The Ponce Limestone 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 ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. 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

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

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 ...

(20.45 million years ago (

Mya Mya may refer to: Brands and product names * Mya (program), an intelligent personal assistant created by Motorola * Mya (TV channel), an Italian Television channel * Midwest Young Artists, a comprehensive youth music program Codes * Burmese ...

Description

Ponce Limestone includes beds of brown clay and has a maximum estimated thickness of 850 meters. It consists mostly of yellowish-orange, soft to moderately hard,

fossiliferous limestone Fossiliferous limestone is any type of limestone, made mostly of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the minerals calcite or aragonite, that contains an abundance of fossils or fossil traces. The fossils in these rocks may be of macroscop ...

and appears almost continuously as a narrow band extending from Bahía Montalva in

Patillas Patillas (, ) is a beach town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southeastern coast, south of San Lorenzo; west of Yabucoa and Maunabo; and east of Guayama and Arroyo. It is spread over 15 barrios and Patillas Pueblo (the downtown a ...

Río Pastillo Río Pastillo is a river in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is also known as Río Marueño in the area of the municipality where it runs through barrio Marueño. Together with Cañas River (Ponce, Puerto Rico), Ca� ...

, in

Barrio Canas Canas is one of the 31 barrios in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Anón, Coto Laurel, Guaraguao, Quebrada Limón, Real, San Patricio, and Marueño, and the coastal barrio of Capitanejo, Canas is one of the municipality's ni ...

Deposits

Exposed in the

Ponce Ponce may refer to: *Ponce (surname) * *Ponce, Puerto Rico, a city in Puerto Rico ** Ponce High School ** Ponce massacre, 1937 * USS ''Ponce'', several ships of the US Navy *Manuel Ponce, a Mexican composer active in the 20th century * British sla ...

Río Descalabrado The Descalabrado River ( es, Río Descalabrado) is a river of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico. It also goes through parts of Juana Díaz, and Coamo. Poecilia sphenops ''Poecilia sphenops'' is a species of fish, of the genus ''Poecilia'', known unde ...

Punta Cucharas Reserva Natural Punta Cucharas (Punta Cucharas Nature Reserve) is a nature reserve in Barrio Canas, Ponce, Puerto Rico. It consists of both a land area component as well as an offshore marine area. The land component has an area of while the ...

Yauco Yauco () is a Yauco barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the Yauco barrio-pueblo, downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco ...

, Punta Verraco, Guanica,

La Parguera LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

, San German, and Cabo Rojo quadrangles of the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

maps.

Fossil content

Various fossils have been found in the Ponce Limestone: molds of gastropods, pelecypods, coral heads, and large foraminifera are indicative of deposition in shallow-water lagoon and back-reef environments. The large foraminifera, Lepidocyclina undosa and the ahermatypic “deep sea” coral Flabellum are reported within the Ponce Limestone.''Geology and Hydrogeology of the Caribbean Islands Aquifer System of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.''
Renken, Robert, et al. U.S. geological Survey. Professional Paper 1419. Reston, Virginia. 2002. p. 20. Accessed 14 November 2019.]

References

External links

''Geology and Hydrogeology of the Caribbean Islands Aquifer System of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: Regional Aquifer-System Analysis.''
ROBERT A. RENKEN, W.C. WARD, I.P. GILL, FERNANDO GÓMEZ-GÓMEZ, JESÚS RODRÍGUEZ-MARTÍNEZ, et al. USGS. Professional Paper 1419. Reston, Virginia. 2002. Accessed 13 November 2019.
''Geologia del Distrito Ponce.''
G. J. Mitchell. Revista de Obras Publicas de Puerto Rico. Year VII. Issue 1. January 1930. Pages 7–9. Accessed 1 August 2020.

Description

Deposits

Fossil content

See also

References

External links

Further reading