The Wapiti Group is a stratigraphical unit of Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It has formation status in Alberta and group status in British Columbia.
| Wapiti Group | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
| Type | Geological group |
| Underlies | Scollard Formation |
| Overlies | Smoky Group, Kotaneelee Formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone |
| Other | Conglomerate, coal |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 55°06′N 118°18′W / 55.1°N 118.3°W |
| Region |  Alberta,  British Columbia |
| Country |  Canada |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Wapiti River |
| Named by | G M Dawson, 1881 |
It takes the name from the Wapiti River, and was first described along the banks of the lower Wapiti River and Smoky River in the Grande Prairie area by George Mercer Dawson in 1881.[1]
Lithology
editThe Wapiti Group is composed of thin-bedded to massive sandstone with occasional conglomerate and coal beds.[2]
Distribution
editThe Wapiti Formation occurs at surface as erosional remnants in north-eastern British Columbia along the Beaver River, Liard River, between the Kotaneelee River and Petitot River.[2] It reaches a thickness of several hundred meters.[citation needed]
Relationship to other units
editThe Wapiti Group forms the present day erosional surface in British Columbia, and is overlain by the Scollard Formation in its eastern reaches. It conformably and gradually overlays the Kotaneelee Formation in British Columbia, and the Smoky Group in north-western Alberta.[2]
References
edit- ^ Dawson, G.M., 1881. Report on the exploration from Port Simpson on the Pacific Coast to Edmonton on the Saskatchewan River, Embracing a portion of the northern part of British Columbia and the Peace River country, with Maps 150 and 152; Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress 1879-1880, Part B, p. 1-77.
- ^ a b c Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Wapiti Group". Retrieved 2009-12-16.
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