The Muskeg Formation 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 Givetian 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 Muskeg

Muskeg

Muskeg is an acidic soil type common in Arctic and boreal areas, although it is found in other northern climates as well. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bogland but muskeg is the standard term in Western Canada and Alaska, while 'bog' is common elsewhere. The term is of Cree origin, maskek...

 arctic soil that covers the northern reaches of western Canada, and was first described in the California Standard Steen River 2-22-117-5W6M well (situated north of Zama Lake

Zama Lake

Zama Lake is a large lake in the Mackenzie County, in north-western Alberta, Canada.It is located approximately west of High Level, at the confluence of Zama River and Hay River. The lake covers and forms an intricate river, lakes and wetland system. The Hay-Zama Lakes complex is a Ramsar site...

) by J. Law in 1955.

Lithology

The Muskeg Formation is evaporitic

Evaporite

Evaporite is a name for a water-soluble mineral sediment that result from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporate deposits, marine which can also be described as ocean deposits, and non-marine which are found in standing bodies of...

 and carbonatic

Carbonate

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....

, with salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

, 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...

, 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....

 and 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....

.

Distribution

The Muskeg Formation occurs in the northern half of the Elk Point Basin, in north-eastern 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...

 and north-western Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. It reaches a maximum thickness of 270 metres (885.8 ft).

Relationship to other units

The Muskeg Formation is disconformably

Unconformity

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 Watt Mountain Formation and is underlain by the Keg River Formation

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...

. It can be correlated with the Pine Point Formation

Pine Point Formation

The Pine Point Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Givetian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from Pine Point, a promontory on the south shore of the Great Slave Lake, west of Fort Resolution, and was first described in outcrop on the shore of the lake between Pine...

, Presqu'ile Formation and Sulphur Point Formation.