Mint Canyon Formation

Miocene geologic formation in the Sierra Pelona of California

Mint Canyon Formation
Stratigraphic range: Mid-Late Miocene (Barstovian-Clarendonian) ~16–11 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Sedimentary outcroppings in the Canyon Country borough of Santa Clarita
Type	Geologic formation
Underlies	Castaic & Saugus Formations
Overlies	Tick Canyon Formation
Lithology
Primary	Conglomerate & sandstone
Other	Mudstone
Location
Coordinates	Mint Canyon Formation (the United States) Show map of the United States Mint Canyon Formation (California) Show map of California

The Mint Canyon Formation (Tm) is a Miocene geologic formation in the Sierra Pelona Mountains of Los Angeles County, southern California.^[1] The formation preserves fossils dating back to the Middle to Late Miocene (Barstovian and Clarendonian in NALMA classification).^[2]

Geology

Mint Canyon is a fluvial landform in the Sierra Pelona range. It consists of terrestrial deposits from streams and lakes consisting mostly of sandstone and conglomerate with some claystone.^[1]^[3]

The formation correlates with the Caliente Formation in the Plush Ranch Basin to the northwest and the lower Punchbowl Formation in the Punchbowl Block to the southeast.^[4] The Mint Canyon Formation consists primarily of fluvial, alluvial, and lacustrine conglomerates, sandstones, and mudstones. The Mint Canyon Formation is overlain by the dominantly marine Castaic Formation, which consists of shale, sandstone, and minor conglomerate.^[5] In the Texas Canyon sub-basin, the formation is overlain by the Saugus Formation.^[6] The contact between the Mint Canyon and Castaic Formations is an angular unconformity in some places, and it is apparently conformable and gradational in others.^[5]

Fossil content

The formation preserves vertebrate fossils dating back to the Middle Miocene subperiod of the Neogene period:^[2]

Mammals

Artiodactyls

Perissodactyls

Rodents

Pronotolagus apachensis^[8]

Proboscideans

Gomphotherium sp.^[8]

Carnivora

Canidae indet.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b Elsmerecanyon.com: "Tick Canyon Geology"
^ ^a ^b Mint Canyon Formation at Fossilworks.org
^ "Geologic Map of the Mint Canyon Quadrangle" (DF-57) by Thomas W. Dibblee, Jr., 1996.
^ Coffey et al., 2019, p.480
^ ^a ^b Coffey et al., 2019, p.481
^ Coffey et al., 2019, p.492
^ ^a ^b ^c Stirton, 1933
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Maxson, 1930
^ ^a ^b ^c Alroy, 2002

Bibliography

Coffey, Kevin T.; Raymond V. Ingersoll, and Axel K. Schmitt. 2019. Stratigraphy, provenance, and tectonic significance of the Punchbowl block, San Gabriel Mountains, California, USA. Geosphere 15. 479–501. .
Alroy, J. 2002. Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil mammals, .. _.
Stirton, R.A. 1933. Critical review of the Mint Canyon mammalian fauna and its correlative significance. American Journal of Science 226. _. .
Maxson, J. H. 1930. A Tertiary mammalian fauna from the Mint Canyon Formation of Southern California. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 404. 77–112. .