The Nido Formation is a
stratigraphic unit of
Neogene
The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
age in northwestern
British Columbia, Canada.
Naming
The Nido Formation takes its name from
Nido Creek, a stream flowing northeast from the eastern flank of
Mount Edziza into Nuttlude Lake.
Nido means "white man" in the
Tahltan language.
Geology
The Nido Formation has a volume of , making it the second most voluminous
geological formation of the
Mount Edziza volcanic complex after the
Armadillo Formation.
It overlies the
Raspberry
The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...
, Armadillo and
Little Iskut formations, all of which are
Miocene in age. Also underlying the Nido Formation are pre-
Tertiary rocks of the
Stikinia
Stikinia, or the Stikine terrane, is a terrane in British Columbia, Canada; the largest of the Canadian Cordillera. It formed as an independent, intraoceanic volcanic arc during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic.
Stikinia forms the bedrock of numerous v ...
terrane. Overlying the Nido Formation are the Spectrum,
Pyramid, Ice Peak,
Edziza and
Big Raven formations which are of
Pliocene age and younger.
Two subunits comprise the Nido Formation, namely the Tenchen Member and the Kounugu Member. Both members are separated by the Armadillo Highlands in the middle of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. The Tenchen Member forms a
lava field north of the Armadillo Highlands while the Kounugu Member forms a lava field south of the highlands.
The Nido Formation consists of
alkali basalt and
hawaiite lava flows that issued from multiple eruptive centres.
K–Ar dating has yielded ages of 7.8 ± 0.3 million years, 5.5 ± 1.6 million years, 4.5 ± 0.3 million years and 4.4 ± 0.5 million years for Nido alkali basalt.
See also
*
Volcanism of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex
References
{{reflist
Geologic formations of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex
Neogene British Columbia
Neogene volcanism
Basalt formations
Miocene shield volcanoes
Shield volcanoes of Canada