Smackover Formation
Smackover Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Oxfordian | |
![]() Wells reporting Smackover Formation tops are indicated by a black point, and extend from Texas to Florida. Formation top depths measured in 6,764 wells range from 1,394 to 23,554 feet. | |
Type | Formation |
Underlies | Buckner Formation |
Overlies | Norphlet Formation |
Location | |
Region | Arkansas |
Country | United States |
The Smackover Formation is a geologic formation in Arkansas. It preserves fossils dating back to the Jurassic period.
The Smackover Formation consists of oolitic limestones and silty limestones.[1][2]
Mineral resources

The Smackover Formation has been a prolific source of petroleum. The 1922 discovery of the Smackover oil field, after which the Smackover Formation is named, resulted in a sizeable oil boom in southern Arkansas.[citation needed]
In addition to being a petroleum reservoir, as of 2015, the brine from the Smackover Formation is the only source of commercial bromine in the United States.[3]
A 2022 report estimated that the lithium brine in the formation has "sufficient lithium to produce enough batteries for 50 million electric vehicles."[4]

See also
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- List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Arkansas
- Paleontology in Arkansas
- Smackover, Arkansas
- Bromine production in the United States
- Lithium production
- Brine mining
References
- ^ Dickinson, Kendell (1968). Upper Jurassic Stratigraphy of Some Adjacent Parts of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. USGS. p. E9.
- ^ Chimene, Calvin (1976). Braunstein, Jules (ed.). Upper Smackover Reservoirs, Walker Creek Field Area, Lafayette and Columbia Counties, Arkansas, in North American Oil and Gas Fields. Tulsa: The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. pp. 177–204. ISBN 0891813004.
- ^ Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ "Resource report concludes Galvanic's lithium prospect among most prolific in North America". Green Car Congress. 2022-07-13. Retrieved 2022-08-27.