Bull Run Formation

Last updated
Bull Run Formation
Stratigraphic range: Norian
~222–210  Ma
Type Geological formation
Unit of Chatham Group
Sub-units Ball's Bluff & Groveton Members
Lithology
Primary Mudstone
Other Shale, siltstone
Location
Coordinates 38°54′N77°24′W / 38.9°N 77.4°W / 38.9; -77.4
Approximate paleocoordinates 13°18′N21°48′W / 13.3°N 21.8°W / 13.3; -21.8
Region Maryland, Virginia
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Extent Culpeper Basin
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Pink ff0080 pog.svg
Bull Run Formation (the United States)
USA Virginia relief location map.svg
Pink ff0080 pog.svg
Bull Run Formation (Virginia)

The Bull Run Formation is a Late Triassic (Norian) stratigraphic unit in the eastern United States. [1] Fossil fish bones and scales have been found in outcrops of the formation's Groveton Member in Manassas National Battlefield Park. [2] Indeterminate fossil ornithischian tracks have been reported from the formation. [3]

Contents

The Bull Run Formation was once considered part of the Culpeper Group of the Newark Supergroup, but the United States Geological Survey no longer formally recognizes this formation (it is abandoned). [4]

Fossil content

The following fossils were reported from the formation: [1]

Ichnofossils

See also

Related Research Articles

The Black Peaks Formation is a geological formation in Texas whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains and the pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi have been among the fossils reported from the formation. The boundary with the underlying Javelina Formation has been estimated at 66.5 million years old. The formation preserves the rays Rhombodus and Dasyatis, as well as many gar scales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moenave Formation</span> Geologic formation in Utah and Arizona

The Moenave Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation, in the Glen Canyon Group. It is found in Utah and Arizona.

The Montemarcello Formation is a Late Triassic (Carnian) geologic formation in Liguria, Italy. Fossil prosauropod tracks have been reported from the formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Towaco Formation</span>

The Towaco Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in New Jersey. It is named for the unincorporated village of Towaco, which is near the place its type section was described by paleontologist Paul E. Olsen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feltville Formation</span>

The Feltville Formation is a mapped bedrock unit primarily in New Jersey, with one known outlier in Pennsylvania and another one in New York. It is named for the Deserted Village of Feltville in Watchung Reservation, New Jersey, which is near where its type section was described by paleontologist Paul E. Olsen.

The East Berlin Formation is an Early Jurassic geological formation in New England, United States. Dinosaur footprints and trackways are abundant in this formation. These tracks include Eubrontes, Anchisauripus, and Anomoepus. Several museums, parks, and tourist attractions are based around the East Berlin Formation's dinosaur tracks, including Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill, Connecticut and Powder Hill Dinosaur Park in Middlefield, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boonton Formation</span> Lithostratigraphic unit

The Boonton Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in New Jersey, formerly divided between the Boonton and Whitehall beds of the defunct Brunswick Formation. It is named for the town of Boonton, New Jersey, which is near where its type section was described by paleontologist Paul E. Olsen.

The Ansbachersandstein is a Late Triassic (Carnian) geologic formation in Germany. Indeterminate fossil ornithischian tracks have been reported from the formation.

The Abu Agag Formation is a Turonian geologic formation in Egypt and Sudan. Indeterminate fossil ornithischian tracks have been reported from the formation.

The Akaiwa Formation is an Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian-Barremian) geologic formation in central Honshu, Japan. Indeterminate ornithischian fossils are known from the formation. Fossil ornithopod tracks have been reported from the formation. As well as the turtle Kappachelys

The Lossiemouth Sandstone is a Middle to Late Triassic age geological formation. It is exposed on the south side of the Moray Firth near Lossiemouth and near Golspie in Sutherland. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in Virginia</span> Paleontological research in the U.S. state of Virginia

Paleontology in Virginia refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Virginia. The geologic column in Virginia spans from the Cambrian to the Quaternary. During the early part of the Paleozoic, Virginia was covered by a warm shallow sea. This sea would come to be inhabited by creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, and nautiloids. The state was briefly out of the sea during the Ordovician, but by the Silurian it was once again submerged. During this second period of inundation the state was home to brachiopods, trilobites and entire reef systems. During the mid-to-late Carboniferous the state gradually became a swampy environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in Maryland</span> Paleontological research in the U.S. state of Maryland

Paleontology in Maryland refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Maryland. The invertebrate fossils of Maryland are similar to those of neighboring Delaware. For most of the early Paleozoic era, Maryland was covered by a shallow sea, although it was above sea level for portions of the Ordovician and Devonian. The ancient marine life of Maryland included brachiopods and bryozoans while horsetails and scale trees grew on land. By the end of the era, the sea had left the state completely. In the early Mesozoic, Pangaea was splitting up. The same geologic forces that divided the supercontinent formed massive lakes. Dinosaur footprints were preserved along their shores. During the Cretaceous, the state was home to dinosaurs. During the early part of the Cenozoic era, the state was alternatingly submerged by sea water or exposed. During the Ice Age, mastodons lived in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology in Pennsylvania</span> Paleontological research in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania

Paleontology in Pennsylvania refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The geologic column of Pennsylvania spans from the Precambrian to Quaternary. During the early part of the Paleozoic, Pennsylvania was submerged by a warm, shallow sea. This sea would come to be inhabited by creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, crinoids, graptolites, and trilobites. The armored fish Palaeaspis appeared during the Silurian. By the Devonian the state was home to other kinds of fishes. On land, some of the world's oldest tetrapods left behind footprints that would later fossilize. Some of Pennsylvania's most important fossil finds were made in the state's Devonian rocks. Carboniferous Pennsylvania was a swampy environment covered by a wide variety of plants. The latter half of the period was called the Pennsylvanian in honor of the state's rich contemporary rock record. By the end of the Paleozoic the state was no longer so swampy. During the Mesozoic the state was home to dinosaurs and other kinds of reptiles, who left behind fossil footprints. Little is known about the early to mid Cenozoic of Pennsylvania, but during the Ice Age it seemed to have a tundra-like environment. Local Delaware people used to smoke mixtures of fossil bones and tobacco for good luck and to have wishes granted. By the late 1800s Pennsylvania was the site of formal scientific investigation of fossils. Around this time Hadrosaurus foulkii of neighboring New Jersey became the first mounted dinosaur skeleton exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The Devonian trilobite Phacops rana is the Pennsylvania state fossil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culpeper Basin</span> Triassic rift basin in the United States

The Culpeper Basin is one of the Newark Supergroup's Triassic rift basins. It lies east of the Appalachian Mountains and extends from the Madison County—Orange County line in Virginia to Frederick, Maryland. A diverse group of sedimentary rocks including siltstone, sandstone, and conglomerate within the basin were intruded by igneous rocks, which caused thermal metamorphism at the contact with sedimentary rock.

The Midland Formation is a Mesozoic geological formation in the Culpeper Basin of Virginia. It is a sedimentary unit which formed in a short period of time between the first two basalt flows in the basin: the Hickory Grove and Mount Zion Church basalts. The most common rocks in the formation are dark reddish interbedded sandstones and siltstones, representative of fluvial (stream) environments. Rare but fossiliferous calcareous shale and limestone also occurs, representing recurring lacustrine (lake) conditions. The Midland Formation is considered equivalent to the Shuttle Meadow Formation of the Hartford Basin, the Feltville Formation of the Newark Basin, and the Bendersville Formation of the Gettysburg Basin. Some sources prefer to classify the Midland Formation as part of the Shuttle Meadow Formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nugget Sandstone</span> Geologic Formation in the United States

The Nugget Sandstone is a Late Triassic to Early Jurassic geologic formation that outcrops in Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah, western United States.

The Tomanová Formation is a Late Triassic geologic formation in Poland and Slovakia. Fossil theropod tracks have been reported from the formation.

The Marnes de Châlins is a Late Triassic geologic formation in France. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.

Gwyneddichnium is an ichnogenus from the Late Triassic of North America and Europe. It represents a form of reptile footprints and trackways, likely produced by small tanystropheids such as Tanytrachelos. Gwyneddichnium includes a single species, Gwyneddichnium major. Two other proposed species, G. elongatum and G. minore, are indistinguishable from G. major apart from their smaller size and minor taphonomic discrepancies. As a result, they are considered junior synonyms of G. major.

References

  1. 1 2 Bull Run Formation at Fossilworks.org
  2. Hunt et al., 2006, p.64
  3. Weishampel et al., 2004, pp.517-607
  4. Bull Run, National Geologic Map Database, Geolex — Unit Summary, USGS.

Bibliography