Bell Canyon Formation

Bell Canyon Formation Stratigraphic range: Guadalupian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Formation
Unit of	Delaware Mountain Group
Underlies	Castile Formation
Overlies	Cherry Canyon Formation
Thickness	200–300 m (660–980 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone, siltstone
Other	Limestone
Location
Coordinates	31°56′09″N104°43′25″W / 31.9359°N 104.7237°W / 31.9359; -104.7237
Region	New Mexico Texas
Country	United States
Type section
Named for	Bell Canyon
Named by	DeFord and Lloyd
Year defined	1940
Bell Canyon Formation (the United States) Show map of the United States Bell Canyon Formation (Texas) Show map of Texas

The Bell Canyon Formation is a geologic formation found in the Delaware Basin of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. It contains fossils characteristic of the Guadalupian Age of the Permian Period. ^[1]

Description

The formation consists mostly of marine sandstone and siltstone, but with five interfingering tongues of gray limestone. These extend from the Capitan reef into what was then deep, anoxic water 300–500 meters (980–1,640 ft) deep of the Permian Basin. Total thickness of the formation is 200–300 meters (660–980 ft). ^[2]

Fossils

The formation's Lamar Limestone Member of Guadalupe Mountains National Park has produced fossil holocephalan teeth. ^[3]

History of investigation

The unit was first designated as a formation by DeFord and Lloyd in 1940, who raised the Delaware Mountain Formation to group rank and designed its previously informal members as formations. ^{[4] [5]}

Footnotes

1. Kues & Giles 2004, p. 100.
2. Kues & Giles 2004, pp. 125–127.
3. Hunt, Santucci & Kenworthy 2006, p. 64.
4. DeFord & Lloyd 1940.
5. King 1942.

References

• DeFord, Ronald K.; Lloyd, E. Russell (1940). "West Texas-New Mexico Symposium: Part I Editorial Introduction". AAPG Bulletin. 24. doi:10.1306/3D933188-16B1-11D7-8645000102C1865D.
• King, P.B. (1942). "Permian of West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico: PART 1". AAPG Bulletin. 26. doi:10.1306/3D933466-16B1-11D7-8645000102C1865D.
• Kues, B.S.; Giles, K.A. (2004). "The late Paleozoic Ancestral Rocky Mountain system in New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN   9781585460106.
• Hunt, Rebecca K.; Santucci, Vincent L.; Kenworthy, Jason (2006). "A preliminary inventory of fossil fish from National Park Service units". In Lucas, S.G.; Spielmann, J.A.; Hester, P.M.; Kenworthy, J.P.; Santucci, V.L. (eds.). Fossils from Federal Lands. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 34. pp. 63–69.