10 Questions
What is the Horseshoe Canyon Formation and where is it located?
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta, named after Horseshoe Canyon near Drumheller.
What is the thickness of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation in its type section?
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is approximately 250 meters (820 ft) thick in its type section at Drumheller.
How does the thickness of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation vary towards the west?
The formation becomes older and thicker towards the west, exceeding 500 meters (1,600 ft) near Calgary.
What is the age of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation?
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is of Late Cretaceous age, specifically Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age).
What are some of the depositional environments represented in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation?
The formation represents a variety of depositional environments, including floodplains, estuarine channels, and coal swamps.
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta. It takes its name from Horseshoe Canyon, an area of badlands near Drumheller. The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is part of the ______ Group.
Edmonton
A variety of depositional environments are represented in the succession, including floodplains, estuarine channels, and ______ swamps, which have yielded a diversity of fossil material.
coal
In its type section (Red Deer River Valley at Drumheller), it is ~250 metres (820 ft) thick, but further west the formation is older and thicker, exceeding 500 metres (1,600 ft) near ______.
Calgary
It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and ______ seams.
coal
Tidally-influenced estuarine point bar deposits are easily recognizable as ______ Heterolithic Stratification (IHS).
Inclined
Study Notes
Horseshoe Canyon Formation
- Located in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta, specifically named after Horseshoe Canyon, an area of badlands near Drumheller.
Characteristics
- Part of the Edmonton Group.
- Thick in its type section, measuring ~250 metres (820 ft) in the Red Deer River Valley at Drumheller.
- Thickness increases towards the west, exceeding 500 metres (1,600 ft) near the Rockies.
Age and Composition
- Of Late Cretaceous age, specifically Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age).
- Composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams.
Depositional Environments
- Representing a variety of environments, including floodplains, estuarine channels, and coastal swamps.
- Tidally-influenced estuarine point bar deposits feature Heterolithic Stratification (IHS).
Test your knowledge of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation in southwestern Alberta with this quiz! Learn about its geological features, formation processes, and significance within the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Challenge yourself with questions on its thickness, location, and relationship to the Edmonton Group.
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