The Zabriskie Quartzite is a Cambrian Period geologic formation of the northern Mojave Desert, in Inyo County, California and Nye County, Nevada. It is named for its occurrence at Zabriskie Point, located on the eastern slopes of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park.
Geology The Zabriskie Quartzite, as its name suggests, is predominately composed of pink quartz arenite rocks, which are massive to cross-bedded in nature. It is known to cover an area of around the border between California and Nevada. It is overlain by the carbonate-siliciclastic Carrara Formation, whilst it is underlain by the sandstone Wood Canyon Formation. Springer.com: "Tidal Deposits in the Zabriskie Quartzite (Cambrian), Eastern California and Western Nevada"; John J. Barnes, George deVries Klein.
Palaeoenvironment The environment of the Zabriskie Quartzite is interpreted to have been that of a tidally influenced nearshore, inferred from the varying symmetrical and combined-wavy ripple marks, mud cracks and raindrop impressions that cover exposed surfaces, alongside the presence of ichnotaxon, such as Skolithos and Monocraterion.
Paleobiota The Zabriskie Quartzite contains a wealth of ichnotaxon, such as classical Skolithos burrows, as well as discoidal macrofossils which are interpreted to be medusozoan in nature, as such representing the oldest known Phanerozoic medusozoans, but also the oldest known medusozoan stranding.
Ichnogenera
GenusSpeciesNotesImagesSkolithosSkolithos sp.Burrows.ArenicolitesArenicolites sp.Burrows.MonocraterionMonocraterion sp.Burrows.PlanolitesPlanolites sp.Burrows.
Undescribed
GenusSpeciesNotesImagesDiscoidal macrofossils???13 Large discoidal macrofossils, which are inferred to be medusozoan in origin. Attaining sizes between in diameter, these may represent the oldest known Phanerozoic medusozoans, as well as the oldest known medusozoan stranding.
See also
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California Paleontology in California
References