Mission Valley Formation
The Mission Valley Formation is a marine sandstone geologic formation in the Mission Valley region of southwestern San Diego County in Southern California.[1][2]
| Mission Valley Formation Stratigraphic range: Paleogene | |
|---|---|
| Type | Geologic formation |
| Underlies | Pomerado Conglomerate |
| Overlies | Stadium Conglomerate |
| Thickness | 0–60 metres (0–197 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | sandstone |
| Location | |
| Region | San Diego County, California |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Mission Valley, San Diego |
Geology
The formation's sandstone characteristics are: soft and friable, light olive gray, fine to medium grained, and composed mostly of quartz and potassium feldspar.[1] The Mission Valley Formation thins from the west to the east, with a maximum thickness of 0–60 metres (0–197 ft).[1]
It overlies the Stadium Conglomerate formation, and underlies the Pomerado Conglomerate formation.[1]
Fossils
It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene period of the Cenozoic Era.[3] The formation's rocks can contain a molluscan fauna in the western and central exposures and a land-mammal fauna in the eastern exposures.[1]
See also
- Geology of San Diego County, California
- Paleogene Period in California
- List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California
- Paleontology in California
References
- Kennedy, Michael P. (1975). Geology of the San Diego metropolitan area, California. California Division of Mines and Geology.
- Geiconsultants.com: Geologic Formations of Western San Diego County, by Jeffrey D. Brown, R.G., C.E.G. − circa 1996.
- Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Archived from the original on 31 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
Further reading
- "General Plan Final Program EIR: 3.11 Paleontological Resources" (PDF). City of San Diego.