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Ancient Landscapes of South Texas 43 MYA Gulf of Mexico Shoreline Oligocene Shoreline

Ancient Landscapes of South Texas College of Liberal Arts

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43 MYA Gulf of Mexico Shoreline - Related Links

  • Roma Sandstone
  • Roma Bluffs - Historic District
  • Roma Sandstone - Chapeno Rapids
  • Mortar Holes
  • San Ygnacio Trevino Fort
  • Giant Oysters
  • Oligocene Shoreline
  • Coal

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Ancient Landscapes of South Texas Program
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
1201 W. University Dr.
LAMR 1.103
Conference Room LAMR 1.104
Email: chaps@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-3231

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Oligocene Shoreline

Geologic units of the Coastal Plain of Texas (everything south, southeast of the San Antonio, Austin, Dallas corridor) get progressively younger towards the coast (Geology of Texas, 1992). In South Texas, the youngest materials are closest to the Gulf of Mexico and materials are progressively older moving inland. These units were deposited along a regressive shoreline as inland materials were carried by rivers to the coast and deposited, building land further seaward since the beginning of the Cenozoic (65 MYA). The eastern edge of the Catahoula formation can be interpreted as the Oligocene (34 - 23 MYA) shoreline. A little further west, the Roma sandstone was deposited along the then shoreline during the Late Eocene (40 MYA). The oligocene shoreline is particularly interesting as the interaction between the coast and ash that makes up the Catahoula formation produced unique features such as the Sauz Chert and large deposits of petrified wood.

-Geologic Map of Texas image

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