- Red River Formation
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Red River Formation
Stratigraphic range: Caradoc to AshgillType Geological formation Sub-units Fort Garry Member
Selkirk Member
Cat Head Member
Dog Head MemberUnderlies Stony Mountain Formation Overlies Winnipeg Formation Thickness up to 215 metres (710 ft)[1] Lithology Primary Limestone, dolomite Other breccia Location Named for Red River of the North Named by A.F. Foerste, 1929 Coordinates 51°56′54″N 98°03′23″W / 51.9482°N 98.0563°WCoordinates: 51°56′54″N 98°03′23″W / 51.9482°N 98.0563°W Region WCSB
Williston BasinCountry 
Canada
United StatesThe Red River Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Upper Ordovician age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from the Red River of the North, and was first described in outcrop in the Tyndall Stone quarries and along the Red River Valley by A.F. Foerste in 1929.[2][3]
Contents
Lithology
Subdivisions
The Red River Formation is composed of the following subdivisions from top to base: [1]
- Fort Garry Member: crystalline and micritic dolomite with a argillaceous dolomite breccia in the middle
- Selkirk Member: fossiliferous dolomitic limestone
- Cat Head Member: cherty dolomite, becoming calcareous to the south
- Dog Head Member: fossiliferous dolomitic limestone
Distribution
The Red River Formation reaches a maximum thickness of 215 metres (710 ft) in the center of the Williston Basin. At the along the Manitoba outcrop belt, it is 150 metres (490 ft) thick and thins out northwards.[1]
Relationship to other units
The Red River Formation is slightly unconformably overlain by the Stony Mountain Formation and sharply overlays the Winnipeg Formation in manitoba, the Deadwood Formation in western Saskatchewan and the Canadian Shield in northern Manitoba.[1]
The lower Red River Formation is equivalent to the Yeoman Formation, while the Fort Garry Member correlates with the Herald Formation.
References
- ^ a b c d Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Formation". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
- ^ Foerste, A.F., 1929. The Ordovician and Silurian of the American arctic and sub-arctic regions. Denison Univ. Sci. Lab J., v. 24, p. 27-79.
- ^ Foerste, A.F., 1929b. The cephalopods of the Red River Formation of southern Manitoba. Denison Univ. Sci. Lab J., v. 24, p. 129-235.
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin Hydrocarbon history Depositional Regions Southern Alberta · Central Alberta · Northwestern Alberta Plains · South-central Canadian Rockies foothills · North-east Plains · North-central foothills · Liard River · Fort Nelson · Northern Rocky Mountains · Fort St. John · Saskatchewan · Western ManitobaCategories:- Stratigraphy of Manitoba
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