Outram Formation

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Outram Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Ordovician ~485–470  Ma
Type Formation
Underlies Skoki Formation
Overlies Survey Peak Formation
ThicknessUp to 443 metres (1453 ft) [1]
Lithology
Primary Limestone, siltstone
Other Shale, chert
Location
Coordinates 51°52′54″N116°52′31″W / 51.88167°N 116.87528°W / 51.88167; -116.87528 (Outram Formation)
Region Canadian Rockies
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Type section
Named for Mount Outram
Named byJ.D. Aitken and B.S. Norford [2]

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. [3] It was named for Mount Outram in Banff National Park by J.D. Aitken and B.S. Norford in 1967. [2] The Outram Formation is fossiliferous and includes remains of trilobites and other marine invertebrates, as well as stromatolites and thrombolites. [1] [2]

Contents

Lithology and deposition

The Outram Formation formed as a shallow and at times emergent marine shelf along the western shoreline of the North American Craton during Early Ordovician time. [2] [3] It consists primarily of nodular limestone, calcareous quartzose siltstone, limestone pebble-conglomerate, and brown shale. Nodules of grey chert occur throughout the formation. [1] [2]

Distribution and stratigraphic relationships

The Outram is present in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. Its thickness and shale content increase toward the west. [1] [2] It overlies the Survey Peak Formation and underlies the Skoki Formation. [4] Both contacts are gradational. [1] [2]

Paleontology

The Outram Formation contains several genera of trilobites, as well as brachiopods, conodonts, gastropods, sponges, echinoderms, bivalves, gastropods, stromatolites, thrombolites, oncolites, rare graptolites, and others. [1] [2]

References

  1. 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.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Aitken, J.D. and Norford, B.S. 1967. Lower Ordovician Survey Peak and Outram formations, southern Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, vol. 15, p. 150-207.
  3. 1 2 Slind, O.L., Andrews, G.D., Murray, D.L., Norford, B.S., Paterson, D.F., Salas, C.J., and Tawadros, E.E., Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Geological Survey (1994). "The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I., compilers), Chapter 8: Middle Cambrian and Early Ordovician Strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin". Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2018-07-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Alberta Geological Survey. "Alberta Table of Formations, May 2019" (PDF). Alberta Energy Regulator. Retrieved 24 March 2020.