Elbert Formation

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Elbert Formation
Stratigraphic range: upper Devonian
Type
Aneth Formation
Thickness44 m (145 ft)
Lithology
PrimarySandstone, mudrock, carbonate rock
Location
Coordinates37°35′42″N 107°51′07″W / 37.595°N 107.852°W / 37.595; -107.852
RegionFour Corners
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named forElbert Creek
Named byCross
Year defined1904
Elbert Formation is located in the United States
Elbert Formation
Elbert Formation (the United States)
Elbert Formation is located in Colorado
Elbert Formation
Outcrop in the Uncompahgre Gorge with key geological formations], including the Ouray Formation, Elbert Formation, and the Leadville Limestone

The Elbert Formation is a

upper Devonian
in age.

Description

The Elbert Formation is divided into the lower McCracken Sandstone

Aneth Formation is sometimes found between the McCracken Member and the Ignacio Formation.[3] It crops out at the surface near the Needle Mountains.[4] Total thickness is up to 43 meters (140 ft).[3]

The remainder of the Elbert Formation consists of thin-bedded brownish-gray dolomite and sandstone, green to red shale, and small amounts of anhydrite. It is well exposed at the surface in the Piedra River canyon. The formation is overlain by the Ouray Formation.[5] Maximum thickness is up to 91 meters (300 ft).[4]

The McCracken Sandstone Member is interpreted as shallow marine sand deposited during a rise in sea level (a

tectonic stability.[5] The area was at the western edge of the Transcontinental Arch[2] and the formation may record deposition along a rocky shoreline, a depositional environment rarely preserved in the geological record.[6]

Fossils

The Elbert Formation contains remains of fossilized fish characteristic of the

upper Devonian.[2]

Economic resources

The Elbert Formation extends in the subsurface into

Lisbon Valley.[7]

History of investigation

The formation was first designated by Charles Whitman Cross in 1904 for exposures at Elbert Creek.[8] The McCracken Sandstone Member was designated in 1955 by R.L. Knight and J.C. Cooper.[9] Evans, Maurer, and Holm-Denoma recommended reassigning the McCracken Sandstone to the underlying Ignacio Formation in 2019.[10]

References

  1. doi:10.3133/pp1505A
    .
  2. ^
    doi:10.2113/gsrocky.51.2.69
    .
  3. ^ a b Condon 1992, p. A15.
  4. ^
    doi:10.3133/b00G
    .
  5. ^ a b Condon 1992, pp. A15–A18.
  6. doi:10.1002/dep2.41
    .
  7. ^ Cole, Rex D.; Moore, George E. (1996). "Stratigraphic and Sedimentologic Characterization of McCracken Sandstone Member of Elbert Formation (Upper Devonian) at Lisbon Field, Paradox Basin, San Juan County, Utah". Geology and Resources of the Paradox Basin: 117–128.
  8. doi:10.2475/ajs.s4-18.106.245
    .
  9. ^ Knight, R.L.; Cooper, J.C. (1955). "Suggested changes in Devonian terminology of the Four Corners area". Four Corners Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook. 1: 56–58.
  10. doi:10.1130/GES02085.1
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elbert_Formation&oldid=1138996933"