Abstract Understanding how the characteristics of individual turbidites measured along a 1D (vertical) section may relate to reservoir-scale system geometry remains a significant upscaling problem, yet the ability to make this link is fundamentally important when evaluating turbidite reservoirs. Insights into the key relationships are perhaps best gained from well-exposed outcrops in which bed-to-bed correlations can be established. The Peïra Cava outlier of the Tertiary Annot Sandstone contains sheetform turbidites that were deposited in a confined and ponded basin. They are now exposed over a 10 by 6 km area. Bed-to-bed correlations have been established throughout a selected 420 m stratigraphic interval, allowing the 3D geometry of the system to be constrained. We test the significance of bed sand thickness, mud-cap thickness, sand percentage, grain-size, and the presence or absence of erosional structures and cross-stratification for their value as predictors of up-stream and down-stream bed geometry. The results are compared with models currently used to predict the spatial distribution of sediment properties, such as flow-efficiency concepts and the influence of topographic control.