Manitou Limestone

The Manitou Limestone is a geologic formation in Colorado. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ordovician period.

Manitou Limestone Formation
Stratigraphic range: Lower-Middle Ordovician ~470–468 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Manitou Dolomite, Manitou Limestone
Underlies	Harding Sandstone
Overlies	Sawatch Formation
Lithology
Primary	Limestone, dolomite
Other	sandstone
Location
Region	southern Colorado
Country	United States
Type section
Named for	Manitou Springs, El Paso County, Colorado

Depositional Environment

Because the rocks of the Manitou Dolomites are mostly indeterminate carbonates, the exact depositional environment is unknown. However it was likely shallow water, either lagoon or near-shore, and the many jumbled fossils of trilobite spines and brachiopods suggest that the paleoenvironment may have been prone to storms.

Paleontology

The limestones and dolomites of the Manitou Formation, contain cast/mold-preserved Ordovician-aged marine fossils, including cystoid stems, brachiopods, and trilobites such as Manitouella (Leiostegium?) and Kainella.

See also

• Earth sciences portal
• Colorado portal
• Paleontology portal

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Colorado
• Paleontology in Colorado

References

• Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 17 December 2021.