Wellington Formation
| Wellington Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Early Permian(Artinskian) ~ | |
Upper Wellington Shale excavated in the Smoky Hill River diversion channel at Indian Rock Park, Salina, Kansas | |
| Type | Formation |
| Unit of | Sumner Group |
| Sub-units | Lower Wellington Member, Hutchinson Salt Member, Carlton Limestone Member, Upper Wellington Member |
| Underlies | Central-Western Kansas: (relative to the Sixth principal meridian) East: Kiowa Shale Over: Pleistocene terraces West: Ninnescah Shale Northcentral Oklahoma: Hennessey Formation Garber Sandstone |
| Overlies | Nolans Limestone |
| Thickness | 500–700 ft (150–210 m) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Shale/mudstone/dolomite Salt/anhydrite/gypsum |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 38°36′N 97°12′W / 38.6°N 97.2°W |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 3°36′N 25°48′W / 3.6°N 25.8°W |
| Region | Kansas Oklahoma |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Wellington, Kansas |
| Named by | F. W. Cragin |
The Wellington Formation is an Early Permian geologic formation in Kansas and Oklahoma. The formation's Hutchinson Salt Member is more recognized by the community than the formation itself, and the salt is still mined in central Kansas. The Wellington provides a rich record of Permian insects and its beddings provide evidence for reconstruction of tropical paleoclimates of the Icehouse Permian with the ability in cases to measure the passage of seasons. Tens of thousands of insect fossil recovered from the Wellington shales are kept in major collections at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.