Wellington Formation

Wellington Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Permian(Artinskian)
~290–280 Ma
Upper Wellington Shale excavated in the Smoky Hill River diversion channel at Indian Rock Park, Salina, Kansas
Halitite (Hutchinson Salt Member, Wellington Formation).
TypeFormation
Unit ofSumner Group
Sub-unitsLower Wellington Member,
Hutchinson Salt Member,
Carlton Limestone Member,
Upper Wellington Member
UnderliesCentral-Western Kansas: (relative to the Sixth principal meridian)[1]
East: Kiowa Shale
Over: Pleistocene terraces
West: Ninnescah Shale
Northcentral Oklahoma:
Hennessey Formation
Garber Sandstone
OverliesNolans Limestone
Thickness500–700 ft (150–210 m)
Lithology
PrimaryShale/mudstone/dolomite
Salt/anhydrite/gypsum
Location
Coordinates38°36′N 97°12′W / 38.6°N 97.2°W / 38.6; -97.2
Approximate paleocoordinates3°36′N 25°48′W / 3.6°N 25.8°W / 3.6; -25.8
Region Kansas
 Oklahoma
Country United States
Type section
Named forWellington, Kansas
Named byF. W. Cragin[2]
Wellington Formation is located in the United States
Wellington Formation
Wellington Formation (the United States)
Wellington Formation is located in Kansas
Wellington Formation
Wellington Formation (Kansas)

The Wellington Formation is an Early Permian geologic formation in Kansas and Oklahoma.[2] The formation's Hutchinson Salt Member is more recognized by the community than the formation itself, and the salt is still mined in central Kansas.[3] The Wellington provides a rich record of Permian insects and its beddings provide evidence for reconstruction of tropical paleoclimates of the Icehouse Permian with the ability in cases to measure the passage of seasons.[4] Tens of thousands of insect fossil recovered from the Wellington shales are kept in major collections at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.[5]

  1. ^ "County Geologic Maps". Kansas Geological Survey. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  2. ^ a b "Geologic Unit: Wellington". National Geologic Database. Geolex — Significant Publications. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  3. ^ "Geologic Unit: Hutchinson". National Geologic Database. Geolex — Significant Publications. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference GilesEtAl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Beckemeyer, Roy; Hall, Joseph D (April 2007). "The entomofauna of the Lower Permian fossil insect beds of Kansas and Oklahoma, USA". African Invertebrates. 48 (1): 23–39. Retrieved 2021-10-27.