Santonian Stage
Santonian Stage
the fourth stage from the bottom in the upper division of the Cretaceous system. The Santonian stage was first identified in 1857 by the French geologist A. Kokan in southwestern France. A typical deposit is composed of white chalk with cherts containing the remnants of mollusks, brachiopods, and sea urchins. Deposits of the Santonian stage are widespread in Europe and in the USSR, where they are found in the south of the Eastern European Platform and in the Carpathians, the Crimea, and the Caucasus. They are represented by various types of sedimentary (carbonaceous and siliceous rocks, clays, and sands) and volcanic rocks (in the Lesser Caucasus).