| La Quinta Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Hettangian—Aalenian | |
 | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Underlies | Río Negro Formation |
| Overlies | Mucuchachi Formation |
| Thickness | up to 11,000 ft (3,400 m) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone |
| Other | Tuff, conglomerate |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 8°09′N 72°01′W / 8.15°N 72.02°W |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 0°06′N 42°42′W / 0.1°N 42.7°W |
| Region | Cesar-Ranchería & Maracaibo Basins Serranía del Perijá & Cordillera de Mérida |
| Country |  Colombia Venezuela |
| Type section | |
| Named for | La Quinta quarry |
.jpg)  La Quinta Formation (Venezuela) | |
The La Quinta Formation is a Jurassic geologic formation which crops out in the Cordillera de Mérida and Serranía del Perijá of western Venezuela and northeastern Colombia. The formation is also present in the subsurface of the Cesar-Ranchería and Maracaibo Basins. At its type locality near La Grita, Táchira, it consists of a basal dacitic tuff followed by interlayered sandstones, tuffs, siltstones and rare limestones.[1] Dinosaur remains including Laquintasaura,[2] Tachiraptor, and Perijasaurus[3] are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.[4]
U–Pb zircon analysis demonstrates that the formation dates to 200.91+0.55 Ma at its base[2] and a maximum age of 174.8 Ma.[3]
- ^ Barret et al., 2008, p.164
- ^ a b Barret et al., 2014
- ^ a b Rincón AF, Raad Pájaro DA, Jiménez Velandia HF, Ezcurra MD, Wilson Mantilla JA (2022). "A sauropod from the Lower Jurassic La Quinta Formation (Dept. Cesar, Colombia) and the initial diversification of eusauropods at low latitudes". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 42 (1): e2077112. Bibcode:2022JVPal..42E7112R. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.2077112. S2CID 251501541.
- ^ Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607