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The
Florissant Formation: A Virtual Tour
Lower
Shale Unit |
 Lower Shale Unit at Florissant Fossil Quarry |
The Lower Shale Unit The lower shale unit represents deposition within an early Florissant lake and is composed of alternating paper shale and tuffaceous siltstone. Volcanic conglomerates are also interspersed throughout the unit. Repeated deposition of ash and clay at the bottom of Lake Florissant trapped a variety of organisms. The shale from this unit contains the fossils of plants, insects, fish, and birds. Insects and leaves from the lower shale unit can be collected at the private Florissant Fossil Quarry, just outside Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. |
Bibliography |
| Evanoff, E., McIntosh, W.C. and Murphey, P.C. (2001). Stratigraphic Summary and 40Ar/39Ar Geocrhonology of the Florissant Formation, Colorado. In Evanoff, E., Gregory-Wodzicki K.M. and Johnson, K.R. [Eds.] Fossil Flora and Stratigraphy of the Florissant Formation, Colorado. (pp. 1-16). Proceedings of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, series 4, number 1. |