Rocky Harbour Formation

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Rocky Harbour Formation
Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran 580  Ma
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Type Formation
Unit of Musgravetown Group
Underlies Crown Hill Formation [1]
Overlies Maturin Ponds Formation [1]
Lithology
Primary Sandstone [1]
Other Siltstone, Tuff, Diamictite [2]
Location
Region Newfoundland
Country Canada
Type section
Named byJenness 1963
Rocky Harbour Formation map.svg
Occurrence of the Rocky Harbour Formation in southeastern Newfoundland [3]

The Rocky Harbour Formation is an Ediacaran formation cropping out in Newfoundland. Its depositional setting was deltaic, with sediments showing the influence of tides and waves. [4]

Contents

It is also known to preserve pre-Gaskiers glaciation fossils, in the form of Palaeopascichnid specimens, around 579 Ma. [2]

Facies from top to bottom

As reported in, [4] and partly in. [2]

Peperite, it is also one of fossil bearing facies of this formation.
Purple to pink medium/coarse sandstones with rip-up clasts. It is also one of fossil bearing facies of this formation.
Wave-influenced, light grey/green/yellow fissile siltstone (weathering white); laminated; interbedding with fine ssts.
Dark grey trough-crossbedded and rippled sandstones; poor sorting, coarse to fine grains.
Crossbedded coarse pink arkosic sandstones

Type section

Ford's Harbour (previously known (or mapped) as Rocky Harbour). [4]

Paleobiota

The Rocky Harbour Formation is currently the oldest formation in Newfoundland, Canada, to bear pre-Gaskiers glaciation fossil material at around 579 Ma, [2] although it is beaten by the Lantian Formation, which sits at 602 - 577 Ma. These fossils are of the enigmatic Palaeopascichnids, [2] elongated to agglutinated organisms which consist of multiple sausage-shaped chambers or spherical or hemispherical chambers that occasionally branch. [5]

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxonTaxon falsely reported as presentDubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

incertae sedis

GenusSpeciesNotesImages
Orbisiana? [2]
  • Orbisiana sp.
Agglutinated, branching organism.
Orbisiana spumea and grazing trips left by Kimberella.png
Palaeopascichnus [2]
  • P. linearis
Elongated, branching organism.
Palaeopascichnus CU21.png

References

  1. 1 2 3 "GEOLOGY OF THE AVALON PENINSULA, NEWFOUNDLAND" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Liu, Alexander G.; Tindal, Benjamin H. (April 2021). "Ediacaran macrofossils prior to the ~580 Ma Gaskiers glaciation in Newfoundland, Canada". Lethaia. 54 (2): 260–270. doi:10.1111/let.12401.
  3. ↑ "Newfoundland & Labrador Geoscience Atlas".
  4. 1 2 3 Normore, L.S. (2012). Geology of the Random Island map area (NTS 2C/04), Newfoundland. Curr. Res. Newfoundl. Labrador Dep. Nat. Resour. Geol. Surv. Report 12-1, 121–145.
  5. ↑ Kolesnikov, A. V. (2019). "Stratigraphic correlation potential of the Ediacaran palaeopascichnids". Estudios Geológicos. 75 (2): 102. doi: 10.3989/egeol.43588.557 . S2CID   210269249.
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