The Mississippian Mauch Chunk Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia.
The early Mauch Chunk beds were deposited on a large basin receiving most of its sediments from distant highlands.
Since the dominant color of the Mauch Chunk is red, much of the sediment was deposited above sea level in oxidizing conditions.
The green-colored members indicate a reducing environment characterized by frequent inundation by water in a swamp, delta, or shallow sea.
[4] In 1953, a small amount of uranium was mined from the Mauch Chunk Formation near Jim Thorpe.