Bone Valley Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: | |
Type | Formation |
Unit of | Hawthorn Group |
Underlies | Pleistocene sand |
Overlies | Peace River Formation |
Thickness | 30 metres (100 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sand, marl, clay |
Other | Phosphorite pebbles, chert |
Location | |
Region | Florida |
Country | United States |
Type section | |
Named for | Bone Valley, Florida |
Named by | G.C. Matson and F.G. Clapp, 1909 [1] |
The Bone Valley Formation is a geologic formation in Florida. It is sometimes classified as the upper member of the Peace River Formation of the Hawthorn Group. [2] It contains economically important phosphorite deposits that are mined in west-central Florida, as well as rich assemblages of vertebrate fossils.
The Bone Valley Formation consists of sandy marl that contains pebbles of phosphate and chert, fragments of bone, and other organic remains. The finer grained material is soft and plastic when wet, but hardens when dry. [1]
The Bone Valley Formation contains
mammal fossils and its age has been determined by mammalian
biostratigraphy.
Period:
Neogene
Epoch:
Middle Miocene to
Early Pliocene
North American land mammal age:
Barstovian to
Hemphillian
[3]
The Bone Valley Formation includes a diverse assemblage of vertebrate fossils. These include remains of sea turtles, [4] equines, [5] felines, [6] [7] peccaries, [8] and others.