Hidden Valley Dolomite

Last updated
Hidden Valley Dolomite
Stratigraphic range: Silurian—Devonian
Type Geologic formation
Underlies Lost Burro Formation
Overlies Ely Springs Dolomite
Thickness 1,000–1,300 feet (300–400 m)
Lithology
Primary Dolomite
Location
Region Mojave Desert
California
Country United States
Type section
Named for Hidden Valley
Named by McAllister (1952)

The Hidden Valley Dolomite is a Silurian−Devonian geologic formation in the northern Mojave Desert of California, in the western United States.

The Silurian is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at 443.8 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, 419.2 Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozoic Era. As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by several million years. The base of the Silurian is set at a series of major Ordovician–Silurian extinction events when 60% of marine species were wiped out.

The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic, spanning 60 million years from the end of the Silurian, 419.2 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, 358.9 Mya. It is named after Devon, England, where rocks from this period were first studied.

Mojave Desert desert in southwestern United States

The Mojave Desert is an arid rain-shadow desert and the driest desert in North America. It is in the southwestern United States, primarily within southeastern California and southern Nevada, and it occupies 47,877 sq mi (124,000 km2). Very small areas also extend into Utah and Arizona. Its boundaries are generally noted by the presence of Joshua trees, which are native only to the Mojave Desert and are considered an indicator species, and it is believed to support an additional 1,750 to 2,000 species of plants. The central part of the desert is sparsely populated, while its peripheries support large communities such as Las Vegas, Barstow, Lancaster, Palmdale, Victorville, and St. George.

Contents

Locations where it is exposed include sections of the southern Inyo Mountains and the Talc City Hills. [1]

Inyo Mountains mountain range in eastern California, United States

The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately 70 mi (130 km) SSE from the southern end of the White Mountains, from which they are separated by Westgard Pass, to east of Owens Lake.

Talc City Hills mountain range in Inyo County, California, United States

The Talc City Hills is a mountain range in the northern Mojave Desert, in Inyo County, California.

Hidden Valley Dolomite overlies the Ely Springs Dolomite formation, and underlies the Lost Burro Formation. [1]

The Ely Springs Dolomite is an Ordovician period geologic formation in the Southwestern United States.

The Lost Burro Formation is a Middle to Upper/Late Devonian geologic formation in the Mojave Desert of California, in the Western United States.

Paleontology

Outcrops of the Hidden Valley Dolomite formation's Lippincott Member in Death Valley National Park have produced fossils of the fishes Panamintaspis snowi and Blieckaspis priscillae along with the remains of other jawless fishes and a small arthrodire placoderm. [2] [3]

Death Valley National Park US national park in the state of California

Death Valley National Park is an American national park that straddles the California—Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eureka Valley, and most of Saline Valley. The park occupies an interface zone between the arid Great Basin and Mojave deserts, protecting the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert and its diverse environment of salt-flats, sand dunes, badlands, valleys, canyons, and mountains. Death Valley is the largest national park in the lower 48 states, and the hottest, driest and lowest of all the national parks in the United States. The second-lowest point in the Western Hemisphere is in Badwater Basin, which is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. Approximately 91% of the park is a designated wilderness area. The park is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh desert environment. Some examples include creosote bush, bighorn sheep, coyote, and the Death Valley pupfish, a survivor from much wetter times. UNESCO included Death Valley as the principal feature of its Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve in 1984.

<i>Panamintaspis</i> genus of fishes

Panamintaspis snowi is an extinct species of pteraspidid heterostracan agnathan which existed during the early Middle Devonian period of Death Valley, California. Fossils are found in Late Emsian-aged marine strata of the Lost Burro Formation. P. snowi strongly resembles Pteraspis, though while it was originally described as a member of the same family, Pteraspididae, a recent phylogenetic reassessment of the order Pteraspidiformes places P. snowi within the paraphyletic family "Protopeteraspidae," as the sister taxon of the suborder Pteraspidoidei.

<i>Blieckaspis</i> genus of fishes (fossil)

Blieckaspis priscillae is a pteraspidid heterostracan agnathan from the Middle Devonian of North America.

See also

Related Research Articles

Ogallala Formation

The Ogallala Formation is a Miocene to Pliocene geologic unit in the High Plains of the western United States and the location of the Ogallala Aquifer.. Notably, it records the North American Land Mammal Ages (NALMAs) Hemphillian, Clarendonian, and Barstovian. The Ogallala Formation outcrops of Lake Meredith National Recreation Area preserve fish fossils. Similar specimens from the same formation are found at Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument in Texas.

Brule Formation

The Brule Formation was deposited between 33 and 30 million years ago, roughly the Rupelian age (Oligocene). It occurs as a subunit of the White River Formation in Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

The Cherry Canyon Formation is a Permian geologic unit in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The formation contains fan sandstones that were deposited under ancient seawater during the Middle Permian. These rocks contain abundant fish fossils like sharks' teeth preserved within small phosphatic nodules.

The Gardener's Clay Formation is a Pleistocene geologic unit straddling the New York-New Jersey border. Fossil fish vertebrae and teeth are preserved in its sediments.

The Hannold Hill Formation is an Eocene geologic unit in the western United States. It preserves the fossilized remains of the ray Myliobatis and gar.

The Pen Formation is a Campanian-age geologic unit in the western United States.

The Bell Canyon Formation is a Permian geologic unit in the western United States. The formation's Lamar Limestone Member of Guadalupe Mountains National Park has produced fossil holocephalan teeth.

The Doughnut Formation is an Upper Mississippian geologic unit in the western United States. Fish fossils have been discovered shale outcrops of this formation in Dinosaur National Monument.

The Shedhorn Sandstone is a Permian geologic unit in the western United States. Fish fossils were first discovered by Harry Nazer in its rocks.

The Brushy Canyon Formation is a Permian geologic unit in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The formation contains fan sandstones that were deposited under ancient seawater during the Middle Permian. These rocks contain abundant fish fossils like sharks' teeth preserved within small phosphatic nodules.

The Cabrillo Formation is a Maastrichtian stage geologic formation in coastal San Diego County, southern California. It is part of the Rosario Group.

The Titus Canyon Formation is an Eocene geologic formation in California. H. Donald Curry collected the type specimens of the three teleosts Fundulus curryi, Fundulus euepis, and Cyprinodon breviradius in the Titus Canyon Formation. Both of these genera are present in the Titus Canyon Formation sediments of Death Valley National Park.

The Bull Run Formation is a Triassic stratigraphic unit in the eastern United States. Fossil fish bones and scales have been found in outcrops of the formation's Groveton Member in Manassas National Battlefield Park.

The Cliff House Sandstone is a late Campanian stratigraphic unit comprising sandstones in the western United States. Outcrops of the formation in Mesa Verde National Park have produced fossil shark teeth along with the jaws, teeth and fins of Enchodus.

The Glenns Ferry Formation is a Pliocene stratigraphic unit in the western United States. Outcrops of the formation in Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument preserve the remains of seven fish species, five of which are extinct. These include the teleosteans Mylopharodon hagermanensis, Sigmopharyngodon idahoensis, and Ptychocheilus oregonensis, Ameirurus vespertinus, and the sunfish Archoplites taylori. A nearly complete skull of the catfish Ameirurus vespertinus was recovered in 2001 from the wall of the Smithsonian Horse Quarry.

The Fernando Formation is a Plio-Pleistocene marine mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formation in the greater Los Angeles Basin, Ventura Basin, and Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles County of Southern California.

The Pico Formation is a Pliocene epoch stratigraphic unit and geologic formation in the greater Los Angeles Basin and Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles County of Southern California.

The Fernando Formation is a Pliocene stratigraphic unit in California. Outcrops of the formation in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area have produced fossil shark teeth.

References

  1. 1 2 Google Books: United States Geological Survey Professional Paper - "Geology and ore deposits of Inyo County, California"
  2. ↑ "Death Valley National Park," Hunt, Santucci, and Kenworthy (2006); page 63.
  3. ↑ Hunt, ReBecca K., Vincent L. Santucci and Jason Kenworthy. 2006. "A preliminary inventory of fossil fish from National Park Service units." in S.G. Lucas, J.A. Spielmann, P.M. Hester, J.P. Kenworthy, and V.L. Santucci (ed.s), Fossils from Federal Lands. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 34, pp. 63–69.


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.