| El Rito Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
 El Rito Formation near Arroyo del Cobre, New Mexico | |
| Type | Formation |
| Underlies | Ritito Conglomerate |
| Overlies | Morrison Formation, Dakota Formation |
| Thickness | 70 m (230 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone |
| Other | Mudstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 36°16′34″N 106°18′07″W / 36.276°N 106.302°W |
| Region | New Mexico |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | El Rito Creek |
| Named by | H.T.U. Smith |
| Year defined | 1938 |
  El Rito Formation (the United States)  El Rito Formation (New Mexico) | |
The El Rito Formation is a geologic formation in New Mexico dating to the Eocene epoch. It records a time when sediments were trapped in deep basins in western North America rather than being carried downstream to the Gulf of Mexico, so that sediments of this age in the western Gulf are mostly from the Appalachian Mountains.