Pavy Formation

The Pavy Formation is a geologic formation in Nunavut. It preserves fossil insects of Carabites feildenianus, dating back to the Thanetian stage of the Paleocene period.

Pavy Formation
Stratigraphic range: Thanetian
Type	Formation
Lithology
Primary	Siltstone
Other	Coal
Location
Coordinates	81.7°N 64.4°W / 81.7; -64.4
Approximate paleocoordinates	74.3°N 13.3°W / 74.3; -13.3
Region	Ellesmere Island, Nunavut
Country	Canada
Extent	Sverdrup Basin
Type section
Named for	Pavy River
Pavy Formation (Canada) Pavy Formation (Nunavut)

Description

The Pavy Formation is interpreted to be fluvial in origin. Trough-crossbedded sandstone facies dominate this formation and were probably channel deposits of a braided river system, with interbeds of siltstone and mudrock representing floodplain deposits. Where thicker intervals of mudrock occur, backswamp ponds or shallow-lake conditions were probably present. Only at Watercourse Valley and Pavy River did conditions stabilize long enough for swamps to develop, producing thick coal beds.

See also

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Nunavut
  • Margaret Formation

References

Bibliography

• Heer, O (1878), "Die Miocene Flora des Grinnell-Landes gegründet auf die von Capitan H.E. Feilden und Dr. E. Moss in der Nähe des Kap Murchison gesammelten fossilen Pflanzen", Flora Fossilis Arctica: Die Fossile Flora der Polarländer, 5: 1–38