Coquimbo Formation


Coquimbo Formation is a Miocene to Middle Pleistocene sedimentary formation located in Coquimbo Region in Norte Chico, Chile. The lowermost unit belongs to the lower Miocene, with the third-deepest unit dated at 11.9 ± 1.0 Ma. The uppermost unit of the formation is estimated at 1.2 Ma. In the area of Tongoy, the Coquimbo Formation was deposited in an ancient bay that was formed in a graben or half-graben, with a normal fault dipping east. Sea level changes during the Holocene have caused erosion to cut several marine terraces into the formation.

Fossil content

The following fossils have been found in the formation:
SALMAGroupFossilsNotes
MontehermosanMammalsDelphinus domeykoi, Megaptera hubachi, Pliopontos sp., ?Squalodon sp., Balaenidae indet.
MontehermosanBirdscf. Palaeospheniscus sp., Spheniscus sp., Diomedeidae indet., Spheniscidae indet.
MontehermosanFishCarcharodon carcharias
MayoanFishCosmopolitodus hastalis