The White River Formation is a geologic formation of the Paleogene Period, in the northern Great Plains and central Rocky Mountains, within the United States.
White River Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Late Eocene-Early Oligocene (Chadronian-Whitneyan) ~ | |
Type | Formation |
Sub-units | Brule Formation, Chadron Formation[1] |
Overlies | Pierre Shale |
Thickness | 230–300 m (750–980 ft)[2] |
Lithology | |
Primary | Tuffaceous claystone, conglomerate[3] |
Location | |
Coordinates | 43°12′N 107°06′W / 43.2°N 107.1°W |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 44°48′N 98°24′W / 44.8°N 98.4°W |
Region | Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming |
Country | United States |
Extent | northern Great Plains & central Rocky Mountains |
Type section | |
Named for | White River (Missouri River tributary) |
White River Formation (the United States) White River Formation (Wyoming) |
It has been found in northeastern Colorado, Dawes County in western Nebraska, Badlands of western South Dakota, and Douglas area of southeastern Wyoming.[1]
The geologic formation preserves fossils dating back to the Eocene and Oligocene Epochs of the Paleogene Period, during the Cenozoic Era.[4] It contains the most complete Late Eocene−Priabonian and Early Oligocene−Rupelian vertebrate record in North America.[1][5]