Loreto Formation ( es, Formación Loreto) is a
sedimentary formation of
Late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "d ...
age in the southernmost
Magallanes Basin
The Magallanes Basin or Austral Basin is a major sedimentary basin in southern Patagonia. The basin covers a surface of about and has a NNW-SSE oriented shape. The basin is bounded to the west by the Andes mountains and is separated from the Malv ...
. It overlies the
Leña Dura Formation and the contact with an overlying formation is not observed.
[Torres et al., 2009, p.2]
Description
The formation contains fossil wood, leaf imprints and
palynomorphs.
[Otero et al., 2012] Also fossil fish of ''
Striatolamia macrota'' and ''
Ischyodus dolloi'' and indeterminate
Spheniscidae
Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapte ...
fossils have been found in the formation.
[Salaberry et al., 2010, p.1062][Rio de las Minos]
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world.
History
Fossilworks was cre ...
.org
The formation crops out in
Brunswick Peninsula
Brunswick Peninsula () is a large peninsula in Magallanes y la Antártica Region, Patagonia, Chile, at .
Geography
The Brunswick Peninsula is triangular in shape, joined to the mainland in the north by a wide isthmus. It widens to almost in t ...
and
Sierra Baguales
Sierra Baguales or Sierra de los Baguales is a mountain range in the southernmost Andes. Sierra Baguales is a long east–west chain, secondary to the main chain of the Andes that lie further west. It lies along the border between Chile and Arge ...
among other places.
[Bostelmann et al., 2012]
References
Bibliography
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{{Geology of Chile
Geologic formations of Chile
Eocene Series of South America
Paleogene Chile
Priabonian Stage
Divisaderan
Sandstone formations
Conglomerate formations
Coal formations
Coal in Chile
Paleontology in Chile
Shallow marine deposits
Formations
Geology of Magallanes Region
Geology of Tierra del Fuego