Lead Camp Limestone Explained

Lead Camp Limestone
Type:Formation
Period:Pennsylvanian
Prilithology:Limestone
Otherlithology:Shale
Namedfor:Lead Camp Canyon
Namedby:Bachman and Myers
Year Ts:1969
Region:New Mexico
Country:United States
Coordinates:32.7337°N -106.5746°W
Underlies:Panther Seep Formation
Overlies:Lake Valley Limestone, Sandia Formation
Thickness:NaNfeet

The Lead Camp Limestone is a geologic formation in the San Andres Mountains of New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the middle Pennsylvanian.

Description

The Lead Camp Limestone consists of 75% medium- to dark-gray cherty limestone and 21-24% calcareous shale. The base of the formation contains minor sandstone and conglomerate. The limestone forms prominent cliffs capping the southern San Andres Mountains. The total thickness is NaNfeet. The formation rests unconformably on the Lake Valley Limestone to the south and conformably on the Sandia Formation to the north.

Deposition began in the late Morrowan (Bashkirian) to the south, spread to the north in the Atokan (early Moscovian, and continued into the Missourian (Kasimovian) Age.

Fossils

The formation contains marine fossils in the calcareous shale beds. It contains fusulinids characteristic of the middle Pennsylvanian.

History of investigation

The formation was first defined by George Bachman and Donald Myers in 1969, for exposures near the confluence of Lead Camp and San Andres Canyons.

See also

References