Manitou Limestone

Manitou Limestone Formation
Stratigraphic range: Lower-Middle Ordovician
~470–468 Ma
↓
TypeGeological formation
Sub-unitsManitou Dolomite, Manitou Limestone
UnderliesHarding Sandstone
OverliesSawatch Formation
Lithology
PrimaryLimestone, dolomite
Othersandstone
Location
Regionsouthern Colorado
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named forManitou Springs, El Paso County, Colorado

The Manitou Limestone is a geologic formation in Colorado. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ordovician period.

Depositional Environment

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

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

References

  • Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 17 December 2021.


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