Stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Fox Hills sandstone and adjacent parts of the Lewis shale and Lance Formation, east flank of the Rock Springs uplift, southwest Wyoming

Abstract

Stratigraphic investigations of the Upper Cretaceous Fox Hills Sandstone and adjacent parts of the overlying and underlying Lance Formation and Lewis Shale on the east flank of the Rock Springs uplift reveal that these formations were deposited during a regression of the interior Cretaceous seaway of North America. The shorelines of the Fox Hills Sandstone were deposited as chains of barrier islands. Continental rocks of bay or lagoon origin in the Lance Formation overlie and intertongue with landward parts of the barrier islands. Underlying and seaward of the barrier islands are rocks of nearshore marine origin that make up the Lewis Shales. Columnar sections, restored cross sections, and paleogeographic maps analyze and illustrate the description of stratigraphy of the Fox Hills Sandstone, Lance Formation, and Lewis Shale. -from Author