River Bend Formation
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| name = River Bend Formation
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| type = Formation
| age = Oligocene
| prilithology = limestone
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| namedfor = River Bend Estates along the Trent River
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| region = North Carolina
| country = United States
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The River Bend Formation is a limestone geologic formation in North Carolina. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene period.
Description
The River Bend formation is a limestone formation characterized by mollusc molds, barnacle hashes, bivalves, and sandy limestone layers.{{cite journal |last1=Ward |first1=Lauck W. |last2=Lawrence |first2=David R. |last3=Blackwelder |first3=Blake W. |title=Stratigraphic revision of the middle Eocene, Oligocene, and lower Miocene; Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina |journal=U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin |date=1979 |volume=1457-F|pages=3–10 |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1457f/report.pdf |access-date=26 June 2018}} Fossils indicate that the formation was deposited during the middle to late Oligocene.
= History =
Originally, the River Bend formation was part of a limestone unit called the Trent Marl. Further research split off the Miocene Belgrade Formation from the Trent Marl and considered the River Bend formation as part of the Castle Hayne Limestone. The River Bend formation was then identified as an Oligocene limestone and broken out from the Castle Hayne Limestone. The Trent Marl nomenclature is no longer used.
See also
{{Portal|Earth sciences|United States|Paleontology}}
References
- {{cite web|title= Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database|author= ((Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database))|url= https://www.fossilworks.org|access-date= 17 December 2021}}
Category:Paleogene geology of North Carolina
Category:Limestone formations of the United States
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