The Hueco Formation is a geologic formation in west Texas and southern New Mexico.[1][2][3] It preserves fossils dating back to the early Permian period.[4][5]

Hueco Formation
Stratigraphic range: early Permian
TypeFormation
UnderliesWilkie Ranch Formation
OverliesPanther Seep Formation
Thickness5,000 feet (1,500 m)
Lithology
PrimaryLimestone
OtherShale, sandstone
Location
Coordinates31°57′11″N 106°01′37″W / 31.953°N 106.027°W / 31.953; -106.027
RegionTexas
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named forHueco Mountains
Named byG.B. Richardson
Year defined1904
Hueco Formation is located in the United States
Hueco Formation
Hueco Formation (the United States)
Hueco Formation is located in Texas
Hueco Formation
Hueco Formation (Texas)

Description

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The formation is composed most of massive gray fossiliferous limestone with some shale and sandstone, with a thickness in excess of 5,000 feet (1,500 m). It overlies the Panther Seep Formation[6] with a slight disconformity, and its base is typically a thick biostromal limestone bed.[7] The formation unconformably underlies the Wilkie Ranch Formation.[8] It intertongues with the Abo Formation in the southern San Andres Mountains.[5]

In the Robledo Mountains, the Hueco is promoted to group rank and divided into (in ascending stratigraphic order) the Shalem Colony, Community Pit, Robledo Mountains, and Apache Dam Formations.[9] In the Hueco Mountains, the uppermost formation is the Alacran Mountain Formation.[10]

The Hueco Formation is contemporary with the Abo Formation and represents continued marine sediment deposition south of the prograding Abo deltas.[7]

History of investigation

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The formation was first defined by G.B. Richardson in 1904, but mistakenly thought to be Pennsylvanian in age.[1] Nelson dated the formation as earliest Permian in the Franklin Mountains in 1940.[4] Spencer G. Lucas et al. promoted the formation to group rank in 1998.[9]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b Richardson 1904
  2. ^ Richardson 1908
  3. ^ Richardson 1914
  4. ^ a b Nelson 1940
  5. ^ a b Bachman and Hayes 1958
  6. ^ Kelley and Matheny 1983
  7. ^ a b Kues and Giles 2004
  8. ^ Cys 1976
  9. ^ a b Lucas et al. 1998
  10. ^ Williams 1963

References

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  • Cys, J.M. (1976). "Wilkie Ranch Formation, new Permian unit in Finlay Mountains, West Texas". American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin. 60 (7): 1107–1110. doi:10.1306/C1EA3627-16C9-11D7-8645000102C1865D.
  • Bachman, G.O.; Hayes, P.T. (1958). "Stratigraphy of Upper Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian rocks in the Sand Canyon area, Otero County, New Mexico". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 69 (6): 689–700. Bibcode:1958GSAB...69..689B. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1958)69[689:SOUPAL]2.0.CO;2.
  • Kelley, S.; Matheny, J.P. (1983). "Geology of Anthony quadrangle, Dona Ana County, New Mexico". New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Geologic Map. 54. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  • Kues, B.S.; Giles, K.A. (2004). "The late Paleozoic Ancestral Rocky Mountain system in New Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 95–136. ISBN 9781585460106.
  • Lucas, Spencer G.; Heckert, Andrew B.; Estep, John W.; Cook, Casey W. (1998). "Stratigraphy of the lower Permian Hueco Group in the Robledo Mountains, Dona Ana County, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletin. 12. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  • Nelson, L.A. (1940). "Paleozoic stratigraphy of the Franklin Mountains, West Texas". American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin. 24 (1): 157–172. doi:10.1306/3D93319A-16B1-11D7-8645000102C1865D.
  • Richardson, G.B. (1904). "Report of a reconnaissance in Trans-Pecos Texas north of the Texas and Pacific Railway". University of Texas Mineral Survey Bulletin. 9. hdl:2152/24408. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  • Richardson, G B. (Jun 1908). "Paleozoic Formations in Trans-Pecos Texas". American Journal of Science. 25 (150): 474. Bibcode:1908AmJS...25..474R. doi:10.2475/ajs.s4-25.150.474. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  • Richardson, G.B. (1914). "Description of the Van Horn quadrangle, Texas". U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Atlas of the United States. Van Horn folio (194).
  • Williams, T.E. (1963). "Fusulinidae of the Hueco Group (Lower Permian), Hueco Mountains, Texas". Peabody Museum of Natural History Bulletin. 18.