Windermere Group
Stratigraphic range: Neoproterozoic

Had'n

Archean

Proterozoic

Pha.

Type| Geological group or supergroup
Sub-units| Many
Underlies| Various units
Overlies| Purcell Supergroup (Belt Supergroup)
Thickness| more than 8,000 metres (26,250 ft)[1]
Lithology
Primary| Conglomerate, sandstone
Other| Shale, carbonate rocks
Location
Region| Montana, Idaho, Washington (state) ; Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon
Country|  United States  Canada
Type section
Named for| Windermere map-area, British Columbia
Named by| J.F. Walker[2]

Called the Windermere Group in the United States and the Windermere Supergroup, Windermere Series, and Windermere System in Canada ,[3] the Windermere sequence of North America is an extensive assemblage of sedimentary and volcanic rocks of latest Precambrian (Neoproterozoic) age. It is present in the northern part of the North American Cordillera, stretching from Montana, Idaho, and Washington (state) in the northwestern United States, through Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon in western Canada.[1][3][4][5] It was named for the Windermere map-area in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia by J.F. Walker in 1926.[2]

The Windermere rocks include Ediacaran fossils and stromatolites,[4] and host deposits of base and precious metals.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Lithology
* 2 Environment of deposition
* 3 Paleontology
* 4 Thickness and distribution
* 5 References

## Lithology

The Windermere consists primarily of coarse-grained feldspathic conglomerates and pebbly sandstones, with lesser amounts of pelitic shales, dolomites, and limestones.[5][4] Mafic igneous rocks are present in some areas.[1][3] In most areas the Windermere rocks are highly sheared, faulted, and metamorphosed.[3]

## Environment of deposition

Most of the Windermere rocks were deposited as deep-water turbidite flows along a continental margin or in an active volcanic rift basin.[4] Glacial events such as the Sturtian and Marinoan glaciations that occurred during Neoproterozoic time strongly influenced sedimentation,[4] and some of the Windermere conglomerates are believed to be till or diamictite of glacial origin.[3]

## Paleontology

Trace fossils, Ediacaran fossils, and Ediacaran-like fossils have been described from the Windermere Suprgroup in the Mackenzie and Werneke Mountains of the eastern Northwest Territories, the Cariboo Mountains of British Columbia, and the Canadian Rockies near Jasper, Alberta.[4] Stromatolites are present in some of the carbonate beds.[5]

## Thickness and distribution

The Windermere is both thick and extensive. It reaches thicknesses of more than more than 8,000 metres (26,250 ft),[1] and is present parts of Montana, Idaho, and Washington (state) in the United States, and parts of Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon in Canada.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Miller, F.K. and Burmester, R.F. 2003. "U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Field Investigations, MF-2426". https://pubs.usgs.gov/mf/2003/2426/bferry_met.txt. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Walker, J.F. 1926. Geology and mineral deposits of the Windermere map-area, British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 148, 69 p.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Miller, F.K., McKee, E.H. and Yates, R.G. 1973. Age and correlation of the Windermere Group in northeastern Washington. Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 84, no. 11, p. 3723-3730.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Hein, F.J. and McMechan, M.E. 1994. "Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I., compilers), Chapter 6: Proterozoic and Lower Cambrian strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin". http://ags.aer.ca/publications/chapter-6-proterozoic-and-lower-cambrian-strata. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. ISBN:0-920230-23-7.

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