The Manitou Limestone is a geologic formation in Colorado. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ordovician period.
| Manitou Limestone Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Lower-Middle Ordovician ~ | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Sub-units | Manitou Dolomite, Manitou Limestone |
| Underlies | Harding Sandstone |
| Overlies | Sawatch Formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Limestone, dolomite |
| Other | sandstone |
| Location | |
| Region | southern Colorado |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Manitou Springs, El Paso County, Colorado |
Depositional Environment edit
Because the rocks of the Manitou Dolomites are mostly indeterminate carbonates, the exact depositional environment is unknown. However it was likely shallow water, either lagoon or near-shore, and the many jumbled fossils of trilobite spines and brachiopods suggest that the paleoenvironment may have been prone to storms.
Paleontology edit
The limestones and dolomites of the Manitou Formation, contain cast/mold-preserved Ordovician-aged marine fossils, including cystoid stems, brachiopods, and trilobites such as Manitouella (Leiostegium?) and Kainella.
See also edit
References edit
- Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 17 December 2021.
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