Diamond Tail Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: | |
![]() Exposure of Diamond Tail Formation on Cerro Colorado, near
Lamy, New Mexico | |
Type | Formation |
Underlies | Galisteo Formation |
Overlies | Menefee Formation |
Thickness | 442 m (1,450 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Other | Mudstone |
Location | |
Region | Central New Mexico |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Diamond Tail Ranch |
Named by | Lucas, Cather, Abbott, and Williamson |
Year defined | 1997 |
The Diamond Tail Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the late Paleocene or early Eocene.
The Diamond Tail Formation consists of a lower member composed of sandstone and conglomeratic sandstone, a middle member of variegated mudstone, and an upper sandstone member. The formation crops out over a limited area between Sandia Crest and the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The formation is cut by thrust and strike-slip faults consistent with east-northeast to east-trending tectonic compression of the late stages of the Laramide Orogeny. [1]
The formation likely correlates with the lower San Jose Formation of the San Juan Basin. [2]
The presence of Hyracotherium teeth dates the formation to the late Paleocene or early Eocene. [2]
The beds now designated as the Diamond Tail Formation were originally part of F.V. Hayden's Galisteo sand group. [3] By 1997, it was clear that these beds were separated from the remainder of the Galisteo by a significant regional unconformity, and they were split off into the Diamond Tail Formation, named after exposures near Diamond Tail Ranch. [2]
Diamond Tail Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: | |
![]() Exposure of Diamond Tail Formation on Cerro Colorado, near
Lamy, New Mexico | |
Type | Formation |
Underlies | Galisteo Formation |
Overlies | Menefee Formation |
Thickness | 442 m (1,450 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Other | Mudstone |
Location | |
Region | Central New Mexico |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Diamond Tail Ranch |
Named by | Lucas, Cather, Abbott, and Williamson |
Year defined | 1997 |
The Diamond Tail Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the late Paleocene or early Eocene.
The Diamond Tail Formation consists of a lower member composed of sandstone and conglomeratic sandstone, a middle member of variegated mudstone, and an upper sandstone member. The formation crops out over a limited area between Sandia Crest and the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The formation is cut by thrust and strike-slip faults consistent with east-northeast to east-trending tectonic compression of the late stages of the Laramide Orogeny. [1]
The formation likely correlates with the lower San Jose Formation of the San Juan Basin. [2]
The presence of Hyracotherium teeth dates the formation to the late Paleocene or early Eocene. [2]
The beds now designated as the Diamond Tail Formation were originally part of F.V. Hayden's Galisteo sand group. [3] By 1997, it was clear that these beds were separated from the remainder of the Galisteo by a significant regional unconformity, and they were split off into the Diamond Tail Formation, named after exposures near Diamond Tail Ranch. [2]