Rocks and Fossils in the Uinta Basin, Getting it in Order – #365papers – 2017 – 74

#365papers for March 15, 2017

Townsend, Friscia, and Rasmussen, 2006, Stratigraphic distribution of upper middle Eocene fossil vertebrate localities in the eastern Uinta Basin, Utah, with comments on Uintan biostratigraphy: The Mountain Geologist, v. 43, p. 115-134.

What’s it about?

This paper is a synthesis of over 100 years worth of research in the Uinta Basin, making a huge effort to sort out how the rocks and fossils correlate and to get everything in the correct chronologic order.

Why does it matter?

The Uinta Basin contains rocks and fossils that form the basis of the Uintan North American Land Mammal “age”. Because of the confusion of all the past research and interpretations in the Uinta Basin, it’s possible that some interpretations of age based on mammals by previous authors are incorrect. This paper is the first step in sorting all this out.

Why did I read this?

I’m now involved in research in the Uinta Basin, working on further understanding the Uintan North American Land Mammal “age” and the climate changes that were happening around 40 million years ago. It’s good to catch up on the state of the science, and after several field seasons out there, this paper makes a lot more sense now than it did the first time I read it!