Stony Mountain Formation Explained

Stony Mountain Formation
Type:Geological formation
Period:Ashgill
Prilithology:dolomite, shale
Otherlithology:Anhydrite, limestone
Namedfor:Stony Mountain, Manitoba
Namedby:D.B. Dowling, 1900
Region:WCSB
Williston Basin
Country: Canada
United States
Coordinates:49.9184°N -97.5265°W
Underlies:Stonewall Formation
Overlies:Red River Formation
Thickness:up to 45m (148feet)

The Stony Mountain Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Ashgill age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

It takes the name from the community Stony Mountain, Manitoba, and was first described in the town quarry by D.B. Dowling in 1900.[1]

Lithology

Subdivisions

The Stony Mountain Formation is divided in the following sub-units:[2]

South (Williston Basin)

argillaceous dolomite

interbedded calcareous shale and fossiliferous limestone

North

crystalline dolomite

Distribution

The Stony Mountain Formation occurs throughout the Williston Basin.[2] It reaches a maximum thickness of 45m (148feet) in the sub-surface at the Canada/United States border, and thins out towards the east, north and west. In Manitoba, where it is exposed at the surface in the erosion belt, it has a thickness of 30m (100feet).

Relationship to other units

The Stony Mountain Formation is slightly unconformably overlain by the Stonewall Formation and sharply overlays the Red River Formation or the Herald Formation.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Dowling, D.B., 1900. Report on the Geology of the West Shore and Islands of Lake Winnipeg; Geological Survey of Canada, Annual Report 1898, Volume XI, Part F, with Map 664.
  2. Web site: Stony Mountain Formation. . 2010-02-04.