The Whitewater 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 ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. 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

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

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 ...

.Whitewater Formation

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

National Geologic Map Database, Geolex - Unit Summary

Type Section

The Whitewater was first named by J. M. Nickles in 1903.Nickles, J. M., 1903, The Richmond Group in Ohio and Indiana and its subdivisions, with a note on the genus ''Strophomena'' and its type: American Geologist, v. 32, p. 202–218. He described exposures of limestone and interbedded calcareous shale along the Whitewater River at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Wayne County, Indiana.

Fossils of ''Richmond South'' outcrop

An excellent exposure of the Whitewater Formation is a roadcut located on

Route 27 Route 27, or Highway 27, may refer to: Australia * Burke Developmental Road (Queensland) * Zeehan Highway (Tasmania) Canada * Alberta Highway 27 * British Columbia Highway 27 * Manitoba Highway 27 * Prince Edward Island Route 27 * Saskatchewan ...

south of Richmond, Indiana, at 39.7877 N, -84.9014 W. File:Whitewater slab Richmond IN.jpg, Fossiliferous slab File:Rugose corals Whitewater Formation Richmond Indiana 1993.jpg,

Rugosa The rugosa, also called the tetracorallia or horn coral, are an extinct order of solitary and colonial corals that were abundant in Middle Ordovician to Late Permian seas. Solitary rugosans (e.g., '' Caninia'', '' Lophophyllidium'', '' Neoza ...

corals File:Bryozoa Whitewater Formation Richmond Indiana 1993.jpg,

Bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a l ...

File:Brachiopod Whitewater Formation Richmond Indiana 1993 b.jpg, Small

brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, w ...

File:Brachiopod Whitewater Formation Richmond Indiana 1993 c.jpg, Another brachiopod File:Bivlave Whitewater Formation Richmond Indiana 1993.jpg,

Bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

References

* Ordovician System of North America Ordovician Kentucky Ordovician Ohio Ordovician Indiana Ordovician southern paleotemperate deposits Ordovician southern paleotropical deposits Upper Ordovician Series {{Ohio-geologic-formation-stub

Type Section

Fossils of ''Richmond South'' outcrop

See also

References