The Viking Formation is a

stratigraphic unit A stratigraphic unit is a volume of rock of identifiable origin and relative age range that is defined by the distinctive and dominant, easily mapped and recognizable petrographic, lithologic or paleontologic features ( facies) that characteriz ...

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone has been alive or something has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

in the

Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin The Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary b ...

. It takes the name from the town of

Viking, Alberta Viking () is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is at the intersection of Alberta Highway 14, Highway 14 (Poundmaker Trail) and Alberta Highway 36, Highway 36 (Veterans Memorial Highway), approximately east of Edmonton. The town also lends ...

, and was first described in the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Kinsella Kinsella is a surname of Irish language, Irish Gaelic origin, developed from the original form ''Cinnsealach'', meaning "proud". The Kinsella sept is native in part of the modern County Wexford in Leinster, a district formerly called the Kinsella ...

oil field by Dowling in 1919.

Lithology

The Viking Formation is composed of fine to coarse grained sandstone with interbeds of conglomerate and

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...

y conglomeratic sandstone. Nodular

phosphorite Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxi ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

fragments and concretionary

siderite Siderite is a mineral composed of iron(II) carbonate (FeCO3). Its name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "iron". A valuable iron ore, it consists of 48% iron and lacks sulfur and phosphorus. Zinc, magnesium, and manganese commonly ...

occur in the coarse beds.

Hydrocarbon production

Oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

is produced from the Viking Formation in eastern and

central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordered ...

as well as in west-central

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. The Viking Formation had an initial established recoverable

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

of 88.7 million m³, with 66.8 million m³ already produced as of 2008.

Gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

reserves totaled 277.9 million e³m³ (or 227,900 million m³), with 103.4 million e³m³ (or 103,400 million m³already produced.

Hydraulic fracturing in Canada

Massive hydraulic fracturing has been widely used in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

since the late 1970s. The method is currently used in development of the Cardium, Duvernay,

Montney Montney is an unincorporated locality located in British Columbia about north of Fort St. John, near Beatton Provincial Park. It lies at an elevation of , along the BC Rail tracks. The settlement gives the name to the Montney Formation, a ...

and Viking formations in

, Bakken formation in

and

Horn River The Horn River is a river in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is a major tributary of the Mackenzie River. The river gives the name to the Horn River Formation, a shale deposit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The Horn River Bas ...

formations in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Distribution

The Viking Formation occurs in the sub-surface of central and eastern Alberta and in west-central Saskatchewan. It reaches a maximum thickness of in

and thins out to in Saskatchewan. Thinner sandstone beds can be recognized into western Alberta.

Relationship to other units

The Viking Formation is conformably overlain by the Big River Formation and conformably and

unconformably An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval o ...

underlain by the Joli Fou Formation. It is equivalent to the Bow Island Formation in

southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...

, to the

Newcastle Formation The Newcastle Formation is a geologic formation in British Columbia. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

, to the

Ashville Formation The Ashville Formation is a geological formation in Saskatchewan and Manitoba whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "D ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, the Pelican Sandstone in north-eastern Alberta and the Flotten Lake Sand in central

. It can be correlated with the Cadotte Member of the

Peace River Formation The Peace River Formation is a stratigraphic unit of middle Albian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the Peace River, and was first described on the banks of the river, downstream from the Smoky River confluenc ...

in north-western Alberta.

References

{{Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Northeast_Plains=yes, Central_Plains=yes Geologic formations of Alberta Geologic formations of Saskatchewan Cretaceous Alberta Cretaceous Saskatchewan Sandstone formations of Canada Conglomerate formations of Canada Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin Chert formations