La Quinta Formation

This article is about Venezuelan formation. For the amber bearing Mexican formation, see La Quinta Formation (Mexico).

La Quinta Formation
Stratigraphic range: Jurassic ~
The La Quinta Formation near its type section in Táchira, Venezuela
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Río Negro Formation
Overlies	Mucuchachi Formation
Thickness	up to 11,000 feet (3,350 m)
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Tuff, Conglomerate
Location
Coordinates	8.15°N 72.02°W / 8.15; -72.02
Region	Cordillera de Mérida and Serranía del Perijá
Country	Venezuela

The La Quinta Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation which crops out in the Cordillera de Mérida and Serranía del Perijá, Venezuela. At its type locality near La Grita, it consists of a basal dacitic tuff followed by interlayered sandstones, tuffs, siltstones and rare limestones. Dinosaur remains including Laquintasaura and Tachiraptor, are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

Fossil associations suggest that the La Quinta Formation is of Early - Middle Jurassic age.

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
  • List of stratigraphic units with few dinosaur genera

References

• Barrett, P. M., R. J. Butler, S. C. Moore-Fay, F. E. Novas, J. M. Moody, J. M. Clark, and M. R. Sänchez-Villagra. ‘Dinosaur Remains from the La Quinta Formation (Lower or Middle Jurassic) of the Venezuelan Andes’. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 82, no. 2 (2008): 163–177.
• Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.