Kaibab Limestone - History of Investigation

History of Investigation

No type locality is designated for this formation. It was named by Darton in 1910 for the Kaibab Plateau, which is on the north side of Grand Canyon in Coconino County, Arizona. Darton also named it as the upper formation of Aubrey Group in 1910 (group name no longer used). Bassler and Reeside revised Darton's work and designated part of it as the Harrisburg Member in 1921. Areal extent limits were set by Gilluly and Reeside in 1928, and again by Gregory and Moore in 1931. Its lower contact was revised and the unit informally divided into (ascending) alpha, beta and gamma units by McKee in 1938. Blakey revised its upper contact in 1974. Welsh and others attempted to raise the formation to group rank and divide it into several formations in 1979 (not recognized by the USGS). In 1982, Hamilton redescribed it as the as Kaibab Marble in California and set its areal limits there. The Kaibab was divided into (ascending) Fossil Mountain Member (new) and Harrisburg Member by Sorauf and Billingsley in 1991. Areal limits were set again by Anderson and Hintze in 1993.