Canning Basin

The Canning Basin is a geological basin located in Western Australia.

The Basin covers approximately (506,000 km²) of which approximately (430,000 km²) is on land.

It has been recognised as having prospective oil and gas capacity and has been studied extensively: - and at June 2003 - 250 wells have been drilled and 78,000 km of seismic shot.

The basin is also a distinct physiographic province of the larger West Australian Shield division.

The internal features of the basin include\:

The Canning Basin is home to a Devonian fossil reef complex that stretches 350 km across the northern edge of the basin. The fossil reef is very well preserved and is cut by several modern canyons, including Geikie Gorge and Windjana Gorge.

The Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources report of the geology of the basin outlines the early exploration:-

The Bureau started field work in the Canning Basin in 1947 and continued every year up to 1958. This work was carried out by geological parties equipped with land vehicles (1947-56) and with a helicopter (1957), by seismic and gravity parties, by an airborne magnetic party, and by a stratigraphical drilling party (1955-58). All work was based on air photographs, at a scale of 1:50,000, prepared by the R.A.A.F. This bulletin incorporates the results of all these surveys. The first attempt at compiling a geology of the Canning Basin was made by Reeves in 1949