The Jackson 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
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...
. 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 ...
dating back to the
Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of ...
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
.
Exposed only in bluffs along
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...
with thickness at least 60 feet. Primary rock type is sand. Secondary rock type is clay or mud. Other rock types include slit and lignite. "Light gray to buff, medium- to very fine-grained silty sand, interbedded with light gray clayey silt."
From the
Tertiary geological age.
Jackson Formation siltstones are exposed in western Tennessee in the Mississippi River bluffs.
See also
*
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Tennessee
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of Tennessee, U.S.
Sites
See also
* Paleontology in Tennessee
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Tennessee
Tennessee
Stratigr ...
*
Paleontology in Tennessee
Paleontology in Tennessee refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Tennessee. During the early part of the Paleozoic era, Tennessee was covered by a warm, shallow sea. This sea was home to br ...
References
*
Paleogene geology of Texas
Paleogene geology of Tennessee
Paleogene Mississippi
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