Manitou Limestone

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Manitou Limestone Formation
Stratigraphic range: Lower-Middle Ordovician
~470–468  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Type Geological formation
Sub-unitsManitou Dolomite, Manitou Limestone
Underlies Harding Sandstone
OverliesSawatch Formation
Lithology
Primary Limestone, dolomite
Other sandstone
Location
Regionsouthern Colorado
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named for Manitou Springs, El Paso County, Colorado

The Manitou Limestone is a geologic formation in Colorado. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ordovician period.

Contents

Depositional Environment

Because the rocks of the Manitou Dolomites are mostly indeterminate carbonates, the exact depositional environment is unknown. However it was likely shallow water, either lagoon or near-shore, and the many jumbled fossils of trilobite spines and brachiopods suggest that the paleoenvironment may have been prone to storms.

Paleontology

The limestones and dolomites of the Manitou Formation, contain cast/mold-preserved Ordovician-aged marine fossils, including cystoid stems, brachiopods, and trilobites such as Manitouella (Leiostegium?) and Kainella.

See also

References