Cretaceous Fluvio-Lacustrine Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Paleontology in the Laiyang, Zhucheng and Lingshan Island Areas of Eastern Shandong Province, North China

This field trip guide provides an opportunity for participants to study the Cretaceous stratigraphy and sedimentology in the Jiaolai Basin, eastern Shandong province. This sedimentary cover consists of terrestrial clastic sediments and volcaniclastics that belong to the Laiyang Group, the Qingshan Group, and the Wangshi Group. The sediments of these groups contain the Jehol biota, composed of hadrosaur fauna and dinosaur eggs, respectively. Lingshan Island, which is located in the western Yellow Sea, 37 km south of Qingdao, originated in the Early Cretaceous as part of a depositional basin and subsequently as part of a volcanic arc. It became uplifted by later extrusion-related tectonic tilting. The overall dip direction of the rocks is ENE. In spite of this overall simple structure, the tectonic setting is still under debate. Several well-exposed gravity-flow deposits in the Late Cretaceous Lingshandao Formation provide a rare opportunity to study deep-water processes and soft-sediment deformation structures. The Hongtuya Formation of the Wangshi Group in the Laiyang Cretaceous National Geopark contains a set of red clastic rocks which reflect sedimentation in a fluvial delta; a giant hadrosaur was found in these deposits. There are several dinosaur-bearing Late Cretaceous beds in the Shandong Zhucheng National Dinosaur Geopark. It houses the world’s largest dinosaur thanatocoenosis in its Dinosaur Ravine fossil gallery, which is about 500 m long and 30 m deep, exposing 10,000 fossil remnants. This tour also includes a visit to the Jimo Mashan Geopark. The boundary between the Cretaceous Laiyang Group and the Qingshan Group with metamorphic rocks is situated here.