The Crowder Formation was formed during the Plioceneepoch of the Neogeneperiod.[2][3] The formation was deposited by drainages carrying distinctive volcanic and metamorphic clasts from the Victorville area southward.[4]
The formation preserves fossils of insects, reptiles, rodents, birds, and larger mammals. The species date back to the Miocene and Pliocene epochs of the Neogene period.[5] 29 taxa were collected by the
San Bernardino County Museum from the Cajon Pass area of the Crowder Formation.[3]
"The Physical and Magnetic Stratigraphy of the Miocene Crowder Formation, Cajon Pass, Southern California"; by Douglas Scott Winston, University of Southern California; Los Angeles, 1985.