Cenozoic

Cretaceous

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Makurdi Formation

Makurdi Fm

Period:

Cretaceous

Age Interval:

Cenomanian-Turonian

Province:
Benue Trough Central

Type Locality and Naming

The Makurdi Fm has its type section exposed at the southern part of the railway bridge at Makurdi.

Synonym: Turonian Limestones; Wadatta Limestone member

References: Reyment, 1965; Adeleye, 1975; Kogbe, 1976; Dessauvagie, 1975; Petters, 1978; Offodile, 1980; Whiteman, 1982; Benkhelil, 1989; Okosun, 1992; Guiraud, 1993; Akande et al., 1998; Zaborski et al., 1998; Jauro et al., 2007; Obaje, 2009; Nwajide, 2013

Lithology and Thickness

Makurdi Fm: The Makurdi Fm is a regressive continental (fluviatile) deposition interrupted by epeiric sea transgression represented by the Wadatta Limestone member. The Wadatta Limestone Member which was described by McConnell (1949) as fossiliferous Turonian Limestones. The Wadatta Limestone Member is a fossiliferous limestone with interbeds of shelly sandstone and calcareous, glauconitic, and micaceous shales. The formation has been assigned variable thicknesses with Burke et al. (1972) assigning a thickness range of 400m-1,820m.

Lithology Pattern:

Sandy limestone

Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Overlies the Zurak Fm

Upper contact

Underlies the Wukari Fm

Regional extent

Benue Trough Central

GeoJSON

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Fossils

Ammonites (Euomphaloceras septemseriatum, Hoplitoides ingens), Foraminifera, bivalves (Costagyraolis iponensis), Gastropods

Age

Middle Cretaceous. The four formations indicated in the Cenomanian through mid-Turonian interval are given quasi-equal durations here (Keana Fm = Early Cenomanian, Zurak Fm = Middle Cenomanian, Makurdi Fm = Late Cenomanian, and the Wukari Fm = lower Turonian)

Age Span:

Beginning stage:

Cenomanian

Fraction up in beginning stage:

0.7

Beginning date (Ma):

95.88

Ending stage:

Turonian

Fraction up in the ending stage:

0.0

Ending date (Ma):

93.90

Depositional setting

Marine depositional environment, specifically a shallow to moderately deep marine setting. The presence of organic-rich shales suggests periods of low oxygen levels, likely associated with restricted circulation or high productivity.

Depositional pattern:

Additional Information

Compiler:

Enam O. Obiosio, Solomon Joshua Avong and Henry Nasir Suleiman (2024)- Stratigraphic Lexicon compiled from the following books:

Nigeria: Its Petroleum Geology, Resources and Potential, by Arthur Whiteman, 1982; (Volume 1) Published by Graham and Trotman Ltd.

A review of the Cretaceous System in Nigeria by P. M. Zaborski (1998) In Africa Geoscience Review, Vol.5, No.4, pp385-483

Geology and Mineral Resources of Nigeria by Nuhu George Obaje, Published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009; http://www.springer.com/series/772

Geology of Nigeria Sedimentary Basins, Nwajide C. S., 2013; Published by CSS Bookshops Limited, Lagos Nigeria.