Cherry Canyon Formation
| Cherry Canyon Formation | ||
|---|---|---|
Ma | ||
Approximate paleocoordinates 3°42′N 34°06′W / 3.7°N 34.1°W | | |
| Region | New Mexico, Texas | |
| Country |  United States | |
| Extent | Guadalupe and Delaware Mountains | |
| Type section | ||
| Named for | Cherry Canyon | |
| Named by | DeFord and Lloyd | |
| Year defined | 1940 | |
  Cherry Canyon Formation (the United States)  Cherry Canyon Formation (Texas) | ||
The Cherry Canyon Formation is a
Period.[1]
Description
The formation consists mostly of cyclic marine
hiatus in deposition, marking a substantial drop in sea level, separates the Cherry Canyon Formation from the overlying Bell Canyon Formation.[4]
The Getaway Member contains carbonate debris flow beds. All three carbonate members grade into sandstone channel deposits deeper in the basin.[3]
Fossils
The formation contain abundant fish fossils, such as sharks' teeth, preserved within small
phosphatic nodules.[5] Ostracods have been identified in the Getaway Member, including Amphissites, Aurikirkbya, Ceratobairdia, Polytylites, and Roundyella.[6]
Economic resources
The Cherry Canyon Formation has been exploited for its hydrocarbon resources.Carlsbad Cavern.[8]
History of investigation
The unit was first designated as a formation by DeFord and Lloyd in 1940, who raised the
Delaware Mountain Formation to group rank and designed its previously informal members as formations.[9][10]
Footnotes
Bibliography
- DeFord, Ronald K.; Lloyd, E. Russell (1940). "West Texas-New Mexico Symposium: Part I Editorial Introduction". AAPG Bulletin. 24. .
- Hunt, ReBecca K., Vincent L. Santucci and Jason Kenworthy. 2006. "A preliminary inventory of fossil fish from National Park Service units." in S.G. Lucas, J.A. Spielmann, P.M. Hester, J.P. Kenworthy, and V.L. Santucci (ed.s), Fossils from Federal Lands. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 34, pp. 63–69
- King, Philip B. (1948). "Geology of the Southern Guadalupe Mountains, Texas". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 215: 36. doi:10.3133/pp215.
- Kues, B.S.; Giles, K.A. (2004). "The late Paleozoic Ancestral Rocky Mountain system in New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN 9781585460106.