The Boonton Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in New Jersey, formerly divided between the Boonton and Whitehall beds of the defunct Brunswick Formation. It is named for the town of Boonton, New Jersey, which is near where its type section was described by paleontologist Paul E. Olsen.
Description
The Boonton Formation is composed of reddish-brown to reddish-purple fine grained sandstone, as well as red, gray, purple, and black siltstone and mudstone. Siltstone and mudstone layers can be calcareous and feature dolomitic concretions. A well known fossil fish bed is known to exist in a carbonate rich siltstone near the top of the formation. Additionally, cross-bedded conglomerate layers interfinger with beds of the formation, usually bearing clasts of gneiss and granite.
Depositional environment
The Boonton Formation can be characterized as the uppermost continuation of the Passaic Formation, which is mostly playa and alluvial fandeposits resulting from the rifting of Pangea. However, unlike the Passaic Formation, which is primarily red in color due to arid conditions at the time of deposition, the Boonton Formation contains a much more significant portion of non-red layers, indicative of lakes present during wetter periods. A chief difference between the Boonton Formation and all other formations of the Newark Basin is that the lower part of the formation lacks a cyclic deposition pattern. Typically, the sedimentary formations of the Newark Basin feature recurring periods of wet and dry deposition, resulting in a series of alternating red and gray-black beds. However, the lower beds of the Boonton Formation show a wide variety of color and texture arranged in no particular order.
Fossils
Fish fossils, including the ray-finned Semiontus elegans, the coelacanthDiplurus longicaudatus, and others, such as Redfieldius and Ptycholepis, can be found in the uppermost parts of the formation. In other layers, indeterminate fossil ornithischian tracks have been noted, along with additional reptile and dinosaur prints, such as those of Batrachopus, and the theropodGrallator. Fossil conifer remains, as well as other plant related fossils such as root structures and pollen, are also found in the formation.
