The Beloveža Formation of the Rača Unit in the Beskid Niski Mts. (Magura Nappe, Polish Flysch Carpathians) and adjacent parts of Slovakia and their equivalents in the western part of the Magura Nappe; remarks on the Beloveža Formation – Hieroglyphic Beds

Abstract

Eocene thin-bedded flysch, widespread in the Alpine Tethys ocean, is present within the Magura Nappe, the largest Outer Carpathian unit in Poland and Slovakia. Thin-bedded flysch sedimentation accompanied by hemipelagic shales took place accross the entire Magura Basin during Eocene times. The lithostratigraphic position of these deposits has been a subject of considerable discussion. Different names, such as the Hieroglyphic Beds, Hieroglyphic Formation, Łabowa Shale Formation, Grzechynia Sandstones and Beloveža Beds, Beloveža Formation have been used in the Outer Carpathians literature. We show a striking resemblance of the Beloveža Beds (Formation) from its type locality to the Hieroglyphic Beds from the Beskid Wysoki area and to typical Beloveža Beds from the Hańczowa Mts. We propose to the name Beloveža Formation should be applied to thin-bedded flysch within both Bystrica and Rača units of Magura Nappe and the name Hieroglyphic Formation should be restricted to the Skole Unit. The original type locality in Beloveža near Bardejov in Slovakia is selected as type section of the Beloveža Formation.