[4] The formation is part of the Mesaverde Group of the San Juan Basin, which records a regression-transgression sequence of the Western Interior Seaway.

Collier redesignated this unit in 1919 as the Cliff House Sandstone and raised the Mesaverde Formation to group rank.

[8] At Chaco Canyon, the lower beds produce shells and casts from clams, ammonites (including possible Placenticeras), snails, and shark's teeth.

Trace fossils classified as Ophiomorpha nodosa are common and are thought to have been produced by Callianasa shrimp.

The middle unit hyas fewer trace fossils but more Inoceramus, while the upper beds are rich in invertebrate shells, shark teeth, and bone debris from marine lizards.