The Palo Duro basin is centered in the southern
Texas Panhandle. It is bounded on the north by the Amarillo Uplift and other structures that separate it from the
Anadarko Basin. To the south, it is bounded by the Matador Arch. Its east and west margins are defined by broad structural divides. The basin was formed by subsidence during the
Pennsylvanian and
Permian Periods, from about 323 to 252 million years ago. This was associated with the
Ancestral Rocky Mountains orogeny (mountain-building episode). Additional subsidence took place during the Permian and
Triassic. Some of the structures defining the Palo Duro basin are much older and were reactivated during its formation. The basin accumulated
evaporite beds during the Permian, and later dissolution of these beds deformed overlying
strata. and for its possible use to store high-level
nuclear waste. ==References==