Beartooth Butte Formation

Last updated
Beartooth Butte Formation
Stratigraphic range: Lochkovian-Emsian
~419–394  Ma
Cosmaspis transversa (Beartooth Butte Formation, Lower Devonian; Cottonwood Canyon, east of Lovell, Wyoming, USA) 4 (33446628334).jpg
Fossil fish from the Beartooth Butte Formation
Type Formation
Sub-unitsCottonwood Canyon Member
Lithology
Primary Mudstone, sandstone
Other Shale, limestone
Location
Coordinates 44°57′N109°37′W / 44.950°N 109.617°W / 44.950; -109.617
Approximate paleocoordinates 28°12′S47°06′W / 28.2°S 47.1°W / -28.2; -47.1
Region Wyoming
Country United States
Type section
Named for Beartooth Butte
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Gold pog.svg
Beartooth Butte Formation (the United States)
USA Wyoming relief location map.svg
Gold pog.svg
Beartooth Butte Formation (Wyoming)

The Beartooth Butte Formation is a geologic formation in Wyoming. It preserves fossils dating back to the Devonian period. [1]

Contents

Description

The formation contains a basal limestone conglomerate overlain by evenly bedded red or gray limestones (more accurately, limy mudstones) and calcareous shales. It is a lenticular, channel-fill deposit which is some 2,500 feet (760 m) wide and 250 feet (76 m) thick at maximum. Most collections are from the talus slope. Stable oxygen and isotope data (Poulson in Fiorillo, 2000) indicate that the Beartooth Butte Formation was deposited in an estuarine environment, with the Cottonwood Canyon section being slightly less saline than the type section.

Fossil content

The following fossils have been reported from the formation: [1]

Fish
Arthropods
Flora
Invertebrates

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Beartooth Butte Formation at Fossilworks.org

Bibliography

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.