The Borsato 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 dolomite and was named for Mount Borsato in the Flathead Range near North Kootenay Pass by R.A. Price in 1965.[1][2]

Borsato Formation
Stratigraphic range: Frasnian
~382–373 Ma
TypeFormation
Unit ofFairholme Group
UnderliesMount Hawk Formation or Southesk Formation
OverliesHollebeke Formation
ThicknessUp to about 60 m (200 ft)[1]
Lithology
PrimaryDolomite
Location
Coordinates49°23′50″N 114°34′53″W / 49.39722°N 114.58139°W / 49.39722; -114.58139 (Borsato Formation)
Region British Columbia
 Alberta
Country Canada
Type section
Named forMount Borsato
Named byR.A. Price
Year defined1965[2]
Borsato Formation is located in Canada
Borsato Formation
Borsato Formation (Canada)
Borsato Formation is located in Alberta
Borsato Formation
Borsato Formation (Alberta)

The formation is fossiliferous and includes remains of stromatoporoids and tabulate corals.[1]

Thickness and lithology

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The Borsato Formation is 20 to 60 metres (66 to 197 ft) thick. It was deposited in a reefal environment and consists of dark coloured, medium- to thick-bedded, medium- to coarse-crystalline dolomite.[1]

Distribution and relationship to other units

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The Borsato Formation is present in the Rocky Mountains of southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, west of the Lewis Thrust Fault and south of about 49° 45". It overlies the Hollebeke Formation, and is overlain by the Mount Hawk Formation or the Peechee Member of the Southesk Formation, depending on the location.[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba, p. 720-721. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. ISBN 0-920230-23-7
  2. ^ a b Price, R.A., 1965. Flathead map-area, British Columbia and Alberta. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 336
  3. ^ Alberta Geological Survey. "Alberta Table of Formations, May 2019" (PDF). Alberta Energy Regulator. Retrieved 24 March 2020.