The Artesia Group is a group of

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 ...

s found in southeastern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

and west

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. These preserve

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

from the Leonardian to Guadalupian Epochs of the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Pale ...

Period.

Description

The Artesia Group is interpreted as a sequence of shelf rocks of the Capitan reef. It shows cyclicity and considerable lateral variation, from

carbonate rock Carbonate rocks are a class of sedimentary rocks composed primarily of carbonate minerals. The two major types are limestone, which is composed of calcite or aragonite (different crystal forms of CaCO3), and dolomite rock (also known as doloston ...

s near the Capitan reef, to mixed

dolomitic Dolomite () is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally The term is also used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite. An alternative name sometimes used for the dol ...

mudstone,

evaporite An evaporite () is a water- soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as oce ...

s, and sandstones of a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons' ...

environment further from the reef, to a near-shore environment of evaporites, massive red siltstones, and minor amounts of dolomite. Formations within the group are, in ascending stratigraphic order, the

Grayburg Formation The Grayburg Formation is a geologic formation in west Texas and southern New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Guadalupian Epoch of the Permian Period. Description The formation is found mostly in the subsurface and consists most ...

, Queen Formation,

Seven Rivers Formation The Seven Rivers Formation is a geologic formation in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Guadalupian Epoch of the Permian period. Description The formation consists of of anhydrite, with ...

Yates Formation The Yates Formation is a geologic formation in southeast New Mexico and west Texas. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Guadalupian Age of the Permian period.Gester and Hawley 1927Tait ''et al.'' 1962 Description The formation co ...

, and

Tansill Formation The Tansill Formation is a geologic formation in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas, United States.DeFord ''et al.'' 1928 It preserves fossils dating back to the late Guadalupian Age of the Permian period.Tait ''et al.'' 1962 Descriptio ...

. The Grayburg and Queen are found furthest north, pinching out north of

Las Vegas, New Mexico Las Vegas is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities (one a city and the other a town), both were named Las Vegas—West Las Vegas ("Old Town") and East Las Vegas ("New Town" ...

, with the younger formations pinching out further south. This reflects the retreat of the sea from the area. The formation is prominent in the subsurface near Artesia, New Mexico, where it attains a thickness of . The formation lies atop the San Andres Formation, from which it is separated by an erosional surface showing karst features. It is overlain by various

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

rock units. In its northernmost exposures, in Glorieta Pass, it is lowered to formation rank.

History of investigation

The group was first named by Tait and coinvestigators in 1962. It largely replaces the abandoned Whitehorse Group and Carlsbad Group. Red beds previously assigned to the Bernal Formation at Glorieta Pass were reassigned to the Artesia Formation by Lucas and Hayden in 1991.

Footnotes

References

* * * * {{cite journal , last1=Tait , first1=D.B. , last2=Motts , first2=W.S. , last3=Spitler , first3=M.E. , year=1962 , title=Artesia Group of New Mexico and West Texas , journal=American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin , volume=46 , number=4 , pages=504–517 , doi=10.1306/BC74383B-16BE-11D7-8645000102C1865D Permian formations of New Mexico

Description

History of investigation

See also

Footnotes

References