Aztec Sandstone facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aztec Sandstone Stratigraphic range: Early Jurassic
Outcrop of the Aztec Sandstone at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada
Type	Sedimentary
Underlies	Willow Tank Formation
Overlies	Chinle Formation
Area	Nevada, Arizona, California
Thickness	2,100 ft (640 m) in Goodsprings quadrangle 2,500 ft (760 m) in Muddy Mountain area
Lithology
Primary	sandstone
Other	arenite, sand
Location
Coordinates	35°24′N 115°30′W / 35.4°N 115.5°W / 35.4; -115.5
Approximate paleocoordinates	20°48′N 53°24′W / 20.8°N 53.4°W / 20.8; -53.4
Region	Mojave Desert
Country	United States
Type section
Named by	D. F. Hewett
Year defined	1931

The Aztec Sandstone is an Early Jurassic geological formation of primarily eolian sand from which fossil pterosaur tracks have been recovered. The formation is exposed in the Mojave Desert of Arizona, California and Nevada.

Description

The Aztec Sandstone is made up of two units. The lower resistant sandstone unit (100 metres (330 ft) thick) is tan to off-white in outcrops but pinkish in fresh exposures. Crosbedded lenses can easily be observed. Frosted and pitted quartz grains well-cemented by silica are described by Evans in 1958 and 1971. The upper and less resistant unit (200m thick) consists of alternating white quartz arenites and red to brown silty sands.

Vertebrate paleofauna

The formation has provided the following ichnofossils attributed to vertebrates:

Ichnofossils of the Aztec Sandstone
Genus	Species	Location	Member	Abundance	Notes	Images
Anchisauripus					Reclassified as Grallator
Brasilichnium
Grallator
Navahopus
Octopodichnus
Pteraichnus
Skolithos