K/T Boundary Gubbio, Italy 3

This shows the world famous exposure of the K/T boundary recorded in the upper Cretaceous to Eocene Scaglia Rossa Formation near Gubbio, Italy. This outcrop, exposed in the Bottaccione gorge, is a classical locality in the history of geoscience. The research conducted here directly influenced the fields of paleomagnetism, micropaleontology, sedimentology and helped redefine current views on Earth History. The Scaglia Rossa is a prominent formation in Marche-Umbria Apennine mountains in central Italy. It is a pink to red pelagic limestone with some marl and chert, the name “Scaglia” (Italian for scale) is given for the scaly appearance and Rossa for the red color. Exposed at this section of the Scaglia Rossa there is the centimeter-thick clay interval at the Cretaceous Paleogene which contains an above average amount of the element Iridium. This image is part of the Mid Atlantic Geo-Imagery Collection (M.A.G.I.C.)