[1] The main body of the Puye Formation consists of fanglomerates in which most of the detritus is volcanic rock of dacitic composition.

There are also dacitic tephra beds and some basalt.1964 The formation shows cyclicity on the scale of 5 to 30 meters representing individual eruptive pulses in the northeastern Jemez highlands.

The formation is remarkably well preserved for a volcanic fanglomerate, due to its deposition in an active graben associated with Rio Grande Rift.

[7] Use of potassium dichromate in a power plant created an unusually well-characterized source of chromium contamination in this aquifer, which has been studied to understand natural attenuation of such pollutants.

Griggs also designated a type section and divided the unit into an upper unnamed fanglomerate and a lower Totavi Lentil, named for a nearby settlement.