Redwall Limestone

Redwall Limestone
Stratigraphic range: Early and early Late Mississippian[1][2]
Redwall Limestone cliff, and upper platform of cliff extension (resting on very short Muav Limestone cliff), from Tower of Set, central Grand Canyon, adjacent Granite Gorge.
The bottom of Redwall cliffs typically rest on sections of Temple Butte Formation-(locally), or attached sections of Muav Limestone cliffs (regionally exposed in Grand Canyon, elsewhere in Arizona, not always with surface exposure).
TypeGeological formation
UnderliesSupai Group and locally Surprise Canyon Formation. The Surprise Canyon Formation fills local paleovalleys, caves, and collapse structures cut into the underlying Redwall Limestone.
OverliesMuav Limestone and Temple Butte Formation
Thickness244 m (801 ft), at maximum
Lithology
Primaryfossiliferous limestone
Otherdolomite and chert
Location
RegionNorthern Arizona, southeast California, New Mexico, and southern Utah, Nevada
CountryUnited States of America
Type section
Named forthe red appearance of its escarpment on either side of the Grand Canyon[3]
Named byGilbert (1875)[3]

The Redwall Limestone is an erosion-resistant, Mississippian age, cliff-forming geological formation that forms prominent, red-stained cliffs in the Grand Canyon. these cliffs range in height from 150 m (490 ft) to 244 m (801 ft). It is one of the most fossiliferous formations exposed in the Grand Canyon region.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b Beus, SS (2003) "Redwall Limestone and Surprise Canyon Formation." in: Beus, S.S., Morales, M., eds., pp. 115–134, Grand Canyon Geology, 2nd. Oxford University Press, New York.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference McKeeOthers1969a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Gilbert1875a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).