WHICH SIDE OF WOODSIDE: LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC CONFUSION AND POTENTIAL RESOLUTION

The name “Woodside” has been applied to the sand-rich units within the Mancos Group near the town of Woodside along the Book Cliffs in central Utah. However, confusion arose, as this formal and informal lithostratigraphic name was applied to two Cretaceous units: the west side of the highway in the middle Turonian interval and the east side of the highway to late Santonian-early Campanian interval. The sandy Turonian interval to the west of the highway was eventually replaced with the nomenclature Coon Spring Sandstone. No justification was provided for this nomenclatural change, although Triassic units exist within Utah and adjacent states with the name “Woodside” suggesting priority of the name for these Triassic units over both Cretaceous units. As such, to avoid duplication, Woodside should be abandoned as a lithostratigraphic term in the Book Cliffs region. The sandy interval to the east of Woodside should be referred to as Beckwith, which is one of the few referable geographic features in the area.