The Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex sits above Cretaceous-age strata ranging from ≈145-66 Ma. These Cretaceous-aged sediments lie above the eroded Ouachita Mountains and the Fort Worth Basin, which was formed by the Ouachita Orogeny. Going from west to east in the DFW Metroplex and down towards the Gulf of Mexico, the strata get progressively younger. The Cretaceous sediments dip very gently to the east.
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.
The McRae Group is a geological group exposed in southern New Mexico whose strata, including layers of the Hall Lake Formation and Jose Creek Formation, date to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from this unit.
The Crevasse Canyon Formation is a coal-bearing Cretaceous geologic formation in New Mexico and Arizona.
The Ringbone Formation is a Campanian geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico.
The Hueco Formation is a geologic formation in west Texas and southern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Permian period.
The El Paso Formation is a geologic formation that is exposed from the Permian Basin of New Mexico and Texas to southeastern Arizona. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ordovician period.
The Montoya Group is a group of geologic formations in westernmost Texas and southern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Ordovician period.
The Mojado Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Cretaceous period.
The Abo Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the Cisuralian epoch of the Permian period.
The Atrasado Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. Its fossil assemblage dates the formation to the Kasimovian age of the Pennsylvanian. It was formerly known locally as the Wild Cow Formation or the Guadelupe Box Formation.
The Bisbee Group is a geologic group in Arizona, Mexico, and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Cretaceous period.
The geology of Morocco formed beginning up to two billion years ago, in the Paleoproterozoic and potentially even earlier. It was affected by the Pan-African orogeny, although the later Hercynian orogeny produced fewer changes and left the Maseta Domain, a large area of remnant Paleozoic massifs. During the Paleozoic, extensive sedimentary deposits preserved marine fossils. Throughout the Mesozoic, the rifting apart of Pangaea to form the Atlantic Ocean created basins and fault blocks, which were blanketed in terrestrial and marine sediments—particularly as a major marine transgression flooded much of the region. In the Cenozoic, a microcontinent covered in sedimentary rocks from the Triassic and Cretaceous collided with northern Morocco, forming the Rif region. Morocco has extensive phosphate and salt reserves, as well as resources such as lead, zinc, copper and silver.
The geology of New Mexico includes bedrock exposures of four physiographic provinces, with ages ranging from almost 1800 million years (Ma) to nearly the present day. Here the Great Plains, southern Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau, and Basin and Range Provinces meet, giving the state great geologic diversity.
The Love Ranch Formation is a geologic formation in southern New Mexico. It was likely deposited during the late Paleocene and early Eocene epochs.
The U-Bar Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Cretaceous period.
The Cowboy Spring Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Cretaceous period.
The Horquilla Formation is a geologic formation exposed in southern Arizona and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Pennsylvanian.
The Broken Jug Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico. It was likely deposited in the late Jurassic period.
The Hidalgo Formation is a geologic formation of Maastrichtian age in southwestern New Mexico. It is of interest to geologists for the clues it preserves of the nature of Laramide deformation in the latest Cretaceous.
