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<br />2889 <br /> <br />Morrison Formation <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />General characteristics.--The Morrison Formation was <br /> <br />named by Emmons, Cross, and Eldridge (1896, p. 60) for the <br /> <br />exposures near Morrison, Colo., but the name first appeared <br /> <br />in print 2 years earlier (Cross, 1894, p. 2). The formation <br /> <br />now has been recognized over most of the western interior <br /> <br />of the United States and has been the subject of numerous <br /> <br />papers. The beds that now make up the Morrison Formation <br /> <br />in the McElmo Canyon area were originally assigned to the <br /> <br />McElmo Formation by Coffin (1921). <br /> <br />Throughout the Colorado plateau the formation has <br /> <br />been separated into members on the basis of lithologic <br /> <br />similarity. Four members are recognized and are, in <br /> <br />ascending order: <br /> <br />the Salt Wash Sandstone Member, the <br /> <br />. Recapture Shale Member, the Westwater Canyon Sandstone <br /> <br />Member, and the Brushy Basin Shale Member. For a detailed <br /> <br />discussion of e,e stratigraphy of the Morrison and <br /> <br />related formations of the Colorado Plateau, the reader <br /> <br />is referred to the paper by Craig and others (1955). <br /> <br />The Morrison crops out in McElmo Canyon, around the <br /> <br />ute Mountains, in the canyon of the San Juan River at <br /> <br />Four Corners, and in places along the Utah State line <br /> <br />(fig. 2). <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~f' <br />