Lithostratigraphic revision and correlation of the Oligo-Miocene Murray Supergroup, western Murray Basin, South Australia

The Murray Basin in southeastern Australia is a large, shallow, intracratonic basin filled with laterally extensive, undeformed, Cenozoic carbonate and terrigenous clastic sedimentary rocks that constitute regional and locally important groundwater aquifers. The marine Oligo-Miocene strata distributed throughout the southwestern portion of the basin are here encompassed within the Murray Supergroup. The Murray Supergroup (formerly Murray Group) incorporates the marginal marine marl and clay of the Ettrick Formation, Winnambool Formation and Geera Clay in the western and northern portions of the Murray Basin in South Australia, in addition to the limestone that outcrops along the banks of the River Murray in nearly continuous section for 175 km. The stratigraphic nomenciature of these rocks is revised as follows. The boundary between the lower and upper members of the Mannum Formation is redefined and a new Swan Reach Dolomite Member is erected. The Finniss Clay is revised to Finniss Formation possessing three new members: the Cowirra Clay Member, Portee Carbonate Member and Woolpunda Marl Member. The 'Morgan Limestone' is raised to Morgan Group and contains three new formations: the Glenforslan Formation, Cadell Formation (with Murbko Mari Member and Overland Coiner Clay Member) and Bryant Creek Formation. The Pata Formation is redefined and described. Type and reference sections are erected for each new and revised unit, and are lithostratigraphically correlated to illustrate their stratigraphic architecture.