The Socotá Formation (, Kis) is a

geological 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 expo ...

of the

Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. (Do not confuse with The Altiplano or the Altiplano Nariñense, both fur ...

Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team that currently competes in the Talent League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. History Inaugural playing squad (1992) Honours *Premiers (2): 2002, 2013 *Runners-up (6): 199 ...

of the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. The formation consisting of a lower unit of calcareous

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

s and an upper sequence of

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

s dates to the

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 ...

period; Late Aptian epoch and in Quipile has a measured thickness of with large regional variations. The formation hosts

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

fossils.

Etymology

The formation was defined as a thicker sequence and named in 1969 by Cáceres and Etayo after Socotá, a vereda of Apulo, Cundinamarca. The name Socotá in Muysccubun, the language of the native

Muisca The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Muisca spe ...

, means either "Land of the Sun and farmfields" or "Good harvest".Etymology Socotá
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Description

Lithologies

The Socotá Formation has a maximum thickness of , and is characterised by a lower sequence of calcareous

s and an upper part of

s. Fossils of the

s '' Stoyanowiceras treffryanus'', '' Dufrenoyia sanctorum'', '' Parahoplites (?) hubachi'', and '' Acanthoplites (?) leptoceratiforme'' have been found in the Socotá Formation.Acosta & Ulloa, 2002, p.41

Stratigraphy and depositional environment

The Socotá Formation overlies the

Trincheras Formation The Trincheras Formation (, Kitr) is a geological formation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The formation consisting of a lower unit of calcareous shales and an upper sequence of shales dates to the Early Cr ...

and is partly overlain by and partly time equivalent with the El Peñón Formation.Acosta & Ulloa, 2002, p.42 In other areas, the formation underlies the Capotes and

Hiló Formation The Hiló Formation (, Kih) is a formation (geology), geological formation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The predominantly shale formation dates to the Middle Cretaceous per ...

s.Acosta & Ulloa, 2002, p.43 The age has been estimated to be Late Aptian. Stratigraphically, the formation is time equivalent with the Tablazo, Caballos and

Une Formation The Une Formation (, Kiu) is a formation (geology), geological formation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The predominantly sandstone formation dates to the Cretaceous, Middle ...

s.Villamil, 2012, p.168Acosta & Ulloa, 2001, p.16 The formation has been deposited in a marine platform environment. in terms of

sequence stratigraphy In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of mathematical object, objects in which repetitions are allowed and order theory, order matters. Like a Set (mathematics), set, it contains Element (mathematics), members (also called ''ele ...

, the Socotá Formation is part of a

transgressive Transgressive may mean: *Transgressive art, a name given to art forms that violate perceived boundaries *Transgressive fiction, a modern style in literature *Transgressive Records, a United Kingdom-based independent record label *Transgressive (l ...

cycle.Villamil, 2012, p.205

Outcrops

The Socotá Formation is apart from its type locality, found from Viotá in the south to

Útica Utica is a town and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department, Colombia located some 127 kilometers from Bogotá. The village lies at an altitude of 506 meters above sea level and has an average daily temperature of 26 °C. Utica grew from ...

in the north. The formation crops out on both sides of the

Bogotá River The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca department of Colombia. A right tributary of the Magdalena River, the Bogotá River crosses the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the wester ...

in Anapoima and Apulo.García Rivas, 2016Plancha 227, 1998Plancha 246, 1998

References

Bibliography

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