Baldy Hill Formation

Baldy Hill Formation
Stratigraphic range: late Triassic
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Baldy Hill Formation; Stratigraphic range: late Triassic PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Formation
Unit of	Dockum Group
Underlies	Travesser Formation
Thickness	Over 35 meters (115 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Mudstone
Other	Sandstone
Location
Coordinates	36°58′15″N103°28′10″W / 36.9708847°N 103.4694368°W
Region	New Mexico ; Oklahoma
Country	United States
Type section
Named for	Baldy Hill
Named by	Baldwin and Muehlberger
Year defined	1959
	Baldy Hill Formation (the United States) Baldy Hill Formation (New Mexico)

Last updated December 21, 2021

The Baldy Hill Formation is a geologic formation in northeastern New Mexico and western Oklahoma. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Triassic period.^[1]

Description

The Baldy Hill Formation is a dark purple, reddish brown, or greenish gray silty to sandy mudstone with some fine-grained sandstone. Its base is not exposed at the type section, but it is at least 35 meters (115 ft). It is overlain by the Travesser Formation, with the contact marked by the Cobert Canyon Sandstone Bed, a persistent layer of conglomerate beds^[1] now assigned to the Baldy Hill Formation^[2] or possibly the overlying Travesser Formation (which in turn is sometimes regarded as equivalent to the Chinle Formation.)^[3]

The formation may correlate with either the Garita Creek Formation or the Los Esteros Member of the Santa Rosa Formation.^[4]

Fossils

Fossils of amphibians and phytosaurs of Carnian to Norian age have been found in the Cobert Canyon Sandstone.^[2]

History of investigation

The formation was first named by Baldwin and Muehlberger in 1959, for exposures around Baldy Hill in the valley of the Dry Cimarron.^[5]

Related Research Articles

The Moenkopi Formation is a geological formation that is spread across the U.S. states of New Mexico, northern Arizona, Nevada, southeastern California, eastern Utah and western Colorado. This unit is considered to be a group in Arizona. Part of the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range, this red sandstone was laid down in the Lower Triassic and possibly part of the Middle Triassic, around 240 million years ago.

The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. The Chinle is controversially considered to be synonymous to the Dockum Group of eastern Colorado and New Mexico, western Texas, the Oklahoma panhandle, and southwestern Kansas. The Chinle is sometimes colloquially named as a formation within the Dockum Group in New Mexico and in Texas. The Chinle Formation is part of the Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range, and the southern section of the Interior Plains.

The Dockum is a Late Triassic geologic group found primarily on the Llano Estacado of western Texas and eastern New Mexico with minor exposures in southwestern Kansas, eastern Colorado, and Oklahoma panhandle. The Dockum reaches a maximum thickness of slightly over 650 m but is usually much thinner. The Dockum rests on an unconformity over the Anisian aged Anton Chico Formation.

Redondasaurus is an extinct genus of phytosaur from the Late Triassic of the southwestern United States. It was named by Hunt & Lucas in 1993, and contains two species, R. gregorii and R. bermani. It is the youngest and most evolutionarily-advanced of the phytosaurs.

The Garita Creek Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico that contains vertebrate fossils characteristic of the Carnian Age of the late Triassic.

The Pajarito Formation is a geologic formation in eastern New Mexico and west Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the Albian Age of the Cretaceous Period.

The Bell Ranch Formation is a Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) geologic formation in eastern and northeastern New Mexico and the western Oklahoma panhandle. Fossil theropod tracks have been reported from the formation.

The Sloan Canyon Formation is a late Triassic geologic formation exposed in northeastern New Mexico. Fossil theropod tracks have been reported from the formation.

The Mesa Rica Sandstone is a geologic formation in Oklahoma and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cretaceous period.

The Trujillo Formation is a geologic formation in Texas and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the upper Triassic period.

The Sheep Pen Sandstone is a late Triassic geologic formation exposed in northeastern New Mexico. Fossil theropod tracks have been reported from the formation.

The El Cobre Canyon Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Pennsylvanian to early Permian periods.

The Travesser Formation is a geologic formation in northeastern New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, westernmost Oklahoma, and northwestern Texas, particularly in the Dry Cimarron valley. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Triassic period.

The Bluewater Creek Formation is a geologic formation in west-central New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Triassic period.

The Petrified Forest Member is a stratigraphic unit of the Chinle Formation in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. It preserves fossils dating back to the Triassic period.

The San Pedro Arroyo Formation is a geologic formation in south-central New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Triassic period.

The Rock Point Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Triassic.

The Exeter Sandstone is a geologic formation exposed in northeastern New Mexico. Its age is poorly controlled, but it is thought to have been deposited during the middle Jurassic.

The Glencairn Formation is a geologic formation found in Colorado and New Mexico. It preserves fossils characteristic of the Albian Age of the Cretaceous Period.

The Romeroville Sandstone is a geologic formation in northeastern New Mexico. It likely was deposited in the Cenomanian Age of the Cretaceous Period.

References

1 2 Ziegler, Kate E.; Ramos, Frank C.; Zimmerer, Matthew J. (2019). "Geology of Northeastern New Mexico, union and Colfax Counties, New Mexico: A Geologic Summary" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 70 (4): 47–54. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
1 2 Lucas, S.G.; Hunt, A.P.; Hayden, S.N. (1987). "The Triassic System in the Dry Cimarron Valley, New Mexico, Colorado, and Oklahoma" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook. 38: 97–117. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
↑ Heckert, A.B.; Lucas, S.G. (2015). "Triassic vertebrate paleontology in New Mexico". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 68: 77–96. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
↑ Lucas, S.G.; Hunt, A.P.; Huber, P. (1990). "Triassic stratigraphy in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook. 41: 305–318. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
↑ Baldwin, Brewster; Muehlberger, W.R. (1959). "Geologic studies of Union County, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Bulletin. 63 (2). Retrieved 1 September 2020.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[ziegler-etal-1019-1] 1 2 Ziegler, Kate E.; Ramos, Frank C.; Zimmerer, Matthew J. (2019). "Geology of Northeastern New Mexico, union and Colfax Counties, New Mexico: A Geologic Summary" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series. 70 (4): 47–54. Retrieved 1 September 2020.

[LucasEtal1987-2] 1 2 Lucas, S.G.; Hunt, A.P.; Hayden, S.N. (1987). "The Triassic System in the Dry Cimarron Valley, New Mexico, Colorado, and Oklahoma" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook. 38: 97–117. Retrieved 17 September 2020.

[3] Heckert, A.B.; Lucas, S.G. (2015). "Triassic vertebrate paleontology in New Mexico". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 68: 77–96. Retrieved 3 November 2021.

[LucasEtal1990-4] Lucas, S.G.; Hunt, A.P.; Huber, P. (1990). "Triassic stratigraphy in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook. 41: 305–318. Retrieved 3 November 2021.

[baldwin-muehlberger-1959-5] Baldwin, Brewster; Muehlberger, W.R. (1959). "Geologic studies of Union County, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Bulletin. 63 (2). Retrieved 1 September 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]