Mount Wilson Formation

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Mount Wilson Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Ordovician
~470–450  Ma
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Type Formation
Underlies Beaverfoot Formation
Overlies Owen Creek Formation or Glenogle Formation
ThicknessUp to about 450 m (1476 feet) [1]
Lithology
Primary Quartz sandstone
Location
Coordinates 52°00′00″N116°45′00″W / 52.00000°N 116.75000°W / 52.00000; -116.75000 (Mount Wilson Formation) Coordinates: 52°00′00″N116°45′00″W / 52.00000°N 116.75000°W / 52.00000; -116.75000 (Mount Wilson Formation)
RegionFlag of Alberta.svg  Alberta
Flag of British Columbia.svg  British Columbia
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Type section
Named for Mount Wilson
Named byC.D. Walcott, 1923 [2]


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. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Lithology and thickness

The Mount Wilson Formation consists of light grey to white, thin- to thick-bedded quartz sandstone that is well-cemented by clear quartz. It reaches a thickness of about 450 m (1476 feet) south of Golden, British Columbia. [1]

Distribution and relationship to other units

The Mount Wilson Formation is present in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. It rests conformably on the Owen Creek Formation in the eastern main ranges and on the Glenogle Formation in the western main ranges, and is overlain by the Beaverfoot Formation. [1] [4]

Related Research Articles

The Lynx Formation or Lynx Group is a stratigraphic unit of Late Cambrian (Dresbachian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia. It was originally described as the Lynx Formation by Charles Doolittle Walcott in 1913, based on and named for outcrops on the slopes of Lynx Mountain on the continental divide east of Mount Robson. It was subdivided into five formations and elevated to group status by J.D. Aitken and R.G. Greggs in 1967. The name Lynx Formation continues to be used in areas where some or all of the subdivisions cannot be distinguished. All of the formations in the Lynx Group include fossil trilobites and some contain the stromatolite Collenia.

Cathedral Formation

The Cathedral Formation is a stratigraphic unit in the southern Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia, on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is a thick sequence of carbonate rocks of Middle Cambrian age. It was named for Cathedral Mountain in Yoho National Park by Charles Doolittle Walcott, the discoverer of the Burgess shale fossils.

Gog Group

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.

Tunnel Mountain Formation

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.

Yahatinda Formation

The Yahatinda Formation is a geologic formation of Middle Devonian (Givetian) age in the southwestern part of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the mountains of southwestern Alberta. Its type locality lies the on the eastern face of Wapiti Mountain above Ya-Ha-Tinda Ranch at the eastern edge of Banff National Park. The Yahatinda contains a variety of Devonian fossils.


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 Outram Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Ordovician 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 Mount Outram in Banff National Park by J.D. Aitken and B.S. Norford in 1967. The Outram Formation is fossiliferous and includes remains of trilobites and other marine invertebrates, as well as stromatolites and thrombolites.

The Skoki Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early to Middle Ordovician 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 Skoki Mountain near Lake Louise in Banff National Park by Charles Doolittle Walcott in 1928. The Skoki Formation is fossiliferous and includes remains of brachiopods and other marine invertebrates, as well as conodonts and oncolites.

The Survey Peak Formation is a stratigraphic unit of latest Cambrian to earliest Ordovician 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 Survey Peak near Mount Erasmus in Banff National Park by J.D. Aitken and B.S. Norford in 1967. The Survey Peak Formation is fossiliferous and includes remains of trilobites and other marine invertebrates, as well as conodonts, stromatolites, and thrombolites.

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.

Monteith Formation

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.

Eldon Formation Geologic formation in Canada

The Eldon Formation is a stratigraphic unit that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the southern Canadian Rockies of southwestern Alberta and southeastern British Columbia. It is a thick sequence of massive, cliff-forming limestones and dolomites that was named for Eldon Switch on the Canadian Pacific Railway near Castle Mountain in Banff National Park by Charles Doolittle Walcott, who discovered the Burgess Shale fossils. The Eldon Formation was deposited during Middle Cambrian time, and it includes fossil stromatolites. The Eldon forms the scenic cliffs at the top of Castle Mountain, and can also be seen at Mount Yamnuska and other mountains in Banff and Yoho National Parks.

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 Snake Indian 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 Snake Indian River in Jasper National Park by E.W. Montjoy and J.D. Aitken in 1978. The type locality was established on Chetamon Mountain.

The Earlie Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Middle Cambrian age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present beneath the plains of Alberta and eastern Saskatchewan. It was named for Earlie Lake in the County of Vermilion River, Alberta, by D.C. Pugh in 1971, who described the type section based on data from an oil well drilled in that area.

The Hollebeke Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Devonian (Frasnian) age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the southern Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. It consists of carbonate rocks, and was named for Mount Hollebeke in the Flathead Range near North Kootenay Pass by R.A. Price in 1965.


The Naiset Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Middle Cambrian age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the southern Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. It consists primarily of siliciclastic rocks, and was named for Naiset Point near Mount Assiniboine by C.E. Deiss in 1940.


The Glenogle Formation or Glenogle Shale is a stratigraphic unit of Ordovician age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southeastern British Columbia. It consists primarily of black shale and was named for Glenogle Creek in the Kicking Horse River area by L.D. Burling in 1923.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba, p. 830. 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 Cordillrean formations: Cambrian geology and paleontology, Part 4. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 67, no. 8, p. 457-476.
  3. Norford, B.S. 1969. Ordovician and Silurian stratigraphy of the southern Rocky Mountains. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 176.
  4. Alberta Geological Survey. "Alberta Table of Formations, May 2019" (PDF). Alberta Energy Regulator. Retrieved 24 March 2020.