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Chinle Formation
Geological formation in the western US / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. In New Mexico, it is often raised to the status of a geological group, the Chinle Group. Some authors have controversially considered the Chinle to be synonymous to the Dockum Group of eastern Colorado and New Mexico, western Texas, the Oklahoma panhandle, and southwestern Kansas. The Chinle Formation is part of the Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range, and the southern section of the Interior Plains.[1] A probable separate depositional basin within the Chinle is found in northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah. The southern portion of the Chinle reaches a maximum thickness of a little over 520 meters (1,710 ft). Typically, the Chinle rests unconformably on the Moenkopi Formation.
Chinle Formation | |
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Stratigraphic range: Norian–Rhaetian | |
![]() Chinle Badlands, Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Utah, US. | |
Type | Geological formation |
Sub-units | see text |
Underlies | Wingate Sandstone, Moenave Formation, Nugget Sandstone |
Overlies | Moenkopi Formation or Cutler Group |
Lithology | |
Primary | fluvial mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone |
Other | paleosols |
Location | |
Coordinates | 36.155°N 109.579°W / 36.155; -109.579 |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 10.7°N 48.3°W / 10.7; -48.3 |
Region | Colorado Plateau |
Extent | Utah Colorado New Mexico Arizona Nevada |
Type section | |
Named for | Chinle, AZ |
Named by | Herbert E. Gregory |
Type locality in Arizona |
The Chinle Formation was probably mostly deposited in the Norian stage, according to a plethora of chronological techniques. It is a thick and fossiliferous formation with numerous named members (subunits) throughout its area of deposition.