Kaiparowits

54 occ. 28 taxa (3 genera) 1 countries

Description

The Kaiparowits Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the Kaiparowits Plateau in Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, in the southern part of Utah in the western United States. It is over 2800 feet thick, and is Campanian in age. This Upper Cretaceous formation was formed from alluvial floodplains of large rivers in coastal southern Laramidia; sandstone beds are the deposit of rivers, and mudstone beds represent floodplain deposits. It is fossiliferous, with most specimens from the lower half of the formation, but exploration is only comparatively recent, with most work being done since 1982. It has been estimated that less than 10% of the Kaiparowits formation has been explored for fossils. The Natural History Museum of Utah has conducted most fieldwork.

Genera

3 genera

click to enlarge

Map of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), southern Utah (A), and generalized stratigraphic section of the upper Campanian Kaiprowits Formation (B). The approximate stratigraphic position of Akainacephalus johnsoni is located near the base of the middle unit within the Kaiparowits Formation. The map highlights the GSENM boundary (dashed line), showing the geological distribution and outcrops of the Cretaceous Kaiparowits, Wahweap, and Straight Cliffs formations. The red star indicates the Horse Mountain area, from which Akainacephalus johnsoni was recorded. Map and stratigraphic column modified from Roberts (2005). Radioisotopic dates used from Roberts, Deino & Chan (2005) and Roberts et al. (2013), respectively. © Jelle P. Wiersma, Randall B. Irmis · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikipedia