Lockatong Formation red bed

Predominantly cyclic lacustrine sequences of silty, dolomitic or analcime-bearing argillite; laminated mudstone; silty to calcareous, argillaceous very fine grained sandstone and pyritic siltstone; and minor silty limestone, mostly light- to dark-gray, greenishgray, and black. Grayish-red, grayish-purple, and dark-brownish-red sequences (Trlr) occur in some places, especially in upper half. Two types of cycles are recognized: freshwater-lake (detrital) and alkaline-lake (chemical) cycles. Freshwater-lake cycles average 5.2 m (17 ft) thick. They consist of basal, transgressive, fluvial to lake-margin deposits that are argillaceous, very fine grained sandstone to coarse siltstone with indistinct lamination, planar or cross lamination, or are disrupted by convolute bedding, desiccation cracks, root casts, soil-ped casts, and tubes. Medial lake-bottom deposits are laminated siltstones, silty mudstones, or silty limestones that are dark gray to black with calcite laminae and grains and lenses, or streaks of pyrite; fossils are common, including fish scales and articulated fish, conchostracans, plants, spores, and pollen. Upper regressive lake margin, playa lake, and mudflat deposits are light- to dark-gray silty mudstone to argillitic siltstone or very fine grained sandstone, mostly thick bedded to massive, with desiccation cracks, intraformational breccias, faint wavy laminations, burrows, euhedral pyrite grains, and dolomite or calcite specks. Alkaline-lake cycles are similar to freshwater-lake cycles, but are thinner, averaging 3 m (10 ft), have fewer fossils (mainly conchostracans), and commonly have red beds, extensive desiccation features, and abundant analcime and dolomite specks in the upper parts of cycles. Thickness near Byram is about 1,070 m (3,510 ft). The formation thins to the southeast and northeast; thickness near Princeton is less than 700 m (2,297 ft).
State New Jersey
Name Lockatong Formation red bed
Geologic age Upper Triassic
Lithologic constituents
Major
Sedimentary > Clastic > Mixed-clastic > Siltstone-mudstone (Bed)pyritic siltstone; grayish-red, grayish-purple, and dark-brownish-red sequences
Sedimentary > Clastic > Mixed-clastic > Sandstone-mudstone (Bed, Calcareous)silty to calcareous, argillaceous very fine grained sandstone; grayish-red, grayish-purple, and dark-brownish-red sequences
Minor
Sedimentary > Carbonate > Limestone (Bed)minor silty limestone; grayish-red, grayish-purple, and dark-brownish-red sequences
Comments This unit is described under the TRl (Lockatong Formation), but is mapped seperately. The entire TRl description was used here because it was too vague to split up (only main difference between the two units is color). Named this unit red bed (used in digital map).
References

Dalton, R.F., Herman, G.C., Monteverde, D.H., Pristas, R.S., Sugarman, P.J., and Volkert, R.A., 1999, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bedrock Geology and Topographic Base Maps of New Jersey: New Jersey Geological Survey CD Series CD 00-1; ARC/INFO (v. 7.1), scale 1:100,000.

Owens, James P., Sugarman, Peter J., Sohl, Norman F., Parker, Ronald A., Houghton, Hugh F., Volkert, Richard A., Drake, Avery A., Jr., and Orndorff, Randall C., 1998, Bedrock Geologic Map of Central and Southern New Jersey: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-2540-B, 8 cross sections, 4 sheets, each size 58x41, scale 1:100,000.

https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/i2540B

NGMDB product
Counties Hunterdon