Fruitland Formation the Colorado-New Mexico state line, and is one of the most productive areas for coalbed methane in the United States. The Fruitland is underlain by the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone, and overlain by the more recent Kirtland Formation. The sequence of rocks represents the final filling of the Cretaceous seaway. The underlying Pictured Cliffs is a marginal marine sandstone, deposited in an environment similar to offshore barrier islands of the southeast United States. As the seaway retreated, the Pictured Cliffs was covered by the Fruitland Formation, which was deposited in near-shore swampy lowlands. The formation is dated to the late Campanian
Straight Cliffs Formation a coarse-grained fluvial facies thought to reflect a braided river environment. The base of the member often creates a bench at the top of the plateau. The upper contact of the Drip Tank grades into the Wahweap Formation creating sloped interval. The Drip Tank is 141 – 523 feet thick and is mainly composed of yellow to brown medium-grained cross stratified sandstone. The Straight Cliffs Formation was deposited in a variety of sub- environments that varied through time as the relative sea level of the Western Interior Seaway changed. The most basal member, the Tibbet Canyon, was deposited on the