Nature
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The Fruitland Formation is a sedimentary rock unit in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado, named for Fruitland, New Mexico. Formed during the late Campanian along the western shore of the Western Interior Seaway, it preserves sandstone, shale, and coal deposited in warm, humid, poorly drained coastal lowlands marked by flooding and marshy delta conditions. Lying between the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone and the Kirtland Formation, it records the seaway’s final retreat. Divided into the lower Ne-nah-ne-zad Member and upper Fossil Forest Member, it is notable for Campanian fossils, possible Bistahieversor material, major bituminous coal reserves, and extensive coalbed methane production.
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Waterflow, New Mexico · United States
