Type Geological formation Named by C.O. Hage, 1945 Named for Nahanni Butte | Country Canada Primary Limestone Overlies Headless Formation | |
Thickness up to 137 metres (450 ft) Region Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin Underlies Fort Simpson Formation, Horn River Formation | ||
The Nahanni Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Givetian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
Contents
It takes the name from Nahanni Butte, a proeminent ridge at the confluence of the South Nahanni River and Liard River, and was first described in outcrop on the south face of the mountain by C.O. Hage in 1945.
Lithology
The Nahanni Formation is composed of dolomitic limestone.
Hydrocarbon production
gas is produced from the Nahanni Formation in the Mackenzie River Valley.
Paleontology
The Nahanni Formation contains paleofauna compose of corals, brachiopods and trilobites.
Distribution
The Nahanni Formation reaches a maximum thickness of 137 metres (450 ft) at Nahanni Butte, and has typical thickness of 60 metres (200 ft). It occurs from the Franklin Mountains in the north to north-eastern British Columbia in the south.
Relationship to other units
The Nahanni Formation is conformably overlain by the Fort Simpson Formation in the west and by the Horn River Formation in the east. It overlays the Headless Formation diachronically and transitionally, with younger deposits occurring in the west.
It is equivalent to the upper part of the Hume Formation in the Mackenzie River area, as well as the Lonely Bay Formation, Pine Point Formation and Little Buffalo Formation in the Great Slave Lake area. In northern Alberta it corresponds to the Keg River Formation.