The Beacon Supergroup is a geological formation exposed in Antarctica and deposited from the Devonian to the Triassic (). The unit was originally described as either a formation or sandstone, and upgraded to group and supergroup as time passed. It contains a sandy member known as the Beacon Heights Orthoquartzite. Overview The base of the Beacon Supergroup is marked by an unconformity and is composed of the Devonian Taylor Group, a quartzose sandstone sequence; and the Late Carboniferous to Early Jurassic Victoria Group, consisting of glacial beds, sandstone, shale, conglomerate, and coal. The Beacon Sandstone was named by Hartley T. Ferrar during Scott's Discovery Expedition (1901–1904), using the Beacon Heights survey points as reference. Glossopteris fossils dated the sandstone to the Permian and linked the lithology to similar sequences on neighboring continents. Generally flat lying, the supergroup is up to 3.2 km thick and is fairly continuous from south Victoria Land to the Beardmore Glacier along the Transantarctic Mountains. The Urfjell Group in Dronning Maud Land and the Neptune Group in the Pensacola Mountains have been correlated with the Taylor Group. Macrofossils and palynomorph assemblages age date Devonian, Late Carboniferous–Early Permian, Late Permian and Triassic strata. The Ferrar Dolerite intrudes at various levels, while the Mawson Formation and Kirkpatrick Basalts within the Ferrar Supergroup cap the Beacon Supergroup. The location of the formation in a cold, desert environment and the lack of nutrients or soil (due to the purity of the sandstone) has led to the Beacon Sandstone being considered the closest analogue on Earth to Martian conditions; therefore, many studies have been performed on life's survival there, mainly focusing on the lichen communities that form the modern inhabitants. The supergroup originated in a shallow marine sedimentary depositional environment. The well-sorted nature of the unit suggests that it was probably deposited close to the shoreline, in a high-energy environment. Features such as the presence of coal beds and desiccation cracks suggest that parts of the unit were deposited subaerially, though ripple marks and cross bedding show that shallow water was also commonly present. Heat from burial is modest, though the rock could have been heated to over 160 °C by intrusion of dolerite sills, dykes and lenses during the early Jurassic as a consquence of the breakup of Gondwana . The rock is low in phosphorus. Taylor Group The Taylor Group is separated from the overlying Victoria Group by a