earth science

La Quinta Formation

La Quinta 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 Quinta Formation rather than just read about it. In short: The La Quinta Formation is a Jurassic geologic formation which crops out in the Cordillera de Mérida and Serranía del Perijá of western Venezuela and northeastern Colombia. The formation is also present in the subsurface of the Cesar-Ranchería and Maracaibo Basins.

Key takeaways

La Quinta 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 Quinta Formation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of La Quinta Formation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The La Quinta Formation is a Jurassic geologic formation which crops out in the Cordillera de Mérida and Serranía del Perijá of western Venezuela and northeastern Colombia. The formation is also present in the subsurface of the Cesar-Ranchería and Maracaibo Basins. At its type locality near La Grita, Táchira, it consists of a basal dacitic tuff followed by interlayered sandstones, tuffs, siltstones and rare limestones. Dinosaur remains including Laquintasaura, Tachiraptor, and Perijasaurus are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. U–Pb zircon analysis demonstrates that the formation dates to 200.91+0.55 Ma at its base and a maximum age of 174.8 Ma.

Fossil content

Regional correlations

Legend group important formation fossiliferous formation minor formation (age in Ma) proximal Llanos (Medina) distal Llanos (Saltarin 1A well)

See also List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations List of stratigraphic units with few dinosaur genera

Notes

References

Bibliography Barrett, Paul M.; Butler, Richard J.; Mundil, Roland; Scheyer, Torsten M.; Irmis, Randall B.; Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo R. (2014), "A palaeoequatorial ornithischian and new constraints on early dinosaur diversification" (PDF), Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 281 (1791), Royal Society: 1–7, doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1147, PMC 4132680, PMID 25100698, retrieved 2018-08-18 Barrett, P. M., R. J. Butler, S. C. Moore-Fay, F. E. Novas, J. M. Moody, J. M. Clark, and M. R. Sänchez-Villagra. 'Dinosaur Remains from the La Quinta Formation (Lower or Middle Jurassic) of the Venezuelan Andes'. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 82, no. 2 (2008): 163–177. Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.

Maps Colmenares, Fabio; Mesa, Milena; Roncancio, Jairo; Arciniegas, Edgar; Pedraza, Pablo; Cardona, Agustín; Silva, César; Romero, Jhoamna; Alvarado and Oscar Romero, Felipe Vargas, Carlos Santamaría, Sonia (2007), Plancha 14 - Albania - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Colmenares, Fabio; Mesa, Milena; Roncancio, Jairo; Arciniegas, Edgar; Pedraza, Pablo; Cardona, Agustín; Silva, César; Romero, Jhoamna; Alvarado and Oscar Romero, Felipe Vargas, Carlos Santamaría, Sonia (2007), Plancha 21 - Fonseca - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Colmenares, Fabio; Mesa, Milena; Roncancio, Jairo; Arciniegas, Edgar; Pedraza, Pablo; Cardona, Agustín; Silva, César; Romero, Jhoamna; Alvarado and Oscar Romero, Felipe Vargas, Carlos Santamaría, Sonia (2007), Plancha 34 - Agustín Codazzi - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) González, Javier; Clavijo, Jairo; Hernández, Marina; García, Carlos (2002), Plancha 40 - Bosconia - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06 Hernández, Marina; Clavijo, Jairo; González, Javier (2001), Plancha 47 - Chiriguaná - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06 Hernández, Marina; Clavijo, Jairo (2008), Plancha 48 - La Jagua de Ibirico - 1:100,000, INGEOMINAS, p. 1, retrieved 2017-06-06

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with La Quinta Formation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what La Quinta 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 Quinta 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 Quinta 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 Quinta Formation

In research: La Quinta 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 Quinta 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 Quinta Formation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cesar–Ranchería Basin, Colombia–Venezuela border, Conglomerate formations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for La Quinta 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 Quinta Formation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what La Quinta 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 Quinta Formation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is La Quinta Formation in simple terms?

Why does La Quinta 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 Quinta 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 Quinta Formation.