The Cretaceous section of the Barco area, northeastern Colombia, has been studied extensively by oil company personnel, but little of this work has been published. The adjacent area of western Venezuela, in contrast, has been the subject of several detailed papers. Recent studies of the section in Venezuela have led to formulation of a standard nomenclature. This nomenclature has been projected into the Barco region in an attempt to clarify and standardize the Cretaceous terminology of the two areas. The basal Cretaceous transgressive sandstone facies, Rio Negro Formation, is recognized in the Barco area. The overlying sequence, previously called Uribante Formation, is divided into a lower Apon and upper Aguardiente Formation. The Tibu and Mercedes Members are retained to subdivide the Apon. The Capacho Formation was originally and erroneously correlated with the Cogollo Formation on the north. The stratigraphic relations of the Capacho with similar beds on the southeast are pointed out and a reference section is presented. La Luna Formation is a distinctive and widespread carbonate unit that can be correlated with similar sediments north and southeast. The Upper Cretaceous Colon Formation has been poorly defined for the Barco area and several changes are recommended, including the recognition of the Rio de Oro Limestone as a member and the proposal that the Mito Juan be discarded as a formational term.