Mojado Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: | |
Type | Formation |
Underlies | Cowboy Spring Formation |
Overlies | U-Bar Formation |
Thickness | 5,150–7,800 feet (1,570–2,380 m) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Other | Shale, limestone, siltstone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 31°30′21″N108°23′14″W / 31.505910°N 108.387181°W |
Region | New Mexico |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Mojado Pass |
Named by | R.A. Zeller Jr. |
Year defined | 1962 |
The Mojado Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Cretaceous period. [1] [2]
The formation consists mostly of sandstone and shale, with some limestone, and siltstone. [3] It rests conformably on the U-Bar Formation [2] and is unconformably overlain by the Cowboy Spring Formation.The total thickness is 5,150–7,800 feet (1,570–2,380 m). [4]
Lucas and his coinvestigators assigned the formation to the Bisbee Group and divided it into the Fryingpan Spring, Sarten, Beartooth, and Rattlesnake Ridge members. [3]
The Fryingpan Spring Member is interpreted as continental deltaic sedimentation. [5] The Sarten Member is fluvial while the Rattlesnake Ridge Member represents a return to shallow marine conditions. [6]
The formation contains fossil mollusks such as gastropods, ammonites, and pelecypod, [2] foraminifera, and scaphopods. These date the formation to the late Albian. [4]
The formation name was first used by Zeller in 1962, [1] but he did not formally name the formation until 1965. [2] In 1998, Lucas and coinvestigators assigned the formation to the Bisbee Group and divided it into the Fryingpan Spring, Sarten, Beartooth, and Rattlesnake Ridge members. [3] However, Lawton abandoned the Beartooth Member in 2004. [6]
The McRae Formation is a geological formation exposed in southern New Mexico whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
The Ringbone Formation is a Campanian geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico.
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 Atarque Sandstone is a geologic formation in New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Cretaceous period.
The Del Norte Formation is a geologic formation in Mexico, New Mexico and Texas near the city of El Paso. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Cretaceous period.
The Gallup Sandstone is a geologic formation in the Gallup-Zuni basin of New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Cretaceous period.
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The Rincon Valley Formation is a geologic formation found in the Rincon Valley of New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Miocene epoch and records a time when the valley was a closed basin, just before being integrated into the ancestral Rio Grande River.
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The Bisbee Group is a geologic group in Arizona, Mexico, and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Cretaceous period.
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 Hell-to-Finish Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Cretaceous period.
The Horquilla Formation is a geologic formation exposed in southern Arizona and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Pennsylvanian.
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