The Morro Solar Group () is a stratigraphic group of Mesozoic-aged

sedimentary 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 exposed near

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The groups formations more specifically of

Berriasian In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/ stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 143.1 ±0.6 Ma and 137.05 ± 0.2 (million years ago) ...

and

Valanginian In the geologic timescale, the Valanginian is an age or stage of the Early or Lower Cretaceous. It spans between 137.05 ± 0.2 Ma and 132.6 ± 0.2 Ma (million years ago). The Valanginian Stage succeeds the Berriasian Stage of the Lower Cretac ...

age (

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 ...

) 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. ...

Puente Piedra Group and underlies the Cretaceous Pamplona Formation. The Morro Solar Group is

intruded Intrusive rock is formed when magma penetrates existing rock, crystallizes, and solidifies underground to form ''intrusions'', such as batholiths, dikes, sills, laccoliths, and volcanic necks.Intrusive RocksIntrusive rocks accessdate: March 27 ...

by sills of

andesitic Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

composition. Together with the Casma and

Imperial Group Imperial Brands plc (originally the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain & Ireland, and subsequently Imperial Tobacco Group plc) is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-larges ...

s, the Morro Solar Group contains

clastic Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks by ...

volcanosedimentary material derivative of the Mesozoic

Casma Volcanic Arc Casma is a city in the coastal desert of Peru, located northwest of Lima. It is the capital of the province of Casma and the third most populous city in the Ancash Region with an estimated population of 29,343 (2015). It is located in the low ...

. The formations of the group hosts mostly local

fossil 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 preserve ...

s which do not have counterparts for biochronological correlation in other regions.

Stratigraphy

The formations of the Morro Solar Group are: La Herradura Formation (), whose sediments reflect a marine near-shore deposition environment, the Valanginian Salto del Fraile Formation (), and the Marcavilca Formation (). The Salto del Fraile Formation is equivalent to the basal part of the

Huancané Formation Huancané ( ''wanqa'' a big stone, ''-ni'' a suffix, "the one with a big stone (or big stones)") is the capital of the province of Huancané in Peru. The town is located about north of Lake Titicaca. The majority of the residents of Huancané's ...

found further inland.

References

Geologic groups of South America Stratigraphy of Peru Lower Cretaceous Series of South America Cretaceous Peru Berriasian Stage Valanginian Stage Hauterivian Stage Geography of the Department of Lima {{geology-stub