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19-603: The Passage Formation is a geologic formation in Scotland . It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period . This article about a specific stratigraphic formation in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to the Carboniferous period is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Scotland -related article

38-469: A heterogeneous mixture of lithologies, so long as this distinguishes them from adjacent bodies of rock. The concept of a geologic formation goes back to the beginnings of modern scientific geology. The term was used by Abraham Gottlob Werner in his theory of the origin of the Earth, which was developed over the period from 1774 to his death in 1817. The concept became increasingly formalized over time and

57-542: A newly designated formation could not be named the Kaibab Formation, since the Kaibab Limestone is already established as a formation name. The first use of a name has precedence over all others, as does the first name applied to a particular formation. As with other stratigraphic units, the formal designation of a formation includes a stratotype which is usually a type section . A type section

76-617: A permanent natural or artificial feature of the geographic area in which they were first described. The name consists of the geographic name plus either "Formation" or a descriptive name. Examples include the Morrison Formation , named for the town of Morrison, Colorado , and the Kaibab Limestone , named after the Kaibab Plateau of Arizona. The names must not duplicate previous formation names, so, for example,

95-449: Is not a valid lithological basis for defining a formation. The contrast in lithology between formations required to justify their establishment varies with the complexity of the geology of a region. Formations must be able to be delineated at the scale of geologic mapping normally practiced in the region; the thickness of formations may range from less than a meter to several thousand meters. Geologic formations are typically named after

114-452: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Formation (geology) A formation must be large enough that it can be mapped at the surface or traced in the subsurface. Formations are otherwise not defined by the thickness of their rock strata, which can vary widely. They are usually, but not universally, tabular in form. They may consist of a single lithology (rock type), or of alternating beds of two or more lithologies, or even

133-418: Is also used informally to describe the odd shapes (forms) that rocks acquire through erosional or depositional processes. Such a formation is abandoned when it is no longer affected by the geologic agent that produced it. Some well-known cave formations include stalactites and stalagmites . Geologic unit A stratigraphic unit is a volume of rock of identifiable origin and relative age range that

152-560: Is central to the geologic discipline of stratigraphy , and the formation is the fundamental unit of stratigraphy. Formations may be combined into groups of strata or divided into members . Members differ from formations in that they need not be mappable at the same scale as formations, though they must be lithologically distinctive where present. The definition and recognition of formations allow geologists to correlate geologic strata across wide distances between outcrops and exposures of rock strata . Formations were at first described as

171-440: Is defined by the distinctive and dominant, easily mapped and recognizable petrographic , lithologic or paleontologic features ( facies ) that characterize it. Units must be mappable and distinct from one another, but the contact need not be particularly distinct. For instance, a unit may be defined by terms such as "when the sandstone component exceeds 75%". Sequences of sedimentary and volcanic rocks are subdivided on

190-455: Is ideally a good exposure of the formation that shows its entire thickness. If the formation is nowhere entirely exposed, or if it shows considerably lateral variation, additional reference sections may be defined. Long-established formations dating to before the modern codification of stratigraphy, or which lack tabular form (such as volcanic formations), may substitute a type locality for a type section as their stratotype. The geologist defining

209-508: Is now codified in such works as the North American Stratigraphic Code and its counterparts in other regions. Geologic maps showing where various formations are exposed at the surface are fundamental to such fields as structural geology , allowing geologists to infer the tectonic history of a region or predict likely locations for buried mineral resources. The boundaries of a formation are chosen to give it

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228-429: The North American Stratigraphic Code, and are permitted under International Commission on Stratigraphy guidelines only in exceptional circumstances. A supergroup is a set of two or more associated groups and/or formations that share certain lithological characteristics. A supergroup may be made up of different groups in different geographical areas. A sequence of fossil -bearing sedimentary rocks can be subdivided on

247-491: The basis of their shared or associated lithology . Formally identified lithostratigraphic units are structured in a hierarchy of lithostratigraphic rank , higher rank units generally comprising two or more units of lower rank. Going from smaller to larger in rank, the main lithostratigraphic ranks are bed, member, formation, group and supergroup. Formal names of lithostratigraphic units are assigned by geological surveys . Units of formation or higher rank are usually named for

266-458: The boundaries do not need to be sharp. To be formally recognised, a formation must have sufficient extent to be useful in mapping an area. A group is a set of two or more formations that share certain lithological characteristics. A group may be made up of different formations in different geographical areas and individual formations may appear in more than one group. Groups are occasionally divided into subgroups, but subgroups are not mentioned in

285-495: The case of a marker horizon . A member is a named lithologically distinct part of a formation. Not all formations are subdivided in this way and even where they are recognized, they may only form part of the formation. A member need not be mappable at the same scale as a formation. Formations are the primary units used in the subdivision of a sequence and may vary in scale from tens of centimetres to kilometres. They should be distinct lithologically from other formations, although

304-550: The essential geologic time markers, based on their relative ages and the law of superposition . The divisions of the geological time scale were described and put in chronological order by the geologists and stratigraphers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Geologic formations can be usefully defined for sedimentary rock layers, low-grade metamorphic rocks , and volcanic rocks . Intrusive igneous rocks and highly metamorphosed rocks are generally not considered to be formations, but are described instead as lithodemes . "Formation"

323-522: The formation is expected to describe the stratotype in sufficient detail that other geologists can unequivocally recognize the formation. Although formations should not be defined by any criteria other than primary lithology, it is often useful to define biostratigraphic units on paleontological criteria, chronostratigraphic units on the age of the rocks, and chemostratigraphic units on geochemical criteria, and these are included in stratigraphic codes. The concept of formally defined layers or strata

342-400: The greatest practical lithological consistency. Formations should not be defined by any criteria other than lithology. The lithology of a formation includes characteristics such as chemical and mineralogical composition, texture, color, primary depositional structures , fossils regarded as rock-forming particles, or other organic materials such as coal or kerogen . The taxonomy of fossils

361-467: The unit's type location , and the formal name usually also states the unit's rank or lithology. A lithostratigraphic unit may have a change in rank over a some distance; a group may thin to a formation in another region and a formation may reduce in rank for member or bed as it "pinches out". A bed is a lithologically distinct layer within a member or formation and is the smallest recognisable stratigraphic unit. These are not normally named, but may be in

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