The Kaiparowits Formation is the youngest Cretaceous unit in central-southern Utah. One 2,750-ft-thick section of the formation was measured, described, and sampled in the type locality, The Blues, Garfield County, Utah. Palynological documentation is based on the study of 15 samples distributed throughout the formation. Palynomorphs assignable to 80 species in 41 genera were described. One genus and 36 species are believed to be new.

The Kaiparowits Formation is equivalent to the upper Lance or Hell Creek. Aquilapollenites spp., Azolla cretacea Stanley, and Proteacidites spp. proved to be of greatest significance for correlation and dating purposes. Comparisons of the entire flora also indicated that the Kaiparowits Formation is Late Cretaceous.

The lower 2,200 ft of the Kaiparowits Formation was deposited as a delta in a rapidly subsiding basin. The sediments indicate a western provenance-probably central or western Nevada. The Blues was in the fluvial part of the delta with low, marshy or swampy topography. Uplands and semi-arid to arid areas also were present within the drainage basin. Sedimentation of the upper 550 ft of the formation was probably similar to that of the lower 2,200 ft, but is incompletely understood. Considerable volcanic activity in the region is indicated by the presence of large volumes of bentonitic material within the formation. No evidence was observed to indicate that any of the Kaiparowits Formation in this area was deposited under marine conditions.

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