The Ponce Limestone is a geologic formation in Puerto Rico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Neogene periodFossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database. Various Contributors. The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 8 July 2014. (20.45 million years ago (Mya).
Description Ponce Limestone includes beds of brown clay and has a maximum estimated thickness of 850 meters.Ponce Limestone. USGS. "Mineral Resources On-Line Spatial Data". Retrieved 6 August 2014. It consists mostly of yellowish-orange, soft to moderately hard, fossiliferous limestone and appears almost continuously as a narrow band extending from Bahía Montalva in Patillas to Río Pastillo, in Barrio Canas.Geology and Hydrogeology of the Caribbean Islands Aquifer System of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Robert A. Renken, W.C. Ward, I.P. Gill, Fernando Gomez-Gomez, Jesus Rodriguez-Martinez, et al. USGS. Professional Paper 1419. Reston, Virginia. 2002. p. 20. Accessed 13 November 2019.]
Deposits Exposed in the Ponce, Río Descalabrado, Punta Cucharas, Yauco, Punta Verraco, Guanica, La Parguera, San German, and Cabo Rojo quadrangles of the United States Geological Survey maps.Ponce Limestone. USGS. "Mineral Resources On-Line Spatial Data". Retrieved 6 August 2014.
Fossil content Various fossils have been found in the Ponce Limestone: molds of gastropods, pelecypods, coral heads, and large foraminifera are indicative of deposition in shallow-water lagoon and back-reef environments. The large foraminifera, Lepidocyclina undosa and the ahermatypic “deep sea” coral Flabellum are reported within the Ponce Limestone.Geology and Hydrogeology of the Caribbean Islands Aquifer System of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Renken, Robert, et al. U.S. geological Survey. Professional Paper 1419. Reston, Virginia. 2002. p. 20. Accessed 14 November 2019.]
See also
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Puerto Rico Caliche
References
External links Geology and Hydrogeology of the Caribbean Islands Aquifer System of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: Regional Aquifer-System Analysis. ROBERT A. RENKEN, W.C. WARD, I.P. GILL, FERNANDO GÓMEZ-GÓMEZ, JESÚS RODRÍGUEZ-MARTÍNEZ, et al. USGS. Professional Paper 1419. Reston, Virginia. 2002. Accessed 13 November 2019. Geologia del Distrito Ponce. G. J. Mitchell. Revista de Obras Publicas de Puerto Rico. Year VII. Issue 1. January 1930. Pages 7–9. Accessed 1 August 2020.
Further reading Monroe, W.H., 1972, Geology of the middle Tertiary rocks in the Ponce-Guanica area—a progress report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 72-258, Washington, D.C., scale 1:20,000. USGS Pub ofr72258. Volckmann, R.P., 1984a, Geologic map of the Cabo Rojo and Parguera quadrangles, southwest Puerto Rico: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1557, scale 1:20,000. USGS Pub i1557. Volckmann, R.P., 1984b, Geologic map of the Puerto Real quadrangle, southwest Puerto Rico: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1559, scale 1:20,000. USGS Pub i1559. Krushensky and Monroe, 1975 Krushensky and Monroe, 1978 Krushensky and Monroe, 1979 Mattson and Glover, 1973 Monroe, W.H., 1973b