The Monkton Quartzite 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 ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. 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 middle of the

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

Geology

The Monkton Quartzite consists of red ferruginous quartzite interbedded with lesser buff and white quartzites. Additionally, there are thick sections of dolomite ( dolomstone) containing algal laminations similar to the Winooski Dolostone. The Monkton Quartzite preserves many primary sedimentary features, including wave-action ripples, rain-drop imprints, trilobite tracks, and burrows. The unit contains shallowing upward cycles of subtidal sand shoals overlain by intertidal beds of sand and silt. This shows a prograding tidal flat during a time of clastic deposition on the passive margin of

Laurentia Laurentia or the North American craton is a large continental craton that forms the Geology of North America, ancient geological core of North America. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate continent, as it is now in the form of ...

.West, D., Kim, J., Klepeis, K., and Webber, J., 2011, Classic Bedrock Teaching Localities in the Champlain Valley between Middlebury and Burlington, Vermont: in West, D., editor, New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference: Guidebook for Field Trips in Vermont and adjacent New York, 103rd Annual Meeting, Middlebury, Vermont, Trip B1Merhtens, C.J., Parker, R., Butler, R., The Cambrian Platform in Northwestern Vermont in NEIGC Guidebook for Field Trips Vol 2, 79th Meeting, 1987 Below the erosionally-resistant rocks of the Monkton lies the Dunham Dolostone, and above lies the Winooski Dolostone. The Monkton Quartzite is well exposed at the Redstone Quarry in South Burlington Vermont. Here, the Monkton Quartzites have been thrust to the west by the

Champlain Thrust The Champlain Thrust is a 200-mile long fault extending from southern Quebec, down through western Vermont in the Champlain Valley, and into eastern New York in the Catskills/Hudson Valley. This east dipping thrust fault transports Cambrian-Ordo ...

References

External links

* Cambrian System of North America Quartzite formations Cambrian geology of Vermont Geologic formations of Vermont Cambrian southern paleotemperate deposits {{Vermont-geologic-formation-stub

Geology

See also

References

External links