Ghost River Formation

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Ghost River Formation
Stratigraphic range: Cambrian to Middle Devonian
Type Formation (abandoned) [1]
Thickness87 metres (290 ft) [1]
Location
Coordinates 51°44′00″N115°43′30″W / 51.73333°N 115.72500°W / 51.73333; -115.72500 (Ghost River Formation)
RegionFlag of Alberta.svg  Alberta
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Type section
Named for Ghost River
Named by C.D. Walcott, 1923 [2]

The Ghost River Formation is a now-abandoned name for a geologic formation that encompassed Cambrian to Middle Devonian strata in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Alberta, Canada. [1] It was established by C.D. Walcott in 1923. [2] The name was abandoned because of uncertainty about the age of the strata that it encompassed. [3]

The type section of the Ghost River Formation contained strata that are now subdivided into several Cambrian formations, unconformably overlain by Middle Devonian strata now assigned to the Yahatinda Formation. The latter are contained in a channel eroded into the Cambrian rocks and include a variety of plant fossils and remains of fresh water fish. [4]

See also

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The Miette Group is an assemblage of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks of latest Precambrian (Neoproterozoic) age. It is present in the Canadian Cordillera from the Lake Louise area of Alberta to the Yukon. The Miette rocks include Ediacaran fossils, stromatolites, and trace fossils.

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

The Pika Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Middle Cambrian age that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia. It was named for Pika Peak near Lake Louise in Banff National Park by C.F. Deiss in 1939. It is fossiliferous and preserves several genera of trilobites. Outcrops of the Pika Formation can be seen in Banff and Jasper National Parks.

The Arctomys Formation is a stratigraphic unit of late Middle Cambrian age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia. It was named for Arctomys Peak near Mount Erasmus in Banff National Park by Charles Doolittle Walcott in 1920. Outcrops of the Arctomys can be seen in Banff and Jasper National Parks.

The Titkana Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Middle Cambrian age that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the northern Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia. It was named for Titkana Peak near Mount Robson by Charles Doolittle Walcott in 1913. The Titkana Formation is generally unfossiliferous.


The Mount Wilson Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Ordovician age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. It consists of quartz sandstone, and was named for the Mount Wilson in Banff National Park by C.D. Walcott in 1923.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. ISBN   0-920230-23-7.
  2. 1 2 Walcott, C.D. 1923. Nomenclature of some post-Cambrian and Cambrian Cordilleran formations: Cambrian geology and paleontology, Part 4. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collection, v. 75, p. 1-51.
  3. Aitken, J.D. 1963. Ghost River type section. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, v. 11, p. 267-287.
  4. McGregor, D.C. 1963. Paleobotanical evidence for the age of basal Devonian strata at Ghost River, Alberta. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, vol. 11, no. 3, p. 267-287.