Type locality (geology)

Type locality, also called type area, is the locality where a particular rock type, stratigraphic unit or mineral species is first identified.^[1] If the stratigraphic unit in a locality is layered, it is called a stratotype, whereas the standard of reference for unlayered rocks is the type locality.^[2]

The concept is similar to type site in archaeology.

Examples of geological type localities

Rocks and minerals

Aragonite: Molina de Aragón, Guadalajara, Spain
Autunite: Autun, France
Benmoreite: Ben More (Mull), Scotland^[3]
Blairmorite: Blairmore, Alberta, Canada
Boninite: Bonin Islands, Japan^[4]
Comendite: Comende, San Pietro Island, Sardinia^[5]
Cummingtonite: Cummington, Massachusetts
Dunite: Dun Mountain, New Zealand^[6]
Essexite: Essex County, Massachusetts, US^[7]
Fayalite: Horta, Fayal Island, Azores, Portugal
Harzburgite: Bad Harzburg, Germany
Icelandite: Thingmuli (Þingmúli), Iceland^[8]
Ijolite: Iivaara, Kuusamo, Finland^[9]
Kimberlite: Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa
Komatiite: Komati River, South Africa^[10]
Labradorite: Paul's Island, Labrador, Canada
Lherzolite: Étang de Lers, France (Old spelling was: Étang de Lherz.)^[6]
Mimetite: Treue Freundschaft Mine, Johanngeorgenstadt, Germany
Mugearite: Mugeary, Skye, Scotland
Mullite: Isle of Mull, Scotland]
Pantellerite: Pantelleria, off Sicily^[11]
Portlandite: Scawt Hill, Ballygalley, Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Rodingite: Roding River, New Zealand
Sovite: Norsjø, Norway^[12]
Strontianite: Strontian, Scotland (also the element strontium derived from the mineral)
Temagamite: Copperfields Mine, Temagami, Ontario, Canada
Tilleyite: Crestmore Quarry, Riverside County, California^[13]
Tonalite: Tonale Pass
Trondhjemite: Follstad, Støren, Norway^[14]
Uraninite: Joachimsthal, Austria-Hungary (now Jáchymov, Czech Republic)
Websterite: Webster in North Carolina.^[6]
Widgiemoolthalite: Widgiemooltha, Western Australia, Australia
Ytterbite (a.k.a. gadolinite): Ytterby, Sweden^[15]

Formations

Bearpaw Formation: Bear Paw Mountains, Montana, US
Burgess Shale: Burgess Pass on Mount Burgess, Alberta–British Columbia, Canada
Calvert Formation: Calvert Cliffs State Park, Maryland, US
Chapel Island Formation: Newfoundland, Canada
Chattanooga Shale: Chattanooga, Tennessee, US
Chazy Formation: Chazy, New York, US
Fort Payne Formation: Fort Payne, Alabama, US
Gault Formation: Copt Point, Folkestone, UK
Holston Formation: Holston River, Tennessee, US
Jacobsville Sandstone: Jacobsville, Michigan, US
Ogallala Formation: High Plains, US
St. Louis Limestone: St. Louis, Missouri, US
Ste. Genevieve Limestone: Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, US
Temple Butte Formation: Temple Butte, Grand Canyon, US^[16]
Upper Greensand Formation: Weald, Sussex, Hampshire
Waulsortian mudmound: Waulsort, Namur, Belgium

References

^ "Scottish Geology, Glossary: Type locality/area". Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Glasgow. Archived from the original on 2002-12-24. Retrieved 2011-02-05.
^ "Stratotypes and Type Localities". International Commission on Stratigraphy. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
^ "Benmoreite". Oxford Index. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
^ Harms U., Koeberl C. & Zoback M. D. (2007). Continental Scientific Drilling: A Decade of Progress, and Challenges for the Future. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 311. ISBN 978-3540687788.
^ Robinson H.H. (1913). U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 76. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 109.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rogers, Nick; Stephen Blake; Kevin Burton; Mike Widdowson; Ian Parkinson; Nigel Harris (2008). An introduction to our dynamic planet (Co-published ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0521494243.
^ State Geologist, Vermont (1918). Report of the State Geologist, Volume 11. p. 191.
^ Middlemost E. A. K. (1985). Magmas and magmatic rocks: an introduction to igneous petrology. Longman. p. 89. ISBN 978-0582300804.
^ Maier W.D., Lahtinen R. & O'Brien H. (2015). Minerals Deposits of Finland. Elsevier. p. 302. ISBN 978-0124104761.
^ Glikson A.Y. (2014). The Archaean: Geological and Geochemical Windows into the Early Earth. Springer. p. 75. ISBN 978-3319079080.
^ Gill R. (2010). Igneous Rocks and Processes: A Practical Guide. John Wiley & Sons. p. 328. ISBN 978-1444330656.
^ Oftedahl C. (1989). "Sövite". Petrology. pp. 544–545. doi:10.1007/0-387-30845-8_231. ISBN 978-0-442-20623-9. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
^ Larsen, Esper S.; Dunham, Kingsley C. (Nov 1933). "Tilleyite, a new mineral from the contact zone at Crestmore, California". American Mineralogist. 18 (11): 469–473. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
^ Dunning G. R. & Grenne T. (2000). "U-Pb age dating and paleotectonic significance of trondhjemite from the type locality in the Central Norwegian Caledonides" (PDF). Norges Geologiske Undersøkelse Bulletin. 437: 57–65.
^ Senning, Alexander (2019). The Etymology of Chemical Names: Tradition and Convenience vs. Rationality in Chemical Nomenclature. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 391. ISBN 978-3-11-061271-4.
^ "Temple Butte Limestone, USGS". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2009-10-20.

[1] "Scottish Geology, Glossary: Type locality/area". Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Glasgow. Archived from the original on 2002-12-24. Retrieved 2011-02-05.

[2] "Stratotypes and Type Localities". International Commission on Stratigraphy. Retrieved 20 August 2017.

[3] "Benmoreite". Oxford Index. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 June 2015.

[CSD-4] Harms U., Koeberl C. & Zoback M. D. (2007). Continental Scientific Drilling: A Decade of Progress, and Challenges for the Future. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 311. ISBN 978-3540687788.

[USGS-5] Robinson H.H. (1913). U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 76. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 109.

[Rogers_2008-6] Rogers, Nick; Stephen Blake; Kevin Burton; Mike Widdowson; Ian Parkinson; Nigel Harris (2008). An introduction to our dynamic planet (Co-published ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0521494243.

[Vermont_State_Geologist-7] State Geologist, Vermont (1918). Report of the State Geologist, Volume 11. p. 191.

[Middlemost-8] Middlemost E. A. K. (1985). Magmas and magmatic rocks: an introduction to igneous petrology. Longman. p. 89. ISBN 978-0582300804.

[Maier-9] Maier W.D., Lahtinen R. & O'Brien H. (2015). Minerals Deposits of Finland. Elsevier. p. 302. ISBN 978-0124104761.

[Glikson-10] Glikson A.Y. (2014). The Archaean: Geological and Geochemical Windows into the Early Earth. Springer. p. 75. ISBN 978-3319079080.

[Gill-11] Gill R. (2010). Igneous Rocks and Processes: A Practical Guide. John Wiley & Sons. p. 328. ISBN 978-1444330656.

[Encyclopedia-12] Oftedahl C. (1989). "Sövite". Petrology. pp. 544–545. doi:10.1007/0-387-30845-8_231. ISBN 978-0-442-20623-9. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)

[13] Larsen, Esper S.; Dunham, Kingsley C. (Nov 1933). "Tilleyite, a new mineral from the contact zone at Crestmore, California". American Mineralogist. 18 (11): 469–473. Retrieved 6 June 2023.

[NGU-14] Dunning G. R. & Grenne T. (2000). "U-Pb age dating and paleotectonic significance of trondhjemite from the type locality in the Central Norwegian Caledonides" (PDF). Norges Geologiske Undersøkelse Bulletin. 437: 57–65.

[Senning_p321-15] Senning, Alexander (2019). The Etymology of Chemical Names: Tradition and Convenience vs. Rationality in Chemical Nomenclature. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 391. ISBN 978-3-11-061271-4.

[16] "Temple Butte Limestone, USGS". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2009-10-20.

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Type locality (geology)

Examples of geological type localities

Rocks and minerals

Formations

See also

References