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 | |
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![]() 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]
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Austin (capital) | ||
Topics |
| ![]() Seal of Texas |
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Counties | See: List of counties in Texas | |
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