| Hell-to-Finish Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Neocomian–Aptian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N | |
| Type | Formation |
| Unit of | Bisbee Group |
| Underlies | U-Bar Formation |
| Overlies | Various Paleozoic units, Broken Jug Formation |
| Thickness | 1,700–3,500 feet (520–1,070 m) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Shale, mudstone, siltstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 31°32′36″N 108°20′28″W / 31.5433°N 108.3411°W / 31.5433; -108.3411 |
| Region | New Mexico |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Hell-to-Finish tank |
| Named by | R.A. Zeller Jr. |
| Year defined | 1965 |
  Hell-to-Finish Formation (the United States)Show map of the United States Hell-to-Finish Formation (New Mexico)Show map of New Mexico | |
The Hell-to-Finish Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the early Cretaceous period.
Description
The formation consists mostly of red to red-brown to gray or green shale, mudstone, and arkosic siltstone. The base of the formation is a well indurated conglomerate derived from the underlying Paleozoic beds. Minor arkose and limestone are present in the uppermost beds. The total thickness is up to 1,700–3,500 feet (520–1,070 m) but varies considerably over the region. The formation rests on a profound unconformity with underlying Paleozoic formations in most locations, but overlies the Broken Jug Formation in the Little Hatchet Mountains. The Hell-to-Finish Formation is transitional to the overlying U-Bar Formation. The transitional contact with the Aptian U-Bar Formation suggests that the Hell-to-Finish Formation cannot be much older than Aptian.
The formation is interpreted as being deposited in an arid client, based on the nature of paleosols within the formation. Deposition took place in a west-northwest-trending rift basin.
Fossils
The upper beds of the formation contain abundant pelecypods. However, no age-diagnostic fossils have been found in the formation.
History of investigation
The formation was first defined by Zeller in 1965 for exposures near the Hell-to-Finish tank in the southern Big Hatchet Mountains of New Mexico.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Zeller 1965.
- Hayes 1970.
- ^ Lawton 2004, pp. 159–161.
- Lucas et al. 2001.
- ^ Lucas & Estep 1998.
- Mack 1992.
- Mack 1987.
References
- Hayes, P.T. (1970). "Cretaceous paleogeography of southeastern Arizona and adjacent areas". U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 658-B: B1 – B42. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- Lawton, Timothy F. (2004). "Upper Jurassic and lower Cretaceous strata of southwestern New Mexico and northern Chihuahua, Mexico". In Mack, G.H.; Giles, K.A. (eds.). The geology of New Mexico. A geologic history: New Mexico Geological Society Special Volume 11. pp. 153–168. ISBN 9781585460106.
- Lucas, Spencer G.; Estep, John W. (1998). "Lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the lower-middle Cretaceous Bisbee Group, southwestern New Mexico, USA". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 14: 39–55. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- Lucas, Spencer G.; Zeigler, Kate E.; Lawton, Timothy; Filkorn, Harry (February 2001). "Late Jurassic invertebrate fossils from the Little Hatchet Mountains, southwestern New Mexico". New Mexico Geology. 23: 16–20. doi:10.58799/NMG-v23n1.16. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- Mack, Greg H. (1 May 1987). "Mid-Cretaceous (late Albian) change from rift to retroarc foreland basin in southwestern New Mexico". GSA Bulletin. 98 (5): 507–514. Bibcode:1987GSAB...98..507M. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1987)98<507:MLACFR>2.0.CO;2.
- Mack, Greg H. (1992). "Paleosols as an Indicator of Climatic Change at the Early-Late Cretaceous Boundary, Southwestern New Mexico". SEPM Journal of Sedimentary Research. 62. doi:10.1306/D426792E-2B26-11D7-8648000102C1865D.
- Zeller, R.A. Jr. (1965). "Stratigraphy of the Big Hatchet Mountains area, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Memoir. 16. Retrieved 15 September 2020.