Red River Formation

Red River Formation
Red River Formation
Stratigraphic range: Caradoc to Ashgill PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Fort Garry Member; Selkirk Member; Cat Head Member; Dog Head Member
Underlies	Stony Mountain Formation
Overlies	Winnipeg Formation
Thickness	up to 215 metres (710 ft)
Lithology
Primary	limestone, dolomite
Other	Breccia
Location
Coordinates	51°56′54″N 98°03′23″W / 51.9482°N 98.0563°W
Region	WCSB; Williston Basin
Country	Canada; United States
Type section
Named for	Red River of the North
Named by	A.F. Foerste
Year defined	1929

The Red River Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Late Ordovician age in the Williston 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]

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 an 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". Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. 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.

[lexicon-1] Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Formation". Archived from the original on 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2010-02-01.

[2] 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.

[3] Foerste, A.F., 1929b. The cephalopods of the Red River Formation of southern Manitoba. Denison Univ. Sci. Lab J., v. 24, p. 129-235.

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[2]

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v t e Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
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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 Manitoba
Saskatchewan	Cypress Hills FM Ravenscrag FM Frenchman FM Whitemud FM Eastend FM Bearpaw FM Judith River GRP Belly River FM Oldman FM Foremost FM Lea Park FM Pakowki FM Milk River FM Colorado GRP Viking FM Mannville GRP Pense FM Cantuar FM Success FM Vanguard FM Ellis GRP Swift FM Rierdon FM Sawtooth FM Shaunavon FM Piper FM Gravelbourg FM Gypsum Springs FM Watrous FM Big Snowy GRP Madison GRP Charles FM Poplar Ratcliffe Midale Mission Canyon FM Kisbey SS Alida Tilston Lodgepole FM Souris Valley Three Forks GRP Bakken FM Big Valley FM Torquay FM Saskatchewan GRP Birdbear FM Duperow FM Manitoba GRP Souris River FM Elk Point GRP Davson Bay FM Prairie FM Winnipegosis FM Ashern FM Interlake FM Stonewall FM Stony Mountain FM Herald FM Yeoman FM Winnipeg FM Deadwood FM Canadian Shield