Colorado River Basin Stratigraphy

Frontier Formation

Usage of Geologic Unit Name:
Frontier Formation of Colorado Group (MT*,WY)
Frontier Formation of Mancos Group (CO*,UT*)
Frontier Sandstone (WY*)
Frontier Formation (CO,ID*,MT*,UT*,WY*)

Age:
Cretaceous, Early* (local)
Albian, late* (local)
Cretaceous, Late*
Cenomanian*
Turonian*
Coniacian*

Geologic Province:
Big Horn basin*
Central Montana uplift*
Green River basin*
Montana folded belt province*
Piceance basin*
Powder River basin*
Snake River basin*
Uinta basin*
Uinta uplift*
Wasatch uplift*
Wind River basin*
Yellowstone province*

Areal Extent:
CO(nw)*
ID(se)*
MT(s)*
UT(n)*
WY(w)*

Type Locality:
Type area: northern half secs. 31 and 32, T. 19 N., R. 116 W., Lincoln Co., WY (Cobban and Reeside, 1952).

Subunits:
(alphabetical): Allen Hollow Shale Member (UT,WY), Belle Fourche Member (WY*) or Belle Fourche Shale Member (MT), Boulder River Sandstone Member (MT*), Coalville Member (UT,WY), Chalk Creek Member (UT,WY), Emigrant Gap Member (WY), /Dry Hollow Member (UT,WY), Grass Creek Member (UT), /Grass Valley Shale Member (UT), Judd Shale Member (UT), Longwall Sandstone Member (UT), /Meadow Creek Sandstone Member (UT), Oyster Ridge Sandstone Member (UT*,WY*), Peay Sandstone Member (MT*,WY*), Skunk Point Sandstone Member (UT), Soap Creek Bentonite Bed (MT*,WY*), /Spring Canyon Member (UT), Torchlight Sandstone Member (MT*,WY*), Tununk Shale Member (CO*,UT*), Upton Sandstone Member (UT), Wall Creek Sandstone Member (WY*).

Unit Name History:
First used (Knight, 1902). Areal limits; Revised, Oyster Ridge Sandstone Member named (Veatch, 1907). Areal limits; Revised, assigned to Colorado Group, and Peay and Torchlight Sandstone Members assigned (Lupton, 1916). Areal limits (Thom and Spieker, 1931). Revised, Soap Creek Bentonite Bed first used (Richards and Rogers, 1951). Overview (Cobban and Reeside, 1952; Richards, 1955). Not used in Powder River basin, central MT, or in Black Hills area (Knechtel and Patterson, 1956). Revised, divided into Longwell Sandstone, Spring Canyon, Chalk Creek, Coalville, Allan Hollow Shale, Oyster Ridge Sandstone, Dry Hollow, Grass Creek, Judd Shale, and Upton Sandstone members (Hale, 1960). Revised, Boulder River Sandstone Member assigned (Roberts, 1965). Biostratigraphic dating; Revised, Belle Fourche Shale Member, unnamed middle member, and Wall Creek Sandstone Members assigned in Greater Green River basin (Merewether and Cobban, 1972). Reference; Overview (Roberts, 1972). Redescribed as Frontier Sandstone (Ruppel, 1972). Overview (Rubey, 1973). Biostratigraphic dating; Isotopic dating (Obradovich and Cobban, 1975). Overview; Biostratigraphic dating (Merewether and others, 1976). Age modified; Overview (Ryer, 1977). Overview (Merewether and others, 1979). Mapped 1:24k in southwest Moffat Co, CO (Rowley and Hansen, 1979). Age modified; Areal limits (M'Gonigle, 1982). Overview (Merewether, 1983). Mapped 1:24k in north-central Garfield Co, CO (O'Sullivan, 1985). Overview (Merewether and Cobban, 1986). Areal limits; Overview (Dyman and Nichols, 1988). Biostratigraphic dating (Cobban, 1988). Overview (Tysdal and others, 1989). Overview; Areal limits (Dyman and Tysdal, 1990). Revised, assigned to Mancos Group and Tununk Member assigned (Molenaar and Wilson, 1990). Biostratigraphic dating (Cobban, 1990; Bryant, 1990). Biostratigraphic dating; Overview (Tysdal and others, 1990). Overview, contact discussed (Dyman and others, 1991). Areal limits (Fox, 1993). Biostratigraphic dating; Overview; Revised-- Belle Fourche, Emigrant Gap, and Wall Creek Members assigned in Powder River basin (Merewether, 1996).

References

Veatch, A.C., 1907, Geography and geology of a part of southwestern Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 56, 178 p.

Lupton, C.T., 1916, Oil and gas near Basin, Big Horn County, Wyoming, IN Contributions to economic geology, 1915; Part 2, Mineral fuels: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 621-L, p. L157-L190.

Thom, W.T., Jr. and Spieker, E.M., 1931, The significance of geologic conditions in Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 3 , Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 163, 64 p.

Richards, P.W. and Rogers, C.P., Jr., 1951, Geology of the Hardin area, Big Horn and Yellowstone Counties, Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Oil and Gas Investigations Map, OM-111, 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360, (Reprinted 1975).

Cobban, W.A. and Reeside, J.B., Jr., 1952, Frontier Formation, Wyoming and adjacent areas: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 36, no. 10, p. 1913-1961.

Richards, P.W., 1955, Geology of the Bighorn Canyon-Hardin area, Montana and Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1026, 96 p., (incl. geologic map, scale 1:62,500).

Knechtel, M.M. and Patterson, S.H., 1956, Bentonite deposits in marine Cretaceous formations, Hardin district, Montana and Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1023, 116 p.

Hale, L.A., 1960, Frontier formation; Coalville, Utah and nearby areas of Wyoming and Colorado, IN Overthrust belt of southwestern Wyoming and adjacent areas: Wyoming Geological Association Field Conference Guidebook, no. 15, p. 136-146.

Roberts, A.E., 1965, Correlation of Cretaceous and lower Tertiary rocks near Livingston, Montana with those in other areas in Montana and Wyoming, IN Geological Survey research 1965: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 525-B, p. B54-B63.

Merewether, E.A. and Cobban, W.A., 1972, Unconformities within the Frontier Formation, northwestern Carbon County, Wyoming, IN Geological Survey research 1972: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 800-D, p. D57-D66.

Ruppel, E.T., 1972, Geology of pre-Tertiary rocks in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, with a section on Tertiary laccoliths, sills, and stocks in and near the Gallatin Range, Yellowstone National Park, IN Geology of Yellowstone National Park: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 729-A, p. A1-A66.

Roberts, A.E., 1972, Cretaceous and early Tertiary depositional and tectonic history of the Livingston area, southwestern Montana, IN Geology of the Livingston area, southwestern Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 526-C, p. C1-C120, (incl. geologic map, scale 1:62,500).

Rubey, W.W., 1973, New Cretaceous formations in the western Wyoming thrust belt, IN Contributions to stratigraphy: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1372-I, p. 1-35.

Obradovich, J.D. and Cobban, W.A., 1975, A time-scale for the Late Cretaceous of the Western Interior of North America, IN Caldwell, W.G., ed., The Cretaceous System in the Western Interior of North America: Geological Association of Canada Special Paper, 13, p. 31-54.

Merewether, E.A., Cobban, W.A. and Spencer, C.W., 1976, The Upper Cretaceous Frontier Formation in the Kaycee-Tisdale Mountain area, Johnson County, Wyoming, IN Geology and energy resources of the Powder River [basin]: Wyoming Geological Association Field Conference Guidebook, no. 28, p. 33-44.

Ryer, T.A., 1977, Age of Frontier Formation in north-central Utah: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 61, no. 1, p. 112-116.

Merewether, W.A., Cobban, W.A. and Cavanaugh, E.T., 1979, Frontier Formation and equivalent rocks in eastern Wyoming: The Mountain Geologist, v. 16, no. 3, p. 67-102.

Rowley, P.D. and Hansen, W.R., 1979, Geologic map of the Plug Hat quadrangle, Moffat County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map, GQ-1514, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000.

M'Gonigle, J.W., 1982, Interfingering of the Frontier Formation and Aspen Shale, Cumberland Gap, Wyoming: The Mountain Geologist, v. 19, no. 2, p. 59-61.

Merewether, E.A., 1983, The Frontier Formation and mid-Cretaceous Orogeny in the foreland of southwestern Wyoming: The Mountain Geologist, v. 20, no. 4, p. 121-138.

O'Sullivan, R.B., 1985, Preliminary geologic map of the Rio Blanco quadrangle, Rio Blanco and Garfield Counties, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map, MF-1816, 1 sheet, scale.

Merewether, E.A. and Cobban, W.A., 1986, Evidence of mid-Cretaceous tectonism in the Frontier Formation, Natrona County, Wyoming: Wyoming Geological Association Earth Science Bulletin, v. 19, pt. 2, p. 142-155.

Cobban, W.A., 1988, Tarrantoceras Stephenson and related ammonoid genera from Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) rocks in Texas and the Western Interior of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1473, 51 p.

Dyman, T.S. and Nichols, D.J., 1988, Stratigraphy of mid-Cretaceous Blackleaf and lower part of the Frontier Formations in parts of Beaverhead and Madison Counties, Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1773, 31 p.

Tysdal, R.G., Dyman, T.S. and Nichols, D.J., 1989, Correlation chart of Lower Cretaceous rocks, Madison Range to Lima Peaks area, southwestern Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map, MF-2067, 15 p., 1 sheet.

Molenaar, C.M. and Wilson, B.W., 1990, The Frontier Formation and associated rocks of northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado, IN Evolution of sedimentary basins; Uinta and Piceance basins: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1787-M, p. M1-M21.

Bryant, B.H., 1990, Geologic map of the Salt Lake City 30' x 60' quadrangle, north-central Utah, and Uinta County, Wyoming, with a section on palynologic data from Cretaceous and lower Tertiary rocks in the Salt Lake City 30' x 60' quadrangle by D.J. Nichols and B.H. Bryant: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map, I-1944, 1 sheet, scale 1:100,000.

Dyman, T.S. and Tysdal, R.G., 1990, Correlation chart of Lower and Upper Cretaceous Blackleaf Formation, Lima Peaks area to eastern Pioneer Mountains, southwestern Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map, MF-2119, 13 p., 2 sheets.

Cobban, W.A., 1990, Ammonites and some characteristic bivalves from the Upper Cretaceous Frontier Formation, Natrona County, Wyoming, IN Evolution of sedimentary basins; Powder River basin: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1917-B, p. B1-B13.

Tysdal, R.G., Dyman, T.S., Nichols, D.J. and Cobban, W.A., 1990, Correlation chart of Frontier Formation from Greenhorn Range, southwestern Montana, to Mount Everts in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map, MF-2116, 16 p., 1 sheet.

Dyman, T.S., Haley, C.J. and Perry, W.J., Jr., 1991, Redefinition of Frontier Formation-Beaverhead Group contact, Lima Peaks area, southwestern Montana and southeastern Idaho, IN Dyman, T.S., and others, Contributions to Late Cretaceous stratigraphy and paleontology, western Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1962-A, p. A1-A7.

Fox, J.E., 1993, Stratigraphic cross sections showing electric logs of Upper Cretaceous and older rocks, Powder River basin, southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Oil and Gas Investigations Chart, OC-135 to OC-138, 4 sheets, sections A-A' trhough F-F'; G-G' through L-L'; M-M' through R-R'; S-S' through V-V'.

Merewether, E.A., 1996, Stratigraphy and tectonic implications of Upper Cretaceous rocks in the Powder River basin, northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana, IN Evolution of sedimentary basins; Powder River basin: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1917-T, p. T1-T92

Dutton, Shirley P; White, Christopher D; Willis, Brian J; Novakovic, Djuro, 2002,
Calcite cement distribution and its effect on fluid flow in a deltaic sandstone,
Frontier Formation, Wyoming: AAPG Bulletin, v. 86, no. 12, p. 2007-2021.

Bhattacharya, Janok P., Willis, Brian J., 2001, Lowstand deltas in the Frontier Formation, Powder River basin, Wyoming; implications for sequence stratigraphic models: AAPG Bulletin, v. 85, no. 2, p. 261-294.

* show accepted USGS usage.
Note that data on this page contains information that has been partly revised from bibliographic resources available via the National Geologic Map Database GEOLEX:
http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/geolex_qs.html.

The URL is: https://gotbooks.miracosta.edu/gonp/coloradoplateau/lexicon/frontier.htm
Last modified: 1/7/2011