The formation is composed of shales, sandstones and conglomerates and dates to the Late Jurassic period.

The formation was described and named in 1977 by González et al. after Hacienda Valle Alto, San Félix, Caldas.

[1] The Valle Alto Formation has been deposited as the result of marine incursions from the proto-Caribbean into Colombia, preceding the larger-scale transgression of the Cretaceous.

[4] Fossils of Piazopteris branneri,[note 1] Cladophlebis sp., Classopollis sp., Ctenozamites sp., Desmiophyllum sp., Gleichenites sp., Nilssoniopteris sp., Otozamites sp., Pachypteris sp., Ptilophyllum sp., Rhabdoderas sp., Sagenopteris sp., Sandlingites sp., Sphenopteris sp., Substeuroceras sp., Trigonia sp., and Zamites sp.

[5][6] The Valle Alto Formation is found near its type locality in the Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes, around Pácora and Salamina.