In right side of Lăpuş valley, the Râpa Malului, large outcrops of Upper Oligocene–Lover Miocene Valea Lăpuşului Formation were described and sampled for mineralogical and geochemical analyses. The results of these analyses evidenced, that (i) the origin of clastic grains are Preluca-type mesometamorphic basement (with presumed green schist mantle), basic rocks of Transylvanian Ophiolitic Belt and Palaeogene carbonatic and clastic sedimentary rocks; (ii) in outcropping succession, as major sequences, three sedimentary cycles (from coarse grained to fine grained sandstone, sandy and sand-free marl) can be separated; (ii) each cycle can be characterized by mineralogical and geochemical composition which differ significantly each another; (iv) the geochemical composition including the toxic heavy metal contents may be considered as background values for further environmental studies in Lăpuş valley. The sampled Valea Lăpuşului Formation which belongs to the Autochthonous Unit of Botiza Nappe System sedimented in a shallow, oligohaline gulf of Maramureş Flysch Trough.