Crevasse Canyon Formation

Crevasse Canyon Formation
Stratigraphic range: Upper Cretaceous
Type sedimentary
Unit of Mesaverde Group
Sub-units Dilco Coal Member, Dalton Sandstone Member, Gibson Coal Member
Underlies Point Lookout Sandstone
Overlies Gallup Sandstone
Lithology
Primary sandstone, mudstone, coal
Location
Region San Juan Basin (New Mexico, Arizona)
Country United States
Type section
Named by Allen and Balk, 1954[1]

The Crevasse Canyon Formation is a coal-bearing Cretaceous bedrock formation in New Mexico and Arizona.

Description

The formation was originally described in 1954 by Allen and Balk as part of the Mesaverde Group.[1]

The formation is divided into three members, in ascending stratigraphic order: Dilco Coal Member, Dalton Sandstone Member, and Gibson Coal Member. The Dilco Coal Member is described by Cather (2010) as "Drab mudstone, fine- to medium-grained sandstone, and coal. Sandstone is commonly crossbedded or ripple laminated." The Dalton Sandstone Member is described as "Gray to yellowish gray, fine- to medium-grained, cliff-forming sandstone." The Gibson Coal Member is described as "Drab mudstone, buff, brown, and greenish gray sandstone (commonly cross-bedded), and coal," with the coals typically less than 0.5 m thick.[2]

Fossils

Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.[3]

Petrified wood is common in the Gibson Coal Member.[2]

Age

Tschudy (1976) identified the Crevasse Canyon formation as Coniacian and Santonian by palynology of coal and shale.[4]

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Allen, J.E., and Balk, Robert, 1954, Mineral Resources of Fort Defiance and Tohatchi quadrangles, Arizona and New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Bulletin, no. 36, 192 p.
  2. 1 2 Cather, Steven, 2010, Preliminary geologic map of the San Lucas Dam quadrangle, McKinley County, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Geologic Map OF-GM 212, scale 1:24000.
  3. Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
  4. Tschudy, R.H., 1976, Palynology of Crevasse Canyon and Menefee Formation of San Juan basin, New Mexico, IN Beaumont, E.C., Shomaker, J.W., and Stone, W.J., compilers, Guidebook to coal geology of northwest New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Circular, no. 154, p. 48-55.

References

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