Pliocene marine fossils in the Paso Robles Formation, California
Links
- Document: Report (19.2 MB pdf)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Marine invertebrates from the Paso Robles Formation recently discovered near Atascadero, Calif., indicate that the basal part of this chiefly nonmarine deposit is of provincial early Pliocene age. Heretofore the lack of direct fossil or radiometric evidence of the age of the Paso Robles has made it a difficult unit to place in the late Cenozoic history of the Coast Ranges. The assemblage is dominated by Ostrea vespertina and by Nettastomella rostrata, a rock-boring bivalve; its mode of preservation indicates that the fossils are in place and have
not been recycled from older marine formations. This occurrence suggests that during the early Pliocene a seaway connected the present
southern Salinas Valley area with the northern part of the Santa Maria basin; the fossils occur about halfway between the southernmost
exposures of the Pancho Rico Formation near San Miguel and fossiliferous strata east of Pismo Beach, both marine units of early Pliocene age.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Pliocene marine fossils in the Paso Robles Formation, California |
| Series title | Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Year Published | 1973 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Description | 6 p. |
| First page | 509 |
| Last page | 514 |
| Country | United States of America |
| State | California |
| Other Geospatial | Paso Robles Formation |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |