earth science

La Frontera Formation

La Frontera Formation is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand La Frontera Formation rather than just read about it. In short: The La Frontera Formation (Spanish: Formación La Frontera, K2F, Ksf) is a geological formation, part of the Villeta Group, of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and neighbouring areas of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The sequence of limestones and lydites dates to the Late Cretaceous period; Turonian epoch and has a maximum thickness of 206 metres (676 ft).

Key takeaways

La Frontera Formation belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect La Frontera Formation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of La Frontera Formation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The La Frontera Formation (Spanish: Formación La Frontera, K2F, Ksf) is a geological formation, part of the Villeta Group, of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and neighbouring areas of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The sequence of limestones and lydites dates to the Late Cretaceous period; Turonian epoch and has a maximum thickness of 206 metres (676 ft). Fossils of Yaguarasaurus columbianus were said to be found in this formation (listed as "La Frontera Member"), although the geological mapping of the area state the time-equivalent Hondita Formation as the stratigraphic unit present in the Quebradas El Ocal and Itaibe in Huila. The La Frontera Formation does not outcrop south of Cundinamarca. A high diversity of ammonites has been found in the La Frontera Formation.

Etymology The formation was first described by Hubach in 1931 and elevated to formation in 1969 by Cáceres and Etayo. The formation is named after the quarry La Frontera near Albán, Cundinamarca.

Description

Lithologies The La Frontera Formation is characterised by a lower part consisting of limestones and an upper part comprising lydites.

Stratigraphy and depositional environment The La Frontera Formation overlies the Simijaca Formation and is overlain by the Conejo Formation, all units belong to the Villeta Group. The age has been estimated to be Turonian. Stratigraphically, the formation is time equivalent with the Chipaque, Hondita and La Luna Formations. The formation has been deposited in an open marine platform to submarine fan setting. The deposition is represented by a maximum flooding surface. The formation contains concretions and a high diversity of ammonites; Wrightoceras munieri, Vascoceras cf. constrictum, Vascoceras cf. venezolanum, Kamerunoceras sp., Kamerunoceras cf. turoniense, Hoplitoides cf. lagiraldae, Codazziceras ospinae, Coilopoceras cf. newelli, Hoplitoides wohltmanni, Neoptychites crassus, Hoplitoides ingens, Mammites sp., ?Fagesia sp., and Prionocycloceras sp. Also the bivalves Anomia colombiana and Inoceramus sp. have been found in the La Frontera Formation.

Yaguarasaurus Fossils of Yaguarasaurus columbianus were described as coming from the "La Frontera Member", part of the "Villeta Formation", in the Quebrada El Ocal, 26 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of Neiva, Huila, and in the Quebrada Itaibe 78 kilometres (48 mi) southwest of Neiva, although in these areas the time-equivalent Hondita Formation is mapped.

Outcrops

The La Frontera Formation is apart from its type locality, found at surface in the north of the Bogotá savanna, in the Tabio anticlinal, along the road Ubaté-Carmen de Carupa, north and east of Chiquinquirá, south of Cachipay, to a thin band east of Viotá.

See also

Geology of the Eastern Hills Geology of the Ocetá Páramo Geology of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense

References

Bibliography Acosta Garay, Jorge; Ulloa Melo, Carlos E. (2001), Geología de la Plancha 208 Villeta - 1:100,000 (PDF), INGEOMINAS, pp. 1–84, archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-24, retrieved 2017-04-04 Blanco, Johana Paola; Medina, Paula Andrea; Patarroyo, Pedro (2004), "La Formación La Frontera, Sección Vereda Tóriba: Una propuesta para la designación del Lectoestratotipo" (PDF), Geología Colombiana, 29: 23–40, archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-04-05, retrieved 2017-04-04 García González, Mario; Mier Umaña, Ricardo; Cruz Guevara, Luis Enrique; Vásquez, Mauricio (2009), Informe Ejecutivo - evaluación del potencial hidrocarburífero de las cuencas colombianas, Universidad Industrial de Santander, pp. 1–219 Montoya Arenas, Diana María; Reyes Torres, Germán Alfonso (2005), Geología de la Sabana de Bogotá, INGEOMINAS, pp. 1–104 Páramo Fonseca, María Euridice (2000), "Yaguarasaurus columbianus (Reptilia, Mosasauridae), a primitive mosasaur from the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Colombia", Historical Biology, 14 (1–2): 121–131, Bibcode:2000HBio...14..121P, doi:10.1080/10292380009380560, retrieved 2018-05-30 Patarroyo, Pedro (2016), "Amonoideos y otros macrofósiles del lectoestratotipo de la Formación la Frontera, Turoniano inferior - medio (Cretácico Superior) en San Francisco, Cundinamarca (Colombia)" (PDF), Boletín de Geología, Universidad Industrial de Santander, 38: 41–54, retrieved 2017-04-04 Villamil, Tomas (2012), Chronology Relative Sea Level History and a New Sequence Stratigraphic Model for Basinal Cretaceous Facies of Colombia, Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), pp. 161–216

Maps La Frontera Fm. proper Ulloa, Carlos E; Rodríguez, Erasmo (2009), Plancha 170 - Vélez - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06 Fuquen M., Jaime A; Osorno M, José F. (2009), Plancha 190 - Chiquinquirá - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06 Ulloa, Carlos; Acosta, Jorge (1998), Plancha 208 - Villeta - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06 Montoya, Diana María; Reyes, Germán (2009), Plancha 209 - Zipaquirá - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06 Ulloa, Carlos E; Rodríguez, Erasmo; Acosta, Jorge E. (1998), Plancha 227 - La Mesa - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06 Acosta, Jorge E.; Ulloa, Carlos E. (1998), Plancha 246 - Fusagasugá - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06

Maps Yaguarasaurus locations Marquínez, Germán; Morales, C.; Núñez, Alberto (1999), Plancha 344 - Tesalia - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06 Velandia, F.; Morales, C.J.; Caicedo, J.C.; Núñez, Alberto (1999), Plancha 345 - Campoalegre - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06

External links Gómez, J.; Montes, N.E.; Nivia, Á.; Diederix, H. (2015), Plancha 5-09 del Atlas Geológico de Colombia 2015 – escala 1:500,000, Servicio Geológico Colombiano, p. 1, retrieved 2017-04-04

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with La Frontera Formation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what La Frontera Formation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to La Frontera Formation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about La Frontera Formation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of La Frontera Formation

In research: La Frontera Formation appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses La Frontera Formation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: La Frontera Formation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Cretaceous Colombia, Deep marine deposits, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for La Frontera Formation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study La Frontera Formation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what La Frontera Formation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain La Frontera Formation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is La Frontera Formation in simple terms?

Why does La Frontera Formation matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study La Frontera Formation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on La Frontera Formation.