Avon Park Formation

The Avon Park Formation is a Middle Eocene geologic formation and is the oldest exposed sediments in Florida, United States.

Avon Park Formation
Stratigraphic range: Eocene
Packstone from a dredge pile by the Cross Florida Barge Canal
TypeGeological formation
Sub-unitsNone
UnderliesOcala Limestone (in part)
Lithology
PrimaryGrainstone, packstone, wackestone
OtherMudstone
Location
RegionCentral Florida
Country United States
ExtentCitrus and Levy County
Type section
Named forAvon Park, Florida
Named byApplin & Applin 1944
The Avon Park Formation on the crest of the Ocala Platform.

Age

Period: Paleogene
Epoch: Middle Eocene~55.8 to 33.9 mya, calculates to a period of 21.9 million years
Faunal stage: Clarkforkian through early Chadronian

Location

The Avon Park formation is located on the crest of the Ocala Platform in Levy County with three distinct outcroppings. Citrus County has one outcropping near the county line with Levy County.

Composition

The Avon Park Formation consists of cream to light-brown or tan, poorly hardened to very hard, grainstone, packstone and wackestone, with rare mudstone. Fossils found throughout but not densely. These limestones are interbedded with vuggy dolomites which are soft to very hard and tan to brown, very fine to medium crystalline structure.

The Avon Park Formation, as with many formations, is part of the Floridan Aquifer system. Parts of the Avon Park Formation comprise important, subregional confining units within that system.

Fossils

The fossils are in molds and casts and include:

References

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