Duchesne River Formation

Duchesne River Formation
Duchesne River Formation
Stratigraphic range: Uppermost Eocene to lower Oligocene
	Duchesne River Formation
Type	Formation
Area	Duchesne and Uinta Counties, northeastern Utah
Location
Region	Utah
Country	United States

Last updated January 26, 2025

The Duchesne River Formation is a geologic formation in the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah. It was originally named the Duchesne Formation by Carnegie Museum paleontologist OA Peterson,^[1] and modified to the Duchesne River Formation by Carnegie Museum paleontologist JL Kay^[2] because Duschesne Formation was previously used for a Jurassic limestone. In naming the formation, no type section was given, only that it is named for the Duchesne River, which flows roughly southeast and east to join the Green River.

The formation consists of over 3000 feet (915 m) of fluvial conglomerate, sandstone and fine-grained sedimentary rocks. It is subdivided into four members (below), whose sediments are thought to have eroded from the rising Uinta Mountains to the north and deposited in river, floodplains and small lakes. Volcanic ash in the formation, derived from volcanoes in the Wasatch Range, East Tintic, and Oquirrh Mountains to west, have provided radiometric dates. These dates range from 38.2 +/-1.8 Ma for the Brennan Basin Member to 28.7 +/-2.0 Ma for the Lapoint Member.^[3]

Members and their Vertebrate Fossils^[4]

Brennan Basin Member: Named for Brennan Basin, Uintah County. Predominately sandstone that varies from yellow-gray to red brown, very fine, fine, medium, to coarse grained, thin to thick to very thick bedded, generally poorly sorted, and may be nodular, silty, pebbly, and cross stratified. Minor beds of green-gray to red brown, silty to sandy, thin to very thin bedded, poorly sorted claystone, red brown, thin-bedded, nodular, poorly sorted mudstone, yellow brown, very thin bedded, nodular, poorly sorted, horizontally stratified siltstone, and red-purple, sandy, clayey, thin-bedded, medium to coarse crystalline limestone. Contains a diverse late Eocene vertebrate fauna.

Reptilia

Chelonia

Cymatholcus longus Clark

Crocodilia

Crocodilus? acer Cope

Mammalia Lagomorpha

Mytonolagus petersoni Burke

Rodentia

Leptotomus kayi Burke
?Sciuravid or Myomorph sp.
Pareumys sp.
Protadjidaumo typus Burke
Mytonomys robustus (Peterson) Wood

Carnivora

Pleurocyon? or Uintacyon? sp.

Perissodactyla

Protitanotherium sp.
Dilophodon leotanus (Peterson) Hough
Epitriplopus medius Peterson
Mesamynodon medius Peterson
Megalamynodon regalis Wood

Artiodactyla

Pentacemylus progressus Peterson
Diplobunops crassus Scott
Protoreodon pumilus annectens (Marsh) Gazin
Protoreodon primus (Peterson) Gazin
?Hypertragulid sp.

Dry Gulch Creek Member: Named for Dry CGulch Creek, Uintah County. Consists of pale red, olive gray to yellow brown, coarse, medium, fine to very fine grained, thin-, thick to very thick bedded, massive, moderately to poorly sorted sandstone that may be horizontally or cross stratified and red, gray to brown, very thin, thin- to thick-bedded, moderately to poorly sorted claystone that may be nodular, micaceous, or laminated. Contains plant remains and a sparse vertebrate fauna.

Mammalia

Carnivora

Eosictis avinoffi Scott

Perissodactyla

Epihippus (Duchesnehippus) intermedius Peterson

Lapoint Member: Named for the town of Lapoint, Uintah County. Composed of olive, green-gray, dark gray, very thin to thin bedded, nodular, poorly sorted, horizontally stratified, laminated claystone; light gray, light brown, gray orange to red brown, thin-bedded, slabby, horizontally stratified, poorly sorted, medium-grained, to thick-bedded, blocky, poorly sorted, coarse-grained sandstone; gray-red to red-brown, thin-bedded, nodular, horizontally stratified, poorly sorted siltstone; and gray-orange, very thick bedded, massive, poorly sorted pebble conglomerate. Abundant late Eocene vertebrates.

Reptilia

Crocodilia

Crocodilus? acer Cope

Mammalia Insectivora

Protictops alticuspidens Peterson

Rodentia

Leptotomus kayi Burke
Pareumys guensburgi Black
Protadjidaumo typus Burke

Creodonta

Hyaenodon sp.

Mesonychia

Hessolestes ultimus Peterson

Perissodactyla

Teleodus uintensis Peterson
Epitriplopus medius Peterson
Hyracodon primus Peterson
Mesamynodon medius Peterson

Artiodactyla

Pentacemylus progressus Peterson
Helohyus(?) sp.
Poabromylus kayi Peterson
Simimeryx minutus (Peterson) Gazin

Starr Flat: Named for John Starr Flat, Duchesne County. Consists of: 1) red- to yellow-brown, light gray, gray- to yellow-orange, pale red to gray red sandstone that ranges from coarse, medium, fine to very fine grained, thin, thick to very thick bedded, sandy, silty, to clayey, cross-stratified to horizontally stratified, flaggy, blocky, massive, brown-gray, gray-red to olive, sandy to silty; 2) very thin bedded, poorly sorted, platy, laminated, nodular to massive claystone; and 3) gray red, sandy, poorly sorted, thin-bedded, nodular, massive siltstone. Sandstone may also be poorly sorted, pebbly, nodular and massive. No fossils found.

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References

↑ Peterson, O.A., 1932, New species from the Oligocene of the Uinta [Utah]: Carnegie Museum Annals, v. 21, no. 2, p. 61-78.
↑ Kay, J.L., 1934, The Tertiary formations of the Uinta basin, Utah: Carnegie Museum Annals, v. 23, p. 357-372.
↑ Bryant, Bruce, Naeser, C.W., Marvin, R.F., and Mehnert, H.H., 1990, Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene sedimentary rocks and isotopic ages of Paleogene tuffs, Uinta basin, Utah, IN Evolution of sedimentary basins; Uinta and Piceance basins: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1787-J, p. J1-J22.
↑ Andersen, D.W., and Picard, M.D., 1972, Stratigraphy of the Duchesne River Formation (Eocene-Oligocene?), northern Uinta basin, northeastern Utah: Utah Geological and Mineral Survey Bulletin, no. 97, 29 p.

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[1] Peterson, O.A., 1932, New species from the Oligocene of the Uinta [Utah]: Carnegie Museum Annals, v. 21, no. 2, p. 61-78.

[2] Kay, J.L., 1934, The Tertiary formations of the Uinta basin, Utah: Carnegie Museum Annals, v. 23, p. 357-372.

[3] Bryant, Bruce, Naeser, C.W., Marvin, R.F., and Mehnert, H.H., 1990, Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene sedimentary rocks and isotopic ages of Paleogene tuffs, Uinta basin, Utah, IN Evolution of sedimentary basins; Uinta and Piceance basins: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1787-J, p. J1-J22.

[4] Andersen, D.W., and Picard, M.D., 1972, Stratigraphy of the Duchesne River Formation (Eocene-Oligocene?), northern Uinta basin, northeastern Utah: Utah Geological and Mineral Survey Bulletin, no. 97, 29 p.

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Duchesne River Formation

See also

Related Research Articles

References