Lecho Formation
The Lecho Formation is a geological formation in the Salta Basin of the provinces Jujuy and Salta of northwestern Argentina. Its strata date back to the Early Maastrichtian, and is a unit of the Salta Group. The fine-grained bioturbated sandstones of the formation were deposited in a fluvial to lacustrine coastal plain environment.
| Lecho Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Early Maastrichtian ~ | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Salta Group |
| Underlies | Yacoraite Formation |
| Overlies | Los Blanquitos Formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 26.1°S 65.4°W |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 28.6°S 52.0°W |
| Region | Jujuy, Salta |
| Country | Argentina |
| Extent | Salta Basin |
Lecho Formation (Argentina) | |
Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
According to Frankfurt and Chiappe (1999), the Lecho Formation is composed of reddish sandstones. The Lecho is part of the Upper/Late Cretaceous Balbuena Subgroup (Salta Group), which is a near-border stratigraphic unit of the Andean sedimentary basin. Fossils from this formation include the titanosaur Saltasaurus along with a variety of avian and non-avian theropods.