Point Lookout Sandstone

The Point Lookout Sandstone is a Cretaceous bedrock formation occurring in New Mexico and Colorado.

The lower is a sequence of thinly bedded sandstone and shale,[1] while the upper is a massive medium- to fine-grained cross-bedded sandstone, light gray to buff in color, that is a conspicuous cliff-forming unit.

Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus.

[4] Exposures of the Point Lookout Sandstone at Apache Mesa in New Mexico contain heavy mineral deposits, rich in titanium, zirconium, rare earth elements, and other valuable metals.

[5] The sandstone was first described by A. J. Collier for exposures in cliffs at Point Lookout, in Mesa Verde National Park, Montezuma County, Colorado, in the Paradox Basin,[6] and later described by Allen and Balk in 1954 as part of the Mesaverde Group in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico.

Stratigraphic section of formations exposed at the surface, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado (USGS).