The Chico Formation is a geologic formation of the Campanian Age during the Cretaceous Period, found in California and southern Oregon.
Geology The MesozoicEra formation can regionally overlie the Vaqueros Formation, and can regionally underlie the Martinez Formation or Tejon Formation.
The Chico Formation is exposed in the Southern California Coast Ranges, western San Joaquin Valley, north of Mount Diablo, and in the Chico area of the northeastern Sacramento Valley. Google Books: "The stratigraphic and faunal relations of the Martinez formation to the Chico and Tejon of Southern California", Clarence A. Waring; Stanford University Dept. of Geology; Jun 4, 2011 . accessed 1.16.2016.
It is also found in the eastern Simi Hills in Bell Canyon and Dayton Canyon, located in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, near the community of West Hills.
Paleofauna Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, from the Late Cretaceous of the Mesozoic Era.Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
Species The lizard and bird species listed in the table below date from the Late Cretaceous Epoch.Hilton, Richard P. 2003. Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Reptiles of California. Berkeley: University of California Press. 318 pp.Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. .
Vertebrates of the Chico Formation Genus Species Location Member Abundance Notes ImagesClidastesListed as "Clidastes?" in "Appendix: Summary of the Mesozoic Reptilian Fossils of California," Hilton (2003) p. 274Hesperornis"Appendix: Summary of the Mesozoic Reptilian Fossils of California," in Hilton (2003) p. 273Ichthyornisindet. Pteranodontidae
See also
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations List of stratigraphic units with indeterminate dinosaur fossils
Paleontology in California
References