The Glenshaw formation is the primary formation in which I find most fossils featured on this website. It is a type section named by N. K. Flint in 1965. The Glenshaw and the higher up Casselman Formation together comprise what is known as the Conemaugh Group. The Conemaugh group is part of an entire third-order T-R unit.

Boundaries of the formation end near the local hilltops where the Ames Limestone is exposed. Going downhill towards the Kiskiminetas River, the Glenshaw ends where the Allegheny Formation begins, at the Upper Freeport Coal/Lower Mahoning Sandstone line.

The Glenshaw contains both marine and plant fossils in Western Pennsylvania. There are a number of marine zones that correlate with limestone layers that represent times when ancient seas covered the land and deposited rocks. Limestone forms in clear, warm, shallow marine waters. The resulting layers read like a story.

The Ames Limestone caps the top of the formation. In-between you will find Woods Run Cambridge, Pine Creek, and Brush Creek Limestones. The bottom of the formation is the Upper Freeport Coal layer. Unfortunately, a number of older research papers has the Pine Creek Limestone referenced as the Upper Brush Creek. This designation is also popular in Ohio. It can be confusing to correlate limestone layers between Pennsylvania and our neighbors.

Plant Fossils in the Formation

Thus-far, I have found a great number of plant fossils between the Woods Run and Brush Creek Limestone. Within, there are various shale and sandstone layers. Examples of plants found locally in the Glenshaw Formation are Calamites, Lepidodendron, Macroneuropteris and the seed fern Pecopteris.

Marine Fossils in the Formation

Along with plant fossils, marine fossils have been plentiful in my part of the Glenshaw. These fossils can be found in both limestone and shale, and possibly sandstone. Although, thus far I have only found plants in sandstone. Examples include Gastropods, Cephalopods, Brachiopods, Crinoids, Clams, Sea Pens and even a Fish/Shark Tooth.

Geologic Time

This formation represents 5 million years of time, according to a PhD dissertation by Shulik 1979. According to Perera and Stigall in 2018, figure 2 of their research shows the Glenshaw deposits starting at 307 million years ago and ending at 303.7 million years ago. These newer estimates are placing this closer to 3.3 million years of time.

A stratigraphic section of the Glenshaw formation in western Pennsylvania.

Gallery of Rock Photos in the Glenshaw Formation

  • Shale Cut

  • Split Shale

  • Showing Coloration in Shale

  • Shale
  • Sandstone with underlying shale
    Sandstone with Underlying Shale
  • Sandstone with underlying shale

    Sandstone with Underlying Shale
  • Clay layer
    Shale with Clay Layer
  • Limestone Outcrop

References and Further Reading