# Travesser Formation

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Geologic formation in New Mexico, United States

Travesser Formation Stratigraphic range: late Triassic PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Steamboat Butte, showing tilted teds of Travesser Formation in its lower half Type Formation Unit of Dockum Group Underlies Sloan Canyon Formation Overlies Baldy Hill Formation Thickness 550 feet (170 m) Lithology Primary Siltstone, sandstone Other Conglomerate Location Coordinates 36°56′N 103°29′W / 36.93°N 103.48°W / 36.93; -103.48 Region New Mexico Country United States Type section Named for Travesser Creek Named by Baldwin and Muelberger Year defined 1959 Travesser Formation (the United States) Show map of the United States Travesser Formation (New Mexico) Show map of New Mexico

The **Travesser Formation** is a [geologic formation](/source/Formation_(geology)) in northeastern [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico), southeastern [Colorado](/source/Colorado), westernmost [Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma), and northwestern [Texas](/source/Texas),[1] particularly in the Dry Cimarron valley.[2] It preserves [fossils](/source/Fossils) dating back to the [late Triassic](/source/Late_Triassic) [period](/source/Period_(geology)).[1]

## Description

The formation is mostly reddish-brown [clay](/source/Clay)-rich [siltstone](/source/Siltstone) and fine-grained [sandstone](/source/Sandstone), with sandstone beds up to 20 feet (6.1 m) thick. The formation also contains [conglomerate](/source/Conglomerate_(geology)) lenses up to 20 feet (6.1 m). The total thickness of the formation is 550 feet (170 m). The formation [unconformably](/source/Unconformity_(geology)) overlies the [Baldy Hill Formation](/source/Baldy_Hill_Formation) and underlies the [Sloan Canyon Formation](/source/Sloan_Canyon_Formation)[1] or locally the [Exeter Sandstone](/source/Exeter_Sandstone).[3]

The formation is usually assigned to the [Dockum Group](/source/Dockum_Group).[1][3] The proposal of [Spencer G. Lucas](/source/Spencer_G._Lucas) and his collaborators to abandon the Dockum Group, possibly in favor of the [Chinle Group](/source/Chinle_Group), is highly controversial.[4]

## Fossils

A fossil [phytosaur](/source/Phytosaur) skull and [metoposaurids](/source/Metoposaurid) have been found in the formation.[2]

## History of investigation

The formation was first named by Baldwin and Muelberger in 1959.[1] Lucas *et al.* rejected the assignment of the formation to the [Dockum Group](/source/Dockum_Group) and adjusted the lower contact.[2]

## See also

- [Earth sciences portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Earth_sciences)
- [Paleontology portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Paleontology)

- [List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in New Mexico](/source/List_of_fossiliferous_stratigraphic_units_in_New_Mexico)

- [Paleontology in New Mexico](/source/Paleontology_in_New_Mexico)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-baldwin-muehlberger-1959_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-baldwin-muehlberger-1959_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-baldwin-muehlberger-1959_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-baldwin-muehlberger-1959_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-baldwin-muehlberger-1959_1-4) Baldwin, Brewster; Muehlberger, W.R. (1959). ["Geologic studies of Union County, New Mexico"](https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/monographs/bulletins/downloads/63/Bulletin63_nc.pdf) (PDF). *New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Bulletin*. **63–2**. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-lucas-etal-1987_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-lucas-etal-1987_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-lucas-etal-1987_2-2) [Lucas, S.G.](/source/Spencer_G._Lucas); Hunt, A.P.; Hayden, S.N. (1987). ["The Triassic System in the Dry Cimarron Valley, New Mexico, Colorado, and Oklahoma"](https://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/downloads/38/38_p0097_p0117.pdf) (PDF). *New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook*. **38**: 97–117. Retrieved 17 September 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-zeigler-etal-2019_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-zeigler-etal-2019_3-1) Ziegler, Kate E.; Ramos, Frank C.; Zimmerer, Matthew J. (2019). ["Geology of Northeastern New Mexico, union and Colfax Counties, New Mexico: A Geologic Summary"](https://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/downloads/70/70_p0047_p0054.pdf) (PDF). *New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Series*. **70** (4): 47–54. Retrieved 1 September 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-lehman-1994_4-0)** Lehman, T.M. (1994). ["The saga of the Dockum Group and the case of the Texas/New Mexico boundary fault"](https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/monographs/bulletins/downloads/150/B150.pdf) (PDF). *New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources Bulletin*. **150**: 37–51. Retrieved 1 September 2020.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Travesser Formation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travesser_Formation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travesser_Formation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.