In referring to their study of curr

In referring to their study of currents in submarinecanyons, Shepard et al. (1979, p. 2) aptly stated, ‘Topetroleum geologists, eager to understand processes ofsedimentation, this study would seem to be of paramountimportance.’ Indeed, recognition of tidal facies in deepwater sequences is important in understanding sanddistribution because deposits of tidal processes and massflows (i.e. slides, slumps, grain flows, and debris flows)characterize fills of modern and ancient submarine canyons(Table 2). This complex facies association (Fig. 14),mimicking both shallow-water and deep-water deposits,has been recognized in the modern La Jolla canyon boxcores (offshore California), ancient Qua Iboe Canyonconventional cores (Pliocene, Edop Field, offshore Nigeria),and ancient Annot Sandstone outcrops (Eocene–Oligocene,onshore SE France), among others. It appears that theassociation of tidal and mass flow facies is unique to canyonenvironments. Therefore, this facies association can be usedas a criterion for recognizing submarine canyon settings inthe rock record where direct evidence for canyon filling islacking. Because mass-flow facies (i.e. deposits of slides,slumps, and debris flows) can occur both inside and outsidesubmarine canyons, the correct identification of tidal faciesin deep-water sequences is extremely critical in establishingthe facies association.Misinterpretation of deep-marine tidal deposits asturbidites has important implications for understandingsites of sand deposition. For example, interpretation ofclimbing ripples as levee turbidites implies depositionoutside submarine channels, whereas interpretation ofthe same climbing ripples as deep-marine tidal depositsimplies deposition within submarine canyons or channels.Submarine canyons are large-scale, steep-sided, erosionalconduits that incise the continental shelf and slope, whereassubmarine channels are either erosional or depositional