Regional disconformities in Turonian and Coniacian (Upper Cretaceous) strata in Colorado, Wyoming, and adjoining states - Biochronological evidence

Siliciclastic and calcareous sedimentary rocks of early Late Cretaceous age in the Western Interior of the United States have been assigned to, in ascending order, the Graneros Shale, Greenhorn Formation, Carlile Shale, Niobrara Formation, and their lateral equivalents (including members of the Frontier Formation and overlying formations). This sequence of formations was deposited intermittently within and near an epicontinental seaway during the Cenomanian, Turonian, and Coniacian stages of the Cretaceous. It encloses three conspicuous and widespread disconformities that reflect regional marine regressions and transgressions as well as moderate tectonism. The disconformities and associated lacunae occupy three large areas within Wyoming, Colorado, and adjoining states. In parts of that region, as in northwestern Wyoming, a lacuna can represent more than one period of erosion and more than a single disconformity. Evidence for these disconformities was obtained from about 175 collections of molluscan fossils and from sedimentological studies of outcrops and borehole logs, supplemented by previously published data.