The Bloomsburg is defined as a grayish-red and greenish-gray claystone, argillaceous siltstone, shale, and very fine to fine-grained sandstone,[4] arranged in fining-upward cycles.

This is significant in the Appalachian Basin since it marks the first large scale terrestrial collection of sediments in the rock record.

The Bloomsburg rests conformably above the Clinton Group[4] and Shawangunk Formation, and has a complex upper contact.

[7] Relative age dating of the Bloomsburg places it in the Upper Silurian period, being deposited between 417 and 410 (±5) million years ago.

The Bloomsburg formation is a source of material for the manufacture of brick and other clay products, as well as a local building stone.