Abstract
SUMMARY: A computer‐generated model of a coal‐bearing delta would be desirable if it included enough detail to reproduce the cyclical nature of the sediments. At the present stage of development of computers, and with the present state of knowledge of the quantitative aspects of transportation and sedimentation, it is not yet possible to set up such a model. However, the logical arrangement in a flow‐diagram of the processes and parameters involved in delta formation strongly suggests that cyclical sedimentation can occur without the need for an external cyclical cause, such as tectonic or climatic oscillations. Attempts to provide for appropriate checks of a computer model bring out overall regularities in the assemblages of cyclic types in three different coal basins.