The Socotá Formation ( es, Formación Socotá, Kis) is a

geological 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 ...

of the

Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Alti ...

Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. The club is a founding member of the competition (1992) and has produced several players for the Australian Football Leagu ...

of the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The formation consisting of a lower unit of calcareous

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) ...

s and an upper sequence of

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

s dates to the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pro ...

period; Late Aptian epoch and in

Quipile Quipile is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Tequendama Province of the department of Cundinamarca. The municipality borders Bituima and Vianí in the north, Jerusalén and Anapoima in the south, Anolaima, Cachipay and La Mesa in ...

has a measured thickness of with large regional variations. The formation hosts

ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) ...

fossils.

Etymology

The formation was defined as a thicker sequence and named in 1969 by Cáceres and Etayo after Socotá, a

vereda Vereda () is a subdivisional administrative part of a municipality in Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast ...

Apulo Apulo (previously called ''Rafael Reyes Municipality'') is a Colombian town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department. Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department {{Cundinamarca-geo-stub ...

, Cundinamarca. The name Socotá in Muysccubun, the language of the native

Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...

, means either "Land of the Sun and farmfields" or "Good harvest".Etymology Socotá
/ref>

Description

Lithologies

The Socotá Formation has a maximum thickness of , and is characterised by a lower sequence of calcareous

s and an upper part of

s. Fossils of the

s '' Stoyanowiceras treffryanus'', '' Dufrenoyia sanctorum'', '' Parahoplites (?) hubachi'', and '' Acanthoplites (?) leptoceratiforme'' have been found in the Socotá Formation.Acosta & Ulloa, 2002, p.41

Stratigraphy and depositional environment

The Socotá Formation overlies the

Trincheras Formation The Trincheras Formation ( es, Formación Trincheras, Kitr) is a geological formation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The formation consisting of a lower unit of calcareous shales and an upper sequence of sh ...

and is partly overlain by and partly time equivalent with the

El Peñón Formation The El Peñón Formation ( es, Formación El Peñón, Kipe) is a geological formation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The formation consists of calcareous shales and siltstones and dates to the Early Cretaceo ...

.Acosta & Ulloa, 2002, p.42 In other areas, the formation underlies the Capotes and

Hiló Formation The Hiló Formation ( es, Formación Hiló, Kih) is a geological formation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The predominantly shale formation dates to the Middle Cretaceous period; Late Albian to Early Cenom ...

s.Acosta & Ulloa, 2002, p.43 The age has been estimated to be Late Aptian. Stratigraphically, the formation is time equivalent with the Tablazo, Caballos and

Une Formation The Une Formation ( es, Formación Une, Kiu) is a geological formation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The predominantly sandstone formation dates to the Middle Cretaceous period; Albian to Cenomanian epoc ...

s.Villamil, 2012, p.168Acosta & Ulloa, 2001, p.16 The formation has been deposited in a marine platform

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

. in terms of

sequence stratigraphy Sequence stratigraphy is a branch of geology, specifically a branch of stratigraphy, that attempts to discern and understand historic geology through time by subdividing and linking sedimentary deposits into unconformity bounded units on a variety ...

, the Socotá Formation is part of a

transgressive Transgressive may mean: *Transgressive art, a name given to art forms that violate perceived boundaries *Transgressive fiction, a modern style in literature *Transgressive Records, a United Kingdom-based independent record label *Transgressive (l ...

cycle.Villamil, 2012, p.205

Outcrops

The Socotá Formation is apart from its type locality, found from Viotá in the south to Útica in the north. The formation crops out on both sides of the

Bogotá River The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca department of Colombia. A right tributary of the Magdalena River, the Bogotá River crosses the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the western limits of Bogotá. The ...

Anapoima Anapoima () is a Colombian municipality in the department of Cundinamarca located from Bogotá. History The first inhabitants of the region were the Anapoymas Indians of the Panche nation. Between Tocaima and Tena there existed only small in ...

and

.García Rivas, 2016Plancha 227, 1998Plancha 246, 1998

Regional correlations

References

Bibliography

* * *

Maps