{{Short description|Cretaceous geologic formation in California and Oregon}} {{Infobox rockunit | name = Chico Formation | image = | caption = | type = Geological formation | age = Campanian Age,<br />Cretaceous Period | period = Campanian | prilithology = sandstone | otherlithology = | namedfor = Chico, California | namedby = | region = California, Oregon | country =United States | coordinates = | unitof = | subunits = | underlies =Martinez Formation (regionally),<br />Tejon Formation (regionally) | overlies =Vaqueros Formation | thickness = | extent = | area = | map = | map_caption = }}
The '''Chico Formation''' is a geologic formation of the Campanian Age during the Cretaceous Period, found in California and southern Oregon.
==Geology== The MesozoicEra formation can regionally overlie the Vaqueros Formation, and can regionally underlie the Martinez Formation or Tejon Formation.
The Chico Formation is exposed in the Southern California Coast Ranges, western San Joaquin Valley, north of Mount Diablo, and in the Chico area of the northeastern Sacramento Valley.<ref name=waring>[https://books.google.com/books?id=s84QAAAAIAAJ&dq=Martinez+Formation&pg=PA6 Google Books: "The stratigraphic and faunal relations of the Martinez formation to the Chico and Tejon of Southern California"], Clarence A. Waring; Stanford University Dept. of Geology; Jun 4, 2011 . accessed 1.16.2016.</ref>
It is also found in the eastern Simi Hills in Bell Canyon and Dayton Canyon, located in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, near the community of West Hills.<ref name=waring/>
==Paleofauna== Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, from the Late Cretaceous of the Mesozoic Era.<ref name=waring/><ref name="dinosaurdistribution">Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.</ref>
===Species=== The lizard and bird species listed in the table below date from the Late Cretaceous Epoch.<ref name=waring/><ref>Hilton, Richard P. 2003. Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Reptiles of California. Berkeley: University of California Press. 318 pp.</ref><ref>Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. {{ISBN|0-520-24209-2}}.</ref>
{| class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |- ! colspan="7" align="center" |'''Vertebrates of the Chico Formation''' |- ! Genus ! Species ! Location ! Member ! Abundance ! Notes ! Images |- | <small>''Clidastes''</small><ref name="hiltonp274-clid">Listed as "''Clidastes''?" in "Appendix: Summary of the Mesozoic Reptilian Fossils of California," Hilton (2003) p. 274</ref> | | | | | | rowspan="3" | [[File:Hesperornis BW (white background).jpg|thumb|center|200px|''Hesperornis'']] |- | ''Hesperornis''<ref name="hiltonp273">"Appendix: Summary of the Mesozoic Reptilian Fossils of California," in Hilton (2003) p. 273</ref> | | | | | |- | ''Ichthyornis''<ref name="hiltonp273" /> | | | | | |- | indet. Pteranodontidae<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zitterliana |url=http://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/12007/1/zitteliana_2008_b28_05.pdf}}</ref> | | | | | | |- |}
==See also== {{Portal|California|Paleontology}} * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California ** List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations ** List of stratigraphic units with indeterminate dinosaur fossils * {{C|Paleogene California}} * Paleontology in California
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Cretaceous Footer}}
Category:Campanian Stage Category:Cretaceous California Category:Cretaceous geology of Oregon Category:Sandstone formations of the United States Category:Geology of Contra Costa County, California Category:Geology of Los Angeles County, California Category:Geology of Ventura County, California Category:San Joaquin Valley Category:Natural history of Butte County, California Category:Upper Cretaceous Series of North America Category:Paleontology in California Category:Chico, California Category:Sacramento Valley Category:Simi Hills Category:Geologic formations of California
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