Tar Heel/Coachman Formation
| Tar Heel/Coachman Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Early-Middle Campanian ~ | |
| Type | Formation |
| Unit of | Black Creek Group |
| Underlies | Bladen Formation |
| Overlies | Middendorf Formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Siltstone, sandstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 34°36′N 78°30′W / 34.6°N 78.5°W |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 35°00′N 50°12′W / 35.0°N 50.2°W |
| Region | North Carolina, South Carolina |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Tar Heel, North Carolina |
The Tar Heel Formation, also known as the Coachman Formation in South Carolina, is a Late Cretaceous (early to middle Campanian-aged) geologic formation in North Carolina and South Carolina, USA. It preserves fossils, including amber dating back to the Cretaceous period. A locality known as Phoebus Landing, has been dated to 78.5-77.1 Ma, and the formation has been overall dated to the early Campanian based on fossil pollen.
Likely deposited in a nearshore coastal environment representing a lower shoreface, it contains a high diversity of vertebrate remains. It has one of the most diverse dinosaur faunas known from the former landmass of Appalachia, the majority of which are known from two sites: Phoebus Landing along the Cape Fear River in Bladen County, North Carolina, as well as Stokes Quarry in Darlington County, South Carolina.
Fossil pollen grains suggest a subtropical to warm, moist temperate climate for the region, with an ecosystem largely dominated by flowering plants. The Tar Heel/Coachman Formation appears to be roughly concurrent with the Marshalltown Formation of New Jersey, which preserves a similar fauna.