Menefee Formation
Menefee Formation* of Mesaverde Group
Sub-bitumenous coal seams forms dark bands in the Menefee Formation. This outcrop is along the park access road in Mesa Verde National Park.
Cretaceous, Late*
Santonian*
Paradox basin*
San Juan basin*
CO(sw)*
NM(nw)*
Not designated. Named for the mountain [Menefee] from which coal is mined, Montezuma Co, CO (Collier, 1919). Scott and others (1984) refer to Menefee Mountain as the type locality.
(ascending) Cleary Coal and Allison Members. Allison divided into lower beds, Juans Lake Beds and La Vida Beditors
Named as middle formation of Mesaverde Group (Collier, 1919). Revised (Allen, Balk, 1954; Beaumont and others, 1956). Biostratigraphic dating based on palynomorphs (Tschudy, 1976). Areal limits (Cavaroc, Flores, 1984). Mapped 1:50k in San Juan and McKinley Cos, NM (Scott and others, 1984). Revised (Miller, 1984).
References
Collier, A.J., 1919, Coal south of Mancos, Montezuma County, Colorado, IN Contributions to economic geology, 1918; Part 2, Mineral fuels: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 691-K, p. K293-K310.
Allen, J.E. and Balk, R., 1954, Mineral Resources of Fort Defiance and Tohatchi quadrangles, Arizona and New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Bulletin, no. 36, 192 p.
Beaumont, E.C., Dane, C.H. and Sears, J.D., 1956, Revised nomenclature of Mesaverde Group in San Juan basin, New Mexico: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 40, no. 9, p. 2149-2162.
Tschudy, R.H., 1976, Palynology of Crevasse Canyon and Menefee Formation of San Juan basin, New Mexico, IN Beaumont, E.C., Shomaker, J.W., and Stone, W.J., compilers, Guidebook to coal geology of northwest New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Circular, no. 154, p. 48-55.
Cavaroc, V.V. and Flores, R.M., 1984, Lithologic relationships of the Upper Cretaceous Gibson to Cleary stratigraphic interval; Gallup coal field, New Mexico: International Association of Sedimentologists Special Publication, no. 7, p. 197-215.
Scott, G.R., O'Sullivan, R.B. and Weide, D.L., 1984, Geologic map of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, northwestern New Mexico [includes chapter on archaeology by W.B. Gillespie]: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map, I-1571, 1 sheet, scale 1:50,000.
Miller, R.L., 1984, Subdivisions of the Menefee Formation and Cliff House Sandstone (Upper Cretaceous) in southwest San Juan basin, New Mexico, IN Stratigraphic notes, 1983: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 1537-A, p. A29-A53.
Griffitts, M.L., 1990, Guidebook to the Geology of Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado: Mesa Verde Museum Association, Mesa Verde National Park.
