The Passaic Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. It was previously known as the Brunswick Formation since it was first described in the vicinity of New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is now named for the city of Passaic, New Jersey, which is near where its type section was described by paleontologist Paul E. Olsen.[1]
Description
The Passaic is defined as a reddish-brown shale, siltstone and mudstone with a few green and brown shale interbeds; red and dark-gray interbedded argillites near the base.[2] In New Jersey, there are conglomerate and sandstone beds within the formation.
Depositional environment
The Passaic is mostly shallow lakes, playa, and alluvial fan deposits resulting from the rifting of Pangea. The red color is often evidence that the sediments were deposited in arid conditions.[3] The Passaic Formation overlies the Lockatong Formation deep lake sediment cycles, which were deposited during wetter climatic cycles during the Late Triassic.[3] These sediments came from the northwest and contain clasts from Appalachian formations.
Fossils
Age
The Passaic is Late Triassic with an astronomically calibrated age of 219 to 201.7 million years ago (Ma) and is about 13,000 ft (~4 km) thick in the basin depocenter. It conformably overlies the Lockatong Formation (darker, generally gray shales and mudrocks) and is overlain by the first Watching(Orange Mountain Formation) basalt. The Triassic/Jurassic boundary and correlated by pollen is located in the uppermost part of the formation, ~ 2 precessional cycles (~10–12 m) below the Orange Mountain Basalt. There are numerous diabase intrusions into the Passaic with local contact metamorphic rocks.[5]
References
- 1234Olsen, P.E., 1980. The Latest Triassic and Early Jurassic Formations of the Newark Basin (Eastern North America, Newark Supergroup): Stratigraphy, Structure, and Correlation. New Jersey Academy of Science Bulletin, v. 25, no. 2, p. 25-51.
- ↑Berg, T.M., Edmunds, W.E., Geyer, A.R. and others, compilers, (1980). Geologic Map of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Geologic Survey, Map 1, scale 1:250,000.
- 1 2 Faill, RT, (2004). La cuenca de Birdsboro. Geología de Pensilvania V. 34 n. 4.
- ↑ Sues, Hans-Dieter; Olsen, Paul E.; Scott, Diane M.; Spencer, Patrick S. (27 de junio de 2000). "Osteología craneal de Hypsognathus fenneri, un reptil procolofónido del Triásico superior del Supergrupo Newark del este de Norteamérica" . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 20 (2): 275– 284. doi : 10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020 [ 0275:COOHFA ] 2.0.CO ; 2 . ISSN 0272-4634 . S2CID 17669446 .
- ↑ Berg, TM, et al., (1983). Tabla de correlación estratigráfica de Pensilvania: G75, Servicio Geológico de Pensilvania, Harrisburg, Pensilvania.
Véase también
- Formaciones geológicas de Nueva Jersey
- Formaciones geológicas del estado de Nueva York
- Formaciones geológicas de Pensilvania
- Formaciones de esquisto de los Estados Unidos
- Formaciones de lutita de los Estados Unidos
- Formaciones de limolita de los Estados Unidos
- Paleontología en Nueva Jersey
- Paleontología en Nueva York (estado)
- Paleontología en Pensilvania
- Sistema Triásico de América del Norte
- Geología del Triásico de Nueva Jersey
- Geología del Triásico del estado de Nueva York
- Geología del Triásico de Pensilvania
- Formaciones conglomeradas de los Estados Unidos
- Formaciones de arenisca de los Estados Unidos
- Esbozos de formaciones geológicas de Estados Unidos