Mount Blanco is a small white hill — an erosional remnant — located on the eastern border of the Llano Estacado within Blanco Canyon in Crosby County, Texas.[1] With Blanco Canyon, it is the type locality of the Blanco Formation[2] of Texas and Kansas, as well as the Blancan fauna, which occurs throughout North America.[3][4]
| Mount Blanco | |
|---|---|
Mount Blanco viewed from above | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,074 ft (937 m) |
| Coordinates | 33°47′29″N 101°15′11″W |
| Geography | |
Mount Blanco | |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Blancan, Quaternary |
| Mountain type | Butte |
The term "Blanco Canyon beds", later shortened to "Blanco beds", was first applied to this formation in 1890 by William F. Cummins of the Geological Survey of Texas.[5] The Blanco beds are considered to be of lacustrine origin – deposited in a Pleistocene lake basin set upon the Ogallala Formation of Pliocene age, which underlies the upper surface sediments of the Llano Estacado.[6] The thickness of the Blanco beds varies from around 22 to 26 m (72 to 85 ft) thick.[7] The formation mainly consists of light-gray, fine-grained mudstone, sandstone, and some conglomerate. These light-colored sediments contrast sharply with the locally rust-colored sediments of the Ogallala Formation.
All fossil fauna are from Mount Blanco modified from Dalquest (1975) unless otherwise noted.[8]
| ||
|---|---|---|
Austin (capital) | ||
| Topics |
| Seal of Texas |
| Society |
| |
| Regions |
| |
| Metropolitan areas |
| |
| Counties | See: List of counties in Texas | |