Gething Formation
Template:Short description Template:Infobox Rockunit Gething Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present in northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta, and includes economically important coal deposits.
The formation is named for Gething Creek, a right tributary of the Peace River west of Hudson's Hope, and the nearby Gething Mountain. It was first described by F.H. McLearn in 1923[1] in the Peace River Canyon, an area that was partly inundated in 1968 by the Williston Lake after the construction of the W. A. C. Bennett Dam.
Lithology
The formation consists of alternating units of sandstone and carbonaceous shale or mudstone with some coal seams and conglomerate beds. The sandstones are fine- to coarse-grained, brown weathering, and typically platy to thin bedded, although some are massive. Mudstones are blocky to rubbly, with little lamination. Shale and carbonaceous shale units are fissile and are commonly associated with the coal seams. The sediments are mostly of non-marine origin, deposited in deltaic and coastal plain settings.[2]
Distribution
The Gething Formation is present in the foothills of the Northern Rocky Mountains and adjacent areas of the plains, extending from the Peace River region in northeastern British Columbia to the Smoky River area of western Alberta. In the Peace River Country, it reaches a thickness of Script error: No such module "convert"., while in the Smoky River area it is Script error: No such module "convert". thick. North of the Peace River at Carbon Creek, it reaches Script error: No such module "convert"..[3]
Relationship to other units
The Gething Formation is the uppermost unit of the Bullhead Group. It conformably overlies the Cadomin Formation and is disconformably overlain by the Bluesky Formation. It is correlated with the Gladstone Formation in the southern foothills, and is equivalent in age to the McMurray Formation that contains the Athabasca Oil Sands.
Paleontology
Dinosaur footprints described from the formation include both carnivorous and herbivorous species.[2]
Plant material is abundant, occurring as fossil leaves, stems, logs, stumps and rootlets. Ferns, cycads, Ginkgo and conifers are represented.[2]
Coal deposits
The Gething Formation contains coal seams that range from thin laminae to as much as Script error: No such module "convert". thick. Coal rank ranges from low- to high-volatile bituminous, and the coal has good coking properties except where oxidized.[4] It has been mined by underground methods near the Peace River west of Hudson's Hope and near the Sukunka River.
References
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- ↑ McLearn, F.H., 1923. Peace River Canyon Coal Area, British Columbia; Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report 1922, Part B, pp. 1-46.
- ↑ a b c Stott, D.F. 1965. Lower Cretaceous Bullhead and Fort St John Groups, between Smoky and Peace Rivers, Rocky Mountain foothills, Alberta and British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 152, 279 p. Template:ISBN.
- ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
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- Geologic formations of Alberta
- Geologic formations of British Columbia
- Lower Cretaceous Series of North America
- Albian Stage
- Aptian Stage
- Barremian Stage
- Sandstone formations of Canada
- Siltstone formations of Canada
- Ichnofossiliferous formations
- Conglomerate formations of Canada
- Shale formations of Canada
- Coal formations