The "Late Cretaceous" Nemuro Group is widely distributed in the southeastern part of Hokkaido and strikes ENE-WSW or NE-SW direction from the eastern end of Nemuro Peninsura to Kushiro City. The lithology of this group is characterized by the presence of "flysch-type" sediments, tuff breccia and dolerites, and is divided into the following eight formations in ascending order, viz. Nokkamappu, Otamura, Monshizu, Oborogawa, Hamanaka, Akkeshi, Tokotan and Kiritappu formations. The characteristic lithofacies for each formation will be described below. The Nokkamappu formation, the lowermost part of the group, consists mainly of tuff breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, shale, dolerite and andesite. The Otainura, Oborogawa and Tokotan formations are composed of shale intercalated with thin sandstone layers in some regions. The Monshizu formation is mostly represented by the coarse black sandstone. However, the upper part of this formation is composed of an alternation of sandstone and shale, and is frequently intercalated with acidic tuff. The Hamanaka formation consists of a flyschtype alternation of sandstone and shale, and is intruded by several sheets of dolerite in the east of Pomporoto. The Akkeshi formation can be subdivided into three parts, based on the difference of lithofacies or rock type. The lower part of the formation is mainly composed of light gray sandstone or an alternation of sandstone and shale which occasionaly shows intraformational disturbances formed by submarine slumping. The middle part chiefly consists of thickly bedded black sandstone, while the upper part is represented by an alternation of light gray sandstone and shale. In some areas, the intraformational disturbances can be observed in both the middle and the upper parts of the Akkeshi formation. Lastly, the Kiritappu formation mainly consists of conglomerate. In the west area, however, this formation additionally contains shale or sandstone member in its middle part. Most of the formations belonging to the Nemuro Group seem to continue without remarkable lateral change of facies throughout a long distance of about 100 km from the western part of the town of Akkeshi to Nemuro Peninsura. But in this concern, the only one exception is the case with the Hamanaka formation. The sandstones alternating with shale in the Hamanaka formation have a tendency to become finer, as it leaves westward from the Area III, and finally grade into shale in the Area II. The submarine slumping observed in some parts of the Akkeshi formation are variable in number from place to place. That is, in both the lower and the upper parts of the Akkeshi formation, submarine slumpings are well developed in the east area. On the other hand, slumpings presented in the middle part are predominant in the west area. Recently, the Nemuro Group has been considered to range from Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) to Earliest Tertiary(Damian) in age. In the concerned area, the boundary between the Cretaceous and the Tertiary is estimated to be put within the sequence of the middle part of the Akkeshi formation by the present author.
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