The stratigraphy of early Pliocene (early Blancan) fossiliferous sediments exposed in canyons along the north bank of the Cimarron River in Meade County, Kansas is described as part of a larger, ongoing project to create a refined biostratigraphic model for late Neogene and Pleistocene mammalian fossil localities from the Meade Basin. Because the utility of previously named formation and member names is questionable, we introduce a set of informal names for stratigraphic units in our study area. Sediments in the region are up to 34 m thick, and include a basal sand and gravel ("Bishop gravel") at least 9 m thick, overlain by up to 17 m of lightto pinkish-gray, fine-grained sand and silt, with interbedded calcium carbonate layers. These fine-grained... |