Circular 185—Contributions to mid-Cretaceous paleontology and stratigraphy of New Mexico, Part II

Compiled by S. C. Hook, 1983, 54 pp., 11 tables, 27 figs., 1 sheet.

Companion to Circulars 180, 195, and Bulletins 114 and 122. Contains four short papers on paleontology and stratigraphy of the mid-Cretaceous of New Mexico and surrounding areas. The first three papers in this circular are the direct result of a combined effort by the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey to evaluate the coal resource potential of and to map several 7½-min quadrangles in west-central New Mexico. The nomenclature and correlation of middle Cenomanian through early Coniacian rocks in west-central New Mexico has long been a subject of controversy and confusion. Although some aspects of the nomenclature advocated in these first three papers remain controversial, the correlations have been substantiated by the detailed mapping efforts of personnel from the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey in both Acoma and Zuni Basins.

Articles included are: Stratigraphy and revision of nomenclature of upper Cenomanian to Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) rocks of west-central New Mexic; Principal reference section and correlation of Gallup Sandstone, northwestern New Mexico, Middle Turonian and younger Cretaceous rocks, northern Salt Lake Coal field, Cibola and Catron Counties, NM; and Mid-Cretaceous molluscan sequence at Gold Hill, Jeff Davis County, Texas, with faunal comparison to New Mexico.
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