Beaverhill Lake Group
Encyclopedia
The Beaverhill Lake Group is a stratigraphical
unit of Middle Devonian to Late Devonian age
in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
.
It takes the name from Beaverhill Lake
, and was first described in the well Anglo-Canadian Beaverhill Lake No. 2 (drilled south-east of the lake, near Ryley
) by geological staff from Imperial Oil
in 1950.
s and shale
, with repeated calcareous shale and argillaceous micrite
s sequences. It becomes more argillaceous to the west.
is produced from the Swan Hills Formation in the Swan Hills
area of northern Alberta
.
.
Swan Hills
area
In northern Alberta
and northeastern British Columbia
it has formation status, and is not differentiated.
overlain by the Woodbend Formation west of the Leduc
reef trend. In north-western Alberta and north-eastern British Columbia, it is disconformably overlain by the Muskwa Formation
. It is conformably underlain by the Elk Point Group
in central Alberta, and by the Slave Point Formation
in north-western Alberta and north-eastern British Columbia.
It is equivalent to the Slave Point Formation
and Waterways Formation in north-eastern Alberta, with the Slave Point Formation
and the lower Hay River Formation in the District of Mackenzie
, as well as the Horn River Formation
and Fort Simpson Formation
north-west of the Slave Point
-Keg River
facies in north-eastern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories
. It is equivalent to the Souris River Formation in southeastern Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Manitoba
, and to the Flume Formation of the Fairholme Group in the Canadian Rockies
.
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
unit of Middle Devonian to Late Devonian age
Geochronology
Geochronology is the science of determining the age of rocks, fossils, and sediments, within a certain degree of uncertainty inherent to the method used. A variety of dating methods are used by geologists to achieve this, and schemes of classification and terminology have been proposed...
in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin is a vast sedimentary basin underlying of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. It consists of a massive wedge of sedimentary rock...
.
It takes the name from Beaverhill Lake
Beaverhill Lake
Beaverhill Lake is a large dried up lake in central Alberta, Canada. It is a site of regional importance in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. It is managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service division of Environment Canada....
, and was first described in the well Anglo-Canadian Beaverhill Lake No. 2 (drilled south-east of the lake, near Ryley
Ryley, Alberta
Ryley is a village in central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Beaver County, along Highway 14 between the City of Edmonton and the Town of Viking...
) by geological staff from Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil Limited is Canada's largest petroleum company. The company is engaged in the exploration, production and sale of crude oil and natural gas. It is controlled by US based ExxonMobil, which owns 69.6% of its stock...
in 1950.
Lithology
The Beaverhill Lake Group is composed of carbonateCarbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....
s and shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
, with repeated calcareous shale and argillaceous micrite
Micrite
Micrite is a limestone constituent formed of calcareous particles ranging in diameter up to 4 μm formed by the recrystallization of lime mud.The term was coined in 1959 by Robert Folk for his carbonate rock classification system...
s sequences. It becomes more argillaceous to the west.
Hydrocarbon production
OilPetroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
is produced from the Swan Hills Formation in the Swan Hills
Swan Hills, Alberta
Swan Hills is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located north of Whitecourt at the junction of Highway 32 and Grizzly Trail. Swan Hills is located in Municipal District of Big Lakes within census Division No...
area of northern Alberta
Northern Alberta
Northern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Its primary industry is oil and gas, with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at the Athabasca Oil Sands and Wabasca Area in the east of the region...
.
Distribution
The Beaverhill Lake Group has a thickness of up to 220 metres (721.8 ft) in central AlbertaCentral 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...
.
Subdivisions
Central AlbertaCentral 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...
| Sub-unit | Age Geochronology Geochronology is the science of determining the age of rocks, fossils, and sediments, within a certain degree of uncertainty inherent to the method used. A variety of dating methods are used by geologists to achieve this, and schemes of classification and terminology have been proposed... | Lithology | Max Thickness | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mildred Member | Late Devonian | argillaceous limestone Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.... and shale Shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering... |
42.7 m (140.1 ft) | |
| Moberly Member | Middle Devonian to Late Devonian | grey, fine grained, thin bedded limestone Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.... , coral Coral Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of... limestone |
95.7 m (314 ft) | |
| Christina Member | Middle Devonian to Late Devonian | argillaceous limestone Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.... and shale Shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering... with brachiopod Brachiopod Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection... s |
27.4 m (89.9 ft) | |
| Calmut Member | Middle Devonian to Late Devonian | fine-grained argillaceous limestone Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.... with olive green shales Shalës Shalës is a municipality in the Elbasan District, Elbasan County, central Albania. The municipality consists of the villages Shalës, Licaj, Kurtalli, Xibrake, Xherie and Kodras.... and brachiopod Brachiopod Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection... s |
31.1 m (102 ft) | |
| Firebag Member | Middle Devonian to Late Devonian | green calcareous shale Shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering... with green argillaceous limestone Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.... containing brachiopod Brachiopod Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection... s |
61 m (200.1 ft) | |
| basal limestone | limestone Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.... |
|||
Swan Hills
Swan Hills, Alberta
Swan Hills is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located north of Whitecourt at the junction of Highway 32 and Grizzly Trail. Swan Hills is located in Municipal District of Big Lakes within census Division No...
area
| Sub-unit | Age Geochronology Geochronology is the science of determining the age of rocks, fossils, and sediments, within a certain degree of uncertainty inherent to the method used. A variety of dating methods are used by geologists to achieve this, and schemes of classification and terminology have been proposed... | Lithology | Max Thickness | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Vermilion Formation | Middle Devonian | brown to white anhydrite Anhydrite Anhydrite is a mineral – anhydrous calcium sulfate, CaSO4. It is in the orthorhombic crystal system, with three directions of perfect cleavage parallel to the three planes of symmetry. It is not isomorphous with the orthorhombic barium and strontium sulfates, as might be expected from the... with dolomite Dolomite Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone.... or limestone Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.... |
37 m (121.4 ft) | |
| Swan Hills Formation | Middle Devonian to Late Devonian | stromatoporoid reef Reef In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .... (micritic and pelletoidal limestone facies or coarse, porous, bioclastic limestone facies) |
152 m (498.7 ft) | |
| Waterways Formation | Givetian to Frasnian Frasnian The Frasnian is one of two faunal stages in the Late Devonian epoch. It lasted from 385.3 ± 2.6 million years ago to 374.5 ± 2.6 million years ago. It was preceded by the Givetian stage and followed by the Famennian stage... |
nodular limestone Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.... and shale Shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering... with brachiopod Brachiopod Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection... s, coral Coral Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of... s and ostracod Ostracod Ostracoda is a class of the Crustacea, sometimes known as the seed shrimp because of their appearance. Some 65,000 species have been identified, grouped into several orders.... s |
230 m (754.6 ft) | |
In northern Alberta
Northern Alberta
Northern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Its primary industry is oil and gas, with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at the Athabasca Oil Sands and Wabasca Area in the east of the region...
and northeastern British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
it has formation status, and is not differentiated.
Relationship to other units
The Beaverhill Lake Group is conformably overlain by the Cooking Lake Formation in eastern Alberta, and unconformablyUnconformity
An unconformity is a buried erosion 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 of time before deposition of the younger, but the term is used to describe...
overlain by the Woodbend Formation west of the Leduc
Leduc Formation
Leduc Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the city of Leduc, and was first described in B.A. Pyrz No. 1 well in central Alberta by Imperial Oil Limited in 1950. A complete section was cored in Imperial Oil's Leduc No...
reef trend. In north-western Alberta and north-eastern British Columbia, it is disconformably overlain by the Muskwa Formation
Muskwa Formation
The Muskwa Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from Muskwa River, and was first described in the Western National Gas Fort Nelson a-95-J/94-J-10 well by F.F. Gray and J.R. Kassube, in 1963.-Lithology:The Muskwa Formation is...
. It is conformably underlain by the Elk Point Group
Elk Point Group
The Elk Point Group is a stratigraphical unit of Middle Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the town of Elk Point, and was first described in the Anglo-Canadian Elk Point No...
in central Alberta, and by the Slave Point Formation
Slave Point Formation
The Slave Point Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Middle Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from Slave Point, a promontory on the north-west shore of the Great Slave Lake, and was first described in outcrop on the southern shore of the lake and along the...
in north-western Alberta and north-eastern British Columbia.
It is equivalent to the Slave Point Formation
Slave Point Formation
The Slave Point Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Middle Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from Slave Point, a promontory on the north-west shore of the Great Slave Lake, and was first described in outcrop on the southern shore of the lake and along the...
and Waterways Formation in north-eastern Alberta, with the Slave Point Formation
Slave Point Formation
The Slave Point Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Middle Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from Slave Point, a promontory on the north-west shore of the Great Slave Lake, and was first described in outcrop on the southern shore of the lake and along the...
and the lower Hay River Formation in the District of Mackenzie
District of Mackenzie
The District of Mackenzie was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories. The district consisted of the portion of the Northwest Territories directly north of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan on Canada's mainland....
, as well as the Horn River Formation
Horn River Formation
The Horn River Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the Horn River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River, and was first described in outrop on the banks of Horn River in the Northwest Territories by Whittaker in 1922...
and Fort Simpson Formation
Fort Simpson Formation
The Fort Simpson Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the settlement of Fort Simpson, and was first described in well Briggs Turkey Lake No. 1 by A.E...
north-west of the Slave Point
Slave Point Formation
The Slave Point Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Middle Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from Slave Point, a promontory on the north-west shore of the Great Slave Lake, and was first described in outcrop on the southern shore of the lake and along the...
-Keg River
Keg River Formation
The Keg River Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Givetian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the Keg River, a tributary of the Peace River, and was first described in the California Standard Steen River 2-22-117-5W6M well by J...
facies in north-eastern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
. It is equivalent to the Souris River Formation in southeastern Alberta, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
and Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, and to the Flume Formation of the Fairholme Group in the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
.