Usage:
Merced Formation (CA*)
Geologic age:
late Tertiary to Quaternary (Pliocene to Pleistocene)*
Type section, locality, area and/or origin of name:
Named from Lake Merced, which lies in structural or synclinal depression of Pliocene terrane, south of San Francisco, [San Francisco Co.], western CA. Exposed in sea-cliff which extends from Lake Merced, near San Francisco, to Mussel Rock about 8 mi south of Point Lobos at entrance to the gate (Lawson, 1893).
AAPG geologic province:
Northern Coast Range province*
For more information, please contact Nancy Stamm, Geologic Names Committee Secretary.
Asterisk (*) indicates published by U.S. Geological Survey authors.
"No current usage" (†) implies that a name has been abandoned or has fallen into disuse. Former usage and, if known, replacement name given in parentheses ( ).
Slash (/) indicates name conflicts with nomenclatural guidelines (CSN, 1933; ACSN, 1961, 1970; NACSN, 1983, 2005, 2021). May be explained within brackets ([ ]).