Ponce Limestone

The Ponce Limestone is a geologic formation in Puerto Rico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Neogene period.

Description

Ponce Limestone includes beds of brown clay and has a maximum estimated thickness of 850 meters. It consists mostly of yellowish-orange, soft to moderately hard, fossiliferous limestone and appears almost continuously as a narrow band extending from Bahía Montalva in Patillas to Río Pastillo, in Barrio Canas.

Deposits

Exposed in the Ponce, Río Descalabrado, Punta Cucharas, Yauco, Punta Verraco, Guanica, La Parguera, San [German, Puerto Rico|San German], and Cabo Rojo quadrangles of the United States Geological Survey maps.

Fossil content

Various fossils have been found in the Ponce Limestone: molds of gastropods, pelecypods, coral heads, and large foraminifera are indicative of deposition in shallow-water lagoon and back-reef environments. The large foraminifera, Lepidocyclina undosa and the ahermatypic “deep sea” coral Flabellum are reported within the Ponce Limestone.