Kaibab Limestone

Kaibab Limestone
Stratigraphic range: Early to Middle Permian, Leonardian to Roadian[1][2][3]
Bedded and jointed cliffs of the Kaibab Limestone at the Grand Canyon.
(high resolution, expandable photo)
TypeGeological formation
Sub-unitsFossil Mountain and Harrisburg members
UnderliesMoenkopi Formation
OverliesToroweap Formation, Coconino Sandstone, and White Rim Sandstone
Thickness300 feet (91 m)-500 feet (150 m) in Grand Canyon region.
Lithology
Primaryfossiliferous limestone, sandy limestone, dolomite, and chert
Othergypsum, siltstone, and sandstone
Location
RegionArizona–(northern)
California–(southeast)
Nevada–(east-central) and,
Utah–(southern)
CountryUnited States – (Southwestern United States)
Type section
Named forIt was named for the Kaibab Plateau, northern Arizona[4]
Named byDarton (1910)[4]
Geology showing the basal layer (Kaibab Formation) of Zion National Park, southern Utah

The Kaibab Limestone is a resistant cliff-forming, Permian geologic formation that crops out across the U.S. states of northern Arizona, southern Utah, east central Nevada and southeast California. It is also known as the Kaibab Formation in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. The Kaibab Limestone forms the rim of the Grand Canyon. In the Big Maria Mountains, California, the Kaibab Limestone is highly metamorphosed and known as the Kaibab Marble.[2][3]

  1. ^ Hopkins, R. L., and K. L. Thompson, 2003, Kiabab Formation. in: Beus, S.S., Morales, M., eds., pp. 196–211, Grand Canyon Geology, 2nd. Oxford University Press, New York. ISBN 978-0-19-512299-2, 448 pp.
  2. ^ a b Anonymous, 2014, Kaibab Limestone. Stratigraphy of the Parks of the Colorado Plateau. Archived 2010-12-24 at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.
  3. ^ a b Stamm, N., 2013, Geologic Unit: Kaibab.. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.
  4. ^ a b Darton, N. H., 1910, A reconnaissance of parts of northwestern New Mexico and northern Arizona. Bulletin no. 435. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. 88 pp.