The Indian Point Formation is a
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
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. It preserves
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 in ...
dating back to the
Ludlow epoch of the
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 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 shortest period of the Paleozo ...
period.
[Indian Point Formation]
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...
.org
Description
The Indian Point Formation comprises thin- to thick-bedded, locally fossiliferous, calcareous
siltstone
Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...
s, fine-grained
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
s,
calcarenite
Calcarenite is a type of limestone that is composed predominantly, more than 50 percent, of detrital (transported) sand-size (0.0625 to 2 mm in diameter), carbonate grains. The grains consist of sand-size grains of either corals, shells, ooi ...
s, and minor biostromal
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
s,
conglomerates, red siltstones, and
mafic
A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...
volcanic rocks. The Indian Point Formation is conformably overlain by within-plate
tholeiitic mafic to intermediate flows and flow breccias of the
Archibald Settlement Formation, developed as a synsedimentary normal fault in the Late Silurian, based on the presence of polymictic conglomerate beds in a thickened Indian Point section east of the fault. Post-Early Devonian (
Acadian
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
) orogenic events have produced open to close folds with northeast-trending axes.
[Eurypterid-associated biota of Indian Point Fmn. in Gaspe National Park]
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...
.org
Fossil content
The following fossils were reported from the formation:
[Plotnick, 1999]
Eurypterids
* '' Waeringopterus sp.''
Pterobranchia
* '' Monograptus nilssoni''
See also
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Quebec
This is a list of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Quebec, Canada.
References
*
{{Lists of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Canada
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accen ...
* Bertie Formation
The Bertie Group or Bertie Limestone, also referred to as the Bertie Dolomite and the Bertie Formation, is an upper Silurian ( Pridoli, or Cayugan and Ulsterian age in the local chronologies) geologic group and Lagerstätte in southern Ontario ...
, Silurian Lagerstätte in Ontario
* Charlevoix impact structure, Silurian impact structure in Quebec
References
Bibliography
* {{cite LSA , last=Plotnick , first=R. E , year=1999 , title=Habitat of Llandoverian-Lochkovian eurypterids , publisher=in A. J. Boucot, J. D. Lawson (eds.), Paleocommunities - a case study from the Silurian and Lower Devonian , pages=106–136
Geologic formations of Canada
Silurian System of North America
Silurian Quebec
Ludlow epoch
Sandstone formations
Siltstone formations
Conglomerate formations
Silurian volcanism
Silurian southern paleotemperate deposits
Paleontology in Quebec