Gauja Formation

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title: "Gauja Formation" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["geologic-formations-of-europe", "geology-of-estonia", "geology-of-latvia", "devonian-system-of-europe", "givetian-stage", "sandstone-formations", "shallow-marine-deposits", "devonian-southern-paleotropical-deposits", "fossiliferous-stratigraphic-units-of-europe", "paleontology-in-estonia", "paleontology-in-latvia"] description: "Geological formation in Latvia" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauja_Formation" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Geological formation in Latvia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox rockunit"]

Field	Value
name	Gauja Formation
image	Ergeljuklintis424aug037qg.jpg
caption	The Ergelu Cliffs along Gauja River, Latvia belong to the Gauja Formation
type	Geological formation
age	Givetian
~
period	Givetian
prilithology	Sandstone
otherlithology	Siltstone
namedfor	Gauja River
country	Estonia, Latvia
coordinates
paleocoordinates
subunits	Sietin & Lode Members
underlies	Amata Formation
overlies	Plavinas Formation
thickness	80 m
map	{{Location map+
relief	1
width	250
float	center
lat_deg	57.3
lon_deg	25.12
mark	Gold pog.svg
marksize	10
::

| name = Gauja Formation | image = Ergeljuklintis424aug037qg.jpg | caption = The Ergelu Cliffs along Gauja River, Latvia belong to the Gauja Formation | type = Geological formation | age = Givetian ~ | period = Givetian | prilithology = Sandstone | otherlithology = Siltstone | namedfor = Gauja River | namedby = | region = | country = Estonia, Latvia | coordinates = | paleocoordinates = | unitof = | subunits = Sietin & Lode Members | underlies = Amata Formation | overlies = Plavinas Formation | thickness = 80 m | extent = | area = | map = {{Location map+ | Latvia | relief = 1 | width = 250 | float = center | places = | lat_deg = 57.3 | lon_deg = 25.12 | mark = Gold pog.svg | marksize = 10 | map_caption = The Gauja Formation is a Middle Devonian fossil locality in Estonia and Latvia. It is named after the Gauja River, where it is exposed along the banks.

Description

The Gauja Formation has a maximum thickness of 80 m. It is composed of weakly to moderately cemented layers of fine-grained to very fine-grained sandstone. The layer is predominantly light to yellowish-gray in color, but can be pinkish brown or variegated. It is mostly composed of quartzose arenites. It is overlain by the 30 m thick Amata Formation and the Plavinas Formation.

The Gauja Formation contains two cyclic members. The lower layers are known as the Sietiņi Member and are composed mostly of sandstone with a thin layer of siltstone at the top.

The upper layers are thicker, and the lower part of it is known as the Lode Member. The Lode Member dates from the Middle Devonian and is composed of light colored sandstone. The area is indicative of a near-shore environment of retreating sea.

Paleontology

The Sietiņi and Lode members have yielded numerous fossils of fishes. Among them are Asterolepis, Bothriolepis, Psammolepis, Cheirolepis, Glyptolepis baltica, Laccognathus panderi, Livoniana multidentata, Strunius, Panderichthys and Megadonichthys kurikae The first fossils of young placoderms ever discovered were found in the Gauja formation. Ranging in size from as small as 10.4 mm to as big as 38 mm (0.4 to 1.4 in) long, these fossils are important for our understanding of ontogeny in extinct fish.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Asterolepis_ornata22DB.jpg" caption="Asterolepis ornata"] ::

Only large plant remains and miospores are known from this member. Examples of which include Hostinella, Archaeopteris, Retusotriletes rugulatus, and Ancyrospora. Palynological studies indicate that the Middle to Upper Devonian boundary may exist in this member.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Archaeopteris_reconstruccion.jpg" caption="Archaeopteris sp."] ::

References

Bibliography

References

1. "Gauja Stage". Geological collections of Estonia, Institute of Geology at TUT, University of Tartu, Estonian Museum of Natural History.
2. "Gauja River". Tūrisma informācija īpaši aizsargājamā dabas teritorijā – Gaujas nacionālajā parkā.
3. (2002). "Clastic dikes in Middle Devonian sandstones of the Gauja Formation, southeastern Estonia". Estonian Academy Publishers.
4. Upeniece, I.. (2001-01-01). "The unique fossil assemblage from the Lode Quarry (Upper Devonian, Latvia)". Fossil Record.
5. Ahlberg et al., 2000
6. Upeniece, Ieva. (1995). "A new species of Strunius(Sarcopterygii; Onychodontida) from Latvia; Lode quarry (Upper Devonian)". Geobios.
7. (1999). "Miospore Assemblage from the Lode Member (Gauja Formation) in Estonia and the Middle-Upper Devonian Boundary Problem". Estonian Academy Publishers.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::