The Queen Formation is a

geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

in southeastern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and west

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. 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 late

Guadalupian The Guadalupian is the second and middle series/epoch of the Permian. The Guadalupian was preceded by the Cisuralian and followed by the Lopingian. It is named after the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico and Texas, and dates between 272.95 ± 0. ...

Epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

of the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

Description

The formation consists of up to of mostly

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, with some interbedded

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

and

anhydrite Anhydrite, or anhydrous calcium sulfate, is a mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4. It is in the orthorhombic crystal system, with three directions of perfect cleavage parallel to the three planes of symmetry. It is not isomorphous with the ...

. It rests on the San Andres Formation, from which it is separated by an erosional surface showing

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

features. The Queen Formation is overlain by the Seven Rivers Formation. The Queen Formation is part of the Artesia Group, which is interpreted as a sequence of shelf rocks of the Capitan reef.

History of investigation

The unit was first named as the Queen sandstone of the upper San Andres Formation by Grant Blanchard and Morgan Davis in 1929. In 1937, W.B. Lang assigned the Seven Rivers Member to the (now abandoned) Chalk Bluff Formation. The unit was promoted to formation rank and assigned to the Whitehorse Group by Ronald DeFord and Russell Lloyd in 1940. The formation was assigned to the Artesia Group by D.B. Tait and coinvestigators in 1962.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * {{cite journal , last1=Tait , first1=D.B. , last2=Motts , first2=W.S. , last3=Spitler , first3=M.E. , year=1962 , title=Artesia Group of New Mexico and West Texas , journal=American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin , volume=46 , number=4 , pages=504–517 , doi=10.1306/BC74383B-16BE-11D7-8645000102C1865D Permian formations of New Mexico

Description

History of investigation

See also

Footnotes

References