This reference section of the Middle Pennsylvanian Minturn Formation was measured in the northern Sangre de Cristo Range; the section provides a basis for comparison with the type Minturn and with possibly equivalent strata elsewhere in southern Colorado. The name "Minturn" was first applied to strata of Middle Pennsylvanian age near the town of Minturn in central Colorado (Tweto, 1949, p. 194-228; Tweto and Lovering, 1977, p. 33–53), about 180 km north of the section described, and has been extended to strata of approximately the same age that contain marine limestones in the northern Sangre de Cristo Range (Brill, 1952; Bolyard, 1959; Scott and Taylor, 1974). The Minturn reference section continues upward into the principal reference section of the overlying Pennsylvanian and Permian Sangre de Cristo Formation (Lindsey and Schaefer, 1984), and these two sections together provide a continuous record of upper Paleozoic strata in the northern Sangre de Cristo Range.

The reference section was measured by tape and compass in the summer of 1980; observations were recorded on a microcassette tape recorder in the field and transcribed in the office. This method permitted rapid acquisition of data on thickness, mature of contacts, color, grain size, and sedimentary features. These data are shown on the graphic section for each distinct rock unit. Rock units having common attributes or genetic relationships have been grouped together for descriptive and interpretative purposes.