Fort Union Formation

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Sub-unitsAtwell Gulch, China Butte, Ekalaka, Lebo, lower Ludlow, Overland, Rock Bench Quarry, Sentinel Butte, Shotgun, Somber beds, Tongue River, Tullock, upper Ludlow, Polecat Bench Formation
Fort Union Formation
Stratigraphic range: Maastrichtian-Selandian (Lancian-Clarkforkian)
~66–58 Ma
Browniea serrata from the Fort Union Formation
TypeGeological formation
Sub-unitsAtwell Gulch, China Butte, Ekalaka, Lebo, lower Ludlow, Overland, Rock Bench Quarry, Sentinel Butte, Shotgun, Somber beds, Tongue River, Tullock, upper Ludlow, Polecat Bench Formation
UnderliesWasatch Formation
OverliesHell Creek Formation, Lance Formation
Lithology
PrimarySandstone, shale
OtherCoal
Location
Coordinates47°00′N 104°36′W / 47.0°N 104.6°W / 47.0; -104.6
Approximate paleocoordinates52°48′N 80°06′W / 52.8°N 80.1°W / 52.8; -80.1
RegionMontana, North Dakota
Wyoming, Colorado
CountryUnited States
ExtentPowder River Basin

The Fort Union Formation is a geologic unit containing sandstones, shales, and coal beds in Wyoming, Montana, and parts of adjacent states. In the Powder River Basin, it contains important economic deposits of coal, uranium, and coalbed methane.[1]

The Fort Union is mostly of Paleocene age and represents a time of extensive swamps as well as fluvial and lacustrine conditions. The rocks are more sandy in southwestern Wyoming and more coal-bearing in northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana, reflecting a general change from rivers and lakes in the west to swamps in the east, but all three environments were present at various times in most locations.[2]

Coal in the Fort Union in the Powder River Basin occurs mainly in the Tongue River Member, where as many as 32 coal seams total more than 300 feet in thickness.[1] One such bed, the Wyodak Coal near Gillette, Wyoming, is as much as 110 feet (34 m) thick. Most of the coals in the Fort Union Formation are ranked subbituminous.[3]

Fort Union Formation - stratigraphy

Fossil content

See also

References

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