Mount Wilson Formation


The Mount Wilson Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Ordovician age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. It consists of quartz sandstone, and was named for the Mount Wilson in Banff National Park by C.D. Walcott in 1923.[1][2][3]

Mount Wilson Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Ordovician
~470–450 Ma
TypeFormation
UnderliesBeaverfoot Formation
OverliesOwen Creek Formation or Glenogle Formation
ThicknessUp to about 450 m (1476 feet)[1]
Lithology
PrimaryQuartz sandstone
Location
Coordinates52°00′00″N 116°45′00″W / 52.00000°N 116.75000°W / 52.00000; -116.75000 (Mount Wilson Formation)
Region Alberta
 British Columbia
Country Canada
Type section
Named forMount Wilson
Named byC.D. Walcott, 1923[2]

Lithology and thickness

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The Mount Wilson Formation consists of light grey to white, thin- to thick-bedded quartz sandstone that is well-cemented by clear quartz. It reaches a thickness of about 450 m (1476 feet) south of Golden, British Columbia.[1]

Distribution and relationship to other units

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The Mount Wilson Formation is present in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. It rests conformably on the Owen Creek Formation in the eastern main ranges and on the Glenogle Formation in the western main ranges, and is overlain by the Beaverfoot Formation.[1][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba, p. 830. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. ISBN 0-920230-23-7.
  2. ^ a b Walcott, C.D. 1923. Nomenclature of some post-Cambrian and Cambrian Cordillrean formations: Cambrian geology and paleontology, Part 4. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 67, no. 8, p. 457-476.
  3. ^ Norford, B.S. 1969. Ordovician and Silurian stratigraphy of the southern Rocky Mountains. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 176.
  4. ^ Alberta Geological Survey. "Alberta Table of Formations, May 2019" (PDF). Alberta Energy Regulator. Retrieved 24 March 2020.