bars, the "addition" of tidal processes is analogous to the way the
introduction of several new variables of uncertain influence serves to further
complicate the solution of an already imperfectly understood equation.
Under suitable circumstances, sequences composed of sand-mud couplets are
known to accumulate in portions of a wide variety of modern environments
including rivers, lakes, deltas and the deep ocean. Deposition of rhythmically
alternating layers of coarser and finer sediment is perhaps most commonly associated with both subtidal and intertidal coastal subenvironments. For these settings,
the origin of such deposits has long been attributed to the regular periodic
fluctuations of current velocity (and direction) and water levels inherent in the
diurnal tidal cycle, with the coarser and finer layers being deposited during periods

162
of relatively high velocity (i.e. ebb or flood tidal-current flow) and low velocity
(slack water), respectively. In some estuaries, however, clay deposition may be
restricted to the neap portion of the monthly tidal cycle (Oomkens and Terwindt,
1960). The acceptance that single slack-water intervals may result in the formation
of a 1-3 mm-thick mud layer (Hawley, 1981, p. 700) has been dramatically
reinforced by recent studies of "bundle bedding" formed by the migration of
subtidal sandwaves (Visser, 1980). On the other hand, the possible origins of more
substantial mud units--for example, the 1.0-2.5 cm thick layers found in modern
Dutch near shore subtidal sediments (Terwindt and Breusers, 1972)--have been the
subject of considerable debate. Calculations, using appropriate ranges of observed
settling velocities and suspended-sediment concentrations (McCave, 1970), and
some experiments (Hawley, 1981; but see Terwindt and Breusers, 1972, for an
alternative viewpoint) have shown that mud layers of this thickness range cannot
form by simple settling from suspension during the time available over a single
slackwater interval. Terwindt and Breusers (1972) believe such layers accrue over
several slackwater periods whereas Hawley (1981) considered it more likely that
they represent longer term, higher concentration, suspension-fallout events such as
those that follow storms. Furthermore, preservation of any intertidal or subtidal
mud layer requires that its cohesion and consolidation properties and the magnitude
of the subsequent tidal current's velocity are such that the critical shear velocity
required for its erosion is not exceeded. The apparent severity of both these
problems is markedly reduced if the mud in question has been deposited not as
individual silt- and clay-sized particles but as larger, higher settling velocity aggregates, such as flocs, fecal pellets and intraclasts. Subjectively, it appears certain that
flocculation, and especially pelletization, must play a very significant role in the
deposition of mud in tidal environments (cf. Meade, 1972; Haven and MoralesAlamo, 1972; Kranck, 1981; De Mowbray and Visser, 1984) including tidally
influenced point bars. During a complete "normal" (12.5 h) semi-diurnal tidal cycle,
intertidal areas experience a single period of slackwater (following high tide) and
undergo subaerial exposure, whereas subtidal areas remain subaqueous and experience two slackwater intervals. Point bars in tidally influenced rivers are unusual in
that their "upper" portions (above the mean low water mark during lowest fluvial
flow stage) are intertidal, but their "lower" portions are not truly subtidal since
during the low-water (post-ebb) slack period of the tidal cycle they are dominated
by the river's freshwater current. On such point bars (as with their freshwater
counterparts) the potential for the deposition and preservation (aided by subaerial
consolidation) of mud layers will be greatest on their upper slopes.
Tidally influenced point-bar IHS sequences in the Daule and Babahovo rivers
(Ecuador) are capped by 4-7 m of upper point-bar and "overbank" mud (Smith,
1985). In such rivers, provided they form part of a moderately stratified (partially
mixed) estuarine system, the location of the area of maximum mud deposition will
largely be controlled by the effects of the "turbidity maximum" (Postma, 1967)

163
which is the zone where suspended-sediment concentrations attain their highest
values. It is usually located near the landward limit of salt-water intrusion (Meade,
1972) or in the area of maximum density stratification (Kranck, 1981). High
flocculation rates are associated with, and probably important in maintaining, the
turbidity maximum (Kranck, 1981). Its position will migrate up- and down-river in
response to the diurnal and monthly (neap/spring) tidal cycles, and it will move the
farthest upstream when conditions of only moderate river inflow plus a spring high
tide are accompanied by a storm-generated tidal (" backwater") surge. During fiver
flood events the turbidity maximum can play a crucial role in the enhancement and
location of suspended load deposition. For instance, in a study of the response of
the Rappahannock Estuary (Virginia) to the effects of a major tropical storm and
subsequent flood, Nichols (1977) found that, of the total influx of flood-borne
suspended sediment, "90% was trapped within the estuary and deposited in the zone
of the turbidity maximum".
Sedimentary processes affecting point bars in tidally influenced rivers are related
to a suite of energy fluctuations of widely varying magnitude, whose frequency of
occurrence can be categorized as either "rhythmic" (but with differing period
lengths--such as diurnal and monthly tidal cycles, and seasonal variations in the
level of river flow), or "random" (storm-induced tidal surges, and "exceptional"
flood events). The sedimentological characteristics of fossil IHS sequences formed
upon such point bars will depend upon the complex interaction of these processes,
and their relative dominance--in terms of the preservation potentials of the
depositional and erosional features they generate. Insufficient data are available
from modern examples to allow confident predictions even of whether high
frequency/low magnitude (diurnal tidal flows) or low frequency/high magnitude
events (exceptional floods), or (most likely) some combination of the two, will
prevail in the rock record. One might expect the occasional superimposition of
exceptional-flood deposits upon a background dominated by seasonal high-flow
fluvial sediments with subordinate laminae of tidal cycle origin (deposited during
periods of seasonal, low fluvial flow). Sedimentary structure orientations should
reflect the prevalence of combined ebb tide/fluvial currents over flood-tide flows,
although in rare instances, flood flows do predominate and point bars migrate
upstream (Ashley, 1978).
IHS deposits of the mesotidaUy influenced, Daule River point bars consist of
rhythmically alternating sand and mud layers whose average thicknesses are 15 and
4 cm, respectively, although "bundles" of thinner (0.5-1.0 cm) layers do occur
(Smith, 1985; Fig. 8). Smith (1985) believes these couplets reflect the alternating
seasonal high- and low-water levels experienced by the Daule, with the sand
members being deposited during bankfuU stage and the mud members during the
falling-stage and low-water period. Millimetre-scale laminations within the mud
members are interpreted by Smith as the products of tidal-cycle deposition during
the season of low fluvial flow. With fossil analogues of these IHS sets, it would be

164
difficult to deduce a markedly seasonal rainfall-distribution pattern unless they were
deposited under a climate much drier overall than that of present-day Ecuador and
hence associated with calcritic palaeosols.
A different and remarkable type of rhythmic seasonal layering has been described by Van den Berg (1981) from a sub-recent, abandoned, sub-tidal channel-fill
sequence at the mouth of the Oosterschelde tidal inlet in the Netherlands. Here, a 5
m thick sequence consists of alternating flaser-bedded fine sand and flat laminated
"mud" (actually interlaminated mud, silt and fine sand) units. The bases of the
sands are slightly erosional whereas the sand-"mud" contact is a gradation. The
sand and "mud" layers are arranged as 20-60 cm thick couplets, each of which,
according to Van den Berg (1981), records a period of winter storm deposition
(sand) followed by relatively quiescent summer conditions (" mud"). These couplets
are not inclined. This type of origin for rhythmically alternating, coarse-fine
layering is inapplicable to an equatorial setting. On tidally influenced point bars in
temperate latitudes it is highly unlikely that any vestige (in the form of alternating
sand/mud layering perhaps?) of this pattern of winter/summer energy fluctuations
would be recognizable, due to it being "overwhelmed" by the effects of flood events
and diurnal tidal processes.
With regard to the detailed interpretation of the Ecuadorian IHS deposits
described by Smith (1985), direct comparisons with IHS from intertidal creek point
bars are of limited usefulness. The most comprehensive studies of the latter have all
been conducted upon temperature-latitude examples. Such creeks are generally
small in scale and ephemeral. Their IHS sequences consist of a smaller range of
grain sizes than those of tidally influenced, river point bars, but show thinner
layering with more frequent (and subtle) vertical grain-size changes. In addition,
variations in layer grain size and thickness of tidal creek IHS appear to show less
rhythmicity (cf. De Mowbray, 1983) than those of the Daule, Babahovo and Willapa
river IHS deposits (Smith, 1985).

D&tinguishing characteristics of tidally influenced river point-bar IHS deposits

Hydrodynamically, tidally influenced large-scale river channels constitute highly
complex sedimentary systems. In contrast to macrotidal estuaries and wholly
freshwater rivers which have both attracted a great deal of scientific attention [and
with the notable exception of DiSrjes and Howard (1975), Howard et al. (1975) and
Smith (1985)], the depositional processes and deposits of modem micro- and
mesotidally influenced river channels and point bars have been largely ignored by
sedimentologists. This comparative dearth of information is a major hindrance to
the establishment of criteria for use in the distinction of point-bar IHS deposits of
tidally influenced rivers from those of their fluvial counterparts. Far more data are
available concerning sedimentation processes in meandering intertidal creek channels. Unfortunately, virtually none of these studies is directly applicable to tidally

165
influenced rivers because the freshwater input to the creeks in question was
negligible. In addition, rivers' maximum flow velocities are attained at or near flood
stage, whereas at the bankfull stage in intertidal channels, velocities are trending
toward zero (Barwis, 1978). Nevertheless, in terms of their sedimentary processes,
lithofacies composition and biota, tidally influenced fiver point bars represent forms
broadly intermediate in character between the wholly freshwater and intertidal
creek end-members of the point-bar spectrum. It is worthwhile, therefore, to review
the major features considered diagnostic of tidal creek point-bar deposits (versus
fluvial examples) and critically evaluate (using the results of DOrjes and Howard,
1975; Howard et al., 1975; and Smith, 1985) their potential applicability to the
differentiation of fluvially and tidally influenced river point-bar IHS.
The following list of criteria has been synthesized from those suggested by Land
and Hoyt (1966, pp. 205-206), Barwis (1978, table 1, pp. 153-154) and Allen (1982,
p. 96):
(1) Tidal creek channel-floor lag deposits contain abundant shell material (brackish water and some "fully" marine species). Shells (predominantly pelecypods and
gastropods) are also present in the point-bar sediments.
( 2 ) Upper point-bar sequences will contain wave and current-tipple structures
plus linsen and flaser bedding.
(3) Interbedded sands and muds constitute much of the point-bar deposits.
(4) Point-bar sediments will be characterized by intense bioturbation.
(5) Plant material deposited on the point bars will be dominated by brackish
water (tidal salt-marsh) species.
(6) Rose diagrams of current indicators from point-bar sequences will be bimodal to bipolar, reflecting flow reversals. Actual herringbone stratification, however, will be restricted to ripple structures in the upper portion of the point bar.
Each of these criteria is discussed below:
(1) D~Srjes and Howard (1975) reported that from 20 to 52 km upstream of its
mouth, the channel-floor deposits of the tidally influenced Ogeechee River (Georgia) consisted of clean, coarse, trough cross-bedded sands. Within these sands they
found no shells or shell fragments. Likewise, Howard et al. (1975, fig. 5) recorded no
molluscan species from point bars in the "upstream" meandering, tidally influenced
reaches of the Ogeechee. Despite the presence of living molluscs on the surface
sediments of the intertidal portions of Daule and Babahovo fiver point bars, Smith
(1985) observed no shell material in his point-bar IHS cores. This evidence suggests
that shells may naturally be uncommon in the point-bar deposits of tidally influenced rivers and thus the absence of fossil shells in ancient IHS deposits (which
could also simply be due to diagenetic dissolution) does not necessarily indicate a
lack of marine influence. Even if shelly fossils are found in an IHS deposit they may
be of species whose palaeoecology is insufficiently well understood to permit
discrimination between fresh vs. brackish or brackish vs. marine conditions.
(2) Wave-tipple structures plus flaser and linsen bedding are not unique to tidal

166
environments and are common in some modern fluvial point-bar deposits (Woodyer
et al., 1979; Calverley, 1984). Nonetheless, although not diagnostic in itself, an
abundance of such structures within an ancient IHS sequence should prompt a
thorough search for additional evidence indicating possible tidal influence.
(3) Smith's (1985) recent study, supported by the earlier work of Howard et al.
(1975, pp. 195-197), indicates that inclined sand-mud interbedding is characteristic
of point bars in the micro- to mesotidally influenced reaches of rivers (Figs. 7 and
8). Sand-mud IHS is also known from wholly fluvial point bars (Jackson, 1981;
Calverley, 1984), but Smith (1985, and in press) has emphasized that in terms of
sand interbed frequency and thickness, such IHS appears "random" and irregular
compared with the rhythmically alternating character of "mesotidal IHS". Statistical analyses are needed in order to quantify these differences and also to try and
detect any subtle patterns in lamina thickness which might be related to tidal-cycle
periodicity. Obviously, a rhythmic alternation of two lithologies can be generated by
depositional events of random frequency (cf. turbidites) but in the case of tidally
influenced river IHS, Smith (in press) believes each sand-mud couplet represents 1
year of deposition. Clearly more process-oriented studies of modem examples are
needed to test this hypothesis, but it seems probable that if statistically significant,
the rhythmic nature of this type of IHS deposit will prove to be an important
criterion in both its recognition and interpretation.
(4) An abundance of bioturbation structures is arguably the single most useful
and widely applicable feature for distinguishing tidal creek point-bar deposits from
those of fluvial origin. It may prove equally valid for the separation of ancient
fluvial examples of IHS from those formed by tidally influenced river point bars. In
their survey of animal populations on five modem Ogeechee River-Ossabaw Sound
"estuarine point bars", Howard et al. (1975) found "significant amounts of bioturbation" in the bar ( # 5) "least affected by marine conditions". While the bar # 5
fauna consisted of a single species each of polychaete, decapod, isopod and
amphipod, Howard et al. (1975) recorded an average total species density on this
bar of almost 4000 individuals/m 2. Similarly, Smith (1985) described intense
bioturbation (resulting primarily from fiddler-crab burrowing activity) of muds on
the upper (intertidal) portions of Daule and Babahovo river point bars. Cores of
IHS from the same bars displayed zero to moderate levels of bioturbation. Smith's
(1985) observations suggest that the inverse relationship between increasing bioturbation intensity and grain size reported by Barwis (1978) for tidal creek point
bars also applies to those of tidally influenced rivers.
In very general terms, and based upon limited data from modem environments,
the trace fossil assemblage of ancient fluvial, tidal river, and intertidal to sub-tidal
marine bars might be predicted to show low (species) diversity, low (total animal)
abundance; low diversity, high abundance; and high diversity and abundance
values, respectively. It should be noted, however, that even within a single, tidally
influenced river system, marine-to-freshwater trends in animal diversity/abundance

167
may diverge from this suggested simplistic pattern (cf. Howard et al., 1975). Perhaps
in the future our knowledge of modern and ancient biogenic structures will improve
to the level where different assemblages of trace fossils will be identified as
diagnostic of fluvial vs. tidally influenced river vs. intertidal creek point-bar types.
Certainly, because of their sometimes prolonged subaerial exposure, many fluvial
point bars should contain more traces of insect activity than their tidally influenced
counterparts.
(5) As noted by Barwis (1978), the variety of macroplant fragment and rootlettrace types present in the organic-rich layer capping modem fluvial point-bar
deposits will be far more diverse than that of tidal creek point bars. In this regard,
tidally influenced river point bars are intermediate in character between these two
"end-members". Thus, while drifted macroplant material derived from a variety of
terrestrial and freshwater species is the dominant organic component of such bars,
their upper levels are rooted by a comparatively small number of brackish-watertolerant forms. This criterion is of dubious value for ancient point-bar sequences
which often lack well preserved plant remains or contain fossil forms whose
ecological affinities are debatable.
(6) A key criterion for the distinction of tidally influenced river from non-tidal
river point-bar deposits would be the presence in the former of sedimentary
structure evidence for reversals of flow. Presumably, in terms of up- vs. down-river
flow velocity asymmetry and net sediment transport direction, almost all tidally
influenced rivers are "ebb dominant" (cf. Barwis, 1978). For any flood-tide directed
cross-beds to be preserved, parts of their parent bedforms have to survive reactivation and migration-sense reversal by the combined ebb-tide and river flow. Here the
bedforms' mean grain size and the difference in maximum velocity values between
these two opposed flows is critical. "Armouring" by mud-drape deposition during
the intervening slackwater period is thought unlikely to significantly affect the
preservation potentials of flood-tide directed bedforms. Preservation of the latter
should be somewhat enhanced during seasons of low-stage river flow.
Work by D~rjes and Howard (1975) suggests that the likelihood of flow reversal
evidence being preserved in the more upstream reaches of tidally influenced rivers is
low. These authors found that the dips of all the large-scale trough cross-beds
(formed by "megaripples") they sampled on the floor of the Ogeechee River channel
between 20 and 52 km from its mouth were directed down-river. Where tidal
influence is stronger, the situation regarding preservation of upstream-orientated
structures may improve. For example, Smith (1985) recorded sandwaves of up to ca.
2 m amplitude on the floors of mesotidally influenced stretches of Daule and
Babahovo river channels. These bedforms reversed their orientations during each
diurnal tidal cycle. Flood- and ebb-generated reactivation surfaces (cf. De Mowbray
and Visser, 1984) and foresets might possibly be preserved within these channel-floor
sands. Mud drapes (probably composed of silt- and sand-sized intraclasts) could
form in the troughs of such bedforms (due to flow-separation-induced back flow)

168
and perhaps be augmented by mud deposition from suspension during slackwater
periods. Double mud drapes (cf. Visser, 1980) should not form, however, as this
environment would experience only one slackwater interval per tidal cycle. Of
course, both reactivation surfaces and mud drapes are well known from the channel
sands of modern, wholly freshwater rivers. The point bars in upper tidally influenced reaches of the Ogeechee (Howard et al., 1975) and mesotidal portions of
the Daule and Babahovo (Smith, 1985) rivers will generate sand-mud IHS sets that
interdigitate down-dip with large-scale, trough cross-bedded sands, Such composite
IHS sets also form in fluvial environments (Jackson, 1981) but ancient examples
should always be carefully checked for characteristics indicative of tidal influence.
Of the above-listed criteria, those of greatest potential value for identifying
ancient, tidally influenced, point-bar IHS are considered to be the presence of: (1)
fossil shells of marine to brackish-water affinity mollusc species, (2) sandstonemudstone alternations showing a high degree of rhythmicity and regularity in terms
of bed frequency and thickness (cf. Fig. 8), and (3) sedimentary structures indicating
reversals of current flow direction. As a whole, tidally influenced river point-bar
IHS might also show more uniform dips than its wholly fluvial equivalents (cf.
Smith, 1985).
An additional criterion would be the occurrence within IHS mud units of marine
to brackish-water microfossils, either separately (e.g. forams, ostracods, sponge
material, etc.) or intermixed with terrestrial and freshwater forms (e.g. palynomorph
assemblages containing land-plant spores and pollen with dinoflagellates or diatoms, etc.). Potentially therefore, micropalaeontological analysis of IHS-couplet
fine members may prove very helpful for discriminating between freshwater and
tidally influenced point-bar deposits of Mesozoic and younger age.
With the exception of high-suspended-load rivers (Woodyer et al., 1979; Jackson,
1981), the upper point bar and overbank sequences of tidally influenced rivers
generally contain thicker mud deposits than their fluvial counterparts. The "tidal
river" environment has potential for the deposition of ram-scale thickness mud
layers (during slack water) draping most of the down-dip lengths of the point bars.
The chances of such layers being preserved intact are probably miniscule, however.
Clearly, the interpretation of any IHS deposit should not be undertaken "in
isolation" but in the context of the associated over- and underlying, and laterallyequivalent hthofacies comprising the remainder of its parent lithosome. In this
regard, Barwis (1978, pp. 130-132) noted that the far higher frequency of "flood"
events in tidal creeks compared with meandering streams means that the deposits o f
the latter will be characterized by a much greater volume of overbank sediment.
Ratios of channel to overbank facies preserved in tidally influenced river deposits
are probably intermediate between those of the above-mentioned environments, but
to date floodplain lithosomes generated by such rivers remain virtually unstudied.

169
SIGNIFICANCE OF IHS DEPOSITS
Interpretation of the modes of origin of IHS deposits has particular relevance
for: (1) palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic reconstruction; (2) reconstruction of the morphological and other hydrological characteristics of palaeochannels;
and (3) several aspects of economic sedimentary geology. Each of these are discussed briefly below.

Palaeoenvironmental /palaeogeographic reconstruction

At present it is possible to identify a series of generalized IHS morphotypes
believed characteristic of certain environmental settings (Fig. 15) and to discriminate (with a moderate level of confidence) between several environments (such
as Gilbert-type deltas, ephemeral meandering rivers and meandering intertidal
creeks) solely on the nature of the IHS sequences they generate. In the future,
hopefully, improvements in our knowledge of the processes involved in the formation of modern IHS may ultimately permit the development of idealized IHS "type
species" containing the features considered diagnostic of each of the specific
IHS-depositing environments they represent. Undoubtedly, Smith's (1985) discovery
of IHS within the point bars of modern tidally influenced rivers will add a new
dimension to the use of IHS in palaeoenvironmental/palaeogeographic analyses.
Once efficacious criteria have been established to facilitate recognition of ancient
examples of this type of IHS (and its differentiation from that produced by
high-suspended-load moderate-energy rivers), its occurrence and nature will be used
to: (1) identify river channels in a coastal plain setting; (2) suggest their relative
proximity to the palaeoshoreline; and (3) yield approximate values for the magnitude of palaeotidal ranges experienced by these channels.

Reconstruction of palaeochannel dimensions

Allen's (1965a, p. 176) interpretation of ECS units as point-bar deposits and his
correlation of their thickness with "stream channel depth at the bankfuU stage"
have had far-reaching consequences for fluvial sedimentology. Many subsequent
authors (Moody-Stuart, 1966; Cotter, 1971; Leeder, 1973; etc.) have used the
dimensions of "ECS" deposits to obtain estimates for bankfull widths and depths of
meandering palaeochannels and then incorporated these values into a series of
empirically derived equations in order to calculate additional palaeohydrological
parameters. Ethridge and Schumm (1978) provide a valuable summary of the
various methods employed in the reconstruction of palaeochannel dimensions and
the problems inherent in their utilization.
A "classic" point-bar fining-upward sequence consists of a lower, "coarse",
in-channel member and an upper, "fine", predominantly overbank member. Basic

170

lOrn.

3m.

20m.

lOre.

lm.
15m.

lOOm.

Shell lag

Fig. 15. Schematic representations of six idealized sand-mud point-bar IHS types. For key to symbols
see Fig. 1 and for descriptive and interpretative details see text. In all examples except (5) vertical and
horizontal scales are approximately equal. (1) Small-scale ephemeral meandering streams (cf. Puigdefabregas, 1973). Fine members are continuous down-dip. (2) Low- to moderate-energy mixed-load
meandering rivers (cf. Calverley, 1984). Fine members are discontinuous and show irregular thickness
and spacing. (3) Mixed and suspended-load meandering rivers of markedly fluctuating discharge (cf.
Stewart, 1981) generate composite IHS-IS sets. Down-dip extent of fine members corresponds to
low-flow stage water levels. (4) Composite IHS-IS sets formed by mixed-load moderate-energy meandering coastal-plain rivers that infrequently experience minor tidal influence (cf. Wood, 1985). (5)
Moderate-energy mesotidally influenced, meandering rivers (cf. Smith, 1985). Sand-mud IHS couplets
are markedly "rhythmic" in appearance. (6) Small-scale meandering channels draining intertidal mudflats. IHS sets consist of highly bioturbated sand, silt and clay laminae cut by numerous scour surfaces.
Inclined units may show convex-upward profiles (cf. Bridges and Leeder, 1976; De Mowbray, 1983).

to the afore-mentioned a p p r o a c h to palaeochannel-magnitude analysis is the premise that each " E C S " unit "embraces a large part if n o t the whole of a cyclothem
coarse m e m b e r " (Allen, 1970, p. 312). W i t h respect to m a n y m o d e m and ancient
occurrences of point-bar IHS, however, this is clearly not the case.
F o r example, in m o d e m " m u d d y " meandering rivers, m u c h of their fining-upw a r d sequences' m u d m e m b e r m a y not be true o v e r b a n k material b u t has been
deposited u p o n the point bar within the bankfull channel (Jackson, 1981). This is
also true of some point bars in the tidally influenced Daule and B a b a h o v o rivers
which are capped b y thick, " i n - c h a n n e l " m u d units (Smith, 1985). D e p t h values for
ancient examples of these channel types would be considerably underestimated if
based u p o n I H S set thickness alone. Also, in purely practical terms, it is often

171

difficult to distinguish the contact between muddy, upper point-bar and floodplain
deposits (Stewart, 1983).
It is now established that, in contrast to the "classic" point-bar depositional
model, many modem point bars comprise several depositional "levels" and only
deposit IHS as an uppermost, accretionary bank facies (Bluck, 1971; Bridge and
Jarvis, 1976; Taylor and Woodyer, 1978). Possible ancient analogues of such IHS
sequences have been described by Puigdefabregas and Van Vliet (1978) and Stewart
(1981, 1983). Incompletely exposed examples could easily be misinterpreted as being
products of channels much smaller than the actual size of their parent rivers.
Undoubtedly, however, the most serious underestimations of palaeochannel
dimensions will result from the failure to recognize the genetic relationship between
IHS and underlying inclined-stratified sandstones in composite IHS sets (Wood,
1985; Wood and Thomas, in prep.). Thus, considerable caution should be exercised
(particularly when dealing with discontinuous exposures), if palaeochannel reconstructions that utilize the thickness, "dip-direction width", and dip values of IHS
sets are to be attempted.
Finally, Stanley and Surdam (1978) have shown that the geometry and thickness
of IHS sets interpreted to represent the foresets of Gilbert-type deltas prograding
into a lake may be used to obtain maximum depth values for the latter.

Economic geology
The presence of IHS sets has played an important role in the history of the origin
and localization of certain sedimentary ore deposits, and subsequently may significantly influence the effectiveness of methods designed to exploit them. For example,
in the case of uranium and vanadium deposits in fluvial sandstones of the Saltwash
Member (Morrison Formation) of SW Colorado, Tyler and Ethridge (1983, p. 75)
report that "epsilon crossbeds acted as pathways for ore-fluid migration" during
their formation. Similarly, the distribution and geometry of alternating, relatively
permeable and impermeable layers represented by large-scale, sandstone-mudstone
IHS couplets in the Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation of northern Alberta
are believed to have exerted important controls on oil migration pathways (and
resultant bitumen saturation levels) during the genesis of the Athabasca Oil Sands
(cf. Mossop, 1980; Flach and Mossop, 1985). The thickest shale fine members of
these couplets adversely affect both tar-sand strip-mining operations and (because
they function as permeability barriers) the volume of oil recovered by the steam-injection method (cf. Smith, 1985). It is noteworthy that these McMurray Formation
IHS sets are readily detectable in core and on wireline (especially dipmeter) logs
(Mossop and Flach, 1983; Flach and Mossop, 1985; Smith, 1985).
SUMMARYAND CONCLUSIONS
(1) With respect to their original attitude when deposited and mode of formation, three basic types of stratification (i.e. flat, inclined and cross) dominate

172

waterlain, siliciclastic sedimentary sequences. Inclined strata formed by active

growth of large-scale "bedforms" may be homolithic or heterolithic in character.
(2) Almost all names previously applied to both these types of inclined strata are
considered inappropriate--being either non-descriptive a n d / o r genetic--and in
need of replacement. To this end, and in order to rationalize description and
comparison of such deposits, usage of the terms "Inclined Heterolithic Stratification" and "Inclined Stratification" together with an additional relevant descriptive
nomenclature is recommended. This new terminology could also be adapted for use
with carbonate and volcaniclastic sequences.
(3) In the literature, modem and sub-Recent examples of IHS have been
reported from: ephemeral and perennial, "coarse-" and "fine"-grained meandering
river point bar or accretionary bank/bench deposits; Gilbert-type deltas;
anastomosed river channel-fill sequences; point bars of tidally influenced rivers;
estuarine channel point bars, and (most frequently) point bars of meandering
channels draining intertidal mudflats.
(4) Inferred environments of deposition of ancient IHS in published accounts
include: deltaic distributary channels; estuarine channel or tidally influenced river
point-bars; low-sinuosity river bars; submarine fan channels, and (forming the
overwhelming majority) both "coarse" and "fine" point bars of wholly fluvial,
ephemeral and perennial meandering channels.
(5) IHS deposits consist of inclined units that are separated by inclined surfaces
produced by either non-deposition or erosion. Individual inclined units in wholly
fluvial point-bar IHS deposits are usually normally graded or (more frequently)
consist of lower coarse- and upper fine-grained members comprising an upward-fining couplet. Most such ancient IHS deposits are erosionally based, overlie a basal
lag conglomerate (and often an inclined-stratified basal sandstone), exhibit an
overall fining upward and decrease in sedimentary-structure scale, and contain
evidence of palaeoflows directed parallel to their inclined units' strike. These
characteristics can be interpreted in terms of point-bar lateral migration and
meander bend hydrodynamics--such as fully developed helical flow (with its
concomitant decrease in energy gradient up the point-bar slope) and downstream
flow separation--combined with the effects of flood cycles of differing magnitude
and periodicity.
(6) Interpretation of ancient point-bar IHS has particular significance for
palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic reconstruction, plus the determination
of palaeochannel magnitude and related hydrological characteristics. Permeability
contrasts associated with IHS may assume economic geological importance due to
their role in controlling the migration paths of fluids and the localization of
resultant mineralization.
(7) Tidally influenced river point bars constitute a newly recognized environment
of IHS formation. The identification of such deposits in the rock record should
prove to be of great value in palaeogeographic analysis. The three possible char-

173
acteristics of ancient, tidally influenced point-bar I H S with the greatest potential for
use as criteria to distinguish such deposits f r o m their freshwater counterparts are the
occurrence of: (a) evidence for flow-direction reversals, (b) macro- or microfossils of
marine or brackish-water species, and (c) I H S exhibiting m a r k e d rhythmicity and
regularity in terms of its constituent sand- and mud-layer frequency and thickness.
(8) Eventually perhaps, it m a y prove feasible to identify specific types of I H S or
groups of I H S characteristics as being diagnostic of the various k n o w n environments of I H S formation. In the interim it is clear that far m o r e research into the
I H S deposits of m o d e m point bars in general, and those of tidally influenced rivers
in particular, is an urgent necessity.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
R G T wishes to express his gratitude to the University of Calgary and the N a t u r a l
Sciences and Engineering Research Council of C a n a d a for financial assistance, and
to Dr. N. Heintz (Oslo Palaeontological M u s e u m ) and the N o r s k Polarinstitutt for
logistical support in Spitsbergen. Constructive criticisms b y Dr. A n d r e w D. Miall
(University of T o r o n t o ) and an a n o n y m o u s reviewer helped improve the manuscript.
Miriam B o o d y is thanked for her typing skills and patience. Rick L a r u s h printed
our photographs.
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