Johnson Formation

Johnson Formation
Stratigraphic range: Carboniferous
Head cut of Johnson Shale in the Tuttle Creek Lake spillway freshly exposed by the 1993 flood, showing unweathered coloration.
(capped by the bright Glenrock limestone member of the Red Eagle Formation)
TypeFormation
UnderliesRed Eagle Formation
OverliesForaker Formation
Lithology
PrimaryShale
Otherresistant beds of argillaceous mudstone to well-laminated limestones
Location
RegionMidcontinent (Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma)
CountryUnited States
Type section
Named forJohnson, Oklahoma

The Johnson Formation (or Johnson Limestone) is a thick geologic formation of soft shale with thin, resistant beds of chalkier mudstone and limestone in Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma rarely exposed outside of road cuts. It preserves fossils dating back to the late-Carboniferous period.