Shales are enigmatic rock types with compositional and textural heterogeneity across a range of scales. This work addresses pore- to core-scale mechanical heterogeneity of Cretaceous Mancos Shale, a thick mudstone with widespread occurrence across the western interior of the United States. Examination of a ~100 m (~328 ft) core from the eastern San Juan Basin, New Mexico, suggests division into seven lithofacies, encompassing mudstones, sandy mudstones, and muddy sandstones, displaying different degrees of bioturbation. Ultrasonic velocity measurements show small measurable differences between the lithofacies types, and these are explained in terms of differences in allogenic (clay and sand) and...