imported>Volcanoguy: added Category:Limestone formations of Canada using HotCat

2025-06-04T22:07:44Z

added Category:Limestone formations of Canada using HotCat

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{{Short description|Stratigraphic Unit in Western Canada}}
{{Infobox Rockunit
| name = Fernie Formation
| image = Fernie Formation shale.jpg
| caption = Fernie Formation shale exposed in a roadcut near [[Sparwood]], [[British Columbia]]{{Fossil range|195|145| }}
| type = [[Geological formation]]
| age = [[Jurassic]]<br>~{{fossil range|200|145}}
| period = Jurassic
| prilithology = [[Shale]]
| otherlithology = [[Sandstone]], [[siltstone]], [[limestone]]
| namedfor = [[Fernie, British Columbia]]
| namedby = W.W. Leach
| year_ts = 1914
| region = [[Alberta]]<br>[[British Columbia]]
| country = [[Canada]]
| coordinates = {{coord|49.55|-115.16|name=Fernie Formation|display=inline,title}}
| subunits = Nordegg Member, Red Deer Member, Poker Chip Shale, Lille Member, Rock Creek Member, Highwood Member, Pigeon Creek Member, Ribbon Creek Member
| underlies = [[Morrissey Formation]], [[Nikanassin Formation]], [[Monteith Formation]]
| overlies = [[Schooler Creek Group]], [[Montney Formation]], [[Rundle Group]]
| thickness = up to {{convert|400|m|ft|-1}}<ref name=lexicon>{{Cite web | url = http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:004906 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130221065216/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:004906 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2013-02-21 | title = Fernie Formation | author = [[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] | access-date = 2009-02-10 }}</ref>
| map = {{Location map+ | Canada#British Columbia
| relief = 1
| width = 250
| float = center
| places =
{{Location map~ | Canada#British Columbia
| lat_deg = 49.55
| lon_deg = -115.16
| mark = Blue pog.svg
| marksize = 12
}}
}}
}}
The '''Fernie Formation''' is a [[stratigraphic unit]] of [[Jurassic]] [[Geochronology|age]]. It is present in the western part of the [[Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin|Western Canada Sedimentary Basin]] in western [[Alberta]] and northeastern [[British Columbia]].<ref name=Mossop18>{{Cite web|url=http://ags.aer.ca/reports/atlas-of-the-western-canada-sedimentary-basin.htm|title=The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Chapter 18: Jurassic and Lowermost Cretaceous strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin|author=Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I. (compilers), Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Geological Survey|year=1994|access-date=2016-06-20}}</ref><ref name=Poulton>Poulton, T.P., Tittemore, J. and Dolby, G. 1990. Jurassic strata of northwestern (and west-central) Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology 38A: 159-175. </ref><ref name=Stott98 /> It takes its name from the town of [[Fernie, British Columbia]], and was first defined by W.W. Leach in 1914.<ref>Leach, W.W., 1914. Blairmore map-area, Alberta; [[Geological Survey of Canada]], Summary Report 1912, p. 234. with Map 107A, [[Blairmore, Alberta]], Scale: 1 inch to 2 miles</ref>

== Depositional history ==
The Fernie Formation consists of marine sediments that were deposited in the [[Sundance Sea]]. Deposition took place throughout most of the Jurassic period, starting during the [[Hettangian]] stage in some parts of northeastern British Columbia and continuing until the [[Tithonian|mid-Tithonian]], as determined from its fossil assemblages, including [[ammonoidea|ammonites]], [[mollusca|molluscs]] and [[microfossil]]s.<ref name=Poulton/><ref name=Stott98>Stott, D.F. 1998. Fernie Formation and Minnes Group (Jurassic and lowermost Cretaceous), northern Rocky Mountain foothills, Alberta and British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 516.</ref>

The sediments were sourced from the east during the deposition of the lower and middle units of the Fernie, where the coarser [[facies]] occur in the eastern part of the formation. In the uppermost Fernie, the coarsest material is found in the west, however, indicating a shift to sources in the west and south.<ref name=lexicon/><ref name=Glass>Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. {{ISBN|0-920230-23-7}}.</ref>

==Lithology==
The Fernie Formation is composed primarily of brown and dark gray to black [[shale]]s that range from massive with [[conchoidal fracture]] to laminated and highly fractured or papery. [[phosphate|Phosphatic]] [[sandstone]] and [[limestone]], including [[chert]]y [[limestone]], occur locally in the lower parts of the [[geological unit|formation]]; [[siltstone]], [[sandstone]], [[coquina]]s and [[oolite|oolitic]] limestone interbeds can occur in the center; [[glauconite|glauconitic]] sandstone and [[siltstone]] can be present in the upper parts.<ref name=lexicon/><ref name=Glass/>

==Distribution==
The Fernie Formation reaches a maximum thickness of {{convert|400|m|ft|-1}} near [[Nakiska|Mount Allan]] in Alberta, and typically is about 70 to 150m (230 to 492 ft) thick. It thins toward the east, disappearing at about the [[longitude]] of [[Calgary, Alberta|Calgary]]. The formation is exposed in [[outcrop]]s in the [[Kootenays|Kootenay]] region of southeastern [[British Columbia]], in the foothills and front ranges of the [[Canadian Rockies]] in southwestern Alberta, and as far north as the [[Peace River Country]] in northeastern British Columbia.<ref name=lexicon/><ref name=Glass/>

==Relationship to other units==
The Fernie Formation is conformably overlain by the [[Morrissey Formation]] in the south, by the [[Nikanassin Formation]] in [[central Alberta]] and by the [[Monteith Formation]] in northeastern [[British Columbia]]. It rests [[unconformity|disconformably]] on [[Triassic]] units in the west, and [[unconformity|unconformably]] on upper [[Paleozoic]] units such as the [[Schooler Creek Group]] and the [[Montney Formation]] farther east.<ref name=lexicon/><ref name=Glass/>

===Subdivisions===
The Fernie Formation has the following subdivisions from top to base:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! [[Geological unit|Sub-unit]] !! [[Geochronology|Age]] !! Lithology !! Reference
|-
| Passage Beds || [[Oxfordian (stage)|Oxfordian]] to [[Tithonian]] || dark grey splintery [[shale]] interbedded with [[siltstone]]
|<ref name=Passage>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:011576 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221072200/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:011576 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-21 |title=Passage Beds |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref><ref name=Poulton/>
|-
| Ribbon Creek Member || [[Bathonian]] || [[siltstone|silty]] [[shale]]
|<ref name=lRibbon_Creek>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:012726 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413170216/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:012726 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-04-13 |title=Ribbon Creek Member |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref>
|-
| Green Beds || [[Oxfordian (stage)|Oxfordian]] || [[glauconite|glauconitic]] [[sand]]y [[mudstone]], [[calcite|calcareous]] and [[phosphate|phosphatic]] [[concretions]]
|<ref name=Green>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:005908 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221081157/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:005908 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-21 |title=Green Beds |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref><ref name=Stott98 />
|-
| Grey Beds || [[Callovian]] || dark platy [[shale]] with [[ammonites]] and [[concretions]] ||<ref name=Stott98 />
|
|-
| ''[[Gryphaea]]'' Bed || [[Bathonian]] || [[coquina]] with shells of ''[[Gryphaea]] impressimarginata'', [[ammonite]]s and [[belemnites (genus)|belemnites]]; calcareous [[siltstone]]
|<ref name=Gryphaea>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:006023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130222190048/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:006023 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-22 |title=Gryphaea Bed |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref>
|-
| ''Corbula munda'' Beds || [[Bathonian]] || silty [[shale]], [[calcite|calcareous]] [[sandstone]]
|<ref name=Corbula>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:003356 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221141422/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:003356 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-21 |title=Corbula munda Beds |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref>
|-
| Pigeon Creek Member || [[Callovian]] || [[calcite|calcareous]] [[siltstone]] and grey [[shale]]
|<ref name=Pigeon_Creek>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:011826 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221225038/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:011826 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-21 |title=Pigeon Creek Member |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref>
|-
| Highwood Member || [[Bajocian]] || dark grey [[shale]], [[bioturbation|bioturbated]] [[sandstone]]
|<ref name=Highwood>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:006578 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221064839/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:006578 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-21 |title=Highwood Member |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref>
|-
| Rock Creek Member || [[Bajocian]] || also called "[[belemnites (genus)|Belemnite]] zone" - fine-grained grey [[sandstone]] that may contain commercial [[natural gas|gas]] reserves
|<ref name=Rock_Creek>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:012885 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221122910/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:012885 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 21, 2013 |title=Rock Creek Member |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref><ref name=Stott98 />
|-
| Lille Member || [[Bajocian]] || [[coquina]] with ''[[Gryphaea]]'' and ''[[Ostrea]]'' shells
|<ref name=Lille>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:008464 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221071957/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:008464 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 21, 2013 |title=Lille Member |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref>
|-
| [[Poker Chip Shale]] || [[Toarcian]] || fissile black [[calcite|calcareous]] [[shale]], thin-bedded black [[argillaceous minerals|argillaceous]] [[limestone]]
|<ref name=Poker_Chip>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:012002 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221135235/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:012002 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-21 |title=Poker Chip Shale |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref><ref name=Stott98 />
|-
| Red Deer Member || [[Pliensbachian]] || black [[shale]], black laminated [[limestone]]
|<ref name=Red_Deer>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:012563 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221071558/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:012563 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-21 |title=Red Deer Member |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Oxytoma]]'' Bed || [[Sinemurian]] ||[[coquina]] with ''[[Oxytoma]]'' shells
|<ref name=Oxytoma>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:011446 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221074010/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:011446 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 21, 2013 |title=Oxytoma Bed |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref>
|-
| Nordegg Member || [[Sinemurian]] || dark [[chert]]y and [[phosphate|phosphatic]] [[limestone]], [[calcite|calcareous]] [[shale]]
|<ref name=Nordegg>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:010885 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221103222/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:010885 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-21 |title=Nordegg Member |author=[[Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units]] |access-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref><ref name=Stott98 />
|-
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Alberta]]
* [[List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in British Columbia]]
* [[Toarcian turnover]]
* [[:Category:Toarcian Stage|Toarcian formations]]
**[[Marne di Monte Serrone]], Italy
** [[Calcare di Sogno]], Italy
** [[Sachrang Formation]], Austria
** [[Posidonia Shale]], [[Lagerstätte]] in Germany
** [[Ciechocinek Formation]], Germany and Poland
** [[Krempachy Marl Formation]], Poland and Slovakia
** [[Lava Formation]], Lithuania
** [[Azilal Group]], North Africa
** [[Whitby Mudstone]], England
** [[Whiteaves Formation]], British Columbia
** [[Navajo Sandstone]], Utah
** [[Los Molles Formation]], Argentina
** [[Mawson Formation]], Antarctica
** [[Kandreho Formation]], Madagascar
** [[Kota Formation]], India
** [[Cattamarra Coal Measures]], Australia

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{WCSB|Northwest_Plains=yes|Canadian Rockies=yes}}

[[Category:Geologic formations of Alberta]]
[[Category:Geologic formations of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Jurassic System of North America]]
[[Category:Jurassic Alberta]]
[[Category:Jurassic British Columbia]]
[[Category:Hettangian Stage]]
[[Category:Sinemurian Stage]]
[[Category:Pliensbachian Stage]]
[[Category:Toarcian Stage]]
[[Category:Aalenian Stage]]
[[Category:Callovian Stage]]
[[Category:Bathonian Stage]]
[[Category:Bajocian Stage]]
[[Category:Oxfordian Stage]]
[[Category:Kimmeridgian Stage]]
[[Category:Tithonian Stage]]
[[Category:Shale formations of Canada]]
[[Category:Sandstone formations of Canada]]
[[Category:Open marine deposits]]
[[Category:Shallow marine deposits]]
[[Category:Beach deposits]]
[[Category:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of North America]]
[[Category:Paleontology in Alberta]]
[[Category:Paleontology in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Siltstone formations of Canada]]
[[Category:Limestone formations of Canada]]

Fernie Formation - Revision history

imported>Volcanoguy: added Category:Limestone formations of Canada using HotCat