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Australia: The Land Where Time Began |
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Leigh Creek Coal Measures
Situated in the
Flinders Ranges in
northeast South Australia the Leigh Creek Coal Measures is one of the
most notable units for the fossil record of the Australian Late
Triassic. The deposit is about 1,000 m deep and is comprised of coal
seams 10-20 m thick interbedded with laminated siltstones. It was laid
down in 5 intramontane basins of Triassic age that developed as a result
of localised subsidence and faulting. The Telford basin is the largest
of these basins.
Kear & Hamilton-Bruce suggest the deposit was laid down in an environment
that was predominantly lacustrine with peat swamps that received
episodic influxes from fluvial systems in the later stages of basin
infill. Based on plant macrofossil and microfossil evidence it is
believed the Leigh Creek Coal Measures are probably of Carnian-Norian
age.
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Author: M.H.Monroe Email: admin@austhrutime.com Sources & Further reading |