[1][2][3] The area was once part of the subtropical and temperate regions of the southern supercontinent Gondwana in the Mesozoic era, a more or less continuous landmass consisting of what is now modern South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea.

It includes claystone, coal beds, conglomerates, siltstones, sandstones, and volcanic tuff.

La Matilde overlies but sometimes intersperses with the Middle Jurassic Chon Aike Formation.

Notable fossil localities in the formation include the Cerro Cuadrado Petrified Forest, the Cerro Madre e Hija Petrified Forest, and the remains and trace fossils (including trackways) of dinosaurs in the Laguna Manantiales Farm.

[7][8] Fossil taxa recovered from the La Matilde Formation include:[9][10]