Barstow Formation
| Barstow Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Early to Middle Miocene (Barstovian) ~ | |
Barstow Formation exposed in Owl Canyon near Barstow, California. | |
| Type | Sedimentary |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | limestone, shale, siltstone, sandstone, tuff |
| Other | conglomerate |
| Location | |
| Region | Mojave Desert, California |
| Country | United States |
| Extent | Northern San Bernardino County, Southeastern California |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Barstow, California |
| Named by | Hershey (1902) |
The Barstow Formation is a series of limestones, conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones and shales exposed in the Mojave Desert near Barstow in San Bernardino County, California.
It is of the early to middle Miocene epoch, (19.3 - 13.4 million years ago) in age, in the Neogene Period. It lends its name to the Barstovian North American land mammal age (NALMA).
The sediments are fluvial and lacustrine in origin except for nine layers of rhyolitic tuff. It is well known for its abundant vertebrate fossils including bones, teeth and footprints. The formation is also renowned for the fossiliferous concretions in its upper member, which contain three-dimensionally preserved arthropods.