Geosciences Journal Vol. 14, No. 3, p. 235 − 268, September 2010 DOI 10.1007/s12303-010-0029-x ⓒ The Association of Korean Geoscience Societies and Springer 2010 Cambrian stratigraphy of the North China Platform: revisiting principal sections in Shandong Province, China ABSTRACT: The Cambrian succession in the North China Plat- form comprises a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sequence, superbly exposed in the southern part of Shandong Province, China. In order to refine the lithostratigraphy of the Cambrian succession, this paper presents detailed sedimentary logs of outcrop sections in the Jinan, Laiwu, Jining, and Linyi areas. The entire succession consists of six lithologic units: Liguan, Zhushadong, Mantou, Zhangxia, Gushan, and Chaomidian formations in ascending order. The upper boundary of the Zhushadong Formation is refined as the base of the first purple mudstone bed of the Mantou Formation. The Mantou Formation is, in turn, bounded at the top by a thick oolitic grainstone bed of the Zhangxia Formation. The upper boundary of the Gushan Formation is placed at the base of a distinct bioclastic grainstone bed of the Chaomidian Formation. The constituent members of the Zhushadong, Mantou, and Chaomidian forma- tions are also refined. Seventeen trilobite biozones are recognized, representing the Cambrian Series 2 to the Furongian. Key words: lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, Cambrian, Shandong Province, North China Platform 1. INTRODUCTION The Cambrian succession in the North China Platform comprises a thick mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sequence (ca. 700 m) formed in an extensive epeiric sea (Meyerhoff et al., 1991; Meng et al., 1997). The succession is superbly exposed in the southern part of Shandong Province, China (Fig. 1), including a number of type sections of the Cam- brian stratigraphy (Blackwelder and Willis, 1907; Lu and Dong, 1953). It consists of six lithostratigraphic units: Liguan, Zhushadong, Mantou, Zhangxia, Gushan, and Chaomidian formations in ascending order (Fig. 2) (Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Shandong Province, hereafter BGMRSP, 1996). The succession unconformably overlies the Precambrian basement of granitic gneiss and the Sinian metasedimentary rocks and is, in turn, conform- ably overlain by the Ordovician carbonate succession (San- shanzi and Majiagou formations) (Lu and Dong, 1953; China Editorial Committee of Geology and Geological Institute of China Academy of Science, hereafter CECG & GICAS, 1956). The lack of detailed lithologic descriptions and mixed usage of litho- and biostratigraphic nomenclature have, however, caused a number of problems with regard to the lithologic characteristics and lithostratigraphic boundaries. The primary purpose of this study is to provide detailed lithologic and paleontologic descriptions of the principal type sections in the southern part of Shandong Province in order to establish the litho- and biostratigraphy. 2. GEOLOGIC SETTING The North China Platform was an extensive epeiric plat- form (1,500 km east-west and 1,000 km north-south), formed on the Sino-Korean Block during the Early Paleozoic (Meng et al., 1997). The platform was tectonically stable during the Cambrian. It is bounded to the north by a major suture zone, the Hinggan Fold Belt (Fig. 1a). The Dabieshan Belt demarcates the southern margin of the block against the South China Block (Fig. 1a). The Tan-Lu Fault, a major sinistral strike-slip fault, offsets the eastern part of the Sino- Korean Block (Chough et al., 2000) (Fig. 1a). Deposition in the platform was initiated in the Cambrian Series 2 with ensued rise in sea level (Meng et al., 1997). The entire plat- Sung Kwun Chough* Hyun Suk Lee Jusun Woo † Jitao Chen Duck K. Choi* Seung-bae Lee †† Imseong Kang Tae-yoon Park Zuozhen Han } } Sedimentology laboratory, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747, Republic of Korea Paleontology laboratory, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747, Republic of Korea College of Geological Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266510, China *Corresponding authors: sedlab@snu.ac.kr, dkchoi@snu.ac.kr † Present address: Division of Polar Earth-System Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 406-840, Republic of Korea †† Present address: Exhibition Planning and Coordination Division, Gwacheon National Science Museum, Gwacheon 427-060, Repub- lic of Korea