stratigraphical
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostrat ...
unit of
Mississippian
Mississippian may refer to:
* Mississippian (geology), a subperiod of the Carboniferous period in the geologic timescale, roughly 360 to 325 million years ago
*Mississippian culture, a culture of Native American mound-builders from 900 to 1500 AD ...
age
Age or AGE may refer to:
Time and its effects
* Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed
** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1
* Ageing or aging, the process of becoming olde ...
in the
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
The Western Canadian 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 ...
.
It takes the name from
Mount Rundle
Mount Rundle is a mountain in Canada's Banff National Park overlooking the towns of Banff and Canmore, Alberta. The Cree name was ''Waskahigan Watchi'' or house mountain.
In 1858 John Palliser renamed the mountain after Reverend Robert Rundle, ...
(itself taking the name from Robert Terrill Rundle), and was first described in outcrops at the northern side of the mountain in
Banff National Park
Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense conif ...
by R.J.W. Douglas in 1953.Douglas, R.J.W., 1953b. Carboniferous stratigraphy in the southern Foothills of Alberta; Alberta Soc. Petrol. Geol., 3rd Ann. Field Conf. Guidebook, p. 66–88.
Lithology
The Rundle Group consists of massive
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
interbedded with dark argillaceous limestone.
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 ...
nodules are observed in the shaley beds, and
crinoid
Crinoids are marine animals that make up the Class (biology), class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or coma ...
s and
brachiopod
Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, ...
s are observed in the clean massive beds.Dolimitization is observed in the
Elkton Member
The Rundle Group is a stratigraphical unit of Mississippian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from Mount Rundle (itself taking the name from Robert Terrill Rundle), and was first described in outcrops at the nort ...
The Rundle Group reaches a maximum thickness of at
Tunnel Mountain
Tunnel Mountain (also known as Sleeping Buffalo, ''Iinii Istako'', ''Eyarhey Tatanga Woweyahgey Wakân''), is a mountain located in the Bow River Valley of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada at the junction of the Spray River with the Bow and ...
. It thins out toward east and north and is completely
eroded
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
or absent in east
central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and only the lower part occurs in
southern Alberta
Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.disconformably overlain by the
Rocky Mountain Formation
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess ...
in the front ranges of the
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost par ...
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
beds in the prairies. It conformably overlies the
Banff Formation
The Banff Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from the town of Banff, Alberta, and was first described on the north-west slope of Mount Rundle, near Banff by E.M. Kindl ...
.
The Rundle Group can be correlated with the
Mission Canyon Formation
The Mission Canyon Formation is a geologic formation in Montana and Wyoming. It preserves fossils from the Mississippian period.
See also
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Montana
* Paleontology in Montana
Paleontology in Montana ...
in southern
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...
, northeastern
Montana
Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...
and
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...
.
Subdivisions
The Rundle Group comprises the
Mount Head Formation
The Rundle Group is a stratigraphical unit of Mississippian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from Mount Rundle (itself taking the name from Robert Terrill Rundle), and was first described in outcrops at the nort ...
and
Livingstone Formation
The Rundle Group is a stratigraphical unit of Mississippian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from Mount Rundle (itself taking the name from Robert Terrill Rundle), and was first described in outcrops at the north ...
in the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
Shunda Formation
The Rundle Group is a stratigraphical unit of Mississippian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from Mount Rundle (itself taking the name from Robert Terrill Rundle), and was first described in outcrops at the northe ...
and
Pekisko Formation
The Rundle Group is a stratigraphical unit of Mississippian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from Mount Rundle (itself taking the name from Robert Terrill Rundle), and was first described in outcrops at the north ...
in the foothills and plains. It is equivalent to the
Debolt Formation
The Debolt Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Meramecian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from the hamlet of Debolt, Alberta, and was first described in the Amerada Crown GF23-11 well near Debolt by G. Macaul ...
and
Prophet Formation
The Rundle Group is a stratigraphical unit of Mississippian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from Mount Rundle (itself taking the name from Robert Terrill Rundle), and was first described in outcrops at the north ...
in north-eastern
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
and west-
northern Alberta
Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.
An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the ce ...
.
Debolt
DeBolt is a hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Greenview No. 16. A variant name is Debolt. H. E. Debolt, an early postmaster, gave the community his last name.
The hamlet is located in census division No. 18. ...
Pekisko Formation
The Rundle Group is a stratigraphical unit of Mississippian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from Mount Rundle (itself taking the name from Robert Terrill Rundle), and was first described in outcrops at the north ...
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost par ...