The Uitpa Formation ( es, Formación Uitpa, E3u) is a fossiliferous

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 Cocinetas Basin in the northernmost

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of La Guajira. The formation consists of

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

s interbedded with

lithic Lithic may refer to: *Relating to stone tools **Lithic analysis, the analysis of stone tools and other chipped stone artifacts **Lithic core, the part of a stone which has had flakes removed from it **Lithic flake, the portion of a rock removed to ...

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. The Uitpa Formation dates to the

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

period; Aquitanian to

Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age (geology), age or stage (stratigraphy), stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 annum, Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian (sta ...

stages, corresponding to the

Colhuehuapian The Colhuehuapian age is a period of geologic time (21.0–17.5 Ma) within the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Deseadan and precedes the Santacrucian ag ...

in the SALMA classification, and has a maximum thickness of .

Etymology

The formation was defined by Renz in 1960 and named after Uitpa.Moreno et al., 2015, p.7

Description

Lithologies

The Uitpa Formation consists of

s interbedded with

s.Carrillo Briceño et al., 2016, p.78Hendy et al., 2015, p.47

Stratigraphy and depositional environment

The Uitpa Formation overlies the Siamaná Formation and is overlain by the

Jimol Formation The Jimol Formation ( es, Formación Jimol, N1j) is a fossiliferous geological formation of the Cocinetas Basin in the northernmost department of La Guajira. The formation consists of calcareous lithic and fossiliferous sandstones, siltstones an ...

. The age has been estimated to be Early Miocene, corresponding to the

in the

SALMA The South American land mammal ages (SALMA) establish a geologic timescale for prehistoric South American fauna beginning 64.5 Ma during the Paleocene and continuing through to the Late Pleistocene (0.011 Ma). These periods are referred to as a ...

classification. The formation has been deposited in an

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (YF ...

to deep marine

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 ...

.Rodríguez & Londoño, 2002, p.135

Petroleum geology

The Uitpa Formation is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

and seal rock formation in the Guajira Basin.ANH, 2010

Fossil content

References

Bibliography

Local geology

* * *

Paleontology

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Maps

* * * * {{Paleontology in Colombia, state=collapsed Geologic formations of Colombia Neogene Colombia Aquitanian (stage) Burdigalian Miocene Series of South America Colhuehuapian Mudstone formations Sandstone formations Deep marine deposits Open marine deposits Reservoir rock formations Seal rock formations Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of South America Paleontology in Colombia Geography of La Guajira Department