The Gangapur Formation is a geological

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The Gangapur formation is

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...

in age. It forms a part of the Pranhita–Godavari Basin and overlies the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

Kota Formation The Kota Formation is a geological Formation (geology), formation in India. The age of the Kota Formation is uncertain; it is commonly considered to date to the Early Jurassic, but some studies have suggested it may extend into the Middle Jurassi ...

. The outcrops near the Gangapur village was first described in 1881 as the Gangapur beds. In 1969, the area was instituted as the Gangapur Formation. It was also determined that the Gangapur Formation extends from north of Nowgaon (Lat. 19°20’N; Long. 79°24’E) to the west of Gangapur (Lat. 19°16’N; Long. 79°26’E) and in the east up to Dharmaram and Paikasigudem. Fossils of Plants have been found in large quantities in the formation.

Stratigraphy

The Gangapur Formation was laid down sometime in the Early Cretaceous due to renewed rift activity. The rocks of the formation are composed of coarse ferruginous sandstone interrupted with pebble bands succeeded by an alternating sequence of sandstones and mudstones or silty mudstone. Both the Gangapur Formation and the Chikiala Formation overlie the Kota formation however their exact relationships are uncertain. This uncertainty is partly due to the lack of fossils from the Chikiala Formation. It is possible that the Gangapur Formation is older than the Chikiala Formation or that they are both of the same age.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269109738_GYMNOSPERM_FOSSILS_FROM_THE_GANGAPUR_FORMATION_EARLY_CRETACEOUS_OF_ADILABAD_DISTRICT_Gymnosperm_fossils_from_the_Gangapur_Formation_Early_Cretaceous_of_Adilabad_District_Telangana_India

Fossil content

Plant megafossils are common in the Gangapur Formation, dominated by the

Coniferales The order Pinales in the division Pinophyta, class Pinopsida, comprises all the extant conifers. The distinguishing characteristic is the reproductive structure known as a cone produced by all Pinales. All of the extant conifers, such as Araucar ...

.http://14.139.63.228:8080/pbrep/bitstream/123456789/978/1/PbV30N2_121.pdfSukh-Dev & Rajanikanth A. 1988. The Gangapur: fossil fl ora and stratigraphy. Geophytology 18(1): 1-27Rajanikanth A. 1996. Palaeobotany of Mesozoic Gondwana sediments of Pranhita-Godavari Basin. Gondwana Nine (1), Geol. Surv. India: 425-438

Megaflora

References

{{Reflist Geography of Telangana Geologic formations of India Cretaceous India