litostratigráfia

Litostratigrafia is a branch of stratigraphy that deals with the study of rock sequences in a region and their division into lithostratigraphic units. These units are defined and characterized by their lithologic properties, such as rock type, texture, color, and sedimentary structures. The fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy is the formation, which is a body of rock that is sufficiently distinctive and uniform throughout to be identifiable and mappable at the Earth's surface or in the subsurface. Formations can be subdivided into smaller units like members and groups, and can be grouped into larger units called supergroups. The boundaries between lithostratigraphic units are called contacts, and these are determined by changes in lithology. Lithostratigraphy is crucial for understanding the geological history of an area, correlating rock units across different regions, and for resource exploration, such as oil, gas, and minerals. It provides a framework for mapping and describing the geological strata.