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Lithostratigraphic units are bodies of rocks, bedded or unbedded, that are defined and characterized on the basis of their observable lithologic properties. All stratigraphic units are composed of rock and thus have “rock character,” but only lithostratigraphic units are differentiated on the basis of the kind of rock: limestone, sandstone, sand, tuff, claystone, basalt, granite, schist, marble, and so on. The recognition of such units is useful in visualizing the physical picture of the Earth's rocks, in working out rock sequences, in determining local and regional structure, in investigating and developing natural resources, and in determining the origin of rocks.

Lithostratigraphic units are the basic units of geologic mapping and are an essential element of the stratigraphy of the area. Lithostratigraphic classification is usually the first approach in stratigraphic work in any new area and is always an important key to geologic history even if no ages are available from either fossils or isotopic age determinations (Figure 3).

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