The Cerrejón Formation, with an assigned total thickness of , is subdivided into lower, middle, and upper groups based on the thickness and distribution of coal beds. On average the coal beds are thick, and range from to in thickness. The thickest beds are in the upper part of the formation. The Cerrejón Formation is laterally equivalent with the Los Cuervos and Bogotá Formations to the south; Llanos Orientales and Altiplano Cundiboyacense respectively. The formation is also time-equivalent with the Marcelina Formation of the Venezuelan Serranía del Perijá and the Catatumbo Formation of the southwestern Colombian part of the Maracaibo Basin, the Catatumbo Basin. The formation has also been described as laterally equivalent to the Mostrencos and Santa Cruz Formations of Venezuela.