Type section of the Lower Permian Glorieta Sandstone, San Miguel County, New Mexico
— K. Krainer and S. G. Lucas

In central New Mexico, the Lower Permian Glorieta Sandstone is a relatively thin (<100 m thick), prominent, sandstone-dominated stratigraphic unit near the top of the Permian section. It generally consists of yellowish brown to light gray, very fine to fine-grained, well-sorted quartzose sandstone that is often crossbedded but also includes beds that are ripple laminated and/or tabular bedded. The type section of the Glorieta Sandstone is on Glorieta Mesa near Rowe, NM, in San Miguel County. Here, the Glorieta Sandstone is 51 m thick, entirely composed of sandstone, including the following: trough-crossbedded sandstone representing eolian sand dunes, ripple-laminated sandstone representing wind ripples, and horizontally laminated sandstone and massive sandstone, also representing eolian deposits. In the lower part crossbedded sandstone of eolian sand dunes alternates with ripple- and horizontally laminated sandstone interpreted as interdune deposits. The upper part of the type section is dominated by ripple-laminated, horizontally laminated and massive sandstone, interpreted as eolian sand sheet deposits, with subordinate, intercalated crossbedded sandstone representing eolian dunes. Sandstone of the Glorieta Sandstone at its type section is characterized by high textural (well-sorted and rounded to well-rounded grains) and compositional maturity (mainly quartz arenite, subordinately subarkose).