Forest Hill formation and Red Bluff clay - Forest Hill sand, cross-bedded fine gray sand, laminated fine sand and clay, and a little lignite; in Wayne and Clarke Counties lower part merges eastward into Red Bluff clay, blue-green glauconitic, gypsiferous, fossiliferous clay and thin limestone beds.
Colorado shale: dark-gray shale and siltstone with many concretions and sandy units. Includes equivalents of Fall River, Skull Creek, Newcastle, Mowry, Belle Fourche, Greenhorn, Carlile, and Niobrara formations, and locally Telegraph Creek formation. In the less well-known areas beds of other ages may have been included.
Cretaceous volcanic rocks: flows and pyroclastic rocks, mainly of intermediate composition with subordinate amounts of interbedded sedimentary rocks. Some of the rocks have been regarded as belonging to the Livingston formation, but this usage is not adopted here. Where data are inadequate for separation, some Tertiary volcanic rocks may be mapped with the Cretaceous volcanic rocks.
Devonian, undifferentiated: comprises Three Forks formation consisting of carbonaceous and calcareous shale with some sandstone and limestone, Jefferson limestone, and unnamed units of Devonian age.
Jurassic, undifferentiated: calcareous shale and sandstone; includes the Morrison formation, the Ellis group, Sundance formation, and other rocks of Jurassic age.
Livingston formation: water-laid volcanic material, mainly andesitic in composition; includes agglomerate, conglomerate, sandstone, and shale. The name here is used only for the rocks orginally named, mainly near and north of Livingston. These rocks include age equivalents of various Cretaceous and Paleocene units.
Mississippian, undifferentiated: sandstone, shale, and limestone, in part dolomitic, with chert nodules, some quartzite; includes Big Snowy group in central part of State, Madison group in central and southwestern parts; and Hannan and Brazer limestones in the northwestern part; may include small amounts of Pennsylvanian rocks in areas where stratigraphic studies are incomplete.
Montana group, undifferentiated: mainly sandstone and shale, soft and in part poorly consolidated; some coal; shown undivided only in areas where detailed data are lacking and in these areas some rocks not of Montana age may have been included. In particular, rocks designated Km in southwestern Montana may include some Tertiary strata.
Triassic, undifferentiated: conglomerate, sandstone, shale, and impure limestone belonging to the Dinwoody and Thaynes formations and other units of Triassic age, and the Chugwater of Triassic and Permian age.
Feltville Formation (Olsen, 1980) - Interbedded brownish-red to light-grayish-red, fine- to coarse-grained sandstone, gray and black, coarse siltstone in upward-fining cycles, and silty mudstone. Fine-grained sandstone and siltstone are moderately well sorted, commonly cross-laminated, and have 15 percent or more feldspar; interbedded with brownish-red, indistinctly laminated, bioturbated calcareous mudstone. Thermally metamorphosed into hornfels where in contact with Preakness Basalt. Near the base are two thin, laterally continuous beds of black, carbonaceous limestone and gray, calcareous siltstone, each up to 3 m (10 ft) thick. These contain abundant fish, reptile, anthropod, and diagnostic plant fossils. Three or four, thin, gray to black siltstone and mudstone sequences occur in upper part of unit. Near Oakland, subrounded pebbles to cobbles of quartzite and quartz in a red siltstone and sandstone matrix (Jfc) interfinger with sandstone and siltstone of the Feltville Formation. Maximum thickness about 155 m (510 ft).
Feltville Formation - Mostly fine-grained, feldspathic sandstone, coarse siltstone, and silty mudstone, brownish-red to light-grayish-red. Fine-grained sandstone is moderately well sorted, cross laminated, and contains 15 percent or more feldspar; interbedded with mudstone, indistinctly laminated, bioturbated, and calcareous in places. A thin bed (0-2 m (0-7 ft) thick) of black, microlaminated carbonaceous limestone and gray calcareous mudstone occurs near the base and contains fish and plant fossils, and thermally mature hydrocarbons. Thickness of unit in the Sand Brook syncline is about 155 m (509 ft).
Passaic Formation gray bed - Rhythmic cycles 2 to 7 m (7-23 ft) of thick gray-bed sequences (Trpg), termed Van Houten cycles by Olsen (1985), contain basal thin-bedded to finely laminated shale to siltstone, which grade upward through laminated to micro-laminated, locally calcareous mudstone to siltstone and finally into massive silty mudstone. Lowest part of cycle has some desiccation features and local fossils; middle part has highest organic content and the most fossils; highest part contains mudcracks, burrows, and root casts. Gray-bed cycles are abundant in lower half of Passaic Formation and less common in upper half.
Passaic Formation gray bed - Upper Triassic gray lake deposits (Trpg) consist of gray to black silty mudstone, gray and greenish- to purplish-gray argillaceous siltstone, black shale, and medium- to dark-gray, argillaceous, fine-grained sandstone and are abundant in the lower half of the Passaic Formation. Gray lakebeds occur in groups of two to five cycles although they also occur as single cycles in some parts of the formation. Several lakebed sequences consisting of one or two thick groups of drab-colored beds as much as 30 m (98 ft) thick or more can be traced over tens of kilometers. Many gray-bed sequences are locally correlated within fault blocks; some can be correlated across major faults or intrusive rock units. Thickness of the (entire Passaic) formation between Sourland Mountain and Sand Brook syncline is about 3,500 m (11,483 ft).
Passaic Formation Mudstone facies - Sandy mudstone (JTrpms) is reddish-brown to brownish-red, massive, silty to sandy mudstone and siltstone, which are bioturbated, ripple cross-laminated and interbedded with lenticular sandstone. To southwest where similar lithologic units also occur, they have not been mapped separately, but have been included in undivided unit JTrp.
Stockton Formation - Predominantly medium- to coarse-grained, light-gray, light-grayish-brown, or yellowish- to pinkish-gray arkosic sandstone and medium- to fine-grained, violet-gray to reddish-brown arkosic sandstone; with lesser, reddish to purplish-brown, silty mudstone, argillaceous siltstone, and shale. Some coarse-grained sandstone in lower part contains thick beds of conglomerate (Trsc) which have been mapped in the vicinity of Stockton. Sandstone, deposited in high-gradient stream channels, is mostly planar bedded with scoured bases containing pebble lags and mudstone rip-up clasts. Upper part of channel beds are burrowed. Large-scale trough crossbeds occur in some very coarse grained sandstone beds; smaller scale trough and climbing-ripple cross lamination occur in the upper part of channel sequences and in finer grained sandstone beds. Typical floodplain mudstones are irregularly thin bedded and extensively burrowed. Floodplain beds are thicker and more numerous in the central Newark basin, near the Delaware River. Thickness of the unit (including Trsc) near Stockton is about 1,240 m (4,068 ft).
Stockton Formation (Kummel, 1897) - Light-gray, light-grayishbrown, yellowish- to pinkish-gray, or violet-gray to reddish-brown, medium- to coarse-grained arkosic sandstone and reddish- to purplish-brown mudstone, silty mudstone, argillaceous siltstone, and shale. Mudstone, siltstone and shale beds thicker and more numerous in central Newark basin west of Round Valley Reservoir. Sandstones mostly planar-bedded, with scoured bases containing pebble lags and mudstone rip-ups. Unit is coarser near Newark basin border fault, where poorly exposed, reddish-brown to pinkish-white, medium- to coarse-grained, feldspathic pebbly sandstone and conglomerate (Trss) and pebble to cobble quartzite conglomerate (Trscq). Maximum thickness of formation about 1,240 m (4,070 ft).
Towaco Formation (Olsen, 1980) - Reddish-brown to brownish-purple, fine- to medium-grained micaceous sandstone, siltstone, and silty mudstone in upward-fining sequences 1 to 3 m (3-10 ft) thick. Distributed throughout formation are eight or more sequences of gray to greenish- or brownish-gray, fine-grained sandstone, siltstone and calcareous siltstone and black, microlaminated calcareous siltstone and mudstone containing diagnostic pollen, fish and dinosaur tracks. Sandstone is commonly trough cross laminated; siltstone is commonly planar laminated or bioturbated, but can be indistinctly laminated to massive. Thermally metamorphosed into hornfels where in contact with Hook Mountain Basalt. Conglomerate and conglomeratic sandstone with subrounded quartzite and quartz clasts in matrix of light-red sand to brownish-red silt (Jtc) interfingers with rocks of the Towaco Formation north and west of New Vernon. Maximum thickness is about 380 m (1,250 ft).
Artesia Group; shelf facies forming broad south-southeast trending outcrop from Glorieta to Artesia area; includes Grayburg, Queen, Seven Rivers, Yates, and Tansill Formations; Guadalupian. May locally include Moenkopi Formation (Triassic) at top
Chinle Group; Upper Triassic; includes Moenkopi Formation (Middle Triassic) at base in many areas; in eastern part of state the following five formations are mapped:
Crevasse Canyon Formation; coal-bearing units are Dilco and Gibson Coal Members; other members are Bartlett Barren, Dalton Sandstone, and Borrego Pass Sandstone (or Lentil)
Intertongued Dakota-Mancos sequence of west-central New Mexico; includes the Whitewater Arroyo Tongue of Mancos Shale and the Twowells Tongue of the Dakota
Madera Formation (Limestone, or Group); in Manzano Mountains includes Los Moyos Limestone and Wild Cow Formation; in Lucero Mesa includes Gray Mesa, Atrasdo, and Red Tanks Members; in Sacramento Mountains includes Beeman and Holder Formations; may include strata lumped as Magdalena Group in a few areas
San Rafael Group; consists of Entrada Sandstone, Todilto and Summerville Formations, Bluff Sandstone, and locally Zuni Sandstone (or only Acoma Tongue of Zuni)
Epiclastic and volcaniclastic rocks, chert, limestone, and lava flows of mid- or Early Permian(?) age that are moderately to intensely metamorphosed. Includes part of Hunsaker Creek Formation of Vallier (1977), in the eastern Blue Mountains province, composed mostly of keratophyre flows, keratophyric volcaniclastic rocks and minor spilite, mudstone, and limestone. In Wheeler County, includes phyllite, chert, and fusulinid-bearing crystalline limestone of probable Early Permian (Wolfcampian?) age (Oles and Enlows, 1971), associated with phyllite, chlorite, and muscovite schist, and lawsonite-crossite blueschist (Swanson, 1969b)
ABSAROKA VOLCANIC SUPERGROUP: THOROFARE CREEK GROUP (AGE 44 TO 49 Ma) Aycross Formation (age 49 Ma)--Brightly variegated bentonitic claystone and tuffaceous sandstone, grading laterally into greenish-gray sandstone and claystone. In and east of Jackson Hole contains gold-bearing lenticular quartzite conglomerate.
CLOVERLY, MORRISON, AND SUNDANCE (Js) FORMATIONS. CLOVERLY FORMATION--Rusty sandstone at top, underlain by brightly variegated bentonitic claystone; chert-pebble conglomerate locally at base. MORRISON FORMATION--Dully variegated claystone, nodular limestone, and gray silty sandstone. In southern Yellowstone and Jackson Hole areas the presence of Morrison is questionable. SUNDANCE FORMATION--Greenish-gray glauconitic sandstone and shale, underlain by red and gray nonglauconitic sandstone and shale.
CLOVERLY, MORRISON, AND SUNDANCE (Js), AND GYPSUM SPRING FORMATIONS. CLOVERLY FORMATION--Rusty sandstone at top, underlain by brightly variegated bentonitic claystone; chert-pebble conglomerate locally at base. MORRISON FORMATION--Dully variegated claystone, nodular limestone, and gray silty sandstone. In southern Yellowstone and Jackson Hole areas the presence of Morrison is questionable. SUNDANCE FORMATION--Greenish-gray glauconitic sandstone and shale, underlain by red and gray nonglauconitic sandstone and shale. GYPSUM SPRING FORMATION--Interbedded red shale, dolomite, and gypsum. In north Wyoming wedges out south in T. 39 N.
CLOVERLY, MORRISON, AND SUNDANCE (Js), GYPSUM SPRING FORMATIONS, AND NUGGET SANDSTONE (J@n). CLOVERLY FORMATION--Rusty sandstone at top, underlain by brightly variegated bentonitic claystone; chert-pebble conglomerate locally at base. MORRISON FORMATION--Dully variegated claystone, nodular limestone, and gray silty sandstone. In southern Yellowstone and Jackson Hole areas the presence of Morrison is questionable. SUNDANCE FORMATION--Greenish-gray glauconitic sandstone and shale, underlain by red and gray nonglauconitic sandstone and shale. GYPSUM SPRING FORMATION--Interbedded red shale, dolomite, and gypsum. In north Wyoming wedges out south in T. 39 N. NUGGET SANDSTONE--Gray to dull-red, crossbedded quartz sandstone.
GREENHORN FORMATION AND BELLE FOURCHE AND MOWRY (Kmr) SHALE. GREENHORN FORMATION--Light-colored limestone, marl, and limy sandstone interbedded with gray concretionary shale. BELLE FOURCHE SHALE--Black soft bentonitic concretionary shale. MOWRY SHALE (AGE 94 TO 98 Ma)--Silvery-gray hard siliceous shale containing abundant fish scales and bentonite beds.
GREENHORN FORMATION AND BELLE FOURCHE SHALE. GREENHORN FORMATION--Light-colored limestone, marl, and limy sandstone interbedded with gray concretionary shale. BELLE FOURCHE SHALE--Black soft bentonitic concretionary shale. CARLILE SHALE--Dark-gray sandy shale; Sage Breaks Member at top; Turner Sandy Member in middle.
WASATCH AND GREEN RIVER FORMATIONS: New Fork Tongue (dull-red and green mudstone, brown sandstone, and thin limestone beds, merging southward in T. 23 N. with other units) of Wasatch and Fontenelle Tongue or Member (oil shale, marlstone, limestone, and siltstone; occurs along Green and New Fork Rivers and on west side of Green River Basin from T. 33 N. south to and lensing out in T. 17 N.) of Green River.
GREEN RIVER FORMATION Wilkins Peak Member (age about 49 Ma)--Green, brown, and gray tuffaceous sandstone, shale, and marlstone; contains evaporites in subsurface sections.
GREEN RIVER FORMATION Wilkins Peak Member (age about 49 Ma) (green, brown, and gray tuffaceous sandstone, shale, and marlstone; contains evaporites in subsurface sections) and Tipton Shale Member or Tongue (oil shale and marlstone).
GYPSUM SPRING FORMATION AND NUGGET SANDSTONE. GYPSUM SPRING FORMATION--Interbedded red shale, dolomite, and gypsum. In north Wyoming wedges out south in T. 39 N. NUGGET SANDSTONE--gray to dull-red, crossbedded quartz sandstone.
GYPSUM SPRING FORMATION, NUGGET SANDSTONE, AND CHUGWATER FORMATION. GYPSUM SPRING FORMATION--Interbedded red shale, dolomite, and gypsum. In north Wyoming wedges out south in T. 39 N. NUGGET SANDSTONE--gray to dull-red, crossbedded quartz sandstone. CHUGWATER FORMATION--Red siltstone and shale. Alcova Limestone Member in upper middle part in north Wyoming. Thin gypsum partings near base in north and northeast Wyoming.
Hanna Formation(Phanerozoic | Cenozoic | Tertiary | Paleocene )
HANNA FORMATION--Brown and gray sandstone, shale, conglomerate, and coal; giant quartzite boulders near Medicine Bow Mountains.
INDIAN MEADOWS FORMATION--Red to variegated claystone, sandstone, and algal-ball(?) limestone; some beds of large Paleozoic boulders and detachment masses of Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks.
JELM AND CHUGWATER FORMATIONS, FORELLE LIMESTONE, AND SATANKA SHALE. CHUGWATER FORMATION OR GROUP--Red shale and siltstone containing thin gypsum partings near base. Group includes Popo Agie Formation (red shale and red, yellow, and purple siltstone; lenses of lime-pellet conglomerate), Crow Mountain Sandstone (red and gray, thick bedded), Alcova Limestone, and Red Peak Formation (red siltstone and shale). Chugwater Formation includes as members all the units listed above. Includes overlying Jelm Formation in Shirley and Seminoe Mountains and at northern end of Laramie Basin. JELM FORMATION--Red sandstone. FORELLE LIMESTONE--Thin-bedded limestone. Locally is a member of the Goose Egg Formation. SATANKA SHALE--Red shale.
KOOTENAI AND MORRISON FORMATIONS AND ELLIS GROUP. KOOTENAI FORMATION--Rusty thin-bedded sandstone, grayish-red soft claystone, white limestone, and chert-pebble conglomerate. MORRISON FORMATION in northern Yellowstone area--Variegated silty claystone and fine-grained sandstone. ELLIS GROUP includes SWIFT, RIERDON, and SAWTOOTH FORMATIONS. Swift Formation--Calcareous glauconitic sandstone and sandy limestone. Rierdon Formation--Mudstone, siltstone, shale, and basal limestone. Sawtooth Formation--Red beds and limestone.
LANCE FORMATION (Kl north), FOX HILLS SANDSTONE (Kfh), MEETEETSE FORMATION (Km), AND BEARPAW AND LEWIS (Kle) SHALES--In the Bighorn Basin consists of Lance, Meeteetse and, in the southeastern part, tongue of Lewis Shale; in the northern part of the Wind River Basin, of Lance, Meeteetse, and Lewis, and, in the southeastern part of the basin, of Lance and Lewis; on the west side of the Powder River Basin north of T. 45 N., of Lance, Fox Hills, and Bearpaw, and, to the south, of Lance, Fox Hills, and Lewis. LANCE FORMATION--Thick-bedded buff sandstone and drab to green shale; thin conglomerate lenses. FOX HILLS SANDSTONE--Light-colored sandstone and gray sandy shale containing marine fossils. MEETEETSE FORMATION (AGE ABOUT 73 Ma)--Chalky-white to gray sandstone, yellow, green, and dark-gray bentonitic claystone, white tuff, and thin coal beds. BEARPAW SHALE--Dark-greenish-gray shale containing thin gray sandstone partings. LEWIS SHALE (AGE ABOUT 68 Ma)--Gray marine shale containing many gray and brown lenticular concretion-rich sandstone beds.
LOWER MIOCENE AND UPPER OLIGOCENE ROCKS--Light-colored soft porous sandstone and underlying white tuffaceous claystone and siltstone. Arikaree Formation in Denver Basin; ROCKS EQUIVALENT TO UPPER AND LOWER MIOCENE ROCKS AND WHITE RIVER FORMATION--Light-colored sandstone, white tuffaceous blocky claystone, and siltstone. Black Hills.
MEETEETSE FORMATION AND LEWIS SHALE. MEETEETSE FORMATION (AGE ABOUT 73 Ma) (Km)--Chalky-white to gray sandstone, yellow, green, and dark-gray bentonitic claystone, white tuff, and thin coal beds. LEWIS SHALE (AGE ABOUT 68 Ma) (Kle)--Gray marine shale containing many gray and brown lenticular concretion-rich sandstone beds.
MIDDLE AND LOWER EOCENE ROCKS--Equivalent to Aycross (Ta) and Wind River (Twdr) Formations. AYCROSS FORMATION (ABSAROKA VOLCANIC SUPERGROUP: THOROFARE CREEK GROUP)--Brightly variegated bentonitic claystone and tuffaceous sandstone, grading laterally into greenish-gray sandstone and claystone. In and east of Jackson Hole contains gold-bearing lenticular quartzite conglomerate. WIND RIVER FORMATION--Variegated claystone and sandstone; lenticular conglomerate.
NIOBRARA FORMATION (Kn) AND CARLILE SHALE (Kcl). NIOBRARA FORMATION (AGE ABOUT 83 Ma)--Light-colored limestone and gray to yellow speckled limy shale. CARLILE SHALE--Dark-gray sandy shale; Sage Breaks Member at top; Turner Sandy Member in middle.
PASS PEAK FORMATION AND EQUIVALENTS--Includes Lookout Mountain Conglomerate Member of Wasatch Formation. On the south side of Gros Ventre Range consists of gold-bearing quartzite conglomerate; intertongues southward with sandstone and claystone of main body of Wasatch Formation.
STUMP FORMATION, PREUSS SANDSTONE or REDBEDS, and TWIN CREEK LIMESTONE. STUMP FORMATION--Glauconitic siltstone, sandstone, and limestone. PREUSS SANDSTONE OR REDBEDS--Purple, maroon, and reddish-gray sandy siltstone and claystone; contains salt and gypsum in thick beds in some subsurface sections. TWIN CREEK LIMESTONE--Greenish-gray shaly limestone and limy siltstone. Includes Gypsum Spring Member.
WASATCH FORMATION Main body--Drab sandstone, drab to variegated claystone and siltstone; locally derived conglomerate around basin margins. Lower part is Paleocene.
WHITE RIVER FORMATION Brule Member--Pale-pink to white blocky tuffaceous claystone and lenticular sandstone. Locally includes the Upper Conglomerate Member (Twru).
WIND RIVER AND INDIAN MEADOWS FORMATIONS. WIND RIVER FORMATION Central Wyoming (Twdr2)--Variegated claystone and sandstone; lenticular conglomerate. Age of tuff at top 49 Ma. INDIAN MEADOWS FORMATION (Twim)--Red to variegated claystone, sandstone, and algal-ball(?) limestone; some beds of large Paleozoic boulders and detachment masses of Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks.