Jimol Formation

The Jimol Formation (Formación Jimol, N1j) is a fossiliferous geological formation of the Cocinetas Basin in the northernmost department of La Guajira. The formation consists of calcareous lithic and fossiliferous sandstones, siltstones and mudstones. The Jimol Formation dates to the Neogene period; Burdigalian stage, Santacrucian in the SALMA classification, and has a maximum thickness of 203 m.

Etymology
The formation was defined by Renz in 1960 and named after Cerro Jimol.

Lithologies
The Jimol Formation consists of calcareous lithic and fossiliferous sandstones, siltstones and mudstones.

Stratigraphy and depositional environment
The Jimol Formation overlies the Uitpa Formation and is overlain by the Castilletes Formation. The age has been estimated to be Early Miocene (17.9 to 16.7 Ma), corresponding to the Santacrucian in the SALMA classification. The invertebrate fauna of the Jimol Formation is similar to the fauna found in the latest Early Miocene Cantaure Formation of Venezuela and the Culebra Formation of Panama. The Jimol Formation was deposited in a beach to shallow marine environment, inner shelf depth (less than 50 metres' [160 ft] water depth). This unit is correlated with the upper Agua Clara and lower Cerro Pelao Formations of the Venezuelan Falcón Basin.

Petroleum geology
The Jimol Formation is a reservoir and seal rock formation in the Guajira Basin.