Ortega Formation
| Ortega Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
Ortega Formation at its type section near Ancones, New Mexico | |
| Type | Formation |
| Unit of | Hondo Group |
| Underlies | Rinconada Formation |
| Overlies | Vadito Group |
| Thickness | 8,000 m (26,000 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Quartzite |
| Other | Metaconglomerate |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 36°26′28″N 106°04′26″W / 36.441°N 106.074°W |
| Region | Tusas and Picuris Mountains, New Mexico |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Ortega Mountains |
| Named by | Just |
| Year defined | 1937 |
Ortega Formation outcrops in New Mexico | |
The Ortega Formation is a geologic formation that crops out in most of the mountain ranges of northern New Mexico. Detrital zircon geochronology establishes a maximum age for the formation of 1690-1670 million years (Mya), in the Statherian period of the Precambrian.