Entrada Sandstone

Last updated
Entrada Sandstone
Stratigraphic range: Middle Jurassic
Entrada Type.jpg
Type of the Entrada Formation at Entrada Point, Emery County, Utah
Type Geological formation
Sub-unitsCannonville Member, Cow Springs Member, Dewey Bridge Member, Escalante Member, Henrieville Member, EExeter Member, Gunsight Butte Member, Iyanbito Member, Moab Member, Red Mesa Member, Slick Rock Member
Underlies Curtis Formation
Todilto Formation
Overlies Carmel Formation
Lithology
Primary fluvial mudstone, siltstone, and eolian sandstone
Location
Coordinates 39°15′40″N110°32′35″W / 39.261°N 110.543°W / 39.261; -110.543
Region Colorado Plateau
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named forEntrada Point, northern San Rafael Swell
Named by James Gilluly and J.B. Reeside, Jr. (1928)
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Cyan pog.svg
Entrada Sandstone (the United States)
USA Utah relief location map.svg
Cyan pog.svg
Entrada Sandstone (Utah)
Entrada Sandstone conformably overlies the Carmel Formation, Park Avenue, Arches National Park Carmel Formation below Entrada Sandstone along Park Avenue in Arches NP.jpeg
Entrada Sandstone conformably overlies the Carmel Formation, Park Avenue, Arches National Park

The Entrada Sandstone is a formation in the San Rafael Group found in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona, and southeast Utah. Part of the Colorado Plateau, this formation was deposited during the Jurassic Period sometime between 180 and 140 million years ago in various environments, including tidal mudflats, beaches, and sand dunes. [1] The Middle Jurassic San Rafael Group was dominantly deposited as ergs (sand seas) in a desert environment around the shallow Sundance Sea. [2] [3] [ self-published source? ]

Contents

Description

At its type section at Entrada Point, located in the northern part the San Rafael Swell in Emery County, Utah, [4] the Entrada consists of red silty sandstone and lesser interbedded mudstone and is a slope-forming formation. This part of the Entrada is sometimes described as the "earthy facies". [5] Here the Entrada is overlain by the Curtis Formation, and overlies the Carmel Formation. [4] To the south and east, the Entrada transitions to cliff-forming red or white crossbedded sandstone, sometimes called the "slickrock facies". This is actually more typical of the Entrada as a whole, and a principal reference section including both facies was designated by Peterson in 1988 at Pine Creek, 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) north of Escalante, Utah, in the Kaiparowits Basin. [5]

At the reference section in the Kaiparowitz Basin, the Entrada is 314 meters (1,030 ft) thick and is divided into three informal members. The lower member is 113 meters (371 ft) of orange-red silty sandstone, with occasional beds of red mudstone, corresponding to the earthy facies. The middle member is 132 meters (433 ft) of red to green mudstone interbedded with red to white sandstone. The upper member is 69 meters (226 ft) of crossbedded white sandstone. [6] The white color is attributed to bleaching by organic-rich fluids from overlying beds. The formation rests on the Carmel Formation and is overlain by the Morrison Formation. [7]

In the Curtis Mountains region of northeastern Arizona, the Entrada is overlain by the Wanakah Formation. [8]

In the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico, the Entrada consists of upper and lower sandy members and a medial silty member, the Rehoboth Member. The Curtis Formation is sometimes absent and the Entrada then overlies Chinle Formation. It is overlain by the Todilto Formation. Southeast of Fort Defiance, Arizona, the lower sandy beds are assigned to the Iyanbito Member. Total thickness is up to 37 meters (121 ft). [8]

In the Slick Rock, Colorado area, the Entrada is divided into a "middle sandstone", the Rehoboth Member, and the Slick Rock Member, in ascending order. [9]

The Entrada has been dated to the early to middle Callovian stage of the latest Middle Jurassic. [10]

History of investigation

The Entrada Sandstone was named as one of the four formations of the San Rafael Group by James Gilluly and Reeside in 1928. [4] Gregory and Moore worked out the geographic extent of the formation and gave an overview of it in 1931. [11] The extent was revised several times afterwards (most recently in 1992 by Condon). [12] It was divided into the Gunsight Butte, Cannonville, and Escalante members by Thompson and Stokes in 1970. [13] The principal reference for the formation was written in 1988 by Peterson. [5]

Members

Entrada members are (in alphabetical order):

Places found

Entrada Sandstone at Red Wash Canyon, near Abiquiu,New Mexico Entrada Sandstone Red Wash.jpg
Entrada Sandstone at Red Wash Canyon, near Abiquiu,New Mexico

Entrada Sandstone is found in these geologic locations:

Geologic province:

The Three Gossips in Arches National Park The Three Gossips in Arches National Park.jpg
The Three Gossips in Arches National Park

Found in these parklands (incomplete list):

Spatial distribution:

Related Research Articles

Morrison Formation Rock formation in the western United States

The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone, and limestone and is light gray, greenish gray, or red. Most of the fossils occur in the green siltstone beds and lower sandstones, relics of the rivers and floodplains of the Jurassic period.

Navajo Sandstone Geological formation in the southwestern U.S.

The Navajo Sandstone is a geological formation in the Glen Canyon Group that is spread across the U.S. states of southern Nevada, northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, and Utah as part of the Colorado Plateau province of the United States.

Moenkopi Formation

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.

Chinle Formation Geological formation in the western US

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.

Glen Canyon Group Group of geologic formations in the Colorado Plateau

The Glen Canyon Group is a geologic group of formations that is spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, north west New Mexico and western Colorado. It is called the Glen Canyon Sandstone in the Green River Basin of Colorado and Utah.

The San Rafael Group is a geologic group or collection of related rock formations that is spread across the U.S. states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. As part of the Colorado Plateau, this group of formations was laid down in the Middle Jurassic during the Bajocian, Bathonian and Callovian stages.

Carmel Formation

The Carmel Formation is a geologic formation in the San Rafael Group that is spread across the U.S. states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, north east Arizona and New Mexico. Part of the Colorado Plateau, this formation was laid down in the Middle Jurassic during the late Bajocian, through the Bathonian and into the early Callovian stages.

San Juan Basin

The San Juan Basin is a geologic structural basin located near the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States. The basin covers 7,500 square miles and resides in northwestern New Mexico, southwestern Colorado, and parts of Utah and Arizona. Specifically, the basin occupies space in the San Juan, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and McKinley counties in New Mexico, and La Plata and Archuleta counties in Colorado. The basin extends roughly 100 miles (160 km) N-S and 90 miles (140 km) E-W.

Dakota Formation Rock units in Midwestern North America.

The Dakota is a sedimentary geologic unit name of formation and group rank in Midwestern North America. The Dakota units are generally composed of sandstones, mudstones, clays, and shales deposited in the Mid-Cretaceous opening of the Western Interior Seaway. The usage of the name Dakota for this particular Albian-Cenomanian strata is exceptionally widespread; from British Columbia and Alberta to Montana and Wisconsin to Colorado and Kansas to Utah and Arizona. It is famous for producing massive colorful rock formations in the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains of the United States, and for preserving both dinosaur footprints and early deciduous tree leaves.

Summerville Formation Geologic formation in Four Corners region, US

The Summerville Formation is a geological formation in New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah of the Southwestern United States. It dates back to the Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic.

Mancos Shale

The Mancos Shale or Mancos Group is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation of the Western United States.

Todilto Formation Geologic formation in New Mexico

The Todilto Formation is a geologic formation in northern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado. It preserves fossils dating back to the Callovian stage of the middle Jurassic period.

Burro Canyon Formation A geologic formation in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah

The Burro Canyon Formation is an Early Cretaceous Period sedimentary geologic formation, found in western Colorado, the Chama Basin and eastern San Juan Basin of northern New Mexico, and in eastern Utah, US.

Curtis Formation

The Curtis Formation is a geologic formation in Utah. It preserves fossils dating back to the Callovian age of the Jurassic period.

Rock Point Formation

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

Mesaverde Group Group of geologic formations in the western United States

The Mesaverde Group is a Late Cretaceous stratigraphic group found in areas of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, in the Western United States.

Zuni Sandstone Geologic formation in New Mexico, US

The Zuni Sandstone is a geologic formation in west-central New Mexico. It marks the southernmost limit of Jurassic fluvial and lacustrine sedimentary formations, which pinch out to leave a single sandstone body.

Bluff Formation Geologic formation in the western United States

The Bluff Formation is a geological formation found in the Four Corners area. It was deposited in the late Jurassic Period.

Wild Horse Butte

Wild Horse Butte is a 5,760-foot (1,756-meter) elevation summit located in Goblin Valley State Park, in Emery County, Utah. Wild Horse Butte is situated 2.3 mi (3.7 km) west of Mollys Castle, and the top of this geological feature rises over 800 feet above its surrounding terrain, with precipitation runoff from Wild Horse Butte entering the Colorado River drainage basin. John C. Frémont's fifth expedition (1853–1854) stopped at Wild Horse Butte in January 1854, when Solomon Nunes Carvalho recorded a daguerreotype image of this butte.

Elbert Formation

The Elbert Formation is a geologic formation that crops out in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. The formation contains fossils indicating it is upper Devonian in age.

References

  1. ↑ Peterson, Fred (1988). "Stratigraphy and nomenclature of Middle and Upper Jurassic rocks, western Colorado Plateau, Utah and Arizona". U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin. 1633-B: 27. doi:10.3133/b1633AC.
  2. ↑ Lucas, S.G.; Anderson, O.J. (1997). "The Jurassic San Rafael Group, Four Corners region" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook. 48: 117–120. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  3. ↑ Share, Jack (2011). "The formation of the Entrada Sandstone: Tectonics, Accommodation space, Wind and lots of Sand". Written in Stone.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gilluly, James; Reeside, J.B., Jr. (1928). "Sedimentary rocks of the San Rafael Swell and some adjacent areas in eastern Utah". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 150-D: D61-110. doi: 10.3133/pp150 .
  5. 1 2 3 Peterson 1988, pp. B13-56.
  6. ↑ Peterson 1988, pp. B21, 48–52.
  7. ↑ Peterson 1988, pp. B21.
  8. 1 2 3 O'Sullivan, Robert B. (2003). "The Middle Jurassic Entrada Sandstone in northeastern Arizona and adjacent areas" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook. 54: 303–308. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  9. ↑ O'Sullivan 2003, p. 307.
  10. 1 2 Condon, S.M.; Huffman, A.C. Jr.; Peterson, F.; Aubrey, W.M. (1988). "Revisions to stratigraphic nomenclature of Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks of the Colorado Plateau". United States Geographical Survey Bulletin. 1633-B: B13-56. doi:10.3133/b1633AC.
  11. 1 2 Gregory, H.E.; Moore, R.C. (1931). "The Kaiparowits region, a geographic and geologic reconnaissance of parts of Utah and Arizona". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 164. doi:10.3133/pp164.
  12. 1 2 Condon, S.M. (1992). "Geologic framework of pre-Cretaceous rocks in the Southern Ute Indian Reservation and adjacent areas, southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 1505-A: A1–A56. doi:10.3133/pp1505A.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Thompson, A.E.; Stokes, W.L. (1970). "Stratigraphy of the San Rafael Group, southwest and south central Utah". Utah Geological and Mineral Survey Bulletin. 87.
  14. ↑ Peterson 1988, pp. B27-29.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Wright, J.C.; Shawe, D.R.; Lohman, S.W. (1962). "Definition of Members of Jurassic Entrada Sandstone in East-Central Utah and West-Central Colorado". AAPG Bulletin. 46: 2057–2070. doi:10.1306/BC74394B-16BE-11D7-8645000102C1865D.
  16. ↑ Peterson 1988, p. 25.
  17. 1 2 Lucas, S.G.; Kietzke, K.K.; Hunt, A.P. (1985). "The Jurassic System in east-central New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook. 36: 213–242. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  18. ↑ Imlay, R.W. (1980). "Jurassic paleobiogeography of the conterminous United States in its continental setting". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 1062. doi:10.3133/pp1062.
  19. ↑ Lucas & Anderson 1997, p. 117.
  20. ↑ Peterson 1988, p. B27.
  21. ↑ Mackin, J.H. (1954). "Geology and iron ore deposits of the Granite Mountain area, Iron County, Utah". U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map. MF-l4. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  22. ↑ Rowley, P.D.; Hansen, W.R. (1979). "Geologic map of the Plug Hat quadrangle, Moffat County, Colorado". U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map. GQ-1514. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  23. ↑ Johnson, R.B. (1959). "Geology of the Huerfano Park area, Huerfano and Custer Counties, Colorado". U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin. 1071-D. doi:10.3133/b1071D.

Further reading


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.