The Pine Point Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Givetian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
| Pine Point Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Underlies | Presqu'ile Formation, Sulphur Point Formation |
| Overlies | Chinchaga Formation |
| Thickness | up to 115 metres (380 ft)[1] |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Limestone, shale |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 61°00′43″N 114°15′12″W / 61.01206°N 114.25335°W |
| Region | WCSB |
| Country |  Canada |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Pine Point, Northwest Territories |
| Named by | A.E. Cameron |
| Year defined | 1918 |
It takes the name from Pine Point, a promontory (and former townsite) on the south shore of the Great Slave Lake, west of Fort Resolution, and was first described in outcrop on the shore of the lake between Pine Point and Fort Resolution by A.E. Cameron in 1918.[2]
Lithology
editThe Pine Point Formation is composed of bituminous limestone and calcareous shale.[1]
Distribution
editThe Pine Point Formation reaches a thickness of up to 115 metres (380 ft) in its type locality on the shore of the Great Slave Lake.
Relationship to other units
editThe Pine Point Formation is overlain by the Presqu'ile Formation and Sulphur Point Formation; It conformably overlays the Chinchaga Formation and Fitzgerald Formation.[1]
It is equivalent to Muskeg Formation in northern Alberta, the Dunedin Formation in British Columbia and the upper Nahanni Formation in western Northwest Territories.
Subdivisions
editThe Pine Point has group status in the southern Northwest Territories, and includes:
- Buffalo River Member
- Horn River Formation shale tongues
- Keg River Formation platform facies was included in the group before 1975
References
edit- ^ a b c Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Pine Point Formation". Retrieved 2010-01-03.
- ^ Cameron, A.E., 1918. Explorations in the vicinity of Great Slave Lake; Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report 1917, Part C, pp. 21-28.