The Upper Cretaceous variegated shales in the Ropianka Formation of the Magura Nappe (Outer Carpathians) – age and lithostratigraphic position

Abstract

The lithological characteristics and age analysis of the variegated Farony Shale are presented for the first time. The Farony Shale occurs in the Lubomierz and Rabka areas in the Bystrica Subunit. It is located within medium- and thin-bedded sandy dominated turbidites of the Campanian–Paleocene Ropianka Formation. It is comprised of red shales laminated or interlayered with strongly bioturbated green shales. Exposures of the Farony Shale are observed along a distance of ~25 km, in the form of a narrow belt. The age of the variegated deposits is estimated based on agglutinated foraminifera to late Campanian–earliest Maastrichtian. Their deposition was associated with low-energy conditions and a temporary limitation of the supply of sandy material to the inner part of the Magura Basin.