Matanuska Formation

Matanuska Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Cretaceous
TypeGeological formation
Location
RegionNorth America

The Matanuska Formation consists of more than 3 km (1.9 mi) of sedimentary strata exposed in the northern Chugach Mountains, Matanuska Valley, and southern Talkeetna Mountains of south-central Alaska.[1] The Matanuska Formation contains strata from Early Cretaceous (Albian) to Late Cretaceous (Maestrichtian).[2] Parts of the formation contain abundant marine mollusks, foraminifera, and radiolaria. Fossils of nonmarine plants are found in some beds. Fossils of two dinosaurs have been recovered from marine mudstones in the formation.[3][4] The lower Matanuska Formation (MF) is several hundred meters thick and includes nonmarine and marine sediments. Campanian-Maastrichtian graded sandstone, conglomerate, and mudstone comprise the upper 2000 m of the Formation.[1]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference gsa.confex.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference merritt-85 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference cretaceousdistribution was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference pasch-may-97 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).