Meyer Desert Formation
| Meyer Desert Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
Meyer Desert Formation exposed in the Oliver Bluffs on the flanks of the Beardmore Glacier | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Sirius Group |
| Overlies | Cloudmaker Formation |
| Thickness | 185 m (607 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Diamictite, sandstone, siltstone |
| Other | Peat, marlstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 85°07′S 166°35′E / 85.117°S 166.583°E |
| Region | Transantarctic Mountains, Meyer Desert, Dominion Range |
| Country | Antarctica |
| Extent | Oliver Bluffs, Beardmore Glacier region |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Meyer Desert |
| Named by | McKelvey et al., 1991 |
The Meyer Desert Formation is a glacigenic, mostly non-marine sedimentary sequence that forms the upper part of the Sirius Group in the central Transantarctic Mountains. It is notable for containing the youngest known macrofossils of terrestrial plants and palaeosols found anywhere in Antarctica, preserved at elevations of ~1,760 m above sea level and approximately 500 km from the South Pole. Some earlier works included it within a broader “Sirius Formation,” but this usage has been largely abandoned.