Aztec Sandstone

Aztec Sandstone
Stratigraphic range: Early Jurassic
Outcrop of the Aztec Sandstone at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada
TypeSedimentary
UnderliesWillow Tank Formation
OverliesChinle Formation
AreaNevada, Arizona, California
Thickness2,100 ft (640 m) in Goodsprings quadrangle
2,500 ft (760 m) in Muddy Mountain area
Lithology
Primarysandstone
Otherarenite, sand
Location
Coordinates35°24′N 115°30′W / 35.4°N 115.5°W / 35.4; -115.5
Approximate paleocoordinates20°48′N 53°24′W / 20.8°N 53.4°W / 20.8; -53.4
RegionMojave Desert
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named byD. F. Hewett
Year defined1931
Aztec Sandstone is located in the United States
Aztec Sandstone
Aztec Sandstone
Aztec Sandstone (the United States)
Aztec Sandstone is located in California
Aztec Sandstone
Aztec Sandstone
Aztec Sandstone (California)

The Aztec Sandstone is an Early Jurassic geological formation of primarily eolian sand from which fossil pterosaur tracks have been recovered. The formation is exposed in the Mojave Desert of Arizona, California and Nevada. Aztec Sandstone is named after the Aztec Tank, a lake in the Spring Mountain region of Nevada.

Description

The Aztec Sandstone is made up of two units. The lower resistant sandstone unit (100 metres (330 ft) thick) is tan to off-white in outcrops but pinkish in fresh exposures. Cross-bedded lenses can easily be observed. Frosted and pitted quartz grains well-cemented by silica are described by Evans in 1958 and 1971. The upper and less resistant unit (200m thick) consists of alternating white quartz arenites and red to brown silty sands.

Vertebrate paleofauna

The formation has provided the following ichnofossils attributed to vertebrates:

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon

Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text
crossed out taxa are discredited.

Ichnofossils of the Aztec Sandstone
GenusSpeciesLocationMemberAbundanceNotesImages
Anchisauripus Reclassified as Grallator
Brasilichnium
Grallator
Navahopus
Octopodichnus
Pteraichnus
Skolithos

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Longwell, C.R. (1949). "Structure of the Northern Muddy Mountain Area, Nevada". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 60 (5): 923–968. Bibcode:1949GSAB...60..923L. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1949)60[923:sotnmm]2.0.co;2. Wikidata Q60182382.
  2. 1 2 3 Hewett, D.F. (1931). "Geology and ore deposits of the Goodsprings quadrangle, Nevada" (PDF). Geological Survey Professional Paper (162). doi:10.3133/pp162. Wikidata Q61823480. (incl. geologic map, scale 1:62,500)
  3. ↑ Jennings, C.W., 1961, Geologic map of California; Kingman sheet: California Division of Mines and Geology, scale 1:250,000
  4. 1 2 Aztec Sandstone at Fossilworks.org
  5. ↑ "Geolex — Aztec publications". ngmdb.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  6. ↑ Mescal Range at Fossilworks.org
  7. ↑ Listed as "cf. Anchisauripus" in "Appendix: Summary of the Mesozoic Reptilian Fossils of California," Hilton (2003) p. 265
  8. ↑ Listed as "cf. Grallator" in "Appendix: Summary of the Mesozoic Reptilian Fossils of California," in Hilton (2003) p. 265
  9. ↑ Lockley, et al. (2008)

Bibliography

Further reading