- Beaverhill Lake Group
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Beaverhill Lake Group
Stratigraphic range: Middle to Late Devonian ~390–365 MaType Geological formation Sub-units Mildred Member
Moberly Member
Christina Member
Calmut Member
Firebag Member
Fort Vermilion Formation
Swan Hills Formation
Waterways FormationUnderlies Cooking Lake Formation, Woodbend Formation, Muskwa Formation Overlies Elk Point Group, Slave Point Formation Thickness up to 220 metres (720 ft)[1] Lithology Primary Limestone, shale Other Anhydrite, dolomite Location Named for Beaverhill Lake Named by Imperial Oil, 1950 Coordinates 53°18′05″N 112°23′27″W / 53.30142°N 112.3908°WCoordinates: 53°18′05″N 112°23′27″W / 53.30142°N 112.3908°W Region Alberta
British Columbia
Northwest Territories
Country Canada
The Beaverhill Lake Group is a stratigraphical unit of Middle Devonian to Late Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from Beaverhill Lake, and was first described in the well Anglo-Canadian Beaverhill Lake No. 2 (drilled south-east of the lake, near Ryley) by geological staff from Imperial Oil in 1950.[2]
Contents
Lithology
The Beaverhill Lake Group is composed of carbonates and shale, with repeated calcareous shale and argillaceous micrites sequences. It becomes more argillaceous to the west. [1]
Hydrocarbon production
Oil is produced from the Swan Hills Formation in the Swan Hills area of northern Alberta.
Distribution
The Beaverhill Lake Group has a thickness of up to 220 metres (720 ft) in central Alberta.[1]
Subdivisions
Sub-unit Age Lithology Max
ThicknessReference Mildred Member Late Devonian argillaceous limestone and shale 42.7 m (140 ft) [3] Moberly Member Middle Devonian to Late Devonian grey, fine grained, thin bedded limestone, coral limestone 95.7 m (310 ft) [4] Christina Member Middle Devonian to Late Devonian argillaceous limestone and shale with brachiopods 27.4 m (90 ft) [5] Calmut Member Middle Devonian to Late Devonian fine-grained argillaceous limestone with olive green shales and brachiopods 31.1 m (100 ft) [6] Firebag Member Middle Devonian to Late Devonian green calcareous shale with green argillaceous limestone containing brachiopods 61 m (200 ft) [7] basal limestone limestone - Swan Hills area
Sub-unit Age Lithology Max
ThicknessReference Fort Vermilion Formation Middle Devonian brown to white anhydrite with dolomite or limestone 37 m (120 ft) [8] Swan Hills Formation Middle Devonian to Late Devonian stromatoporoid reef (micritic and pelletoidal limestone facies or coarse, porous, bioclastic limestone facies) 152 m (500 ft) [9] Waterways Formation Givetian to Frasnian nodular limestone and shale with brachiopods, corals and ostracods 230 m (750 ft) [10] In northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia it has formation status, and is not differentiated.
Relationship to other units
The Beaverhill Lake Group is conformably overlain by the Cooking Lake Formation in eastern Alberta, and unconformably overlain by the Woodbend Formation west of the Leduc reef trend. In north-western Alberta and north-eastern British Columbia, it is disconformably overlain by the Muskwa Formation. It is conformably underlain by the Elk Point Group in central Alberta, and by the Slave Point Formation in north-western Alberta and north-eastern British Columbia.[1]
It is equivalent to the Slave Point Formation and Waterways Formation in north-eastern Alberta, with the Slave Point Formation and the lower Hay River Formation in the District of Mackenzie, as well as the Horn River Formation and Fort Simpson Formation north-west of the Slave Point-Keg River facies in north-eastern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.[11] It is equivalent to the Souris River Formation in southeastern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and to the Flume Formation of the Fairholme Group in the Canadian Rockies.
References
- ^ a b c d Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Beaverhill Lake Group". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:001026. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ Geological Staff, Imperial Oil Limited, Western Division, 1950. Devonian Nomenclature in Edmonton Area, Alberta, Canada. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Vol. 34, No. 9, pp. 1807-1825.
- ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Mildred". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:009775. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Moberly". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:009971. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Christina". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:002938. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Calmut". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:002194. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Firebag". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:004951. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Fort Vermilion Formation". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:005173. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Swan Hills Formation". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:014805. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- ^ Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Waterways Formation". http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:016127. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- ^ Griffin, D.L., 1965. "The facies front of the Devonian Slave Point - Elk Point sequence in northeastern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories"; Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 13-22.
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 ManitobaNorthwest Plains Paskapoo FM · Scollard FM · Wapiti GRP · Smoky GRP (Puskwaskau FM · Badheart FM · Muskiki FM · Cardium FM · Kaskapau FM · Pouce Coupe MBR · Doe Creek MBR) · Dunvegan FM · Fort St. John GRP (Shaftesbury FM · Peace River FM · Spirit River FM) · Bullhead GRP (Bluesky FM · Gething FM · Cadomin FM) · Nikanassin FM · Fernie GRP (Rock Creek MBR · Poker Chip Shale · Nordegg MBR) · Schooler Creek GRP (Baldonnel FM · Charlie Lake FM · Halfway FM) · Doig FM · Montney FM · Belloy FM · Stoddart GRP (Taylor Flat FM · Kiskatinaw FM · Golata FM) · Rundle GRP (Debolt FM · Shunda FM · Pekisko FM) · Banff FM · Exshaw FM · Wabamun FM · Trout River FM · Kakisa FM · Redknife FM (Jean Marie MBR) · Woodbend GRP (Irteton FM · Fort Simpson FM · Leduc FM) · Beaverhill Lake GRP (Waterways FM · Swan Hills FM · Fort Vermilion FM) · Elk Point GRP (Watt Mountain FM · Gillwood MBR · Presqu’ile FM · Sulphur Point FM · Pine Point FM · Muskeg FM · Zama MBR · Black Shale · Keg River FM · Rainbow MBR · Chinchaga FM · Cold Lake FM · Ernestina FM · Basal Red Beds · Granite Wash) · Canadian ShieldNortheastern Plains Bearpaw FM · Belly River GRP · Lea Park FM · La Biche GRP · Viking FM · Joli Fou FM · Colony SS · Mannville GRP (McLaren MBR · Grand Rapids FM · Waseca SS · Sparky SS · Gen. Petr. SS · Clearwater FM · Rex SS · Lloydminster SS · Wabiskaw MBR · Cummings MBR · McMurray FM · Dina MBR) · Banff FM · Exshaw FM · Wabamun FM · Winterburn FM · Woodbend GRP (Grosmont FM · Irteton FM · Cooking Lake FM) · Beaverhill Lake GRP · Elk Point GRP · Canadian ShieldSouthern Alberta Plains Cypress Hills FM · Porcupine Hills FM · Ravenscrag FM · Edmonton GRP · Belly River GRP · Oldman FM · Foremost FM · Pakowki FM · Milk River FM · Colorado GRP · Mannville GRP · Ellis GRP (Swift FM · Rierdon FM · Sawtooth FM) · Rundle GRP · Banff FM · Exshaw FM · Bakken FM · Wabamun FM · Crowfoot FM · Nisku FM · Ireton FM · Leduc FM · Cooking Lake FM · Beaverhill Lake GRP · Elk Point GRP · Canadian ShieldCategories:- Stratigraphy of Alberta
- Stratigraphy of British Columbia
- Stratigraphy of the Northwest Territories
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