The Lynx Formation or Lynx Group is a stratigraphical

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 Dresbachian

Dresbachian

The Dresbachian is the lower stage of the Late or Upper Cambrian Period in North America, equivalent to the Chinese Guzhangian which spans about 4 million years, from...

 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 the Lynx Mountain

Lynx Mountain

Lynx Mountain is a mountain peak in the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the continental divide between the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, in the Cushina Ridge of the Continental Ranges...

, a 3170 metres (10,400.3 ft) peak in the Cushina Ridge on the continental divide

Continental divide

A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea...

, and was first described on its slopes, east of Mount Robson

Mount Robson

Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, and is part of the Rainbow Range. It is commonly thought to be the...

, 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...

 of 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...

 by C.D. Walcott in 1913. It was elevated to group status by J.D. Aitken and R.G. Greggs in 1967.

Lithology

The Lynx Formation is composed of argillaceous and dolomitic

Dolomite

Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....

 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....

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Distribution

The Lynx Formation Lateral reaches a maximum thickness of 1220 metres (4,002.6 ft) in the continental ranges of 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...

. It reaches as far north as the Monkman Pass

Monkman Pass

Monkman Pass, 1061 m , is a mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies, located southwest of the coal-mining town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia...

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Subdivisions

• Upper Lynx
  • Lyell Formation
  • Bison Creek Formation
  • Mistaya Formation
• Lower Lynx
  • Waterfowl Formation
  • Sullivan Formation

Relationship to other units

The Lynx Formation is overlain by the Survey Peak Formation and gradationally overlays the Arctomys Formation.