The Stanton Formation is an Upper Pennsylvanian limestone unit in the later Carboniferous that extends across the central United States, from eastern Nebraska south through Iowa, Missouri, and eastern Kansas toward Oklahoma. Forming the top of the Lansing Group, it lies above the Vilas Shale and below the Weston Shale Member of the Stranger Formation. Its broad Midcontinent outcrops preserve evidence of marine conditions that covered the region in the late Paleozoic. Especially important for its diverse fossils, including crinoids, trilobites, corals, ostracodes, gastropods, and plant remains, it helps reconstruct Pennsylvanian environments and regional geology.