The McBean Formation is a geologic formation in South Carolina and Georgia. It preserves

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

dating back to the

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

period. The McBean Formation in east Georgia is made of fossiliferous fine sand and

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

. The Shell Bluff, a fossil-collecting site on the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

, gives its name to

Shell Bluff, Georgia Shell Bluff is an unincorporated community in Burke County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. History A post office called Shell Bluff was established in 1889, and remained in operation until 1913. The community was named for a nearby fossil bed on th ...

and is part of the McBean Formation.

References

* Paleogene Georgia (U.S. state) Paleogene geology of South Carolina {{SouthCarolina-geologic-formation-stub

See also

References