Belly River Group

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Belly River Formation
Stratigraphic range: Santonian to Campanian
Oldman river-Alberta.JPG
Belly River beds exposed along the Oldman River
Type Group
Underlies Bearpaw Formation
Overlies Wapiabi Formation
Thicknessup to 1,300 metres (4,270 ft) [1]
Lithology
Primary Sandstone, Shale
Other Conglomerate, Coal, Bentonite
Location
Coordinates 49°37′54″N112°52′31″W / 49.63161°N 112.87537°W / 49.63161; -112.87537 (Belly River Formation)
RegionFlag of Alberta.svg  Alberta
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Type section
Named for Belly River
Named by George Mercer Dawson, 1883

The Belly River Group is a stratigraphical unit of Late Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

Contents

It takes the name from the Belly River, a tributary of the Oldman River in southern Alberta, and was first described in outcrop on the banks of the Oldman River (at the time considered part of the Belly River) and Bow River by George Mercer Dawson in 1883. [2]

Lithology

The Belly River Group is composed of very fine grained sandstone with coarse grained beds and minor bentonite, coal, green shale, and concretionary beds. [1]

Hydrocarbon production

Gas is produced from the Belly River Group in the Deep Basin, in west-central Alberta and in the Canadian Rockies foothills.

Paleofauna

Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. [3]

Dinosaurs reported from the Belly River Group
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialDescriptionImages

Montanoceratops [3]

Indeterminate [3]

Montanoceratops Montanoceratops BW.jpg
Montanoceratops

Distribution

The Belly River Group reaches a maximum thickness of 1,300 metres (4,270 ft) in its western reaches, and thins out eastward to about 350 metres (1,150 ft) in the Canadian Plains. It is found throughout southern Alberta, and as far east as eastern Saskatchewan. From south to north, it is present from the United States border to the Wapiti River region, south of the Peace River Country. [1]

Relationship to other units

The Belly River Group is conformably overlain by the Bearpaw Formation and gradually overlies the Wapiabi Formation, the Colorado Group shale or the Lea Park Formation shale. [1]

It is equivalent to the Milk River Formation and Pakowki Formation. The Belly River has group status in the Canadian Rockies foothills and is replaced by the Oldman Formation (Judith River Formation in Montana) and Foremost Formation in southern Alberta.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Oldman Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous age that underlies much of southern Alberta, Canada. It consists primarily of sandstones that were deposited in fluvial channel and floodplain environments. It was named for exposures along the Oldman River between its confluence with the St. Mary River and the city of Lethbridge, and it is known primarily for its dinosaur remains and other fossils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scollard Formation</span> Upper Cretaceous to lower Palaeocene stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin

The Scollard Formation is an Upper Cretaceous to lower Palaeocene stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta. Its deposition spanned the time interval from latest Cretaceous to early Paleocene, and it includes sediments that were deposited before, during, and after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event. It is significant for its fossil record, and it includes the economically important coal deposits of the Ardley coal zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearpaw Formation</span> Geologic formation in North America

The Bearpaw Formation, also called the Bearpaw Shale, is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous (Campanian) age. It outcrops in the U.S. state of Montana, as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and was named for the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana. It includes a wide range of marine fossils, as well as the remains of a few dinosaurs. It is known for its fossil ammonites, some of which are mined in Alberta to produce the organic gemstone ammolite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foremost Formation</span> Geologic formation in Alberta, Canada

The Foremost Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous (Campanian) age that underlies much of southern Alberta, Canada. It was named for outcrops in Chin Coulee near the town of Foremost and is known primarily for its dinosaur remains and other fossils.

The Wapiti Formation is a geological formation of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northwestern Alberta, and northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Its deposition spanned the time interval from the lower Campanian through to the upper Maastrichtian, between approximately 80 and 68 Ma. It was named by G.M. Dawson in 1881, presumably for exposures along the lower part of the Wapiti River and downstream along the Smoky River in Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary River Formation</span> Geologic formation in western Canada

The St. Mary River Formation is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous age of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta and northwesternmost Montana. It was first described from outcrops along the St. Mary River by George Mercer Dawson in 1883, and it takes its name from the river.

The Willow Creek Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cretaceous to Early Paleocene age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin of southwestern Alberta. It was first described by George Mercer Dawson in 1883 along the Willow Creek, a tributary of the Oldman River. Williams and Dyer defined the type section in 1930 at the mouth of Willow Creek, east of Fort Macleod.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikanassin Formation</span>

The Nikanassin Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Jurassic (Portlandian) to Early Cretaceous (Barremian) age. It is present along the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in western Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Its name was first proposed by D.B. Dowling in 1909 (Coal Fields South of Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain, Alberta Page 140 paragraph 4 " to this it is proposed to give the name Nikanassin, from the Cree word meaning outer range" Also it is noted on the map by D.B. Dowling.(Geological Survey of Canada. Incorrect info follows: It was named by B.R. MacKay in 1929 for the Nikanassin Range of the front-central ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Mackay did not designate a type locality for the formation, although he described outcrops near the hamlet of Brûlé, north of the Yellowhead Highway outside of Jasper National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadomin Formation</span> Geological formation in Canada

The Cadomin Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous age in the western part of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is extends from southeastern British Columbia through western Alberta to northeastern British Columbia, and it contains significant reservoirs of natural gas in some areas. It was named after the mining town of Cadomin, which is an acronym of "Canadian Dominion Mining".

Gething Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present in northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta, and includes economically important coal deposits.

The Fort St. John Group is a stratigraphic unit of Lower Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the city of Fort St. John, British Columbia and was first defined by George Mercer Dawson in 1881.

The Mist Mountain Formation is a geologic formation of latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in the southern and central Canadian Rockies. It was named for outcrops along the western spur of Mist Mountain in Alberta by D.W. Gibson in 1979. The Mist Mountain Formation contains economically important coal seams that have been mined in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmonton Group</span> Stratigraphic unit in central Alberta, Canada

Within the earth science of geology, the Edmonton Group is a Late Cretaceous to early Paleocene stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the central Alberta plains. It was first described as the Edmonton Formation by Joseph Burr Tyrrell in 1887 based on outcrops along the North Saskatchewan River in and near the city of Edmonton. E.J.W. Irish later elevated the formation to group status and it was subdivided into four separate formations. In ascending order, they are the Horseshoe Canyon, Whitemud, Battle and Scollard Formations. The Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary occurs within the Scollard Formation, based on dinosaurian and microfloral evidence, as well as the presence of the terminal Cretaceous iridium anomaly.

The Porcupine Hills Formation is a stratigraphic unit of middle to late Paleocene age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It takes its name from the Porcupine Hills of southwestern Alberta, and was first described in outcrop by George Mercer Dawson in 1883.

The Elk Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta. It is probably of Early Cretaceous age, but in some areas its strata could be as old as Late Jurassic. It includes minor thin coal beds and was named for outcrops near the now-abandoned Elk River coal mine east of Fernie, British Columbia.

The Minnes Group, originally named the Minnes Formation, is a geologic unit of latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the adjacent plains in northeastern British Columbia and west-central Alberta. Its strata include natural gas reservoirs and minor coal deposits. Fossil dinosaur tracks have been described from one of its formations.

The Monteith Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that consists primarily of sandstone. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the adjacent plains in northeastern British Columbia and west-central Alberta.

The Kootenay Group, originally called the Kootenay Formation, is a geologic unit of latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in the southern and central Canadian Rockies and foothills. It includes economically important deposits of high-rank bituminous and semi-anthracite coal, as well as plant fossils and dinosaur trackways.

The Bickford Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that consists primarily of nonmarine sediments. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies in northeastern British Columbia.

The Ma Butte Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous (Albian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It was named for Ma Butte, a mountain north of Coleman, Alberta, by J.R. McLean in 1980. It is present in the foothills of southwestern Alberta and it contains plant fossils.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Belly River Formation". Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  2. Dawson, G.M., 1883. Preliminary report on the geology of the Bow and Belly river region, Northwest Territory, with special reference to the coal deposits. Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress for 1880-81-82, Part B.
  3. 1 2 3 Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, North America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 574-588. ISBN   0-520-24209-2.