Tansill Formation

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Tansill Formation
Stratigraphic range: Guadalupian
Yates-Tansill Formations.jpg
Yates (yellow sandstone) and Tansill (white limestone)
Type Formation
Unit of Artesia Group
Overlies Yates Formation
Thickness123–320 feet (37–98 m)
Lithology
Primary Limestone, siltstone, anhydrite
Location
Coordinates 32°26′53″N104°15′54″W / 32.448°N 104.265°W / 32.448; -104.265
Region New Mexico
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named forTansill power dam
Named byDeFord et al.
Year defined1938
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Tansill Formation (the United States)
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Tansill Formation (New Mexico)

The Tansill Formation is a geologic formation in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas, United States. [1] It preserves fossils dating back to the late Guadalupian Age of the Permian period. [2]

Contents

Description

Tansill Formation exposed at Rattlesnake Canyon as viewed from the trailhead, Carlsbad National Park Tansill Formation, Carlsbad National Park.jpg
Tansill Formation exposed at Rattlesnake Canyon as viewed from the trailhead, Carlsbad National Park

The formation consists of limestone, siltstone, and anhydrite that is extensive in the subsurface in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. The formation is mostly limestone in the south and west, around the rim of the Delaware Basin, and grades into anhydrite in the north and east. It forms the top of the Capitan reef but dips steeply into the subsurface. [3] It has a total thickness of 123–320 feet (37–98 m). [3] [4] It overlies the Yates Formation. [5] The formation is part of the Artesia Group, which is interpreted as a shelf rock sequence. [2]

History of investigation

The formation was first named by DeFord et al. in 1938 [1] and formally defined in 1941 and assigned to the (now abandoned) Whitehorse Group. [3] Tait et al. assigned it to the newly defined Artesia Group in 1962. [2]

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 DeFord et al. 1928
  2. 1 2 3 Tait et al. 1962
  3. 1 2 3 DeFord and Riggs 1941
  4. ↑ Newell et al. 1953
  5. ↑ King 1948

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References

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