Tick Canyon Formation

The Tick Canyon Formation (Tt) or Tick Canyon strata, is an Early Miocene geologic formation in the Sierra Pelona Ridge of the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, California.^[2]

Tick Canyon Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Miocene (Hemingfordian-Barstovian) ~20–16 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geologic formation
Underlies	Mint Canyon Formation
Overlies	Vasquez Formation
Thickness	0–1,000 ft (0–305 m) (average)
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone, conglomerate
Other	Claystone
Location
Coordinates	34°25′56″N 118°23′32″W[1]
Approximate paleocoordinates	33.3°N 111.2°W / 33.3; -111.2
Region	Los Angeles County, California
Country	United States
Extent	Sierra Pelona Ridge
Type section
Named for	Tick Canyon
Tick Canyon Formation (the United States) Show map of the United States Tick Canyon Formation (California) Show map of California

The Tick Canyon Basin drains into the Santa Clara River.^[3]

Geology

The formation overlies the Oligocene to Lower Miocene Vasquez Formation, and underlies the Upper Miocene Mint Canyon Formation.^[2][4]

The Tick Canyon strata was deposited on land mostly by streams and consists of green sandstones, coarse-grained conglomerates, and red claystones.^[2][4][5] The Tick Canyon strata also contain abundant volcanic clasts, most of which resemble volcanic rocks of the Vasquez Formation.^[6] It has an average thickness of 600 feet (180 m).^[4]

North of the Tick Canyon Fault, the beds are almost vertical.^[2]

Fossil content

It preserves vertebrate fossils of the Lower Miocene subperiod of the Miocene epoch, in the Neogene Period of the Cenozoic Era.^[2][7]

Mammals

• Artiodactyls
  • Miolabis californicus^[8][9]
  • Merychyus calaminthus^[10]
  • M. minimus^[11]
• Perissodactyls
  • Parahippus maxsoni^[9]
  • Parahippus sp.^[8]
• Rodents
  • Archaeolagus acaricolus^[12]
  • Trogomys rupinimenthae^[13]

Birds

• Falconiformes
  • Miohierax stocki^[14]

See also

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California
• Paleontology in California
• Goliad Formation
• Plush Ranch Formation
• Punchbowl Formation
• Shoal River Formation