Rocky Harbour Formation

Rocky Harbour Formation
Rocky Harbour Formation
Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran 580 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Formation
Unit of	Musgravetown Group
Underlies	Crown Hill Formation
Overlies	Maturin Ponds Formation
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Siltstone, Tuff, Diamictite
Location
Region	Newfoundland
Country	Canada
Type section
Named by	Jenness 1963
	; Occurrence of the Rocky Harbour Formation in southeastern Newfoundland

The Rocky Harbour Formation is an Ediacaran formation cropping out in Newfoundland. Its depositional setting was deltaic, with sediments showing the influence of tides and waves.^[4]

It is also known to preserve pre-Gaskiers glaciation fossils, in the form of Palaeopascichnid specimens, around 579 Ma.^[2]

Facies from top to bottom

As reported in,^[4] and partly in.^[2]

Herring Cove

Peperite, it is also one of fossil bearing facies of this formation.

Kings Cove Lighthouse

Purple to pink medium/coarse sandstones with rip-up clasts. It is also one of fossil bearing facies of this formation.

Kings Cove North

Wave-influenced, light grey/green/yellow fissile siltstone (weathering white); laminated; interbedding with fine ssts.

Monk Bay

Dark grey trough-crossbedded and rippled sandstones; poor sorting, coarse to fine grains.

Cape Bonavista

Crossbedded coarse pink arkosic sandstones

Type section

Ford's Harbour (previously known (or mapped) as Rocky Harbour).^[4]

Paleobiota

The Rocky Harbour Formation is currently the oldest formation in Newfoundland, Canada, to bear pre-Gaskiers glaciation fossil material at around 579 Ma,^[2] although it is beaten by the Lantian Formation, which sits at 602 - 577 Ma. These fossils are of the enigmatic Palaeopascichnids,^[2] elongated to agglutinated organisms which consist of multiple sausage-shaped chambers or spherical or hemispherical chambers that occasionally branch.^[5]

Color key

Taxon	Reclassified taxon	Taxon falsely reported as present	Dubious taxon or junior synonym	Ichnotaxon	Ootaxon	Morphotaxon

Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; ~~crossed out~~ taxa are discredited.

incertae sedis

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Orbisiana?^[2]	Orbisiana sp.	Agglutinated, branching organism.
Palaeopascichnus^[2]	P. linearis	Elongated, branching organism.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "GEOLOGY OF THE AVALON PENINSULA, NEWFOUNDLAND" (PDF).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Liu, Alexander G.; Tindal, Benjamin H. (April 2021). "Ediacaran macrofossils prior to the ~580 Ma Gaskiers glaciation in Newfoundland, Canada". Lethaia. 54 (2): 260–270. doi:10.1111/let.12401.
^ "Newfoundland & Labrador Geoscience Atlas".
^ ^a ^b ^c Normore, L.S. (2012). Geology of the Random Island map area (NTS 2C/04), Newfoundland. Curr. Res. Newfoundl. Labrador Dep. Nat. Resour. Geol. Surv. Report 12-1, 121–145.
^ Kolesnikov, A. V. (2019). "Stratigraphic correlation potential of the Ediacaran palaeopascichnids". Estudios Geológicos. 75 (2): 102. doi:10.3989/egeol.43588.557. S2CID 210269249.

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[GotAPN-1] "GEOLOGY OF THE AVALON PENINSULA, NEWFOUNDLAND" (PDF).

[Liu-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Liu, Alexander G.; Tindal, Benjamin H. (April 2021). "Ediacaran macrofossils prior to the ~580 Ma Gaskiers glaciation in Newfoundland, Canada". Lethaia. 54 (2): 260–270. doi:10.1111/let.12401.

[NL_GeoAtlas-3] "Newfoundland & Labrador Geoscience Atlas".

[Normore-4] Normore, L.S. (2012). Geology of the Random Island map area (NTS 2C/04), Newfoundland. Curr. Res. Newfoundl. Labrador Dep. Nat. Resour. Geol. Surv. Report 12-1, 121–145.

[auto-5] Kolesnikov, A. V. (2019). "Stratigraphic correlation potential of the Ediacaran palaeopascichnids". Estudios Geológicos. 75 (2): 102. doi:10.3989/egeol.43588.557. S2CID 210269249.

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