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Diamond Tail Formation
The Diamond Tail Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the late Paleocene or early Eocene. Description 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] FossilsThe presence of Hyracotherium teeth dates the formation to the late Paleocene or early Eocene.[2] HistoryThe 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] Footnotes
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See alsoInformation related to Diamond Tail Formation |
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