The Arckaringa Basin is an

endorheic basin An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

in Australia. It is in size and is located in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. The basin surrounds the town of Coober Pedy in northern South Australia. It located in the north of the Gawler Block.

Structure

The basin structure features an elevated central platform. There are both glacigene sediments deposited in the upper Carboniferous and Permian coal measures which are mostly covered by Mesozoic sediments. The Boorthana Formation in the east bears

diamictite Diamictite (; from Ancient Greek (): 'through' and (): 'mixed') is a type of lithified sedimentary rock that consists of nonsorted to poorly sorted terrigenous sediment containing particles that range in size from clay to boulders, suspended ...

. The eastern boundary of the basin contain some outcrops of pavements which prove

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

. Infills in the Arckaringa Basin are dominated by mass flow deposits.

Resources

Reports as of February 2013 estimate that the oil-bearing shale of the basin may contain between of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

or petroleum equivalent."$20 Trillion Shale Oil Find Surrounding Coober Pedy 'Can Fuel Australia,'"
''The Advertiser'' (Adelaide, Australia), January 24, 2013, www.adelaidenow.com.au/

Structure

Resources

Footnotes

Further reading