The Hidden Valley Dolomite is a
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
−
Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...
geologic formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...
in the northern
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, in the western United States.
Locations where it is exposed include sections of the southern
Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately south-southeast f ...
and the
Talc City Hills
The Talc City Hills is a mountain range in the northern Mojave Desert, in Inyo County, California.
They are just north of California State Route 190 west of Panamint Springs and east of Owens Lake, southeast of the Inyo Mountains, and north of th ...
.
[Google Books: United States Geological Survey Professional Paper - "Geology and ore deposits of Inyo County, California"]
/ref>
Hidden Valley Dolomite overlies the Ely Springs Dolomite formation, and underlies the Lost Burro Formation.[
]
Paleontology
Outcrops of the Hidden Valley Dolomite formation's ''Lippincott Member'' in Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is a national park of the United States that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern sect ...
have produced fossils of the fishes '' Panamintaspis snowi'' and '' Blieckaspis priscillae'' along with the remains of other jawless fishes and a small arthrodire
Arthrodira (Greek for "jointed neck") is an Order (biology), order of extinct armored, jawed fishes of the class Placodermi that flourished in the Devonian period before their sudden extinction, surviving for about 50 million years and penetratin ...
placoderm
Placoderms (from Ancient Greek πλάξ 'plax'', ''plakos'''Plate (animal anatomy), plate' and δέρμα 'derma'''skin') are vertebrate animals of the class (biology), class Placodermi, an extinct group of prehistoric fish known from Pal ...
.["Death Valley National Park," Hunt, Santucci, and Kenworthy (2006); page 63.][Hunt, ReBecca K., Vincent L. Santucci and Jason Kenworthy. 2006. "A preliminary inventory of fossil fish from National Park Service units." in S.G. Lucas, J.A. Spielmann, P.M. Hester, J.P. Kenworthy, and V.L. Santucci (ed.s), Fossils from Federal Lands. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 34, pp. 63–69.]
See also
*
References
Devonian California
Silurian California
Dolomite formations of the United States
Death Valley National Park
Geology of Inyo County, California
Natural history of the Mojave Desert
Devonian System of North America
Silurian System of North America
Geologic formations of California
{{California-geologic-formation-stub