Stratigraphic Setting of Fossil Log Sites in the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) near Dinosaur National Monument, Uintah County, Utah, USA

  • Douglas A. Sprinkel Utah Geological Survey
  • Mary Beth Bennis Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum
  • Dale E. Gray Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum
  • Carole T. Gee Institute of Geosciences, Division of Paleontology, University of Bonn
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31711/giw.v6.pp61-76
Keywords: Morrison, Jurassic, log, Dinosaur National Monument

Abstract

The outcrop belt of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation in the northeastern Uinta Basin and southeastern flank of the Uinta Mountains is particularly rich in dinosaurian and non-dinosaurian faunas, as well as in fossil plants. The discovery of several well-preserved, relatively intact, fossil logs at several locations in Rainbow Draw and one location in Miners Draw, both near Dinosaur National Monument (Utah), has provided an opportunity to study the local paleobotany, stratigraphy, and sedimentology of the Morrison Formation in northeastern Utah.

West view of the Morrison Formation at Rainbow Draw. The fossil log horizon is in the greenish- colored siltstone beds near the center of the photograph. The Cretaceous Cedar Mountain through the Frontier Formations are exposed on the distant ridge. See figure 7 for details. Inset photo of a fossil log typically found in Rainbow Draw.
Published
2019-10-31
How to Cite
Sprinkel , D., Bennis , M.B., Gray , D., and Gee , C., 2019, Stratigraphic Setting of Fossil Log Sites in the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) near Dinosaur National Monument, Uintah County, Utah, USA: Geology of the Intermountain West, v. 6, p. 61-76., doi: 10.31711/giw.v6.pp61-76.
Issue
Vol. 6 (2019): Geology of the Intermountain West
Section
Articles

Copyright (c) 2019 Utah Geological Association

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