White River Formation
The White River Formation is a geologic formation of the Paleogene Period, in the northern Great Plains and central Rocky Mountains, within the United States.
| White River Formation Stratigraphic range: Late Eocene-Early Oligocene (Chadronian-Whitneyan) ~37.2–30.8 Ma | |
|---|---|
 White River Badlands in South Dakota | |
| Type | Formation |
| Sub-units | Brule Formation, Chadron Formation[1] |
| Overlies | Pierre Shale |
| Thickness | 230–300 m (750–980 ft)[2] |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Tuffaceous claystone, conglomerate[3] |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 43.2°N 107.1°W |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 44.8°N 98.4°W |
| Region | Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming |
| Country |  United States |
| Extent | northern Great Plains & central Rocky Mountains |
| Type section | |
| Named for | White River (Missouri River tributary) |
  White River Formation (the United States)  White River Formation (Wyoming) | |
It has been found in northeastern Colorado, Dawes County in western Nebraska, Badlands of western South Dakota, and Douglas area of southeastern Wyoming.[1]
Fossil record
The geologic formation preserves fossils dating back to the Eocene and Oligocene Epochs of the Paleogene Period, during the Cenozoic Era.[4] It contains the most complete Late Eocene−Priabonian and Early Oligocene−Rupelian vertebrate record in North America.[1][5]
See also
- White River Formation prehistoric fauna
- Chadronian — Priabonian, Rupelian
- Orellan — Rupelian
References
- DonaldProthero.com: "Eocene-Oligocene climatic change in North America: the White River Formation"
- DouglasFossils.com: Paleontology and Geology of The White River Formation
- USGS: White River Formation
- Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 8 July 2014.
- DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln: "Preliminary Biostratigraphy of the White River Group (Chadron and Brule Formations) in the Vicinity of Chadron, Nebraska", by Eric Paul Gustafson, January 1986.
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