Merced Formation
| Merced Formation Stratigraphic range: Pliocene, Neogene Period | |
|---|---|
| Type | Geologic formation |
| Underlies | Colma Formation (California) |
| Overlies | Bedrock (California) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | sedimentary rock (California) |
| Location | |
| Region |
San Francisco Bay Area of California, Oregon, Washington (state) |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Lake Merced |
The Merced Formation is a geologic formation in California, and also in Oregon and Washington state. It is named for Lake Merced, a natural lake on the western San Francisco coastline.
Geology
California
In the coastal San Francisco Bay Area of California the Merced Formation was deposited in a small sedimentary basin that formed along the San Andreas Fault during the last two million years during the Pliocene age of the Neogene period, in the Cenozoic Era. USGS.gov: "San Andreas Fault and Coastal Geology, from Half Moon Bay to Fort Funston: Crustal Motion, Climate Change, and Human Activity" [1]
The fault cut the basin into two pieces and moved the pieces apart. It is found on the east side of the fault in western San Francisco and northern San Mateo County. On the west side of the fault it was carried 20 miles (32 km) north to the Bolinas headlands of western Marin County.[1]
Fort Funston is on a bluff made up of exposed sedimentary rocks of the Merced Formation, in San Francisco within the NPS Golden Gate National Recreation Area. [1]
Fossils
It preserves fossils dating back to the Neogene period. [2]
See also
- List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California
- Paleontology in California
- List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Washington (state)
- Paleontology in Washington (state)
References
- 1 2 3 Geologic Trips.com: Merced Formation in San Francisco and the Bay Area
- ↑ Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 8 July 2014.
| Neogene Period | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Miocene | Pliocene | ||
| Aquitanian | Burdigalian Langhian | Serravallian Tortonian | Messinian |
Zanclean | Piacenzian | ||