Ishbel Group

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Ishbel Group
Stratigraphic range: Permian
Johnston cascade.JPG
Calcareous siltstone exposed along the Johnston Creek west of Banff
Type Group
Underlies Spray River Group
Overlies Tunnel Mountain Formation, Kananaskis Formation
ThicknessUp to about 425 m (1,394 ft) [1]
Lithology
Primary Limestone, dolomite, sandstone
Other Chert, siltstone
Location
RegionFlag of Alberta.svg  Alberta
Flag of British Columbia.svg  British Columbia
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Extent Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
Type section
Named for Mount Ishbel
Named byA. McGugan
Year defined1963

The Ishbel Group is a stratigraphic unit of Permian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It is present in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia. First defined by A. McGugan in 1963, [2] it is named for Mount Ishbel of the Sawback Range in Banff National Park, and parts of the group were first described in the vicinity of the mountain at Ranger Canyon and Johnston Canyon. [3]

Contents

Lithology

The Ishbel Group is composed of carbonate rocks (limestone and dolomite) and sandstone, with minor chert and siltstone. [1] [3] Depositional conditions were similar to those of the Phosphoria Formation to the south in United States. [3]

Paleontology

Among the fossils that have been found in the Ishbel Group are corals, bryozoa, crinoids, and conodonts, [3] as well as productid, chonetid and spiriferid brachiopods, omphalotrochid gastropods, and edestid elasmobranch fish. [4]

Distribution

The Ishbel Group reaches a maximum thickness of up to about 425 metres (1400 ft). It is present in the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies as far north as the Peace River. [1] [3]

Subdivisions

Sub-unit Age LithologyMax.
Thickness
Reference
Kindle Formation Asselian to early Artinskian siltstone, shale 200 m (660 ft) [5]
Belloy Formation Permian limestone, dolomite, and sandstone 274 m (900 ft) [6]
Fantasque Formation Permian spicular chert, shale, and siltstone 55 m (180 ft) [7]
Mowitch Formation Roadian to Wordian sandstone with gypsum 76 m (250 ft) [8]
Ranger Canyon Formation Roadian to Wordian dark chert, silicified sandstone, evaporite minerals 30 m (100 ft) [9]
Ross Creek Formation late Sakmarian to Artinskian shaly siltstone, calcareous siltstone, silty carbonate, phosphatic coquinas 143 m (470 ft) [10]
Telford Formation Asselian to Sakmarian sandy limestone and dolomite 259 m (850 ft) [11]
Johnston Canyon Formation late Sakmarian to Artinskian phosphatic siltstone, calcareous siltstone, and silty limestone and dolomite 57 m (190 ft) [12]
Belcourt Formation Asselian to Sakmarian silty dolomite with chert 130 m (430 ft) [13]

Relationship to other units

The Ishbel Group is disnconformably overlain by the Spray River Group and unconformably overlies the Tunnel Mountain Formation and the Kananaskis Formation. [1] It is partly equivalent to the Phosphoria Formation of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. [3]

Related Research Articles

Bullhead Group is a stratigraphic unit of Lower Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin of northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta. It was first defined by F.H. McLearn in 1918 as the Bullhead Mountain Formation, but later was upgraded to group status. It consists of the Cadomin and Gething Formations, although some early workers included the Bluesky Formation and others in the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rundle Group</span>

The Rundle Group is a stratigraphical unit of Mississippian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Ishbel</span> Mountain in Alberta, Canada

Mount Ishbel is a mountain peak in Banff National Park of Alberta, Canada. The peak is located in the Sawback Range in Alberta's Rockies, north of the Bow Valley Parkway and east of Johnston Canyon.

The Exshaw Formation is a stratigraphic unit in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the hamlet of Exshaw, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies, and was first described from outcrops on the banks of Jura Creek north of Exshaw by P.S. Warren in 1937. The formation is of Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age as determined by conodont biostratigraphy, and it straddles the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary.

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

The Palliser Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Devonian (Famennian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is a thick sequence of limestone and dolomitic limestone that is present in the Canadian Rockies and foothills of western Alberta. Tall cliffs formed of the Palliser Formation can be seen throughout Banff and Jasper National Parks.

The Stoddart Group is a stratigraphical unit of Mississippian to Early Pennsylvanian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

The Beaverhill Lake Group is a geologic unit of Middle Devonian to Late Devonian age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in the southwestern Northwest Territories, northeastern British Columbia and Alberta. It was named by the geological staff of Imperial Oil in 1950 for Beaverhill Lake, Alberta, based on the core from a well that they had drilled southeast of the lake, near Ryley, Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phosphoria Formation</span> Geologic formation in the northwestern United States

The Phosphoria Formation of the western United States is a geological formation of Early Permian age. It represents some 15 million years of sedimentation, reaches a thickness of 420 metres (1,380 ft) and covers an area of 350,000 square kilometres (140,000 sq mi).

The Liard Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Middle Triassic to Late Triassic age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin that is present in northeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Liard River, and was first described from outcrops on the southern bank of that river, near Hell Gate Rapids in the Grand Canyon of the Liard, by E.D. Kindle in 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gog Group</span> Stratigraphic unit in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin

The Gog Group is a stratigraphic unit in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present in the western main ranges of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta and British Columbia, and in the Cariboo Mountains and in the central Purcell Mountains in southwestern British Columbia. It was named by C.F. Deiss in 1940 for a type locality near Mount Assiniboine.

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

The Tunnel Mountain Formation is a geologic formation that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Canadian Rockies of western Alberta. Named after Tunnel Mountain near Banff, it was deposited during the Early Pennsylvanian sub-period of the Carboniferous period.

The Alexo Formation a stratigraphic unit of Late Devonian age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the central Rocky Mountains and foothills of Alberta. The formation consists primarily of dolomite. It is locally fossiliferous and includes remains of marine animals such as brachiopods and conodonts.

The Simla Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Devonian age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Rocky Mountains and foothills of west-central Alberta and east-central British Columbia. It consists primarily of carbonate rocks and siltstone, and was named for Mount Simla in northern Jasper National Park by D. J. McLaren and E. W. Mountjoy in 1962.

The Beaverfoot Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Ordovician to Early Silurian (Llandovery) age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta, and the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia. It consists of carbonate rocks, and was named for the Beaverfoot Range at Pedley Pass southeast of Golden, British Columbia by L.D. Burling in 1922.

The Sulphur Mountain Formation is a geologic formation of Early to Middle Triassic age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the foothills and Rocky Mountains of western Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. It includes marine fossils from the time shortly after the Permian-Triassic extinction event.

The Fairholme Group is a stratigraphic unit of Late Devonian (Frasnian) age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Rocky Mountains and foothills of Alberta and British Columbia. It was named for the Fairholme Range near Exshaw in the Canadian Rockies by H.H. Beach in 1943.

The Mount Whyte Formation is a stratigraphic unit that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the southern Canadian Rockies and the adjacent southwestern Alberta plains. It was deposited during Middle Cambrian time and consists of shale interbedded with other siliciclastic rock types and limestones. It was named for Mount Whyte in Banff National Park by Charles Doolittle Walcott, the discoverer of the Burgess shale fossils, and it includes several genera of fossil trilobites.

Toad Formation, Grayling Formation, and Toad-Grayling Formation are obsolete names for the strata of the Early to Middle Triassic Doig and Montney Formations. They were applied in the foothills and Rocky Mountains of northeastern British Columbia, on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Although the names are considered obsolete, their usage persists.

The Kananaskis Formation is a geologic formation that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the southern Canadian Rockies of western Alberta. Named after the Kananaskis Range near Banff, it was deposited during the Late Pennsylvanian sub-period of the Carboniferous period. Some of its strata host fossils of marine invertebrates.

The Spray Lakes Group is a stratigraphic unit that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the southern Canadian Rockies, and it comprises the Pennsylvanian-age strata of that region. It was named after the Spray Lakes near Banff, Alberta, and fossils of marine invertebrates are found in some of its strata.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Ishbel Group" . Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  2. McGugan, A., 1963. A Permian brachiopod and fusulinid fauna from Elk Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Paleontology, v. 37, p. 621-627.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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.
  4. Journal of Paleontology. "Biostratigraphy and faunas of the Permian Ishbel Group, Canadian Rocky Mountains" . Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  5. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Kindle Formation" . Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  6. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Belloy Formation". Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  7. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Fantasque Formation" . Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  8. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Mowitch Formation" . Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  9. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Ranger Canyon Formation" . Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  10. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Ross Creek Formation" . Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  11. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Telford Formation" . Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  12. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Johnston Canyon Formation" . Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  13. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Belcourt Formation" . Retrieved 2010-01-09.