Le gisement eocene du cap d'Ailly (pres de Dieppe, Seine-Maritime)

Abstract

Abstract A study of seven sections along the Ailly cape, France, permits recognition of five Eocene formations. The upper Thanetian is represented by marine sands with chert and sandstones; the Ailly lacustrine limestones are terminal Thanetian. A third formation, here designated the Caude-Cote annelid sands and clays, overlies the Thanetian marine sands and is thought to be of terminal Thanetian age. The Sparnacian is represented by lignitic clays below and sands and shales rich in ostracods and mollusks above. The Varengeville formation, which is the lowermost Cuisian formation, is represented by four lithofacies whose sediments and fauna suggest emerging conditions. Correlations with the Paris and Belgium basins indicate that the Ailly gulf was isolated from other regions, and was subjected to an erosional period during the Cuisian.