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White River Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Eocene-Early Oligocene (Chadronian-Whitneyan)
~37.2–30.8Ma
White River Badlands of South Dakota panorama.jpg
White River Badlands in South Dakota
Type Formation
Sub-units Brule Formation,
Chadron Formation
Overlies Pierre Shale
Thickness 230–300 m (750–980 ft)
Lithology
Primary Tuffaceous claystone, conglomerate
Location
Coordinates 43°12′N 107°06′W / 43.2°N 107.1°W / 43.2; -107.1
Approximate paleocoordinates 44°48′N 98°24′W / 44.8°N 98.4°W / 44.8; -98.4
Region Colorado,
Nebraska,
South Dakota,
Wyoming
Country  United States
Extent northern Great Plains & central Rocky Mountains
Type section
Named for White River
(Missouri River tributary)

The White River Formation is a geologic formation of the Paleogene Period, in the northern Great Plains and central Rocky Mountains, within the United States.

It has been found in northeastern Colorado, Dawes County in western Nebraska, Badlands of western South Dakota, and Douglas area of southeastern Wyoming.

Fossil record

The geologic formation preserves fossils dating back to the Eocene and Oligocene Epochs of the Paleogene Period, during the Cenozoic Era. It contains the most complete Late Eocene−Priabonian and Early Oligocene−Rupelian vertebrate record in North America.

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